Lots 'o Galaxies

 

We had a rare clear night for this time of year last evening and it may be a while before I'm able to venture to my dark sky location again.  I decided to try and make the most of it and capture as many galaxies as I could in one shot.  By my count, I got at least 9.  These are near Virgo and range in distance from about 30 million light years to 65 million light years from us on Earth.  That time scale puts them around the time the dinosaurs went extinct to a bit more recently.  I've imaged some of these independently before, but this is a pretty good collection.

Photo Details

June 9, 2023

AstroTech 65Q on CGEM II Mount

SBIG STF-8300C Camera

Skyglow filter

30 subframes at 5 minutes/frame

Total Exposure Time = 2 hours 30 minutes
Image Acquisition in CCDOps
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Messier 13 - Great Globular Cluster in Hercules

 

I first imaged M13 in 2013 and it was my first serious attempt at astrophotography.  You can see that image and post here.  Ten years later, some better equipment, a lot of new skills and it's a whole different view.  Some interesting facts about M13:
*  First observed by Edmond Halley in 1714
*  Consists of about 1 million stars
*  It's about 26,000 light years from Earth
*  It's visible without aid under dark skies with good vision

Photo Details

May 27, 2023
Celestron 7" Mak-Cas
SBIG STF-8300C Camera
10 subframes at 5 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 50 minutes

Image Acquisition in CCDOps

Image Stacking in Deep Sky Stacker
Image Processing in Photoshop

Solar Maximum Continues

 

Solar maximum continues to roar.  These were taken in early May and I shot both in H-alpha double-stacked along with a simple white light filter.  The H-alpha provides so much detail, but I also like seeing some good detail in the sunspot activity shown through the white light filter.

Photo Details

May 7, 2023
Lunt Ha 60mm double-stacked solar telescope

Orion 8" Astrograph with white light filter
ZWO ASI178MM 
SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono
Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Adjustments in ImPPG
Final Adjustments in Photoshop