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M45 with AP130
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M45 - The Pleiades Cluster
This is my latest version of this favorite, taken with my new AP130 EDFS F/6 using the Starlight Xpress H16 camera. It is a combination of over 50 frames, each frame 5 minutes in length. Separate images were taken for red, green, and blue frames, along with luminance frames. I think this may be my favorite object in the night sky. I am always happy to see it return each fall.
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IC1369
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IC1369 and PLN 89-0.1
Hi all. I used my Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 camera to image this interesting area of the sky last week but just got around to processing it. This image shows many objects, including the star cluster IC1369 (above center right), Barnard 61 (or perhaps B361 aka LDN970 - large dark area in lower center), planetary nebula PLN 89-0.1 (red area above left center), dark nebula LDN975 (just right of open cluster), dark nebula LDN967 (below brighter pair of blue and yellow stars, and dark nebula LDN964 (extreme lower right corner).
Scope: Astro-Physics AP130 Starfire F/6
Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
Filter Wheel: Finger Lakes Instrumentation FLI CFW-2-7
Filters: Optec LRGB
Exposure Details
L:R:G:B image
120:80:80:80 minutes - 10 minute subs
Acquired with MaxIm DL
Processed in MaxIm DL, CCD Stack, Photoshop
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IC1871
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IC1871
This image targets IC1871, which is a wonderful area of the sky that has lots of structure and great color.
Scope: Astro-Physics AP130 Starfire F/6
Camera: Finger Lakes Instrumentation Microline 3200 ME with CFW-2-7 Filter Wheel
Filters: Optec
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LDN947
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LDN 947 and Friends in SH2-119
Hi stargazers! Here is an obscure group of dark nebulae in SH2-119. The dark nebulae include LDN944, LDN946, LDN947, LDN952, LDN953, and probably a few others. These dark nebulae are found in the constellation Cygnus (The Swan). The dense star field is very colorful, but is blotted out by these dark nebulae. The entire area appears to have some dust which makes it look almost redish brown in many locations.
Scope: Astro-Physics AP130 Starfire EDFS F/6
Mount: Losmandy G11/Gemini
Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 with SXV Autoguider
Filter Wheel: Finger Lakes Instrumentation FLI CFW-2-7
Filters: Optec L:R:G:B
Exposure Details - L:R:G:B 200:120:120:120 minutes
10 minute subs - unbinned
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Elephants Trunk
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IC1396 - The Elephant's Trunk
This spectacular area of the skyin the constellation Cepheus. The highly structured area of this image, also known as the "Elephants Trunk Nebula", is composed of ionized gas that is excited by a massive star. The area is also a star-forming region, with several very young stars (less than 100,000 years) and a couple of somewhat older stars (still young, estimated at roughly 2,000,000 years), located at its center. The entire area is colorful and presents a beautiful vista for the camera.
Scope: AP130 Starfire EDFS F/6
Mount: Losmandy G11/Gemini
Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 with SXV autoguider
Filter Wheel: Finger Lakes Instrumentation CFW-2-7
Filters: Optec Ha:L:R:G:B
Ha = 10x20 minutes
L = 20x10 minutes
RGB = 10x5 minutes binned 2x2
MaxIm DL, CCD Stack, Photoshop
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Soap Bubble
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 Here is my attempt at the new bubble in Cygnus, discovered in 2008 by Dave Jurasevich. The "soap bubble" is located in the upper left quarter of this image, which also includes the frequently photographed Crescent Nebula. I spent two night collecting Ha and OIII data for this image, and here is the result.
Scope: ASA N8
Mount: Losmandy G-11
Camera: FLI Microline 3200ME
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Sh2-190
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SH2-190 - Part of the Heart Nebula
This image shows an area of the sky in the constellation Cassiopeia. This area is part of the larger "Heart Nebula" which is ionized by the star cluster IC1805, which is below center right in this image. This area of the sky shows a great deal of structure within the glowing nebulosity. The image was taken over two nights and includes approximately 4 hours of data.
Scope: AP130 Starfire EDFS F/6
Mount: Losmandy G11/Gemini Level 4
Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
Filter Wheel: FLI CFW-2-7
Filters: Optec L:R:G:B
Captured using MaxIm DL4
Processed in MaxIm, CCD Stack, and Photoshop CS3
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Sh2-98
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SH2-98 - A Ring-type Nebula
Hi all. This object may be the faintest thing I have ever imaged. It is a ring nebula in the constellation Cygnus (The Swan). This image is 220 minutes of hydrogen alpha light, in 20 minute subs. It isn't great, but I have never seen an image of it before so I guess it will have to do for now.
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IC5146
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IC5146 - The Cocoon Nebula
This object is a combination of emission and reflection nebulae, surrounded by dust, which makes for a beautiful sight. This star-forming region has a bright central star (magnitude 9.6) that is surrounded by an open cluster of 12th magnitude stars.
Scope: Astro Systeme Austria N8 astrograph
Mount: Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera: FLI Microline 3200ME with CFW-2-7 Filter Wheel
Optec Filters
Ha:R:G:B - 210:30:30:50 minutes
Ha subs 10 minutes
RGB subs 5 minutes
Click here for a higher quality closeup
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Sh2-171
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SH2-171 in RGB
Cederblad 214
Scope: Astro Systeme Austria ASA N8 Astrograph
Mount: Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
Filters: Optec LRGB in Finger Lakes CFW-2-7
MaxIm DL and Photoshop
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Pickering V2
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Pickering's Triangle version 2
I noticed that my original processing of this object had caused the stars to get a littl e fuzzy, so I decided to reprocess it... trying to keep the stars nice and sharp. Although this image is a little darker, I like it better. The image info is the same as below.
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Pickering's Triangle
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Pickering's Triangle of the Veil Nebula
This section of the Veil Nebula is not photographed as often as some other areas, but it sure is loaded with structure. This image is a composite of hydrogen alpha wavelengths (red) and OIII wavelengths (blue and green). This is one of my favorite parts of the sky.
Scope: Astro Systeme Austria N8 Astrograph
Mount: Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
Filter Wheel: Finger Lakes Instrumentation CFW-2-7
Filters: Optec Narrowband (8nm bandwidth)
This image is composed of several hours each of Ha and OIII data.
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M17
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Messier 17 Narrowband
This image of Messier 17 was taken using narrowband filters in hydrogen alpha (red) and OIII (green and blue) wavelengths. It was captured from my back yard on a beautiful summer night.
Scope: Astro Systeme Austria N8 Astrograph
Mount: Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
Filter Wheel: Finger Lakes Instruments CFW-2-7
Filters: Optec Narrowband 8nm Bandwidth
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NGC6960
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NGC6960 - Part of the Veil Nebula Complex
This image is a composite of narrowband images taken in hydrogen alpha and OIII wavelengths. The target is a portion of the Veil Nebula in Cygnus, which is a supernova remnant. The hydrogen alpha data were used for the red channel, and the OIII data were used for the green and blue channels.
Scope: Astro Systeme Austria N8 Astrograph Mount: Losmandy G-11/Gemini Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 Filter Wheel: Finger Lakes Instrumentation CFW-2-7 Filter: Optec Ha and OIII 320 minutes in 10 and 20 minute subexposures for Ha 320 minutes in 10 and 20 minute exposures for OIII
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Pelican
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Pelican Nebula in Hydrogen AlphaThe Pelican Nebula (IC5070) is located roughly 2000 light years away in the constellation Cygnus. It is a vast area of hydrogen gas emissions with star forming regions. This image is taken at a narrow wavelength in the hydrogen alpha band.
Scope: Astro Systeme Austria N8 Astrograph Mount: Losmandy G-11/Gemini Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 Filter Wheel: Finger Lakes Instrumentation CFW-2-7 Filter: Optec Ha 290 minutes in 10 minute subexposures
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NGC6888 Crescent
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NGC6888 - The Crescent Nebula
The Crescent Nebula (NGC6888) is a large cosmic bubble roughly 25 light-years across. The star at the center of the bubble has been classified as a Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136). This massive star is burning nuclear fuel at a very high rate, while ejecting its outer layers in a strong stellar wind. This image is a combination of Hydrogen Alpha and Oxygen III wavelengths, which were combined into a color image. This gorgeous object is located at a distance of about 5000 light years, in the constellation Cygnus.
Scope: Astro Systeme Austria N8 Mount: Losmandy G-11 Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 with FLI filter wheel and Optec filters
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M27 Ha:OIII:OIII
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Messier 27 - The Dumbbell Nebula
M27 is a good example of a gaseous emission nebula that is formed when a sun-like star runs out of nuclear fuel and begins to eject its outer layers into space. The visible glow is generated by the intense ultraviolet radiation that is being emitted from the central star. This image is a combination of Hydrogen Alpha emissions (red) and Oxygen III emissions (green and blue). This exquisite object is located about 1200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. Scope: Astro Systeme Austria N8 Mount: Losmandy G-11 / Gemini Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 with an FLI filter wheel and Optec Filters
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M108 and M97
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M108 and M97 These two objects are apparently the same size the the sky, but they are not the same at all. The object on the lower right (M97 - The Owl Nebula) is a star that is expelling gas shells at it slowly dies and becomes a white dwarf. It is only approximately 1500 light years distant from Earth. The object in the upper left of the frame is a nearly edge-on galaxy (M108) that is composed of several hundred billion stars and is approximately 45 million light years distant from Earth. These two objects can be captured in a single frame and make this area of Ursa Major a very nice place to point your telescope! This image is a combination of narrowband data (see M97 below) taken with an SBIG ST2000XM camera through Optec Ha and O3 filters, and some earlier data taken with an FLI CM-10 camera. The CM-10 camera has a chip that "blooms', which means that the brighter stars essentially "drip" data across the CCD. These brighter stars were corrected for using software. This image includes over 7 hours of luminance, red, green, blue, hydrogen alpha, and O3 data. Astro Systeme Austria ASA N8 astrograph - Losmandy G-11/Gemini MaxIm DL 5 and Photoshop CS3
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M97 - The Owl
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Messier 97 - The Owl Nebula - Narrowband
This ghostly apparition in Ursa Major is a planetary nebula with an interesting series of expanding envelopes of gas that are being shed by the dying sun-like star at the center. It is aptly named "The Owl Nebula" because of the remarkable resemblance to an owls face that is created by the structures within. These shrouds of expanding gas are typically over 1000 times the size of our solar system. The gas bubble is has been forming for over 6000 years and is approximately 1500 light years distant from earth. The odd shapes inside this bubble have proven difficult for astronomers to explain and model using computers. I can just begin to make out a larger bubble of gas that is very faint which surrounds the more obvious structures in the image. Can you see it? This image is a narrowband version, composed of Hydrogen alpha and OIII emissions. The OIII data was used for both the green and blue channels, and Ha was used for red. Scope: Astro Systeme Austria ASA N8 astrograph on a Losmandy G-11/Gemini mount Camera: SBIG ST2000XM with FLI CFW-2-7 filter wheel and Optec narrowband filters Ha:OIII:OIII for R:G:B - 6 x 20 minutes OIII and Ha - 4 hours total exposure time
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Horsehead and Flame HaLRGB H16
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 Horsehead and Flame Nebulae in Ha+LRGB
This is one of the most beautiful areas of the night sky, with a combination of emission and reflection nebulae. The bright star is Alnitak, the left star in Orions belt, and one of the most recognizable star groupings in the sky. The horsehead itself (lower right) is an area with dark dust that blocks the light and gives us that familiar shape. Dust is visible throughout much of the image, obscuring the blue reflection nebula at lower center in the image. What a fantastic sight!!
Scope: Astro Systeme Austria ASA N8 astrograph
Mount: Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
Filter Wheel and Filters: Finger Lakes CFW 2-7 with Optec 50mm Ha and LRGB Filters
Ha:L:R:G:B Image - 340:35:35:35:35 minutes
MaxIm DL 5 and Photoshop CS3
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M78 Area
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 M78 and NGC2071
This remarkable reflection nebula is part of the larger Orion Molecular Cloud, a vast network of interstellar dust in the constellation of Orion. The blue color comes from young blue stars that illuminate nearby dust particles. M78 is in the low/center of the image, while the lesser known NGC2071 is at upper/center. These objects are located just north of Orions famous 3-starred belt.
Scope: Astro Systeme Austria ASA N8 Astrograph
Mount: Losmandy G-11 with Gemini
Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
L:R:G:B - 120:40:40:40 minutes - 10 minute subs
Acquired using MaxIm DL 5
Processed in MaxIm and Photoshop CS3
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IC443 HaLRGB
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 IC443 HaRGB
This image was taken with the same setup as the previous posting, but some RGB data was added.
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Horsehead and Flame CM-10
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 Horsehead and Flame
This is one of the most beautiful areas of the night sky, with a combination of emission and reflection nebulae. The bright star is the left star in Orions belt, which is one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky. The horsehead itself (lower right) is an area with dark dust that blocks the light and gives us that familiar shape.
Astro Systeme Austria N8 Astrograph
Losmandy G-11 Mount
SBIG ST2000XM Camera
MaxIm DL5, CCDStack, and Photoshop CS3
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NGC2244 - The Rosette Nebula
Pleiades Nebula and Cluster
NGC 281 - The Pacman Nebula
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