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This post-processing image was taken with a Fujifilm X-T3, Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6, iso 1600, exp 88x60s, cropped and post-processed in PixInsight, Photoshop between 8:33PM and 10:11PM on Dec 2.
This Picture of the Week shows an open cluster known as NGC 2164, which was first discovered in 1826 by a Scottish astronomer named James Dunlop. NGC 2164 is located within one of the Milky Way galaxy's closest neighbours — the satellite galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Large Magellanic cloud is a relatively small galaxy that lies about 160 000 light-years from Earth. It is considered a satellite galaxy because it is gravitationally bound to the Milky Way. In fact, the Large Magellanic cloud is on a very slow collision course with the Milky Way — it’s predicted that they will collide 2.4 billion years from now.
The Large Magellanic Cloud only contains about one hundredth as much mass as the Milky Way, but it still contains billions of stars. The open cluster NGC 2164 is in good company in the Large Magellanic Cloud — the satellite galaxy is home to roughly 700 open clusters, alongside about 60 globular clusters. This image of NGC 2164 was taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), which has previously imaged many other open clusters, including NGC 330 and Messier 11.
Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Kalirai, A. Milone; CC BY 4.0
Mars, the bright orange object right of centre, is here amid the stars and constellations of the winter Milky Way in January 2023. Mars is in Taurus, above Aldebaran and the Hyades, and below the blue Pleiades. The stars of Auriga are at left. At top are stars in Perseus, including the reddish California Nebula. The interstellar Dark Clouds of Taurus are at centre.
This is a stack of 7 x 2-minute exposures at f/2.8 with the Canon RF28-70mm lens at 40mm, on the stock Canon R5 at ISO 800. A single exposure through a Kase/Alyn Wallace Starglow filter blended in added the star glows. The main images were also shot through an URTH light pollution reduction filter. Taken from home January 10, 2023.
Taken on a hot, dry afternoon.
Pentas lanceolata (Egyptian starcluster, ‘Kusa-santanka’ in Japanese) is an evergreen flowering plant in the madder family, native to eastern Africa and Yemen.
June and July 2019 provided some wonderful views of the Milky Way from dark sky sites. Jupiter (in the constellation Ophiuchus) flanked the bright center of our galaxy on the west, and Saturn (in Sagittarius) was to its east. Even the small amount of light pollution from the Los Angeles area is mostly blocked by trees in this view. A close inspection will show that all four bright emission nebulae - M8, M20, M17, and M16 - are all visible in this view. They are joined by numerous globular star clusters and open star clusters, along with the rich fields of interstellar dust that reside between our location and the center of our Milky Way.
The sky is a stack of 11 exposures between 140 s and 180 s at ISO 1600 with a Nikon D80. The camera was mouned on an Omegon Mintrack LX2. The trees are mostly from a single exposure, but I built the composite to keep as much sky detail as possible. Thus, some of the trees are a lie. All images were shot with an 18.0mm - 135.0 mm lens at a focal length of 18.0 mm and at f/3.5. Registration, stacking, and initial processing in PixInsight; compositing and final touches in PS CS 5.1.
Dear friends wish you have a happy new week!
Thank you very much for your visits, faves, and kind comments.
This image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope depicts the open star cluster NGC 330, which lies around 180,000 light-years away inside the Small Magellanic Cloud. The cluster – which is in the constellation Tucana (the Toucan) – contains a multitude of stars, many of which are scattered across this striking image.
Because star clusters form from a single primordial cloud of gas and dust, all the stars they contain are roughly the same age. This makes them useful natural laboratories for astronomers to learn how stars form and evolve. This image uses observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and incorporates data from two very different astronomical investigations. The first aimed to understand why stars in star clusters appear to evolve differently from stars elsewhere, a peculiarity first observed with Hubble. The second aimed to determine how large stars can be before they become doomed to end their lives in cataclysmic supernova explosions.
Hubble images show us something new about the universe. This image, however, also contains clues about the inner workings of Hubble itself. The crisscross patterns surrounding the stars in this image, known as diffraction spikes, were created when starlight interacted with the four thin vanes supporting Hubble’s secondary mirror.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Kalirai, A. Milone
#NASA #MarshallSpaceFlightCenter #MSFC #Marshall #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #astronomy #space #astrophysics #solarsystemandbeyond #gsfc #Goddard #GoddardSpaceFlightCenter #ESA #EuropeanSpaceAgency #starcluster
This is a rich region in the Milky Way in northern Sagittarius. with four Messier objects: The Small Sagittarius Starcloud, aka Messier 24, is at right of centre, flanked by: the pink Messier 17, the Swan or Omega Nebula, above; and the star cluster Messier 25 at lower left. Above M25 at upper left is the star cluster NGC 6645. Below M17 is the small star cluster Messier 18. The small but rich star cluster embedded in the Starcloud is NGC 6603. The nebulosity at bottom is IC 1283, a red emission nebula; and NGC 6589/90 and NGC 6595, both blue reflection nebulas. The dark nebula on the west (right) side of M24 is Barnard 92; above it is B93.
This is a stack of 12 x 4-minute exposures with the Sharpstar 61mm EDPH III apo refractor with its 0.75x Reducer for f/4.4 and 275mm focal length, and with the old unmodified Canon 6D DSLR at ISO 800. No filter was employed. All were on the ZWO AM5 mount and autoguided with the ASIAir mini-computer. Taken as part of testing the combination as an entry-level rig.
Taken June 22/23, 2023, the night after summer solstice, so there was no true astronomical darkness this night from my latitude of 51° N, and what darkness there was lasted only 1 - 2 hours at best, enough to get these shots of a field well to the south where the sky was darkest. Later shots between 2 and 3 am proved too bright and twilight struck. PK Actions Nebula Filter applied as well as a Detail Extractor filter from Nik Collection Color EFX, both to enhance the nebulosity slightly.
The constellation of Andromeda with the famous Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) rising on an early summer night at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. This was June 30, 2022.
The Square of Pegasus is at right. Several star clusters are at left: the Double Cluster at upper left, M34 below it, and NGC 752 to the right of M34. To the right of NGC 752 is the fuzzy patch of Messier 33, the Triangulum Galaxy. The main three stars of Triangulum are just rising above the hill at left.
Green airglow tints the sky, as well as blue from the perpetual twilight at this time of year and latitude of 50° N.
This is a blend of tracked exposures for the sky and untracked for the ground: all 2 minutes at f/2 with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5 at ISO 800. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini. As the camera was aimed east to the rising sky, I took the static untracked shots first, followed by the tracked shots, so the ground would better cover the blurry horizon in the tracked shots -- i.e. the static horizon would be higher in the frame requiring less manual moving to cover the blurry horizon. LENR employed on all shots on this mild night. NoiseXTerminator applied to the sky.
A portrait of green Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in Taurus beside Aldebaran and the Hyades on February 14, 2023, with Mars at upper left, and the Pleiades at upper right. This frames some of the other NGC star clusters in Taurus.
This is a stack of 12 x 2-minute exposures with the Rokinon RF85mm lens at f/2.8 on the Canon R5 at ISO 800. Star glows added with MagicLight extension in Luminar Neo.
The Pleiades star cluster, Messier 45, amid the faint and dusty nebulosity that surrounds it. The stars of the Pleiades are passing through the dust clouds in Taurus and are lighting them up as examples of reflection nebulas.
This is a stack of 8 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 400 with the Canon EOS Ra on the SharpStar HNT150 Hyperbolic Newtonian astrograph at f/2.8. Flat-fielded in PixInsight using T-shirt flats, and developed in Photoshop. Taken from home January 27, 2020.
The Moon in total eclipse, on January 20, 2019, in a multiple exposure composite showing the Moon moving from right to left (west to east) through the Earth’s umbral shadow.
The middle image is from just after mid-totality at about 10:21 pm MST, while the partial eclipse shadow ingress image set is from 9:15 pm and the partial eclipse shadow egress image set is from 11:15 pm.
I added in two images at either end taken at the very start and end of the umbral eclipse to add a more complete sequence of the lunar motion. However, on those images the lunar disk is darkened mostly by the penumbra.
All images are with the Canon 6D MkII on a Fornax Lightrack II tracking mount to follow the stars at the sidereal rate, to keep the stars fixed and let the Moon drift from right to left against the background stars.
Thus, the Moon images are where they were in relation to the background stars and therefore show the Moon’s motion through the umbral shadow, with the shadow edge on the partially eclipsed Moons defining the shape of the large and circular umbral shadow of the Earth, approximately three times bigger than the Moon. At this eclipse the Moon moved across the north edge of the umbral so we are seeing the top of the shadow circle drawn here in the sky.
At this eclipse the Moon was also shining beside the Beehive star cluster, Messier 44, in Cancer. This was the unique sight at this eclipse as it can happen only during total lunar eclipses that occur in late January. There was one on January 31, 2018 but the next will not be until 2037.
The central image of totality includes a 1-minute exposure at ISO 800 and f/2.8 for the stars, which inevitably overexposes the Moon. So I’ve blended in three shorter exposures for the Moon, taken immediately after the long “star” exposure. These were 8, 4 and 2 seconds at ISO 400 and f/4, and all with the Canon 200mm telephoto.
The two partial eclipse phases are stacks of 7 exposures each, from very short for the bright portion of the lunar disk, to long for the shadowed portion. They are blended with luminosity masks created with ADP Pro v3 panel for Photoshop, but modified with feathering to blend the images smoothly. This sort of “HDR” blending is necessary to depict the eclipsed Moon as your eye saw it, as while the eye can encompass the great range of brightness across the eclipsed Moon’s disk the camera cannot. Even the totality image is a blend of exposures, as the top part of the Moon was quite bright at this eclipse due to the Moon’s path across the northern half of the umbra.
The timing of the partial eclipse images about 1 hour before and 1 hour after the central image places the lunar disk against the stars so those disks don’t overlap. But ….
….The images aren’t quite symmetrical for shadow placement and phase, because as luck would have it, the drive of the Fornax tracker, which has a limited travel, decided to run out of travel right at mid-eclipse at 10:15. All is needed was another 10 minutes of travel, but no!
This required resetting the drive, then reaiming and reframing the camera right at the worst time, and taking time. So the timing and orientation of the latter images were compromised, requiring a little fudging on my part to place the egress set. However, the overall placement of the Moon and shadow is close to reality and the composite serves to illustrate the concept.
These were taken from a site near Lloydminster, in Saskatchewan, where skies proved clear all night, better than the prospects back at home 500 km farther south in Alberta. It was worth the drive north the day before the eclipse.
The northern autumn constellations of Pegasus (partially seen at right), Andromeda (across the centre), Perseus (at lower left) and Cassiopeia (at upper left) rising over moonlit formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Illumination is from the waxing gibbous Moon, setting in the southwest so it is providing a warm "bronze-hour" light. The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is at centre. The star clusters NGC 752, M34 and the Double Cluster are at left, as well as the Perseus OB Association of stars. Some of the small star clusters in Cassiopeia are resolved as well.
Some green bands of airglow also tint the sky, otherwise lit blue by the moonlight.
The scene provides a nice contrast of warm earth and cool sky tones.
Taken July 8, 2022, this is a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures — a stack of 2 for the ground but only one for the sky: 2 minutes at f/5.6 and ISO 800 for the ground and 1 minute at f/2.8 and ISO 400 for the sky, all with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5. A mild Pro Contrast effect filter added to the ground with Nik Collection 5 and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini.
Noise reduction applied to the single sky image using RC-Astro Noise XTerminator. I didn't take any more sky shots as the Moon was fast setting and disappearing into clouds, so the light for the ground shots taken after the sky shot would be going away soon. Plus clouds were moving into the frame.
The mosquitoes enjoyed my presence here this warm July night!
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) passing Mars in the constellation of Taurus on the night of Feb 10, 2023. Mars appears to be at the tip of a dark lane of interstellar dust in the Taurus Dark Clouds. The comet is showing its whitish dust tail and blue ion tail, as well as its cyan coma from diatomic carbon emission. The star cluster at left is NGC 1746.
This is a stack of 6 x 2-minute exposures at ISO 1600 with Canon R5 and with the RF70-200mm lens at f/4 and 179mm. Tracked but unguided on the AP Mach1 mount, and taken from home. A mild diffusion effect added with Radiant Photo plug-in. Faint nebulosity brought out with luminosity masked curves from Lumenzia.
A framing of the major areas of bright and dark nebulosity in Cygnus and Cepheus, showing pink emission nebulas contrasting with dark dusty regions in the Cygnus and into the Perseus arms of the Milky Way. Cepheus is at upper left; northern Cygnus is at right, with the bright Cygnus starcloud right of centre. The reddening (or yellowing) effects of interstellar dust in the spiral arms of the Milky Way is apparent.
The bright blue star Deneb is right of centre. Just below it and at centre is the North America Nebula, NGC 7000, and its adjacent companion Pelican Nebula, IC 5070. The Gamma Cygni nebulosity complex, IC 1318, is right of centre. The dark Funnel Cloud Nebula in northern Cygnus is at centre. The Veil Nebula supernova remnant, NGC 6960 and 6992-5, is at lower right. The small Cocoon Nebula, IC 5146, is below and left of centre. The Elephant Trunk Nebula, IC 1396, with the adjacent orange "Garnet Star" (aka Mu Cephei) in Cepheus is at upper left. The area is dotted with other smaller emission nebulas in southern Cepheus.
This is a blend of: 14 x 4-minute exposures with the Canon RF28-70mm lens at 43mm and f/2.8 and with the camera at ISO 1600 -- blended with 14 x 4-minute exposures at ISO 3200 with the lens at f/2, with the set taken just prior with the Moon still up, but with an Astronomik 12nm H-Alpha clip-in filter in place, to pick up just the red H-Alpha nebulosity. The camera was the red-sensitive Canon EOS Ra. For the normal "non-H-Alpha" images, the lens was equipped with the 95mm URTH Night light pollution rejecton filter to help enhance the nebulosity even in the broadband images. The H-Alpha set brought out the faintest areas of nebulosity.
I shot this from home August 5, 2022 on a very fine dark transparent night with the field straight overhead. The camera was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker.
All stacking, alignment, blending and processing done in Photoshop. The H-Alpha set was processed to be monochrome but was blended into the colour stack using a Lighten mode and colorized pinky red with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Curves and color grading applied to both sets in part using luminosity masks generated with TK8 Actions and Lumenzia. A mild Orton glow effect added with Luminar AI.
This is the asterism of stars known as Kemble's Cascade, named by Walter Scott Houston for Canadian amateur astronomer and Franciscan friar Father Lucien Kemble who popularized the stellar star chain. It is an obvious sight in binoculars or a telescope at low power but is off the beaten track in Camelopardalis. The star cluster NGC 1502 lies at the south end of the star chain. Below 1502 is a tiny vivid green dot, the planetary nebula NGC 1501. The field of view here is similar to that of binoculars.
This is a stack of 8 x 5-minute exposures with the SharpStar 61mm refractor at f/4.5 and Canon R6 at ISO 1600. Diffraction spikes added for artistic effect with AstronomyTools actions.
Las 7 hijas del titan Atlas, surcando los cielos cada noche, como palomas blancas sobre el cielo negro. Son conocidas desde la antigüedad como las Pléyades. 6 de ellas brillan con orgullo, pero la séptima brilla con luz tenue, pues avergonzada se encuentra tras su relación con un mortal.
Cada noche siguen su camino por los cielos, formando un cúmulo sobre los cuernos del toro. Cada noche Orión las persigue, incansable, sin poderlas atrapar. ¿Será esta noche la noche? No, me temo que no. Otra vez será.
This is a portrait of Cassiopeia the Queen that takes in the red emission nebulas in the constellation as well as recording some of the larger star clusters. The area is also laced with dark lanes of dust.
At lower left are the Heart and Soul Nebulas IC 1848 and IC 1805; at upper right of centre are the nebulas NGC 7822 and Ced214; at lower right is the Pacman Nebula NGC 281; while in the upper right corner are the nebulas around the star cluster M52. The star cluster NGC 7789 is prominent to the right of Caph, the righthand star of the W. The star clusters NGC 663 and NGC 457 are visible near the star Ruchbah, the second star of the W. At lower left is the bright Double Cluster in Perseus. At upper left is the large and loose cluster Collinder 463.
This is a stack of 25 x 2-minute exposures with the Canon RF28-70mm lens at 59mm and f/2.8, on the red-sensitive Canon Ra at ISO 1600, all on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. The lens was also equipped with an URTH light pollution reduction filter. The sky was slightly hazy this night from incoming smoke, and an aurora to the north was adding sky glow. However, the glows around the bright stars are from an exposure taken at the end of the sequence through a Kase/Alyn Wallace StarGlow filter. An application of a Pro Contrast filter from the Color EFX plug-in from the Nik Collection 5 helped snap up contrast. An application of RCAstro's Gradient Xterminator filter plug-in helped eliminate the worst of the sky gradients.
This image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope depicts the open star cluster NGC 330, which lies around 180,000 light-years away inside the Small Magellanic Cloud. The cluster – which is in the constellation Tucana (the Toucan) – contains a multitude of stars, many of which are scattered across this striking image.
Because star clusters form from a single primordial cloud of gas and dust, all the stars they contain are roughly the same age. This makes them useful natural laboratories for astronomers to learn how stars form and evolve. This image uses observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and incorporates data from two very different astronomical investigations. The first aimed to understand why stars in star clusters appear to evolve differently from stars elsewhere, a peculiarity first observed with Hubble. The second aimed to determine how large stars can be before they become doomed to end their lives in cataclysmic supernova explosions.
Hubble images show us something new about the universe. This image, however, also contains clues about the inner workings of Hubble itself. The crisscross patterns surrounding the stars in this image, known as diffraction spikes, were created when starlight interacted with the four thin vanes supporting Hubble’s secondary mirror.
Text credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Kalirai, A. Milone
For more information: www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2021/hubble-sees-a-clu...
ó Cúmulo Estelar Egipcio (Pentas lanceolata) var. lila/lilac var.. Capturadas en el Jardín Botánico de Chipinque, Monterrey, Nuevo León, México.
A portrait of the complex of emission nebulas in central Cygnus near the bright star Gamma Cygni (at left). The field includes the IC 1318 complex around Gamma Cygni itself and the Wolf-Rayet arc of nebulosity, NGC 6888, aka the Crescent Nebula, at right. The sparse star cluster Messier 29 is at bottom.
This was through the SharpStar 94mm apo refractor at f/4.4 and with the Canon EOS Ra. It is a blend of 6 x 6-minute exposures at ISO 1600 through an Astronomik UV-IR-Cut filter for the base image, and a stack of 4 x 12-minutes at ISO 3200 through IDAS NB1 and Optolong L-eNhance filters for the enhanced red nebulosity, plus 6 x 12-minutes at ISO 3200 through Optolong L-eXtreme and IDAS NBZ filters which contribute only the enhanced cyan OIII emission, all taken as part of testing the filters. Normally, using four filters would not be required! Autoguided and dithered on this warm summer night with the Lacerta MGEN3 autoguider. No darks or LENR applied as the dithering effectively eliminated the thermal noise speckling which was prominent on the individual sub-frames.
Taken from home August 13, 2021. All stacked, aligned, and blended in Photoshop.
Located approximately 22 000 light-years away in the constellation of Musca (The Fly), this tightly packed collection of stars - known as a globular cluster - goes by the name of NGC 4833. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the dazzling stellar group in all its glory.
NGC 4833 is one of the over 150 globular clusters known to reside within the Milky Way. These objects are thought to contain some of the oldest stars in our galaxy. Studying these ancient cosmic clusters can help astronomers to unravel how a galaxy formed and evolved, and give an idea of the galaxyâs age.
Globular clusters are responsible for some of the most striking sights in the cosmos, with hundreds of thousands of stars congregating in the same region of space. Hubble has observed many of these clusters during its time in orbit around our planet, each as breathtaking as the last.
Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA
Stack of 11 images, typically 220s to 250s exposures, shot with a Nikon D80 on an Omegon MiniTrack LX2. The star field was recomposited with a single shot of the pine trees to make them a bit clearer. Images were taken using an 18.0 mm-135.0 mm lens with a focal length of 18.0 mm at ISO 1600 and f/3.5. Images were registered, stacked, and initially processed in PixInsight. Final compositing and processing in PS CS 5.1.
The Double Cluster (h and χ Persei) is visible along the Milky Way, just above the trees. Many other open star clusters are visible along the Milky Way. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is also prominent at the right edge of the image.
This is red Mars passing below the blue Pleiades star cluster (aka M45 and the Seven Sisters) on the evening of March 3, 2021. Taken on a night with some high cloud and haze adding the natural glows around Mars and the bright stars, accentuating their colours.
This is a stack of 10 x 30-second tracked exposures with the Canon 200mm lens at f/2.8 and the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 1600, the Star Adventurer 2i tracker. Taken from home. The frame is cropped in to improve the composition and cut out some gradients.
Taken w/ Skywatcher Evostar Pro 80 ED (w/.85x reducer/corrector & QHYCCD Polemaster), Skywatcher EQM-35, Nikon D7500.
55 lights x 90 s @ ISO 800, ~45 dark, ~45 flat, ~100 bias, stacked in DSS and post-processed in Photoshop
Egyptian Starcluster / Pentas Lanceolata
Estrela do Egito
Many thanks to my friend Vesna Fae for the ID ;)
The Belt and Sword region of Orion, with the Orion Nebula, Messiers 42 and 43, at bottom. Below the left star of the Belt, Alnitak, is the famous Horsehead Nebula, while above it is NGC 2024, aka the Flame Nebula. At very top is Messier 78, while part of Barnard’s Loop arcs across the field down the left side. The field is filled with other faint red emission and blue reflection nebulas. The large loose open cluster Collinder 70 surrounds the middle star of the Belt, Alnilam.
The field is similar to that of binoculars.
This is a stack of 16 x 2- to 3-minute exposures with the filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 800 to 1250 and 200mm Canon L-Series lens at f/2.8.
Taken with the Fornax Lightrack tracker as part of testing. Taken from home on January 8, 2019 during a clear couple of hours between haze patches, and while battling dying batteries for the drive and camera. Diffraction spikes added with Astronomy Tools. Images stacked with Median stack mode to eliminate satellite trails from geosats that populate this area of sky.
This Picture of the Week depicts the open star cluster NGC 330, which lies around 180,000 light-years away inside the Small Magellanic Cloud. The cluster — which is in the constellation Tucana (The Toucan) — contains a multitude of stars, many of which are scattered across this striking image.
Pictures of the Week from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope show us something new about the Universe. This image, however, also contains clues about the inner workings of Hubble itself. The criss-cross patterns surrounding the stars in this image — known as diffraction spikes — were created when starlight interacted with the four thin vanes supporting Hubble’s secondary mirror.
As star clusters form from a single primordial cloud of gas and dust, all the stars they contain are roughly the same age. This makes them useful natural laboratories for astronomers to learn how stars form and evolve. This image uses observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3, and incorporates data from two very different astronomical investigations. The first aimed to understand why stars in star clusters appear to evolve differently from stars elsewhere, a peculiarity first observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. The second aimed to determine how large stars can be before they become doomed to end their lives in cataclysmic supernova explosions.
Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Kalirai, A. Milone; CC BY 4.0
This is the bright region of the Milky Way known as the Scutum Starcloud, in the constellation of Scutum the Shield. The bright Messier star cluster. M11, aka the Wild Duck Cluster, is embedded in the starcloud at left. This is a wonderful area to scan with binoculars and this field of view with the little RedCat astrograph is similar to what binoculars would show.
The mass of dark dusty nebulosity at top is Barnard 111 and B110. The dark nebula at right is B103. The smaller Messier open star cluster M26 is at bottom. At lower left is the small globular cluster NGC 6712 with the tiny (on this scale) cyan-colored planetary nebula IC 1295 beside it at left. At lower right beside the orange star Alpha Scuti is the star cluster NGC 6664 with smaller Trumpler 34 to the left of NGC 6624. Above M11 is the small open cluster NGC 6704.
This is a stack of 6 x 6-minute exposures with the William Optics RedCat 51mm astrograph at f/5 and the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 800 with LENR on as it was the warmest night of the summer, August 18, 2020. Aligned, stacked and median combined in Photoshop to eliminate some satellite trails. Autoguided with the ZWO ASIAir and ASI120MM guide camera with the RedCat on the Astro-Physics Mach1 mount. No filters employed here.
The Messier star cluster M35 at top right, along with nearby faint nebulas: IC 443, the arc of nebulosity left of centre, and NGC 2174 at bottom right, all set in a very colourful starfield.
IC 443 in Gemini is also known as the Jellyfish Nebula, while NGC 2174 in Orion is aka the Monkeyhead Nebula. IC 443 is a supernova remnant, while NGC 2174 is a star forming region.
The images for this stack were taken on a less-than-ideal night with high haze adding the natural glows to the stars, accentuating their colours. The two stars at left, Tejat Posterior (aka Mu Geminorum, left) and Propus (aka Eta Geminorum, centre), are both bright red giant stars. Other stars in the field are hot blue stars.
This is a stack and blend of: 10 x 4-minute exposures through an Astronomik CLS clip-in filter blended with 8 x 8-minute exposures taken though a 12nm H-Alpha clip-in filter to add in the red nebulosity. All were through the SharpStar 61mm EDPHII apo refractor at f/4.5 and with the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 1600 for the CLS filtered images and at ISO 3200 for the H-Alpha filtered shots.
Taken from home for a demo image, on a hazy night, March 29, 2022, with the MGEN III autoguider performing inter-frame dithering. It serves as a demo of blending in H-Alpha and also making use of a hazy night!
Processing details: The H-Alpha shots were converted to monochrome and processed in Adobe Camera Raw, and blended into the colour image stack with a Lighten blend mode and with colorization added using the Debra Ceravolo method of applying a Hue&Saturation layer set to Colorize at 340 Red and a Lightness of ~50. Masking was applied so the H-alpha image shows through only where the nebulosity is, to prevent the overall sky colour turning red.
No darks or flats were applied. All aligned, stacked and blended in Photoshop. Framing planned with SkySafari to include the stars at left and right of the frame.
This is a portrait of the main glowing nebulas amid star clusters in Monoceros, the Unicorn.
The main nebula at bottom is the Rosette Nebula, aka NGC 2237-9/45 surrounding the star cluster NGC 2244. But in this long exposure streams of nebulas extend north to connect to a large region of diffuse nebulosity around the Christmas Tree Cluster, NGC 2264, with the main nebula at top catalogued as Sharpless 2-273 and containing a region of bright blue reflection nebulosity. Just below that blue nebula is the dark, conical Cone Nebula. Just below it is the tiny (on this scale) Hubble's Variable Nebula, NGC 2261, a small bright triangular patch. The blue reflection nebula at upper right is IC 2169, surrounded by other smaller patches of reflection nebulosity including NGC 2245 and IC 446. The V-shaped dark nebula at top is LDN 1603. The star cluster just below that is Trumpler 5.
This is a stack of 8 x 12-minute exposures at ISO 3200 through an Optolong L-Enhance narrow-band nebula filter, blended with a stack of 8 x 8-minute exposures without a filter (for more natural star colors and the blue reflection nebulas) at ISO 800. All were with the Canon EOS Ra camera through the f/5 51mm William Optics RedCat astrograph with a Starizona filter drawer. Autoguiding was with the Lacerta MGEN3 autoguider which applied a dithering shift between each frame to help cancel out thermal noise when stacking. No darks or LENR were used here on this mild winter night at -5° C or so.
All stacking, alignment and blending was in Adobe Photoshop 2021. Luminosity masks (DM2, D and M) applied with Lumenzia helped bring out the faint nebulosity.
The densely packed globular cluster NGC 6325 glistens in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This concentrated group of stars lies around 26 000 light years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus.
Globular clusters like NGC 6325 are tightly bound collections of stars with anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of members. They can be found in all types of galaxies, and act as natural laboratories for astronomers studying star formation. This is because the constituent stars of globular clusters tend to form at roughly the same time and with similar initial composition, meaning that astronomers can use them to fine-tune their theories of how stars evolve.
Astronomers inspected this particular cluster not to understand star formation, but to search for a hidden monster. Though it might look peaceful, astronomers suspect this cluster could contain an intermediate-mass black hole that is subtly affecting the motion of surrounding stars. Previous research found that the distribution of stars in some highly concentrated globular clusters — those with stars packed relatively tightly together — was slightly different from what astronomers expected.
This discrepancy suggested that at least some of these densely packed globular clusters — including perhaps NGC 6325 — could have a black hole lurking at the centre. To explore this hypothesis further, astronomers turned to Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 to observe a larger sample of densely populated globular clusters, which included this star-studded image of NGC 6325. Additional data from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys were also incorporated into this image.
[Image Description: A dense cluster of bright stars. The core of the cluster is to the left and has a distinct group of blue stars. Surrounding the core are a multitude of stars in warmer colours. These stars are very numerous near the core and become more and more sparse, and more small and distant, out to the sides of the image. A few larger stars also stand in the foreground near the edges of the image.]
Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, E. Noyola, R. Cohen; CC BY 4.0
Or The Seven Sisters Star Cluster in Taurus.
M: iOptron EQ45-Pro
T: WO GTF81
C: ZWO ASI1600MC
Gain: 200; RGB24; FITs
Frames:
51 x 30s Lights;
66 x 90s Lights;
10 x Darks;
100 x Flats,
No Crop
Capture: Sharpcap
Processed: APP; LR; PS
RCAstro gradient removal tool.
Orange Mars, at centre, between the blue Pleiades (at right) and the large Hyades (at left) star clusters, with orange Aldebaran adorning the Hyades (though it is not a member of the Hyades but a foreground star). The more distant and smaller cluster NGC 1647 is at top left, also in Taurus. This was March 11, 2021.
This is a stack of 4 x 4-minute tracked exposures with the Samyang 85mm AF lens at f/2.8 on the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 800, with a single exposure of the same length blended in taken through the Kase/Alyn Wallace StarGlow filter to add the star glows! (Though haze moving in was starting to do the job naturally at this time.) The tracker was the Star Adventurer 2i.
Stack of 15 60 s exposures, tracked on an omegon Mini Track LX2; taken from Red Rock Canyon State Park in California.
There was more light pollution from Ridgecrest than I had anticipated. It took a fair bit of work to remove most of the gradient from that.
This image shows the Milky Way from the Double Cluster in the upper left, through the California Nebula (NGC 1499) and the Pleiades, and into the emission nebulae and star clusters in Auriga. The bright star toward the lower left is Capella, and Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster are toward the lower right. The dark area in the middle is the Taurus Molecular Cloud -- one of the closest star forming regions to our solar system.
Initial processing in PixInsight; final touches in Photoshop.
This is a portrait of the main glowing nebulas amid star clusters in central Auriga, the Charioteer.
The main nebula at right is the Flaming Star Nebula, aka IC 405. But in this long exposure its mass blends into the central roundish nebula, IC 410. At top left is the pair of Sharpless nebulas, Sh 2-232 and the small Sh 2-235. The fingerlike nebula at top centre is Sh 2-230. The star cluster just to its left is Messier 38, with the small cluster NGC 1907 just below M38. The star cluster at left centre is Messier 36. At centre frame is the nebula IC 417 around the cluster Stock 8. The line of colourful stars at lower right between IC 405 and IC 410 is the Little FIsh or Flying Minnow asterism, aka Mel 11.
This is a stack of 11 x 12-minute exposures at ISO 3200 through an Optolong L-Enhance dual-band nebula filter, blended with a stack of 12 x 8-minute exposures without a filter (for more natural star colors and the blue reflection nebula in IC 405) at ISO 800. All with the Canon EOS Ra camera through the f/5 51mm William Optics RedCat astrograph with a Starizona filter drawer. Autoguiding was with the Lacerta MGEN3 autoguider which applied a dithering shift between each frame to help cancel out thermal noise when stacking. No darks or LENR were used here on this mild winter night at -5° C or so.
All stacking, alignment and blending was in Adobe Photoshop 2021. Luminosity masks (DM2, D and M) applied with Lumenzia helped bring out the faint nebulosity.
The Chandra data of NGC 281 show more than 300 individual X-ray sources, most of which are associated with the central star cluster. The edge-on aspect of NGC 281 allows scientists to study the effects of powerful X-rays on the gas in the region, the raw material for star formation.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/CfA/S.Wolk et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #stars #supernovaremnant #starcluster
This infrared image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the centre of the Milky Way, 27 000 light-years away from Earth. Using the infrared capabilities of Hubble, astronomers were able to peer through the dust which normally obscures the view of this interesting region. At the centre of this nuclear star cluster — and also in the centre of this image — the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, known as Sagittarius A*, is located.
Sagittarius A* is not the only mystery lurking in this part of the galaxy. The crowded centre contains numerous objects that are hidden at visible wavelengths by thick clouds of dust in the galaxy's disc. In order to truly understand the central part of our galaxy astronomers used the infrared vision of Hubble to peer through this obscuring dust. To reveal the image in all its glory the scientists then assigned visible colours to the different wavelengths of infrared light, which is invisible to human eyes.
The blue stars in the image are foreground stars, which are closer to Earth than the nuclear star cluster, whilst the red stars are either behind much more intervening dust, or are embedded in dust themselves. Some extremely dense clouds of gas and dust are seen in silhouette, appearing dark against the bright background stars. These clouds are so thick that even Hubble's infrared capability cannot penetrate them. In addition to the stars hidden by the dust astronomers estimate that there are about 10 million stars in the cluster which are too faint to see, even for Hubble.
Read more here.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, T. Do and A. Ghez (UCLA), and V. Bajaj (STScI)
This is a framing of the main area of central Auriga filled with an array of Messier star clusters and faint IC emission nebulas.
The nebula at right is the Flaming Star, aka IC 405. The nebula below centre is IC 410 with the star cluster NGC 1893. The nebula above centre is IC 417 with the star cluster Stock 8. The nebula at upper left is Sharpless 2-235; while the large elongated patch of nebulosity at top centre is Sharpless 2-230. The star cluster at top is Messier 38 with the small cluster NGC 1907 below it, while the large cluster left of centre is Messier 36. The group of stars between IC 405 and IC 410 right of centre is Melotte 31, aka the Little Fish or Flying Minnow asterism.
This is a stack of: 10 x 6-minute exposures at ISO 3200 through a IDAS NB1 dual narrowband nebula filter in a dark moonless sky, blended with 8 x 4-minute exposures at ISO 800 with an Antlia RGB multi-band filter, with the latter set taken in bright moonlight a week later, with all frames with the filter-modified (by AstroGear.net) Canon R camera. These were all with the SharpStar 61mm EDPH II refractor at f/4.5, on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount autoguided with the ASIAir Mini and ZWO 30mm guidescope, as a test of the combination of entry-level gear, and of the Antlia filter to work under bright skies. However, the moonlit RGB filtered image stack was quite muddy when the blue moonlight was color corrected out, and doesn't contribute a lot to the final image. So most of this scene is from the narrowband filtered image stack, which records the nebulosity well but doesn't provide well-balanced natural star colours. Diffraction spikes added with AstronomyTools actions to add a sparkling effect to the stars to partly counter their off-colour.
Taken in late March 2023, late in the season for this area of sky, so it was well over in the west with only a limited time each night to shoot it. Cloudy nights prevented getting a non-filtered set in a dark sky.
Dazzling planet Venus and the Seven Sisters!
Absolutely thrilled that the sky cleared just long enough for the 2nd night in a row for us to photograph Venus (third brightest celestial object to light the heavens after the Sun and Moon) and the Pleiades star cluster! The Pleiades is noticeable for being small and distinctively shaped - a tiny dipper - you will see this cluster if you look in the west after sunset!
#Astronomy #Astrophotography #Venus #planet #Pleiades
Aberkenfig, South Wales
Lat +51.542 Long -3.593
Skywatcher 254mm Newtonian Reflector, Nikon D780 at prime focus with Skywatcher Coma Corrector, EQ6 Syntrek Mount.
Imaging session commenced 02:12 UT
28 x 30s at ISO 5000
15 dark frames & 15 flats.
Processed with Deep Sky Stacker and levels adjusted with Lightroom & G.I.M.P.
Full frame image cropped on final processing
Some noise in the lower half of the frame but a satisfying outcome for a short sequence of data capture.
A framing of some of the main star clusters (and some nebulas) in Cassiopeia and Perseus, in a wide-field image.
At left are the Heart and Soul Nebulas in Cassiopeia, aka IC 1805 and IC 1848 respectively plus the smaller and more intense patch of nebulosity NGC 896. With these nebulas are the star clusters NGC 1027 and Mel 15. At bottom is the famous Double Cluster, NGCs 884 and 869. The small cluster NGC 957 is to the left of the Double Cluster. At upper right below the line joining the two bright stars in Cassiopeia is the prominent star cluster NGC 663, with NGC 654 above and M103 to the right. The reddened object left of NGC 663 is the cluster IC 166. At far right is NGC 457, the ET Cluster.
This is a stack of 15 x 2-minute tracked but unguided exposures with the Canon EF135mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon Ra at ISO 1250, with a NISI Natural Night broadband filter on the lens to enhance the nebulosity. Taken from home on a very clear night September 20, 2022. Taken with the Star Adventurer GTi tracker/equatorial mount as part of testing the mount.
Pretty bloom and contrasting colours. Pentas lanceolata, commonly known as Egyptian starcluster, is a species of flowering plant in the madder family, Rubiaceae that is native to much of Africa as well as Yemen. It is known for its wide use as a garden plant where it often accompanies butterfly gardens. 14303