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Photographed from mid-town Toronto, Canada, at 18.43 EST (Moon altitude: 54° | Sun 7.6° below the horizon)

* Temperature 5° C.

Although this evening was very clear, there was a persistent gusty wind from the west, which made it difficult to keep the telescope steady during the ten subframes that make up this image.

Here the Moon, gliding through the constellation Gemini (The Twins) was 78.7% sunlit, on its way to its full phase in the early evening of March 1 (four days from now).

Although it is subtle, some colour can be seen on the lunar disk, particularly in the Moon's so-called maria ("seas"), which of course are lava plains and not water.

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Nikon D850 camera body on Explore Scientific 152 mm (6") apochromatic refracting telescope, mounted on Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 SynScan mount.

Best eight of ten identical stacked frames; each frame:

* ISO 100, 1/100 sec. exposure, f/8

Stacked in Registax

Processed in Photoshop CS6

(brightness, contrast, colour saturation)

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Critique welcome.

Taken for the Subframing theme of the Flickr Friday group.

DSC_1866a

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, between 23.30 and 00.01 EDT

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

* Altitude of M51 at time of exposures: 41°, decreasing to 36°

* Temperature 16° C.

* Total exposure time: 15 minutes

* 2483 mm focal length telescope

___________________________________________

Located just south of the end star of the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Bear) (but actually across the border in the constellation Canes Venatici - The Hunting Dogs) the Whirlpool galaxy is a favourite target of amateur astronomers, especially in the northern hemisphere spring and early summer.

M51, which has a black hole at its core, is about 35% of the size and mass of our own Milky Way galaxy. It was the first galaxy to be identified as spiral in structure. The two portions of this galaxy interact with each other; the smaller satellite portion is named NGC 5195. The distance to this galaxy is still quite uncertain; estimates are between 15 and 35 million light years. By contrast, the great Andromeda Galaxy lies a mere 3 million light years from us.

___________________________________________

Click here to see the equipment used to photograph this galaxy:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/49937525648

___________________________________________

Technical information:

Nikon D810a camera body at prime focus of Meade 30 cm (12") LX-850 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount

Fifteen stacked frames; each frame:

2483 mm focal length

ISO 5000; 60 seconds exposure at f/8, unguided

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes stacked in RegiStar;

Processed in Photoshop CS6 (brightness, contrast, levels, colour balance)

******************************************************************************

The first clear nights after the rainy season and I needed to test some new gear and combos and that was my excuse for picking some easy targets. This was taken with a Canon 400mm f5.6L lens on a QHY183C colour camera connected via an Astromechanics EF focus adapter which enabled Sequence Generator Pro's autofocus routine to work with the lens. The image is an integration of nearly 10 hours total exposure (199 x 180 second subframes). The mount was a Skywatcher AZ-EQ5. Image capture was managed via SGP and PHD2 and all post-processing was carried out in PixInsight. As usual, I was defeated by Alnitak.

Observed from Prachinburi, Thailand.

This week's FlickrFriday theme is: #Subframing

Le thème de ce FlickrFriday est: #Sous-ossature

O tema desta FlickrFriday é: #Sub-enquadramento

本次 FlickrFriday 主題: #子框架

FlickrFriday-Thema der Woche: #Unterrahmen

El tema de FlickrFriday es: #Sub-encuadre

Sub-framing is a type of compositional photography technique wherein one or more photo elements are framed by another element. It's a good way to add interest to the photo, lead the viewer's eye towards the middle of the sub-frame, and emphasize a subject.

No tail yet.

Seestar S50.

8 ten-second subframes

a child walks in front of a frame

This is a wide-field shot of the Heart Nebula I took last night using a QHY23M & 50mm F/1.8(at F/2.8) camera lens w Ha filter.

I dont have any kind of filter holder or wheel, but as luck would have it, the Optolong 2" Ha filter lays inside the indention of the lens.(Just have to be careful slewing the scope )

I combined 18- 5 minute subframes

The image covers 13.3x10.7 degrees of the sky.

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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, between 21.38 and 22.12 EDT

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

* Altitude of M51 at time of exposures: 23°, decreasing to 19°

* Temperature 8° C.

* Total exposure time: 16 minutes

* 2483 mm focal length telescope

___________________________________________

Located just south of the end star of the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Bear) (but actually across the border in the constellation Canes Venatici - The Hunting Dogs) the Whirlpool galaxy is a favourite target of amateur astronomers, especially in the northern hemisphere spring and early summer.

M51, which has a black hole at its core, is about 35% of the size and mass of our own Milky Way galaxy. It was the first galaxy to be identified as spiral in structure. The two portions of this galaxy interact with each other; the smaller satellite portion is named NGC 5195. The distance to this galaxy is still quite uncertain; estimates are between 15 and 35 million light years. By contrast, the great Andromeda Galaxy lies a mere 3 million light years from us.

Click here to see the equipment used to photograph this galaxy:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/29939255555

___________________________________________

Nikon D810a camera body at prime focus of Meade 30 cm (12") LX-850 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount

Sixteen stacked frames; each frame:

2483 mm focal length; ISO 8000; 60 seconds exposure at f/8, unguided

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes stacked in RegiStar;

Processed in Photoshop CS6 (brightness, contrast, levels, colour balance)

******************************************************************************

Taken with the C14 and SBIG STXL-6303 at Cerritos College. The moon was still below the horizon, and the sky was cloudless enough for me to do guided shots. There's always moist air to the south from campus, though, and the limiting magnitude was 17.2 for this image. 16 30 s subframes were stacked to create this. An Antlia L filter was used. The position of the supernova is indicated with white line segments.

2024-04-27.222

ASTAP gives a CV magnitude of 11.8

This was essentially maximum brightness for this supernova.

I realize now that I was not setting apertures properly in ASTAP, and all of my previous magnitude estimates are likely too faint.

I know neither the bride nor the groom but all have accepted me as a part of the event. I could have easily join the celebration!

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Photographed outside Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, Northern Territory, Australia (440 km by road southwest of Alice Springs), long. 131.04° E., lat. 25.22° S., between 01.42 and 02.05 CAST (Central Australian Standard Time)

* Altitude of Crux at time of exposures: 45-42°

* Temperature 10° C.

* Total exposure time: 7 minutes

* 135 mm focal length lens

___________________________________________

Description:

One of the best known star patterns in the sky - but one that is visible only from the northern hemisphere south of latitude 25° or from the southern hemisphere - is the Southern Cross, which is formed by three very bright stars and one fainter star in the constellation Crux (The Cross).

Nearby (to the left of centre in this view) is the dark foreground nebula called the "Coal Sack".

This part of the sky is strewn with numerous open star clusters.

This is the telescope and mount that I used for my astrophotography on this trip:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/28602350028

For a version of this photo WITH LABELS, click on your screen to the RIGHT of the photo, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/27581418417

__________________________________________

Technical information:

Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8 G ED VRII lens on Nikon D850 camera body, mounted on Sky-Watcher HEQ5 equatorial mount with Kirk Enterprises ball head

Seven stacked subframes; each frame:

ISO 3200; 1 minute exposure at f/4.5, unguided

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes stacked in RegiStar;

Processed in Photoshop CS6 (levels, colour balance brightness, contrast)

****************************************************************************

Flickr Friday theme subframing. On the other side of this arch is the doorway to the old hospital. But from that side all you see is the highway. ,;-)

The Crab Nebula, also known as Messier 1 or NGC 1952, is a famous astronomical object located in the constellation of Taurus. It is a supernova remnant, resulting from a massive stellar explosion that was observed by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054. The nebula is approximately 6,500 light-years away from Earth and spans about 10 light-years in diameter.

At the heart of the Crab Nebula lies a pulsar, which is a rapidly rotating neutron star. This pulsar, also known as the Crab Pulsar, is only about 6 miles in diameter, has a mass greater than the Sun and spins 30 times per second. Observations indicate that the Crab Nebula is expanding at a rate of 1,500 km per second since its explosion over 900 years ago.

AQUISITION:

Telescope: SkyWatcher Esprit 150

Camera: QHY268MM

Filters: Astronomik Deep Sky Ha/OIII

SUBFRAMES:

Ha: 96 x 300"

OIII: 98 x 300"

Total exposure time: 16.2hrs

Taken Jan/Feb 2024 by Hector Jimenez

****************************************************************************

Photographed 25 km east of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia, long. 134.04° E., lat. 23.76° S., between 02.45 and 03.03 CAST (Central Australian Standard Time)

* Altitude of centre of frame at time of exposures: 20°

* Temperature 10° C.

* Total exposure time: 8 minutes

* 540 mm focal length telescope

___________________________________________

Description:

NGC 2602 is a bright open cluster of about 74 stars in the constellation Carina that is referred to as the "Southern Pleiades". The cluster, which can easily be seen with the unaided eye, was discovered by Abbe Lacaille in 1751 from South Africa. It is a very close star cluster, lying only about 547 light years from our solar system, as compared with the even closer (444 light years) Pleiades (also call M45).

NGC 2602 is the third brightest open cluster in the sky, after the Pleiades and the nearby Hyades, both of which are in the northern constellation Taurus (The Bull).

Nearby (near the top and just left of centre in this image) lies the fainter Melotte 101 (also designated Collinder 227), an 8th magnitude cluster of some 70 stars that lies a staggering 6,500 light years from us.

This is the telescope and mount that I used for my astrophotography on this trip:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/28602350028

For a version of this photo WITH LABELS, click on your screen to the RIGHT of the photo, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/42506618052

__________________________________________

Technical information:

Nikon D810a camera body on Tele Vue 101is 101 mm (4") apochromatic refracting telescope, mounted on Sky-Watcher HEQ5 equatorial mount

Eight stacked subframes - each frame:

ISO 2500; 1 minute exposure at f/5.4, 540 mm focal length, unguided (with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes stacked in RegiStar;

Processed in Photoshop CS6 (levels, masking of brightest stars)

****************************************************************************

(c) Alwyn Greer 2025

09 August 2025

Vienna street photography. 09 August 2025

Café Schwarzenberg is a cool place to hang out and watch people passing by. On this day it was hot so we came inside and the window provided a good frame to use.

Target: NGC281 Pac-Man Nebula

The Pacman nebula is named for the video game it resembles. If you put the moon in front of this nebula you would just block it. It is located 9200 light years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia, which resembles a W or M in the northern skies.

Gear:

Mount: ZWO AM5

Main Cam: ZWO ASI294MC Pro @ gain 121 and 14F

Guide Cam: ZWO ASI120MM Mini with ZWO 30mm f/4 scope

Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 600

Filter: Antlia ALP-T 5nm Ha and Oiii

Acquisition:

Light frames: Best 48 of 66 5 minute subs totaling 4 Hr integration

Sessions: 20-Sep-23

Location: Waller, Texas country road

Bortle: 5/6 ?

Moon: none for most of session

Processing

• PI - Subframe selector, WBPP

• GraXpert background

• PI SPCC

• PI Russel Croman - BXT NXT STX

• PI Starless Edits

○ Bill Blanshan Mike Cranfield Narrowband Normalization Tool

○ Bill Blanshan GHS Stretch

○ Curves

○ Dark Structure Enhance

• PI Stars Edits

○ Arcsinh Stretch

○ SCNR, Invert and SCNR

○ Curve Saturation

• PS ACR Black point, Highlights, Clarity, Dehaze

• PS Selective Colors

• PS Screen stars layer, copy stars layer/brighten it/mask in selective stars

• PS Watermark

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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, between 21.57 and 22.18 EDT

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

* Altitude of M17 at time of photo: 27°

* Temperature 14° C.

* Total exposure time: 10 minutes

* 540 mm focal length telescope

___________________________________________

Description:

One of the showpieces of the northern hemisphere summer sky is this diffuse nebula of hydrogen gas, which can be seen in amateur telescopes quite low in the southern sky, just outside the band of the Milky Way.

Known as the "Omega Nebula" because of the similarity of its shape to the last letter in the Greek alphabet, M17 is a hotbed of star formation.

From Wikipedia: "The Omega Nebula is between 5,000 and 6,000 light-years from Earth and it spans some 15 light-years in diameter. The cloud of interstellar matter of which this nebula is a part is roughly 40 light-years in diameter and has a mass of 30,000 solar masses. The total mass of the Omega Nebula is an estimated 800 solar masses.

The open cluster NGC 6618 lies embedded in the nebulosity and causes the gases of the nebula to shine due to radiation from these hot, young stars."

For a version of this photo WITH LABELS, click on your screen to the RIGHT of the photo, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/29309651576

And for a wider angle view of this entire region, showing neighbouring nebulae and stars clusters, click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/28874267555

___________________________________________

Technical information:

Nikon D810a camera body on Teleview 101is apochromatic refracting telescope, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount with a Kirk Enterprises ball head

Ten stacked frames; each frame:

540 mm focal length

ISO 4000; 1 minute exposure at f/5.4; unguided

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes registered in RegiStar;

Stacked and processed in Photoshop CS6 (brightness, contrast, unsharp mask, levels)

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Photographed near Coober Pedy, South Australia

(Outback Australia, 850 km northwest of Adelaide;

latitude 29 degrees south)

* Total exposure time: 10 minutes.

___________________________________________

Description:

This view of the centre of our home galaxy - the Milky Way - lies in the familiar constellations Sagittarius (left side) and Scorpius (right side). This part of the cosmos is always very low in the sky as seen from the northern Hemisphere.

When I captured the ten subframes that comprise this image, the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius were almost directly overhead. The dark sky of the Australian Outback makes for a dramatic, high-contrast view.

Here is the equipment used to make this image:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/21202535154

___________________________________________

Technical information:

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens on Nikon D810a camera body, mounted on Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer tracking mount with a Kirk Enterprises ball head

Ten stacked frames; each frame:

50 mm focal length

ISO 2500; 1 minute exposure at f/4.5

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Stacked in RegiStar;

Processed in Photoshop CS6 (brightness, contrast, levels, colour balance, colour desaturation)

******************************************************************************

In the news today, AR2941 launched a CME that knocked out 40 Starlink satellites.

Canon EOS 60Da (1/640s, ISO 100)

TeleVue NP101is/2x Power Mate (4", f/10.4)

Losmandy G11

100 subframes captured with Backyard EOS (BYE). CR2 files converted to AVI by PPIP. Best 75% of frames stacked in AutoStakkert! Sharpened in Registax and finished in Photoshop.

Flickr Friday theme is: #Subframing

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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, between 00.19 and 00.45 EDT

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

* Altitude of centre of frame at time of exposures: 21°

* Temperature 11° C.

* Total exposure time: 12 minutes

* 200 mm focal length lens

___________________________________________

Description:

As it revolves around the Sun in its stately 30-year orbit, the gas giant planet Saturn passes through each constellation of the zodiac in about two and half years. 2018 finds Saturn in the constellation Sagattarius (the Archer), set against the star clouds and nebulae that lie toward the centre of our Milky Way galaxy.

Saturn is the brightest object left of and below centre in this view. The massive red-pink Lagoon Nebula appears at lower right, with the smaller Trifid Nebula (with both blue and red components) above it. Many star clouds and tendrils of dark foreground gas can be seen throughout this region of the galaxy.

Right now Saturn shines at magnitude 0.0, and lies about 9 AU (astronomical units, the average distance between the Sun and Earth) from us. Light takes 1 hr 15 min to travel from Saturn to Earth. It is moving in retrograde motion (i.e., backwards, from east to west, or from left to right in this view), and will do so until mid-September, when it will come to a standstill and resume direct motion from west to east. At that time in September, Saturn will lie much closer to the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae.

For a closer view of the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae made two and a half months earlier, click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/41619562501

___________________________________________

Technical information:

Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8 G ED VRII lens on Nikon D810a camera body, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount with Kirk Enterprises ball head.

Here is a photo of the equipment that I use for astrophotography:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/37143140824

Twelve stacked frames - each frame:

200 mm focal length

ISO 3200; 1 minute exposure at f/4.5; unguided

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes registered in RegiStar;

Stacked and processed in Photoshop CS6 (levels, brightness, contrast, colour balancing & desaturation)

***************************************************************************

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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

between 02.44 and 02.55 EDT

* Altitude of the cluster at time of exposures: 38°

* Temperature 15° C.

* Total exposure time: 5 minutes

* 660 mm focal length telescope

___________________________________________

Description:

This large, pretty and bright open cluster of stars - which happens to lie in our line of sight in front of one of the bright and star-dense arms of our Milky Way galaxy - is a favourite observational target of northern hemisphere astronomers on summer evenings.

From Wikipedia:

"The Wild Duck Cluster is one of the richest and most compact of the known open clusters, containing about 2900 stars. Its age has been estimated to about 250 million years. Its name derives from the brighter stars forming a triangle which could resemble a flying flock of ducks (or, from other angles, one swimming duck)."

For a wider angle view of Scutum and M11, made with a 540 mm focal length telescope in September 2016, click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/30487082573

For a version of this photo WITH LABELS, click on your screen to the RIGHT of the photo, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/50040538562

___________________________________________

Technical information:

Nikon D810a camera body on Tele Vue 127is (127 mm - 5" - diameter) apochromatic astrograph, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount

Five stacked frames; each frame:

660 mm focal length

ISO 3200; 1 minute exposure at f/5.2; unguided

With long exposure noise reduction

Subframes stacked in RegiStar;

Processed in Photoshop CS6 (highlights / shadows, levels, brightness / contrast)

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Seestar S50 - 90 minute total exposures (10 second subframes)

***************************************************************************

Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

between 22.01 and 22.24 EDT

* Altitude of centre of frame at time of exposures: ~27°, declining to 24°

* Temperature 3° C.

* Total exposure time: 12 minutes

* 150 mm focal length lens

___________________________________________

Description:

Although Scutum is the fifth smallest constellation in the sky, it contains many open star clusters, a globular star cluster, and many dark foreground gas clouds. Located in the heart of northern hemisphere summer Milky Way, Scutum also features a bright starcloud that is easily visible to the unaided eye, and is magnificent to observe in binoculars - as long as you are in a dark sky location well away from the light pollution of our cities!

For a version of this photo WITH LABELS, click on your screen to the RIGHT of the photo, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/52403087835

___________________________________________

Technical information:

Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8 G ED VRII lens on Nikon D810a camera body, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount with Kirk Enterprises ball head

Twelve stacked subframes; each frame:

ISO 4000; 1 minute exposure at f/4.5

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes stacked in RegiStar;

Processed in Photoshop CS6 (levels, colour balance)

***************************************************************************

Battle of the Sexes: Males in the frame…

Southbound…

In order to advance beyond a somewhat colorless result arising from using a combination of an OSC camera and a broad band LPF, the integrated image was first separated into starless and stars only components, followed by splitting the starless image into its RGB components which were individually weighted and then recombined using LRGB Combination followed by further processing.

Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8

OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain and 50 Offset

Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC

Guider: ZWO Off-Axis Guider

Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 174mm mini

Light Pollution Filter: Chroma LoGlow Broadband LPF

Date: 30-31 March 2023 and 2-5 April 2023

Location: Washington D.C.

Exposure: 244x300s subs (= 20.3 hours)

Software: Pixinsight

Processing Steps:

Preprocessing: FITS data > Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and Star Align > Image Integration.

Linear Postprocessing: Integrated image > Rotation > Dynamic Crop > Dynamic Background Extractor (subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field corrections) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Blur Xterminator > Noise Xterminator.

Nonlinear Postprocessing: Linear postprocessed image > Histogram Transformation > Star Xterminator to separate into Starless and Stars Only images.

Starless image > Histogram Transformation > Noise Xterminator > Local Histogram Equalization > Split RGB Channels > Weight the original channels and use Pixel Math to generate new modified RGB channels.

Apply HDR Multiscale Transform to the L channel (= R channel for broad band image) and the new modified RGB channels.

LRGB combination > LRGB image.

LRGB image > Curves Transformation using color masks > Histogram Transformation (multiple steps as needed) > Local Histogram Equalization (multiple steps as needed) > Final Starless image.

Pixel Math to combine the Final Starless Image and the new Stars Only image > Rejoined image.

Rejoined image > Dark Structure Enhancement > New rejoined image.

New rejoined image > Topaz AI > AI image.

Pixel Math to combine New rejoined image and AI image > Final result.

Flickr Friday theme, sub framing, my choice was the Albert Memorial, so majestic, and such a tribute of love from Queen Victoria to Prince Albert, a worthy scene for sub framing, Happy Flickr Friday.

This is my project for October 2017: Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) or: "The Eye of God". This is a preliminary version of this ongoing project, this one only without narrow band filters. 24 h total exposure time (180 sec for each subframe). Only data of the RGB camera with a L-pro filter.

ATIK 490 color on Hyperstar 14" /F1.9. ASA DDM85 mount with pointing file guiding. Six nights of capturing in October 2017. Later I will process the narrow band filter data (h-Alpha, OIII, SII and infrared) collected in parallel for another 24 hours. Tenerife 1180 meters above sea level.

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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, between 20.12 and 20.37 EDT

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

* Altitude of nebulae at time of exposures: 37°

* Temperature -3° C.

* Total exposure time: 7 minutes

* 714 mm focal length telescope

For a version of this photo WITH LABELS, click on your screen to the RIGHT of the photo, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/32999649413

___________________________________________

Description:

Among the most photographed and examined areas of the sky is this region surrounding Alnilak, one of the three bright stars in the Belt of Orion.

The Horsehead Nebula: The famous Horsehead Nebula, which was first photographed and identified in 1888 by Scottish astronomer Williamina Fleming at the Harvard Observatory, is a foreground cloud of dark gas that is seen in silhouette against a background red hydrogen gas cloud.

Read more about the Horsehead Nebula here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsehead_Nebula

... and here:

www.space.com/16528-horsehead-nebula.html

The Zeta Orionis (Flame) Nebula: The large, intricate pale pink nebula to the lower right of the brightest star is the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024), which is located between 900 and 1,500 light years from our solar system.

For more about this nebula, click here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_Nebula

The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex: Both the Flame and the Horsehead Nebulae are part of this huge star-forming region in Orion. Read more here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Molecular_Cloud_Complex

___________________________________________

Technical information:

Nikon D810a camera body on Stellarvue SVR102T apochromatic carbon fiber refracting telescope, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount using an ADM Accessories side-by-side saddle

Seven stacked frames; each frame:

714 mm focal length

ISO 4000; 1 minute exposure at f/7; unguided

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes registered in RegiStar;

Stacked and processed in Photoshop CS6 (levels, brightness, contrast, colour balance, sharpening)

******************************************************************************

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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, between 23.29 and 23.51 EDT

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

* Temperature 17° C.

* Total exposure time: 6 minutes.

___________________________________________

Description:

One of the brightest sections in our home galaxy, the Milky Way, appears in the small constellation Scutum (the Shield), which appears in the southern sky half way from the horizon to the zenith as seen from southern Canada and the northern United States.

In this area appear many foreground cold, dark nebulae, which obscure the light of the stars beyond. These dark regions were photographed and catalogued by the great American astronomer E. E. Barnard (1857 - 1923) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Emerson_Barnard), and bear the designation "B", numbered from 1 to 370.

Near the centre of this view is a favourite target of amateur astronomers with modest telescopes: M11, the "Wild Duck Cluster". This is a rich open cluster of stars that looks like a duck in flight. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Duck_Cluster for more information about M11.

For a version of this photo WITH labels, click on the RIGHT side of your screen, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/28867652495

___________________________________________

Technical information:

Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8 G ED VRII lens on Nikon D810a camera body, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount with a Kirk Enterprises ball head

Six stacked frames; each frame:

200 mm focal length

ISO 4000; 1 minute exposure at f/4.5; unguided

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes registered in RegiStar;

Stacked and processed in Photoshop CS6 (brightness, contrast, levels, colour balance, colour desaturation)

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Santa Maria della Salute, Venezia

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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

between 00.28 and 00.54 EDT

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

* Altitude of centre of frame at time of exposures: ~19°

* Temperature 7° C.

* Total exposure time: 12 minutes

* 660 mm focal length telescope

___________________________________________

Description:

M8, the Lagoon Nebula (right side of the frame)

One of the most prominent, large, bright and well known nebulae in the sky is the Lagoon Nebula (M8), which is a favourite target of amateur astronomers with modest telescopes.

From Wikipedia: "The Lagoon Nebula ... is a giant interstellar cloud ... classified as an emission nebula and as an H II region. [It] was discovered by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654 and is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the eye from mid-northern latitudes. Seen with binoculars, it appears as a distinct oval cloudlike patch with a definite core. Within the nebula is the open cluster NGC 6530.

The Lagoon Nebula is estimated to be between 4,000-6,000 light-years away from the Earth. In the sky of Earth, it spans 90' by 40', which translates to an actual dimension of 110 by 50 light years. ... The nebula contains a number of Bok globules (dark, collapsing clouds of protostellar material), the most prominent of which have been catalogued by E. E. Barnard as B88, B89 and B296."

M20, the Trifid Nebula (upper left side of the frame)

Lying just to the north of the large Lagoon Nebula is M20, the Trifid Nebula in the constellation Sagittarius (The Archer). The Trifid is unusual in consisting of both a red emission nebula (ionized hydrogen gas) and a fainter blue reflection nebula. It lies about 5,200 light years from our solar system.

From Wikipedia:

"The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region located in Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. Its name means 'divided into three lobes'. The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars; an emission nebula (the lower, red portion), a reflection nebula (the upper, blue portion) and a dark nebula (the apparent 'gaps' within the emission nebula that cause the trifurcated appearance; these are also designated Barnard 85). Viewed through a small telescope, the Trifid Nebula is a bright and peculiar object, and is thus a perennial favorite of amateur astronomers.

The Trifid Nebula is a star-forming region in the Scutum spiral arm of the Milky Way. The most massive star that has formed in this region is HD 164492A, an O7.5III star with a mass more than 20 times the mass of the Sun. This star is surrounded by a cluster of approximately 3100 young stars."

To the lower left of the Trifid is the open star cluster M21.

For a version of this photo WITH LABELS, click on the RIGHT side of your screen, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/50019465117

To see a wider angle view this and other adjacent nebulae, photographed in Australia in Sept. 2019, click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/49183970671

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Technical information:

Nikon D810a camera body on Tele Vue 127is (127 mm - 5" - diameter) apochromatic astrograph, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount

Twelve stacked frames; each frame:

660 mm focal length

ISO 2500; 1 minute exposure at f/5.2; unguided

With long exposure noise reduction

Subframes stacked in RegiStar;

Processed in Photoshop CS6 (levels, brightness / contrast, colour desaturation, sharpening)

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IC 63 is an emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is about 550 light-years from Earth. It is is being shaped by radiation from the nearby variable star, Gamma Cassiopeiae, which is slowly eroding away the surrounding clouds of dust and gas. The star is estimated to be 3-4 light-years from the nebula.

This image is a broadband image using an Antlia Triband RGB filter. I was pleasantly surprised by how pronounced the Ha is in this broadband image with just 45 minutes of integration time.

Date: October 29, 2025

Bortle Class 5 backyard, SF Bay Area (East Bay)

Capture: 30 x 90-sec subframes, OSC

Telescope: Celestron C9.25 SCT

Accessory: Starizona HyperStar C9.25-v4 lens

Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI 2600MC

Antlia Triband RGB Ultra, 2"

Mount: iOptron GEM45

ZWO ASIAIR Plus Control and Capture

Calibrated with Darks, Flats and Dark Flats

Processed with PixInsight, Photoshop

Manufacturer: Volkswagen AG (VAG), Wolfsburg - Germany

Type: Typ 3 Variant 1600 Luxus (L)

Production time: 1965 - 1973

Production time: 1961 - 1973 (all Typ 3's)

Production outlet: 1,202,483 (all 1500/1600 Variant models)

Production outlet: 2,583,015 (all Typ 3's / all models)

Engine: 1584cc four-cylinder boxer forced air-cooled

Power: 54 bhp / 4.000 rpm

Torque: 110 Nm / 2.200 rpm

Drivetrain: rear wheels

Speed: 135 km/h

Curb weight: 1000 kg

Wheelbase: 94.5 inch

Chassis: central tubular frame with continuous deck, rear forked subframe and monocoque body

Steering: worm & roller with hydraulic damper

Gearbox: four-speed manual / all synchronized / floor shifter

Clutch: dry plate disc

Carburettor: twin Solex PDSIT downdraft

Fuel tank: 40 liter

Electric system: 12 Volts

Ignition system: distributor and coil

Brakes front: hydraulic ATE discs

Brakes rear: hydraulic drums

Suspension front: independent lengthwise crank trailing arms, anti-roll bar connected to upper trailing links, crossed transverse round torsion spring rods + hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers

Suspension rear: double jointed CV joint trailing arms, transverse torsion bars (Variant model with additional compensating springs) + hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers

Rear axle: live swing type

Differential: spiral bevel

Wheels: 4½J x 15 safety rim wheels

Tires: 6.00 x 15 Bias 6 Ply

Options: Fichtel & Sachs Saxomat semi-automatic four speed transmission (an electromagnetic clutch with a centrifugal clutch used for idle), Bosch D-Jetronic electronic fuel injection (from 1967 ”E” models), Air Conditioning (USA)

Special:

- Typ 3 (Projekt EA 142: 1961 – 1973, introduced at the 1961 Frankfurt Motor Show) was the first "big Volkswagen" and the last series with the air-cooled boxer engines.

- It shared the Beetles gearbox, rear axle and the engine mounted in the back (into a subframe which contained the complete rear suspension) and almost half of the total production were Variants (43 %).

- Since 1966 all models became a 12 Volts electric system and were called "VW 1600", but the "1600 A" still had the old 1493cc engine with only 45 bhp/4.000 rpm.

- Typ 3 Series was available as this 3-door “Squareback”, as 2-door Notchback Sedan, as 2-door Fastback Coupé, as 3-door Delivery Sedan and as 2-door Convertible (only 12 built) in Europe. Cars built in Brasil (nicknamed “Zé do Caixão” (meaning "Coffin Joe") and Argentina could be delivered with 4 doors.

- Type 3 output continued in Clayton (Australia) until 1974 and in São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil) until 1982.

Another nice wintertime deep space object to photograph, the Rosette Nebula in Monoceros. It's advertised as 5200 light years from Earth, and the star cluster within it is estimated to be only 5 million years old. It's still just a baby!

TMB 80mm f/6.3 refractor, TV 0.8x field flattener/reducer, ASI533MC Pro, 30 120-second subframes with a dual narrow band filter. Calibrated with darks, flats, etc. Post-processed with DSS and PS.

February 3, 2025, backyard, Tallahassee, Florida. Bortle 7 suburban sky. Seeing was good though transparency was average to poor with high altitude cirrus clouds passing from west to east. Guiding was poor because I was too lazy to do a proper polar alignment.

Many people see religious imagery in clouds, reflections, toast, and rust stains on the side of buildings, among many other things. In that vein, I call this image, "Laughing Jesus." Watch out for the holy spittle! I imagine that He just tricked Satan into pulling His finger.

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Photographed outside Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, Northern Territory, Australia (440 km by road southwest of Alice Springs), long. 131.04° E., lat. 25.22° S., between 01.53 and 02.26 CAST (Central Australian Standard Time)

* Altitude of centre of frame at time of exposures: 70°

* Temperature 10° C.

* Total exposure time: 16 minutes

* 35 mm focal length wide angle lens

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Description:

The centre of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, lies in the constellation Sagittarius, in the middle of the prominent bulge of stars and nebulae in this view, made with a wide angle 35 mm lens. Numerous star clusters, dark foreground gas clouds, and pink hydrogen gas nebulae are strewn across the frame.

The centre of the Milky Way lies very low on the horizon as seen from the northern hemisphere. Astronomers travel to the south in order to see the magnificence of the Milky Way straight overhead in the months of May-August.

This is the telescope and mount that I used for my astrophotography on this trip:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/28602350028

For a version of this photo WITH LABELS, click on your screen to the RIGHT of the photo, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/42246055924

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Technical information:

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART Lens on Nikon D810a camera body, mounted on Sky-Watcher HEQ5 equatorial mount with Kirk Enterprises ball head

Sixteen stacked subframes - each frame:

ISO 2500; 1 minute exposure at f/4, 35 mm focal length, unguided (with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

Subframes stacked in RegiStar;

Processed in Photoshop CS6 (levels, brightness, contrast, colour balance)

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This is the first galaxy I have seriously put effort into. I used a Sony A7III camera mounted on a Celestron C14 EdgeHD telescope with a .7 focal reducer. I stacked 20 subframes and did some post processing in Lightroom.

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Photographed from mid-town Toronto, Canada, at 22.15 EST (Moon altitude: 53° | Sun 57° below the horizon)

* Temperature -10° C.

► I have redone this image by stacking multiple identical frames, and reprocessing with a different, more realistic colour balance. ◄

This was the first clear night in some weeks in Toronto. Yes it was very cold, but this was the day when I received my new Nikon Z7 mirrorless camera, and I just had to try it out on the Full Moon. Actually, the Moon was not yet quite full when I got the subframes from which this image was made; it would not reach its full phase for another 2 hours, 26 minutes. Also, the Moon was 5° south of the ecliptic, so we could look "over" the north limb (or edge) of the Moon's disk, and see some of the shadows inside the craters along the north (upper) limb that are apparent in this view.

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Nikon Z7 camera body on Explore Scientific 152 mm (6") apochromatic refracting telescope, mounted on Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 SynScan mount.

Best nine of twelve identical stacked frames - each frame:

● 1253 mm focal length

● ISO 100, 1/400 sec. exposure, f/8

Subframes stacked in Registax

Processed in Photoshop CS6

(cropping, field rotation, brightness, contrast, colour saturation, colour balance, sharpening)

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Celestial Beings: Heaven & Hell…

This image was taken at the end of August 2019. With a Vixen Visac and a ZWO ASI 071 ​​MC.

I didn't post it until today.

I still have some more images that I have not shared on my social networks and I hope to present them.

Telescope: Vixen Visac

CMOS: ZWO ASI 071MC

Mount: Skywatcher AZ-EQ6

60 subframes of 180"

Processed with Pixinsight and Photoshop CC2022

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Photographed from mid-town Toronto, Canada, at 18.43 EST (Moon altitude: 57° | Sun 14° below the horizon)

* Temperature 4° C.

The sky was reasonably clear, with some thin cirrus cloud, when I was able to get the ten base subframes that make up this view of the Moon high over Toronto early on this mild January evening before the heavier cloud moved in.

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Nikon D850 camera body on Explore Scientific 152 mm (6") apochromatic refracting telescope, mounted on Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 SynScan mount.

Best ten of fourteen identical stacked frames; each frame:

* ISO 100, 1/120 sec. exposure

Stacked in Registax

Processed in Photoshop CS6

(brightness, contrast, sharpening on right side of Moon)

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