Messier 41

On the same night I visited the Orion Nebula (below), I also took advantage of the clear skies to target Messier 41.  The loose arrangement of stars in the foreground is a naked eye collection that may be one of the oldest documented deep sky objects.  Aristotle made reference in 325 B.C. to a "tail" near one of the stars in the Dog.  Some modern astronomers believe he was referencing this collection as it resides in Canis Major (the Great Dog).  See if you can find it yourself.  First, go outside and find Canis Major.  You will find this trusty hunting dog following Orion as he hunts.  Look to the east and south of Orion to find the brightest star in the sky (Sirius) which is the eye of Canis Major.  Look just a little bit down (mostly south) from Sirius to see if you can see this cluster.

Photo Details
February 19, 2015
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
40 sub-frames at 1.5 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 1 hour
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Orion Nebula Revisited

Orion Nebula - 2/19/2015

Orion Nebula - 11/27/2013

After some time away from photographing the Orion Nebula, I decided to revisit a few nights ago.  What a difference a couple years of study, improved patience and equipment improvements will make!  The top image is the recent photo, while the lower was taken in November of 2013 for comparison.  Key differences with the new photo include more exposure time, using the full array of assorted frames (light, dark, flat, dark flat and bias), better understanding of post-processing, a more effective coma corrector and sky glow filter.  I also did a better job of framing the Orion Nebula and its neighbor, the Running Man.  This one is going on the wall!

Photo Details
February 19, 2015
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
61 sub-frames at 1.5 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 1 hour 31.5 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

California Nebula (NGC 1499)

The California Nebula (NGC 1499) now holds the record for the largest deep space object I've photographed.  This sprawling emission nebula is lit up by the by star in the lower center of the picture.  The nebula is so large that only about half of it is captured in this photo, the rest extends up and to the right and down and to the left.  Though appearing quite bright in this photo, at the eyepiece and in raw images there really isn't much to see.  It definitely requires a series of long exposures and some careful post processing to tease out the faint nebula structure.  

Photo Details
February 11, 2015
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
45 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 2 hours 15 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Cave Nebula (Caldwell 9)

Another nebula I photographed over the holidays, but just now had a chance to process, was the Cave Nebula (C9).  This sprawling nebula complex contains emission, reflection and dark nebula.  The stars in this region are relatively young, some less than 100,000 years.    

Photo Details
December 11, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
58 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 2 hours 54 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146)

The aptly named cocoon nebula lies in the constellation Cyngus.  It is both an emission nebula (gives off its own light as ionized gas) and reflection nebula (reflects light from other stars).  There is also a dark nebula trailing behind the cocoon, arcing up and to the right. To me the overall effect is simply stunning as the cocoon appears to have burrowed deep within this incredibly dense star field to await its metamorphosis.  

Photo Details
November 19, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
76 sub-frames at 2.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 2 hours 32 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop