The nebula is in Canis Major approx. 15000ly away and is approx. 30ly wide. The nebula is more like a bubble inflated by fast winds emanating from the Wolf-Rayet star at the center. This star is thought to be in a brief pre-supernova stage of its evolution. The blueish green colour shows that there is a strong oxygen emission from this nebula.

This image is comprised from pre-calibrated images provided by iTelescope, I’m not 100% which telescope was used. The total integration time is 180 minutes.

Filters and exposure:

6 x 600s Blue

6 x 600s Green

6 x 600s Red

The images were registered and stacked using AstroPixelProcessor before final editing in Adobe Photoshop 2022.

OBJECT: M45 (NGC1432), Pleiades (The Seven Sisters), RA 03h 47min, DEC 24°07’, apparent magnitude approx 2, apparent dimension 110’, FOV 4,1° x 2,7°.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Dew heater strip, Sensor pixel scale 1,75 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: November 6, 2021, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 5,6, ISO 1600, Interval 15 s, RAW-L, Lights 21x, Darks 20x, Bias 15x, Flats 15x, DarkFlats 10x. Total exposure time 63 min. Night, no wind, 0° C, No Moon, Backyard - Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralisation, light pollution removal, calibrate background and stars colours) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2022 (stretching, black and white point settings, star reduction, enhance DSO, noise reduction, contrast setting). No cropped, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

I finally got my equipment working as it should; not entirely happy with the image but pleased to grab something for a change. The next job is clean the optics; the contamination was very evident in the flats.

Messier 3 (M3) is a globular cluster located in Canes Venatici's constellation, the Hunting Dogs. It is one of the brightest, largest globular clusters in the sky. M3 has an apparent magnitude of 6.2 and is approximately 33,900 light-years distant from Earth. It has the designation NGC 5272 in the New General Catalogue.

M3 contains an estimated half a million stars. The brightest stars in the cluster are of magnitude 12.7, and the average brightness of the 25 brightest stars is 14.23 mag. The overall spectral type of M3 is F2. The cluster has a total mass of about 450,000 solar masses.

Text from Messier objects, read more: www.messier-objects.com/messier-3/

Date: 26/03/22

Sky quality:l Bortle 5 (approx.)

Equipment

Telescope: Skywatcher Evostar 120ED

Focal Reducer: 0.85

Camera: Atik 314L+

Filters: Baader LRGB

Guidescope: PrimaLuceLab 60mm

Guide camera ZWO ASI 120mm

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro (Belt drive)

Computer: PrimaLuceLab Eagle 2

Light frames

Luminescence 10 at 180s

Red 10 at 180s

Green 10 at 180s

Blue 10 at 180s

Total integration time - 2 hours

Software

Polemaster

N.I.N.A

PHD2

AstroPixelProcessor

Photoshop

Topaz DeNoiseAI

DESCRIPTION: I tested to capture Squid nebula - very fine blue object in the center - but unfortunately not successful. More data needed, maybe blue light pollution filter destroyed this object, maybe OIII filter is needed. “Artistic” processing via StarXTerminator.

OBJECT: Sh2-129 Flying Bat Nebula and Squid Nebula, Constellation Cepheus, apparent magnitude N/A, apparent dimension 150’.

CALIBRATION: RA 21h 10m, DEC 59°58’, FOV 4,18°x 2,82°, Field radius 2,5°, Pixel scale 3,92 arcsec/px, Orientation: Up is 90,9° E of N, Image size 3840 x 2560 px,

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor Z 500/5,6, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Rollei Astroklar light pollution filter, Dew heater strip, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: August 3, 2022, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 5,6, ISO 1600, Interval 15 s, RAW-L, Lights 51x, Darks 20x, Bias 20x, Flats 20x, DarkFlats 10x. Total exposure time 153 min. Night, no wind, 18° C, Backyard - Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralisation, light pollution removal, calibrate background and stars colours) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2022 + StarXTerminator.

DESCRIPTION: The Leo Triplet, M65, M66, NGC3628, constellation Leo. RA (center) 11h 20 min, DEC 13° 15’, FOV approx 1,9°x 1,3°.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Astroklar light pollution filter, Dew heater strip, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC

ACQUISITION: march 22, 2022, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 5,6, ISO 1600, Interval 15 s, RAW-L, Lights 21x, Darks 20x, Bias 20x, Flats 20x, DarkFlats 15x. Total exposure time 63 min. Night, breeze, 3° C, no Moon, Backyard - Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralisation, light pollution removal, calibrate background and stars colours), Adobe Photoshop CC 2022 (stretching, black and white point settings, star reduction, enhance DSO, deep space noise reduction, contrast setting and sharpening). Cropped 4,7x, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

OBJECT: Cygnus constellation (Swan) taken by 105 mm lens, 5 panels mosaic, overlap 50%. Unfortunately dew heater did not work very well .

CALIBRATION: RA 20h 14m, DEC 33°32’ (center of image), FOV 38°x 21°, Field radius 21,57°, Pixel scale 22,7 acrsec/px, Orientation - Up is 48,3° E of N, Image size 6000 x 3302 px.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor Z 70-200/2,8 @ 105, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Rollei Astroklar light pollution filter, Dew heater strip, Sensor pixel scale 8,45 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: September 2, 2022, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 90s, f 4, ISO 1600, Interval 15 s, 5 panels, 20 frames for each panel, overlap 50%, RAW-L, Lights 100x, Bias 22x, Flats 22x, DarkFlats 22x. Total exposure time 150 min. Night, no wind, 5° C, Backyard - Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralisation, light pollution removal, calibrate background and stars colours) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2022 (stretching, black and white point settings, star reduction, enhance DSO, noise reduction, contrast setting and sharpening). Origin image size 17700px x 10300 px downscale to 6000px x 3302px.

OBJECT: NGC 2244, Rosette Nebula, Monoceros constellation, RA (center) 6h 34 min, DEC 05°, apparent magnitude 9,0, apparent dimensions 1,3°, FOV approx 4,1°x 2,7°.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500 PF, 5,6, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Rollei Astroklar light pollution filter, Dew heater strip, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC

ACQUISITION: March 22, 2022, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 5,6, ISO 1600, Interval 15 s, RAW-L, Lights 18x, Darks 20x, Bias 20x, Flats 20x, DarkFlats 15x. Total exposure time 54 min. Night, clear skies, breeze, +3° C, no Moon, Backyard - Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralisation, light pollution removal, calibrate background and stars colours), Adobe Photoshop CC 2022 (stretching, black and white point settings, star reduction, enhance DSO, deep space noise reduction, contrast setting and sharpening). No cropped, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

OBJECT: NGC 1499, The california Nebula, Constellation Perseus (Per), RA 04h 03m, DEC 36°25’,apparent magnitude 6, apparent dimension 160’ x 40’, FOV 3,3° x 2,2°.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Dew heater strip, Sensor pixel scale 1,79 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: November 6, 2021, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 5,6, ISO 1600, Interval 15 s, RAW-L, Lights 21x, Darks 20x, Bias 15x, Flats 15x, DarkFlats 10x. Total exposure time 63 min. Night, no wind, 0° C, Backyard - Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal, calibrate background) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2022 (stretching, black and white point settings, star reduction, enhance DSO, contrast setting), Cropped 1,5 x, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

Yesterday night I tested my new mount with my Canon R7 and the Sigma lens. I am impressed what the M51 shows me :-)

Taken at the Lond Mynd in UK in bortle 3.

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Mount: SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro

Guiding: ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera - Orion 50mm Guide Scope

Filter: N/A

Camera: Canon R7

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM (Contemporary)

Focal length: 600mm

90 x 120 seconds frames - ISO 500 - f6.3

3hr total Integration

Darks: 20 frames

Flats: 40 frames

Bios: 40 frames

DarkFlats: N/A

Bortle 3

Apps: N.I.N.A. > PHD2 > ASCOM

Processing: AstroPixelProcessor > Photoshop >Topaz > Photoshop

Located approx. 9000ly away is the nebula NGC3576. The nebula is said to resemble the Statue of Liberty and is approx. 100ly across.

The RGB image was processed from data provided by iTelescope and has a total integration time of 180 minutes. It is comprised of RGB subs each with a 600 second exposure.

Initial processing carried out using AstroPixelProcessor with post processing carried out using Adobe Photoshop 2022.

DESCRIPTION: My first attempt at photography M 33 The Triangulum galaxy. Unfortunately a RAW data are not perfect because strong wind and sometimes high clouds.

OBJECT: Messier 33, The Triangulum Galaxy, Constelation Triangulum, apparent magnitude 5,7, apparent dimension 71’ x 42’, FOV 2,8° x 1,9°.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Rollei Astroklar light pollution filter, Dew heater strip, sensor pixel scale 1,79 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: October 1, 2021, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 5,6, ISO 2000, Interval 15 s, RAW-L, Light 39x, Dark 20x, Bias 20x, Flat 20x, darkFlats 10x. Total exposure time 117 min. Night, strong wind, 10° C, Backyard light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal), Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 (stretching, black and white point settings, star dim, enhance DSO, noise reduction, contrast setting and sharpening). Cropped 2 x, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

Successful short night with Messier 106 and some other around

Messier 106 (also known as NGC 4258) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781. M106 is at a distance of about 22 to 25 million light-years away from Earth. M106 contains an active nucleus classified as a Type 2 Seyfert, and the presence of a central supermassive black hole has been demonstrated from radio-wavelength observations of the rotation of a disk of molecular gas orbiting within the inner light-year around the black hole.[8] NGC 4217 is a possible companion galaxy of Messier 106.[7](Wikipedia)

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Mount: SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro

Guiding: ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera - Orion 50mm Guide Scope

Filter: N/A

Camera: Canon EOS 70D (full spectrum modified)

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM (Contemporary)

Focal length: 600mm

65 x 240 seconds frames - ISO 500 - f6.3

4hr 20" total integration

Darks: 15 frames

Flats: 30 frames

Bios: 30 frames

DarkFlats: N/A

Bortle 5.5

Apps: N.I.N.A. > PHD2 > ASCOM

Processing: AstroPixelProcessor > Photoshop >Topaz > Photoshop

Lion Nebula - Sharpless 132

The Lion Nebula, catalogued as Sharpless 132, in the constellation Cepheus, is a faint emission nebula around 10,000 ly away. It contains two ionizing Wolf Rayet stars and two dark nebulae (LDN 1150 & 1154).

My latest astro project and my first attempt at mono with my ASI294mm-Pro. Processing was done with AstroPixelProcessor and Photoshop with StarXTerminator. A total of 17h 10' of exposure time with Ha, OIII and SII 7nm ZWO filters. The colours are false using a SHO palette which maps the SII signal to red, Ha signal to green and OIII signal to blue and the colours then changed in Photoshop.

More details and full resolution on Astrobin: astrob.in/yghdzf/E/

The same photo as I uploaded on September 24, 2021 in RGB "true" colour mode. According to Photoshop measurement of my RGB subframes, the vast majority of H+ colour have RGB coordinates is approx 140/0/10. In this way I have processed this image.

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OBJECT: The Swan Constellation (Cyg), FOV 29°x19°.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor Z 70-200/2,8 @ 70, Astronomic H+ 9nm Clip in filter, Dew heater strip, sensor pixel scale 12,46 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: July 10, 2021, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 300s, f 2,8, ISO 1600, Interval 20 s, RAW-L, Light 14x, Dark 15x, Bias 20x, Flat 20x, DarkFlats 10x. Total exposure time 70 min. Astronomical twilight, no wind, 10° C, no Moon, Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor , Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 No cropped, image size 3840 x

DESCRIPTION: Cloudy nights = more time for learning post processing skills… I reprocessed older data from June, 2020. The same photo were posted on June 2020. I am not so satisfied with stars shape and quality, maybe it caused by optics. I would very appreciate your comments or tips.

OBJECT: NGC 6888, Crescent Nebula, Constellation Cygnus (Swan), apparent magnitude 7,4, apparent dimension 18 x 12 arcmin, FOV 3,6 x 2,5 arcdeg, cropped 1,25 x.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, Rollei Astroklar Light pollution filter, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding, dew heater.

ACQUISITION: June 24, 2020, Struz, CZ, Exposure 240s, f 5,6, ISO 400, Light 15x, Dark 5x, Bias 5x, Flat 10x. Total exposure time 60 min during Astronomical twilight.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor, Pixinsight, Adobe Photoshop CC 2021.

Dati: 60 x 300 sec ( 5 ore) gain 5 @ -15° c + 174 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 16 ° C - Umidità 70%

DESCRIPTION + OBJECTS: Very interesting and rich region of nebulosity in Cassiopea constellation. From left to right you can see Sh161, Sh158 (NGC7538), Sh169, Sh152, NGC7635 Bubble nebula, M52 (NGC7654), NGC 7510, Sh157 Lobster Claw nebula in the center. FOV 4° x 2,6°.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Rollei Astroklar light pollution filter, Dew heater strip, Sensor pixel scale xx 1,79 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: September 3rd, 2021, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 5,6, ISO 2000, Interval 15 s, RAW-L, Light 41x, Dark 30x, Bias 20x, Flat 20x, DarkFlats 10x. Total exposure time 123 min. Night, no wind, 10°C, Backyard, light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal, calibrate background), Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 (black and white point settings, stretching, stars dim, enhance DSO, contrast setting). No cropped, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

Dati: 39 x 300 sec a gain 5 e offset 25 a -10° c + 70 dark + 25 flat e darkflat

Filtro Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: magzero mz5-m su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Dati: 48 x 300 sec ( 4 ore) gain 5 @ -15° c + 117 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 9 ° C - Umidità 60%

Dati: 58 x 300 sec ( 4,83 ore) gain 5 @ -15° c + 55 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: -1 ° C - Umidità 65%

Dati: 60 x 300 sec ( 5 ore) gain 5 @ -15° c + 55 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 2 ° C - Umidità 53%

23 million light years away.

First light for the RASA 8.

Total integration 2 hours.

Camera ZWO 294mc pro.

Mount AM5

Stacked in AstroPixelProcessor. Processed in PixInsight and PScc.

Moon was 95%.

Yesterday night I had the little change to photograph Messier 101 The Pinwheel Galaxy with the Supernova. I gave it a go

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Mount: SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro

Guiding: ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera - Orion 50mm Guide Scope

Filter: N/A

Camera: Canon EOS 70D (full spectrum)

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM (Contemporary)

Focal length: 600mm

100 x 120 seconds frames - ISO 500 - f6.3

3hr 20' total integration

Darks: 20 frames

Flats: 30 frames

Bios: 30 frames

DarkFlats: N/A

Bortle 5-6

Apps: N.I.N.A. > PHD2 > ASCOM

Processing: AstroPixelProcessor > Photoshop >Topaz > Photoshop

[Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF]

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It was very hard to find him and in the end I did it with just 70mm on my camera and lens. Quite a challenge for sure. I now not perfect but for 70mm not to bad :-)

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31/01/2023

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

C2022 E3 (ZTF)- Alessandro Bianconi.png

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) on 27 January 2023.

Discovery

Discovered byZwicky Transient Facility

Discovery date2 March 2022[1]

Orbital characteristics

Observation arc456 days

Number of

observations3382

Orbit typeLong-period comet

Aphelion≈2800 AU (barycentric epoch 1950)[2]

Perihelion1.112 AU[3]

Eccentricity1.00002 (heliocentric epoch 2495)[4]

0.999992 (barycentric epoch 2050)[2]

Orbital period≈50,000 yr (inbound)[2]

Ejection or many millions of years (outbound)

Inclination109.17°

Last perihelion12 January 2023[3]

Earth MOID0.221 AU (33.1 million km)[3]

Jupiter MOID1.743 AU (260.7 million km)

Physical characteristics

Comet total

magnitude (M1)10.5±0.6[3]

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a long-period comet from the Oort cloud that was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) on 2 March 2022.[1] The comet has a bright green glow around its nucleus, due to the effect of sunlight on diatomic carbon and cyanogen.[6][5]

The comet's systematic designation starts with C to indicate that it is not a periodic comet, and "2022 E3" means that it was the third comet to be discovered in the first half of March 2022.[5]

The comet nucleus was estimated to be about a kilometre in size, rotating every 8.7 hours.[7][8] Its tails of dust and gas extended for millions of kilometres and, during January 2022, a third anti-tail was visible.[9]

The comet reached its perihelion on 12 January 2023, at a distance of 1.11 AU (166 million km; 103 million mi), and the closest approach to Earth was on 1 February 2023, at a distance of 0.28 AU (42 million km; 26 million mi). The comet reached magnitude 5 and is visible with the naked eye under moonless dark skies.[10][11][12][13] (Wikipedia)

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Mount: Sky Watcher “Star Adventure 2i”

Guiding: N/A

Filter: N/A

Camera: Canon EOS R7 (None modified)

Canon EF 70-200mm L USM f2.8 IS

Focal length: 70mm

228frames - ISO 1000 - f3.5 - 30 second shutter speed each photo

Darks: 15 frames

Flats: 15 frames

Bios: 15 frames

DarkFlats: N/A

Bortle 5.5

Processing: AstroPixelProcessor > Photoshop >Topaz > Photoshop

After a bit of a fraught start last night (accidentally turned of the mount mid slew - it lost it's position and plate solving threw a hissy fit and wouldn't re-synch) I finally came away with this.

Often overlooked because of the proximity of the Orion nebula this is NGC 1977 or the Running Man Nebula in Orion. I love nebula with both reflection (blue) and emission (red) components.

Hardware: Skywatcher Quattro CF 25cm f4. QHY8L. EQ6 mount & autoguider.

Software: APT. PHD2. AstroPixelProcessor. Affinity Photo. Topaz DeNoise.

7 x 8 minute exposures stacked with calibration frames.

DESCRIPTION: Very nice target for smaller telescopes and camera lenses. I am surprised of data quality because I was shooting during astronomical twilight and nebulae were only approx 15° above south light polluted horizon… All comments are welcome, you can be critique and please constructive.

OBJECT: M 8 The Lagoon Nebula, M 20 The Trifid Nebula, Constelation Sagittarius, M8 apparent magnitude 6, apparent dimension 90’ x 40’, M20 apparent magnitude 6,3, apparent dimension 28’ x 28’, FOV 2,7° x 1,8°.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Rollei Astroklar light pollution filter, Dew heater strip, sensor pixel scale 1,79 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: July 3-4, 2021, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 5,6, ISO 640, Interval 15 s, RAW-M, Light 19x, Dark 20x, Bias 20x, Flat 20x, DarkFlats 10x. Total exposure time 57 min. Astronomical twilight, no wind, 9°C, No Moon, Light polluted backyard - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal, calibrate background) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 ( black and white point settings, stretching, dim stars, enhance DSO, contrast setting, no noise reduction). Cropped 2,3x x, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

Eastern Veil Nebula (C33)

I've recently upgraded my astro setup with a new scope (Takahashi FSQ-85EDX Baby Q) and also had several clear nights to try it out (amazing as new gear normally comes with clouds). I've also been learning AstroPixelProcessor for stacking and processing which has made a big difference to the final results.

The Eastern Veil nebula (designated parts IC1340, NGC6992 and NGC6995) is part of the larger Cygnus loop - a supernova remnant about 1500 light years away in the Cygnus (Swan) constellation and is 5000-8000 years old. The total size of the nebula is about 3 times the width of the full moon.

Technical card:

Imaging telescope: Takahashi FSQ-85EDX Baby-Q

Imaging camera: ZWO ASI533MC-Pro

Mount: iOptron CEM70

Guiding telescope: Primaluce 60mm Guidescope

Guiding camera: ZWO Optical ASI290MC

Focal reducer: Takahashi Flattener 1.01x for FSQ-85EDX

Software: Aries Productions Astropixel Processor · Adobe Photoshop v22.5 · PHD2 v2.6.10 · Icanus Ltd APT 3.88.3

Filters: Optolong L-eXtreme 1.25"

Accessory: ZWO EAF 5V Electronic Auto Focuser

Dates:Aug. 28, 2021 , Aug. 29, 2021

Frames:Optolong L-eXtreme 1.25": 111x300" (9h 15') (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1x1

Integration: 9h 15'

Avg. Moon age: 20.99 days

Avg. Moon phase: 62.16%

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 4.00

astrob.in/ih54vz/C/

Very cloudy winter and very tight and long lockdown …. I reprocessed my older data from August 2020. Data quality is not so good. The stars title bit trailing and total exposure time is short. But I have learned some new techniques in PS and I would like to test it :-) If you have a comment or tips I would very appreciate your advise…

DESCRIPTION: IC 1318, The Butterfly Nebula in Sadr region, constellation Cygnus (Swan), only 35 min exposure because bad weather.

OBJECT: IC 1318, The Butterfly Nebula in Sadr region, constellation Cygnus (Swan), apparent magnitude 6, apparent dimension approx. 1,3 x 1,3 arcdeg, FOV 4,1 x 2,7 arcdeg, sampling rate 1,79 arcsec / px, no cropped image.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, no filter, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding, dew heater.

ACQUISITION: August 21, 2020, Struz, CZ, Exposure 300s, f 5,6, ISO 400, Interval 15 s, Light 7x, Dark 24x, Bias 24x, Flat 30x. Total exposure time 35 min. Night, no wind, wind 17 C, Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal, calibrate background) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 (stretching, black and white point settings, stars dim and reduction, enhance DSO, contrast adjustment).

DESCRIPTION: Milky Way, 11 panels mosaic, from Perseus (left), via Cassiopea, Cygnus (center), Aquila to Sagittarius (right). Field of view approx 180°

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor Z 50/1,8, Astronomic UV/IR/L2 Clip in filter, Rollei Astroklar light pollution filter, Dew heater strip, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: August 4, 2022, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 60s, f 2,8, ISO 1600, interval 15 s. Sky - 11 panels x 10 frames each = 110 light frames all together, Darks 20x, Bias 20x, Flats 20x, DarkFlats 10x. Panels overlap approx 50%. Foreground exposure 120 s, f 4, ISO 1600, 2 x 5 frames. Backyard - Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking all panels), Adobe Photoshop CC 2022 (mosaic stacking, sky + foreground blending, final post processing) Image size 6000 x 1327 px. Final stacked image is 25k px width. It has no sense for web presentation, but for big format quality print is great.

DESCRIPTION: My second attempt at photo of Veil Nebula in constellation of Cygnus by 500 mm Nikkor lens, only 55 min acquisition.

OBJECT: NGC 6992, Veil Nebula, Constellation Cygnus (Swan), apparent magnitude 7, apparent diameter approx. 3 degrees, FOV 4 x 2,7 arcdeg. More info en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil_Nebula

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, no filter, pixel scale 1,79 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding, dew heater.

ACQUISITION: August 20, 2020, Struz, CZ, Exposure 300s, f 5,6, ISO 400, interval 15s, Lights 11x, Darks 24x, Bias 24x, Flat 30x. Total exposure time 55 min, night, no moon, breeze, 17C, light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal, calibrate background and stars colors) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 (stretching, black and white point settings, stars reduction and dim, I forgot for blue hallo reduction, enhance DSO - vibrance, no noise reduction, motion blur sharpening ,contrast setting). No cropped, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

Dati: 110 x 300 sec ( 9,16 ore) gain 5 @ -15° c + 55 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 2 ° C - Umidità 55%

9 x 600s bevor alles wieder mit Hochnebel und Wolken bedeckt war.

Dati: 60 x 300 sec ( 5 ore) gain 5 @ -15° c + 55 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 8 ° C - Umidità da 95% a 53%

Dati: 60 x 300 sec ( 5 ore) gain 5 @ -15° c + 174 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 8 ° C - Umidità 57%

Dati: 39 x 300 sec a gain 5 e offset 25 a -10° c + 70 dark + 25 flat e darkflat

Filtro Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: magzero mz5-m su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

DESCRIPTION: Well known and very often photograph part of Milky Way. The Deneb (Alpha Cygni) is the brightest star and Sadr (Gamma Gygni) is the third brightest star of the constellation Cygnus (Swan or Northern Cross). You can see them to the left down and right up of the center on my picture. This area lies in the plane of Milky Way and is very rich in emission nebulae. The field of view of this photo is 15x10 arcdeg. Left down you can see The North America Nebula, The Pelican Nebula, to the right of the center is Butterfly Nebula, right up Crescent Nebula. Enjoi.. I looking forward your comments and tips.

OBJECT: The Deneb - Sadr Region, constellation Cygnus (Swan), FOV 15 x 10 arcdeg.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Sigma 135/1,8, Astroklar Light Polution filter + Kolari UV/IR/H+ filter, pixel scale 6,61 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding, dew heater.

ACQUISITION: September 8, 2020, Struz, CZ, Exposure 180s, f 2,0, ISO 100, Interval 20 s, Light 20x, Dark 24x, Bias 24x, Flat 30x. Total exposure time 60 min. Night, no wind, 10 C, no Moon, Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal, calibrate background) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 (stretching, black and white point settings, dim stars, enhance DSO, contrast setting, no noise reduction). No Cropped image, size 3840 x 2560 px.

Dati: 60 x 300 sec ( 5 ore) gain 5 @ -15° c + 55 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 4 ° C - Umidità 56%

After I wasn't happy with my last Plejaden photo I tried it again. This time I am more then happy :-)

The Pleiades is an open star cluster that can be seen with the naked eye. In the Messier catalogue it has the designation M45. They are part of our galaxy, the Milky Way. They got their name from the Pleiades of Greek mythology. (Wikipedia)

Mount: Sky Watcher “Star Adventure 2i”

Guiding: N/A

Filter: N/A

Camera: Canon EOS R7 (None modified)

Canon EF 70-200mm L USM f2.8 IS

Focal length: 200mm

124 frames - ISO 800 - f3.2 - 1 minute shutter speed each photo

Spikemaske von Christian Krug (3D print)

Darks: N/A

Flats: N/A

DarkFlats: N/A

Bios: N/A

Bortle 5.5 - Lunar was I think 80%

Processing: AstroPixelProcessor > Photoshop >Topaz > Photoshop

Dati: 120 x 300 sec ( 10 ore) gain 5 @ -10° c + 106 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 20 ° C - Umidità 68%

The Pleiades is an open star cluster that can be seen with the naked eye. In the Messier catalogue it has the designation M45. They are part of our galaxy, the Milky Way. They got their name from the Pleiades of Greek mythology. (Wikipedia)

Mount: Sky Watcher “Star Adventure 2i”

Guiding: N/A

Filter: N/A

Camera: Canon EOS R7 (None modified)

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM (Contemporary)

Focal length: 384mm

140 frames - ISO 1600 - f6.3 - 90 second shutter speed each photo

Darks: 15 frames

Flats: 15 frames

Bios: 15 frames

DarkFlats: N/A

Bortle 5.5

Processing: AstroPixelProcessor > Photoshop >Topaz > Photoshop

2cd outing with the Celestron RASA 8 using the ZWO 294 mc Pro camera on the AM5 mount. Guiding via the ZWO 120mini camera.

17 Light frames. 1 minute per frame.

30 Flats and 30 Darks.

Stacked in AstroPixelProcessor. Graded in PixInsight. Polished in PScc.

Dati: 72 x 300 sec ( 6 ore) gain 5 @ -15° c + 55 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 2 ° C - Umidità 85%

DESCRIPTION: I had chance collect more data and integrate 2 sessions together. Total integration time 96 min.

OBJECT: M 81 (Bode’s Galaxy - in the center) and M 82 (Cigar Galaxy-right) , Constellation Ursa Major (Uma), apparent magnitude 7 resp. 8,4, apparent dimension 26 x 100 resp. 11x 4 arcmin, Other objects: NGC 3077 The Garland Galaxy (in the middle of the top) and NGC 2976 (down on the left). FOV 2,5 x 1,7 arcdeg.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, Astronomic UV+IR+L2 Clip in filter, Rollei Astroklar LP filter, pixel scale 1,79 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: Session 1 - May 8, 2021, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 5,6, ISO 800, Interval 20 s, Light 8x, Dark 20x, Bias 0x, Flat 20x, FlatDark 20. Total exposure time 24 min. Night, no Moon, light wind, +5C.Light pollution - Bortle 5. Session 2 - Jun 2,2021, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 60s, f 5,6, ISO 800, Interval 10 s, Light 72x, Dark 30x, Bias 0x, Flat 20x, FlatDark 20. Total exposure time 72 min. Night, no Moon, light wind, +10C.Light pollution - Bortle 5

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal, calibrate background and stars colours) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 (stretching, black and white point settings, star reduction, enhance DSO, noise reduction, contrast setting and sharpening). Cropped 2,75 x, image size 3840x2560 px.

Dati: 36 x 300 sec a gain 5 e offset 25 a -15° c + 117 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: magzero mz5-m su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: -1 ° C - Umidità 43%

DESCRIPTION: My second attempt at photo of M31 Andromeda Galaxy with limited data and limited Photoshop skills :-) …. I looking forward your comments and tips. I would very appreciate your advise how to do better.

OBJECT: M31, Andromeda Galaxy, Constelation Andromeda, apparent magnitude 3,4, apparent dimension 3,2 x 1 arcdeg, FOV 4,1 x 2,7 arcdeg,

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, no filter, pixel scale 1,79 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding, dew heater.

ACQUISITION: August 20, 2020, Struz, CZ, Exposure 300s, f 5,6, ISO 400, Interval 15 s, Lights 25x, Darks 24x, Bias 24x, Flats 30x. Total exposure time 125 min. Night, no clouds, breeze, 17 C, no Moon, light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal, calibrate background.), Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 (stretching, black and white point settings, dim stars, enhance DSO, space noise reduction, contrast setting and sharpening). No cropped image, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

DESCRIPTION: I was waiting one month for acceptable weather. Small clear window opened on November 7 and I took 105 min data of this beautiful nebulae. I would very appreciate your comments and tips…

OBJECT: IC 1805 The Heart Nebula and IC 1848 The Soul Nebula, Constellation Cassiopea, apparent magnitude approx. 7, apparent dimension approx. IC1805 150 x 150 arcmin, IC1848 150 x 75, FOV 2,7 x 1,8 arcdeg,

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor Z 70-200/2,8 @ 200. Kolari UV/IR/H+/S filter, pixel scale 4,48 arcsec/px, tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding, dew heater.

ACQUISITION: November 7, 2020, Struz, CZ, Subexposure 180s, f 2,8, ISO 400, Interval 15 s, Lights 35x, Darks 40x, Bias 20x, Flats 30x, DarkFlats 30x. Total exposure time 105 min. Night, breeze, 3 C, no Moon, Light pollution - Bortle 5.

STACKING AND POST PROCESSING: AstroPixelProcessor (stacking, background neutralization, light pollution removal, calibrate background and stars colours) , Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 (stretching, black and white point settings, star reduction, enhance DSO, colour balance, contrast setting). Cropped 4,6 x, image size 3840 x 2560 px.

18hr13min

My first M42 attempt using stock camera Nikon Z7 + 70-200/2,8 lens @ 200/2,8. Exposure 20 x 30s/ISO100, 20 x 60s/ISO100, 20 x 60s/ISO200, 20 x 60s/ISO400. Tracking by iOptron SkyGuider Pro. No filters, no Dark and Bias frames (the weather went bad). Taken under Waxing Crescent Moon 43%. Stacked in AstroPixelProcessor, processed in Adobe PS. Cropped 11,6 x.

Dati: 57x300 sec ( 4,75 ore) gain 5 @ -10° c + 36 dark + 30 flat e darkflat

Filtro: Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: asi120mm su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 16.5° C - Umidità 95%

This is my most recent image of M13. It is a globular cluster in the Hercules constellation. It is about 20,000 lightyears away and contains somewhere around 400,000 stars, although I have heard estimates of up to 500,000 stars. It is one of my favorite objects to look at through an eyepiece and it is a relatively easy deep space object to photograph. Even though it is one of the brighter objects in the sky to image it can always can be better with time and patience.

I used a Sony A7RIII camera mounted on an Istar 140mm refractor. I picked the best 22 frames that were 60 second exposures stacked them and post processed them in Astropixelprocessor.