View allAll Photos Tagged messier
First Light for my Esprit 120 ED scope and I gave it a favourite but difficult target of a black object against a black background!
Its only 11 x 5 minutes integration and this target needs several hours to bring out the subtleties but overall pleased with optics, flats and darks.
I had some problems with my electronic focuser slipping and causing problems with both "manual" and auto-focusing routines but hopefully a little bit of bench testing will sort that.
I think autofocus would have got the stars a little sharper than my "manual" efforts here.
i think the subs are also good enough to bank and add to any future sessions on this target.
Technical Card
840/120mm f/7 SkyWatcher Esprit 120ED triplet refractor.
SkyWatcher 1.0 x FF with 2 inch IDAS LPS P3 filter
ZWO ASI2600MC; 11 x 300 second subs, Gain 100, Offset 25, Temp = -15c.
EQ6 pro mount with Rowan belt drives. EQMOD control. Pegasus Astro Focus Cube electronic focuser.
Session control; SharpCap 4.0 on laptop with WiFi link to IPad.
Automated plate solving GOTO via ASTAP (5 secs exp at Gain 643)
Automated FWHM multistar focusing every 11 frames. (5 secs exp at Gain 643).
34 dark frames
49 flat frames (electroluminescent panel, (2600ms exposure at Gain 0).
Post processed in PixInsight 1.8.9.
Light Pollution and Weather:
Gusts of wind up to 21km/hr
SQM (L) 19.42 at 2130 hrs
Session ended by focuser clutch slipping during autofocus. I probably should have continued but was concerned about electronic focuser performance.
Polar Alignment:
PoleMaster alignment
Error measured by PHD2= 0.7 arc minute.
RA drift + 2.65 arcsec/min
Dec drift + 0.2 arcsec/min
Guiding:
PHD2 guiding with ZWO ASI290mm/Primalucelab
240/60mm guider. Every 4th sub dithered.
RA RMS error 1.6 arcsec
Dec RMS error 1.02 arcsec
Astrometry:
Resolution: 0.900 arcsec/px
Rotation: 4.005 deg
Focal distance: 862.09 mm
Pixel size: 3.76 um
Field of view: 1d 2' 27.8" x 1d 16' 35.3"
Image centre: RA: 5 47 15.781 Dec: +0 11 30.53
Update: the focuser problem seems to have been a loose ratchet on the focuser - it has been replaced.
Still testing, still some problems with the flattener (distance)
William Optics Gran Turismo 71
Flat6AIII Flattener/Reducer 0,8x
336mm
Canon 6Da
5x30s
1600 ISO
Hoya Starscape Filter
Crop
SiriL, PS, Astronomy Tools Actions Set
A loose globular cluster in the small constellation Sagitta, the Arrow.
Ever since it was discovered in 1746 by the Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, the nature of M71 has been the subject of some questioning. Over the centuries, it has been classified as both an abnormally dense open star cluster and as an unusually loose globular cluster. (NASA)
Messier 13, Cumulo globular de Hercules.
El equipo empleado fue...
Telescopio: ED80 Sky Watcher + 0.85X
Montura: LXD75 Meade
Cámara: QHY163m
Guiado: MiniScope 50mm Orion, CámaraGuia/QHY5 L-II c
Adquisición: APT (AstroPhotographyTool) 3.70
Apilado y procesado: PixInsight, Photoshop
Tomas
L: 5x600s RGB 5x600s
Expo Total: 3h 20min
Temperatura sensor: -10°C
Distancia Focal: 510mm
F/ 6,3
celfoscastrofotografia.blogspot.com/2019/08/una-de-cal-y-...
celfoscastrofotografia.blogspot.com/2019/09/messier-13-y-...
Messier 100 is a grand design intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is one of the brightest and largest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster and is approximately 55 million light-years from our galaxy and its diameter being 107,000 light years.
Telescope: WO ZenithStar 81 Refractor
Mount: Losmandy GM811G
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI 2600MC Pro
Filter: Optolong L-Pro Filter
Site: Elk Grove, California, USA
Calibration Files: None
Guiding: ZWO ASI 174mm mini/Orion 60mm Guidescope/PHD2
Integration Time: 6h 3m
No of Frames: 121
Sub Exposure Time: 180 seconds
Bortle Zone: Class 6
Date Taken: April 8 & 9,2021
M51, ou galaxie du Tourbillon, est un couple de galaxies, à environ 27 millions d'années-lumière de la Terre dans la constellation des Chiens de chasse.
Il est composé d'une galaxie spirale régulière massive dont le diamètre est estimé à 100 000 années-lumière et d'une petite galaxie irrégulière.
Première lumière de la caméra OSC ASI 2600 MC pro
Newton SkyWatcher 200/1000
Monture EQ6-r pro
ASI 2600 MC pro
Correcteur de coma Baader MPCC Mk III
Autoguidage OAG + ZWO ASI 290mm mini
ZWO EAF
ASIAIR Pro
Traitement PixInsight + Photoshop CC
Prise le 10/02/2021 :
69*300" => 5h45'
Gain 100 - Temp -20°C
DOF
astrocamp.eu/astrofoto-messier-67-03-25/
I recently captured an image of Messier 67, an open star cluster located in the constellation Cancer. This cluster, also known as the King Cobra Cluster, is one of the oldest known open clusters, estimated to be around 4 billion years old. It contains over 500 stars, including many similar to our Sun, and lies approximately 2,600 to 2,900 light-years away from Earth. During my observation session, the temperature dropped from 9.3°C to 6.5°C, and although the guiding was not optimal, I was able to add this beautiful cluster to my collection.
Messier 36
Credit: ESO/Dss2, Giuseppe Donatiello
RA 05h 36m 06s Dec +34° 08' 00"
The open cluster M36 (NGC 1960), like other notable objects, was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 in the southern part of the constellation Auriga, together with M37 and M38. It was ignored for a long time and only emerged in 1984. All three clusters were then included by Charles Messier in his catalog only in 1764.
M36 is about 4,100 light years away with a real diameter of about 14. It has about 60 confirmed members, the brightest of which are of magnitude 9 and spectral class B2. The estimated age is about 25 million years.
astrocamp.eu/en/messier-5-may25/
▼ Vixen VC200L | Canon EOS R(a) '25
On May 18, 2025, between 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM, I photographed Messier 5, a globular cluster, as part of my project to capture different clusters during May. I used a Vixen VC200L telescope and a Canon EOS R(a) camera for this session. The exposures totaled 25 images, each lasting five minutes. The session took place in Koblenz, Germany, and I processed the data the following day.
astrocamp.eu/en/messier-53-apr25/
▼ Vixen VC200L | Canon EOS R(a) '25
On April 30, 2025, I captured an image of Messier 53, a globular cluster, from Koblenz, Germany.Using a Vixen VC200L telescope and a Canon EOS R(a) camera, I took thirty 5-minute exposures.I processed the data with PixInsight, and Affinity Photo. This session marked a shift from photographing galaxies to focusing on globular clusters. The improved collimation of my telescope contributed to the quality of the results.
CC Most Versatile - Pi or Pie
Originally, I cut this first small piece from the berry pie, knowing that the first piece often gets damaged during removal. I was going to cut a second, larger piece for my photoshoot with the idea of having a more perfect subject to photograph. Somehow, while heating up the slice of berry pie, and adding whipped cream, blueberries and a few pomegranate seeds, I grew attached to this little piece of pie and decided to make it the subject. The heavenly aroma of the pie once heated played a big part in my interest. So I decided to go with the theme of an imperfect piece of pie. I did not wipe up the berry smudge on the plate. No fine china for this shot either, but an everyday dish. I can guarantee that this piece of pie tasted just as good as any other piece of the pie.
The pie was purchased at Gizdich Ranch in Santa Cruz county. They are well worth a visit if the line isn't too long.
M 10 or NGC 6254 is a globular cluster in Ophiuchis. Discovered by Messier in 1764, this cluster lies at a distance of 14300 light-years and is 83 light-years accross.
Color image taken at the remote observatory from the E-Eye site in Spain. The image is composed of 25 hours of exposure time with the ZWO ASI-2600MC color camera using a Takahashi
CCA250 f5 astrograph, riding a unguided 10Micron GM2000.
In 1771 the French astronomer Charles Messier published a catalogue listing 110 nebulae and star clusters. He did this to help comet hunters discern between fuzzy blobs in the sky that were new comets, or already-discovered deep sky objects. Messier listed each object with the letter “M” (for Messier, of course) and a catalogue number. Unknown to Messier at the time was the fact that some of these “nebulae” were discreet galaxies like our Milky Way, located millions of light-years from us on Earth. My photo brings you three of these Messier objects, M31, M33 and M110. Apart from their dry catalogue names, two of these galaxies have the common names of the “Andromeda Galaxy” (M31) and the “Triangulum Galaxy” (M33).
I captured this photo without the use of a telescope or telephoto lens. I shot nine pictures of the foreground and sky, plus twelve “dark” frames, which were combined in software to reduce the amount of digital noise present. For all of the twenty-one images, I used the same equipment and settings. These were my Canon EOS 6D Mk II camera, a Yongnuo 50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2.0, using an exposure time of 6.0 seconds @ ISO 12800.
There are many ways to view deep space objects. Radio telescopes, infrared telescopes, telescopes with lenses, with mirrors. Each method yields different results, different understandings. It's difficult to experience the color and wonder of nebulae with an optical telescope because the light is so faint and often in frequencies the human eye finds hard to detect. Photographic methods can accumulate the faint light and store it in a way that is viewable to the human eye.
Globular clusters such as Messier 3 are not difficult to view with a low powered telescope or even binoculars. Seeing them in real time lends them an authority and sense of mystery. You think: this is right before my eyes. The tiny points are like small BBs of light. Each is vibrant, captivating. Easy to see in real time, but extremely difficult to capture as a photo.
One of many problems is that in globular clusters the stars tend to turn into blobs or twisting worms of light as the stars get closer together.
So while I can't convey the sense of vibrancy of a real time observation I can try to minimize the sloppy blobs of light that occur in careless astrophotography. This example is a step forward in that direction. Better than my previous efforts.
Roitelet à couronne dorée | Golden-crowned Kinglet | Regulus satrapa
Cliquez pour agrandir | Click to enlarge image
Rencontre printannière...
Je l'ai rencontré à plusieurs reprises ces dernières années celui-là mais je n'avais jamais été en mesure de le capter de façon, disons, présentable. Toujours en mouvement, dans un environnement aux mille petites branches, je l'ai chassé une bonne heure sous un couvert nuageux avant de devoir le quitter. C'est un début tout de même fort satisfaisant. Beaucoup plus facile de travailler avec ce boîtier que mon Bridge. L'hiver, malgré ce léger soubresaut d'hier soir, commence à laisser petit à petit sa place au printemps. En quelques heures de randonnée hier, toujours au Parc Angrignon, j'aurai croisé 18 espèces d'oiseaux différents, dont une mémorable rencontre avec le Troglodyte des forêts que j'ai entendu chanter de son chant si percutant et si mélodieux, mais malheureusement, aucune image en aura résulté.
PHEW.......Without bloodshed........Hokey Cokey Day.In out shake it all about.....................It was always about Money..now all we need are friends........A marriage not made in heaven . Now watch the messy divorce.
A bright spiral galaxy of the northern sky, Messier 63 is about 25 million light-years distant in the loyal constellation Canes Venatici. Also cataloged as NGC 5055, the majestic island universe is nearly 100,000 light-years across, about the size of our own Milky Way. Known by the popular moniker, The Sunflower Galaxy, M63 sports a bright yellowish core and sweeping blue spiral arms, streaked with cosmic dust lanes and dotted with pink star forming regions [source: NASA APOD]
Captured over two nights from Lake Sonoma, CA on April 16-17 2015
Exposures:
L: 16 x 1200s
R,G,B: 16 x 600s each
Total Exposure time: 13h20m
Main Camera: QSI 583 WSG
Guide Camera: SX Lodestar (on OAG)
Mount: Astro-Physics Mach 1
Scope: Celestron Edge HD 8" w/ 0.7X reducer (FL: 1480mm)
FL 1481.6 mm, 0.75"/Pixel
A full write-up is available here: theastroenthusiast.com/m83-from-hubble/
This is definitely the largest and most beautiful image I have processed to date. Hubble took a stunning 6 panel mosiac in 5 different color bands to create this awesome astrograph. I highly recommend checking out the full mosiac hosted on gigapan: www.gigapan.com/gigapans/227085.
The Hubble photograph captures thousands of star clusters, hundreds of thousands of individual stars, and “ghosts” of dead stars called supernova remnants. The galactic panorama unveils a tapestry of the drama of stellar birth and death spread across 50,000 light-years.
The newest generations of stars are forming largely in clusters on the edges of the dark spiral dust lanes. These brilliant young stellar groupings, only a few million years old, produce huge amounts of ultraviolet light that is absorbed by surrounding diffuse gas clouds, causing them to glow in pinkish hydrogen light.
Gradually, the fierce stellar winds from the youngest, most massive stars blow away the gas, revealing bright blue star clusters and giving a “Swiss Cheese” appearance to the spiral arms. These youngest star clusters are about 1 million to 10 million years old. The populations of stars up to 100 million years or older appear yellow or orange by comparison because the young blue stars have already burned out.
Interstellar “bubbles” produced by nearly 300 supernovas from massive stars have been found in this Hubble image. By studying these supernova remnants, astronomers can better understand the nature of the stars that exploded and dispersed nuclear processed chemical elements back into the galaxy, contributing to the next generation of new stars.
Website: theastroenthusiast.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/the_astronomy_enthusiast/
Chandra Celebrates the International Year of Light
This galaxy, nicknamed the “Whirlpool,” is a spiral galaxy, like our Milky Way, located about 30 million light years from Earth. This composite image combines data collected at X-ray wavelengths by Chandra (purple), ultraviolet by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX, blue); visible light by Hubble (green), and infrared by Spitzer (red).
Image Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO
Read full article:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/celebrate-intl-year-of-light.html
Also known as the Pinwheel galaxy.
At about 170,000 light years across, it's roughly 70% bigger than our own Milky Way Galaxy.
Lying some 25 million light years away, the Pinwheel galaxy is estimated to contain at least one trillion stars. Look for it in the constellation of Ursa Major ( the great bear ).
Pierre Méchain, Charles Messier's assistant, is credited with discovering M101 in 1781.
BORING techie bit:
Captured using a Skywatcher Quattro 8" with f4 coma corrector on a HEQ5 mount.
Guided using an Altair 50mm guidescope and GPcam combo.
Canon 450D astro modified with Astronomik CLS CCD APS-C clip in filter.
18 exposures of 5 minutes at ISO 400 combined with calibration frames. Stacked with DSS and all processing done with StarTools.
A little messy around the rim, but this is what my chocolate ice cream looks like after it's been frozen overnight.
It's been a few years and some kit changes since I last imaged this gorgeous globular cluster in Hercules.
This was a "quick" run before the object I was after rose from the murk.
30xRGB subs @ 60s per sub, giving me 90 minutes of imaging time.
M101 pinwheel Galaxy
The magnificent Messier 101 Galaxy.
This grand spiral galaxy has a diameter of 170,000 ly, and is located 21 million ly away.
The mass is approximately 100 billion solar masses. It contains 1 trillion stars.
M101 has five companion galaxies including NGC 5204, NGC 5474, NGC 5477, and NGC 5585.
Total 29 hours total exposure
New data 2022 from Telescope live.
Seven hours LRGB
SPA-2, 0.7 m RC telescope.
Officina Stellare ProRC 700, F8
FLI PL16803
And
Deep Sky West - Rowe New Mexico, using RCOS 14.5” Ritchey–Chrétien telescope f/9. 3340 mm focal length.
L 8.3 hours exposure.
RGB 5:4.6:4.3 hours
22 hours total exposure.
Transparency and Seeing very good to excellent.
March-June 2017
Processed in Pixinsight, Lightroom, Photoshop. With further processing to enhance colors.
SBIG 16803 CCD,AO-X