View allAll Photos Tagged Optolong
Rho Ophiuchi "Fireworks from our Milky Way"
In my opinion it's one of the most colorful targets in our night sky, the star forming region of Rho Ophiuchi lies only about 360 light years from us in the Constellations of Ophiuchus and Scorpius.
This collection of images making up a 4 panel Mosaic was Captured over 3 nights from grandmesaobservatory.com in Colorado, using the QHY367C One Shot Color CMOS Camera on Walter Holloway's Takahashi FSQ130
Panel 1. rho Oph Nebula IC4604, and IC4605
www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/35707565605/in/photost...
Panel 2. Globular Clusters M4 and NGC6144
www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/35538862302/in/photost...
Panel 3. IC4605 and Dark Nebulae of Rho Ophiuchi
www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/35667959956/in/photost...
Panel 4. IC4605 and Antares www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/35320386870/in/photost...
Rho Ophiuchi 4 panel mosaic consisting of the above 4 panels
www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/35667959596/in/datepos...
Total Integration Time 8 Hours (2 hours per panel)
Technical Information
Location: Grand Mesa, Whitewater Colorado
Captured June 2017
QHY367C Full Frame One Shot Color COLDMOS cooled to -20C
Size: 7376 x 4938 pixels each panel, Mosaic is 11736x8093 pixels
Pixel Size: 4.88um x 4.88um
Total integration Time 480 minutes
Gain 2850, Offset 76
Darks and Flats no Bias
120 x 240 sec @ 1x1
Optics: Takahashi FSQ-130 @ F5.0 650mm
Optolong Luminance Filter for IR Block
Paramount ME German Equatorial Mount
Image Acquisition Maxim DL
Pre Processing Deep Sky Stacker
Post Processing Pixinsight & CS6
Please check out the new observatory at Grand Mesa Colorado
The Hercules Cluster (Abell 2151) is a cluster of about 200 galaxies 500 million light-years distant in the constellation Hercules
Reprocessing of an image taken in 2018
Camera: Moravian G2 8300
Filters: 31mm unmounted Optolong
Optic: Celestron 9 1/4 Starbright - Astro Physics telecompressor 0.67X
Mount: Takahashi EM200 Temma 2M
Autoguider: Magzero QHY 5L II, OAG 9mm TS, Phd guiding
Frames: L: 22X600sec bin 2 -30°
Processing: Pixinsight, Maxim, Photoshop
CCD Moravian G2 8300 - 135mm Samyang lens f/2 @f/3.5
Frames: H Alpha 7nm 30X600 sec. + OIII 6.5nm 33X600 sec. Bin1 -20°
Filters: 31mm unmounted Optolong
Colors: Canon 600D - 135mm Canon lens f/2,8 @f/4
Frames: 220X150 sec. ISO 800
Mount: Ioptron CEM60 HP
Processing: Pixinsight, Photoshop
About 25 Hours Exposure with Spacecat51 and ASI533 MC Pro set to -10 degree and Unitygain. Off-Axis Guiding with PHD2. Autofocus via Deepskydads AF3. SGPro for Acquisition. Processing in PixInsight
I used the Baader UHC-S Filter but it produces Halos around Stars. Next time I'll use my new Optolong L-Extreme Filter. But I am still happy with the result.
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L USM
Caméras D'Imagerie
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Montures
Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Filtres
Optolong L-eXtreme F2 2"
Accessoires
Astromechanics ASCOM Canon lens controller · ZWO EFW 5 x 2"
Logiciels
Adobe Photoshop · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · Siril Team Siril · Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)
Instruments De Guidage
TS-Optics TSL80D 80mm Deluxe Guiding/Finder Scope
Caméras De Guidage
Player One Mars-M
The Owl Nebula is a planetary nebula located 2003 light years from earth.
For this shot, I took 3 hours worth of RGB data and calibrated and integrated the subs along with calibration frames in PixInsight
Telescope: Celestron C6N
Guide Scope: Orion 50mm
Guide camera: ASI120MC
Software: SGPro for plate solving, phd for guiding, and APT as my capture software
imaging camera: Canon T7i modded
Filter: Optolong CLS CCD filter
THE TADPOLES.
Space is weird.
Here’s my latest image of IC 410, an emission nebula in the constellation of Auriga. The “Tadpoles” in this image are 10 light-year long regions of active star formation. This image is shot in HOO which closely resembles true colour.
Technical details:
- Skywatcher EQ6R-Pro
- ZWO ASI 294MC-pro
- Explore Scientific ED APO 102mm F7 FCD-100 Triplet Carbon Fibre
- Altair starwave 0.8x field flattener
- ZWO ASI-120MM-mini guide camera
- Skywatcher Evoguide 50ED guidescope
- 2 inch mounted Optolong L-eXtreme
- ZWO EAF
- Pegasus powerbox advance
Acquisition and processing:
- 34 x 300s (2h 50min), gain 125, offset 30, -15c
- Darks - 30
- Flats - 30
- Darkflats - 30
- APP/PS/Topaz/StarXterminator
IC 5067 object, also known as Pelican nebula, is located in constellation Cygnus. Is part of the same H-alpha emission region of the famous North-America nebula. Dark nodules or rather "Bok globules" can be easily observed. They are formed by molecular hydrogen and dust, being usually star formation areas. These Bok globules are just the ones that define the "eye" and the inner structure of the "beak" of this giant Pelican which spans 30 light-years and "flies" 1,800 light-years away from us.
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 73 with 0.8x reducer-flattener
Camera: ASI 183MC Pro with Optolong L-Enhance filter
Mount: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
Autoguiding scope and camera: QHY mini 130mm + ASI 120MC-S
Capture sequence with ZWO Asiair
50 x 360" lights (5hr total integration) + 20 darks.
From Sierra Norte in Sevilla, Spain (bortle 4 skies).
Stacked in DSS, processed with Pixin LE and PS.
An 83% illuminated Venus imaged during the afternoon of 23.05.18 with IR and UV filters.
The resultant colour image was generated by mapping the Baader 685nm IR filter to red, the UV filter to blue and a synthetic green (an average of R & B) being mapped to the green channel.
Imaged with a Celestron C8 a ZWO290MM camera and Optolong UV and Baader IR filters.
Les nébuleuses obscures comptent sans doute parmi les les objets du ciel les plus difficiles à photographier au niveau amateur. En effet, contrairement aux nébuleuses par émission (qui émettent leur propre lumière) ou aux nébuleuses par réflexion (qui reflètent la lumière environnante), les nébuleuses obscures n’émettent non seulement aucune lumière (dans le domaine visible), mais occultent également la lumière en arrière-plan ; c’est pourquoi on désigne également ces structures par le terme « nébuleuses par absorption ».
La plus connue de ces nébuleuses (LDN1235) et la plus souvent photographiée est surnommée la « nébuleuse du requin ». Distante d’environ 650 années-lumière, elle s’étend sur 15 années-lumière.
LDN 1235, la nébuleuse du requin , est une nébuleuse sombre/réflexion dans la constellation de Céphée.
C'est jusqu'à présent l'objet du ciel profond le plus difficile que j'aie eu à capturer depuis mes débuts en astrophotographie. C'est une cible vraiment sympa à refaire sous un ciel bien noir et sans lune.
Lunette Askar Fr600 (f3.9) sur Ioptron Gem45, ZWO 2600Mc pro. 74x600s, filtre bi-bande 5nm Antlia ALP-T + 47x600s filtre Optolong L-Pro. Bortle 6
Traitement Siril et Pixinsight, PSPX9
02, 03, 04, 06, 07, 08/08/2022
NGC2359 is an emission nebula located 12,000 lightyears away in Canis Major. It's also known as Thor's Helmet, given its similarity in shape to the Norse god's famous helmet. The nebula is produced by a massive, hot Wolf-Rayet star emitting a stream of charged particles known as a stellar wind that's expanding outwards to produce an interstellar bubble.
This is the second target I imaged with my brand new FLT 132, so second light :-). Still trying to get acquainted with this new beast of a telescope, balance it properly on the AM5 mount and TC40 carbon fibre tripod. The two nights I managed to image, were partly cloudy and windy, so it was an added challenge to get good guiding. I imaged with the 1.0x FLAT68III flattener, so at the native 910mm focal length and a narrowband (3nm Ha and Oiii) Optolong L-Ultimate filter.
This was a total integration time of 5h45m. Preprocessed with PixInsight and post-processed with PixInsight and Affinity Photo 2.
SHO Palette version here: flic.kr/p/2psmDMU
More acquisition details in astrobin: astrob.in/osjioy/D/
Thanks for looking and clear skies.
Cette première partie de nuit, la lune était encore couchée et j'en ai profité pour faire cette photo grand angle de la constellation d'Orion, des pléiades, des hyades, de la planète Mars et de la comète C/2023 E3 (ZTF).
J'ai fait la photo avec un Canon 1200 D dp à 800 iso, un objectif Samyang 24 mm f/1.4 @f/2.8, un filtre Optolong L-Enhance, une Star Adventurer 2i. J'ai accumulé 233 poses de 90 sec, soit 5h48 cumulées. J'ai prétraité l'ensemble sous Siril avec 40/40/40 DOF. Toute la phase de traitement manuel (prétraitement, gradient sur la séquence, alignement, empilement, et post-traitement) a été faite sous Siril. J'ai réalisé d'une part l'alignement sur les étoiles, d'autre part sur la comète. J'ai réalisé une starless des la photo alignée sur les étoiles avec Starnet V2. L'ensemble a été traité sous Gimp pour les finitions. PS: le traitement a été complexe d'une part pour faire ressortir la comète, d'autre part pour faire ressortir les nébuleuses de ce fond lumineux.
Concernant les objets présents sur la photo, voila l'astrométrie : nova.astrometry.net/annotated_full/8012853
Il y a du monde !
On December 3, 2021, the unusual meeting of comet C / 2021 A1 (Leonard) with the globular cluster M3 took place.
Unfortunately, the weather in Poland, as usual, did not show good, and in practically the whole country it was completely cloudy. However, sitting for hours over the weather forecasts, there was a shadow of hope and there was a chance for a literally hourly weather window around 3 am. As usual, as in a hurry, after arriving at the place, the equipment refused to obey, but after 20 nervous minutes, everything was properly started.
Comet C / 2021 A1 was discovered on January 3 by astronomer Greg Leonard at Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona.
The comet is traveling at about 70.6 km / s relative to Earth, which is very fast. It is estimated that the comet's closest approach to Earth will occur on December 12, 2021, and its brightness may reach around 5 or even 4 magnitude.
In the sky, Comet C / 2021 A1 can be found between the constellations of the Hounds, Boar and Braid Berenice.
In addition to the comet and the globular cluster M3, the spiral galaxy NGC 5263 was also recorded in the image.
The M3 cluster was discovered by Charles Messier on May 3, 1764, and is one of the largest and brightest clusters, it consists of over half a million stars.
Equipment:
- ASI 2600 MC Cool Pro
- TS APO 94 EDPH
- Optolong L-PRO
- IOptron Cem25P
- 45x60s
- unity gain (90)
- processed inPixInsight, Photoshop
First attempt at M31 Andromeda Galaxy last night.
William Optics Z61
ZWO ASI2600MC
Optolong L Pro filter
EQ6R Pro Mount
ZWO ASIAIR PRO
ZWO 120 mini guide scope and camera
67 x 3 min Exposures at 0c stacked and processed in Pixinsight
Bortle 6 Skies
The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224 is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years Earth and the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way.[ The galaxy's name stems from the area of Earth's sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which itself is named after the Ethiopian (or Phoenician) princess who was the wife of Perseus in Greek mythology.
The virial mass of the Andromeda Galaxy is of the same order of magnitude as that of the Milky Way, at 1 trillion stars. The mass of either galaxy is difficult to estimate with any accuracy, but it was long thought that the Andromeda Galaxy is more massive than the Milky Way by a margin of some 25% to 50%. This has been called into question by a 2018 study that cited a lower estimate on the mass of the Andromeda Galaxy, combined with preliminary reports on a 2019 study estimating a higher mass of the Milky Way. The Andromeda Galaxy has a diameter of about 220,000 light years, making it the largest member of the Local Group in terms of extension.
The number of stars contained in the Andromeda Galaxy is estimated at one trillion (1×1012), or roughly twice the number estimated for the Milky Way.
The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are expected to collide in around 4-5 billion years, merging to form a giant elliptical galaxy or a large lenticular galaxy. With an apparent magnitude of 3.4, the Andromeda Galaxy is among the brightest of the Messier objects, making it visible to the naked eye from Earth on moonless nights, even when viewed from areas with moderate light pollution.
ccd: Moravian G3-16200 with EFW + OAG
filters: Optolong LRGB and Astrodon 5-nm Ha/O3
telescope: TEC 140 f/7
mount: 10Micron GM2000 QCI
guider: Lodestar X2
exposure: L 18x20min + RGB 9x12min (all 1x1)
location: Les Granges, 900 m (Hautes Alpes, France)
software: TheSkyX Pro, CCD Commander, Pixinsight, PS CS5
date: 12 Feb - 30 Mar 2019
(Traitement HOO)
Camera Asi 071MC filtre dual-band
Camera Asi 183MM (Bin2) filtre OIII 3nm
Apo RedCat 51 f4.9
Guidage chercheur SW et Asi 174
Monture EM-200 Temma-2Z
48x600 sec (HOO)
60x600 sec (OIII)
9h expo
51 DOF
Echelle de Bortle: 6-7
Horsehead Nebula (IC 434) via a SharpStar 76mm EDPH APO refractor, L-eXtreme Filter in a Bortle 8 Zone
This image, a second test of the L-Extreme filter, was captured on a small, portable, SharpStar 76mm EDPH APO telescope with an Optolong L-eXtreme dual band HA/OIII filter. The mount was an iOptron CEM25P guided by an ASI120mm Mini camera on a ZWO 30mm/fl 120mm guide scope. The camera was an ASI294MC Pro. Exposures were 13x300s at unity gain of 120 with the camera cooled to -10 C. Parking lot lights were very near me. I wanted to see just how much of the light the L-eXtreme filter would ignore. I'm very impressed with this filter. No darks or other calibration frames were taken. All work for imaging, polar alignment, plate solving, guiding, etc. was done on an ASIAIR Plus box. Processing was done in Pixinsight with final touchup in Corel Paintshop Pro. Earlier I had taken over twice as many images with the William Optics Z61 APO at another very bright location. I wanted to take a second image with the new SharpStar 76 APO at a little bit darker location.
March 18th 2021
Williams Optics Redcat 51
ZWO183mc pro
Optolong l-extreme filter
ZWO air pro
Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro
4X300 and 4x600 x 300s lights. Flats , darks and bias.
Gain 122 at -10C
Processed in APP and Pixinsight
M65, M66 and NGC3628. An LRGB stacked image from 3 hours of L and 1 hour each of RGB. Scope used was a WO FLT110, camera was the QHY163M with Optolong filters. Captured via SGP and PHD2, post-processed in PixInsight.
NGC 3628's tidal tail is just visible.
Observed from Prachinburi, Thailand.
3.5 hours integration time (unguided)
William Optics RedCat 51
Optolong L-eNhance
Canon EOS R (astro-modified)
iOptron SkyGuider Pro
Updated on 14.08.2022
NGC 7822 & SH 2-170
190x90s (4h 45min integration time)
William Optics RedCat 51
Optolong L-eNhance
Canon EOS R (astro-modified)
ASI120MM Mini Guide Camera with ZWO Mini Guide Scope
ASIAIR Plus
iOptron SkyGuider Pro
This uses 10 60s stacks each of R, G, and B filter images. The best 55% of red stacks were used along with the best 45% of green and blue stacks. Captured with a Celestron Edge HD 925 with a ZWO ASI120MM camera and Optolong RGB filters using FireCapture 2.5. Stacking done in AutoStakkert, initial processing in PixInsight, derotation and channel combination in WinJUPOS, final processing in Photoshop.
Central meridian on Mars is 177° in this image. Olympus Mons is visible at the right edge of the image, and there are clouds above the north polar cap (at top).
Roughly 10 hours total integration taken from the driveway at home under Bortle 5/6 sky but also under 50-75% moon over 4 nights, dual narrowband filter working its magic for sure
Difficult target to shoot for us in Australia with it being so low in the sky
Telescope: Skyrover 102ed
Camera: ASI2600MM PRO
Filter: Optolong 3nm S & H
Light frame: H: 50 x 300s, S: 30 x 300s
M45 also known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters from last night. M45 is an open star cluster and lies about 400 light years away located in the constellation of Taurus. The cluster contains 500 stars over a sphere that is 14 light years wide. The cluster is moving at a different radial velocity from the nebulosity suggesting the stars are crossing the path of dust in a molecular cloud. The stars in the Pleiades cluster formed in the last 100 million years and contains a number of hot, blue, extremely luminous B-type stars and is one of the nearest star clusters to Earth.
October 31st 01:49 AM
Edinburgh Bortle 8 zone
Celestron RASA 8"
ZWO 183mc pro
Optolong lpro filter
ZWO air pro
ZWO EAF
Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro
86 * 30s lights inc flats, darks and bias
Gain 122 at -10C
Photographed from my backyard observatory in Fremont MI using the new QHY16200 Mono CCD.
Total Integration time 6.6 hours
This majestic Spiral Galaxy M106 lies at a distance of approximately 22-25 million Light Years from Earth in the Constellation Canes Venatici, it is believed to be an Active Galaxy generated by matter that is swallowed up by it's central and massive black hole. Shown here bottom right hand corner of image is possible companion to M106, Spiral Galaxy NGC 4217 lying at a distance of approximately 60 million light years and just above center is Spiral Galaxy NGC 4248 estimated at a distance of 25 million light years.
There are many distant and faint galaxies speckled in the background of this image therefore I decided to invert the image to give you a better view.
Full size resolution of inverted image
nova.astrometry.net/image/2601723
Tech Details
Location: DownUnderObservatory, Fremont, MI
Captured over 3 nights in July 2016
Size: 4540x3630 pixels
Total integration Time 6.6 hours
LRGB 400 min, 10 x 10 min each 1x1
Filters by Optolong
QHY16200A monochrome CCD cooled to -20C
QHYOAG-M Off Axis Guider
Astro-Tech AT12RC
Paramount GT-1100S German Equatorial Mount
Image Acquisition Maxim DL
Pre Processing Pixinsight
Post Processing Photoshop CS6
Iris Nebula or NGC 7023.
Optolong CLS-CCD filter, Baader MPCC M3. ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 52 x 2 minute exposures (1 hour 44 minutes) at Gain 121, Offset 30 , 20 dark frames, 15 flat fields, 30 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Topaz de-noise and Photoshop. 28th November 2020.
Dodging clouds.
March and January 2023
Celestron RASA 8"
ZWO183mc pro
ZWO EAF
Optolong l-Pro
ZWO air pro
Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro
28 X120 and 42x180s Lights Flats , Darks and Bias.
Gain 122 at -10C
Processed in Pixinsight and Photoshop
Cygnus Loop including the eastern veil nebula, western veil nebula C33, C34 and Pickering's triangle.
This is an image of the remnants of a super nova explosion in the constellation of Cygnus. It is 2500 light years away and is roughly 1700 light years across.
Tools:: ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera, Optolong L-eNhance filter
Sigma 150-600mm F/5-6.3 lens @ 200mm F/5.6
Imaged from the red zone, Bortle 6
30 subs @ 300 seconds, 20 darks , 20 Flats
150 minutes total exposure
Test image of the Lagoon Nebula (M8) with the first light of my new ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera and broad-band filters.
This image combines:
- 39 x 120s H-alpha (Baader 3.5nm ultra-narrow filter), in red. Darks and flats included.
- 40 x 15s OPTOLONG L-Pro filter, in green. No flat or darks.
- 56 x 6s ZWO B filter, in blue, no flat or dark.
H-alpha data taken on 21st Aug 2020, L-Pro and B data taken on 23rd Aug 2020, from my backyard at home, 15 km North from Sydney's city center.
Telescope: Skywatcher Black Diamond 80, f=600mm (f/7.5)
Equipment: I used the ZWO ASIAir to control the camera, the mount (Skywatcher AZ-EQ6) and the guiding system (ASI120MM + Orion 50mm finderscope). ZWO filter drawer for changing filter.
Processing: Data processed with Siril software. FITS converted on TIFF using NASA's Fits Liberator considering a logarithmic function. Color / saturation / levels / contrast / smart sharpen with Photoshop.
Credit: Ángel R. López-Sánchez (AAO-MQ).
Orion Nebula and Running Man. Altair Astro 26C. SharpStar 107PH. Optolong L-Pro. 30 x 120s + 21 x 180s + 19 x 30s. Captured in NINA. Processed in APP. Post in Adobe CC.
The image shows the Corona Australia Molecular cloud on the right. The blue coloured areas show a reflection nebula, designated as NGC 6729. The darker areas as essentially dust. On the left side of the image you can see NGC6723 a globular cluster.
Image taken with Espirit 150 refractor, ASI2600MC camera and Optolong L-pro filter. Image was LiveStacked and calibrated on the fly consisting of 72 x 3 minutes each.
M93 (NGC 2447) is an open cluster in Puppis. It's one of the more southerly Messier objects, so there's a shorter window for when I can shoot it from my location in Long Beach. These were taken on 2023-02-15 -- a rare clear night this winter.
I used a Celestron Edge HD 925 with Hyperstar at focal length 535 mm and an Atik 414-EX monochrome camera with Optolong CCD LRGB filters to get the following exposures:
L: 181 10 s exposures
R: 41 30 s exposures
G: 50 30 s exposures
B: 81 30 s exposures
Images were preprocessed in Nebulosity, then stacks were created in PixInsight. Channel combination and initial processing were in PixInsight, with final touches in Photoshop.
This frame is a mixture of frames taken with dual narrow band filter and without such filter. Hydrogen-alpha emissions were rich here.
Here is a closer frame of Pleiades and Surrounding Hydrogen-alha Emissions December 2023:
www.flickr.com/photos/hiroc/53420474382
data with dual narrow band filter as below:
equipment: Askar FMA180 Pro, Optolong L-ultimate Dual 3nm Filter, and Canon EOS R6-SP5, modified by Seo-san on ZWO AM5 Equatorial mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, ZWO ASI 120MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding on Genuine Tripod
exposure: 10 times x 1,800 seconds, 15 x 240 sec, and 23 x 60 seconds at ISO 6,400 and f/4.5
site: 1,350m above sea level at lat. 36 26 30 North and long. 138 32 16 East near Volcano Asamayama 浅間山 The site was about 4km from the center of the erupting crater. Ambient temperature was around -3 degrees Celsius or 27 degrees Fahrenheit. Sky was darker than usual, SQNL 21.22 at the night.
data with clear filter as below:
equipment: Askar FMA180 Pro, Canon Clear Filter, and Canon EOS R6-SP5, modified by Seo-san on ZWO AM5 Equatorial mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, ZWO ASI 120MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding on Genuine Tripod
exposure: 8 times x 600 seconds, 5 x 240 sec, and 6 x 60 seconds at ISO 1,600 and f/4.5
site: 1,467m above sea level at lat. 35 55 54 North and long. 138 24 25 East near Mt.Yatsugatake 東沢大橋展望台駐車場. SQML was up to 21.27. Ambient temperature was around -7 degrees Celsius or 19 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind was mild. Atmospheric turbulence was awful as in the season, and guide error RMS was bad, around 1.2."
Messier 6 imaged from a Bortle 6 suburban backyard
One and a half hours of integration- 5 minute subs
Gain 111 offset 5
Equipment:
Redcat51/ZWO ASI 183MC/Optolong L pro/EQ6
Software
NINA/AstroPixel Processor/ Photoshop CS6/NoiseXterminator
SVQ-100 f/5.8
ZWOASI6200MC-Cool
Starizona filter slider
Optolong L-eNhance LPF
AVX
SV70T / ASIZWO1 MM / PHD2 Guiding
Capture: ASIStudio (deep sky)
Post Processing: Image Plus 6.5
21 of 23 used Full CalFrames
Focus: Manual / ASIStudio (live stack)/ Bahtinov Mask
SKY:3/5
Capture: 23 @ 300 Sec. Low gain (Deep Sky Capture)
From: Downtown Austin, Texas
astrophotoandy.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-fireworks-galaxy-...
NGC 6946, or "The Fireworks Galaxy", is one of a ~dozen nearby neighbors to the Milky Way. The galaxy, is a 9th magnitude face-on spiral galaxy positioned on the border between Cepheus and Cygnus.
At ~22.5 Million light-years it's one of the nearest galaxies outside of the Local Group. In the past 100 years, 9 supernovae have been observed in NGC 6946, hence the nickname the Fireworks Galaxy!
I so enjoy capturing photons from two different objects and this photo contains a lovely open cluster, NGC 6939. Discovered by William Herschel in 1798, it contains some ~630 stars. With the use of photometric studies, the age of the cluster was estimated to be between 1,0 and 1,3 billion years
Technical Info:
Optics: SGO 6" f/4 Imaging Newtonian @ 610mm FL
Explore Scientific 2" HR Coma Corrector
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Filter: 2" Optolong L-Pro
Mount: Losmandy GM8
Guiding: QHY Mini Guide Scope + PHD2 Software
Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro
Exposure: Light (Gain 100) - 57 subs @ 120 Seconds
Calibration: 50 Bias, 30 Darks, 0 Flats
Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop, Topax Denoise AI, Astronomy Action Set plug in for PS, Astro Flat Pro plug in for PS
Lights - 300s x 54 (4.5hrs)
Darks - 300s x 10
Willam Optics GT81
William Optics Flat6AIII
Sky Watcher HEQ5 Pro
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
ZWO ASIAIR Pro
ZWO ASI120MM mini
ZWO 30mm mini guide
Optolong L-eXtreme 2"
Lynds' Dark Nebula (LDN) 1622 or The Boogeyman Nebula, appears against a faint background of glowing hydrogen gas and is situated in the constallation of Orion. It is thought to lie at a distance of around 500 light years.
Imaged over 3 nights in January 2025 the 1st, 2nd and 7th.
HEQ5 PRO
RedCat51 WIFD
QHY183C
Optolong L-eNhance narrowband filter
Optolong Luminance filter
900sec x 31subs L-eNhance
300sec x 35subs Luminance
Processed using Pixinsight and Photoshop 6.
Cassiopeia's Cosmic Heart, a fitting tribute to my lovely late wife and soulmate Claire who I lost a year ago. The world has become a less joyful place without you in it though I treasure the memories of our life together.
Target:IC1805, Heart Nebula, Cassiopeia.
Location:24,30-11-23 St Helens, UK, Bortle 7, full moon.
Acquisition:59x 540s L-Extreme calibrated with bias, darks, dark flats and flats.
Equipment:Altair 60EDF, 1x Flat60; Optolong L-eXtreme; ZWO ASI2600MMpro, EAF, AM5.
Guiding:Altair MG32mini, ZWO ASI120MMmini.
Software:NINA, PHD2 on Mele Quieter3
Processing:Affinity Photo 2 with HLVG, NoiseXTerminator and StarXTerminator plug-ins. Siril, GraXpert, AstroSharp.
emission nebula in Cepheus.
CCD Moravian G2 8300 - 135mm Samyang lens f/2
Frames: H Alpha 7nm 34X600 sec. OIII 7nm 33X600 sec. Bin1 -20°
Filters: 31mm unmounted Optolong
Colors: Canon 600D - 135mm Canon lens f/2,8 @f/4
Frames: 58X180 sec. ISO 800
Mount: Ioptron CEM60 HP
Autoguider: ZWO ASI290MM mini, Phd guiding
Processing: Pixinsight, Photoshop
Cámara ZWO 1600MC Pro
Objetivo Canon 28-80 mm
Montura EQ6-R-Pro
Cámara de guiado QHY-5-IIL
5x600"
Optolong L-Enhance 2"
Version française en haut / English version below.
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[Français] La région du Cygne et la Voie Lactée
Astrométrie : nova.astrometry.net/annotated_full/8329498
Bon, cette photo, c'est incontestablement une des plus belles que j'ai faites, mais il faut dire que la constellation du cygne, ça aide. Cette région du ciel qui, en ce moment (avril) se lève vers 1-2 h du matin, est extrêmement riche en nuages de gaz et nébuleuses.
Comme ma cible précédente commençait à percuter mon garage (voir photo faite le même jour des nébuleuses du cœur et de l'âme), vers minuit - 1h du matin, j'ai décidé de cibler le cygne, pas encore complètement sorti à cette heure là, surtout dans le paysage montagneux, en centrant ma photo sur l'étoile Sadr (gamma Cygni, une supergéante jaune/blanche se situant à environ 1800 AL, donc très lointaine bien qu'elle reste très brillante, de magnitude 2.23) que l'on voit, très brillante au centre de l'image. En voici la description :
La constellation du cygne est traversée par la voie lactée, l'étoile centrale de la constellation, Sadr, se trouvant en plein dedans. Les régions alentours, principalement rouges, sont des nuages de gaz présents dans l'espace interstellaire, échauffés par les nombreuses étoiles, et émettant dans la bande alpha du spectre lumineux de l'hydrogène. On distingue aussi des régions bleues ou tirant vers le bleu ; ce sont des régions riches en oxygène.
Il y a quelques objets notables. En premier, une sorte de bulle jaune en haut à droite. C'est NGC 6888, la nébuleuse du croissant. Cette bulle se situe à 5000 AL de nous. Les vents stellaires produits par l'étoile centrale de Wolf-Rayet WR136 (que l'on ne voit pas sur la photo) poussent les gaz vers l'extérieur formant ainsi une forme de bulle. Une étoile de Wolf-Rayet est une très grosse étoile, de plusieurs dizaines de fois la masse du soleil, qui a une durée de vie courte et expulse des quantités astronomiques de matière sous forme de vents stellaires. Ces étoiles ne consomment plus d'hydrogène (qui a très vite été consumé) mais des éléments plus lourds comme de l'hélium, du carbone, de l'oxygène. Lorsque le noyau de l'étoile est à nu (que l'étoile a tout expulsé), celle-ci explose en supernova. Boum !
Immédiatement à gauche de Sadr, on voit une tâche plus claire. C'est un amas ouvert, NGC 6910 se situant à 3710 AL. Plus à gauche encore de Sadr, on voit une tâche bleue (plusieurs tâches précisément). Il s'agit de NGC 6914, un ensemble de nébuleuses en émission et réflexion situées à 6000 AL de nous et faisant environ 50 AL de large (pour une jolie photo de ces nébuleuses, je recommande celle-ci : www.cidehom.com/apod.php?_date=110304). En haut de l'image, à la verticale de Sadr, se trouve une autre tâche brillante : IC 1311. C'est un amas ouvert formé d'une centaine d'étoiles. Vous trouverez une vue détaillée de cet amas là : www.hansonastronomy.com/ic-1311-in-cygnus
Plusieurs autres points brillants de cette image sont des étoiles du cygne (40 cygni, 42 cygni, 44 cygni en bas ; 28 cygni, 29 cygno, 36 cygni à droite). Il y a cependant une étoile particulière parmi celles qui restent : Le revenant du cygne (revenant of the swan)(P cygni de sa dénomination scientifique). Sur la photo, c'est le premier point très brillant situé sous la nébuleuse du croissant à sa verticale. Il s'agit d'une hypergéante bleue variable située à plus de 5000 AL (5000 à 6000 AL). Elle a une masse de 37 fois celle du soleil et a un diamètre 76 fois plus important. Elle est aussi 610000 fois plus lumineuse que lui. C'est tout simplement une des étoiles les plus lumineuses de la voie lactée. Elle a connu des variations importantes avec des phases extrêmement lumineuses atteignant la magnitude 3 en 1600 (visible à l'oeil nu sans peine) et 5 en 1715. Cela lui vaut le qualificatif de nova permanente. Elle devrait finir sa vie en supernova bientôt (... à l'échelle cosmique).
A sa droite, on voit un amas ouvert, IC 4996. c'est un amas jeune, âgé de 8 à 10 millions d'années et situé à 6250 AL.
La boule rouge à droite de la photo est une nébuleuse en émission répertoriée sous le nom SH2-104. Elle est très éloignée puisqu'elle se trouve à 14400 AL de nous, dans les régions extérieures de la galaxie, vraisemblablement dans le bras de Persée (le système solaire, lui , se trouve sur le bras d'Orion de la galaxie).
Pour la technique : j'ai commencé les acquisitions à 0h30 et fini à 4h15 (les nuages arrivant peu de temps après). J'ai fait 211 photos de 60 secondes chacune. J'en ai éliminé 13 à cause des nuages et 56 autres à cause de filés d'étoiles (erreur périodique de la monture), donc conservé 142, soit 2h22 de cumul. Les photos ont été faites à 1600 iso avec un Canon 1200 D dp + filtre Optolong L-Enhance + objectif Samyang 135 f/1.4 @f/2.8. J'ai également fait 156/50/42 DOF (oui ... 156, parce que je suis allé me coucher laissant l'appareil faire ses darks ... au moins ils sont propres !). Le suivi était assuré par une monture Skywatcher Star Adventurer.
Pour le traitement, j'ai utilise Siril (prétraitement et traitements manuels + starless) + Gimp (recomposition d'étoiles + post-traitement).
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[English] The Cygnus Region and the Milky Way
Astrometry: nova.astrometry.net/annotated_full/8329498
Well, this photo is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful ones I've taken, but it must be said that the Cygnus constellation makes a difference. This region of the sky, which is currently rising around 1-2 a.m. (April), is extremely rich in gas clouds and nebulae.
As my previous target was starting to hit my garage (see photo taken the same day of the Heart and Soul nebulae) around midnight - 1 a.m., I decided to focus on the Cygnus, which was not completely visible at that time, especially in the mountainous landscape. I centered my photo on the star Sadr (gamma Cygni), a yellow/white supergiant located at approximately 1800 light-years away, very distant but still very bright with a magnitude of 2.23, which can be seen prominently in the center of the image. Here's the description:
The Cygnus constellation is intersected by the Milky Way, and the central star of the constellation, Sadr, is right in the middle of it. The surrounding regions, mainly red, are gas clouds present in the interstellar space, heated by numerous stars, emitting in the alpha band of the hydrogen light spectrum. There are also regions appearing blue or bluish; these are oxygen-rich regions.
There are several notable objects in the image. First, a kind of yellow bubble in the upper right corner. That's NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula. This bubble is located about 5000 light-years away from us. The stellar winds produced by the central star of Wolf-Rayet WR136 (which is not visible in the photo) push the gases outward, forming a bubble. A Wolf-Rayet star is a very massive star, several tens of times the mass of the Sun, which has a short lifespan and expels astronomical amounts of matter in the form of stellar winds. These stars no longer consume hydrogen (which has been rapidly consumed) but heavier elements like helium, carbon, and oxygen. When the star's core is exposed (after it has expelled everything), it explodes in a supernova. Boom!
Immediately to the left of Sadr, a brighter spot can be seen. It is an open cluster, NGC 6910, located at 3710 light-years away. Further to the left of Sadr, there are blueish spots (several precisely). These are NGC 6914, a collection of emission and reflection nebulae located about 6000 light-years away from us, spanning approximately 50 light-years in width. For a great photo of these nebulae, I recommend this one: www.cidehom.com/apod.php?_date=110304. At the top of the image, vertically aligned with Sadr, another bright spot can be seen: IC 1311. It is an open cluster formed of around a hundred stars. A detailed view of this cluster can be found here: www.hansonastronomy.com/ic-1311-in-cygnus.
Several other bright points in this image are stars in the Cygnus constellation (40 Cygni, 42 Cygni, 44 Cygni at the bottom; 28 Cygni, 29 Cygni, 36 Cygni to the right). However, there is one particular star among the remaining ones: the Cygnus Revenant (P Cygni in its scientific name). In the photo, it is the first very bright point located below the Crescent Nebula vertically. It is a variable blue hypergiant situated more than 5000 light-years away (between 5000 and 6000 light-years). It has a mass 37 times that of the Sun and a diameter 76 times larger. It is also 610,000 times more luminous than the Sun. It is simply one of the brightest stars in the Milky Way. It has experienced significant variations, with extremely bright phases reaching magnitude 3 in 1600 (easily visible to the naked eye) and magnitude 5 in 1715. This earns it the designation of a permanent nova. It is expected to end its life in a supernova soon (... on a cosmic scale).
To the right of it, there is an open cluster, IC 4996. It is a young cluster, about 8 to 10 million years old, and situated at 6250 light-years away.
The red ball to the right of the photo is an emission nebula listed as SH2-104. It is very distant, located about 14,400 light-years away from us, in the outer regions of the galaxy, probably in the Perseus Arm (our solar system is located on the Orion Arm of the galaxy).
As for the technique: I started capturing the images at 12:30 a.m. and finished at 4:15 a.m. (clouds arriving shortly after). I took 211 photos, each lasting 60 seconds. I eliminated 13 due to clouds and 56 others due to star trailing (periodic error of the mount), thus keeping 142 images, totaling 2 hours and 22 minutes of exposure. The photos were taken at 1600 ISO with a Canon 1200D DSLR camera + Optolong L-Enhance filter + Samyang 135mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2.8. I also took 156 dark frames, 50 flat frames, and 42 dark-flat frames (yes... 156 because I went to bed while leaving the camera to take the dark frames... at least they're clean!). Tracking was provided by a Skywatcher Star Adventurer mount.
For processing, I used Siril (preprocessing and manual processing + starless) + Gimp (star recomposition + post-processing).
Hello folks here NGC7293
Telescope: SharpStar 150 f2,8
Guide Scope:Evoguide
Mount : Skywatcher HEQ5
Imaging camera: ZWO 2600MC
Guiding camera: ZWO 290 MC
Filters: Lpro Optolong/Ha
Plate solving: SGpro
Imaging software: Sgpro
Guiding software: PHD2
Processing software: Pixinsight
Frames 60X600s exposure@0Gain
Ha 12X600s exposure@100Gain
Integration: 12 hrs
——— STRUMENTAZIONE ———
Telescopio: Askar fra600 ridotto a f3.9
Camera: Zwo Asi 2600 mc duo
Montatura: Skywatcher AZ-EQ6
Filtro optolong l-ultimate
Software d'acquisizione Sgpro
————— FOTO ————
temp 0 con dark, flat e darkflat
84 x 300s
————— ELABORAZIONE ———
Pixinsight
Photoshop
40 exposures, each 360 sec. Explore Scientific ED102 102mm f/7 refractor, ZWO ASI294MC camera, H-alpåha filter, iOptron CEM25P mount, ASIAir controller. Processed in Astro Pixel Processor and Lightroom
Mosaïque de 4 panneaux.
Matériel :
Newton sw 150/750 pds
Heq5 pro
Asi533mc pro
Filtre Optolong L-eXtreme
Correcteur/réducteur 0.95x
Guidage diviseur optique + asi290mm mini
Focuseur Eaf v2
Asiair pro
Exifs:
Entre 40 et 50 Lights par panneaux, 300s, gain 200, 0°C
Darks 100
Darksflats 400
Flats 15
Prétraitement/traitement : Pixinsight
Post : Photoshop