Cave Nebula (C9)

This image was taken from my back deck in Abbotsford in June 2013. It consists of a 14 15-minute subs, registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5.

The Cave Nebula is in Cepheus about 2,700 light years away.

Iris Nebula (C4)

This image was taken from my back deck in Abbotsford in June 2013.  It consists of 5, 10 and 15 minute subs registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5.  The total exposure time was four hours.

The Iris nebula is a reflection nebula in Cepheus about 1,400 light years away. the blue colour is caused by starlight reflected from dust grains.

Pinwheel Galaxy (M101)

This image was taken from my back deck in Abbotsford in May 2013. It consists of 22 10-minute subs, registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5.

The Pinwheel Galaxy is in Ursa Major about 22 million light years away.

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

This image was taken from my back deck in Abbotsford in May 2013.  It consists of 18 10-minute subs registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5. The Whirlpool Galaxy is in Canes Venactici about 24 million light years away.

Imaging Setup

This is my imaging setup on my back deck in Abbotsford. I have some new components added in the past year. The setup is as follows:

iEQ45 mount
Stellarvue 115 triplet imaging scope with Atik 460ex CCD camera (1.4 arc sec/pixel)
Stellarvue 70mm guide scope with QHY5 camera (2.6 arc sec/pixel)

I acquire the images using Nebulosity 2 and guide using PHD.  The raw images are registered and combined in CCDStack, and then finished in Photoshop CS5. My laptop operating system is Microsoft 7.

Thor's Helmet (NGC 2359)

This image was taken from my observatory in Tucson in March 2013. It is a stack of 20 15-minute subs, ccombined in CCDStack and processed in Photoshop CS5.

Thor's Helmet is in Canis Major about 1,800 light years away. It is similar in structure to the Bubble nebula and is formed by a solar wind from its central star. Its diameter is about 30 light years.

Bubble Nebula & M52

I haven't posted an image for some time.  I have been taking images and will try to make more regular posts for those interested.

The above image was taken from my observing site in Tucson in March 2013.  It consists of a stack of 14 15-minute subs, combined in CCDStack and processed in Photoshop CS5. The Bubble Nebula is in Cassiopeia about 1,400 light years away. The bubble was created by a fierce solar wind from the hot central star. M52 is the open cluster of stars in the lower right corner.  It is 4,600 light years away.

M101 Super Nova

This image of M101 was taken at the Loon Lake dark-sky sight on Sept. 2nd and 3rd by Chuck Webb, Walter Davies and me.  The super nova is the bright star-like object in the 8 o'clock position on the outer edge of the galaxy. For us this was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity.  The super nova was in its 11th day of its existence, close to its brightest moment.


It is extremely rare that a super nova would occur in a galaxy that is close enough to be imaged by amateur equipment.  And for it to have occurred 24 million light years and 11 days before we were to be at Loon Lake makes even more remarkable.  As I post this, in a matter of days super nova will dim and not be visible.  The timing couldn't have been better.

Elephant Trunk Nebula (IC 1396)

This image of the Elephant Trunk Nebula is a stack of 61 4-minute exposures taken over two nights in Abbotsford. IC 1396 is a large open star cluster in Cepheus with a faint nebulous background.  The bright star near the bottom of the image is the triple Struve 2819.  The Elephant Trunk is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within IC 1396 - outlined in red in the top middle of the image. 

Pelican Nebula (IC 5070)

This image of the Pelican Nebula is a stack of 67 4-minute exposures taken over two nights in Abbotsford.  The nebula is a large emission nebula which resembles a pelican in shape.  It is located in Cygnus and is 2,000 light years away.

Eastern Veil Nebula (NGC 6995)

This image of the Eastern Veil Nebula was taken from my deck in Abbotsford and consists of a stack of 60 4-minute exposures taken over two successive nights.  The Eastern and Western Veil Nebulae are remnants of a supernova explosion between 5,000 and 8,000 years ago.  They are located in Cygnus and are about 2600 light years from Earth.

Western Veil Nebula (NGC 6960)

This image of the Veil Nebula was taken over two nights from my back deck in Abbotsford.  It is a stack of 46 4-minute exposures.  The Veil Nebula is located in the constellation Cygnus and is about 2,600 light years from Earth.

Black Eye Galaxy (M64)

This image consists of 40 4-minute exposures taken from my deck in Abbotsford.  M64 is a spiral galaxy located in Coma Berenices and is 24 million ly from Earth.  It derives its name from the dark dust lane to the right of its center.  

Black Eye Galaxy (M64)

Markarian's Chain

This image was taken in Tucson in March and consists of 30 4-minute exposures.  There are nine galaxies in this image which form part of the Virgo cluster.  Markarian's Chain is 60 million light years from Earth.  The brightest galaxy in the center is M86, the galaxy to the right is M84, The two galaxies in the upper right are The Eyes (NGC 4438 and 4435).

Bode's Galaxy (M81) & Cigar Galaxy (M82)

This image was taken in Tucson in March and  consists of 85 4-minute exposures.  These galaxies are located in Ursa Major about 12 million light years from Earth.  M81 is the spiral galaxy to the right.

M3 Globular Cluster

This image of M3 consists of a stack of 18 4-minute exposures taken on March 5th at the Chiricahua Astronomy Complex.  CAC is south east of Tucson in the foothills of the Chiricahua range (31 deg 52 min N; 109 deg 31 min W; elevation 4,800 ft).  M3 is located in Canes Venatici and is about 34 kly from Earth.  It is one of the brightest globulars in the northern sky.

Heart Nebula (IC 1805)

This image was taken on Jan. 26 & 29 in Tucson and consists of 47 4-minute exposures.  The Heart nebula is located in Cassiopeia and is 7,500 ly from Earth.  The open cluster Melotte 15 lies at the nebula centre and its radiation drives the nebula's colour.

Rosette Nebula & Open Cluster (NGC 2237 & 2244)

This image consists of 25 4-minute exposures taken in Tucson on Jan. 14th.  The Rosette is a bright nebula located in the constellation Monoceros.  The nebula surrounds an open cluster of hot, young stars (centre of image).  It is 5,500 ly from Earth.   

Orion Nebula (M42)

This image consists of 25 4-minute exposures and was taken in Tucson on Jan. 12th.  This is another image captured last January and shown in an earlier post.  As I gain more experience with Photoshop (in this case CS5) I am finding that I can stretch the image to a finished form without introducing noise.  I also note this image was captured from a city lot and the Badder UHC filter removes any light pollution effects.    

Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) & Horsehead Nebula

This image consists of 25 4-minute exposures taken in Tucson on Jan. 10.  This was one of the first images I shot last year.  The above image is less noisy than my first image.  The Flame nebula is to the left of the bright star Alnitak (the left-most star in Orion's belt).  It is about 900 ly from Earth and is part of the Orion molecular complex and includes the Horsehead nebula to the right of Alnitak. 

Crab Nebula (M1)

This image was taken on Dec. 25 in Tucson and consists of a stack of 30 4-minute exposures.  The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and is located in the constellation Taurus and is 6,200 ly from Earth.  It was first observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054 A.D.  I posted an image of M1 in an earlier post - Dec. 2090 - one of the first images I took but didn't have enough exposure time to reveal its detail.

Lunar Eclipse December 20, 2010

The above eclipse sequence was shot last night in Tucson between 11:20 pm and 12:50 am.  Each image is a single shot: the first four with an exposure time of 0.01 sec. and the last with 6 sec.  Unfortunately there were clouds and the moon was slipping in and out of the cloud cover.  The first image was taken just prior to the Moon entering the Earth's shadow; in the last image the Moon is fully within the shadow.  It wasn't a perfect night for imaging but the progression of the eclipse is clear.

NGC 1893/IC 410

This image was taken on December 13 in Tucson and consists of 20 4-minute exposures.  NGC 1893 is the open cluster in the middle of the image.  It is embedded in IC 410 which is a emission nebula.  They are located in the constellation Auriga, near the Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405).

M33 (Triangulum Galaxy)

This image was taken in Abbotsford in October and consists of 44 4 minute exposures.  The Triangulum Galaxy is located in Trangulum constellation and is about 2.8 million ly away.  It is the third largest galaxy in the Local Group after the nearby Andromeda Galaxy and our own Milky Way.  It was catalogued by Charles Messier in 1764.

M45 (Pleiades)

This image was taken in Abbotsford during September.  It consists of 20 4-minute exposures.  The Pleiades (aka The Seven Sisters) is an open cluster located in the constellation Taurus.  The main stars are visible to the naked eye.

Flaming Star Nebula (IC405)

The Flaming Star nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Auriga.  The image consists of 53 4-minute exposures taken in Tucson on Dec 1, 9, 12.  It is located about 1,500 ly away and is about 5 ly across.

M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)

This image consists of 63 4-minute exposures (stacked using Deep Sky Stacker) taken on Aug. 11, 13 and 14 from my back deck in Abbotsford.


Andromeda is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, but is still 2.5 million ly distant. Is apparent size is 190' x 60' and completely fills the camera's field of view. The Spitzer space telescope revealed that the galaxy contains one trillion stars, more than the number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy.  As can be seen it is a spiral galaxy and is more than 220,000 ly across.  

M20 (Trifid Nebula)

This image consists of 28 4-minute exposures (dark master subtracted) taken on July 13th and 14th in Abbotsford.


The Trifid nebula is an active stellar nursery located in Sagittarius just above the Lagoon nebula.  It derives its name from its three-lobed appearance.  The red regions - emissions from excited hydrogen - are separated by dark dust lanes which block the light in the visible range.  Just above the red lobes there is a faint blue region which is caused by star light reflected from clouds of dust.  Its distance is estimated at 5,200 ly.


The Spitzer Space Telescope discovered 30 embryonic stars and 120 newborn stars not seen in visible light images.

M17 (Omega Nebula)

This image consists of 35 4-minute exposures (dark master subtracted) taken on July 7th and 13th in Abbotsford.


The Omega nebula is located in Sagittarius above the Eagle nebula.  The red areas are hot hydrogen gas excited by radiation from nearby hot stars which have just formed within the nebula.  The nebula contains a large amount of dark obscuring material - giving rise to its distinctive shape - which is heated by hidden young stars and visible in infrared wavelengths.  Its distance is estimated at 5,000 ly.  

M16 (Eagle Nebula)

This images consists of 35 4-minute exposures (with a master dark subtracted) taken on July 9th and 10th.


The Eagle Nebula is located in Serpens, just north of the Lagoon Nebula.  Like the Lagoon it is an active star-forming region.  It is a giant cloud of intersellar gas and dust which is caused to shine by emission light excited by the high-energy radiation emitted by its hot young stars.  Its distance is estimated at 5,000 ly.

M8 (Lagoon Nebula)

This image consists of 39 4-minute exposures (with a master dark subtracted) taken on July 8 and 16, 2010 at Plateau Observatory.

M8 is star-forming region in Sagittarius with an embedded open cluster.  Its distance is estimated at 5,200 ly.  Charles Messier cataloged it in 1764.

Dumbbell Nebula (M27)

This image consists of 10-4 minute exposures taken on June 12, 2010 at the Plateau Observatory in Abbotsford.


The Dumbbell was the first planetary nebula discovered and gets its name from its dumbbell like shape when viewed though an eyepiece.  It is about 6 arc minutes in diameter, much larger than its neighbour the Ring Nebula.  It is located in the constellation Vulpecula and its age is estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 years.

Plateau Observatory Imaging Set Up

                                                                                           
Top: Looking East
Bottom: Looking South


This is the imaging set up on the back deck in Abbotsford.  I have a clear view of the sky from ENE through to the SSW and a restricted view elsewhere over the roof.  Fortunately Polaris is visible to the North, which facilitates telescope alignment.  The downtown area of Abbotsford is situated to the South.  The Clear Sky Chart lists the light pollution level as "red".  I use a Baader UHC-S filter which does an excellent job of removing any colour effects of the city lights.


The photo shows:

Stellarvue 115T20 Apo Triplet Refractor

HEQ-5 Mount

Orion Star Shoot Pro One-Shot Colour Camera

          7.8X7.8 micrometer pixels

          ~2.01 arc sec/pixel resolution

          102x68 arc min field of view

KW Telescope Guide Scope (QHY-5 Camera) (mounted on the telescope rings)

          9X50 scope, ~210mm focal length

          QHY-5 camera, 5.2X5.2 micrometer pixels

          1280X1024 pixels

          ~5.1 arc sec/pixel resolution

          109X87 arc min field of view

Ring Nebula (M57)

This image was captured on May 14, second clear sky night in a row.  The image is composed of 15 4-minute exposures with my normal set up (see preceding post).  The Ring Nebula is very tiny - 1.4X1 arc minute but still visible through the eye piece as a faint grey ring.  It is located in the constellation Lyra, south of Vega.  The Ring is a Planetary Nebula.  In this case a torus of bright light-emitting gas surrounding its central star (at 15th magnitude to faint to be seen by my 115 mm telescope).  The inner ring of green is light emitted from exited oxygen and the red outer ring from excited hydrogen.  Its distance and age is estimated at 2,300 ly and 6,000 to 8,000 years respectively.  The Ring is the remainder of a Sun-like star which has blown away its outer envelope of gas after its hydrogen fuel has been exhausted in its inner core.

M13 The "Great Hercules Cluster"

This image was captured on May 13th from my deck in Abbotsford.  It was the first clear night for several weeks.  The image is segment of a larger image and is composed of 15, 4 minute exposures.  M13 is 25 thousand ly distant, has a diameter of 145 ly (about 20 arc minutes in the image) and contains several 100,000 stars.

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

This photo comprises images taken on April 15th (previous post) and April 22nd, a total exposure time of 153 minutes.  The set up on the 22nd was the same as that on the 15th.  The increased exposure time yields improved detail.

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

This photo was taken on April 15th, the first clear night since returning from Arizona.  It is the first photo from the Plateau Observatory.  The photo consists of 30 3-minute exposures with the UHC-S filter and is somewhat grainy. More exposure time is needed.


The photo shows two interacting galaxies NGC 5194 (the Whirlpool) and NGC 5195 (the smaller eliptical) located in Canes Venatici just to the west of Alkaid (the final star in the handle of the Big Dipper).  The spiral structure of the Whirlpool is thought to be due to the interaction with 5195.  The galaxies may be in the process of merging - perhaps over the next billion years.  They are about 23 million light-years away from Earth.  The angular diameter is is about 11 arc-minutes.  The bright circular disc at the center of 5194 has a radius of about 38,000 light-years.


The Whirlpool was discovered by Charles Messier in 1774 (using a 3 inch diameter refractor telescope), but it was not until 1845 that it was recognized as a spiral (by Lord Rosse using a 72 inch Newtonian telescope). 


No change in equipment from the previous images. 

Pin Wheel Galaxy (M101)

(click the image for full screen view)

This photo was taken on Mar. 25th from a vacant lot in Tucson AZ.  It is composed of 33-3 min. exposures.  A Baader UHC-S filter was used.  It was a cloudless night but the seeing and transparency conditions were poor.  The moon was waxing gibbous 82% full!  This is the beauty of CCD photography - an image is possible when you can't see anything through the eye piece.


The Pin Wheel Galaxy is a spiral galaxy in Ursa Major and is about 27 million ly from Earth.  It has a linear diameter of about 170,000 ly.  The image field is about 40 arc min. wide.

Imaging Setup:

Stellarvue 115T20 Apo Triplet

Stellarvue Field Flattener

HEQ-5 Mount

Orion Star Shoot Pro One-Shot Colour Camera

KW Telescope Guide Scope (QHY-5 Camera)

PHD Guiding

Nebulosity 2 – Image Capture

Deep Sky Stacker 3.3.2

Adobe Photoshop CS2 – Image Processing

The Crab Nebula (M1)

(click image for full screen)

This image consists of 6 6 min. exposures taken on Jan. 7 from a vacant lot in Tucson. M1 is a supernova remnant located near the southern "horn" of Taurus, about 6,300 ly from Earth. It is 6x4 arc minutes in size.  This is one of my first images and I was still experimenting with exposure time. I plan to re-shoot with greater exposure time, which should reveal greater detail.


According to the SEDs Data Base (http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/messier/data2.html)  Chinese astonomers observed and recorded the supernova in 1054 AD as a "guest star. The records show that the supernova was so bright that it was visible in the daylight for 23 days.  The nebulous remnant was found by Charles Messier in 1758 and became the first item in his catalogue.

Imaging Setup:

Stellarvue 115T20 Apo Triplet

Stellarvue Field Flattener

HEQ-5 Mount

Orion Star Shoot Pro One-Shot Colour Camera

KW Telescope Guide Scope (QHY-5 Camera)

PHD Guiding

Nebulosity 2 – Image Capture

Deep Sky Stacker 3.3.2

Adobe Photoshop CS2 – Image Processing

Leo Triplet (M65, M66, NGC3628)

(click image for full screen)

This photo consists of 45 3 min. (135 min. total) exposures taken on Mar. 15 and 18 from a vacant lot in Tucson, AZ.  It is a work in progress.  I am hoping that more exposure time will reveal more detail in the galaxies.  NGC3628 (upper left) is edge-on and is bisected by a dust lane. M65 is a tight spiral galaxy (upper right).  M66 is a spiral galaxy (lower right).  The galaxies are about 35 million ly from Earth.  The image size is about 65x65 arc minutes.

Imaging Setup:

Stellarvue 115T20 Apo Triplet

Stellarvue Field Flattener

HEQ-5 Mount

Baader UHC-S Filter

Orion Star Shoot Pro V2.0 One-Shot Colour Camera

KW Telescope Guide Scope (QHY-5 Camera)

PHD Guiding

Nebulosity 2 – Image Capture

Deep Sky Stacker 3.3.2

Adobe Photoshop CS2 – Image Processing

Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) & Horsehead (IC 434)

(click image for full screen)

This photo consists of 12 8 min. exposures taken on Feb. 17 from a vacant lot in Tucson, AZ.  I am surprised that a total exposure of 96 min. was sufficient to capture this detail.  The Flame nebula is located to the left of the star Alnitak, one of the Orion's belt stars.  The Horsehead can be seen in the lower right. The image size is about 65x65 arc minutes.
 

Imaging Setup:

Stellarvue 115T20 Apo Triplet

Stellarvue Field Flattener

HEQ-5 Mount

Baader UHC-S Filter

Orion Star Shoot Pro One-Shot Colour Camera

KW Telescope Guide Scope (QHY-5 Camera)

PHD Guiding

Nebulosity 2 – Image Capture

Deep Sky Stacker 3.3.2

Adobe Photoshop CS2 – Image Processing

Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237)

(click image for full screen)

This photo consists of 35 exposures taken on Feb. 13, 15 and 16 from a vacant lot in Tucson, AZ. The total exposure time is 260 minutes. The Rosette nebula is located in Monoceros just west of Orion. The open cluster NGC2244 is embedded in the centre of the nebula.  The image is about 100x68 arc minutes.

Imaging Setup:

Stellarvue 115T20 Apo Triplet

Stellarvue Field Flattener

HEQ-5 Mount

Baader UHC-S Filter

Orion Star Shoot Pro One-Shot Colour Camera

KW Telescope Guide Scope (QHY-5 Camera)

PHD Guiding

Nebulosity 2 – Image Capture

Deep Sky Stacker 3.3.2

Adobe Photoshop CS2 – Image Processing

Orion Nebula (M42 & M43)

(click image for full screen)

This photo consists of 47 exposures taken on Jan. 3, 5 and 13, and Feb. 18 from a vacant lot in Tucson, AZ. The total exposure time is 194 minutes. M42 and its smaller companion M43 (right centre) are about 1400 ly from Earth.  The open cluster NGC1977 is on the right. The dark lanes in the nebulosity are called "the Running Man" (here shown up-side down). The image size is about 100x67 arc minutes.


Imaging Setup:

Stellarvue 115T20 Apo Triplet

Stellarvue Field Flattener

HEQ-5 Mount

Orion Star Shoot Pro One-Shot Colour Camera

KW Telescope Guide Scope (QHY-5 Camera)

PHD Guiding

Nebulosity 2 – Image Capture

Deep Sky Stacker 3.3.2

Adobe Photoshop CS2 – Image Processing