☄️ La comète ZTF au 135mm !

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🙏 J’ai eu la chance de pouvoir la photographier alors que la Lune n’était pas encore trop forte et lorsqu’elle était proche de sa luminosité maximale, le 29 Janvier 2023. Après avoir parcouru 200km pour trouver une météo plus favorable, j’ai pu poser 2 setups ici, dans l’Aisne, et imager environ 4 heures. Une nuit très rude à rester éveiller jusqu’à 5h du matin par -5 °C.

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🌠 On peut remarquer très aisément les 3 différentes queues de la comète : la queue de gaz ionisée est la plus longue et la plus détaillée ici. Elle parcourt plusieurs dizaines de millions de kilomètres de long et recouvre près des 2/3 de mon capteur full frame ! La deuxième, plus diffuse, se situe sur le même plan que la première. Elle contient énormément de poussières qui s'échappent du corps de la comète. On la nomme souvent la “chevelure”. Enfin, la troisième, souvent nommée l’”anti-queue”, est opposée aux 2 autres et permet de connaître le direction dans laquelle la comète file. C’est également un résidu de poussière que la comète a laissé derrière elle. La couleur verte qui émane du cœur de la comète est dûe aux interactions chimiques qui se passent entre le Soleil et elle. La couleur verte à proprement dit, n’existe nulle part ailleurs dans l’univers à part aux travers du noyau des comètes.

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Photographier une comète pendant plusieurs heures est un vrai défi car elle bouge très vite, vous n’avez donc pas droit à l’erreur. L’image que je vous présente ici contient donc quelques défauts car le “dithering” est presque impossible ce qui induit du bruit numérique. Je suis très content d’avoir pu obtenir de tels détails sur cette comète, c’est très rare de voir la queue aussi développée au 135mm ! Et quelle ne fût pas ma surprise en découvrant sur une image, une étoile filante passant juste à côté de la comète ! Une chance inouïe d’avoir pu capturer ça, mettant en perspective un petit gravillon passant à quelques dizaines de kilomètres au-dessus du sol et une comète à des dizaines de millions de kilomètres de nous..

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EXIF :

- Canon France EOS R(a)

- Samyang France 135mm f/2

- @skywatcherusa Star Adventurer GTi

- 105*60s ISO1600 f/2

- Pix & PS

- Lune à 53%

- Bortle 4

Handheld and captured with my D500 and 18-200mm lens... This has a deep space vibe to it and I rather like it.

Equipment:

Epsilon 130ED dual rig

QHY268m + CFW3M

Touptek IMX571 + ZWO EFW

Astronomik MaxFR

Skywatcher EQ8

September 2022

Processing: PixInsight/affinity photo

63x90s red

62x90s green

64x90s blue

537x180s Ha

382x180s OIII

171x180 SII

total 59,2 hours

This is the 2nd brightest globular clusters after Omega Centauri and one of the most massive in our galaxy. The cluster has a very dense core where the light falls off to a point vs reaching a flatter profile near the center as in a typical globular cluster. It has been proposed a massive black hole may reside near the center. In the night sky this object is about the size of the full moon.

Takahashi TAO-150B

FLI 16200 (scale 1.1")

AP 1600GTO Abs Encoders

Data from Deepskywest El Sauce Observatory (Rio Hurtado, Chile)

L (23x120s) and (7x300s)

R (16x300s)

G (12x300s)

B (11x300s

Total Integration = 4.6hrs

Pixinsight

BPP

Lum HDRComb/DC/HDRMT/MMT

RGB MMT/ASSx2/HT/CT/LComb

Photoshop

Crop/Levels/Curves

Sharpen Stars w/ Mask

Vibrance

I wasn't quite happy with how the original version of this image turned out, so I decided to start all over with it using a new tool called BlurXTerminator, which works to deconvolve astro images using AI that has been fed data from the Hubble and James Webb telescopes for reference models (this is super interesting because these telescopes shoot from outside our atmosphere and therefore have a clearer view of the stars without the distortions of our atmosphere - among other things) - it's crazy such a thing exists. Anyway, I also processed the image using a Hubble palette, instead of the Ha / Oiii palette, which results in a more pleasing coloration (in my opinion). Anyway, here's the new version!

This is the Elephant Trunk Nebula setting behind Scott mountain here in East Tennessee. The scene is shot entirely at 300mm and is astronomically accurate.

Was blessed with an amazing rare phenomenon (Noctilucent Clouds) after a pleasant evening of astrophotography last weekend

I was starting to do the Witches head but the camera would not focus not matter what I did. My thought was where the stars too Faint. so I turned to Orion with it big bright star.

I did get focus but it turned out the program kept asking me to increase the step size . It turned out it was the very opposite I had to make the steps smaller to the perfect curve.

I had planned to do this as a one shot for both which i still will be doing Plus a 50mm shot of the whole area and the Huge Bernard's Loop of the Whole Orion Area.

This is 148 shot 2 min long all night long then the next night I had to take shorter shots 60 sec , 30sec and 15 sec to over come the blown out core of Orion.

QHY 183C -10c 148 shots & 138 shot 2 min over two nights.

MeLE Mini PC

Pegasus Astro Pocket Mini power box

Prima Luce Essato Focus

Optolong LeNhance filter,

Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA

Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro

SVbony 50MM Guide scope

QHY QHY5L-II-M Guide camera

Guided PHD2, Nina

Pixinsight, Ps PTGui.

The Orion and Running Man Nebulae are a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. The Orion Nebula is 1,500 light-years away, and the nearest star-forming region to Earth. Technical info: 210 x 300 sec. Astronomik Ha 12 nm filter

173 x 300 sec. Astronomik OIII 12 nm filter

170 x 300 sec Astronomik SII 12 nm filter

Gain 200, Offset 50, Binning 1x1

Total Integration 46.1 hours

Explore Scientific 102mm f/7 APO Refractor

Sensor cooled to -15°C on ZWO ASI1600MM Pro (mono)

Calibration frames: Bias, Darks, and Flats.

Plate Solve-PlateSolver 2 via N.I.N.A. 2.0

Image processing Pixinsight 2.0 and Photoshop 2023

distance ca. 1350 Lj

RGB Equipment:

Skywatcher ED80/600

Skywatcher Reducer x0,85

EOS 1000Da

Celestron VX

Guiding:

i-Nova PLA-Mx on 9x50 Finderscope

PHD

17x300s ISO800

08.12.2015

H-Alpha Equipment:

Skywatcher Esprit ED80

TS-Optics 0.79 Reducer

ASI183mm

1,25" Baader H-Alpha Filter

Celestron AVX

guiding with 50mm finderscope and ASI120

PHD2

64x240s H-Alpha

20.01.2020

Processing: PixInsight\Affinity Photo

English below

Abell 85 o LBN576, nota come Nebulosa Testa d'Aglio, è un resto di supernova nella costellazione di Cassiopea distante circa 9780 anni luce e di diametro di circa 98 anni luce.

11 ore e 20 minuti in pose guidate da 600 secondi con filtro dualband Antlia ALP-T 5nm, per le stelle un'ora in pose guidate da 60 secondi con filtro broadband SV260. Telescopio newton 150/600 con correttore Tecnosky 0.95x, camera Tecnosky Vision 571C, montatura Eq6-R Pro, elaborazione in Pixinsight.

Abell 85 or LBN576, known as the Garlic Nebula, is a supernova remnant in the constellation Cassiopeia, approximately 9,780 light-years away and approximately 98 light-years in diameter.

11 hours and 20 minutes in 600-second guided exposures with an Antlia ALP-T 5nm dual-band filter, and one hour for stars in 60-second guided exposures with an SV260 broadband filter. 150/600 Newtonian telescope with a Tecnosky 0.95x corrector, Tecnosky Vision 571C camera, EQ6-R Pro mount, and Pixinsight processing.

The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. Older data reprocessed. Technical Info:

58 x 300 sec. Astronomik Ha 12 nm filter

51 x 300 sec. Astronomik OIII 12 nm filter

56 x 300 sec Astronomik SII 12 nm filter

Gain 200, Offset 50, Binning 1x1

Total Integration 13.8 hours

Explore Scientific 102mm f/7 APO Refractor

Sensor cooled to -15°C on ZWO ASI1600MM Pro (mono)

Calibration frames: Bias, Darks, and Flats.

Plate Solve-PlateSolver 2 via N.I.N.A. 1.11

Image processing Pixinsight 1.8.9-2 and Photoshop 2024

Theme: Cyberpunk, Deepspace, Fantasy, Steampunk Featuring: Accessories, Apparel, Cosmetics, Decor, Hair, Jewelry, Poses, Shoes, Skins, Tattoos Event Opening Date: May 29, 2022 Event Closing Date: June 22, 2022

www.seraphimsl.com/?p=218219

Orion is setting earlier every day now. Time to post another image of my favorite winter constellation, before the "Orion Season" draws to an end.

I captured this 'deep' exposure in early January, when it was still possible see Orion rising.

The night before, I was partially fogged out and even though it cleared again later in the night, I missed the rise if Orion.

I therefore decided to hike to a slightly higher spot the next night and face the cold one more time. Shortly after sunset, the fog started to form again, but thanks to my higher vantage point, the fog top stayed some 200m below my position, enabling my to successfully capture my planned composition.

The low fog not only added a special mood to the foreground, it also blocked a good part of the light pollution and thus enabled me to capture one of my most detailed Orion widefields to date, with a popping Barnard's Loop and an almost 3 dimensional Witchhead Nebula.

Sometimes, landscape astrophotograohers are walking a thin line. A few meters of hight difference or a slight difference in temperature or air pressure can be all that separates a successful shooting from a total failure.

Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com

EXIF

Canon EOS 6D, astro-modified

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm; f/4

iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sky:

30 x 60s + 10 x 15s + 10 x 5s @ ISO1600

Foreground:

5 x 120s @ ISO1600

Complex reflection dust nebulae in the constellation of Cepheus the circumpolar region. The popular name - "The dance of demons".

This picture was photographed durin November 2015 in Rozhen observatory, Bulgaria.

Equipment: home assembled reflector 10 in., f/3.8

Mount WhiteSwan-180 with a control system «Eqdrive Standart», camera QSI-583wsg, Televue Paracorr-2. Off-axis guidecamera QHY5L-II.

LRGB filter set Baader Planetarium.

L = 20 * 900 seconds , bin.1, RGB = 15 * 300-450 seconds, bin.2 each filter. About 9 hours.

FWHM source in L filter 2.03"-2.92", sum in L channel - 2.50"

The height above the horizon from 52° to 46°, the scale of 1"/ pixel.

Processed Pixinsight 1.8 and Photoshop CS6

The Butterfly nebula (IC1318) is located in the constellation of Cygnus. The whole region is huge... Here you can only see IC1318b (upper area of nebulosity) and IC1318c (the lower area). IC1318b and c constitute a single giant HII cloud bisected by a thick obscuring dust lane known as LDN 889 which is shown in the middle of the frame.

The bright star to the top right is a class F8 star known as Sadr or Gamma Cygni. Its true location is only 750 light years away and not related to the nebulosity which is much more distant at 5000 light years.

This is a 6 pane mono mosaic. It has been stitched together using Astro Pixel Processor, whch created a seamless mosaic.

Details

M: Mesu 200

T: TMB 152/1200

C: QSI683 with 3nm Astrodon Ha filter

16x1800s in EACH pane, totalling 48 hours of exposure time.

Messier 104 a.k.a. Sombrero Galaxy

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Discovered 250 years ago, the Sombrero galaxy (The Hat) is an elliptical galaxy located just over 30 million light-years from us and can be seen between the constellation Virgo and the constellation Corvus. According to measurements made by specialists in the field, M104 has a diameter of about 40,000 light-years, being about 3 times smaller than our galaxy. The name of the Hat is given both by the angle from which we can see it, and due to that prominent ring of cosmic dust that surrounds this galaxy and which is also the main source of new star formation. Regarding the nucleus of this galaxy, with the help of special infrared measurements it was found that in the galactic center of M104 there is a massive black hole, larger than in any other galaxy located within a radius of 40 million light years around the Milky Way.

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Equipment and settings:

Mount: Skywatcher Eq6 R

Telescope: 150/750 Newtonian telescope

Camera: ASI 533MC Pro

Total integration: 4 hours.

120 light frames x 2 min + calibration frames.

Stacking in Deep Sky Stacker.

Edit in Pixinsight and Lightroom.

Tout d'abord, bonne année 2023 à tous 😁 ! On commence enfin l'année avec cette première publication qui aura su se faire attendre (traitement galère entre airglow, brume, nuages et givre ).

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✨ La pluie d’étoiles filantes des “Géminides” est la plus prolifique de l’année avec environ 150 météores/heure lors de son pic d’activité ! Le problème, c’est que ce pic arrive au milieu du mois de Décembre et la météo est souvent mauvaise à cette période. Cet hiver ne fait pas exception. On compte les nuits dégagées de ces 2 derniers mois sur les doigts d'une main 😪. C'est très frustrant de faire de l'Astro en France et encore plus dans ch'Nord ️.

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🏰 Le Donjon de Bours est un vestige médiéval situé sur la commune de Bours. Classé monument historique depuis 1965, il est érigé au XIVᵉ siècle. Il s'agit de l'un des plus anciens logis nobles de la région.

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🚗 Il m'a fallu parcourir 600km en 4 nuits pour éviter les nuages et ainsi tenter de capturer des météores. Voici tous les détails de ces nuits d'acquisition (bien-sûr, il faisait nuageux partout en France le 14 décembre, nuit du maximum) :

Triple setup (All Sky Camera, 14mm et 15mm)

All Sky Camera en remote à domicile

Nuits du 11-12-13-15 Décembre sur différents spots

4500 clichés entre 15 et 20 secondes (environ 22h d'acquisition au total)

112 météores confirmés au total (31 dans le champ ici)

20h de tri et de traitement

Bortle 5 à 7

Ciel : pano 9 tuiles, stack de 3x90s ISO1250 f/2 au 35mm chacune

Sol : pano 6 tuiles, pose unique 30s ISO1600 f/2 au 35mm

Orientation ciel-sol conservée, sur le même spot. Météores en position d'origine

Canon France EOS Ra + EOS R6 + EOS 6Da + 35mm f/1.4L II USM

Sky-Watcher USA Star Adventurer GTi

This nebula also called the Lambda Centauri Nebula is found in the constellation Centaurus.

H: 22x30m

O: 24x30m

S: 25x30m

Total Integration = 35.5hrs

Telescope: PW17

Camera: FLI ML16803

Remote Data from Deepskywest El Sauce Observatory, Chile.

The **Eagle Nebula**, also known as **Messier 16 (M16)** or **NGC 6611**, is a stunning region of active star formation located about **7,000 light-years** from Earth in the **constellation Serpens**. It is best known for containing the **Pillars of Creation**, towering columns of gas and dust famously photographed by the **Hubble Space Telescope** in 1995.

This vast nebula spans about **70 by 55 light-years** and consists of **interstellar gas, dust, and young, hot stars** that illuminate and shape the surrounding material. The Eagle Nebula is a **stellar nursery**, where massive new stars are born from collapsing clouds of gas. These young stars emit intense ultraviolet light and powerful winds that sculpt the nebula’s features and erode the dense pillars from which they formed.

The "eagle" shape that gives the nebula its name is created by dark, silhouetted dust lanes against the bright background of glowing hydrogen gas. The Eagle Nebula is both a scientifically important object and a visually iconic one, offering astronomers insight into how stars and planetary systems form and evolve over time.

Shot in New Orleans, LA

Bortle 8 Skies

TEC140

AP900

SHO: 21 / 20 / 24 x15m

Total Integration = 16.25h

SXT/LF/SHO/NBNorm/NXT/NBStars/HT/Conv/Recreen

ColorEfex/Curves/Sat

Some weeks ago I published a “widefield” of the Andromeda Galaxy but then decided to take another rendition of it, this time with a smaller FOV and focusing in bringing out the hydrogen clouds (the pink spots) and the dust clouds (the brown filaments) close to the nucleus, which is not so common to see.

In the end I enjoyed it so much that took a crop and also publish as a separated image.

I hope you enjoy.

Shot at Barcarena, Portugal on Sep.28/29, Oct.4/18 of 2021 and Oct.18, Nov.1 2022

Technical details:

RGB: 472x180s (23h36)

Ha: 55x600s (9h10)

LUM: 199x120s (6h38)

Total integraton: 39h24m

RedCat 51 | QHYCCD 268C | Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro | TSOptics IV/IR 2’’ | TS Optics Triplet APO 800/115 | TS Optics TSFLAT2 0.79x | QHYCCD 268C | QHYCCD 268M | Omegon IV/IR Cut 2'' | Astronomik Ha 6nm | RBFocus Myrrdin 2.3 | RBFocus Gaius-S

Acquisition: N.I.N.A. | Processing: Pixinsight

A classic shot from my backyard in New Orleans.

Televue NP-101IS

Optolong L-Ultimate Dual Band Filter

ZWO ASI071MC Pro

Takahashi EM-200

35x5m Exposures

🌀 M81 & M82 // Galaxies de Bode et du Cigare

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✅ Tout premier test du télescope avec la caméra refroidie et les premiers résultats sont encourageants ! C’est d’ailleurs également ma toute première mosaïque du ciel profond (2 tuiles). Malgré un échantillonnage juste, le niveau de détail atteint est tout de même assez bluffant. J’ai pu profiter de la qualité du ciel nocturne de notre spot favori avec @otsugaphoto pour essayer d’avoir rapidement du signal. Néanmoins le faible temps de pose induit encore beaucoup de bruit et je ne peux pas tirer les détails au maximum comme j'aimerai. Il y a par exemple les IFN qui apparaissent au traitement si je tire fort sur les curseurs mais je préfère ne pas détériorer la qualité de l'image.

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🌌 M81 est une galaxie spirale-barrée située qui fut découverte par Johann Elert Bode en 1774. La répartition de la masse de la galaxie n’est pas homogène en raison de l’effet de marée dû à la proximité (~ 150 000 AL) d’une autre galaxie moins massive.

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M82, la galaxie du Cigare, est une galaxie irrégulière située dans la constellation de la Grande Ourse. Avec M81, ces deux galaxies forment avec d’autres un groupe de galaxies proche du nôtre. M82 représente le prototype d’une galaxie irrégulière. Son noyau, qui semble avoir énormément souffert d’un rapprochement avec M81 il y a quelques centaines de millions d’années, se trouve dans une phase de violente activité stellaire et présente de remarquables raies sombres. Il s’agit d’une galaxie à sursaut de formation d’étoiles. De grandes quantités de matières sont éjectées à environ 1 000 km/s de la galaxie. On suppose que ces éjections sont dues à l’explosion de supernovas.

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M81 :

-Type d'objet : Galaxie spirale

-Distance : 12 M d’AL

-Dimensions : 96 000 AL

-Magnitude apparente : 6.9

M82 :

-Type d'objet : Galaxie irrégulière

-Distance : 14,7 M d’AL

-Dimensions : 47 000 AL

-Magnitude apparente : 8.4

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EXIF :

-@zwoasi 533MM Pro

-Newton 250/1000 tube maison fibre/carbone

-@sky_watcher_official AZ-EQ6

-Asiair plus + EAF

-Omegon 50/180

-Zwo ASI 120MM mini

-2 nuits (23 et 24/06/23)

-L = 100*120s

-R/V/B = 3*10*180s

-Ha = 10*600s

-6h30 au total (3h15 par tuile)

-Lune moyenne à 31%

-Bortle 4

-Pix

A narrowband (HOO Palette) image of an interesting section in the Vela Supernova Remnant (also known as Vela XYZ; Gum 16; SNR G263.9-03.3; 1E 0840.0-4430; RE J083854-430902).

The Vela Supernova Remnant is in the Southern constellation Vela. Its source (a Type II Supernova) exploded approximately 11,000–12,300 years ago, at a distance of about 800 light-years away. The association of the Vela Supernova Remnant with the Vela Pulsar, is direct observational evidence of Supernovae form Neutron stars. The Vela Supernova Remnant includes NGC 2736, and it also overlaps with the Puppis Supernova Remnant. Both the Puppis and Vela Remnants are among the largest and brightest features in the X-ray sky.

Elements are made at different stages in a star's life-cycle, and spread through the Universe in Supernova explosions. “The Nitrogen in our DNA, the Calcium in our teeth, the Iron in our blood, the Carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” ― Carl Sagan, Cosmos.

Technical Info:

Lights/Subs total integration time: 15 hours.

42 x 600 sec. 7nm Hydrogen-Alpha (Ha).

48 x 600 sec. 6.5nm Doubly Ionized Oxygen (OIII).

William Optics Star 71mm f/4.9 Imaging APO Refractor.

Sensor cooled to -20°C on my QHY163M.

Calibration frames: Bias, Darks and Flats.

SGP Mosaic and Framing Wizard.

PlaneWave PlateSolve 2 via SGP.

Pre-Processing and Linear workflow in PixInsight, Starnet++ and Straton was used for star separation, and final processing was done in Photoshop.

Astrometry Info:

Center RA, Dec: 127.762, -43.909

Center RA, hms: 08h 31m 02.897s

Center Dec, dms: -43° 54' 30.752"

Size: 1.62 x 1.32 deg

Radius: 1.046 deg

Pixel scale: 3.65 arcsec/pixel

Orientation:Up is 87.3 degrees E of N

View this image in the WorldWideTelescope.

This image is part of the Legacy Series.

Flickr Explore:

2021-06-26 & 2021-08-25

Download mh_Astro_Tools Suite:

anti-matter-3d.com/tools

(or from GitHub)

GitHub Release Page

Also see:

Astro_Weather_Widget

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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[Website] [Photography Showcase] [eBook] [Facebook]

[3D VFX & Mocap] [Science & Physics] [Python Coding]

Comet:

60x20s red

60x20s green

60x20s blue

180sx20s Luminanz

Stars:

11x180s red

11x180s green

11x180s blue

30x180s Luminanz

Equipment:

Epsilon 130D dual rig

QHY268m + CFW3M

TS2600MP (Touptek IMX571) + ZWO EFW

Astronomik DeepSky RGB

Astronomik MaxFR

Pegasus NYX-101

23.10.2024 19:28 - 20:44

[ 2022 ]

Premier post de cette nouvelle année. J'en profite pour vous souhaiter une excellente santé, du bonheur dans vos vies mais aussi une montagne de merveilleux clichés !

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Quoi de mieux qu'une photo de ma Champagne natale pour commencer 2022 🍇 ?! Voici une image que j'avais teaser il y'a plusieurs mois déjà, elle a été prise au printemps dernier au moulin de Verzenay. Ayant assez peu l'occasion de faire de l'Astro dans la Marne, je voulais marquer le coup en essayant de réaliser mon premier "deepscape", un astro-paysage au téléobjectif en ayant au moins une nébuleuse du ciel profond.

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La fin du printemps était une période idéale pour réaliser un deepscape ici. La Voie Lactée se lève très horizontalement et la région du Cygne se trouve à l'Est juste au dessus du coteau ou se trouve le moulin, parfait pour une prise de vue en contre-plongée. C'est aussi le moment de la floraison des vignes, les feuilles sont d'un vert pétant et on devine timidement les premiers raisins.

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Au 135mm, je n'avais pas l'ensemble du paysage ou alors pas assez de ciel. J'ai alors réalisé un panorama de 4 photos verticales. Quatre pour le sol sans suivi et quatre pour le ciel avec suivi. Pour contrer la pollution lumineuse de Reims qui se trouve 20km dans mon dos, j'ai utilisé le filtre Nisi Natural Night. Vous pouvez distinguer facilement la nébuleuse de l'Amérique du Nord à gauche et la nébuleuse du papillon (Sadr) à droite. Ce sont des cibles assez facile avec un APN défiltré car très lumineuses.

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Sol : 1x4x30s iso 1000 f/2.8 fin de l'heure bleue.

Ciel : 8x4x90s iso 1600 f/2.8 Star Adventurer.

Canon 6Da + Samyang 135mm f/2 + Nisi Natural Night, traitement PI & PS.

Même spot et même orientation, tout est fait au même endroit et sur la même nuit.

Equipment:

Scope: GSO 8" f/4 with 2" Moonlite autofocuser, flocked

Coma corrector: TS GPU

Mount: EQ6-R

Camera: Nikon D750 mod

Guide scope: ZWO 280/60

Guide camera: ZWO ASI 120MC-S

Filter: RGB - Baader UV/IR cut, Ha - Antlia ALP-T

Acquisition:

Location: central Poland, Bortle 5/6

Lights:

- RGB: 119x120s ISO 1600 per panel

- ALP-T: 32x480s ISO 1600 per panel

Darks: none

Flats: x80 per night

Darkflats: x80 per night

Bias: x100

Total exposure time: 24h 42min

I tested my 500 mm lens with iOptron CEM60EC mount... I am not so satisfied with result, picture is litle bit blury because no auto guiding and noisy because short acquisition. I lookng forward to your comments, advises and tips 🙏

OBJECT: M101, Pinwheel Galaxy, Const. Uma, apparent mag. 7,86, apparent dim. 29 x 27 arcmin. FOV 3,24 x 2,03 arcdeg, sampling rate 1,79 arcsec / px, cropped 1,53 x.

GEAR: Nikon Z7 Kolari Full Spectrum + Nikkor 500/5,6 PF, No filter, Tracking mount iOptron CEM60EC - 3 star alignment, no auto guiding.

ACQUISITION: May 20, 2020, CZ. Lights 13x, Darks 5x, Bias 5x, Flats 5x. Exposure 300 s, ISO 400, f 5,6

POST PROCESSING: Stacking APP, Adobe PS.

Explanation: At the down right, large spiral galaxy NGC 1055 joins spiral Messier 77 in this sharp cosmic view toward the aquatic constellation Cetus. The narrowed, dusty appearance of edge-on spiral NGC 1055 contrasts nicely with the face-on view of M77's bright nucleus and spiral arms. Both over 100,000 light-years across, the pair are dominant members of a small galaxy group about 60 million light-years away. At that estimated distance, M77 is one of the most remote objects in Charles Messier's catalog and is separated from fellow island universe NGC 1055 by at least 500,000 light-years. The field of view is about the size of the full Moon on the sky and includes colorful foreground Milky Way stars (with diffraction spikes) along with more distant background galaxies. (text: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141226.html)

This picture was photographed October, 13-17, 2015 in Rozhen observatory, Bulgaria.

Equipment: home assembled reflector 10 in., f/3.8

Mount WhiteSwan-180 with a control system «Eqdrive Standart», camera QSI-583wsg, Televue Paracorr-2. Off-axis guidecamera QHY5L-II.

LRGB filter set Baader Planetarium.

L = 18 * 900 seconds + 18 * 300 seconds, bin.1, RGB = 11 * 300-450 seconds, bin.1 each filter. About 9 hours.

FWHM source in L filter 2.24 "-2.68", summ in L channel - 2.46"

The height above the horizon from 36° to 48°, the scale of 1"/ pixel.

Processed Pixinsight 1.8 and Photoshop CS6

If you've seen my feed, you know I've been working on deepspace landscapes like this basically all winter. This is my most recent effort. The foreground is an old fire tower and observation deck. In the sky, from left to right, is the M38 star cluster, the tad pole nebula (the blueish object), and then the flame nebula just above. I thought the idea of the flame nebula and a fire tower was poetic in a way.

My goal with this series has been to illustrate just how big these objects in the night sky are, by showing them near terrestrial objects. Ah if only our eyes could see this!

Orion Nebula / Nebulosa de Orión (M42, Messier 42, NGC 1976)

Second and last attempt in 2021 to shoot the M42 nebula, in this time with the same unmodified Sony A7M3 camera and Sony FE 100-400 GM lens, but I use the tracker Skytwatcher AZ-GTI in EQ Mode and QHY guided camera with 60mm tube to increase exposure times.

The location and the weather conditions were ideal, but everything began to go wrong when I did not carry the AC50s Powerbank with me to power the laptop, badly enough that I always carry another portable Powerbank for the tracker, this except the day. During the session, the Sony A7M3 did not admit to connecting any of the 2 Mini-USB cables that it carried for the remote shutter camera control, so I finally decided to launch the shots with the wireless remote control and keeping track of the exposure time.

Despite all this, for a 54 min. total exposure time, quite a few details of this magnificent nebula have been captured with this equipment. It is definitely worth the effort to use guided mount and tracking, there is a brutal difference in the results obtained compared to using only a tripod and low exposure times.

I will continue in future sessions trying to capture more light by increasing the number of shots and exposure.

Segundo y último intento en 2021 de captar a M42, en esta ocasión con la misma cámara no modificada Sony A7M3 y el objetivo Sony FE 100-400 GM, pero utilizo la montura guiada Skytwatcher AZ-GTI EQ Mode y una cámara de seguimiento QHY con tubo de 60mm para aumentar los tiempos de exposición.

La nueva ubicación y las condiciones meteorológicas fueron las idóneas, pero todo se empezó a torcer cuando no lleve conmigo el Powerbank AC50s para alimentar el portátil, manos mal que siempre llevo para la montura otro Powerbank portable, esto salvo el día. Durante la sesión, la Sony A7M3 no admitió conectar ninguno de los 2 cables Mini-USB que llevaba para el auto disparador, por lo que finalmente decidí lanzar las tomas con el mando a distancia y llevando la cuenta del tiempo de exposición.

A pesar de todo ello, para ser una toma de 54 min. de tiempo total de exposición, se han captado bastantes detalles de esta magnífica nebulosa con este equipo.

Definitivamente merece el esfuerzo utilizar montura guiada y seguimiento, hay una diferencia brutal en los resultados obtenidos con respecto a utilizar trípode fijo y bajos tiempos de exposición.

Seguiré en futuras sesiones intentando captar más luz aumentando el número de tomas y exposición.

- Date/Fecha: 12/30/2021

- Higueruelas 1.010m asl (39° 48' 25" N / 0° 53' 19" O)

Bortle 4 location

GEAR

- Tracker Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi EQ Mode

- Guiding with QHY 5L-II Mono and guidescope EZG-60

- Camera Sony ILC3-A7M3 APS-C Mode

- Lens Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS

IMAGE

- 20 Lights at 600mm, ISO 800, 30seg, f5.6 (for the core)

- 30 Lights at 600mm, ISO 1600, 90seg, f5.6 (for the nebula)

- 17 Darks at 600mm, ISO 800, 30seg, f5.6

- 5 Darks at 600mm, ISO 800, 90seg, f5.6

- 8 Darks at 600mm, ISO 1600, 90seg, f5.6

- Total time of exposition 54m.

SOFTWARE

- Stellarium & PHD2 to guide the tracker

- Stacked with DeepSkyStacker

- Image viewer Adobe Bridge

- Image processing with Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Photoshop

©2021 All rights reserved. MSB.photography

Thank all for your visit and awards.

On Explore 01/02/2022

reworked

The Whirlpool Galaxy is an interacting spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici

at distance of 23 Mio. Lj

LRGB

Equipment:

TS 10" f/4 ONTC Newton

1000mm f4

GPU Aplanatic Koma Korrector

Moravian CCD G2-8300FW

Astrodon LRGB Filter

Losmandy G11/LFE Photo

Guding:

Lodestar on TS Optics - ultra short 9mm Off Axis Guider

PHD2

16x900s Luminanz

5x900s RGB

total exposure time: 7h 45′

Processing: PixInsight/Affinity Photo

Every time you change the space around you, it's worth remembering that this can lead to global changes! And our most insignificant actions can lead to very significant changes! Sometimes even a glance at a spider web in the forest can lead to changes all over the planet ;)

Volcanic turmoil, radiating out from the propeller nebular . DWB-111 Propeller Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus

This is the next installment of my 2016 Cygnus exploration. This image is made up of two panels and has an integration of approximately 50 hours of photography.

Nella costellazione della Vergine si trova un grande ammasso di galassie, denominato appunto "Ammasso della vergine", composto da circa 1500 galassie. All'interno del quale alcune galassie più luminose formano prospetticamente quella che viene denominata "Catena di Markarian". I suoi membri principali sono M84 (NGC 4374), M86 (NGC 4406), NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438 e NGC 4435, ma solo in questa immagine ce ne sono facilmente rintracciabili oltre 20 .

Avevo iniziato a fotografare la "Catena di Markarian" già nel maggio-giugno 2025, ma l'integrazione raggiunta era troppo poca quindi l'ho ripresa quest'anno racimolando circa 15h di integrazione totale.

15h sotto un cielo Bortle 5-6 non è il massimo, anche perchè durante alcune sessioni fotografiche il cielo non era molto trasparente. Ad ogni modo ho cercato di fare il massimo secondo le mie capacità.

________________

In the constellation of Virgo lies a large galaxy cluster, aptly named the "Virgo Cluster," composed of about 1,500 galaxies. Within this cluster, some of the brighter galaxies form what is called the Markarian Chain. Its main members are M84 (NGC 4374), M86 (NGC 4406), NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438, and NGC 4435, but more than 20 are easily identifiable in this image alone.

I had started photographing the "Markarian Chain" as early as May-June 2025, but the integration achieved was too low, so I took it again this year, collecting about 15 hours of total integration.

15 hours under a Bortle 5-6 sky isn't ideal, especially since during some photo sessions the sky wasn't very transparent. In any case, I tried to do the best I could.

______________________

Optic: APO Refractor Askar 103APO + 0.6X

Camera: ZWO ASI533MC-Pro

Mount: Sky Watcher HEQ5 Synscan

Seeing: 3 (scala Antoniadi)

Filter: Astronomik CLS

-180x300s 121gain/ 58darks /21+27 flats /80 biases

t° sensor: -10°C

Date: 2025-05-31, 2025-06-01+02, 2026-03-19+24+25, 2026-04-07

Integration: 15h 0m

Temperature: 14°C (media)

location for: Biancavilla -Catania-(Italy) 515m slm (Bortle 5-6) flic.kr/p/8AWHek

lightpollutionmap.app/it/?lat=37.641252&lng=14.871604...

Acquisition: NINA, PHDGuiding

Processing: SIRIL1.4.2, GraXpert, SyQon-Prism, SyQon-Starless, PS

SHO processing

Equipment:

Epsilon 130ED dual rig

QHY268m + CFW3M

Touptek IMX571 + ZWO EFW

Astronomik MaxFR

Skywatcher EQ8

July 2022

Processing: PixInsight/affinity photo

276 x 180s Ha

80 x 180s OIII

80 x 180s SII

total: 21,8 hour

The Spaghetti Nebula is a supernova remnant (SNR) in the Milky Way, straddling the border between the constellations Auriga and Taurus. The nebulous area has an almost spherical shell and a filamentary structure. It is believed that the stellar explosion left behind a rapidly spinning neutron star known as a pulsar in the nebula core, emitting a strong radio signal. Sh2-240 is approximately 3,000 light-years from earth.

Image captured over 3 nights; 2023-02-12, 14, & 16

7 hours 20 minutes total integration

Ha subs 14 * 1,200 sec = 4 hours 40 min

OIII subs 8 * 1,200 sec = 2 hours 40 min

Imaging Equipment:

Canon EF 70-200mm at 135mm

Rainbow Astro RST-135,

ZWOASI294MM Pro camera

SH 3.0nm filters

The colorful Rho Ophichui cloud complex is one the closest star forming regions in our Milky Way and a favorite target for astrophotography. Highlighted by the bright star Antares, the region provides an impressive spectacle of colorful glowing gases, juxtaposed with converging dark rivers of thick dust.

IC 4604 (Rho Ophiuchi Nebula) is a large diffuse nebula of 5th magnitude located in the southwestern corner of the constellation Ophiuchus (Serpent Bearer), surrounding the bright multiple star system ρ (Rho) Ophiuchi. Several regions of bright and dark nebulosity surround the area, which takes its name from ρ Oph.

At the mid-northern lattitudes, I normally work from, it plays a bit hard to get, as it always rides close to the horizon and is only visible for a few hours during nights from spring to mid summer.

During my Namibia trip in 2023, I had the pleasure to shoot this wonderful area riding high in the unspoiled southern hemisphere sky.

EXIF

Canon EOS-Ra

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM ll @ 135mm

Equatoriallly mounted Skywatcher AZ-GTI

IDAS 12 filter

30x 90s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 10x 180s @ ISO6400, filtered

More than 38 hours of total exposures went into this 4 panels mosaic covering about 140 square degrees of sky.

Pentax 67 EDIF 300mm f/4 - FLI Proline 16803 - Ha (920m) OIII (890) R (160m) G (160m) B (160m) - Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia

If you would like to see larger sizes of this image or get high quality professional prints please visit my homepage at www.glitteringlights.com

We haven't had a lot of clear skies during the "COVID days", however when we have had some I've tried to take advantage of it. In the mean time though, I've been working on some older images like this one. I captured the pictures that make up this image last year in Arizona, and then recently re-processed them and am SUPER happy with the result. The night sky is just so intriguing!

IC 2944, aka the Running Chicken Nebula, is an emission nebula associated with an open star cluster in the constellation Centaurus. Just right of centre are Thackeray's Globules - a group of Bok Globules comprised of dense cosmic dust and gas. Bok Globules are often a site of star formation but not in this case.

Captured at Yass, Australia 5-24 April, 2018.

Scope: Planewave CDK17 @ f/6.8 = 2939mm FL

Mount: Paramount ME

Camera: SBIG STXL-11002/AOX

Filters: Astrodon LRGB gen II, 3nm NB

Image scale: 0.63 arcsec/pixel

Exposures: 14x1800s Ha, 14x1800s Oiii, 14x1800s Sii (21 hours)

Processing: PixInsight 1.8.5

CTB1 is a supernova remnant in the constellation Cassiopeia, located about 9,800 light-years away and spanning roughly 100 light-years.

It consists of the remnants of a stellar explosion that occurred over 10,000 years ago.

A time-consuming project spanning 50 hours.

August and September 2025

french Alps

180x300s h-alpha

288x300s OIII

24x300s red

19x300s green

13x300s blue

78x300s Luminanz

50 hours total

Equipment:

Takahashi Epsilon 130D dual rig

Epsi1:QHY268m (IMX571)

Epsi1: QHYCFW3M-SR

Epsi1: QHY OAG + ASI220m

Epsi2: TS2600MP (Touptek/RisingCam IMX571)

Epsi2: ZWO EFW

Filter: Astronomik LRGB DeppSky

Filter: Astronomik MaxFR

JTD Dual Rig Alignment Saddle

Sywatcher EQ8

N.I.N.A

Pegasus NYX-101

Distance: ca.23 Mio. Lj

Equipment:

TS 10" f/4 ONTC Newton

1000mm f4

ZWO ASI 1600mmc

Astrodon LRGB

Skywatcher EQ8

Guding:

Lodestar on TS Optics - ultra short 9mm Off Axis Guider

PHD2

total exposure time: 6:15 hours

80x180 luminanz

15x180 red

15x180 green

15x180 blue

April 2018

Processing: PixInsight

I have just returned from a trip to southern California. This area is a desert, and has so many amazing desert bird species, which I spent a lot of time photographing. Another goal I had for this trip was to visit the light-pollution free skies of Joshua Tree National Park to photograph the Milky Way. The Milky Way is tough in March as it only rises in the last few hours of the night. We had to up at 3:30 AM to photograph it! We would have about two hours to photograph it before it would begin to fade as the sun begins to rise, and those two hours were some of the most amazing of my life. Seeing so many stars and the Milky Way with the naked eye was amazing! I have never seen anything like it before. It was an incredible experience, something I will never forget!

I took tons of pictures, and this was one of my favorites. The orange light on the horizon is light pollution likely coming from a nearby city like Indio.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II | Tokina 16.5-135mm f/3.5-5.6 AT-X DX @ 17mm | 13 seconds | ISO 12800 | f/3.5

Distance: ca.41 Mio. Lj

Constellation Canes Venatici

Equipment:

TS 10" f/4 ONTC Newton

1000mm f4

ZWO ASI 1600mmc

Astrodon LRGB

Skywatcher EQ8

Guding:

Lodestar on TS Optics - ultra short 9mm Off Axis Guider

PHD2

total exposure time: 3,7 hours

29x180 luminanz

15x180 red

15x180 green

15x180 blue

26/27.04.2020

Processing: PixInsight/Capture One

This image shows the tail of the constellation Cygnus (Swan) around the stars Deneb and Sadr.

The left side of the frame is dominated by the famous North America Nebula (NGC7000) and the Pelican Nebula (IC5070). The bright blue star is Deneb. It is the brightest known star in visible light. If it was as close to earth as Vega (25 light years), it would shine as bright as a crescent moon!

The right yellowish-white star on the right side is a supergiant named Sadr. Sadr is surrounded by the emission nebula IC1318 one of the several nebulous regions at the centre of Cygnus. IC 1318 is known as the Gamma Cygni Nebula, Sadr Region or the Butterfly Nebula. It is not physically related to Sadr, but merely lies in the same line of sight. The nebula is located much farther away than the star.

At the very edge of the frame on the right is the Crescent Nebula. The star responsible for the nebula’s shape and glow is the Wolf-Rayet star WR 136. The nebula is formed by the star’s fast, powerful stellar wind that collides with the slower wind ejected by the star about 250,000 years ago, when WR 136 expanded to become a red giant. The collision has produced a dense shell, which continues to expand at a speed of 80 km/s.

Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com

EXIF

ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro, cooled astrocam

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L ll @ 70mm

Baader Hll & Olll ultra narrowband and RGB filters

Skywatcher AZ-GTI, equatorially mounted

ZWO ASI 385MC guide cam

Rig control with a ZWO ASIair

20 x 180s Hll

30 x 120s Olll

20 x 30s RGB