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The Horsehead Nebula or Barnard 33, in the constellation of Orion, is a dark region of dust and non-luminous gas that blocks the red background light from the bright emission nebula IC434. The nebula is located approximately 1,500 light years distant. The bright over exposed star to the left of centre is the easternmost star in Orion's belt, Alnitak.
Imaged on the 21st of December 2020. Another effort using my 100mm doublet APO and OSC camera.
EQ6-R-PRO
SW ED100mm DS-PRO with X0.85 reducer
QHY294C Gain2900 Offset30 -20C
STC Duo narrowband filter
18 x 600sec
8 x 300sec
8 x 120sec subs
Processed using StarNet++, Pixinsight and Photoshop.
Target:
IC1396 Elephant's Trunk Nebula
The Elephant's Trunk Nebula (bottom center) is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region. It is approximately 2,400 light years away from Earth in the constellation Cepheus.[
Gear:
Mount: ZWO AM5
Main Cam: ZWO ASI294MC Pro @ gain 121 and 14F
Guide Cam: ZWO ASI120MM Mini with ZWO 30mm f/4 scope
Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 300
Filter: Antlia ALP-T 5nm Ha and Oiii
Acquisition:
60 5 min exposures total of 5.0 hours
Location: Southwest Austin suburb
Bortle: 5/6
Moon: 10% below horizon for most of session
Processing:
Pixinsight WBPP
GraXpert BE
Pixinsight SPCC
PixInsight BTX NTX
PixInsight Bill Blanshan GH_Stretch HOONormalization
Pixinsight StarXterminator
PhotoShop/ACR selective colors, clarity
Pixinsight Curves, MMT, recombine stars
Esprit 80/400 + ASI2600MM-Pro + Astronomik SHO en 6nm (3h20/3h/2h par poses de 5 minutes).
Traitement full Pixinsight.
The data for this image was collected over several nights and combined to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. For the luminance channel, a narrowband H-alpha filter was used. H-alpha corresponds to the emission of ionized hydrogen – the most abundant element in the universe – and allows for capturing fine structural details of nebulae. This technique also effectively suppresses light pollution, including city lights and even moonlight.
The H-alpha data was captured from my backyard under suburban skies, while the RGB color data was collected during a separate session in the High Black Forest (Hochschwarzwald), under much darker conditions. Without this RGB component, the result would be a false-color image lacking natural color tones.
🔧 Technical Details (Astrophotography Setup):
🔭 Telescope: 5-element Flatfield APO, 520 mm – true color, perfect field correction
🔎 Focal Length: 520 mm
🌙 Optics: Integrated corrector and flattener
🎯 Guiding: M-GEN autoguider (precision ±0.01 px)
🔭 Guide Scope: Dedicated scope for tracking the guide star (paired with M-GEN)
️ Mount: HEQ mount (resolution: 9,024,000 microsteps/rev)
Control: SynScan / SkyScan – computerized GOTO and alignment system
Finderscope: Red dot finder for rough target acquisition
🔥 Dew Control: Heating bands on main optics and guide scope
Equipment
ZWO ASI6200MM-Pro
TeleVue NP101is
Losmandy G11
Capture
L: 60 x 60s
R: 20 x 120s
G: 20 x 120s
B: 20 x 120s
Total Integration: 3.0 hours
Processing
PixInsight
Photoshop
No noise reduction applied.
**Explore**
sky:
12 photos with 120 sec at 45 mm, f:3.5 and iso 2000, stacked with StarryLandscapeStacker and processed with Photoshop and PixInsight.
Ground:
Single shot in broad daylight on a mountain hike.
This nebula, which resembles a cloud, is located in the Orion constellation and is a very challenging deep-sky object to capture. Excellent sky conditions are essential, so I photographed it from Mitzpe Ramon (Bortle 3/4). The nebula spans a large portion of the sky, which is why I used my Sony Alpha 6400 camera (non-modified for astrophotography) with a 135mm lens, mounted on a telescope tripod. Additionally, I want to note that the camera was equipped with the 18-135mm kit lens. In total, I captured 80 photos, each with a 2-minute exposure, along with dark, flat, and bias corrections. The editing was done using PixInsight.
ASI 294 MC PRO.
72 ED Skywatcher con reductor/aplanador 0.85.
Star Adventurer.
Guiado Asi 120mm Mini.
Ganancia 123/ Offset 30 -10ºc
L-Extreme 59x300s
Bortle 8.
PixInsight, Topaz Denoise AI.
Zoom in - pixel peeking is encouraged!
This image was derived from a capture that was optimimzed for stars. Processing in Pixinsight removed the nebula, and enhanced the stars.
Now that I can capture and process DSO target objects and stars separately, I can optimize both instead using a compromise exposure duration. After I have an optimized DSO target withouit stars, I will process separately and recombine the DSO with its stars.
ZWO ASI6200MM/EFW 2" x 7 (RGB)
Tele Vue NP101is
Losmandy G11
Captured in NINA. RGB: 35 subs at 20s each filter
Processed in PixInisight.
Star extraction using RC-Astro StarXTerminator.
Sh2-155 grayscale
Optics: Sharpstar SCA260 f/5 1300mm
Camera: Player One Zeus455 Mono
Filters
Blue: Optolong
Green: Optolong
Ha: Optolong (3nm)
Luminance: Optolong
OIII: Optolong (3nm)
Red: Optolong
SII: Optolong (3nm)
31h of data, integration in PixInsight done:
Blue: 17x180 sec
Green:17x180 sec
Ha: 58x600 sec
OIII: 59x600 sec
Red:17x180 sec
SII: 54x600 sec
starbase.insightobservatory.com/home
Calibration
Center (RA, Dec):(344.176, 62.544)
Center (RA, hms):22h 56m 42.146s
Center (Dec, dms):+62° 32' 36.669"
Size:69.3 x 53.8 arcmin
Radius:0.731 deg
Pixel scale:0.315 arcsec/pixel
Red hydrogen emission and blue reflection nebulae, dark molecular clouds and a bright star sitting in the middle, flooding the scene its yellow light... Sounds like the Rho Ophichui region?
Sure. There is, however, another smaller, but similarly colorful area in the sky:
Meet the Cave Nebula!
Officially designated Sh2-155, the Cave Nebula in the constellation Cepheus, is a diffuse nebula of ionized hydrogen with ongoing star formation activity, at an estimated distance of 2400 light-years from Earth. It lies within a larger complex containing emission, reflection, and dark nebulosity.
The name "Cave Nebula" for Sh2-155 was coined by Patrick Moore, presumably derived from photographic images showing a curved arc of emission nebulosity corresponding to a cave mouth. Earlier, the name was already used to refer to another brighter but unrelated reflection nebula in Cepheus, known as Ced 201. The name's application to Sh2-155 has come into vogue through the nebula's inclusion in Moore's Caldwell catalogue as object Caldwell 9.
EXIF
ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro
Baader Ha, Oiii, RGB filters
William Optics Megrez 88, f/5.6
Skywatcher AZ-GTI controlled with ASIAir
ZWO ASI 385MC for autoguiding
PixInsight processing
Total integration time: 5h10min
Sky: Class 4 Bortle.
Artif. bright.: 189 μcd/m2
Lights: Total 2H40
16x600s
DOF: 10x
Prétraitement: PixInsight
Traitement: PixInsight / EZ Processing Suite / DxO PhotoLab
Canon 700D Défiltré
Skywatcher 80ED Equinox (80x500)
Télévue TV85 Field Flatteneur 0.8x
Skywatcher Neq6 Pro
Guide Scope: Zwo 30mm F/4
Guide Cam: Zwo Asi120MM
Guide Soft: Phd2 on Rpi
ASI 294 MC PRO.
Samyang 135mm.
Star Adventurer.
Guiado Asi 120mm Mini.
Ganancia 123/ Offset 30 -10ºc
43x300s
L-Pro
Bortle 8.
PixInsight, Topaz Denoise AI.
The Eagle Nebula (Messier 16 or M16,) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens. The dark center of the nebula was made famous as the "Pillars of Creation" when imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is approximately 5700 light years from Earth.
This is our latest version of M16 with our new equipment. It is also processed as a bi-color image, but with a % blend of HA, Oiii and Oiii mapped to RGB in PixInsight.
Equipment Details:
•6 Inch GSO Ritchey-Chretien (RC) F9 1370mm Focal length
•Skywatcher NEQ6 Mount
•ZWO ASI1600mm Cmos Camera cooled to -10'c
•ZWO EFW7 Filter Wheel
•Baader 36mm unmounted Ha, Oiii
•Orion ST80 80mm Guide Scope
•ZWO ASI120mm mini Guide Camera
•ZWO ASIAIR Pro for full automation
Exposure Details:
•Ha 20X180 seconds - Bin 1x1
•Oiii 20X180 seconds - Bin 1x1
•Oiii 20X180 seconds - Bin 1x1
Total Integration Time: 2 hours
ASI 294 MC PRO.
72 ED Skywatcher con reductor/aplanador 0.85.
Star Adventurer.
Guiado Asi 120mm Mini.
Ganancia 200/ Offset 30 -10ºc
L-Extreme 44x300s
Bortle 8.
PixInsight, Topaz Denoise AI.
NGC2626
Planewave 17” CDK
Camera: FLI ML16803
Filter: Chroma L,R,G,B,Ha, OIII
Focuser: IRF90
Focal Length: 2939mm
Focal Ratio: f/6.8
Mount: 10 Micron GM3000
Location: Deep Sky West, Chile
21h of LRGBHa data, combination in PixInsight done:
L: 33 x 600sec
R: 21 x 600sec
G: 19 x 600sec
B: 16 x 600sec
Ha: 14 x 1800sec
ASI 294 MC PRO.
72 ED Skywatcher con reductor/aplanador 0.85.
Star Adventurer 2i.
Guiado Asi 120mm Mini.
Ganancia 123/ 30 offset/ -10ºc
367x120s
L-Pro
Bortle 8.
PixInsight,
M45 Pleiades
Canon 700d
Skywatcher 100ED
20x120s (40mins)
Processed in Pixinsight
Resolution ............... 0.797 arcsec/px
Rotation ................. -90.001 deg
Observation start time ... 2023-01-21 19:22:47 UTC
Observation end time ..... 2023-01-21 20:22:31 UTC
Focal distance ........... 556.13 mm
Pixel size ............... 2.15 um
Field of view ............ 2d 12' 3.1" x 1d 29' 23.4"
Image center ............. RA: 3 47 02.704 Dec: +24 08 27.31 ex: -0.109459 px ey: -0.000181 px
Tech Specs: Rosette Nebula wide field
Fujifilm X-T3, Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8 @ 55mm & f/4.5, cropped
Orion Sirius EQ Mount, Bortle 4 skies, Oracle, Arizona
25x60s, iso 1600, Post-process in PixInsight
Picture of the Day
ASI 294 MC PRO.
72 ED Skywatcher con reductor/aplanador 0.85.
Star Adventurer.
Guiado Asi 120mm Mini.
Ganancia 123/ 30 offset/ -10ºc
71x120s
L-Pro
Bortle 8.
PixInsight, Topaz Denoise AI.
4.5 hours integration with Takahashi FSQ106 and Canon 6D and iso 400. Processed in Pixinsight and Photoshop CC 2022
This image was rendered from the same data set that was used for the North America nebula image that was uploaded on 2025-07-09. The difference was that I used synthL in the July image, but I did not use synthL in this image. After studying synthL in situations like the present narrowband image where a dedicated luinance filter is not available, I came to the conclusion that synthL does nothing boost image quality in the same way that luminance does when using a luminance filter as part of an LRGB filter set, and processing the luminance master image in a manner that emphasizes sharpness, contrast, and noise reduction. The only way to get a similiar boost in image quality is to accumulate more integration time through the three filters in the SHO or RGB filter set.
Here is a link to the YouTube video that convinced me that synthL does not boost image quality.
Equipment:
ZWO ASI6200MM-P/EFW 2" x 7 (SHO)
TeleVue NP101is (4" f/4.3)
Losmandy G11
Software:
Captured in NINA
Processed in PixInsight
Finished in Affinity Photo
Integration:
SII 13 x 600s = 4:00
Ha 17 x 600s = 5:30
OIII 16 x 600s = 5:30
Total integration: 15:00
Der Pferdekopfnebel (Barnard 33) ist ein 3 Lichtjahre großer Teil einer Dunkelwolke im Sternbild Orion, die sich vor dem rot leuchtenden Emissionsnebel IC 434 mit einer Silhouette ähnlich einem Pferdekopf abhebt. Von der Erde ist der Nebel ungefähr 1500 Lichtjahre entfernt und erscheint ein Viertel so groß wie der Erdmond. Scheinbare Größe des Nebels am Himmel: 6 x 4 Bogenminuten.
Ein erneuter Versuch mit KB-Kamera, EdgeHD 8" Spiegelteleskop und 0,7x Reducer. Autoguiding mit Lacertas MGen2. Belichtungszeit 22 x 5min = 110min.
Dieser brauchbaren Aufnahme sind viele erfolglose Anläufe in den letzten Wochen vorausgegangen. Für diese Aufnahme waren die Bedingungen in meiner Region endlich annähernd optimal : Kein Mondlicht, kein Wind, ein klarer Himmel ohne Dunstschleier - und fast kein Frost trotz Winter laut Kalender. Insgesamt herrschte ein gutes Seeing, da man alle Sterne des Kleinen Wagens mit freiem Auge erkennen konnte.
The Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) is a 3 light-years large part of a dark cloud in the constellation Orion, which stands out in front of the red shining emission nebula IC 434 with a silhouette similar to a horse's head. The nebula is about 1500 light years away from the Earth and appears a quarter the size of the Earth Moon.
Apparent size in the sky: 6 x 4 arc minutes. Another attempt with EdgeHD 8"; reflector telescope and 0. 7x reducer. Guided with Lacertas MGen2. Exposure time 22 x 5min = 110min.
This picture was preceded by many unsuccessful attempts in recent weeks. For this shot, the conditions were finally almost optimal: no moonlight, no wind, a clear sky without haze - and almost no frost. All in all a good seeing, since one could see all stars of the little bear with the naked eye.
Website: www.heiko-roebke-photography.de
M78. Son 89tonas de 180sg a Iso 800
Cámara canon 600d modificada sin filtro ir
Tubo TS 60/290 apocromatic
Reductor tus photoline x79
Tubo de guiado zwo mini Guido 30/125
Cámara de guiado qhy5II/C
Montura eq6r
Capturadas con SGP
apiladas con DSS
procesada con pixinsight 1.8
Technical Details:
Telescope: Tele Vue NP101 @ f/4.3
Camera: QSI 6120
Mount: Sky-Watcher AZEQ-5
Guiding: Off-Axis with QHY 5IIL-M
Filters: Astrodon 3nm H-Alpha, OIII, SII
32x5min H-Alpha
48x5min OIII
45x5min SII
10.4 hours total integration time
Sequence Generator Pro
PHD2 Guiding
Processed with PixInsight
Captured in Central District, Seattle
Interesting processing this image set. Thanks to the PixInsight software I process the stars and nebulosity separately (in this case 'nebulosity' is mainly millions of stars that are too small to see individually that just end up looking like nebulosity). But the nebulosity did not have much detail and looked washed out. It turned out however that there are many thousands of the stars that are visible in the image. So when I combined the stars with the processed nebulosity the image works well.
I love how you can see details in the red star forming regions, (brought out in a separate pass using an Hydrogen Alpha filter that is typically used when imaging star forming areas local to our own Milky Way galaxy). These regions are the Triangulum's galaxy equivalent to objects like our Orion and Lagoon nebulae.
"The Triangulum Galaxy, or M33, is a spiral galaxy located about 3 million light-years away from Earth, making it one of our closest galactic neighbors in space. Though it’s smaller than both the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy, it still spans about 60,000 light-years across. For comparison, the Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years in diameter, while Andromeda is around 220,000 light-years. In our night sky, M33 appears relatively large, covering an area about eight times the width of the full moon, though it's faint and hard to spot without a telescope. M33 is part of the same local group of galaxies as the Milky Way and Andromeda, and it’s thought to be gravitationally bound to Andromeda, possibly even orbiting it. The galaxy is moving towards the Milky Way at about 100 kilometers per second, though much slower than Andromeda’s approach. M33 is also known for its bright, active star-forming regions, like NGC 604, one of the largest stellar nurseries in the local group, visible even in amateur telescopes. Over time, these galaxies may interact, and in the distant future, they could eventually merge." (synthesized from various sources)
Askar 120APO with .8 reducer: 660 f/5.5
ZWO ASI533MC Color Camera at -10C
54x180s rgb
7x600s Ha
Processed with PixInsight, Ps
There is more processing to do, so this is a preliminary image. No noise reduction, no sharpening, and no star reduction yet.
ZWO ASI6200MM/EFW 2" x 7 (RGB)
Tele Vue NP101is
Losmandy G11
NINA (L: 90 x 60s, RGB 15 x 90s ea)
PixInsight (WBPP)
Photoshop (rough histogram and curves adjustments)
ASI 294 MC PRO.
72 ED Skywatcher con reductor/aplanador 0.85.
Star Adventurer 2i.
Guiado Asi 120mm Mini.
Ganancia 123/ Offset 30 -10ºc
L-Extreme 63x300s
Bortle 8.
PixInsight.
Mosaïque de 4
FRA300, Poseidon-C, filtre Ha/OIII (3 tuiles de 3h + 1 tuile de 2h30).
NINA, GraXpert, Pixinsight, Affinity Photo 2
Astro-Physics 130 GTX + QUADTCC @ F/4.5
Moravian G3 11002 + Astrodon RGB
Astro Physics 1200
RGB: 50x300s bin 1x1
Total exposure: 12h
Captured with Sequence Generator Pro
Processed with Pixinsight
Sh2-229 / Flaming Star Nebula
Locations: Deep Sky West, Rowe, New Mexico, United States
PlaneWave17" CDK Telescope
Camera: FLI ML16803
Filter: Astrodon LRGB,Ha,SIII
Focal Length: 2939mm
Focal Ratio: f/6.7
Pixels: 9μm
Mount: Paramount Taurus 400
13,83h of data:Combination in PixInsight done.
L: 9 x 600sec
R: 6 x 600sec
G: 8 x 600sec
B 16 x 600sec
Ha: 14 x 1200sec
SIII: 8 x 1200sec
NGC 2024 Flame Nebula
TS 115/800
ZWO ASI 1600 MM
HALRGB (200-200-60-30-40)
Subs 5 minutes
Total: 530 Minutes
DSS + PixInsight + PS6
Astrodon Filters LRGB
Optolong Filter HALPHA
ZWO ASI6200MM-Pro/EFW 2" x 7 (LRGB)
Tele Vue NP101is
Losmandy G11
Captured in NINA (3 hours total integration)
L: 45 x 120s
RGB: 15 x 120s
Processed in PixInsight
A small section of Markarian's chain of galaxies.
The two brightest objects are M84 and M86 both elliptical galaxies. An elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy with an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless image.
Askar 120APO: 840mm f/7
ZWO ASI533MC Cooled Color Camera at -20C
Guided on ZWO AM5
20x180s with UV/IR cut filter
Processed with PixInsight, Ps
April/May 2014
Sierra Remote Observatories
Takahashi FSQ-106 on Paramount ME
QSI 683wsg
TSX/Maxim
processed in Pixinsight 1.8
My second attempt at processing through Pixinsight. Would love any comments on how to improve!!
Tried to pull back the over exposed core.
William Optics GT81, William Optics 0.8x, ASI 533mc Pro, Pixinsight. 90x 180s
The Rosette Nebula is an H II region located in the constellation of Monoceros. The stars of the open cluster NGC 2244, within the nebula, have been formed from the nebula's matter. It lies at a distance of around 5,000 light years. Imaged over 2 nights in February 2025.
HEQ5 PRO
RedCat51 WIFD
QHY183C Gain 21 Offset 76 -20C
Optolong L-eNhance filter
16 x 900sec subs
Processed using Pixinsight and Photoshop 6.
Lunette TS 60/330 + réducteur X0.8
Player One Poseidon-C + filtre Ha/OIII
105 x 180", Pixinsignt, Affinity Photo 2
CFF 180 + QUADTCC @ F/5.2
Moravian G3 16200 + Chroma L
Astro Physics 1200
Astro-Physics 130 GTX + QUADTCC @ F/4.5
Moravian G3 11002 + Astrodon RGB
Astro Physics 1200
L: 237x300s bin 1x1
RGB: 100x300s bin 1x1
Total exposure: 45h
Captured with Sequence Generator Pro
Processed with Pixinsight
An interesting fact about M106, is that it is the nearest Seyfert galaxy to Earth. A Seyfert galaxy includes an actively growing supermassive black hole.
Askar 120APO: 840mm f/7
ZWO ASI533MC Cooled Color Camera at -20C
Guided on ZWO AM5
69x300s with UV/IR cut filter
Processed with PixInsight, Ps
TS 115/800
ZWO ASI 1600MMPRO
HALRGB
HA: 6 Hours
RGB: 1 Hour each channel
L: 2 Hours
Total: 11 hours
Pixinsight + DSS
Combined Color and Halpha photos of the Rosette Nebula using Pixinsight and Photoshop. Imaged in New Jersey
Went up tioga pass before the summer heat started melting the high lakes and we ended shooting at Olmstead point until milky way faded away.
It was cool to see hikers starting to climb half dome. You can see flashlights over sub dome .
3 shots of 4 mins for foreground and 10 shots of 2 mins tracked for sky.
This is a reanalysis of an image of the 20 million light-year distant galaxy M106 in Canes Venatici, acquired during the night of 1st - 2nd April 2021.
This time I used PixInsight to process and annotate the image as well as Astropixel Processor.
Imaged with a Skywatcher Esprit 120ED Triplet Apo and a ZWO 2600MC camera.
100x120s
Darks, Flats & Dark Flats.
Equipment:
Scope: Lacerta 72/432 F6 0.85x reduktorral (367mm F5.1)
Mount: Skywatcher EQ-5 Pro Synscan Goto
Guide scope: OAG
Guide camera: ZWO ASI120mm Mini
Main camera: ZWO ASI183MM-Pro cooled monochrome camera
Accessories:
ZWO ASIAIR Pro
ZWO EFW 8x1.25"
ZWO OAG
ZWO 1.25 Helical focuser
Lacerta Dew-heater 30cm
Programs:
PixInsight
Adobe Photoshop CC 2020
Details:
Camera temp: -15°C
Gain: 53
Astronomik 6nm Ha: 28x300s
Astronomik Deep-Sky R: 6x300s
Astronomik Deep-Sky G: 6x300s
Astronomik Deep-Sky B: 6x300s
Dark: 60x
Bias: 100x
Flat: 20x
Dark_flats: 20x