View allAll Photos Tagged messier97
This image from Ursa Major shows two Messier objects in the same field. They are 48 arcminutes apart. Many of the small background "stars" here are actually distant galaxies.
The Owl planetary nebula is about 3.7 arcminutes across in our sky but is actually 0.91 light years in diameter. It lies about 2600 light years distant. The central star has shed its outer layers which glow either red (hydrogen) or green-blue (oxygen) lit by the light of the remnant white dwarf star. Eventually, the star will cool and the gas will expand until the nebula fades away.
Barred spiral galaxy M108 is about 45 million light years away and is almost edge on from our perspective. It’s 8.7 x 2.2 arcminutes diameter in our sky. It lacks a prominent core or bulge but has numerous dust lanes. A Type II supernovae was observed here in 1969. It’s possible to see brownish dust lanes, pink hydrogen alpha zones and two bright blue stellar “associations” of young stars at this magnification.
900/120mm f/7.5 Equinox ED doublet refractor.
Skywatcher x 0.85 FR with 2 inch IDAS LPS D2 filter
MoonLite electronic focuser
Astro-modified Canon 80D at ISO400; 24 x 10 minute subs
NEQ6 pro mount with Rowan belt drives -2 star align.
Camera control with Backyard EOS
60 Flats EL panel: 1/40s @ ISO400
81 Darks @ 5-10c
Master Bias from Library, 04/2020
Camera sensor temperature (external battery): 5-6c
Post processed in PixInsight 1.8.8 and Photoshop CC 2021.
Local parameters:
Temp: 3.0 - 4.2c
Humidity: 65.4%
Pressure: 1017 hPa
Light Pollution and Weather:
SQM (L) at end of session (0132 hrs UT) =20.10 mag/arcsec2.
Clear, all subs good.
Polar Alignment:
QHY Polemaster alignment -
Error measured by PHD2= 1.2 arc minute.
RA drift + 0.68 arcsec/min
Dec drift + 0.85 arcsec/min
Guiding:
PHD2 guiding with ZWO ASI290mm/PrimaLuce Lab 240/60mm guide scope. Every 3rd shot dithered.
RA RMS error 0.67 arcsec, peak error -2.33 arcsec
Dec RMS error 0.46 arcsec, peak error -1.93 arcsec
Astrometry:
Center (RA): 11h 13m 12.488s
Center (Dec): +55° 17' 53.98"
Size: 1d 20m 11.6s x 54m 56.0s
Image scale: 0.977 arcsec/pixel
Focal distance: 781.48mm
Pixel Size 3.7 microm
Had some problems with this - although guiding parameters were excellent, I've got some trailing which might be due to differential flexure - my guide scope is comprised of a main tube, coarse focuser and helical focuser and there was a bit of loose play at each junction. Have tightened the grub screws up and will make sure scope is tightly aligned with main scope.
Secondly, Ive got red haloes around the bright stars - not the blue/violet you would expect with a doublet scope - the last time I had this problem, it was due to a IDAS LPS D2 clip in filter. I usually use the D1 version without issues. Funny that it has resurfaced with the 2 inch D2 filter currently fitted in my field flattener - think it will have to go!
Can fix these with a little bench work I hope.
Vue large de Messier 108 et Messier 97. 60 poses de 60s avec une Megrez72 et une ASI1600MC. Traitement SIRIL et Photoshop.
Astrobin Top Pick and Published in Astronomy Now magazine May 2018, March 2019 and March 2020.
The Owl Nebula is perched in the sky about 2,600 light-years away toward the bottom of the Big Dipper's bowl. Also cataloged as M97, the 97th object in Messier's well-known list, its round shape along with the placement of two large, dark "eyes" do suggest the face of a staring owl. One of the fainter objects in Messier's catalog, the Owl Nebula is a planetary nebula, the glowing gaseous envelope shed by a dying sun-like star as it runs out of nuclear fuel. It is about 2 light years across.
23 hours total integration (12x300s B, 16x300s G, 16x300s R 23x1200s OIII, 35x1200s Ha). Alcalalí, Spain.
APM TMB 152 F8 LZOS, 10 Micron GM2000HPS, QSI6120ws8
The Owl nebula, NGC3587 or M97 lies approximately 2,030 light years away in the Ursa Major.
Discovered by French astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1781 and later observed by Messier it was included in his catalogue as Messier 97.
It measures approx. 3′.4 × 3′.3
On further investigation I discovered that this image also contains a QUASAR J111504.4+550143 which has a magnitude of +19.1 and is 8.2 Billion Light Years away.
simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=%40553563&N...
Taken 14/ 3 /2023, 16 x 300 secs exposures + darks, 8" Celestron Edge 2,032 mm ASI 533MC camera
M97: The Owl Nebula in the constellation of Ursa Major [Blue 'Owl eyes]
M108: The Surfboard Galaxy in the constellation of Ursa Major [Bottom Right]. Also known as NGC 3556.
First run at this target on a moonless night.
M: iOptron EQ45-Pro
T: William Optics GTF81
C: ZWO ASI1600MC-Cooled
F: No Filters
G: PHD2
GC: ZWO ASI120mini
RAW16; FITs
Temp: -15 DegC
Gain 139
11 x Exp 600s
Frames: 11 Lights; 2 Darks; 200 flats
60% Crop
Capture: SharpCap
Processed: DSS; PS; Grad Exterminator.
Sky: No Moon, calm, no cloud, cold, excellent seeing.
M97: 2.03 thousand light years distant.
M108: 45.9 million light years distant.
Messier 97 is a planetary nebula in Ursa Major estimated to be about 2600 light years away.
The 16th magnitude central star is about 0.7 solar masses and is a remnant white dwarf having shed its outer layers about 6000 years ago based on the expansion of the nebula and then working backwards.
The nebula has a mass of about 0.15 solar masses.
Our own Sun may eventually meet a fate like this.
The remnant white dwarf has a surface temperature in the tens of thousands of degrees and glows brightly in UV causing fluorescence of oxygen (green-blue) and hydrogen (red) in the nebula.
36 x 6 minute exposures. Processed and drizzled in PixInsight
iTelescope T3
Takahashi 150/1095mm refractor
SBIG CCD camera 2048 x 2048 pixels.
Image centred on:
RA: 11h 14m 49.475s
Dec: +55d 01m 5.361s
Field of view 33.4 x 34.1 arcminute
Image scale 0.69 arcsec/pxl
Acquisition:
Rising Cam IMX571 color + Zenithstar
iOptron CEM26 + iPolar
Filtre Optolong L-Pro
ZWO ASI224MC + WO Uniguide 120mm
NINA & PHD2
Exp=219min (73 de 90 images)
Images=180sec -- Gain 101 -- Offset 245
Traitement/processing :
Siril & Gimp
AstroM1
(rsi2x2.2)
La nebulosa planetaria M97 è chiamata anche “Nebulosa Gufo” per via di due macchie scura sulla sua superficie che la fanno rassomigliare alla testa di un gufo.
Si trova nella costellazione dell’Orsa Maggiore e ha un diametro apparente di 3’, circa 10 volte più piccolo della dimensione della luna piena vista ad occhio nudo, mentre la sua distanza è di circa 6000 anni luce.
Al centro della nebulosa è visibile la stella di magnitudine 14 da cui la nebulosa si è originata: è una nana bianca con una temperatura superficiale di 85000 K.
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The planetary nebula M97 is also called the "Owl Nebula" due to two dark spots on its surface that make it resemble the head of an owl.
It is located in the Ursa Major constellation and has an apparent diameter of 3 ', about 10 times smaller than the size of the full moon seen with the naked eye, while its distance is about 6000 light years.
At the center of the nebula is the star of magnitude 14 from which the nebula originated: it is a white dwarf with a surface temperature of 85000 K.
Technical data
Telescope: RC12 GSO Truss (diameter 304mm, focal lenght 2432mm)
Mount: GM2000HPSII
Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MM Pro with Astrodon filters RGB and Ha/OIII 5nm,
Guiding system: ZWO OAG-L with guide camera ASI 174MM
Exposure details:
Ha 16x900" bin3 -20C + 7x900" bin3 -25C, gain 100
OIII 14x900" bin3 -20C + 10x900" bin3 -25C, gain 100
RGB 5x300" bin3 -20C, gain 100 for each channel
Total integration: 13h
Acquisition: Voyager, PHD2
Processing: Pixinsight 1.8, Photoshop CS5, StarXTerminator, DxO Photolab 3
SQM-L 21.04
Location: Promiod (Aosta Valley, Italy), own remote observatory
Date: 23/24 January, 23/26 March 2022
Aberkenfig, South Wales
Lat +51.542 Long -3.593
Skywatcher 254mm Newtonian Reflector, Olympus E410 at prime focus. EQ6 Syntrek Mount.
This is a very difficult target to find from my light polluted location. Even using a 254mm aperture telescope it is barely visible when observed through the eyepiece.
A little bit of work was needed on the curves & levels in the final processing.
8 x 60s at 800 ISO.
19 x 50s at 800 ISO.
Also 10 dark frames.
Imaging session commenced at 21:41 UT
Processed with Deep Sky Stacker and levels & curves adjusted with G.I.M.P.
The M108 galaxy and the Owl nebula (M97)
Equipment details:
- Mount: Astro-Physics Mach1 GTO
- Imaging scope: Explore Scientific 102mm Apochromatic Refractor
- Imaging camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool
- Guide camera: QHY5III178M
- OAG: ZWO OAG
- Other: HoTech SCA Field Flattner
- Filter wheel: ZWO EFW
- Focuser: MoonLite MiniV2 motorized focuser
- Filters: Astrodon LRGB Gen2 E-Series Tru-Balance
Actuisition details:
- Camera set to -17C at Unity Gain
- Lights:
-- L: 104 x 180s Bin: 1x1
-- R: 39 x 180s Bin: 2x2
-- G: 40 x 180s Bin: 2x2
-- B: 40 x 180s Bin: 2x2
- Flats: 30x per filter
Software:
- Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro
- Mount Control: ASCOM, Stellarium, Stellarium Scope
- Guiding: PHD2
- Drift Alignment: PHD2 Drift Align
- Processing: PixInsight
Total Integration time:
- 12 hours
Aberkenfig, South Wales
Lat +51.542 Long -3.593
Skywatcher 254mm Newtonian with Nikon D780 at prime focus. Tracked using an EQ6 Syntrek mount.
25 x 25s @ ISO 2500
10 x 25s @ ISO 3200
18 darks
18 flats
Processed with Deep Sky Stacker, GIMP, Adobe Lightroom & image cropped.
Owl nebula (Messier 97) shot in LRGB. 6*10min per channel at 2x2 binning.
At the end of this season the first night of the summer without astronomical darkness was still barely dark enough to get 4 hours of exposures of this wonderful (but small) nebula.
Gear: HEQ5, C8, .63x reducer, OAG+Lodestar, EFW2, Baader LRGB filters, SXVR-H18
SW: MaxImDL, AstroTortilla, PixInsight
Stacks : best 50 out of 58
Exposure Time : 50x30sec (25 min total)
ISO : 1600
Camera : Sony A77
Mount : EQ-5
Tube : Newton
Focal length : 750mm
Aperture : F/5
Autoguide : Nope
20MP crop out of 24MP
Picture stacked in DSS using method (Median Kappa-Sigma clipping) with no bkg calibration
CS5 for : curves adjustments on whole image, unsharp mask filter + a bit of extra saturation on M97
Lightroom Beta 4 for other tweaks (contrast, saturation, noise reduction, etc)
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In this image we can see:
M97 : The own nebula, located 6000 light years away from us is a type of nebula that's called "planetary" nebula. The name (planetary nebula) originates at their discovery in the 18th century, due to their resemblance to giant planets. Planetary nebulae are emission nebulae consisting of ionized gas thrown out by stars at the end of their life (during the red giant phase)
M108 : This is a barred spiral galaxy, located about 45 million light years away
M97 / NGC 3587: planetary nebula (App Mag:9.9 \ App Size: 3.4' × 3.3')
M108 / NGC 3556: barred spiral galaxy (App Mag:10.7 \ App Size: 8.7' × 2.2')
--
App = Apparent
Mag = Magnitude
Stacks : best 50 out of 58
Exposure Time : 50x30sec (25 min total)
ISO : 1600
Camera : Sony A77
Mount : EQ-5
Tube : Newton
Focal length : 750mm
Aperture : F/5
Autoguide : Nope
7.4MP crop out of 24MP
Picture stacked in DSS using method (Median Kappa-Sigma clipping) with no bkg calibration
CS5 for : curves adjustments on whole image, unsharp mask filter + a bit of + saturation on M97
Lightroom Beta 4 for other tweaks (contrast, saturation, noise reduction, etc)
---
In this image we can see:
M97 : The own nebula, located 6000 light years away from us is a type of nebula that's called "planetary" nebula. The name (planetary nebula) originates at their discovery in the 18th century, due to their resemblance to giant planets. Planetary nebulae are emission nebulae consisting of ionized gas thrown out by stars at the end of their life (during the red giant phase)
M108 : This is a barred spiral galaxy, located about 45 million light years away
M97 / NGC 3587: planetary nebula (App Mag:9.9 \ App Size: 3.4' × 3.3')
M108 / NGC 3556: barred spiral galaxy (App Mag:10.7 \ App Size: 8.7' × 2.2')
--
App = Apparent
Mag = Magnitude
Canon EOS 450D 20x 20s subs ISO800 Prime focus Skywatcher 150 Explorer Newtonian. Processed in DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight and Photoshop CS5
01/05/2009; Balkány.
The Messier 97 (also known as Owl nebula or NGC 3587) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Ursa Major. The Messier 108 is an edge-on galaxy.
scope: 70/500 SW refractor
guiding scope: 80/400 SW refractor
mount: Celestron CG-4 with SW EQ3 RA motor drive
guide: 12.5mm reticle eyepiece, TeleVue 2x barlow, manually guided
filter: Baader UHC-S
camera: Baader-ACF mod. Canon EOS 350D
cond. of exp.: 13x110-220sec @ iso 800 in prime focus
cond.: app. 6°C, strong wind, Moon in first quarter at high altitude.
processing: Iris(composit, asinh, noffset, rgbbalance), PS(levels, curves); only dark (3 frames) correction was applied.
... en pas trop raté cette fois !
M97 (à gauche) est une nébuleuse planétaire ; M108 (en haut à droite) est une galaxie spirale vue par la tranche. Ce fameux duo s'observe non loin de l'étoile Merak dans la Grande Ourse.
The Owl Nebula (also known as Messier 97, M97 or NGC 3587) is a planetary nebula located approximately 2,030 light years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by French astronomer Pierre Méchainon February 16, 1781. When William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, observed the nebula in 1848, his hand-drawn illustration resembled an owl's head. It has been known as the Owl Nebula ever since. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The nebula is approximately 8,000 years old. It is approximately circular in cross-section with a little visible internal structure. It was formed from the outflow of material from the stellar wind of the central star as it evolved along the asymptotic giant branch. The nebula is arranged in three concentric shells, with the outermost shell being about 20–30% larger than the inner shell. The owl-like appearance of the nebula is the result of an inner shell that is not circularly symmetric, but instead forms a barrel-like structure aligned at an angle of 45° to the line of sight. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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• Image details:
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- RGB: 15x180"
- ISO: 1600
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30 darks, 30 flats and 100 bias
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Total exposure: 45min
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• Equipment: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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- Newton 200/1000 on EQ6R
- Canon EOS 6D (Baader BCF 2 Filter)
- CLS-CCD 2" Filter
- ZWO ASI120MC-S
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• Softwares: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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- Sharp Cap Pro (polar alignment)
- APT (capturing)
- PHD2 (guiding)
- PixInsight (stacking & processing)
M1
Between 1745 and 1781 French astronomer and comet hunter Charles Messier compiled a list of 110 fuzzy objects that remained at fixed positions in the sky. The purpose of the list was to help people not waste their time observing fuzzballs that don't move across the stars. It was a list of things UNINTERESTING to Messier. Now labeled M1-M110, the complete list of 109 (Wait, wasn't it 110? That's a story for another day...) fuzzy blobs in the sky are known to be star clusters, nebuale and galaxies. A popular astronomy challenge is to observe as many Messier objects as possible in a single night. A fun photographic challenge is to capture images of all 109 objects. I recorded these a few nights ago when it happened to be clear, but the slightly gibbous moon was too bright to bring out any serious detail and dew began to coat the camera later in the night too.
The first image is M1, the Crab Nebula. It is the remains of a star that went supernova, and supposedly the stellar explosion could be seen in daylight in 1054 A.D. The bright star in the image is called Tianguan, in the constellation Taurus, just above Orion's head.
In the second image is M108, an almost edge-on spiral galaxy, and my field of view was inadverdently wide enough to also capture M97, a so-called planetary nebula, the remains of a Sun-like star that has reached the end of its life. The bright star in the image is Merak, one of the stars in the scoop of the Big Dipper.
Hopefully I'll capture better images of these this year, but so far , 3 out of 109 objects captured!
#messiercatalogue #messier1 #crabnebula #messier97 #owlnebula #messier108 #deepskyphotography #astrophotography
M108 & M97
Between 1745 and 1781 French astronomer and comet hunter Charles Messier compiled a list of 110 fuzzy objects that remained at fixed positions in the sky. The purpose of the list was to help people not waste their time observing fuzzballs that don't move across the stars. It was a list of things UNINTERESTING to Messier. Now labeled M1-M110, the complete list of 109 (Wait, wasn't it 110? That's a story for another day...) fuzzy blobs in the sky are known to be star clusters, nebuale and galaxies. A popular astronomy challenge is to observe as many Messier objects as possible in a single night. A fun photographic challenge is to capture images of all 109 objects. I recorded these a few nights ago when it happened to be clear, but the slightly gibbous moon was too bright to bring out any serious detail and dew began to coat the camera later in the night too.
The first image is M1, the Crab Nebula. It is the remains of a star that went supernova, and supposedly the stellar explosion could be seen in daylight in 1054 A.D. The bright star in the image is called Tianguan, in the constellation Taurus, just above Orion's head.
In the second image is M108, an almost edge-on spiral galaxy, and my field of view was inadverdently wide enough to also capture M97, a so-called planetary nebula, the remains of a Sun-like star that has reached the end of its life. The bright star in the image is Merak, one of the stars in the scoop of the Big Dipper.
Hopefully I'll capture better images of these this year, but so far , 3 out of 109 objects captured!
#messiercatalogue #messier1 #crabnebula #messier97 #owlnebula #messier108 #deepskyphotography #astrophotography
About 100 minutes of exposure on Messier 108, "The Surfboard Galaxy" (upper left), and Messier 97, "The Owl Nebula" (lower right). The Surfboard Galaxy is about almost 50 million light years away and is a spiral galaxy we see edge on. The Owl Nebula is about 2600 light years away, is about 6000 years old and has inside of it a dying star that is about half the mass of our Sun. #messier108 #messier97# #deepskyphotography #astrophotography