Messier 27 is also known as the Dumbbell Nebula. It was the first discovery of a planetary nebula and was identified by Charles Messier in 1764, though William Herschel was the first to see the curiously stunning dumbbell shape. My favorite description was by Admiral Smyth who said, "magnificent and singular object, it is one of those splendid enigmas which are proposed by God."
This particular nebula is one of the most-studied planetary nebulae. Like all planetary nebulae, it is the remnant of a dying star. What we are seeing is shell of ionized gas given off late in its life. It is truly an awesome sight to behold!
Photo Details
Messier 27
August 25,2013
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera
58 sub frames at 30"/frame
Total Exposure Time = 29 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in Fitswork
While waiting for the Perseid meteor shower to kick into high gear, we decided to take advantage of the miraculously clear skies to shoot Messier 29. M29 was discovered by Charles Messier on July 29th, 1764. The five brightest stars of M29 are blue super giants. Some observers say that M29 looks like a smaller version of the Pleides. One of the amazing things about looking at this cluster is the star field it sits within. There are something like 600 individual stars in this photo, which makes it kind of hard to make out M29 in the middle, but it is there!
The Perseid meteor shower is an annual celestial event. It is regular in its timing and has a decent viewing window spread over a few nights. It's named after the constellation Perseus since many of the meteors seem to originate here, but the meteors actually come from the comet Swift-Tuttle. Each year, we pass through the debris cloud of this comet and are treated with a light show. The kids each invited over a friend and we had a small star party. Everyone got to see a few meteors, but we failed to catch any photographically. We made it to midnight before tiredness, incredible humidity and bugs drove us into the tents. The incredible humidity drove everyone inside soon after that!
Photo Details
Messier 29
August 11, 2013
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera
30 sub frames at 30"/frame
Total Exposure Time = 15 minutes
Image stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image processing in Fitswork
The Ring Nebula in the constellation Lyra is the second planetary nebula ever found. Planetary nebulae are the remnants of a dying star; the gassy shell of what it once was. It was discovered in 1779 by Antoine De Darquir. Although it was observed and discovered in the late 1700's, it was not until the 19th century observer William Huggins observed M57 spectroscopically that it became known as a ring of gas. Today M57 is described as an ellipisoidally-shaped nebula, which you can clearly see, if you zoom in on the image above. It has an inner and outer halo made up of luminous gases. These halos surround a very hot and compact central star which is the remaining core of a former red giant. You can make this star out as well, if you zoom in. It is believed that M57 is about 2,300 light years from Earth.
Any way you slice it, if you come upon the Ring Nebula in your eyepiece, you know you are seeing something very special. It is hauntingly beautiful and unique. For us it is a glimpse of the heavens and if they were that amazing 2,300 years ago, we can only imagine...
Photo Details
Messier 57
August 4, 2013
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
29 sub frames at 30"/frame
Total Exposure Time = 14 minutes - 30 seconds
Image stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image processing in Fitswork
