Messier 46 (M46) is an open cluster that can be found in the constellation Puppis, to the upper left of the star Sirius in Canis Major. The cluster is fairly bright and contains about 500 stars and is about 5,400 light years away. If you close you can also spot the planetary nebula, a small ring, known as NGC 2437, while it looks like it is part of the cluster, it is actually in front of it by 2,500 light years.

Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Celestron CGEM-DX mount (pier mounted), ZWO ASI071MC-Pro running at -25C, 7 x 120 second exposures, GAIN 200, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Captured using SharpCap v3.2. Image date: January 21, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Telescopio: APM APO-SD 140/980 mm f 7 + Barlow APO 1.5X aplanatica

Camera di acquisizione: QHY5III178C

Montatura: iOptron CEM60

Software: SharpCap 3.0, Emil Kraaikamp Autostakkert 2.6.8, Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight 1.8, Astra Image 4 SI

NGC 6543, also known as the Cat's Eye Nebula, is a bright and compact planetary nebula in the northern sky, in the constellation Draco. Its high surface brightness and bright-green color that stems from an emission line of double-checked oxygen ions allow it to be observed even from light-polluted cities, although its small size requires a high magnification to see details.

The center of the nebula features an intricate pattern of interlocking bright shells, maybe the result of an unseen, close companion star? The small bright dot in the center is a white dwarf, the burnt-out and slowly cooling core of an once sun-like star. This is surrounded by a more diffuse glow, in which high-resolution images, e.g., from the Hubble Space Telescope, reveal several concentric shells from multiple phases of the dying star blowing off its outer shell. But beyond the easily-visible center, there is also a very faint but extended outer nebula, also shining mostly in greenish O-III light and some traces of deep red Hydrogen emission. The outer nebula has a very peculiar hexagonal shape with spokes pointing towards the center. These are probably the remnants of even earlier material ejections from the central star.

The combination of the bright central nebula and its faint outer component is notoriously challenging to display without losing detail, and required some rather extreme adjustments of the image's brightness curve. But somehow I managed without doing a HDR blend of different exposures.

The data for this image was acquired over 2h 15min during a Saturday evening barbecue at the Volkssternwarte München, using the 16" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope at 2.5 m focal length, a dual-narrowband filter for O-III and H-alpha light and an ASI 294MC pro color camera.

Equipment:

Telescope: Meade LX200 16" Schmidt-Cassegrain

Reducer/Flattener: Starizona SCT Corrector IV 0.63x

Filter: IDAS NBZ-II dual narrowband filter

Camera: ASI 294MC Pro @-5°C / gain 120

Mount: MAM-50 (equatorial, unguided)

Acquisition:

Lights: 405 x 20s

Calibration: flatfield, dark

Software: SharpCap Pro 4.1

Processing:

Stacking and post-processing: SiRiL

Sharpening: fitswork (central nebula only)

Final adjustments: Luminar 2018

FUN night results: TLDR 15 second exposures, lots of them and no guiding! Long post lots of info. Capture info in comments.

I was experimenting again last night with very short exposures, no guiding, no stress. Granted M27 is a very bright object but I wanted to see if I could stack many subs without having to guide and not get walking noise like I did last time I tried.

RGB was taken with Sharpcap and no dithering. I got slight amount of banding noise that the ASI 183 is known for. But seemed to be fine for the RGB channels. I took 120 frames of each color or 30 minutes each.

LUM I took with APT and dithered every frame through APT without the need for PHD2 to be involved. No walking noise at all, but I had a little issue a couple times where the mount dithered right across the frame lol. May have been a sticky DEC. Thin clouds came and went during LUM capture and it was getting late so I only got like 100 frames or less than 30 minutes. I would normally hope to get a couple hours of LUM.

Darks were really a big key difference in noise. Since exposures were only 15 seconds each I was able to take 30 darks in just a couple minutes so the temps were very very close to exposure temps 75F!! for RGB and 65F for LUM. Amp glow was a non issue after calibration.

My scope is little and slow. 65mm aperture and 420mm focal length for a ratio of 6.4. My camera is an un-cooled mono which is also has tiny pixels and does not capture a ton of light, and when it does, stars quickly saturate due to small full well capacity. I took so many frames that I was able to toss any that came out poor which I normally do not have the luxury of doing. My stars were nice tiny little round things, so satisfying!

Next time I will try some narrowband though I am not holding my breath for too much success. If the night is good and the target is in a good spot, I can get 60 second unguided exposures though.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the results and have the 8" RASA on my wish list :)

Technical data:

Celestron 114/900 Newton

Planetary camera QHYCCD QHY5L-II-C

filter UV IR cut

Sharpcap, Autostakkert 3, Registax 6, Autostitch, Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw

Cabras - Sardinia - Italy

39°55'50'' N 8°31'49'' E

2021-11-18 23:17 UTC

Facebook profile: www.facebook.com/roberto.ortu.7509/

Instagram profile: www.instagram.com/ortu399/

Copyright: Roberto Ortu

Telescopio: Celestron C8 Edge HD

Montatura: iOptron CEM60

Camera di ripresa: ZWO ASI 174 mono Cooled

Filtro: Optolong Red CCD 50,8 mm

Software:SharpCap 3.2 Pro, Emil Kraaikamp Autostakkert 3.0.14, Zoner Photo Studio X v. 19, Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight 1.8, Astra Image 4 SI

Focuser: Moonlite CF 2,5" focuser with high resolution stepper DRO

Pose: 1007 a 150 ftgs

Lunghezza focale: 2032 mm

Seeing: 3 Trasparenza: 5

Here is a view of NGC 2261 also known as Hubble’s Variable Nebula. The dust cloud is being illuminated by the star R Monocerotis, the brightest area on the left of the fan-shaped nebula. It is thought the condensation near the star varies over time changing the illuminations of the fan. The star is roughly 2,500 light-years away from Earth.

Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Celestron CGEM-DX mount (pier mounted), ZWO ASI071MC-Pro running at -20C, 15 x 120 second exposures, GAIN 200, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Captured using SharpCap v3.2. Image date: January 22, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

First view of Jupiter for this season under less than favorable conditions.

Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, ZWO ASI290MC, Televue 2.5x Powermate (1.25”), SharpCap Pro v3.2, best 30% of 15k frames. Image date: 12 July 2019. Location: The Dark Side Observatory in Weatherly, PA, USA.

Messier 67 (also known as M67 or NGC 2682) is an open cluster in the constellation of Cancer. It has the nickname King Cobra cluster, not sure where that name came from but would love to know. The cluster is about 2,800 light-years away from Earth. From Burnham's Celestial Handbook, Volume 1, "It is a compact group, some 15' in diameter, and containing 500 or more members, from the 10th to the 16th magnitudes."

Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Celestron CGEM-DX mount (pier mounted), ZWO ASI071MC-Pro running at -25C, 20 x 60 second exposures, GAIN 200, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Captured using SharpCap v3.2. Image date: December 20, 2019. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Gorgeous night with very transparent and stable skies. A had a run of good luck with the guiding for once and this image at full size shows it. 1.1 arcsec/pixel resolution.

78 minutes of 3 minute sub-images, taken with a QHY183c camera, a Baader UHC-S filter, and a Televue TV-85 reduced down to F/5.6. Stacked live in SharpCap 3.2. Metro area LP location.

TS65APOQ, SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro, Altair Hypercam 183C. 75 of 100 Subs Captured in SharpCap Pro. Processed in PIPP and Registax6. Finished in Lightroom.

Best 35% of 3500

Equipment used;

Celestron hd edge 8

ZWOasi224mc camera

Celestron x-cel lx 2 x Barlow

Captured using sharpcap, stacked in AS2, sharpened in registax and photoshop

Moon, 98.5% Waxing Gibbous. Scope: Altair 102ED-R with 0.8x Reducer. Mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro. Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro IR/UV Cut. 400 Frames Captured in SharpCap Pro. Processed in PIPP. Best 70% of 199 In AS!3. Wavelets in Registax. Finished in Lightroom CC.

M51 with the Rokinon lens 135mm

Zwo ASI071MC Pro cooled color camera

Had clear skies last night, but windy

Pegasus Power Box and EAF

Zwo IR/cut filter 2"

#SharpCap Pro, PoleMaster

Orion Skyview Pro EQ mount

100 Gain offset 20, 0c cooling,

M51 was 55 minutes, 30 seconds exposure each

50 darks 50 flats and 50 bias frames

Astro Pixel Processor and PS

Plus the moon, Orion 102mm Mak-Cass telescope Zwo 290MC camera AS3 RegiStax6 and PS

Anaxagoras Crater – diameter is 52 km and it is about 3.0 km in depth. It is located in the north polar region of the moon. Named after the Greek astronomer (500-428 BC). It is a relatively recent crater that has rays extending down to the crater Plato.

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. Photographed on February 6, 2017 from Weatherly, Pennsylvania.

Telescopio: Celestron C8 Edge HD

Montatura: iOptron CEM60

Camera di acquisizione:ZWO ASI 174 CMOS mono Cooled

Filtro: Meade Red 31,8 mm

Software:SharpCap 3.2 Pro, Zoner Photo Studio X v. 19, Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight 1.8, Avistack 2.0

Lunghezza focale: 2032 mm

Pose: 180 ssu 507 a38 ftgs

Seeing: 2 Trasparenza: 7

2nd test of this new remote telescope: Cassegrain 8" 3500mm in Ager.

More info at

astro.carballada.com/new-cassegrain-8-ager/

Technical card

Imaging telescope or lens:GSO 8" f12 Classical Cassegrain

Mount:Mesu 200 Mk2

Focal reducer:Baader Q-Barlow

Software:SharpCap, Emil Kraaikamp Autostackert! 3, Registax

Filter:Astronomik Proplanet 642 - 842 nm

Accessory:ZWO EFW

Resolution: 2912x1787

Date:Jan. 5, 2020

Time: 21:14

Frames: 30

FPS: 90.00000

Focal length: 3500

Locations: AAS Montsec, Àger, Lleida, Spain

Data source: Own remote observatory

Remote source: Non-commercial independent facility

NGC7000 North America Nebula. Scope: TSAPO65Q with TeleVue NPR-1073 0.8x Reducer + ZWO IRCUT Filter. Mount: SkyWatcher EQM-35 Pro. Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro. Guide: SkyWatcher 50mm EvoGuide with Altair 130M. 25x3 Mins in SharpCap Pro. Processed in APP. Finished in Adobe CC.

The 'West Coast' of the North America Nebula [NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20] Seen in the constellation of Cygnus.

The bright 'West Coast' is often called the 'Cygnus Wall'.

The over exposed orange star towards the top is 'Xi Cygni', or 'ξ Cygni'.

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 200;

14 x Exp 200s

Frames: 14 Lights; 10 Darks; 100 Flats

100% Crop

Capture: SharpCap

Processed: DSS; APP, PS

Sky: 99% Moon, slight breeze, 30% to 80% cloud, mild, fair seeing.

Bortle 5 Sky.

Distance from Earth: 2,202 light years.

The Horsehead Nebula and Flame Nebula with a Zenithstar 61ii

This nebula pair in Orion is one of the most photographed Deep Space Objects in astrophotography. I used a small and simple rig consisting of a William Optics Zenithstar 61ii with an inexpensive Canon T7i DSLR mounted on it. The entire telescope and camera assembly could easily fit in a small backpack with plenty of room left over for other things. The unit was mounted on an iOptron CEM25P with guiding using a small ZWO 30mm fl 120mm guidescope and PHD2 guiding software. No darks or other calibration frames were taken ... just the 21 exposures at 240 seconds each. The ISO was set to 800. The site was a Bortle 4 and the temperature was 15 C (59 F). The Canon T7i DSLR sensor temperature was 21 C (70 F).

The exposures were captured with APT software. Processing was done with Pixinsight. Polar Alignment for the evening used SharpCap Pro. It's so relaxing to take such a small telescope out and use it to capture the beauty of the heavens while sitting back nearby in a comfortable chair with a cup of hot coffee in hand ... just looking with wonder at the sights above. What a blessing these nights are.

Exploring Messier 42 The Great Orion Nebula

Even though Messier 42 is one of the most photographed astrophotography targets, you can explore its details and change its poses tirelessly. My inexpensive little Orion 80ED APO could use a new focuser, but its optics are excellent. The little telescope is a technical powerhouse when used to explore the heavens. The scope was mounted on a Skywatcher HEQ5 with guiding via a very small ZWO 30mm fl 120mm guidescope and PHD2 guiding software. No darks or other calibration frames were taken. Exposures were 25x24s, 12x44s, and 50x12s with the ASI294MC Pro camera set to a gain of 120 and Bin of 2x2 and cooled to -5 C. No filters were used. The site was a Bortle 4 and the ambient temperature was 15 C (59 F).

Capturing the exposures was done with APT. Processing was done with Pixinsight with final touches put in with Corel Paintshop Pro. Polar Alignment for the evening used SharpCap Pro.

Here is a wide-field view of the northwest section of Mare Imbrium showing Sinus Iridum, the crater Plato and the Montes Rech mountain range.

Tech Specs: ZWO ASI290MC camera and Meade 12” LX90 telescope mounted on a Celestron CGEM-DX mount – an Antares Focal Reducer was used for the wide view. Software used included Sharpcap v2.9, AutoStakkert! Alpha Version 2.3.0.21, and ImagesPlus v5.75a. Best 2500 frames out of 10000 frames captured. Photographed on March 8, 2017 from Weatherly, Pennsylvania.

b33-262x30-g37-o200-qhy183c_-20C-lnh-85f5_6-v3

A full moon and Bortle 7-8 metro area conditions can't stop the Optolong L-eNhance filter. 131 minutes of 30 sec sub-images LiveStacked in SharpCap 3.2, QHY183c at -20C, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.

Here is a view on Earth’s moon in a region called Sinus Iridum (Bay of Rainbows), there are two capes, or points, named Promontorium Laplace and Promontorium Heraclides. This area has also been called the “jeweled scimitar” because of its resemblance to the scimitar sword (or sabre). If you look close, you can see some “wrinkle ridges” on the flat surface area. These were caused when lava cooled and contracted, they are also referred to as veins.

Tech Specs: Sky Watcher 120ED Esprit, Celestron CGEM-DX mount (pier mounted), ZWO ASI290MC, best 15% of 2500 frames, unguided. Captured using SharpCap Pro v3.2 and stacked in AutoStakkert! 3.0.14. Image date: December 7, 2019. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Still learning my new mono camera

ASI183MM non cooled (30 F ambient temps)

AT65EDQ APO

CG5 ASGT

QHY 5lii guide camera

meade 60mm achro 300mm guide scope

16 @ 300 seconds HA 9nm Schuler filter

Software: ASCOM POTH, SharpCap Pro 3.1, Photoshop CC 2017, Google remote desktop, CdC, APT - Astro Photography Tool, PixInsight 1.8 Ripley PixInsight, ProDigital Software Astronomy Tools Actions Set

Accessories:Arduino Focuser DIY FocuserPro2 arduino focus motor ( Robert Brown)

Data source: Backyard

R,G,B color composite image using IR650nm Longpass filter instead of Red. Images captured at 02:24, 02:26 and 02:29 UT July 6.

Software used, SharpCap, Autostakkert, Winjupos, Registax, Topaz Sharpen AI.

Genova, Italy (28 Oct 2022 21:25 UT)

Planet: diameter 48.0", mag -2.8, altitude ≈ 44°

Telescope: Orange 1977 vintage Celestron C8 (203 F/10 SC)

Mount: EQ5 with ST4 hand controller (no GoTo)

Camera: QHY5III462C Color

Barlow: GSO APO 2.5x

Filter: QHY UV/IR block

Recording scale: 0.150 arcsec/pixel

Equivalent focal length ≈ 3990 mm F/19.7

Image resized: +50%

Recording: SharpCap 4.0

(640x480 @ 60fps - 120 sec - RAW16 - Gain 120)

Best 25% frames of 7233

Alignment/Stacking: AutoStakkert! 3.1.4

Wavelets/Deconvolution: AstroSurface T5

Final Elaboration: GIMP 2.10.30

A stacked view of yesterday’s sun showing quite a few sunspots. Imaged in white light (glass filter), best 20% of 500 images. Solar cycle 25 is the current solar cycle, the 25th since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began. The peak solar activity month is currently estimated to be July 2025.

Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO ASI2600MC camera, best 20% of 500 images, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro pier mounted, ZWO EAF and ASIAir Pro, captured with SharpCap Pro and processed in Autostakkert. Image Date: July 31, 2023. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).

Here is a line of craters near the lunar terminator on October 22, 2018. From left to right it includes Pythagoras, Anaximander, Carpenter and Pascal.

Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, ZWO ASI290MC, Televue 2.5x Powermate (1.25”), best 25% of 30k frames, captured using SharpCap Pro v3.1. Image date: October 22, 2018. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Foto lograda sumando los datos de 2 equipos distintos (14 h de exposición Total):

1) ASI1600MM-pro + SW Esprit 100 + NEQ6pro rowan mod + optolong LRGB filters. Guide: guidescope 60mm and QHY5L II M – 68 x 3 min L, 20 x 3 min R, 20 x 3 min G, 19 x 3 min B. 100 flats per filter, 100 darks, gain 100: Capturado por Juan Filas

2) Equipo Principal: NIKON D7500 + SW Explorer 200p + SW Coma Corrector 0.9x + EQ6-R-Pro + ZWO EAF

Equipo guía: guidescope 60/240 mm, camara guia ZWO ASI 120mm mini

ISO 800, 154 x 180" Lights

100 Darks

100 Flats

85 Bias

Polar Align: SharpCap 3.2

Adquisición: SGP 3.1

Capturado por Ariel Cappelletti

Procesado de Imagen: Juan Filas / Ariel Cappelletti

Capturado en Cielo clase Bortle 2, desde Observatorio la Banderita, La Pampa, Argentina.

Gracias Especiales a Leonardo Julio (www.astronomiapampeana.com.ar) por la invitación tanto a Juan como a mì para ir al Observatorio.

-------------------------------------

Image achieved by the addittion of data from to different equipments (14 h of total exposure):

1) ASI1600MM-pro + SW Esprit 100 + NEQ6pro rowan mod + optolong LRGB filters. Guide: guidescope 60mm and QHY5L II M – 68 x 3 min L, 20 x 3 min R, 20 x 3 min G, 19 x 3 min B. 100 flats per filter, 100 darks, gain 100: Captured by Juan Filas

2) Main Equipment: NIKON D7500 + SW Explorer 200p + SW Coma Corrector 0.9x + EQ6-R-Pro + ZWO EAF

Guiding Equipment: guidescope 60/240 mm, ZWO ASI 120mm mini

ISO 800, 154 x 180" Lights

100 Darks

100 Flats

85 Bias

Polar Align: SharpCap 3.2

Acquisition: SGP 3.1

Captured by Ariel Cappelletti

Image Processing By Juan Filas / Ariel Cappelletti

Taken under skies Bortle 2, from Observatorio La Banderita, La Pampa, Argentina, special thanks to Leonardo Julio for the invitation to Juan and me to travel to La Banderita (www.astronomiapampeana.com.ar).

Equipo Principal: ZWO ASI 178mc + SW Explorer 250pds + EQ6-R-Pro + ZWO EAF + Barlow Celestron X-Cel LX 3X

10% of 20.000 frames selected in PIPP and stacked in Registax6

scale: 4 pix/km

SharpCap 3.2, PIPP, Registax6, Pixinsight 1.8.8, PS

Here is a wide field shot of the open clusters Messier 35 and the compact open cluster designated NGC 2158, both found in the constellation Gemini. This is a huge open cluster that almost fills the same size in the sky as a full moon, it is about 2,800 light-years from Earth. As with any wide-field image of this open cluster, you get the added benefit of catching NGC 2158 nearby, not related to M35 as it lies about 9,000 light-years further away.

Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Celestron CGEM-DX mount (pier mounted), ZWO ASI071MC-Pro running at -25C, 20 x 60 second exposures, GAIN 200, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Captured using SharpCap v3.2. Darks included. Image date: December 20, 2019. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Prominent features are Mare Fecunditatus and the Langrenus Crater on its eastern edge and the Gutenberg and Goclenius craters on the southwest shore. Also predominant is the Petavius Crater to the southeast.

Celestron C90 (Vintage Orange) 1000mm f/11 Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope

ZWO ASI120MC, 2 minute exposure in SharpCap 2.9 and processed in Registax 6.

Live stacking in SharpCap

10 frames at 15 seconds each

Mars sets over Schüter and Grimaldi as the moon occults Mars. Since events precluded a realtime capture, I produced this composite from data shot 4 hours before the Occultation.

Location: 8-12-2022 St Helens UK.

Acquisition:Mars- best 5% of 5000x 2.5ms each RGB gain 400.

Moon- best 20% of 200x 1ms each RGB gain 400.

Equipment:Skywatcher 200P, EQ6R-Pro. Altair H183Mpro. ZWO EAF, EFWmini with RGB filters.

Software:Sharpcap Pro, EQMOD.

Processing:AutoStakkert, Registax 6, Affinity Photo2 with Topaz DeNoiseAI plug in.

The position of Mars with respect to the lunar craters was obtained from Stellarium. Since the data was obtained 4 hours before the time of the occultation, the details on the surface of Mars will be different due to its rotation.

ZWO ASI294MC-Pro Cooled + filtre IR-CUT ZWO M48 + adaptateur CCD TS Optics EOS/T2 + Sigma 150/600 à 600mm f6.3 sur Sky Watcher Star Adventurer.

247 poses de 30s soit 2h03 de pose - Gain 420/470 . Acquisition avec SharpCap 3.2 - Traitement Siril - Darktable - FastStone Image Viewer.

Latitude 48°29' N

M101 - Galaxie du Moulinet - Constellation de la Grande Ourse - Magnitude 7.86 - Distance 20.8 million d'années lumière.

Ngc 5474 - En bas à droite - Galaxie Magnitude 10.79 - Distance 19.6 million d'années lumière.

Ngc 5422 - En haut à gauche - Galaxie Magnitude 13.1 - Distance 100.8 million d'années lumière.

M57 The Ring Nebula

Taken with the Orion 80mm ED refractor

ASI Zwo ASI183MC Pro cooled color camera IR/cut filter

Had some clear skies last night, not good tracking due to windy conditions

#SharpCap Pro, PoleMaster

Ioptron i45 Pro EQ mount, PHD2 guiding

Orion 60mm guidescope Zwo 120MM mini

120 Gain offset 20, 0c cooling,

M57 was 80 minutes, 1 minute exposure each

Lost 27 frames to bad guiding, 53 minutes total

25 darks 25 flats and 25 bias frames

Astro Pixel Processor and PS

Messier 44 – The Beehive Cluster (or also called the Praesepe) is a open cluster that lies in the constellation Cancer. M44 has a visual brightness of magnitude 3.7, so it is easily visible using a modest telescope and can easily be seen using binoculars (it is actually much nicer in a wide-field view). Distance is around 577 light years. Total number of stars in this cluster are in the range of 200 to 350.

Tech Specs: Williams Optics REDCAT, Celestron CGEM-DX mount (pier mounted), ZWO ASI071MC-Pro running at -25C, 15 x 60 second exposures, GAIN 200, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope, ZWO UV/IR cut filter. Captured using SharpCap v3.2. Image date: December 22, 2019. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Taken from my Bortle 7 skies in Sydney Australia. Taken with Espirit 150 refractor, ASI2600MC camera and Optolong filter. Image consists of 72 X 3 minutes livestacked and calibrated on the fly in SharpCap Pro.

As of last evening, the planet Venus is 27% illuminated and near its maximum brightness. Its brightness comes from its proximity to Earth, it is currently passing between us and the sun. The crescent phase will grow thinner and thinner until we lose sight of Venus in the western glow. It reappears in the morning skies of late June. You can check our EarthSky’s article on this at: earthsky.org/tonight/venus-at-its-brightest-in-late-april

Tech Specs: Meade 12” LX-90, ZWO ASI290MC, best 25% of 10,000 frames, UV/IR filter, unguided. Captured using SharpCap Pro. Image date: April 28, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

This is not my first image of the beautiful Orion Nebula and probably will not be my last. It was captured on a field night with Macarthur Astronomical Society, despite several equipment issues I had to deal with.

Object Details:

Messier 42, NGC 1976, LBN 974.

Constellation: Orion.

Visual magnitude: +4.0

Apparent diameter: 85 x 60.0 arc-min. (about 2 Lunar Diameters).

Actual diameter: 35 light years.

Distance: 1,400 light years.

Altitude: 41° above NE horizon.

Also visible:

Also visible in this image are: NGC 1973, NGC 1975, and NGC 1977, the Running Man Nebula; the smaller bright nebula, M43; open cluster NGC 1981.

Image:

Exposure: 52 x 90 sec = 78 min. Live stacked.

Gain 300

Date: 2018-12-03 commencing approx 11.15 pm

Location: The Oaks, NSW.

Sky: semi-dark rural.

Cloud: clear.

Moon: no.

Image acquisition software: SharpCap.

Image post-processing: GIMP.

Cropping: no.

Imaging log:

[ZWO ASI071MC Pro]

Debayer Preview=On

Output Format=FITS files (*.fits)

Binning=1

Capture Area=4944×3284

Colour Space=RAW8

Hardware Binning=Off

Turbo USB=80(Auto)

Flip=None

Frame Rate Limit=Maximum

Gain=223

Exposure=90

Timestamp Frames=Off

White Bal (B)=56(Auto)

White Bal (R)=39(Auto)

Brightness=64

Temperature=5.3

Cooler Power=100

Target Temperature=-10

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=Off

Banding Threshold=35

Banding Suppression=0

Apply Flat=None

Subtract Dark=None

#Black Point

Display Black Point=0

#MidTone Point

Display MidTone Point=0.5

#White Point

Display White Point=1

TimeStamp=2018-12-03T13:43:15.2148775Z

SharpCapVersion=3.2.5871.0

TotalExposure(s)=4680

StackedFrames=52

Gear:

Imaging telescope: Skywatcher Esprit 120ED Super APO triplet refractor.

Focal length: 840 mm, focal ratio: f/7.

Imaging camera: ZWO ASI 071 MC Pro

Guiding: off (guide camera malfunction).

Telescope mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R.

Polar aligning method: QHYCCD PoleMaster.

Polar alignment error: estimated 4-6 arc-min.

Field flattener: yes; filter: no.

Observing Notes:

Well, I’ve had nearly a year of frustration with my SkyWatcher EQ6 mount, which has been giving me alignment errors since January. It’s been looked at twice by the dealer and the Australian Skywatcher supplier, Tasco. They found nothing wrong and I’ve had mixed results since getting it back.

I thought it was resolved but it played up again on this occasion and I ended up manually locating this easy object so I would not come away empty-handed. I now have reason to believe it was a power supply issue and have since bought a replacement battery to power the mount.

Sharpcap livestack performed well, once I was able to begin imaging.

Final version. Taken with a QHY183c camera, an Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8 and a UHC-S filter. Acquired in SharpCap 3.2, initial adjustment in FitsWorks and final post processing in PS.

The Snow Moon February 2022 plus 1 day

Taken one day after the Full Moon on the 18th of February 2022. Unfortunately on the 17th of February we had high winds and 100% high cloud cover making imaging very difficult. This image is the closest I could get to being a Full Moon.

Taken from my backyard in Gérgal, Andalucía, Spain using my Tamron 150 - 600 mm telephoto lens connected to my ASI 183 MC Pro astro camera cooled to -10C. 1,000 high speed images were taken and the best 500 were selected and stacked to obtain the best details.

High speed imaging captured using Sharpcap Pro, the images were selected and stacked using Autostakert 3, final adjustments made in Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Labs Sharpen AI.

A quick RGB capture of several solar prominences this afternoon.

Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, ZWO ASI290MC, Daystar Quark Chromosphere, SharpCap v3.2, best 10% of 500 frames. Image date: 9 June 2019. Location: The Dark Side Observatory in Weatherly, PA.

Saturn from 4:05am this morning, I can just about make out moon Iapetus’ shadow as it transits the face of Saturn.

Celestron NexStar 6SE

Zwo Asi224mc with IR cut filter

Zwo ADC

Tele Vue 2.5x Powermate

FireCapture for ADC tuning

Captured in SharpCap.

2 minute video 20K frames

Exposure-6.47ms Gain-360

Taken with ASI2600MC camera, Espirit 150 scope, Optolong L-Pro filter. LiveStacked in SharpCap Pro 34 X 7 minute exposures.

m27-60x60-g30-o15-qhy183c_-10C-uhcs-85f5_6-v6

M27 is now high enough to image during the early morning hours again. My first crack at it for this new season netted 60 minutes worth of 1 minute sub-images, which were LiveStacked in SharpCap 3.2. I obtained the data in metro area light pollution levels with a UHC-S filter. The camera was a QHY183c at -10C and the scope was a Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.

Just 30 minutes of M31 before clouds

LUM 60 @ 30 seconds Gain 200, offset 5

30 darks, no flats

Scope: Orion 8" f4 Astrograph with Baader Coma Corrector

Mount: iOptron iEQ45 pro

Camera: ZWO ASI183M non cooled

Guide camera: QHY5Lii

Guide Scope: Stellarvue 50mm

ZWO 8 position 1.25 filter wheel filter wheel

ZWO L

Moonlite focuser CR2

Moonlight Hi Res stepper motor

MyFocuer Pro v2 (Robert Brown) controller

Home Observatory

Software: N.I.N.A., PHD2, Sharpcap, CdC, Pixinsight, Photoshop, Team Viewer

I imaged Bailly Crater on February 25, 2021, luckily the illumination provided enough shadow for a decent image. The unstable atmosphere and winds only allowed me to grab about 2000 frames during each run, so the final image is not as crisp as I would like it. From Wikipedia - One of the largest wall-surrounded plains on the moon, almost a "sea" in miniature, extending 150 miles from N. to S., and fully as much from E. to W. Named in honor of Jean Sylvain Bailly; French astronomer (1736-1793).

TECH SPECS: Meade 12” LX-90, Celestron CGEM-DX pier mounted, ZWO ASI290MC, Antares Focal Reducer. Captured using SharpCap v3.2, stacked in Autostakkert (best 20% of 2000 images), sharpened in Registax, final image processed in Corel Paintshop Pro. Image Date: February 25, 2021. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51a/NGC 6194) and M51b/NGC5195 and lots of other galaxies taken on the 2 nights of 13th/14th April and 15th/16th April 2020.

5 hours and 25 minutes of exposures. About half were 4 minutes (240s) exposures taken on night 1 and the other half are 5 minute (300s) exposures on night 2.

Camera: - Nikon D3100.

ISO: 400. Automated white balance

Flats taken with a Huion L4S Light Box. Used Bias frames too.

Wireless Remote: PIXEL TW-283 DC2 2.4G.

Telescope: - Skywatcher 130PDS Newtonian.

Mount: - Skywatcher EQ6R.

Guiding: Skywatcher EvoGuide 50ED & ZWO ASI120MM-Mini.

Polar Aligned with SharpCap Pro.

Control Software:- Stellarium Scope, Stellarium, Poth Hub, EQMOD, All Sky Plate Solver, PHD Guiding 2 and PHD Dither Timer.

Processing Software: Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker and edited in Star Tools.

Moon: - Came up right at the end of work on night 1 and was not present in night 2.

Light Pollution and Location: - Bortle 8 in Davyhulme, Manchester.

Seeing: - Goodish

I think I’m getting better at this, having read quite a lot of topics on darks in astronomy forums I decided to ditch them. Its going from 20c in the day to about 2c at night which is far too much of a difference without having a cooled camera. It’s probably doing more harm than good. I decided to use dithering instead using the PHD Dither timer addon which I have to say seemed to work quite well.

I purchased Sharpcap Pro to try and improve my polar alignment. For some reason I would get it to read ‘Excellent’ and then when I did it again it went to ‘Good’, perhaps I’m not quite pointing it in the right direction or not turning it exactly 90 degrees. Will try and get better but not sure if I need to.

I am learning more about Star Tools, this is about my 5th process of this picture. I’m colour blind and struggle to see green. In my last picture I was asked ‘Why is it green?’ to which my response was ‘Is it?’. I’ve done some reading on this and apparently things being too green is a thing too. Something to do with the green pixels in a colour DSLR and maybe a bit to do with the light polution. This happened on one of my earlier process attempts of this picture, I thought it was good but was informed by why wife that it was green again! Again I read up on the colour module and think this is better. Maybe its too yellow in parts but maybe this is OK.