SH2-254 through 2-258 - Hubble Palette

This is an image of a very interesting group of objects, comprised of a molecular cloud with over 27,000 solar masses, with active star formation. It was photographed using narrowband hydrogen-alpha, oxygen III, and sulfer II filters. The image is a false color version, with hydrogen-alpha mapped to green, sulfer II mapped to red, and oxygen III mapped to blue, which is the Hubble telescope palette. The stars in this image are from the pseudo natural color version shown above. I hope you like this image.


Scope: Astro Systeme Austria ASA N8 astrograph - 8-inch at F/3.6
Mount: Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera: Finger Lakes Instrumentation FLI MicroLine 3200ME with CFW-2-7 filter wheel
Filters: Optec

Sharpless 2-254 through 2-258

This image is the same as above, but the hydrogen-alpha was mapped to red, the sulfer II to green, and the oxygen III to blue.  This version provides a pseudo-natural color version of this interesting area of the sky.  The equipment and data are the same as the Hubble color image below.

Ring Around the Moon!

After trying and failing to image tonight, I decided to snap this shot of a huge moon ring.  You can see Orion's Belt on the right, along with the Pleiades at the top of the image.  Well... Its better than no image at all!
Cheers,
Tyler

Nikon D700 with 17-35mm Nikkor F/2.8 Lens
Tripod

M106 Galaxy Luminance

This image was collected from my new observatory during a brief imaging session on February 19th, 2010.  I managed to get 15 luminance frames of 600 seconds each.

Scope: AP130 EDF F/6
Mount:  Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera:  FLI ML3200 with CFW-2-7 filter whell
Optec Luminance Filter
MaxIm DL5, PixInsight, CCDStack, Photoshop

M108 Galaxy and M97 Owl Nebula

These two objects are apparently the same size the the sky, but they are not the same at all.  The object on the upper 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 lower 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.  If you look carefully, you can see dozens of small galaxies scattered throughout the image.  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!  

Scope:  Astro-Physics AP130 Starfire EDF F/6

Mount:  Losmandy G-11/Gemini

Camera:  Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 with FLI CFW-2-7 Filter Wheel and Optec LRGB filters

Guider:  Fishcamp Starfish Autoguider

Exposure Details:  18 x 10 minutes Luminance unbinned - 8 x 10 minutes each RGB binned 2x2

Software:  MaxIm DL 5, CCD Stack, Photoshop CS3, PixInsight

Messier 1 - The Crab Nebula

This image was taken by a group of local astronomy enthusiasts from the Salt Lake Astronomical Society (SLAS) on the night of Friday, January 15th.  It was captured using the 2-meter Faulkes North telescope on Haleakala in Hawaii.

The image nicely illustrates the intricate structure of this remnant of a huge supernova that was recorded by Chinese and Arab astronomers in 1054 CE.  The nebula has a spinning neutron star at its core that has been dubbed the "Crab Pulsar".  This neutron star has a spin rate of roughly 30.2 revolutions per second, and it is extremely energetic:  giving off radiation at wavelengths from gamma rays to radio waves.  The pulsar has been creating shock waves that can be seen near the center of this image as concentric arcs.  These shockwaves have been captured in many images and their speed has been computed at an astounding 24,000 km per second, or nearly 8 percent of the speed of light.  The diffuse blue light, called synchrotron radiation, is emitted from curving electrons traveling at up to 1/2 the speed of light.

This image was possible due to the hard work of many individuals, who handled all the arrangements, including Rodger Fry and Bob Moore, among many others.  A special "Thank You" goes out to J.D. Armstrong, who made this entire project possible.

For more information on the shockwaves, CLICK HERE.

NGC1977 - The Running Man Nebula
This
image includes color data taken on the second night with the new
observatory.  The entire setup seems to be working well and I am
keeping warm in the electric blanket that I got for Christmas.  :)

Scope:  Astro-Physics AP130 EDFS Starfire F/6
Mount:  Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera:  Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
Filter Wheel:  Finger Lakes CFW-2-7
Filters:  Optec LRGB
MaxIm DL5 and Photoshop CS3

NGC1977 - The Running Man Nebula

This image is first light for my new observatory.  Everything works like a charm!  :)

AP130 Starfire EDFS F/6
Losmandy G-11/Gemini Mount
Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 Camera
Optec Filter

van den Bergh 141 in Cepheus

This
image was another that was captured during my recent trip to Kanab,
Utah.  Although the nebula itself is fairly bright, the dust that
surrounds the area is extremely dim and challenging to capture with my
AP130 at F/6.  I imaged nearly all night for two nights to capture this
image.

Scope:  Astro-Physics Starfire AP130 EDFS F/6
Mount:  Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera:  Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
MaxIm DL, CCD Stack, and Photoshop

Joe Bauman and the Milky Way

This image was taken during my recent imaging trip to Kanab, Utah.  Jerry and Cindy Foote invited several friends to their home for a weekend of imaging, fine dining, and great conversation.  This image shows astronomy blogger and former reporter Joe Bauman enjoying a gorgeous night while sitting at his computer taking digital images through his telescope.  Our own Milky Way Galaxy, dotted with satellites, meteors, and airplanes, provides a lovely backdrop to the scene.  Just looking at this image makes me want to return to that beautiful setting as soon as possible.  I really love this hobby. 

Nikon D700 - Original date/time: 10/17/2009 at 22:19:13
Exposure: 30 seconds - F/2.8 - ISO speed: 5000
Focal length: 14 mm

The Iris Nebula - NGC7023

This
is the first of several images taken from the home of Jerry and Cindy
Foote near Kanab, Utah, on a recent imaging trip to their home.  The
skies are dark and the hospitality is wonderful.  This object is a
favorite target of mine.

Scope:  Astro-Physics AP130 EDFS operating at F/4.5 with reducer
Mount:  Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera:  Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16
Filter Wheel:  Finger Lakes Instrumentation FLI CFW-2-7
Filters:  Optec
L:R:G:B image - 180:120:120:120
L = 18x10 minutes
RGB = 12x10 minutes
Acquired using MaxIm DL
Processed using MaxIm and Photoshop

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.

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

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

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
may 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

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

PN G75.5+1.7 and the Crescent Nebula

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

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

M11 The Wild Duck Cluster

This star cluster is one of the most dense open clusters in the sky, showing approximately 2900 stars.  Its location in the sky in the general direction of the center of the galaxy provides an incredible star field in the background as well.  This image is only 60 minutes of data in red, green, and blue.  What a beautiful sight!

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 RGB

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.

M13 Globular Cluster

Hi all.  Here is a quick and dirty version of M13, taken with my new AP130 EDFS Starfire F/6 scope.  It is five frames each of RGB, with each frame being 180 seconds.  It was taken with my Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 camera and Optec filters.

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

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

Eagle Nebula in Hydrogen Alpha

This image is first light for my new Finger Lakes Microline 3200ME camera.  The camera worked perfectly last night, holding the temperature steady at -30 degrees C despite the warm summer night.  Noise level are pretty low even with the big stretch applied to the image.  This version is 12 frames of 10 minutes each in hydrogen alpha wavelength.  I think the camera is going to be a winner for narrowband imaging given the incredibly high quantum efficiency of the KAF3200ME chip.  I am pretty excited about the camera.
Scope:  Astro Systeme Austria N8 astrograph
Mount:  Losmandy G-11/Gemini
Camera:  FLI Microline 3200ME
Filter:  Optec 8nm Ha in a Finger Lakes CFW-2-7 filter wheel
MaxIm DL and Photoshop

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.

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.

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

NGC6960 - Part of the Veil Nebula Complex

Pelican Nebula in Hydrogen Alpha

NGC6888 - The Crescent Nebula

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

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

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