Date: 2022-11-25

Location: Kamiwari-saki

Optics: Mamiya Apo-sekor 250mm F4.5, EOS6D (Twin)

Exposure: 240s x 99f + 10s x 10f, ISO1250 (left)

240s x 46f + 10s x 10f, ISO1250 (right), 2 panel mosaic

Processing: Pixinsight, AstroPixelProcessor, Photoshop

Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P f/3.5

Altair Astro Hypercam 585C OSC (Offset:10 / Gain:100)

HDR mode on

156 x 60 sec. subs (~2.5hrs.)

Processed in Astro Pixel Processor, GraXpert and Affinity Photo

M82 (Cigar Galaxy) Edge on Galaxy found in the constellation of Ursa Major.

M: iOptron iEQ45-Pro

T: Celestron C8 SCT

C: ZWO ASI1600MC-Cooled

G: OAG and PHD2

GC: ZWO ASI220MM

RAW16; FITs

Temp: -10 DegC

Filter: No Filter

Gain 139; Exp: 18 x 120s

Frames: 18 Lights

Cal Frames: DarkFlats/Flats

Total Exposure: ~36 mins

90% Crop

Capture: NINA

Processed: APP; PS.

Sky: No moon, no breeze, no cloud.

The Pacman Nebula, an emission nebula [NGC281] with open star Cluster [IC1590], may be seen in the constellation of Cassiopeia.

M: iOptron EQ45-Pro

T: William Optics GTF81

C: ZWO ASI533-Pro [Cooled]

F: Ha & Oiii Narrowband (ZWO 7nm)

G: PHD2

GC: ZWO ASI120mini

Format: RAW16; FITs

Temp: -10 DegC

Gain 101;

Frames: 24 x Ha Exp 400s; 24 x Oiii Exp 400s

Dark Calibration Frames: 1 Master Dark from 20 Darks

Flat Frames: 1 Master Flat from 50 flats

100% Crop

Capture: SharpCap [Advanced Sequence automation]

Processed: Astro Processor Pro [APP]; Photoshop [PS]

Sky: No moon, calm, No cloud, Bortle Class 5, good seeing.

What is an impressive and beautiful sight for us was a cosmic catastrophe. Mosaic Antares IC 4606 and IC 4592. Panorama of 31 tiles, 630 million pixels. Remastered.

© Julian Köpke

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula or IC 1396 as it is otherwise known, but never with such a wide field of view, at a distance of around 2400 light years from earth and is mainly illuminated by a single bright star. It is thought that this region of space is home to a pretty young star forming region.

RA: 21h39m00.01s

Dec: 57°29'24.00""

Constellation: Cepheus

Designation: IC1396

Image Details: 128x300S at Gain 100

Darks: 101 Frames

Flats: 101 Frames

Bias: 201 Frames

Acquisition Dates: Nov. 5, 2020 , Nov. 7, 2020 , Nov. 24, 2020 , Dec. 1, 2020 , Dec. 24, 2020 , Dec. 27, 2020

Total Capture time: 10.7 Hours

Equipment Details:

Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro 62mpx Full Frame OSC

Imaging Scope: SharpStar 15028HNT Hyperboloid Astrograph

Guide Camera: StarlightXpress Lodestar X2

Guide Scope: 365Astronomy 280mm Guide Scope

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro

Focuser: Primalucelab Sesto Senso V2

Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme 2"

Power and USB Control: Pegasus Astro USB Ultimate Hub Pro

Acquisition Software: Main Sequence Software. Sequence Generator Pro 3.2

Calibration and Stacking: Astro Pixel Processor

Processing Software: PixInsight 1.8.8 and EZ Processing Suite for Star Reduction

Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P f/3.5

QHYCCD Minicam8

Hubble Palette

15 x 120sec. subs each filter (1.5hrs. total)

Processed with Astro Pixel Processor, NoiseXTerminator and Affinity Photo

The Veil nebula consists of different parts, each with their own designation. The best known ones are NGC6960, or the Eastern Veil Nebula, and NGC6992/NGC6995, or the Western Veil Nebula.

"The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus.It constitutes the visible portions of the Cygnus Loop, a supernova remnant, many portions of which have acquired their own individual names and catalogue identifiers. The source supernova was a star 20 times more massive than the Sun, and it exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. The remnants have since expanded to cover an area of the sky roughly 3 degrees in diameter (about 6 times the diameter, and 36 times the area, of the full Moon)."

- Wikipedia

Shooting Location :

* 51° N 3° E

* Bortle class 5 backyard

Object Information

* Type : Supernove Remnant

* Visual Size : Approximately 3°

* Magnitude : 7.0

* Frame Center (J2000.0): RA 20h 51m 07s / DEC +30° 40' 07"

* Approximate distance : 2.400 lightyears

Hardware

* Mount : iOptron CEM25P

* Imaging Scope : Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM

* Focal Length Setting : 128mm

* Aperture Setting : f/2.8

* Imaging Camera : ZWO ASI 183MM

* Filter Wheel : ZWO EFW 7*36mm + Baader Ha 7nm, Baader OIII 8.5nm + Baader SII 8.5nm + Baader LRGB

* Guide Scope : --- No Guiding ---

* Guide Camera : --- No Guiding ---

Exposures

* Gain : 111

* Sensor Temperature : -20°C

* Light Frames :

- Baader Hydrogen-Alpha : 71x 120sec

- Baader Oxygen-III : 67x 120sec

* Dark Frames : 50x

* Total Integration Time : 4h36m

* Capture Dates : 2020-09-14 & 2020-09-21

Capture Software

* ZWO ASIair Pro

Color Mapping :

* Red : Hydrogen-Alpha

* Green : Oxygen-III

* Blue : Oxygen-III

Processing Software

* AstroPixelProcessor

* PixInsight

* Adobe Photoshop

The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405, at the top), a star-forming nebula, along with two rich open star clusters in the Messier Catalog: M36 (bottom) and M38 (left). A composite of 30 5 minute exposures, ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera, Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, 200mm, f/4, dual narrow-band filter (Hα+[O III]), iOptron CEM25P mount, ZAO ASIAir controller, ZWO ASI120MM Mini guide camera and Astro-Tech 60mm f/4 guide scope.

Looking back, I see I took a 2 year break from posting photos. When I returned, I decided I wanted to review my favorite astrophotography tools & techniques - so I could make sure to produce some really high quality images. After all, in a few years, things do change.

I'm not one to keep secrets so here's what I found:

1. Telescope Cameras - I won't waste time with telescope cameras that have less than 16 megapixels of resolution.

2. Exposure Blending - The (fits) images produced by telescope cameras are not linear so I export multiple images that are stretched to varying degrees of brightness and then I blend them in photoshop. This may be my most important technique because it avoids a lot of the over-exposing that I often see in astro-pics.

3. Noise - I like On1 Photo Raw Max 2026 (using the NoNoise tool as a Photoshop plugin).

4. Resizing - This is another important step and I like On1 Photo Raw Max 2026 (using the Resize tool).

With these techniques (and more experience processing with Astro Pixel Processor), I'm finding that want to go back and revisit some locations (like this one from 2021). As one of the closest and richest star-forming areas near Earth, the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex is especially colorful. With a combination of blue reflection nebula, red glow from the giant star Antares, dark lanes of cold molecular dust, golden glow from dense star fields of the milky way, and M4 (the globular cluster), it's a "target rich environment" that's one of my favorites places to shoot.

Calibrated images came from iTelescope's T71 telescope in their Deep Sky Chile observatory in Rio Hurtado Valley, Chile. I processed the final result with Astro Pixel Processor, Photoshop and On1 Photo Raw 2026.

Exposure Settings

• 122 images with a 3 minute exposure time

• Red: 30

• Green: 30

• Blue: 30

• Luminance: 32

• Total Exposure Time: 6.1 hours

The Rosette Nebula, a star-forming nebuls, consisting of several catalogued objects: NGC 2237, 2238, 2239, 2244, and 2246. A composite of 30 4 minute exposures, ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera, Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, 200mm, f/4, dual narrow-band filter (Hα+[O III]), iOptron CEM25P mount, ZAO ASIAir controller, ZWO ASI120MM Mini guide camera and Astro-Tech 60mm f/4 guide scope.

I am very happy to present the second image in which these interstellar shells can be seen at all, and at the same time, it is the first photo to show the shells so clearly thanks to the long exposure time.

Thanks to several clear nights in the fall, I was able to collect nearly 39.5 hours of narrowband data with the RASA at f/2, along with an additional hour of RGB for the stars. The processing was certainly challenging, but I managed to bring out many details in the OIII structures and the surrounding H-alpha clouds.

A few details about the objects in the image:

The bluish filaments in the center are listed in Simbad as “interstellar shells” with the designation GSH 122+02-77. These are not direct supernova remnants but rather part of the interstellar medium (ISM)—low-density material (mostly gas) that exists between stars. Stellar winds and nearby supernovae can interact with this material, forming irregular shells. The neighboring Wolf-Rayet star HD 4004 (WR1) could possibly be responsible, although there are no definitive research results on this yet.

In the upper left, you can see Sh2-181 with a pronounced OIII shell, while Sh2-175, a small emission nebula, is located on the right.

Celestron RASA 8 400mm f/2

Celestron Motorfocus

EQ6-R Pro

Camera 1 (OSC): ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro (Gain 100, Offset 18, -10°)

RGB (Stars): 65 × 60″ (1h 5′)

Camera 2 (Mono): TS 2600 MP (Gain 100, Offset 200, -10°)

Baader H-alpha Highspeed Ultra-Narrowband 3.5nm Filter): 700 × 120″ (23h 20‘)

Baader OIII Highspeed Ultra-Narrowband 4nm Filter): 483 × 120″ (16h 6‘)

Total: 40h 31‘

Bortle 5 (19.50 SQM)

N.I.N.A., Guiding: ASI 120MM & PHD2

Astropixelprocessor, Photoshop, Pixinsight

I managed to catch a nova last night! That's an unusual astronomical event in which a star brightens tremendously in a short time. This one, known as Nova Cas 2021 was discovered in the constellation Cassiopeia just a few days ago and is now bright enough to see in binoculars and photograph with modest equipment. It also shares the view with some other interesting objects: an open cluster of stars, Messier 52 (M52) and a nice star-forming nebula, NGC 7635, known as the Bubble Nebula for the interstellar cavity being blown by a bright, young star.

By studying spectra (the distribution of the light across colors/wavelengths) and the light curve (the change in brightness over time), astrophysicists have determined that Nova Cas is a "classical nova" in which one of the stars in a close binary system transfers some of its mass to its white dwarf star companion, which eventually results in a tremendous nuclear explosion that we can see across the galaxy. Here's an article from Astronomy Now with more information: astronomynow.com/.../new-nova-in-cassiopeia.../.

Tech: ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 lens @500mm, 15x60sec. exposures, processed in Astro Pixel Processor and Lightroom.

#astrophotography #novacas2021

The Cave Nebula (Sh2-155) is a Hydrogen cloud (in the center) with a brighter rim and a star forming region in the large molecular cloud known as Cepheus B. The stars of the Cepheus OB3 association are less than 100,000 years old. Low mass star formation is occurring at a high rate within the dust clouds of Sh2-155.

The blue reflection nebula (lower left) is VDB-155.

Just south (in this image to the left) of the Cave nebula we can see some strange orange Nebulosity, the home of some Herbig Haro Objects. HH168, HH169 and HH174 are locations, where a star is born, still surrounded by dust and nebulosity, already shaped into a rotating disk. This material blocks the light of the new-born stars and the pressure can be released only at the disk poles and Jets of material are escaping from their northern and southern poles.

RGB: 72,71,70 x 600 sec bin 1x1: 22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30 July 2017

Ha: 63x 600 sec bin 1x1: 31 Jul, 2,3,4 aug 2017

Total integration time: 46 hrs.

QHY16200 CCD camera/ Esprit 100 f5.5/ 10 Micron GM2000 HPS

Knight Observatory, Tomar

IC 1396, a complex, dynamic region of star formation in the constellation Cepheus also called the Elephant Trunk Nebula for the prominent column left of center. That's a region of denser material being eroded and energized by nearby hot stars. The image was made in the light of hydrogen, from suburban Bloomington, Indiana.

90 total exposures, 6 min. each (total 9 hours) in six overlapping tiles. Explore Scientific ED102 102mm f/7 refractor, 0.8x reducer/flattener, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro monochrome CMOS camera, 7nm H-alpha filter, iOptron CEM25P mount, ASIAir controller, auto-guided. Processed in Astro Pixel Processor and Lightroom.

#Astrophotography #DeepSky

Fujifilm X-T10, Samyang 135mm f/2.0 @ f2.0, ISO 1600, 33 x 60 sec, tracking with iOptron SkyTracker Pro, stacking with DeepSkyStacker, editing with Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP, taken Nov 1 under Bortle 3/4 skies.

I love imaging Orion. My goal with this shot was to include the Flame and Horsehead Nebulae, Barnard's Loop, Messier 78, and Lynds' Dark Nebula (LDN) 1622, the Boogeyman Nebula (upper left). It seemed like a good target for Halloween night.

27 * 15 sec exposures only. Unguided

Camera at 0 degrees C.

No darks/flats/bias frames

Imaged from middle of Brisbane city

When I first got into astrophotography, galaxies were what I was most interested in imaging. I quickly realized that to image most galaxies well (except for the few large ones like M31 and M33), I needed a long focal length lens and accompanying highly accurate tracking. My budget didn't allow for that, so I adjusted my aspirations and focused on widefield shots with a simple tracker. Still, I love a good galaxy picture and anticipate stepping up to more sophisticated equipment someday.

I turned my back on Orion last night (it was difficult) and shot north again for the first time in awhile. I didn't have high expectations for what I'd get from imaging Galaxy IC 342 with a 135mm lens. I'm guessing somebody has tried it, but I couldn't find any examples online.

I'm happier than anticipated with this image. Although small, there is a good variety of objects in this extent; in addition to IC 342, it contains 1) the yellow reflection nebula around star BE Camelopardalis in the center, 2) a dark nebula on the left (I think IREC 193), 3) star cluster NGC 1502 in the upper left, and 4) the asterism Kemble's Cascade below NGC 1502 (although it's difficult to distinguish among the surrounding smaller stars).

Here's a thorough report about the reflection nebula around star BE Cam that clued me into its existence: www.sternwarte-baerenstein.de/upload/be-cam_reflection_ne.... Also an excellent APOD of IC 342: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170708.html

I'm looking forward to doing some more widefield galaxy shots this spring.

Acquisition details: Fujifilm X-T10, Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC @ f2.0, ISO 1600, 56 x 60 sec, tracking with iOptron SkyTracker Pro, stacking with DeepSkyStacker, editing with Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP, taken on Feb. 19, 2020 under Bortle 3/4 skies. I've cropped it but not extensively.

Probably my last view of comet C/2021A1 (Leonard). Schlepped out to Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife area in Greene County, Ind., a dark site with low horizons on a cold but crystal evening. The comet was very low by the time it got dark enough to emerge from the twilight so it appears redder than when higher in the sky. But I got enough exposures, to show some detail in the tail and coma. This is a composite, processed twice: registered on the comet and separately registered on the stars, combined in Photoshop.

30 15 sec. exposures, Explore Scientific 102mm f/7 refractor, ZWO ASI294MC camera, UV/IR cut filter, iOptron CEM25P mount, ASIAir Pro controller, processed in Astro Pixel Processor, Lightroom and Photoshop.

#cometleonard, #astrophotography

Askar 60F refractor @ f/6.8

ZWO ASI585MC OSC

360 x 30sec. subs. (3hrs.)

Processed with Astro Pixel Processor, GraXpert, NoiseXTerminator and Affinity Photo.

I was excited to capture 30 minutes of imagery of my first comet, C/2017 T2 PANSTARRS, on Thursday, January 30, before clouds moved in.

Since I wasn't sure I'd get anything because of clouds, I didn't bother to drive to my Bortle 3/4 dark site, but instead shot from my Bortle 5 backyard, 60 x 30 seconds. I combined this imagery with some better imagery of the Heart and Soul Nebulae from this past fall (47 x 60 seconds under Bortle 3/4 skies), to create this small mosaic (the Heart and Soul Nebulae turned out a bit ugly from my Bortle 5 backyard). I was impressed with how well Astro Pixel Processor combined the imagery of such differing quality.

Fujifilm X-T10, Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC @ f2.0, ISO 1600, 60 x 30 sec for left half, 47 x 60 for the right half, tracking with iOptron SkyTracker Pro, stacking with DeepSkyStacker, editing and mosaicking with Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP, double cluster and comet imaged on Jan. 30, 2020 from my Bortle 5 backyard.

40x300" lights

The Pacman Nebula (NGC 281) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia in the northern sky, 9,500 light-years from Earth. (Wikipedia)

__________________________________________________

Mount: SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro

Guiding: ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera - Orion 50mm Guide Scope

Filter: Astronomik CLS CCD EOS APS-C Clip-Filter

Camera: Canon EOS 70D (full spectrum modified)

Askar 80 PHQ F7.5 Quadruplet Astrograph Telescope

Focal length: 600mm

Astronomik CLS CCD Clip Filter

15 x 360 seconds frames - ISO 800 - f7.5

1 1/2hr total Integration

Darks: 20 frames

Flats: 20 frames

Bios: 20 frames

DarkFlats: 20 frames

Bortle 5/6

Apps: N.I.N.A. > PHD2 > ASCOM

Processing: AstroPixelProcessor > PixInsight > Photoshop >Topaz > Photoshop

Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P f/3.5

Player One Uranus-C OSC (Offset:20 / Gain:211 [HCG] )

UV/IR filter

240 x 15sec. subs (60 mins.)

Processed in Astro Pixel Processor and Affinity Photo.

This is an uncropped version of this wonderful pair of nebulae with RGB stars. I captured it as an 2-panel mosaic with 26 x 240 secs for each. Hope you like it!

Celestron RASA 8

Celestron Motorfocus

IDAS NBZ Dualband Filter

EQ6-R Pro

ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro (Gain 100, Offset 18, -10°)

25 x 240 secs pro Mosaik (2 Teile)

RGB (Sterne): 50 x 5 secs pro Teil

N.I.N.A., Guiding mit ZWO ASI 462MC und PHD2

Astropixelprocessor, Photoshop, Pixinsight

Bortle 5

Mosaic Antares IC 4606 and IC 4592. Ongoing project, inital result.

© Julian Köpke

Christmas Eve 2019

Altair 294c

Altair 72EDF Deluxe

Stacked in AstroPixelProcessor

Processed in PixInsight

Altair Astro ED60 with 0.8x reducer/flattener @ f/4.8

ZWO ASI585MC OSC

60 x 60sec. subs. for a 4 pane mosaic (4 hrs.)

Processed with Astro Pixel Processor, GraXpert, NoiseXTerminator and Affinity Photo.

I might have overprocessed this one - the data was so nice. Bortle 2 skies make for easy processing.

Acquisition details: Fujifilm X-T10, Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC @ f2.0, ISO 1600, 70 x 60 sec, tracking with iOptron SkyTracker Pro, stacking with DeepSkyStacker, editing with Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP, taken Mar. 18, 2020 from Bortle 2 skies.

I have not imaged M42 or the Great Orion Nebula for a few years, but with the field of view the ZWO ASI6200MCPro offers on the 15028HNT I just could not resist the temptation, this image is a blend of data from the L-eXtreme Filter and the Astronomik CLS-CCD filter

RA: 05h35m17.31s

Dec: -05°23'28.00"

Constellation: Orion

Designation: M42

Image Details:

60x90S at Gain 0 - CLS-CCD Filter

88x150S at Gain 0 - L-eXtreme Filter

32x30S at Gain 0 - L-eXtreme Filter

Darks: 101 Frames

Flats: 101 Frames

Bias: 101 Frames

Acquisition Dates: Jan. 3, 2021 , Feb. 18, 2021 , March 5, 2021 , March 6, 2021 , March 7, 2021

Total Capture time: 5.4 Hours

Equipment Details:

Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro 62mpx Full Frame OSC

Imaging Scope: SharpStar 15028HNT Hyperboloid Astrograph

Guide Camera: StarlightXpress Lodestar X2

Guide Scope: 365Astronomy 280mm Guide Scope

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro

Focuser: Primalucelab Sesto Senso V2

Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme 2"

Filter: Astronomik CLS-CCD 2"

Power and USB Control: Pegasus Astro USB Ultimate Hub Pro

Acquisition Software: Main Sequence Software. Sequence Generator Pro 3.2

Calibration and Stacking: Astro Pixel Processor

Processing Software: PixInsight 1.8.8 and EZ Processing Suite for Star Reduction

NGC7380 is an open cluster embedded in clouds of dust and gas at 7200 Light years in the constellation Cepheus.. This Image is made with Esprit 100 refractor+ QHY16200 CCD camera @ -20Celcius.

(45Red, 36Green, 47Blue x300 sec + 48Ha x600sec, total integration time: 18.5 hrs). Processed with AstroPixelProcessor and Pixinsight.

Imaging dates: 20 june, 7,9,14,17,18 en 21 july2018.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_7380

Knight Observatory, Tomar.

Reprocess of data from a few months back.

Object Information - Cigar Galaxy (Left)

* Designation : M82, NGC 3034

* Type : Starburst Galaxy

* Magnitude : 8.4

* Location (J2000.0): RA 09h 55m 52s / DEC +69° 40' 47"

* Approximate distance : 11.4 - 12.4 million lightyears

Object Information - Bode's Galaxy (Right)

* Designation : M81, NGC3031

* Type : Spiral Galaxy

* Magnitude : 6.9

* Location (J2000.0): RA 09h 55m 33s / DEC +69° 03' 55"

* Approximate distance : 11.8 million lightyears

Hardware

* Mount : Celestron CGX

* Imaging Scope : SkyWatcher Explorer 150PDS

* Imaging Camera : Canon EOS 80D (unmodified)

* Guide Scope : 50mm f/4

* Guide Camera : ZWO ASI 120MM

Exposures

* Single Exposure Length : 120sec

* ISO : 1600

* Light Frames : 60x

* Flat Frames : None

* Dark Frames : 20x

* Bias Frames : 25x

* Total Integration Time : 2h00m

* Capture Dates : 2018-02-14

Capture Software

* Astro Photography Tool

* PHD2 Guiding

Processing Software

* Astro Pixel Processor 1.061

* Adobe Photoshop CC

* Astronomy Tools Action Set

Vacuum cleaner Galaxy (#M109) in LRGB mode. Around 10 hours of integration. This Galaxy is around 60 Million lightyears away from earth and has a diameter of 110 000 Lightyears. It was post-processed in Astropixelprocessor, Pixinsight and Photoshop.

Camera was #qhy268m

#C11 at 2000mm focal lenght

#EQ8R

#youresa

#astrophotography #longexposure

IC5146 (The Cocoon Nebula) and the dark "Tail" Barnard 168 in the Constellation Cygnus imaged with an Esprit 100 refractor and QHY16200 CCD. 21 x 600 seconds Red, 21 x 600 seconds Green and 21x 600 seconds Blue.

Imaged on 2,3,13,14,15,16,17,21 and 22 July 2017. Processed with APP and Pixinsight.

Knight Observatory, Tomar

Finally had a clear night over a week after the launch of the NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and managed to catch an image of it on the way to its observation post. This is a composite of about six hours of exposures from suburban Bloomington, Indiana. JWST shows up as the streak to the left of the bright (relatively) orange star (HD 44256) as it moves relative to the background stars. The trail is interrupted because several bad frames (poor tracking, etc.) were excluded.

73 5-min. exposures, Explore Scientific 102mm f/7 refractor, ZWO ASI294MC camera, UV/IR cut filter, iOptron CEM25P mount, ASIAir controller, processed in Astro Pixel Processor, Lightroom and Photoshop.

This complex of reflection nebulae lies some 6,000 light-years away, in the constellation Cygnus.Obscuring interstellar dust clouds appear in silhouette against reddish hydrogen emission nebulae, along with the dusty blue reflection nebulae. Ultraviolet radiation from the massive, hot, young stars of the extensive Cygnus OB2 association ionize the region's atomic hydrogen gas, producing the characteristic red glow as protons and electrons recombine. Embedded Cygnus OB2 stars also provide the blue starlight strongly reflected by the dust clouds.

Telescope: Esprit 100 APO refractor.

Camera: QHY16200 CCD @-10 (RGB) and -20C (Ha).

28x 300sec Red filter

24x 300sec Green filter

28x 300sec Blue filter

23x 900sec H-alpha filter (6nm)

(12.4 hrs total integration time)

Ha Imaged on 20/5, 8/6, 27/7,28/7,30/7 2017.

RGB Imaged on 4/4, 5/4, 28/7, 29/7 2019.

Processed with AstroPixelProcessor and Pixinsight.

Knight Observatory, Tomar

The Iris Nebula can be a tricky target due to the amount of dust and dark nebulosity around, which can be easily mistaken for noise or light polution, but also equally it is very easy to over expose the core. Whilst I have some sort of reflection in the lower left corner, I am very happy with the way this image turned out, there's a lot of detail around the nebula

RA: 21h07m01.11s

Dec: 67°15'22.46"

Constellation: Cepheus

Designation: NGC7023

Image Details:

389x150S at Gain 100 - CLS-CCD Filter

Darks: 101 Frames

Flats: 101 Frames

Bias: 101 Frames

Acquisition Dates: March 20, 2021 , April 6, 2021 , April 7, 2021 , April 13, 2021 , April 15, 2021 , April 16, 2021 , April 17, 2021 , April 18, 2021 , April 19, 2021

Total Capture time: 16.2 Hours

Equipment Details:

Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro 62mpx Full Frame OSC

Imaging Scope: SharpStar 15028HNT Hyperboloid Astrograph

Guide Camera: StarlightXpress Lodestar X2

Guide Scope: 365Astronomy 280mm Guide Scope

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro

Pier: Altair Astro Skyshed 8" Pier

Focuser: Primalucelab Sesto Senso V2

Filter: Astronomik CLS-CCD 2"

Power and USB Control: Pegasus Astro USB Ultimate Hub Pro

Acquisition Software: Main Sequence Software. Sequence Generator Pro 3.2

Calibration and Stacking: Astro Pixel Processor

Processing Software: PixInsight 1.8.8 and EZ Processing Suite for Star Reduction

Fujifilm X-T10, Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC @ f2.0, ISO 1600, 41 x 60 sec, tracking with iOptron SkyTracker Pro, stacking with DeepSkyStacker, editing with Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP, taken Jan 10, 2019.

This is a reprocess of data from earlier in the year - this time I used the 'remove light pollution' and 'HSL selective color' tools of Astro Pixel Processor after integrating light frames in DSS and before editing in GIMP. Also, my flats were introducing artifacts so I didn't use them, but instead corrected vignetting with the 'remove light pollution' tool.

I'm much happier with this version - the color and definition of the nebula are much better, and seem to be accurate in comparison with other images.

William Optics GT71 with ASI 294 MCPro

30 * 60 sec subs

Gain = 300

Temp = -10 Deg C.

Mounted on the Sky Watcher Star Adventurer and calibrated using AstroPixel Processor. Lights only.

Taken at Dayborough, Queensland, Bortle 4

Markarian's Chain is a group of galaxies in the constellation of Virgo, the galaxies when viewed from earth are in a curved line hence the name Markarian's Chain, they obtained the name from Benjamin Markarian who dicovered the common motion of the galaxies back in the early 1960s, there are quite a number of galaxies within the group, but the chain itself consists of M84, M86, NGC4477, NGC4473, NGC4461, NGC4458, NGC4438 and NGC4435 which are all visible in this image.

This image is a 2-Panel Mosaic, as the QHY183M on the SharpStar 15028HNT doe snot give me enough of a field of view to capture it in a single frame

Each Panel consists of

51x150S in Red Filter

51x150S in Green Filter

51x150S in Blue Filter

Darks, Flats and Flat Darks were applied in the image stacking process

Total Capture time: 12.8 Hours, total Image Size 34.9mpx

Acquisition Dates: March 3, 2020 , March 17, 2020 , March 23, 2020 , March 24, 2020 , March 27, 2020 , March 28, 2020 , April 12, 2020 , April 15, 2020 , April 16, 2020

Equipment Details:

Imaging Camera: Qhyccd 183M Mono ColdMOS Camera at -20C

Imaging Scope: SharpStar 15028HNT Hyperboloid Astrograph

Guide Camera: StarlightXpress Lodestar X2

Guide Scope: Sky-Watcher Finder Scope

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro

Focuser: Primalucelab ROBO Focuser

FIlterwheel: Starlight Xpress Ltd 7x36mm EFW

Filters: Astronomik Red, Green and Blue

Power and USB Control: Pegasus Astro USB Ultimate Hub Pro

Acquisition Software: Main Sequence Software. Sequence Generator Pro

Calibration and Stacking: Astro Pixel Processor

Mosaic Panel Merging: Image Composite Editor

Processing Software: PixInsight 1.8.6

Pinwheel Galaxy Messier 101

© Julian Köpke

The Jellyfish Nebula (left-center) is a supernova remnant. The Monkey Head Nebula is the bright emission nebula near the bottom; the monkey head is upside down looking right here. Both are quite close - the Jellyfish Nebula is an estimated 5,000 light years from earth; the Monkey Head is an estimated 6,400 light years from earth. The large star cluster near the top is Messier 35 (NGC 2168). NGC 2158 is the other smaller star cluster to the lower right of Messier 35.

Acquisition details: Fujifilm X-T10, Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC @ f2.0, ISO 1600, 150 x 30 sec, tracking with iOptron SkyTracker Pro, stacking with DeepSkyStacker, editing with Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP, taken Mar. 15, 2020 from my Bortle 5 backyard. The Monkey Head and brightest part of the Jellyfish are bright - they were apparent even on my unprocessed subs from my Bortle 5 backyard.

Dati: 43 x 300 sec a gain 5 e offset 25 a -15° c + 33 dark + 25 flat e darkflat

Filtro Astronomik UV/IR Block L2

Montatura: EQ6 pro

Ottica: Takahashi FSQ106

Sensore: QHY168C

Cam guida e tele: magzero mz5-m su Scopos 62/520

Software acquisizione: nina e phd2

Software sviluppo: AstroPixelProcessor e Photoshop

Temperatura esterna: 10 ° C - Umidità 95%

amburger Galaxy NGC 5128; 30 x 180s; ISO 2200; Farm Kiripotib, Namibia

© Julian Köpke

One of my favorite targets - the integrated flux nebula (IFN) or galactic cirrus is faint dust illuminated by our galaxy, and there happens to be a nice concentration of it in the direction of Bode's Nebulae (Bode's (M 81) and Cigar (M 82) Galaxies). The Angel Nebula, which is made of IFN, is in the lower left corner. This is an improvement over my last attempt at this target - shooting raw and more integration time made a difference.

Acquisition details: Fujifilm X-T10, Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC @ f2.0, ISO 1600, 78 x 60 sec, tracking with iOptron SkyTracker Pro, stacking with DeepSkyStacker, editing with Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP, taken on Feb. 21, 2020 under Bortle 3/4 skies.

Nov 2020 update: The color of M 81 on my original version had always irked me a bit. I reprocessed it and now M 81's color is much better (in my opinion).

32 * 88 secs at ISO 1600, f6.1 - unguided tracking.

Although there is a degree of trailing on the stars, it's a pleasing result given that the lens is at 200mm, so a 400mm FF equivalent. (OLYMPUS M.75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II)

Used the Skywatcher Star Adventurer for tracking & Pole Master for polar alignment. Astro Pixel Processor for all the image calibration, only jpg as still learning software (lights and darks only) then export to Photoshop.

The 48 panel version does not show the Veil nebula so i decided to extend to 8x8 panels. This 16 panel (2x8) strip shows 2 main "attractions". This version is made with single 15 minute exposures using a 6nm Ha filter. (QHY16200/ Esprit 100 on GM2000 unguided) Software: Sequence generator pro/ Astro Pixel Processor.

Image reduced to 25%.

Knight Observatory, Tomar

Lights - 30x600"

Darks - 10x600"

43x 600 sec( 7.2 hrs). through 6nm Ha filter and Esprit 100 refractor/ QHY16200 CCD camera @ -20C. On 17,18,19 and 20 November 2017.

Knight Observatory, Tomar