IC 434 - Horsehead Nebula & NGC 2024 Flame Nebula

This image is my new personal favorite.  The names speak for themselves, though the names can't hope to capture the majesty of this scene.  As Dr. Ellie Arroway once said, "They should have sent a poet."

The Flame Nebula is being fueled by the intense star above it, Alnitak, an is an active star forming region.  The Horsehead is known as a dark nebula and what we see is actually a swirling cloud of dust and gases that contrast stunningly with the backdrop of ionized hydrogen gas behind it.  

IC 434 (Soul Nebula) & NGC 2024 (Flame Nebula)
Photo Details

February 11, 2016

Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount

SBIG STF-8300C Camera

Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector

Skyglow filter

43 subframes at 3 minutes/frame

Total Exposure Time = 1 hour 54 minutes
Image Acquisition in CCDOps
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

IC 1848 - Soul Nebula

The soul nebula is an absolutely massive emission nebula that is an active star forming region.  It covers an area of sky equivalent to four full moons, but is so faint that it is very difficult to see through a telescope.  The image above was taken over a couple of nights with 5 hours of total exposure time and yet it still is somewhat elusive.  There is another nearby nebula, the Heart, which I hope to capture soon so I can put the Heart and Soul together.  Stay tuned!

IC 1848 Soul Nebula - Photo Details

January 30 & February 5, 2016

Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount

SBIG STF-8300C Camera

Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector

Skyglow filter

100 subframes at 3 minutes/frame

Total Exposure Time = 5 hours (new record!)
Image Acquisition in CCDOps
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

NGC 891

This beautiful edge-on unbarred spiral galaxy is about how our own Milky Way would look from an edge-on perspective.  Curiously, if there was an observer looking at our galaxy from this one, they wouldn't be able to see us since that dark dusky lane that runs down the long axis would block light coming from us.  

NGC 891 - Photo Details

January 29, 2016

Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount

SBIG STF-8300C Camera

Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector

Skyglow filter

59 subframes at 3 minutes/frame

Total Exposure Time = 2 hours 57 Minutes
Image Acquisition in CCDOps
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop