Telescope: TS UNC 8" f/5

Mount: Sky-Watcher NEQ6 pro

Cam: QSI 583wsg

Guider: QHY5L-II

Data collected in Bazaleti, Georgia on October 5, 2016

An attempt at narrowband imaging. The meade DSI is a bit too old and noisy to take 15 minute exposures that are needed for this nebula's faint outer 'wings' - also my sketchy alignment done manually in photoshop has caused the stars to have strange colour edges. But overall i think its my best m27 to date, quite pleased to have picked up some of the faint wings. Really hope to get a better camera for this kind of work. :)

ED80 - Meade DSI mono - astronomik ha clip filter, baader OIII. on EQ6. autoguided with 9x50 finder and ZWO ASI20MC - PHD2, captured with Nebulosity. Stacked in DSS. processed in Ps.

6 x 600 sec halpha

6 x 900 sec OIII

8 x darks.

Not bad for 35 minutes' worth of exposure.

Say hello to my friend, the 'Sombrero' galaxy (aka Messier 104). I've waited five long years for this sucker. Tonight, I finally nabbed it! :)

35 one-minute exposures @ ISO3200 using a Nikon D5500 and a 10-inch Meade LX200.

Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker and fine-tuned in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Aw hell yes. It feels GREAT to be back in the ol' saddle again! <3

Finally getting some imaging done using an RC6 that i found secondhand last year. Nightmare to collimate but should work ok on smaller targets like galaxies, something i've wanted to do since the beginning :) got a long way to go :P

AA RC6 scope (150mm f9) 350D camera EQ6 mount. CLS clip.

Apprx 25 x 10 min subs, with a couple darks.

DSS / Ps for processing

Data gathered over 3 nights in April 2016.

WORC51, ZWO 533MC Pro, SA Gti Mount, No filters

60 x 3sec EXP/ 40 x 15sec EXP / 60 x 30sec/ 60 x 60sec EXP / 60 x 90sec EXP. 280 subs of which 276 were usable.

So, that's finally my last capture before I get my DSLR modified for astrophotography.

Of course, my ideia is to shot an emission nebula hard to capture with a stock camera.

If everything ends right, soon I'll post a version of this same target, with some quite similar exposure, but with an astromoded Canon T6i.

Wish me luck!

Well... what a hard target for a Bortle 6 skies and a stock DSLR. Almost 3 hours of exposure and I hardly got some nebulosity. I hope it will change soon, as soon my camera come back and my Optolong L-Pro arrive.

This is an open cluster, close to the Eta Carina nebula. It is already beautiful to the naked eye, showing stars of different colors. But through long exposures, it looks spectacular!

I really think this is one of the most beautiful open clusters in the night sky. The residual nebula that glows in H-Alpha brings an incredible complexity to this DSO.

By the way, I was very happy to be able to record this surrounding nebula. It is much darker than the other nebulae that I am used to photograph, and the heap of stars around it makes it even more difficult.

EXIF:

CEM25P

Long Perng 66mm f6

Canon T6i astromod

Optolong L-PRO

129x60s

This is IC 2177, the Seagull Nebula. I shot it from my back yard in Bend, OR.

I used a 90mm f/6 triplet refractor equipped with a field flattener and mounted on an Orion Sirius EQ-G mount. The camera was a modified Canon 6D. I also used an Optolong L-Enhance dual-band filter to block out light pollution. Polar alignment, telescope focus, object acquisition, autoguiding, and exposure capture were all done from my iPhone using the ZWO ASIAir Pro.

I combined 30 300s exposures at f/6, ISO 2000, for a total of 2.5 hours of exposure time. Images and calibration frames were stacked in Astro Pixel Processor and finished in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Horsehead nebula and flame nebula taken with a Canon 600d and a sharpstar 61 edph II. New processing with the new SIRIL version, the 1.2. We can see some little IC nebulae in this one.

Prints, cards and more are available via the website: shiny.photo/photo/Sh2-132-The-Lion-Nebula--Cepheus-20c162...

Sh2-132, also known as the "Lion Nebula", is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cepheus. Part of the Sharpless catalog, a list ofH II regions - clouds of glowing gas where star formation occurs.

About 10,000ly distant and 250ly across, Sh2-132 is situated in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way.

The most prominent sources of ionization in Sh2-132 are two Wolf-Rayet stars, which are extremely hot and massive stars nearing the end of their lives. These stars emit intense stellar winds shaping the surrounding gas into intricate structures.

Another of those occasions where one tries to match the DSS image of the Ha emission pattern resembling a lion with how the data looks. Make the OIII too bright a blue and it becomes a cut-'n'-shut with the front and rear ends too separate... It's also about the fine veins and blobs of dark nebulae - lanes of dust in the foreground.

4hr35min total integration with the IDAS NBZ dual-narrowband (Ha + OIII) filter, from which I extracted the Ha & OIII data separately using APP and recombined in PI.

johnsastrophotos From last night

Bottom left LDN1622, center M78, upper right NGC2024 and B33

70-300 second images

ZWO ASI6200MC

Antlia duel band filter

250mm f4.9 Red Cat telescope

Technical Information:

Telescope: AIRY APO 130T PrimaLuceLab

Mount: Paramount MyT - Software Bisque

Camera: QHYCCD QHY9

Filter: Optolong 36mm unmounted L-Pro, R, G, B and H-a 6nm

Frames: H-a:32x900s -- L-Pro:150x240s -- R:75x240s -- G:75x240s -- B:75x240s

Total Integration: 33 Hours

Software: SGP – TheSkyX – PHD2 – DSS – PixInsight – Adobe Photoshop 2022

Location: AstroAtlas Observatory - Noventa di Piave (Venice) 4 meter above sea level – ITALY

Environment Temperature: About 5°C

Relative Humidity: 89%

Date: 12.03.22 - 13.03.22 - 23.03.22 - 24.03.22 - 25.03.22 - 26.03.22 - 27.03.22

M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy taken from the AstroAtlas Observatory situated in Noventa di Piave (ITALY).Acquired with Optolong H-aLRGB filters. Small galaxy for my equipment - The photo has been cropped.

I hope you like it!

Clear skies!

AstroBin: astrob.in/6e5jim/0/

NOTE: The image was acquired from a polluted sky with high humidity - Bortle 5.

#astrophotography #astronomy #astroatlas

This is a softer processing of my last shot to make appear more details and colors.

Bode's and Cigar galaxies are performing cosmic tango some 12 million light years away from us.

Telescope: TS480APO (480mm f/6)

Camera: QSI 583

Mount: iOptron iEQ30 Pro

L 20x300sec bin 1x1

R,G,B each 12x180sec bin 2x2

Image acquisition from two locations during 4 nights in February 2016

The glory of the galactic center dominates the night sky of Coudersport, PA with the brightness of Jupiter trying to steal the show.

For some scary summer fun, and with a nod to it being Shark Week on Discovery Network, I shot the Shark Nebula (LDN 1235) in Cepheus. It was first light with my new ASI2600MC Pro cooled astro camera, used with an Orion ED80T (f/6) carbon fiber triplet refractor right from my back yard in Bend, OR. I did not use any filters for this image. The image consists of 123 exposures of 5 minutes each, for a total of 10.25 hrs of integration (this thing is faint)! Light frames and calibration frames were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker, and the combined image was processed using Photoshop and Topaz Denoise AI, and a few of Annie's Actions. This is a first swipe at processing Celestial Jaws. He needs work, but I'll save that for another day.

Technical Information:

Telescope: AIRY APO 130T PrimaLuceLab

Mount: Paramount MyT - Software Bisque

Camera: QHYCCD QHY9

Filter: Optolong H-a 7nm, L-Pro, R, G, B -- 36 mm

Frames: H-a:40x900s -- L-Pro:147x240s -- R:50x240s -- G:50x240s -- B:50x240s

Total Integration: 29,8 Hours

Software: SGP – TheSkyX – PHD2 – DSS – PixInsight – CS6

Location: AstroAtlas Observatory - Noventa di Piave (Venice) 4 meter above sea level – ITALY

Environment Temperature: About 3°C

Relative Humidity: 71%

Date: 02.03.21 - 06.03.21 - 07.03.21 - 08.03.21 - 20.03.21 - 21.03.21 - 23.03.21

M101 - The Pinwheel Galaxy taken from the AstroAtlas Observatory situated in Noventa di Piave (ITALY);

I really like this Galaxy for its shape.

Over 29 hours of exposure time taking H-a_LRGB - Half of the lights taken with H-a filter where taken with 3/4 of Moon.

AstroBin: astrob.in/sa3jdd/0/

NOTE: The image was acquired from a polluted sky with 71% of humidity - Sky Bortle 5.

#astrophotography #astronomy #astroatlas

M51

First light test of a QHY163M and a Optolong LRGB filter set.

5min subs L x 12

2min subs RGB x 8 each

RC6 - @F9 - QHY163M - Optolong LRGB, EQ6. finderguider. 50mm

Kleine Komposition

EQM-35

RC 6" 150/900mm f6

Sony a6000

NGC 1499 a.k.a. California Nebula

...........................................................

Discovered in 1884, NGC1499 is a hydrogen emission nebula which can be found at about 1500 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Perseus, on the Orion arm of the Milky Way. Stretching over a length of 80-100 light years, the California nebula received this name under which it is best known for its shape that more or less resembles the American state of California. The California Nebula is an extremely popular target in terms of astrophotography, images with this target being easy to take with relatively simple equipment. Being an emission nebula, the use of a narrowband filter is highly recommended for better results.

Equipment and settings:

Mount: Skywatcher EQ6R

Telescope: Skywatcher 72ED Evostar

Camera: ASI 533MM Pro

Filters: SHO Astrodon 5nm

Integration: 13h15’

Edit in Pixinsight.

Location: my Bortle 6+ backyard

Messier 33 a.k.a. Triangulum Galaxy

..............................................................

As part of the local group of galaxies, along with the Milky Way, Andromeda and several other smaller galaxies, M33 is about 2.7 million light-years away from Earth and can be seen in the constellation Triangulum, a constellation that gave the galaxy its name.

Compared to our galaxy, Triangulum Galaxy is almost 2 times smaller than the Milky Way, with a diameter of about 60,000 light-years, and hosts "only" 40 billion stars, compared to almost 400 billion stars of the Milky Way.

Triangulum Galaxy, according to those passionate about astronomical observations, can be seen with the naked eye (I really couldn’t see it, not even from a Bortle 2 location), but using a small / medium telescope, this galaxy can be seen very well during the last months of the year.

Equipment and settings:

Mount: SW EQ6R

Telescope: Explore Scientific 102ED + 0.75 APM reducer

Camera: ASI 533MM Pro

Filters : LRGB Astrodon

Total integration: 13 hours

Edit in Pixinsight.

Location: my Bortle 6+ backyard

English below

Nuova elaborazione di LDN673 pubblicata qualche giorno fa.

Somma di pose guidate da 10 minuti per un'integrazione di 21 ore e 30 minuti. Telescopio newton 150/600 con correttore Tecnosky 0.95x, camera Tecnosky Vision 571C, montatura Eq6-R Pro, elaborazione Pixinsight.

New processing by LDN673 published a few days ago.

Sum of 10-minute guided exposures for an integration time of 21 hours and 30 minutes. 150/600 Newtonian telescope with Tecnosky 0.95x corrector, Tecnosky Vision 571C camera, EQ6-R Pro mount, Pixinsight processing.

Used a stock camera(Nikon D5600) with a very close spectral response similar to the human eye. Hydrogen emission nebulae actually appear pink due to H-alpha (red), H-beta (blue) and emission from other atoms, like oxygen and sulfur. Orange faint nebulosity is the dust clouds.

Data acquisition

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

Camera : Nikon D5600

Lens : 70-300mm kit lens (300mm @f6.3)

Mount : iOptron Skyguider Pro

Tripod : Manfrotto MT190

Total exposure : 1 Hour 26 mins

172 framses stacked,cropped and processed.

Light frames : 30"x 172

no dark,flat,bias frames

Bortle scale : class 4

Image processing

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

Stacked using Deep Sky Stacker

Image processed using Siril , ImagesPlus and PS

www.instagram.com/rupesh_sreeraman

Messier 101 (NGC 5457) auch als Feuerrad-Galaxie oder Pinwheel-Galaxie bezeichnet, ist eine Spiralgalaxie Im Sternbild Großer Bär.

Die Entfernung beträgt rund 16 Millionen Lichtjahre und ihr Durchmesser 170.000 Lichtjahre mit einer scheinbaren Helligkeit von 7,5 mag.

Aufgenommen am 11.03.2019

Skywatcher Ed Apo 66/400

Canon 700Da

Lights 150/45sek (2h)

Darks 20

Flats 20

Bias 20

Technical Information:

Telescope: AIRY APO 130T PrimaLuceLab

Mount: Paramount MyT - Software Bisque

Camera: QHYCCD QHY9

Filter: Optolong 36mm unmounted L-Pro, R, G, B

Frames: L-Pro:150x240s -- R:45x240s -- G:45x240s -- B:45x240s

Total Integration: 19 Hours

Software: SGP – TheSkyX – PHD2 – DSS – PixInsight – CS6

Location: AstroAtlas Observatory - Noventa di Piave (Venice) 4 meter above sea level – ITALY

Environment Temperature: About 1°C

Relative Humidity: 75%

Date: 27.02.22 - 01.03.22 - 05.03.22 - 08.03.22 - 09.03.22 - 10.03.22

This is my last picture taken from the AstroAtlas Observatory situated in Noventa di Piave (ITALY).

This is M64 acquired with Optolong LRGB filters. Small galaxy for my equipment - The photo had been cropped.

I am happy of this result and I hope you like it!!!

Clear skies!

AstroBin: astrob.in/xfqgjf/0/

NOTE: The image was acquired from a polluted sky with high humidity - Bortle 5.

#astrophotography #astronomy #astroatlas

NGC6914 -

If i have this right, this image is a L(Ha+R)GB image. That is, i used .Luminance and RGB filters with a bit of hydrogen alpha mixed with the red channel.

I have wanted to image this area again ever since i first did with my old 350D and the last two clear nights (with no full moon) were the perfect opportunity for me to give it a shot.

It's a nice reflection nebula (blue) in the center of some emission nebulosity in Cygnus.

Used my ED80 - QHY163M - Optolong filters and processed in photoshop.

I'm quite happy with the result, although several different versions of it are on my laptop, some better than others and this one happens to be my favourite for the moment, but that will quickly change :D

A misty moonlit night was a poor time to try RGB, imaging but without any nebulae in my part of the sky at that time i decided to give it a shot, i chose a star cluster for 2 reasons - bright enough to show up in short exposures, and wouldn't require much stretching during post-processing.

Simple RG and B (no luminance) 2min x 10 subs per filter. with darks.

First narrowband mosaic for me.

M: Pegasus NYX-101

T: WO GTF81 Refractor

C: ZWO ASI533MM-Cooled

G: OAG and PHD2

GC: ZWO ASI120MC

RAW16; FITs

Temp: -10 DegC

Mosaic: 4 x Panels of:

Ha: Gain 100; Exp: 6 x 300s

Oiii: Gain 100; Exp: 6 x 300s

Sii: Gain 100; Exp: 6 x 300s

Frames: 72 Lights; Darks/DarkFlats/Flats

95% Crop

Capture: NINA

Processed: APP [HOS-1]; PS.

Sky: 50% moon, slight breeze, no cloud.

Blue Horsehead Nebula - IC 4592

This is a rarely imaged nebula, located about 400 light years from us, visible in the constellation Scorpio. IC 4592 is a true reflection nebula, being formed of cosmic dust, the central part appearing blue due to the energy released by Jabbah, the star whose light makes this nebula visible. The popular name of this nebula, Blue Horsehead, is given by the more or less obvious resemblance to a horse's head and, as most astronomy enthusiasts know, this is not the only "horsehead" visible in the night sky. Practically every night of the year a "horsehead" nebula can be seen, regardless of whether it is "blue" or "dark". As an additional note, the above statement is valid for the latitude where I am (44 degrees North).

Equipment and settings:

Tracking - Skywatcher Star Adventure GTI

Camera - Nikon D610A

Photo lens - Rokinon 135 F2

98 x 60 sec - F2.8 iso 1600.

Stacking in Deep Sky Stacker.

Edit in Pixinsight.

Seestar S50. 945 10s exposures. Stacked in Siril, processed using GraXpert, Siril, Gimp, and Cosmic Clarity.

Yes, finally. My longest project so far. 6 hours on IC 2944 with a stock DSLR.

Setup:

Long Perng 66/400mm

iOptron CEM25P

Canon SL1

121x180s ISO 800

DARKS, FLATS and BIAS.

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遠眺獵戶

獵戶座是秋冬百看不厭的星座，也蘊藏著不少的深空天體，幾乎每年均會多次拍攝，以測試每次轉變了的器材。今次拍攝遇上了是次冬天最寒冷的天氣，山上溫度曾達到負四度，再加上四五級的大風吹襲，感覺就在零下二十多度的環境中，實在有點吃不消，也只能拍攝廣角深空以對抗寒風。

在嚴寒低溫的環境下，電池的穩定性十分重要，幸好相機及追星儀也用上大容量的外置電池，以應付一整晚的自動拍攝。唯一擔心的是寒風將相機吹倒，所以將腳架的三腳盡量拉開一點，讓她長時間可以陪伴著獵戶。

Photo by siuba

日期：2015/12/18 @ 梅州陰那山

相機：Canon EOS-M mod.

鏡頭：Canon 22mm f/2 STM

追星儀：Vixen Polarie

設定：ISO 1600, 60s x180 (30s x1 地景)

處理：PI, PS CC

香港拍攝難度：★★ (五星最難)

適合鏡頭焦距：35 ~ 100mm

適合拍攝月份：2015/12 ~ 2016/02 (香港)

This picture of the bubble nebula (ngc 7635) was taken last night at home.

This objet located in cassiopeia constellation is an emission nebula.

Capture: 53 lights 300sec. each + (50 Dark - 50 Flat - 100 Bias) - Dithering

Total integration time : 4h25mn

Gain: 252

Temp. Camera: -10°C

Bortle: 6

Camera: ZWO ASI585mc PRO

Telescope: MEADE Newtonian 6"+MPCC Mark III Coma corrector

Filer SVBony SV220 (7nm - H-Alpha/O-III)

Mount: Meade LXD75 Onstep modified

Guiding : miniguidescope+qhy 5l II c

Capture : NINA + Sharpcap polar alignment

Guiding :PHD2

Processing : SIRIL

IC1396A - Elephant Trunk Nebula

..................................................................

Located in the constellation Cepheus, at a distance of about 2400 light-years from Earth, IC1396 is an emission nebula with a diameter of over 100 light-years, the gas that forms it being crossed by cosmic dust filaments, more or less dense, these blocking the light emitted by the nebula, thus creating various dark shapes that contrast with the glow of the gas. One of these shapes represents the main subject of the attached image, being at the same time the only one that received a popular name, besides the catalog name. This is the Elephant's Trunk and represents an irregular column of cosmic dust that stretches over a distance of about 20 light-years, being also the main region of the nebula where the new stars are born.

In terms of astrophotography, although it is a well-known nebula, the Elephant Trunk is a target with a medium degree of difficulty, with long exposures and the use of narrowband filters being necessary to end up with a decent result.

................................................

Equipment and settings:

Mount: Skywatcher EQ6R Pro

Telescope: Explore Scientific 102ED + 0.75 APM Riccardi reducer.

Camera: ASI 533MM Pro

Astrodon SHO filters.

Total exposure: 9h40’

Edit in Pixinsight.

Location: my Bortle 6+ backyard

Die Whirlpool-Galaxie (Messier 51 oder NGC 5194) ist eine Spiralgalaxie im Sternbild Jagdhunde.Die Entfernung von unserer Milchstraße beträgt etwa 25 Millionen Lichtjahre.

Aufgenommen am 25.03.2019

Skywatcher Ed Apo 66/400

Sony a6000

Lights 150/30sek

Darks 20

Flats 20

Bias 20

YouTube → Waheed Akhtar

You can connect with me on other social networks →

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Not my best picture so far. Bad light pollution condition allied with only 2 hours of 60 second frames. But man, I'm satisfied, at least for this year. I tried this same target with my old Nikon D5000 and got frustrated.

I'll definitely try it again next year, since my camera is now properly modified for astrophotography.

The Veil supernova in Cygnus. Bi colour narrowband. h-alpha/OIII. Reprocessed with added data.

A little happier with the colour and overall processing than the other one.

Same kit. ED80/QHY163M/Optolong ha baader oiii.

Inspired by Erik's recent image, and being bored after being clouded out for what seems like decades, I thought I'd faff about :)

A starless version of my recent collaboration with Dave Williams. I've left IC 431 and 434 in there because they are nebulae after all. I've also left in Alnitak and his buddy as I'm not good enough to take them out :)

I won't submit this to astrometry, as it may struggle :)

Reprocessed version of Heart Nebula

YouTube → Waheed Akhtar

You can connect with me on other social networks →

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Another shot in the Cygnus constellation taken last night.

You can see NGC 6960 and NGC 6979, two supernovae remnants.

The picture is a stack of 65 subs of 180 seconds each taken with my ZWO ASI 585 MC Pro camera on Sharpstar 61 EDPH II (SV220 Dual narrowband fllter)

Gain 252, offset 8 and temperature -10°C.

LXD75 Onstep modified mount.

Capture with Nina and PHD2Guiding.

Processing with Siril (Hoo).

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心臟星雲 (Heart Nebula, IC1805) 在仙后座尾部近英仙座位置，緊接其旁的是靈魂星雲，因為它們相對較亮和大，鄰旁還有容易辨認的雙雙星團，對於新手來說也是十分容易尋找的，是這天區很受歡迎的拍攝目標。

這次做了個星點移除版本，大家可以欣賞一下這個發射星雲和黑暗塵帶的結構，也算是練練手，順道熟習一下遮色片和多通道混合的技巧。

Photo by Michael Leung

Date: Nov 2016

Location: 廣東從化

Camera: ASI 1600MM-C @ -10c

Telescope: Borg 90FL w/ 0.72x Reducer (360mm f/4)

Mount: Sky-Watcher AZEQ6 Guided ASI120MM-S

Setting: Ha 10mins x15, RGB 3mins x15 per channel

Process: PI, PS CC

Messier 45 a.k.a Pleiades

….. a.k.a…..

Matariki ( Maori/New Zeeland )

Kozaru/Hoki Hoshi ( Japan )

Thurayya ( Arabic )

Krittika ( Hindu )

Tz’ab ( Maya Indians )

Tayamni Pa ( North America Indians )

…………….

Pleiades (catalog name: Messier 45), is an open cluster located in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of about 450 light-years from Earth. Due to this "small" distance that separates us and the fact that the Pleiades are visible to the naked eye, this Messier object is known by several names, such as The 7 Sisters, Subaru or Pleione's daughters, and probably another 50 names. If anyone knows other names, please mention it in the "Comments" section.

M45 consists of over 1000 stars, mostly young stars, hence the blue color that is reflected from the dust cloud that surrounds this star cluster. Due to this "gas" the Pleiades are sometimes seen as a reflection nebula, but from an astronomical point of view M45 is classified as a star cluster

In terms of astrophotography, M45 is without any doubt one of the well known/favorite targets, the details of this star cluster starting to appear from a 100-150mm focal length, especially if the imaging session takes place in a location with low light pollution, Bortle 4 or less.

As additional information, experts believe that due to gravitational interactions with its galactic neighborhood , this star cluster will disappear in about 250 million years, so for those who have not yet photographed this Messier object, it should be noted that the time is limited :)

Equipment and settings:

Mount: SW EQ6R

Telescope: SW 72ED + 0.85 field flattener

Camera: ASI 533 MC Pro.

Filter: Baader UV/IR cut

Total exposure: 232 min ( 116 frames x 2 min )

Edit in Pixinsight.

Location: Bortle 3.

The Wishing Well Cluster, formally known as NGC 3532, is a breathtaking open star cluster nestled in the southern constellation of Carina, lying about 1,300 light-years from Earth. With over 400 stars densely packed into its luminous heart, it spans a region roughly 50 light-years across, shimmering like a scattering of silver coins—hence its poetic nickname. The cluster contains a rich mix of hot blue giants and older, cooler stars, and it gleams with such brightness that it is easily visible to the naked eye under the dark Namibian skies.

NGC 3532 lies in a star-forming region of the Milky Way, surrounded by a vibrant complex of emission nebulae and molecular clouds. Among these are the RCW 54b, 54c, and 54d regions—dense knots of glowing hydrogen gas within the larger RCW 54 complex. Each of these nebulae is a cradle of ongoing star formation, rich in ionized gas and dust, energized by the ultraviolet radiation from hot young stars.

RCW 54d is a relatively compact, bright region, (upper Left), appearing like a glowing ember embedded in the interstellar medium. It is likely powered by a small group of O or B-type stars buried within.

RCW 54c extends more diffusely, (left hand side), with wispy filaments and darker dust lanes weaving throughout. The gas flows towards the bottom of the image hinting at complex magnetic fields and turbulent gas dynamics.

RCW 54b, the most nebulous and irregular of the group, (right hand side) is partially obscured by foreground dust but still radiates a soft, ruddy hue. It may be in an earlier or less active phase of stellar birth than its siblings.

Together, the Wishing Well Cluster and the surrounding RCW 54b–d nebulae form a jewel-like tableau in the Carina region, where the galaxy’s spiral arm folds into a corridor rich with gas, dust, and stellar activity. The entire field of view is a tapestry of light and structure, revealing the chaotic beauty of a galaxy alive with stellar creation ...

PlaneWave Delta Rho 350

10 Micron GM2000 HPS

Moravian C5S-100M

The image is a two panel mosaic. Total acquisition time: ca. 16 hrs 46 Minutes

Comet Leonard a.k.a. C/2021 A1

...........................................................

This comet was discovered abt 4 years ago, on January 3, 2021, by astronomer Greg Leonard. As general information, Comet Leonard has a core of 1km in diameter and travels at a speed of about 250,000 km / h (70 km / sec). On December 12, 2022, it reached the closest point to Earth, at just over 30 million km, and on December 17, 2022 it passed about 4 million km from Venus.

I took this image using a small telescope, when Comet Leonard was crossing the constellation Canis Venatici and it was near star cluster Messier 3.

……………………………………………

Equipment and settings:

Mount: SW EQ6R

Telescope: SW 72ED

Camera: ASI 533 MC Pro

Total exposure: 90 min

Location: my Bortle 6+ backyard

The Orion Nebula, also known as M42, is a diffuse nebula located about 1,344 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Orion. It is a well-known stellar nursery, where new stars and planetary systems are forming from collapsing clouds of gas and dust. Spanning about 24 light-years in diameter, it is one of the closest and largest regions of massive star formation visible to us.

At the heart of M42 lies the Trapezium Cluster, a young open cluster of stars. This cluster consists of four main stars arranged in a trapezoid shape within a 1.5 light-year diameter. Two of these stars can be resolved into binaries, bringing the total to six visible stars in the cluster. These stars, along with many others in the nebula, are in the early stages of their evolution. The Trapezium Cluster is part of the larger Orion Nebula cluster, which includes about 2,800 stars spread over 20 light-years.

Near the top of the frame is Sh2-279, the Running Man reflection nebula.

All the surrounding dust and lanes of dark-nebulae are part of the Orion Molecular Cloud complex.

This was a moderately complicated image to make, being an HDR:

300 lights at 1s - for the stars, especially the trapezium cluster in the core

100 frames at 180s for the detail in the dust

20 frames at an intermediate 30s for a smooth blend

TI: 6.25hr

Processed in PixInsight: WBPP, BlurXterminator, ABE, SPCC, NoiseXterminator, HDRComposition, Seti Astro's Statistical Stretch; finished in Affinity (tonemapping, HSL, clarity).

Prints, cards and more: shiny.photo/photo/M42-and-De-Mairan-s-Nebula-905695a23bff...

Taken with a TMB92L, Hutech-modified Canon T3i DSLR, Orion SSAG autoguider and 50mm guidescope, and Celestron AVX mount. Consists of 24 240-second light frames and 18 240-second dark frames, all at ISO 800, as well as 30 flat and 50 bias frames. Captured with BackyardEOS, stacked in DeepSkyStacker, and processed in Photoshop.

More details here: fotosgrafiabymiguel.wpcomstaging.com/.../2025.../

Classic Spiral Structure: M51 showcases a beautiful face-on spiral structure, featuring graceful, curving arms composed of stars, gas, and dust.

Interaction with Companion Galaxy: A striking aspect of M51 is its interaction with its smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5195. The companion galaxy seems to "tug" on one of M51's arms. This action creates a bridge-like connection of stars and interstellar material between the two galaxies.

Star Formation: The gravitational interaction between the two galaxies significantly impacts star formation. It actively drives the formation observed throughout M51, particularly within its spiral arms. The spiral arms are stellar nurseries, compressing hydrogen gas and giving birth to clusters of new stars. Bright pink star-forming regions (H-II regions) and brilliant blue strands of young star clusters are prominently visible.

Dust Lanes: Dark dust lanes weave through the galaxy's disk, adding to its visual complexity. Infrared observations even reveal unusual spoke-like patterns within these dust lanes, caused by the companion galaxy's gravitational influence.

Central Region: The central core of M51 is circular. It lacks the elongated bar shape seen in some other spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way. The central region appears to be undergoing a period of enhanced star formation. It is thought to host a black hole, surrounded by a ring of dust.

Size: Approximately 76,900 light-years in diameter, about 88% the size of the Milky Way.

Mass: Estimated at 160 billion solar masses.

Age: Estimated to be around 400 million years old.

English below

NGC6914 è una nebulosa a riflessione nella parte centrale della costellazione del Cigno quindi in una zona molto ricca di idrogeno ionizzato.

Integrazione per 14 ore e 20 minuti, pose guidate da 10 minuti con filtro dualband Antlia ALP-T 5nm, telescopio newton 150/600 con correttore 0.95x, camera Tecnosky Vision 571C, montatura Eq6-R Pro, elaborazione Pixinsight.

NGC6914 is a reflection nebula in the central part of the constellation Cygnus, therefore in an area very rich in ionized hydrogen.

Integration for 14 hours and 20 minutes, 10-minute guided exposures with an Antlia ALP-T 5nm dual-band filter, 150/600 Newtonian telescope with 0.95x corrector, Tecnosky Vision 571C camera, Eq6-R Pro mount, Pixinsight processing.

Comet 46P/Wirtanen close to the Pleiades (M45) on 16 December 2018 (imaged from Southern Africa, after a thunder shower and in between clear gaps in partly cloudy conditions).

I kept the exposures a bit shorter than I would have liked, and rather pushed the ISO a bit higher due to the cloud cover that was increasing. Luckily it was clear towards the North for just long enough to take the series of photos required for stacking, and despite the weather, the Astronomical Seeing was actually really excellent after the rain.

The Comet's faint tail was only visible in darker skies with longer exposures. This Comet has a beautiful bright green Coma (or head). The green color is caused by Cyanogen (CN) and diatomic Carbon (C2), which glows in the green part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum of Light when illuminated by the Sun in space.

Geocentric Distance:

0.0775 AU (Astronomical Unit).

30 Lunar distances.

11.5 Million km.

7.1 Million miles.

Gear:

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR Lens.

Celestron AdvancedVX Telescope Mount.

Optolong L-Pro Clip-In Filter for Nikon.

Nikon D750 DSLR.

Lights/Subs:

46 x 60 sec. ISO 3200 exposures.

Calibration Frames:

30 x Bias

20 x Darks

Astrometry Info:

Center RA, Dec: 58.071, 22.397

Center RA, hms: 03h 52m 17.067s

Center Dec, dms: +22° 23' 47.549"

Size: 8.45 x 5.68 deg

Radius: 5.089 deg

Pixel scale: 19 arcsec/pixel

Orientation: Up is 130 degrees E of N

View an Annotated Sky Chart for this image.

View this image in the WorldWideTelescope.

Processing:

Pre-Processing and Linear workflow in PixInsight,

and finished in Photoshop.

Carl Sagan on Comets:

youtu.be/1hlONoWw39M

People's reaction to Comets, excerpt from Cosmos S01E04:

Time code: 13:18

"By 1910, Halley's comet returned once more. But this time, astronomers using a new tool, the spectroscope had discovered cyanogen gas in the tail of a comet. Now, cyanogen is a poison. The Earth was to pass through this poisonous tail. The fact that the gas was astonishingly, fabulously thin reassured almost nobody. For example, look at the headlines in the Los Angeles Examiner for May 9, 1910: "Say, Has That Comet 'Cyanogened' You Yet?" "Entire Human Race Due For Free Gaseous Bath. Expect High Jinks." Or take this from the San Francisco Chronicle, May 15, 1910: "Comet Comes And Husband Reforms." "Comet Parties Now Fad In New York." Amazing stuff! In 1910, people were holding comet parties, not so much to celebrate the end of the world as to make merry before it happened. There were entrepreneurs who were hawking comet pills. I think I'm gonna take one for later. And there were those who were selling gas masks to protect against the cyanogen. And comet nuttiness didn't stop in 1910." - Carl Sagan, Cosmos.

This image is part of the Legacy Series.

Flickr Explore:

2018-12-19

Photo usage and Copyright:

Medium-resolution photograph licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Terms (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). For High-resolution Royalty Free (RF) licensing, contact me via my site: Contact.

Martin

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