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The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745. Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764. It is located in the rich starfields of the Sagittarius area of the Milky Way. Wikipedia
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: Astrotelescopes ED 80mm Refractor
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with UV/IR Blocking filter
- Guiding Scope: William Optics 66mm Petzval
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auto Guider
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Guiding Software: PHD2
- Light Frames: 20*5 mins @ 0 Gain, Temp -15C
- Dark Frames: 20*5 mins
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom
A large part of the North America Nebula [NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20] Seen in the constellation of Cygnus.
The 'Gulf of Mexico' is the large dark area just below the centre
. 'America' is tilted on it's side, North to the right.
M: iOptron EQ45-Pro
T: William Optics GTF81
C: ZWO ASI1600MC-Cooled
F: IDAS filter (Light Polllution)
G: PHD2
GC: ZWO ASI120mini
RAW16; FITs
Temp: -15 DegC
Gain 260;
19 x Exp 200s
33 x Exp 300s
Frames: 49/52 Lights; 20 Darks; 100 Flats
100% Crop
Capture: SharpCap
Processed: DSS; APP, PS, Gradient Exterminator Pro.
Sky: 80% Moon, no wind, 0% to 5% cloud, mild, good seeing.
Bortle 5 Sky.
Distance from Earth: 2,202 light years.
27-08-2021
Sky-Watcher 150mm - f/8
ZWO ASI 120MC-S + Barlow 2x + UV/IR Cut
SharpCap + PIPP + AS!3 + Astrosurface
Porto Real-Brazil
Bortle 4/5 Sky
Mars with one of its moons Deimos. First time I’ve managed to capture a Martian Moon! Unfortunately it’s 2nd moon Phobos was too close to the planet to pick it up because of the technique I use to image moons.
2 stacked exposures combined
Celestron NexStar 6SE
Zwo Asi224mc with IR cut filter
Tele Vue 2.5x Powermate
2 minute video in SharpCap
Processed in PIPP, AutoStakkert, RegiStax, Lightroom and PhotoLayers
Dati:
Celestron 114/900 Newton
montatura eq2 con motore AR
camera Qhy5L-IIC
filtro UV IR cut
Sharpcap per acquisire 20 video da 40 secondi ciascuno
Autostakkert 3 e Registax 6 per l'elaborazione dei video
Autostitch per creare il mosaico
Registax 6 e Camera Raw per luminosità, contrasto e bilanciamento del colore nel risultato finale
Adobe Photoshop per aumentare la saturazione del colore
Luogo: Cabras (OR)
Data: 19-11-2021 a 00:17 ora locale ( 18-11-2021 alle 23:17 UTC)
I imaged this gem of the night sky last night while waiting for the moon to set. It's a great sight, and I wanted to set the new 61mm refractor on it last night again now that I have a field flattener.
The Double Cluster consists of the open clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884, which are close together in the constellation Perseus. Both visible with the naked eye, NGC 869 and NGC 884 lie at a distance of 7,500 light years.
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: William Optics 61mm Zenithstar II Doublet
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with UV/IR Blocking filter
- Guiding Scope: William Optics 66mm Petzval
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auto Guider
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Guiding Software: PHD2
- Light Frames: 15*2 mins @ 100 Gain, Temp -10C
- Dark Frames: 15*2 mins
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom
Zona de Aristóteles, Eudoxus, montes Caucasus, etc
Telescopio: Celestron C6-A XLT 150/1500 f10
Cámara: ZWO ASI178MM
Montura: EQ5 Bresser EXOS2 motorizada sin goto
Filtros: Baader UV/IR Cut / L-Filter
Software: SharpCap, AutoStakkert, Registax y Fitswork
Fecha: 2019-03-13
Hora: 21:02 T.U.
Fase lunar: 43.6% 6.8 días Creciente
Lugar: 42.615 N -6.417 W (Bembibre Spain)
Vídeo: 2 minutos
Resolución: 2320x1560
Gain: 91
Exposure: 0,011754
Frames: 2935
Frames apilados: 18%
FPS: 25
A fantastic early morning seeing Jupiter with 2 of its moons Io and Ganymede casting their shadows on the gas giants surface! Io just starting it’s transit across the face too. Managed to pick up a bit of surface detail on Ganymede too.
Celestron NexStar 6SE
Zwo Asi224mc with IR cut filter
Zwo ADC
Tele Vue 2.5x Powermate
FireCapture for ADC tuning.
SharpCap for Capturing.
2 minute video, exposure-3.0ms, gain-320
Processed in AutoStakkert, RegiStax and Lightroom.
Our star today captured with an 80mm APO Refractor at F/50. Daystar Quark Chromosphere and ASI290MM. Sharpcap has been used for the capture, then Autostakkert, ImPPG and PS for the post-processing. Active regions 2778 and 2779 are now very near the limb. Some nice prominences are visible as well.
A galactic neighbor 3 million light years away. This version using my TV-85 telescope with 4 second unguided exposures is comparable to my prior efforts using more conventional imaging techniques. The short exposure/livestacking approach enables decent quality imaging using portable mounts.
Tech Stuff: Televue 85 scope/Borg 1.08X flattener/ZWO ASI1600MC/IDAS LPS-D2 filter/SkyWatcher Star Adventurer mount; 48 minutes of 4 second exposures acquired using SharpCap in 8 livestacks with dark subtraction. RGB image combined with mono image here www.flickr.com/photos/124244349@N07/50313524907/in/photos... (same scope, different camera; also 4 second unguided exposures). Processed in PixInsight and finished in ACDSee. From my yard in Westchester County, NY. SQM-L readiings 18.4-18.8 (Bortle 7)
This nebula lies around 1,300 light years away, and lies in the Orion constellation, right next to the Horsehead Nebula.
My first attempt at a starless astronomical image (Except, of course that massive main star which happens to be Alnitak and too large to remove from the shot!). I was skeptical about starless images but they do a great job of revealing the molecular dust and gas in the area of the objects involved.
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: AstroTelescopes 80mm ED Refractor
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with UV/IR Blocking filter
- Guiding Scope: William Optics 66mm Petzval
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auto Guider
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Guiding Software: PHD2
- Light Frames: 15x3 mins @ 100 Gain, -10F, Offset 40
- Dark Frames: 15*3 mins
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight, Photomatix Pro and Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop
The same image I had previously uploaded to Flickr but with the stars removed to give a more 3D appearance looking into the heart of the nebula.
Taken with 150mm refractor, 0.75X reducer and ASI294MC camera. Consists of 24 x 5 minute exposures stacked and calibrated on the fly using the Live Stacking function in SharpCap Pro.
A composite image of active sun spot group AR2665 and prominences on the eastern limb of the Sun - Captured on 09.07.2017 15.41GMT (16.41BST)
Telescope: Altair Astro StarWave 102ED f/7
Camera: Altair Astro IMX174 mono Hypercam.
Solar Hydrogen Alpha filter: Daystar Quark Chromosphere
Captured with Sharpcap 3.0
Processed with Registax and Photoshop CC 2017
Double Cluster Cassiopeia.
26@120 seconds
ISO 400
100 BAIS
no flats
no darks (dither every frame)
AT65EDQ
dithered
Nikon d5300
Celestron CG5 with OnStep (Howard Dutton) and belt and motor upgrade
QHY 5LII-M guide camera
Orion 50mm mini guide scope
Bahtinov mask
DIY FocuserPro2 arduino focus motor ( Robert Brown)
$65 laptop
Software: APT, PHD2, CdC, Sharpcap, ASCOM POTHUB, Pixinsight, PS/ACR, Team Veiwer.
PS Plug ins: Nik Define 2, Astronomy Tools
Location: backyard, Bortle 4 skies
Jupiter/Saturn Conjunction 2020
Near Jupiter from left to right are moons Europa, Io, Castillo. Just below Saturn is moon Titan.
Scope/Mount: TS-Optics PhotoLine 130mm F7 APO Refractor, Celestron CI-700 Mount
Camera: ZWO ASI185MC color
Guiding: none
Exposure: Composite of 1 frame each of 4 ms, 17 ms, 67 ms, 250 ms.
Software: SharpCap, PixInsight
Comment: 12-21-2020, San Diego, CA, poor seeing.
Celestron NexStar 6SE, Tele Vue 2.5x Powermate, Zwo Asi224mc. 10K frames captured in SharpCap, stacked 50% in AutoStakkert, sharpened in wavelets and finished in Lightroom.
Been figuring out deconvolution and EZ Tools within PixInsight. Also, applied some HDR techniques to draw out some of those dusty areas a little better. Overdone??
The Trifid Nebula is located in Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. Its name means 'divided into three lobes'. The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars; an emission nebula, a reflection nebula and a dark nebula. It lies approximately 5,200 light years from Earth.
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: Astrotelescopes ED 80mm Refractor
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with UV/IR Blocking filter
- Guiding Scope: William Optics 66mm Petzval
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auto Guider
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Guiding Software: PHD2
- Light Frames: 25*5 mins @ 50 Gain, Temp -15C
- Dark Frames: 25*5 mins
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom
Ecco un mosaico della Luna al 93% prima del 16 maggio mattina, giorno di fase piena e in cui diventerà rossa a causa del fenomeno dell'eclissi.
In questo caso ho aumentato la saturazione dei colori per mostrare le differenze di composizione chimica della regolite sulla superficie lunare.
Ho leggermente modificato lil bilanciamento del colore, la luminosità e il contrasto della foto condivisa in precedenza.
Dati:
- Telescopio Celestron 114/910 Newton
- montatura eq2 con motore AR
- camera planetaria QHY5L-II-C
- filtro UV-IR cut
- Sharpcap per l'acquisizione di 21 video da 30 secondi ognuno
- Autostakkert! 3 e Registax 6 per elaborarli
- Autostitch per assemblare le 21 parti del mosaico
- GIMP per luminosità, contrasto e saturazione dei colori
Luogo: Cabras (OR)
Data: 13 maggio 2022 alle 20:20 UTC ( 22:20 ora locale)
M33 Triangulum Galaxy. Testing Guiding. Scope: TSAPO65Q. Mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro. Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro. Guiding: Altair GPCAMv2 130M with Orion 50mm. 9x5 Mins. Captured in SharpCap Pro. Processed in APP. Finished in Adobe CC.
Data - 24/04/2021
Hora - 20:54 ~ 21:45 local (-3 UTC)
Lat - 7,13S
Log - 34,83W
Local - João Pessoa, PB - Brasil
Bortle - Class 8
Câmera - ZWO ASI 120MC-S
Telescópio - SW 150mm F8
Montagem - EQ5
Motorização - OnStep Brasil
Light - filme de 2000 frames (empilhados 50%)
Software Captura - SharpCap
Softwares Processamento - PS/Registax
This is an animation of some proms from 14th June 2023
Location: West Midlands, UK
Scope: Coronado SM60 II
Camera: ASI 178MM, 2 x TAL Barlow
Mount: CEM60-EC
Integration: 106 x 500 frames, best 20% from each
Acquisition: Sharpcap Pro
Processing: AutoStakkert, PI, ImPPG and PIPP
Here is an image I took from March 24, 2017 distilled from a video and processed in Registax. It is the first time I have been able to identify the feature referred to as Oval BA, also known as Red Spot Jr. The image on the right was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on April 3, 2017 for comparison, you can more clearly see this cloud feature in the HST image.
From NASA, “Oval BA first appeared in the year 2000 when three smaller spots collided and merged. Using Hubble and other telescopes, astronomers watched with great interest. A similar merger centuries ago may have created the original Great Red Spot, a storm twice as wide as our planet and at least 300 years old.” (Source: science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/02mar_...)
I look forward to continue learning planetary image processing and collecting additional video streams.
Tech Specs: Video captured using Meade LX90 12” telescope and ZWO ASI290MC camera. Imaging was done on March 24, 2017 from Weatherly, Pennsylvania. Software included AutoStakkert! V2.3.0.21, Registax v6 and Sharpcap v2.9.
A massive star explosion that happened thousands of years ago in the constellation of Cygnus as I photographed it using narrowband filters (Hydrogen-a + OIII) and a small 60mm reduced refractor. This is the reedited 2021 version. I hope I will add RGB data soon.
Camera: ZWO ASI 1600MM-PRO USB 3.0 Mono (Type CMOS)
Sensor Cooling Temperature: -15C
Filters: 1.25" 5nm Astrodon Hydrogen-alpha (Ha), 1.25" 3nm Astrodon Oxygen III (OIII)
Imaging Telescope: Takahashi FS-60CB
Correcting Lens: Takahashi Reducer 0.72x (composite focal length at 264mm and focal ratio at f/4.9)
Mount: iOptron CEM25EC
Software: SharpCap Pro, PixInsight, Lightroom, Photoshop
Website: astrotakis.com/
First attempt at this object for me. The ZWO Duo Band filter did a nice job of pulling out some good detail. Happy with the result!
The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The common name comes from William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, who observed the object in 1842 using a 36-inch telescope and produced a drawing that looked somewhat like a crab. This nebula is located about 6,500 light years away.
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: William Optics 61mm Zenithstar II Doublet
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with UV/IR Blocking filter
- Guiding Scope: William Optics 66mm Petzval
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auto Guider
- Filter: ZWO Duo Band (HA & OIII)
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Guiding Software: PHD2
- Capture Software: SharpCap Pro (LiveStack mode with dithering)
- Light Frames: 22*3 mins @ 150 Gain, Temp -20C
- Dark Frames: 22*3 mins
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight, Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Denoise AI
Technical card
Imaging telescope or lens:Astro-Tech AT-65EDQ
Imaging camera:Nikon D5300
Mount:Celestron CG5
Guiding telescope or lens:Orion Mini 50mm Guide Scope
Guiding camera:QHY 5 L II M
Software:APT - Astro Photography Tool, Adobe Lightroom CC, PixInsight 1.8 Ripley PixInsight, ProDigital Software Astronomy Tools Actions Set, Sequator global Sequator 1.4a, Photoshop CC 2017
Resolution: 5965x4261
Dates: April 7, 2018
Frames: 32x120"
Integration: 1.1 hours
Avg. Moon age: 21.42 days
Avg. Moon phase: 57.69%
Astrometry.net job: 2012281
RA center: 169.941 degrees
DEC center: 13.262 degrees
Pixel scale: 0.955 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 95.311 degrees
Field radius: 0.972 degrees
Locations: Maine, United States
Description
Leo Triplet
First time using guiding. Overall went well. Also first time using APT (AstroPhotography Tool imaging software). Also first time using SharpCap for polar alignment. That was super easy.
Not the best night, but was really trying out my new toys more than anything and Leo is heading west for the summer.
31 X120 seconds ISO 800
9 darks
no flats
Nikon D5300
AT65mm Quadruplet APO
OLD CG5 with Onstep and belt drives
Stacked in Sequator
Processed in Pixinsight
finishing touches in PS
Waxing Gibbous/77.4%
Moon Age 9.71 out of 29.39 days
March 19, 2024, about 2200 local, Tallahassee, Florida. Unusually good seeing tonight!
TMB 80mm f/6.3 refractor; ASI585MC, full resolution (3840 x 2160) cropped; UV/IR cut filter; No.15 yellow filter; SharpCap; best 1000 frames out of 10,000. Gain 300; PIPP, AutoStakkert. WaveSharp. Photoshop (for exposure and color adjustment.)
M27 Dumbbell Nebula. Scope: Ostara HR152 Achromat. Mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro. Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro. Guide: Altair GPCAMv2 130M with Orion 50mm. 8 x 2 Mins in SharpCap Pro. Processed in Astro Pixel Processor. Finished in Adobe CC.
Skywatcher 12" goto dob, 5x TeleVue Powermate, ZWO224MC, Sharpcap, PIPP, AS3
2021-08-25-1135_0__pipp_AS_P15_lapl5_ap1195_Drizzle15_conv_RS1
The Sun was playing hide & Seek with clouds today, but I managed to grab a few videos in the gaps so I could test out the new Baader Solar Continuum Filter that I bought from First Light Optics a few weeks ago. This filter helps to reduce the effect of atmospheric turbulence and I could definitely see that on screen. It also increases definition and brings out the granularity of the Sun's visible surface. I have wanted one of these for about 9 years so I'm super thrilled to finally have one! I'm looking forward to playing with it some more.
Taken with a William Optics 70mm refractor fitted with a Thousand Oaks glass solar filter. The Camera was an ASI120MC fitted with a Celestron 3x Barlow. Mount was an EQ5 Pro, tracking at solar speed. 290 frame video captured with SharpCap, the best 25% of the frames were stacked using Autostakkert! 2 then quick processing in Fast Stone Image Viewer.
Equipment-
Celestron NexStar 6SE
Zwo Asi224mc with IR cut filter
Zwo ADC
Tele Vue 2.5x Powermate
FireCapture for ADC tuning
SharpCap for capturing
Jupiter 2 minute video, exp-3.0ms gain-300
Taken with a Celestron C6 SCT, Celestron AVX mount, 2x Barlow, and ASI120MC. Captured with SharpCap, stacked with AutoStakkert, and processed with Astra Image Pro and Photoshop.
Taken from Oxfordshire on 1st May 2023 with a William Optics 70mm refractor and ZWO ASI120MC camera fitted with a Celestron 3x Barlow.
The telescope was on an EQ5 Pro mount on a permanent pier, tracking at lunar rate. It was still twilight when I started imaging and I was also dealing with varying amounts of thin cloud. The Moon was 85% Waxing Gibbous. Promontorium Heraclides is also known as Cassini's Moon Maiden because he drew this promontory with a woman's head with long, wavy hair. It is believe to have represented the head of Geneviève de Laistre, who would become Cassini's wife in 1673. This makes her the first woman on the Moon.
A 2,000 frame video was captured using SharpCap and the best 25% of the frames were stacked using Autostakkert! 3. Processing was done in Lightroom and Fast Stone Image Viewer, plus a bit of sharpening in Focus Magic.
I used a TMB 80mm f/6.3 refractor on a roughly polar-aligned GEM. I used a ZWO120MC CMOS camera (old, original model) with SharpCap. The final image is composed of four individual images, each obtained from separate stacks of roughly 1000 to 1600 frames. The stacks were processed using PIPP and AutoStakkert. The four images were combined using Photoshop's photomerge feature. The combined image was color and levels adjusted, and sharpened using Topaz.
Seeing that night was horrible. I had a really hard time finding a reasonable focus. The observation site is suburban, Bortle 7.
Here is a view of last night's moon, 81% illuminated and currently residing in the constellation Aquarius.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO ASI2600MC camera, best 20% of 500 frames, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro pier mounted, ZWO EAF and ASIAir Pro, captured using SharpCap Pro v4. Image Date: October 24, 2023. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Theophilus and Cyrillus Craters photograph on April 2, 2017 – transparency remained pretty good, but seeing was on the horrible side with resulting in a very wavy image. Tech Specs: ZWO ASI290MC camera and Meade 12” LX90 telescope mounted on a Celestron CGEM-DX mount. Software used included Sharpcap v2.9 and AutoStakkert! Alpha Version 2.3.0.21. 10k frames, stacked the best 2k. Photographed on April 2, 2017 from Weatherly, Pennsylvania.
First attempt at this nebula. Tricky to process, but interesting nonetheless.
Cataloged as IC 5146, the beautiful nebula is nearly 15 light-years wide, located some 3,300 light years away toward the northern constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). Like other star forming regions, it stands out in red, glowing, hydrogen gas excited by young, hot stars and blue, dust-reflected starlight at the edge of a nearly invisible molecular cloud.
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: Astrotelescopes ED 80mm Refractor
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with UV/IR Blocking filter
- Guiding Scope: William Optics 66mm Petzval
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auto Guider
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Guiding Software: PHD2
- Light Frames: 20*5 mins @ 100 Gain, Temp -15C
- Dark Frames: 20*5 mins
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom
Triangulum Galaxy (also known as Messier 33 and NGC 598). This is the third attempt at imaging M33, the previous two attempts weren't too bad but were either a bit too noisy or a bit too faint so this time it was given plenty of longer exposures with a dedicated astronomy camera and a better polar alignment. The resulting image is much more satisfying. Conditions were pretty good for this part of London, a nice clear night with just a few high wispy clouds, no wind and no Moon. However it was quite humid and the seeing could have been better. The only problem was the light source we use to make flat frames needs some adjustment as the processed image had a massive gradient which was hard to remove without messing up other parts of the picture. To get around this I used a master flat from a previous session. This version of the image is a reprocess of the original post.
The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. It is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, behind the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy with a diameter of about 60,000 light-years (roughly 40% the size of the Milky Way) and it is one of the most distant permanent objects that can be viewed with the naked eye (under good conditions and from a location with dark skies and no light pollution).
The galaxy is the smallest spiral galaxy in the Local Group and it is believed to be a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy due to their interactions, velocities, and proximity to one another in the night sky. It also has an H-II nucleus. Triangulum may be home to 40 billion stars, compared to 400 billion for the Milky Way, and 1 trillion stars for Andromeda Galaxy.
Information courtesy of Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulum_Galaxy
Some more interesting facts here: www.space.com/25585-triangulum-galaxy.html
042 x 300 second exposures at Unity Gain (139) cooled to -20°C
050 x dark frames
030 x flat frames
100 x bias/offset frames
Binning 1x1
Total integration time = 3 hours 30 minutes
Captured with APT
Guided with PHD2
Polar Alignment with SharpCap Pro
Processed in Nebulosity, Fitsworks and Photoshop
Equipment
Telescope: Sky-Watcher Explorer-150PDS
Mount: Skywatcher EQ5
Guide Scope: Orion 50mm Mini
Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI120MC
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI1600MC Pro
Baader Mark-III MPCC Coma Corrector
Light pollution filter
Celestron NexStar 6SE
Tele Vue 2.5x Powermate
ZWO asi224mc with IR cut filter
ZWO ADC
FireCapture for ADC tuning.
3x 2 minute captures in SharpCap
Exposure- 2.80ms Gain- 340
Processed in PIPP, AutoStakkert3, RegiStax Wavelets and finished in Lightroom.
As I continue my venture into learning how to do deep-sky imaging, While at the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys, I was able to capture this image of M104 known as the Sombrero Galaxy. This was an unguided image of 29 stacked frames. Each exposure was 14.76 seconds.
Details:
Date - Feb 02, 2020
Time - 2:52AM EST USA
Astro Physics 5" f8 refractor
Losmandy G11 Mount
Camera - ZWO ASI178MM
Capture software - SharpCap Ver 3.2.5985.0
Processing - PhotoShop and Lightroom
last night session just to sort out my plate solving issues and my psychotic PHD2 program. Good news I did sort that stuff out.
I just swung over to the Crescent Nebula to take a test image. I did not think an unmodded camera would be worth it on this image (especially with the moon) but after seeing the whole nebula in a single 2 minute exposure, I thought, hmmm.... why not.
My tracking was still terrible. Mostly because I had the balance wrong (at 12:30 realized was WEST heavy and at zenith). So every frame is trailed but whatever.
26@ 120 seconds
ISO 400
100 BAIS
no flats
no darks
AT65EDQ
dithered
Nikon d5300
Celestron CG5 with OnStep (Howard Dutton) and belt and motor upgrade
The worst aluminum tripod filled with sand to make better
QHY 5LII-M guide camera
Orion 50mm mini guide scope
DIY FocuserPro2 arduino focus motor ( Robert Brown)
Software: APT, PHD2, CdC, Sharpcap, ASCOM POTHUB, DSS, Pixinsight, PS/ACR, Team Veiwer.
PS Plug ins: Nik Define 2, Astronomy Tools
Location: backyard, Bortle 4 skies
quick edit, not my final offer
IC 5146 est composé d'une nébuleuse en émission et d’un amas ouvert dont les étoiles ont des âges de l'ordre de 240 millions d'années, de magnitude 7 à 8, situés à environ 3200 années-lumière de la Terre dans la constellation du Cygne. Elle a un diamètre d'environ 15 années-lumière. Elle présente la couleur rouge caractéristique de l’hydrogène excité par le rayonnement des jeunes et chaudes étoiles bleues
Elle se trouve près du bord Est de la constellation, près de celle du Lézard, en plein dans la Voie lactée. Elle est située à l'extrémité de la nébuleuse obscure Barnard 168.
C’est une zone de formation d'étoiles.
Sur l'image à coté d'IC5146, une petite nébuleuse par réflexion VdB147
en haut à gauche, un petit chapelet de galaxie, la seule que j'ai pu retrouver dans Aladin, la plus "grosse", elle répond au nom de 2MASX J21510146+4657059.
Matériel
lunette FSQ-106ED équipée extender x1.6 sur monture NEQ6 pro goto
caméra ZWO ASI1600MC-C équipée filtre IDAS-LPS-D1
guidage avec lunette APM 50*240 et caméra ZWO120MM
40 poses de 300s
logiciels :
acquisition : Sharpcap 3.2
guidage : PHD2
prétraitement : Deepskystacker
Traitement : Photoshop CS6
Cadre : Gimp
46P/Wirtanen is a periodic comet, discovered in 1948, by the American astronomer Carl Wirtanen. It is will make its closest approach eight days after this image was taken, on 16th December 2018, as it makes its way out almost as far as Jupiter’s orbit.
I was still suffering from the unreliable alignment of my SkyWatcher EQ6-R mount and had to manually locate the object.
Well…… to be honest, I found it with the guidance of my friend John Rombi, who patiently aimed his laser pointer at the target while I battled with the controls, using my red dot finder from an unnatural position somewhere in the tangle of cables below my ‘scope.
Object Details:
Comet 46P/Wirtanen
Constellation: Eridanus.
Visual magnitude: +4.2, brightening.
Actual diameter of nucleus: 1 km
Actual diameter of coma: tbc
Period, 5.4 years.
Distance: 0.09 AU or 13.7 million km (for a comet, that’s close!)
Altitude: 59°.
Tail: not seen.
Image:
Exposure: total 19 minutes over 25 frames.
Date: 2018-12-08.
Location: The Oaks, NSW.
Sky: semi-dark rural.
Cloud: no.
Moon: no.
Image acquisition software: SharpCap.
Image post-processing: PIPP; Deep Sky Stacker > GIMP.
Cropping: slight.
Gear:
Imaging telescope: Skywatcher Esprit 120ED Super APO triplet refractor.
Focal length: 840 mm, focal ratio: f/7.
Telescope mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R.
Optical: field flattener yes; filter no.
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI 071 MC Pro.
Polar aligning method: QHYCCD PoleMaster.
Polar alignment error: 1′ 42″ (Synscan).
Guiding: none.
SharpCap Camera Settings:
[ZWO ASI071MC Pro]
Pan=0
Tilt=0
Output Format=PNG files (*.png)
Binning=1
Capture Area=4944×3284
Colour Space=RGB24
Hardware Binning=Off
Turbo USB=80(Auto)
Flip=None
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Gain=337
Exposure=45.767742
Timestamp Frames=Off
White Bal (B)=61(Auto)
White Bal (R)=59(Auto)
Brightness=72
Temperature=-12.9
Cooler Power=100
Target Temperature=-15
Cooler=On
Auto Exp Max Gain=300
Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000
Auto Exp Target Brightness=100
Mono Bin=Off
Anti Dew Heater=On
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=C:\Users\Roger\Desktop\SharpCap Captures\darks\ZWO ASI071MC Pro\RGB24@4944×3284\13.4s\gain_503\dark_5_frames_-14.1C_2018-12-07T11_17_24.fits
#Black Point
Display Black Point=0
#MidTone Point
Display MidTone Point=0.5
#White Point
Display White Point=1
TimeStamp=2018-12-08T11:47:34.3748894Z
SharpCapVersion=3.2.5871.0
TotalExposure(s)=1144.19355
StackedFrames=25
Observing Notes:
Another test night for the EQ6R, following eleven months of unreliability. It failed to align again, with an errot of over 5° and will be returned to the manufacturer for the third time.
Finally, some partially clear skies to image with - this Spring and Summer have been fairly cloudy. This is my first real, concentrated attempt at this gorgeous nebula.
The Lagoon Nebula is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as an H II region. The Lagoon Nebula was discovered by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654 and is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the eye from mid-northern latitudes. 4,100 light years away.
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: Astrotelescopes ED 80mm Refractor
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with UV/IR Blocking filter
- Guiding Scope: William Optics 66mm Petzval
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auto Guider
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Guiding Software: PHD2
- Light Frames: 14*4 mins @ 40 Gain, Temp -20C
- Dark Frames: 14*4 mins
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom
21 Million light years away, this glitzy spiral galaxy is a faint and somewhat challenging target for a small telescope. This monochome image is another in my Uncool and Misguided Series this spring of urban deep sky targets shot with an uncooled mono planetary camera on an unguided mount.
Tech Stuff: Borg 71FL/1.08X Borg flattener/ QHY5III174M camera/ iOptron CubePro. Luminance channel only 100 minutes of 4 second exposures, collected in SharpCap livestacks and processed in PixInsight. From my Bortle 7 (SQM-L 18.7) yard in Westchester County 10 miles north of New York City.
Messier 67 is less famous than the Beehive cluster (Messier 44) in Cancer but is quite appealing. Estimated age is about 5 billion years old, so very old for an open cluster but spectroscopic analysis of all the stars confirms this. Mostly main sequence stars, some red giants and a few blue stragglers. there are about 500 members in the cluster.
I’ve had a few issues with my 480mm scope recently in terms of guiding and some of the mechanical aspects of the mount. This is a test image of 50 x 5 minutes to play around with some guiding parameters and assess the quality of the stars.
The stars are a bit square suggesting some differential flexure or field rotation between main scope and guide scope. I’ll make sure everything is tightened up and properly aligned then try again.
Technical Card
480/80mm f/6 Altair Starwave triplet refractor.
Altair Planostar 1.0 x FF with 2 inch IDAS P3 LPS filter
ZWO ASI2600MC; 50 x 300 second subs, Gain 100, Offset 25, Temp = -15c.
EQ6 pro mount with Rowan belt drives. EQMOD control. Primalucelab Sesto Senso electronic focuser.
Session control; SharpCap 4.0 on laptop with WiFi link to IPad.
Automated plate solving GOTO.
Automated FWHM multistar focusing every 16 frames. +/- 500 steps at 2s and 578 gain.
20 dark frames
50 flat frames (electroluminescent panel, 1500ms exposure @ 0 gain).
Post processed in PixInsight 1.8.9.
Light Pollution and Weather:
SQM (L) 19.90 at 11pm - first quarter Moon.
Session clear throughout.
Polar Alignment:
Error measured by PHD2= 0.3 arc minute.
RA drift + 1.75 arcsec/min
Dec drift - 0.09 arcsec/min
Guiding:
PHD2 guiding with ZWO ASI290mm/Altair Starwave 206/50mm guider. Every 4th sub dithered.
RA RMS error 0.8 arcsec
Dec RMS error 0.65 arcsec
Astrometry:
Resolution: 1.610 arcsec/px
Rotation: -97.267 deg
Observation start time: 2023-02-26 20:01:51 UTC
Observation end time: 2023-02-27 00:54:44 UTC
Focal distance: 481.58 mm
Pixel size: 3.76 um
Field of view: 2d 47' 42.0" x 1d 52' 5.2"
Image center: RA: 8 51 06.628 Dec: +11 50 16.80
Ecco un mosaico della Luna al 93% prima del 16 maggio mattina, giorno di fase piena e in cui diventerà rossa a causa del fenomeno dell'eclissi.
Dati:
- Telescopio Celestron 114/910 Newton
- montatura eq2 con motore AR
- camera planetaria QHY5L-II-C
- filtro UV-IR cut
- Sharpcap per l'acquisizione di 21 video da 30 secondi ognuno
- Autostakkert! 3 e Registax 6 per elaborarli
- Autostitch per assemblare le 21 parti del mosaico
- GIMP per luminosità e contrasto
Luogo: Cabras (OR)
Data: 13 maggio 2022 alle 20:20 UTC ( 22:20 ora locale)
Iconic open cluster in Cancer. I'd planned to image some emission nebulae but they were all too close to the waxing Moon. This was well away.
Technical Card
480/80mm f/6 Altair Starwave triplet refractor.
Altair Planostar 1.0 x FF with 2 inch IDAS P3 LPS filter
ZWO ASI2600MC; 75 x 90 second subs, Gain 100, Offset 25, Temp = -15c.
EQ6 R mount . EQMOD control. Primalucelab Sesto Senso electronic focuser.
Session control; SharpCap 4.1 on miniPC attached to scope. Ethernet cable to home network.
Automated plate solving GOTO and focusing.
30 dark frames
61 flat frames (electroluminescent panel A, 1600ms exposure @ 0 gain).
Post processed in PixInsight 1.8.9.
Light Pollution and Weather:
SQM (L) not recorded - 70% Moon
Clear throughout.
Polar Alignment:
Still adjusting to my new mount - guiding getting better.
Error measured by PHD2= 0.7 arc minute.
RA drift - 0.4 arcsec/min
Dec drift + 0.3 arcsec/min
Guiding:
PHD2 guiding with ZWO ASI290mm/Altair Starwave 206/50mm guider. Every 8th sub dithered.
RA RMS error 0.81 arcsec
Dec RMS error 0.55 arcsec
Astrometry
Resolution ............... 1.612 arcsec/px
Observation start time ... 2025-02-06 21:02:29 UTC
Observation end time ..... 2025-02-06 22:59:50 UTC
Focal distance ........... 481.24 mm
Pixel size ............... 3.76 um
Field of view ............ 2d 47' 49.1" x 1d 52' 9.9"
Image center ............. RA: 8 40 06.038 Dec: +19 59 44.91
AUTORE: Aldo Rocco Vitale (Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi “Guido Ruggieri”)
DATA: 6 gennaio 2018
ORA: 04:45
LOCALITA’: S. Agata Li Battiati (CT) 250 m. s.l.m.
OGGETTO: Giove
TEMPERATURA: 8°
UMIDITA’: 85%
SEEING: 3
TRASPARENZA: 3
MAGNITUDINE: -1,41
DIMENSIONE ANGOLARE: 0°0’33,5”
FRAMES: 1250
GAIN: 10
TEMPO DI POSA: 1/50 ms
DISTANZA: 5,8 UA = 870 milioni di Km c.a.
OBIETTIVO: Celestron Nexstar C11; D=280 mm; F=1764 mm; f/6.3
CAMERA DI RIPRESA: ZWO ASI 120MC
SOFTWARE DI ELABORAZIONE: Sharpcap + Autostackert + MaximDL + Pixinsight + Gimp
This image is showing my journey since I started astrophotography in 2018. We can see the planet Saturn and it’s beautiful rings tilting in upward direction with the time. On May 2025, the rings will directed to Earth as edge on and we can not see it. This phenomenon is happening due to 27 degrees tilt in Saturn’s axis and it’s happening every 15 years. Also, we can see the progress in my experience in capturing & processing. I hope you can enjoy it. Gear setup: Celestron 125SLT & Celestron HD8, TV 2.5 powermate, Celestron Neximage 5, ZWO 294MC, ZWO 290MC. Captured by Sharpcap pro. Stacked in Autostakkart!. Wavelets in Registax.