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Here is a view of the famous double cluster in the constellation Perseus (between Perseus and Cassiopeia), they are also designated NGC 869 and NGC 884. Check out the red supergiants in this view! Did you know that the Perseus Double Cluster is surrounded by one of the largest concentrations of red supergiants stars in the sky? (Red supergiants, neutrinos and the Double Cluster, Tristram Brelstafff, 1996)
Tech Specs: Sky Watcher Esprit 120ED, Celestron CGEM-DX pier mounted, ZWO ASI290MC and ASI071MC-Pro, ZWO AAPlus, ZWO EAF. 60 x 60 seconds at -10C plus darks and flats. Two panel mosaic imaged on 9/26/21 and 10/01/21. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Here is my Sky-Watcher Esprit 100 APO Refractor with autoguiding.
I have used a number of setups for deep sky astrophotography, but this is definitely one of my favorites.
The Telescope: astrobackyard.com/sky-watcher-esprit-100-review/
The Mount: astrobackyard.com/sky-watcher-eq6r-review/
In this photo, you'll notice a few other items, including the ZWO ASI294MC Pro Camera, and Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox.
Some of my best photos were captured using this kit!
This is a composite image consisting...
The Sky: 16 x 1-minute exposures tracked and stacked
The Landscape: shot earlier while still lots of light
Nikon D5500
Nikon 35mm/f1.8
Aperture f2.8
ISO 800
Hoya Intensifier anti-light pollution filter
Tracked on a Sky Watcher Star Adventurer
Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
Processed in Photoshop CS5
Note: There was severe light pollution from two sources on the horizon.
EQUIPMENT & ACQUISITION DETAILS:
Telescope: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120 ED
Camera: QHY268M
Mount: MYT
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini
On-mount Computer: PrimaluceLab Eagle2 Pro
Software: SGP, SkyX, PHD2, PixInsight 1.8, Lightroom
Accessories: SW Field Flattener, QHY CFW3, QHYOAG M, PoleMaster, NiteCrawler WR30, Flip-Flat, Astronomik 36mm Filters
Images (Gain 0/Offset 40 @ -10*C):
R: 86 x 120"
G: 60 x 120"
B: 60 x 120"
Ha: 42 x 300"
Total integration 10.36hrs
Taken on Oct 2022
Messier 36 (M36 or NGC 1960) lies at a distance of about 4,100 light years away from Earth in the constellation Auriga and is about 14 light years across. There are at least sixty members in the cluster. The cluster is very similar to the Pleiades cluster (M45), and if it were the same distance from Earth it would be of similar brightness.
Distance: 4,340 light year.
Radius: 7 light year
Right ascension: 05h 36m 18.0s
Declination: +34° 08′ 24″
Apparent Magnitude: 6.3
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO AS2600mc-Pro running at -10C, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, 54 x 60 second guided exposures, focused with a ZWO EAF, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro. Processed using PixInsight and DeepSkyStacker. Image Date: November 22, 2022. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Globular Cluster Messier 80 (M80 or NGC 6093) is a globular cluster that can be found in the constellation Scorpius. M80 lies at a distance of about 32,600 light-years and is one of the densest globular clusters in our galaxy.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Canon 6D stock camera, ISO 3200, 10 x 60 second exposures with dark/bias frames, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Image date: June 23, 2019. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.
Here is a view of the open cluster NGC 663 (also known as Caldwell 10), a young cluster of about 400 stars in Cassiopeia. Two other NGC clusters are also in this view, NGC 654 to the upper left and NGC 659 in the upper right.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, Canon 6D stock camera, ISO 3200, 15 x 60 second exposures with dark/bias frames, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Image date: October 13, 2018. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.
The Sun has been showing a lot of activity lately. I'm still very much learning how to do this, and solar imaging has turned out to be quite different from "normal" photography. Sure, familiar settings like exposure are still there — but beyond that, almost everything feels new.
For this, I'm using what's called a "planetary astro camera." When people hear "astrophotography," they usually (and rightfully) first think of long exposures — the kind used to capture images of nebulae and galaxies, whether by the Webb telescope or an amateur in their backyard.
But when you're photographing solar system objects like the Sun, long exposures aren't really needed. The Sun provides plenty of light. Instead, the main challenge becomes dealing with Earth's atmosphere.
That's where planetary cameras come in — they record high-speed videos, capturing thousands of frames in a minute, with each frame exposed for just a few milliseconds. Later, stacking software selects the sharper frames, discards the worst ones, and combines the rest into a raw image for further processing. This method is called "lucky imaging."
I'm imaging with a telescope that has a pressure-tuned etalon — the part that makes it possible to see prominences and surface detail. The etalon works as a narrowband filter, isolating a thin slice of light at the H-alpha wavelength. That's why these images show the Sun's features instead of just a white glare.
I'm also using a monochrome (mono) camera, which fits well for this kind of imaging. Since H-alpha is a single wavelength, color isn't needed — and mono cameras tend to capture better contrast and finer detail.
One thing I learned from helpful people on the Cloudy Nights forum is that the etalon isn’t perfectly even across the field — there’s a "sweet spot" where the tuning is best. (I think of it more as a "sweet area," because it's fairly large — no trouble fitting the Sun inside.) Understanding this has made a real difference, both visually and in imaging, compared to my first tries.
Visual observing has been especially rewarding. The eye does a fantastic job picking up both prominences and fine surface details at the same time — something that's much harder to show in a photograph (this one show only prominences, exposed for that). What I like about this image is that I managed to catch a little of the fine structure in the prominences — the kind of detail the eye sees naturally when the scope is well tuned.
Just a single exposure, shot with a Nikon D600 and Rokinon 24mm f1.4 lens on a Sky Watcher Star Adventurer tracking mount, ISO 1600, f1.4, and 35 seconds. I've been trying various camera settings to see what kind of quality differences exist with the camera and lens. I prefer to stop this lens down to around f2.5 to get nice round stars and some star spikes with a 2-4 minute exposure at ISO 400 or 800, but out of curiosity I wanted to see what kind of histogram I got from a 30-45 second exposure at ISO 1600 and f1.4. Time is precious for shooting the core this time of year, every minute counts, so if I can get good quality from an exposure that's about a quarter as long as my normal exposure I can get more exposures in when I go out before the core sets.
From the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature (planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3273), Crater Langrenus was named after Michel Florent van Langren, a Belgian selenographer (somebody who studies the surface and physical features of the moon) and engineer (circa 1600-1675) and is almost 132 KM wide.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, ZWO ASI290MC camera, Televue Powermate 2.5x, best 40% of 10k frames under bad seeing. Captured with SharpCap v3 and processed using AutoStakkert! And Registax. Image Date: February 20, 2018. Location: The Dark Side Observatory in Weatherly, PA.
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• Sky-Watcher Quattro 250P
• Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro
• ZWO ASI294MM-Pro
• Astronomik L: 47x300s bin1 gain 0
• Astronomik RGB: 34x300s bin2 gain 125
(total integration 6.75h)
• ZWO OAG & ASI290Mini guide cam
• TS GPU coma corrector
• ZWO EFW, ZWO EAF & Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerbox 2
Trevinca, Valding, Spain
Bortle 3, SQM 21.8
processed with Pixinsight
Moon , Sony α6600 , GSO(Kasai) GS-150CC + ED屈折用0.8xレデューサーII , SIGHTRON Quad BP Filter II , Sky-Watcher EQ6-R
左端にコペルニクスが見えています。
比較的新しいクレーターとの事で形がクッキリしています。
Grimaldi
[English Below]
Cratera GRIMALDI: "Cratera preenchida com lava. É um dos pontos mais escuros que pode ser visto na Lua. Mede aproximadamente 225 km de diâmetro". (fonte: apolo11.com). Profundidade da cratera Grimaldi: 2.7 km (fonte: en.wikipedia.org).
Refletor Sky-Watcher 203mm F/5 EQ5 com Onstep, ASI 120MC-S, Barlow Starguider 5x. ASICAP, AutoStakker, RegiStax e Photoshop. Empilhados, aproximadamente, 500 frames por foto.
www.instagram.com/lopescosmos/
www.astrobin.com/users/lopescosmos/
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GRIMALDI crater: "Crater filled with lava. It is one of the darkest points that can be seen on the Moon. It measures approximately 225 km in diameter". (source: apolo11.com). Depth of the Grimaldi crater: 2.7 km (source: en.wikipedia.org).
Sky-Watcher 203mm F/5 EQ5 reflector with Onstep, ASI 120MC-S, Barlow Starguider 5x. ASICAP, AutoStakker, RegiStax and Photoshop. Stacked approximately 500 frames per photo.
www.instagram.com/lopescosmos/
www.astrobin.com/users/lopescosmos/
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The Rosette Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49) is a large spherical ionized atomic hydrogen region (H II region) that is circular in appearance and located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244 (Caldwell 50) is closely associated with the nebulosity, the stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula's matter (from Wikipedia).
The nebula is about 5,200 light-years away and spans nearly 65 light-years.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, Canon 6D stock camera, 27 minutes total integration time at ISO 3200, imaged on February 6, 2018. Location: The Dark Side Observatory in Weatherly, PA.
Date : 2023-02-26
Objet : NGC 2542
Instrument : Lunette 80 ED Esprit Super APO Sky_Watcher
Camera : ZWO ASI1600 MC / Filtre = IrCut / Temp = -15°c / Gain= 139 / Offset = 21
Durée pose unitaire = 60s / Nombre de pose : 60
Traitement SIRIL et PHOTOSHOP / Gestion Stellarmate
Phase lunaire : First Quarter(0.234)
Données Météo fin de session
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Fin de session StellarMatte : 2023-02-27 06:06:03
Lever du soleil : 07:47 AM
Coucher du soleil : 06:44 PM
Conditions climatiques : clear sky
Couverture nuageuse : 0 %
Taux d'humidite de 72 %
Pression : 1022 hpa
Vitesse Vent : 32 km/h
Orientation : 23 ° (N=0° / Est = 90° / Sud = 180° / Ouest = 270°)
La temperature en fin de session est de 0 °c
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@ Frank TYRLIK -->>> www.flickr.com/photos/frank_tyrlik/
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mount
Sky-Watcher Evostar 72ED OTA (72/420mm)
Baader Barlow 2.25x (effective 2.86x)
ZWO ASI533MC Pro (at 0 degrees)
oaCapture 1.8.0 (recording)
PIPP (pre-processing)
AutoStakkert! 3 (stacking)
Siril (splitting the 3 channels)
ImPPG (sharpening)
PlanetarySystemLRGBAligner (aligning separate channels to the original RGB image)
Siril (recombining back channels into RGB)
RawTherapee (RGB post-processing)
GIMP (creating LRGB, with original RGB as the L channel)
RawTherapee (LRGB post-processing)
This is dark nebula Barnard 174 in the constellation Cepheus. 1.5 hours just starts to bring out some edge details, so I'll call this a work in progress for now.
E.E. Barnard published a list of dark nebulae in 1919, known as Barnard objects, they number from Barnard 1 to Barnard 370.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, Canon 6D stock camera, ISO 3200, 88 x 60 second exposures with dark/bias frames, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Image date: October 3, 2018. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.
This is a sectional view of the large star forming region called the Soul Nebula (Embryo Nebula, IC 1871, Sh2-199) and is found in the constellation Cassiopeia. This nebula is often shown next to the Heart Nebula (IC 1805). The Soul Nebula is about 6,500 light years away from Earth and contains several open clusters and few smaller emission nebulae around the perimeter. The star clusters are surrounded by hydrogen, which glows red from the young hot stars nearby. This view only shows about 1/3 of the entire nebula.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO AS2600mc-Pro running at -10C, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, Optolong L-eNhance 2” Filter, 30 x 300 second guided exposures, ZWO EAF, ZWO ASIAir Pro. Processed using DSS and PixInsight. Image Date: October 21, 2022. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
7-22 Elephants Trunk Nebula - IC1396 - Hubble Palette
This was shot the last couple of weeks in July over 3 nights.
Thanks to www.youtube.com/c/lukomatico for the great tutorials on creating the faux Hubble Palette from an OSC camera. The third night with the recent new moon I captured some broadband data using an L-Pro filter. This is my longest exposure to date.
WO Z61, Rising Cam ATR3CMOS26000KPA, Sky-Watcher AZ GTi, Optolong L-eNhance Filter, Optolong L-Pro
9 hr 41 mins integration, gain 100 at 0C, darks, flats, flatdarks
Stacked in APP, processed/edited in PI. Final editing in PS/LR
The radar last night showed thunderstorms going all around us.
I was able to go out and catch some storm clouds with stars!
I enjoy sky watching!
NGC 2169 is a small open cluster found in the constellation Orion. It is about 3,600 light years away from Earth and is nicknamed "The 37 Cluster", can you see the 37 in the image? This is also referred to as an asterism.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO AS2600mc-Pro running at -10C, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, ZWO EAF, ZWO ASIAir Plus, 54 x 60 seconds with darks. Stacked in DSS and processed in PixInsight. Image Date: February 24, 2023. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Photo By Bryan He
Post Processing By Fluorine Z.
Image Telescope/Lens : Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED APO
Image Camera : ZWO ASI1600mm
Filter : Astrodon 3nm Ha/OIII
Mount : Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6
Sky-Watcher 150mm / f8
EQ3-2 On Step Mount
54 x 30" - Canon T1i mod
50 Darks, 20 Flats, 30 Bias
DSS + Pix + Ps 2021
Bortle 5/4 Sky
Porto Real - Brazil
A nebulosa da Lagoa é uma gigantesca nuvem interestelar na constelação de Sagitário. É classificada como uma nebulosa de emissão, cujos gases ionizados, principalmente hidrogênio, emitem radiação principalmente no comprimento de onda na faixa da luz visível vermelha.
Sobreposta à nebulosa existe um pequeno aglomerado aberto de estrelas. Tem magnitude aparente 6,0 e situa-se a 4 850 anos-luz em relação à Terra.
Uma das principais características da da nebulosa Laguna é a presença de nebulosas negras conhecidas como glóbulos de Bok, que são nuvens protoestelares com diâmetros de cerca de 10 000 UA.
A região mais brilhante da nebulosa (conhecida como a nebulosa da Ampulheta) é uma região onde ocorre intensa formação estelar: a intensa emissão luminosa é causada pela excitação de estrelas jovens e quentes, principalmente pela estrela Herschel 36.
Bastante próxima à região brilhante da Nebulosa encontra-se a mais brilhante estrela do objeto, 9 Sagittarii, de magnitude aparente 5,97 e classe espectral O5, que é responsável por grande parte do brilho da nebulosa.
40 DSLR shots (Canon EOS450D, ISO 100, 1/200s) via Sky-Watcher 150P Newtonian on EQ3-2 mount. PIPP > stacked in Registax > Photoshop. Baader Safety Film filter. Inset disc from Tilting Sun-G.
Photo By Bryan He
Post Processing By Fluorine Z.
Image Telescoope/Lens : Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED APO
Image Camera : ZWO ASI1600mm
Mount : Sky-Watcer AZ-EQ6
Frames : Ha 48x300"/OIII : 48x300"
Integration: 8.0 hours
Locations : Home observatory, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
A quick capture of Sirius (in the constellation Canis Major) and the open cluster Messier 41 (that grouping of stars right below Sirius), a light wispy cloud cover adds to the view. The image was taken at 10:00 PM local time when Sirius was at it's highest point in the sky, look for it by looking south in the evening, it will be the brightest star visible.
Tech Specs: Canon 6D, Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM lens, single 8 second exposure, tripod mounted, ISO 3200. Location: Weatherly, PA Image Date: January 28, 2019.
Captured from GrandMesaObservatory.com in Western Colorado earlier this year Sh2-274 otherwise known as The Medusa Nebula using the Sky-Watcher Esprit 150mm ED F7.0 Triplet APO Refractor that Sky-Watcher USA have sent to us for testing.
GMO acquired the data in Color using LRGB Filters with H-Alpha mapped to the red channel and OIII mapped to the blue channel
The data is from “System 2” (now using QHY163M mon CMOS) and available through Grand Mesa Observatory’s Subscription services which you can read more about here: grandmesaobservatory.com/equipment
Total Integration time 17.75 hours
Image details
Terry Hancock downunderobservatory.com
Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colorado
LRGB, OIII, SII
Dates of capture: Jan 26, Feb 1st, 2nd, 7th, 9th, 2019
LRGB 600 min, 15 x 600 sec, bin 1x1
H-Alpha 270 min, 18 x 900 sec, bin 1x1
OIII 195 min, 13 x 900 sec, bin 1x1
Camera: QHY168M beta mono
Calibrated with flat, Dark & Bias
Optics: Sky-Watcher Esprit 150mm ED Triplet APO Refractor
Filters by Optolong
Image Acquisition software Maxim DL6
Pre Processed in Pixinsight
Post Processed in Photoshop
Star Spikes Pro
My previous imagery of The Medusa Nebula (collaboration with Fred Hermann)
www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/8631514505/in/photostr...
www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/8631514757/in/photostr...
The Medusa Planetary Nebulais in the constellation Gemini and is about 1500 light years distant. It’s very old, very large and very dim (magnitude 16). The Medusa is roughly 12,000,000 times dimmer than the brightest star of the evening sky (Sirius at magnitude -1.4).
La nébuleuse de la Rosette, aussi connue comme Caldwell 49, est une vaste région HII située à quelque 4700 années-lumière4 du système solaire en direction de la constellation de la Licorne. Elle a été découverte par l'astronome américain Lewis Swift en 1865.
Instrument de prise de vue: Sky-watcher T250/1000 Newton F4
Caméra d'imagerie: ZWO ASI294 MC-Cool
Monture: Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 Pro Goto USB
Instrument de guidage: Diviseur optique OAG - ZWO
Caméra de guidage: ZWO ASI120 mini
Logiciels: Stellarium - ScharpCap - PHD2 Guiding - Siril - Darktable - Gimp - Fitswork - FastStone Images Viewer
Filtres: Anti-pollution lumineuse TS CLS NEBULA (M48) - IR-Cut / IR-Block ZWO (M48)
Accessoire: GPU coma-correcteur Sky-watcher
Dates: 04 Février 2022- 22h53
Images unitaires: (36x120")x8 + Darks - Flats - Gain 400
Intégration: 1 h.12' x8
Échantillonnage: 0.955 arcsec/pixel
Seeing: 2.33 "Arc
Phase de la Lune (moyenne): 11%
This is a stack of 15 2.5 minute shots, guided with a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer with a 300mm focal length. Shot from my suburban back yard; considering light pollution, I'm pretty happy with the results for a first try.
EQUIPMENT & ACQUISITION DETAILS:
Telescope: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120 ED
Camera: QHY268M
Mount: MYT
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini
On-mount Computer: PrimaluceLab Eagle2 Pro
Software: Voyager, SkyX, PHD2, PixInsight 1.8, Lightroom
Accessories: SW Field Flattener, QHY CFW3, QHYOAG M, PoleMaster, NiteCrawler WR30, Flip-Flat, Astronomik 36mm Filters
Images (Gain 0-56/Offset 40 @ -10*C):
L: 225 x 120"
R: 79 x 300"
G: 64 x 300"
B: 80 x 300"
Ha: 76 x 300"
Total integration 32.5hrs
Taken on Jan 2023
NGC 6946, surnommée la galaxie du Feu d'artifice, est une galaxie spirale vue presque de face. À cheval sur les constellations du Cygne et de Céphée, elle se situe à une distance d'environ 20 millions d'années-lumière. (Wikipedia)
Instrument de prise de vue: Sky-watcher T250/1000 Newton F4
Caméra d'imagerie: ZWO ASI294 MC-Cool
Monture: Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 Pro Goto USB
Instrument de guidage: Lunette TS 80/328 F4,1
Caméra de guidage: ZWO ASI120 mini
Logiciels: Stellarium - ScharpCap - PHD2 Guiding - Siril - Darktable - FastStone Images Viewer - Fitswork4 (réduction diam. étoiles)
Filtres: Anti-pollution lumineuse TS CLS NEBULA (M48) - IR-Cut / IR-Block ZWO (M48)
Accessoire: GPU coma-correcteur Sky-watcher
Dates: 18 Juillet 2021 - 4h48
Images unitaires: 563x30" + 20 Darks + 20 Flats - Gain 400
Intégration: 4 h 41
Âge de la Lune (moyen): --
Phase de la Lune (moyenne): 75%
• Sky-Watcher BK P2001 with TS Optics 2" Dual Speed Focuser
• EQ6-R Pro
• ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
• ZWO L: 196x120s
• ZWO R, G, B: 60x120s bin2
(total integration 8.5h)
• -20° sensor temp., Gain 0 (HDR)
• Baader MPCC Mark III coma corrector
• 60x240 guide scope, ZWO ASI290Mini guide cam
Captured with ZWO EFW, ZWO EAF, ZWO ASIAIR, Pegasus Astro Powerbox
Saint Petersburg, Russia. Red light pollution zone, balcony
My 1st go at M83 Southern Pinwheel Galaxy. Sky Watcher Star Adventurer 2i tracker with Canon 60d and Sigma 150-600mm @ 400mm f6.3 ISO 3200. 16 x shots @ 69 seconds each combined in Sequator software. Much improvement needed , but pretty happy with my 1st attempt.
Single shot - tracked on Skywatcher Staradventurer. The chilean sky of the Atacama desert is just magical. 30s exposure are enough to reveal beautiful deep sky nebulae such as the Lagoon (M8) and the Trifid (M20).
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Deux magnifiques nébuleuses perdu dans la myriade d'étoiles et de nuages de gaz et de poussières proches du centre galactique !
Pour révéler ces merveilles, une seule photo et 30secondes d'exposition grâce à la monture Skywatcher Staradventurer. Le ciel parfaitement pur du désert d'Atacama est juste magique !!
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Here is a view of the planet Venus taken shortly after sunset on July 9, 2018. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, Venus is a 66% illuminated.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, ZWO ASI290MC, Televue Powermate 2.5X, best 50% of 15k frames. Image date: July 9, 2018. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.
Winter Milky Way over Big Bend National Park.
On this beautiful night a "Rainbow of Stars" connected the countries of USA and Mexico.
12 panel pano, Sky-Watcher star tracker used, 1 minute exposures, Nikon D750a, 14-24 f2.8 lens. 12-23-19, 10:00pm.
The night of 20-21 January 2020 resulted in 11.5 hours of imaging time, woot! Luckily everything was online and capturing photons the entire evening with only a few minor tracking issues. Here is an image of the Sky Watcher Esprit 120 in action. Imaging your setup also helps you resolve extraneous light sources around your scope, as you can see.
Tech Specs: Canon 6D, Samyang 14 mm lens, ISO 3200, 13 seconds. Image Date: 20 Jan 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.
Leo I is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the constellation Leo. At about 820,000 light-years distant, it is a member of the Local Group of galaxies and is thought to be one of the most distant satellites of the Milky Way galaxy. Can you see the little blurry object to the right of Regulus? That is the Leo I dwarf galaxy. I previously imaged this using the Meade 12” and wanted to try out the Sky Watcher Esprit 120ED on the same target.
Tech Specs: Sky Watcher Esprit 120ED, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro running at -20C, Celestron CGEM-DX Mount Pier Mounted, ZWO EAF, 18 x 60 second exposures with dark/flat frames, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro running v1.5 Beta software. Image date: April 7, 2021. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle 4 Zone).
Data - 06/07/2021
Hora - 20:09 ~ 22:06 local (-3 UTC)
Lat - 7,13S
Log - 34,83W
Local - João Pessoa, PB - Brasil
Bortle - Class 8
Telescopio - Sky Watcher 150mm F8
Montagem - EQ5
Motorização - On Step
Guider - SW 9x50 + SVbony 105
Câmera - Canon T3i modificada
Filtro CLS-CCD Clip Optolong
ISO - 1600
Light - 61 x 60s (61 min)
Flat - 15 x 1/1600s
Dark - 15 x 60s
Bias - 15 x 1/4000s
Temperatura do sensor ~ 27°C (Home made cooler)
Software Captura - APT/PHD2
Softwares Processamento - SiriL/PIX
#astfotbr
Photo By Rui Chen
Post Processing By Fluorine Z.
Image Telescope/Lens : SKY ROVER 130APO PRO
Image Camera : QHYCCD QHY16200A
Mount : Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro
Filter : Antlia Astronomy Filter HaLRGB
Integration : 22.8 hrs LRGB+5.2hrs Ha
Gotta love that Milky Way, after I took the shots with my 35mm I threw on the 50mm to grab a few more before astro twilight started. Again, I need to do more 50mm pano's with foreground subjects, it's a good focal length for this stuff if you can get the composition right. Didn't have time to grab some foreground shots for this one though.
2 shots for this, both with the Nikon D800E and Nikon 50mm f1.8g lens on a Sky Watcher Star Adventurer tracking mount. Both shots are 3 minute exposures at f2.8 and ISO 800.
This is my first attempt at photographing the Orion Nebula and Running Man using star tracker.
Nikon D5500, 70-300
@280mm (420 in crop)
Sky watcher star adventurer tracker
Lights: 95 frames total (20 - ISO 800, 6 - ISO 1600, 69 - ISO 3200) - f/7.1, 30 sec each frame
Darks: 52 frames (3 sets for each ISO)
Biases: 77 frames
Flats: 79 frames
Stacked in DSS software
Here is a view of the open cluster called the Wild Duck Cluster (Messier 11, M11, NGC 6705) in the constellation Scutum. One of the nicest open clusters in the Northern skies. It has a magnitude of 6.3 and contains an estimated 2900+ stars. The cluster lies between us and the Scutum galactic cloud. The dark areas in the image are actually obscured by dust and gas.
Tech Specs: Sky Watcher Esprit 120ED, Celestron CGEM-DX pier mounted, ZWO ASI290MC and ASI071MC-Pro, ZWO AAPlus, ZWO EAF. 60 x 60 seconds at -10C plus darks and flats. Image Date: September 24, 2021. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
[press L to view it on black]
The Milky Way passes over a creepy abandoned house in the mercury mining ghost town of New Idria, CA. For the sky watchers, that brightest object is Mars on the lower left sky and Saturn along the centerline. Just out of frame to the right was Jupiter. All three planets were in a line. Sky is a Bortle-2.
Last night's original plan was to get a reflection shot from San Luis Reservoir in Merced county but I could no longer wait for the heavy wind gusts to die down; instead, I hatched a plan B, driving south another 2 hours on a lonely road, so quiet, I never saw another vehicle nor person anywhere.
Arriving at the New Idria mining town, it was far too dark to do very effective scouting since I couldn't see much beyond the range of my headlamp. I gravitated toward this abandoned residence in a row of houses and got to work. I applied lighting using a small LED panel. The "LLLS: low level lighting on a stick" rides again!
Lens is the DFA 25mm f/4 on the 645Z. EXIF is inaccurate here but the long exposure was for my light painting(f/7.1 ISO 1,000) and then I median blended 25 star frames that were 15sec each @f/5 ISO 10,000 to achieve some sky noise reduction.
Thanks for visiting
First light with the new Meade 6000 80mm APO and couldn't be happier. Other than fighting a plethora of geostationary satellites going through this region, it made for a wonderful night of shooting while watching the Geminid meteor shower.
Specs:
47 x 200" Light frames at ISO800
15 Darks
30 Flats
100 Bias
Modified Canon T5i
Meade Series 6000 80mm APO
Stellarvue Field Flattener
Sky-Watcher EQ-6R Mount
Orion 50mm guidescope
Guided in PHD
Captured with Backyard EOS
Stacked in DSS
Processed in Startools
Final touches in Lightroom CC
Captured at remote site approximately 50 minutes outside of DC Metro area on December 11th.
The Black Eye Galaxy, Messier 64 (M64), or NGC 4826, is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices. The dark band of absorbing dust gives this galaxy the name “Black Eye” or “Evil Eye” galaxy. This galaxy is roughly 19 million light years distant.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, Canon 6D, ISO 3200, 30 x 60 second exposures with dark/bias frames, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Image date: June 22, 2019. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.
Three-panel pano of the Summer Milky Way
I took my Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer with me to Camp Billy Joe last week (home of the Okie-Tex Star Party). We worked on the new Okie-Tex building during the day, and at night I spent some time under the stars.
Some clouds, haze, and smoke were present most nights, I didn't let that stop me. Here is what I did with my trusty old Star Adventurer and Nikon D750a:
SKY: 3 panels, each panel is a stack of 3, 3-minute, ISO-1600, f/3.2 at 20mm. Tracked with Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer.
Camera: Nikon D750a (Ha modified by LifePixel)
Lens: Nikon 20mm f1.8 prime lens @ f3.2
Location: Camp Billy Joe, Oklahoma (home of the Okie-Tex Star Party)
Bortle Zone 1
8-2-21, 10:35pm