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

Stars and Mythology

I wanted to thank Mrs. Barnes and all her bright students in Language Arts during their static period for having some fun today talking about constellations and mythology!  I hope you all have a chance this weekend to get outside and look up at the stars.  For those interested, the computer program I was using today is free and can be installed on any computer or device (iPhone, kindle, etc.).  Just search for "Stellarium" and have fun discovering the night sky.
Clear skies!

Comet Lovejoy

A near naked eye comet is currently arcing high overhead.  If you are in a dark location and know where to look, you will definitely see comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2).  On January 7, was about halfway between the Sun and Earth.  It orbits the sun about every 8,000 to 11,000 years, so be sure and get a look if you can!  This is my first comet to photograph and it was interesting to track the comet rather than the background stars.  You can see some blurring of the background stars since the comet is much closer and on the move!

Photo Details
January 16, 2015
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider tracking the comet
10 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 30 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Eastern Veil Nebula (NGC 6992)

The counterpart to the Western Veil Nebula, posted below, is the Eastern Veil Nebula (above).  While the other resembles a witch's broom, I feel like this one looks a bit like the claw of some otherworldly creature.  Taken together, they are simply magnificent.

Photo Details
October 24, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
39 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 1 hour 57 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Western Veil Nebula (NGC 6960)

High in the sky at this time of year is the constellation Cygnus - the Swan.  Lying within Cygnus is the gorgeous Veil Nebula that is so large it has been broken into Western and Eastern components.  The picture above constitutes most of the Western Veil (NGC 6960).   What we see is a cloud of ionized and superheated gas that is left over from a star that went supernova (stellar explosion) around 5,000 to 8,000 years ago.  It's easy to see why some refer to this as the Witch's Broom nebula and if you look closely, you can see a lot of structure that resembles filaments of light that even appear to be intertwined.  It's amazing to see the resemblance of this structure to that of DNA.  

Photo Details
September 22, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
35 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 1 hour 45 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Messier 23, 25 & 26

Messier 23

Messier 25

Messier 26

The close proximity of these three objects in the night sky, located in the heart of the Milky Way in the constellation Sagittarius, enabled Messier to observe them for the first time in a single night (June 20, 1764).  It took me a bit longer to photograph them over the course of two nights last week.  The objects themselves are simply overwhelmed by the glorious backdrop of thousands of stars.  It's remarkable that Messier was able to discern these clusters given the rest of the view!  At first glance, they look quite similar.  But, if you focus your attention toward the center of each, you will see distinctly different clusters.  I find it simply amazing that there really are no complete duplicates of anything in the universe.  Each creation has its own distinct characteristics though governed by the same basic laws of physics.

Messier 23
August 26, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
19 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 57 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Messier 25
August 27, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
22 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 1 hour 6 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Messier 26
August 26, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
13 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 39 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Messier 17 and 11

Messier 17 - Omega or Swan Nebula

Messier 11 - Wild Duck Cluster

The constellation Sagittarius is brimming with beautiful sights in the heart of the Milky Way.  Messier 17 and 11, pictured above, are gorgeously set in incredibly dense star fields.  Messier 17, known as the Omega or Swan Nebula, is an active star forming region first observed by a Swiss observer in 1745 or 1746.  Charles Messier did not observe M17 until much later in 1764.  The Swan is much easier to recognize than the Omega, though Omega is the much more popular name.

Messier 11, the Wild Duck Cluster, was discovered much earlier in 1681 by a German astronomer and is known today as one of the most compact and richest galactic star clusters.  The description written by Admiral Smyth gives this cluster its modern name, "This object, which somewhat resembles a flight of wild ducks in shape, is a gathering of minute stars..."  I don't necessarily see the ducks, but it is a great name!

Messier 17 - Omega or Swan Nebula
August 16, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
24 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 1 hour 12 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Messier 11 - Wild Duck Cluster
August 15, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
21 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 1 hour 3 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Messier 20 (Trifid Nebula) and Messier 21

I recently posted that Messier 8 with the Lagoon Nebula was my favorite summertime sight.  Well, I have another to add to the list.  Messier 20, otherwise known as the Trifid Nebula, is another stunning sight.  It's hard to tell exactly how "Trifid" was decided upon.  You can clearly see the two distinctly colored regions.  The reddish colored portion is an H-II region glowing in red hydrogen-alpha light while the bluish area is a reflection nebula.  As the name implies, it is literally clouds of interstellar dust that are reflecting the light.  So, if you count these two regions, perhaps it should be called the Bifid nebula?  Another approach is to look closely at the reddish portion as it appears to be divided into parts by dark, dusky lanes.  However, it appears to be divided into four.  So, should it be then called the Quadfid nebula?  Perhaps "Trifid" just had a nice ring to it and the name stuck.  This nebula, by galactic standards, is fairly young at under 400,000 years and, like many other nebulae, is an active star forming region.

The other main object in the photo, aside from the 5000+ stars, is Messier 21.  This one also suffers from its location relative to the much more spectacular M20.  It's in the upper left quadrant of the photo and resembles a diamond ring.  Can you spot it?

Messier 20 (Trifid Nebula) & Messier 21
August 14-15, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
35 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 1 hour 45 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

First Star Night

I wanted to thank everyone who joined us for our first Grove Hill star night!  It was great to meet everyone and share the beautiful (but muggy) night sky. We hope to make it a somewhat regular occurrence, perhaps as much as once a month.  If you are interested in getting some more advanced warning than just the signs that were posted outside, you can email me directly at timmastro@charter.net or use the form below in the sidebar to email me and I will start a little list.  I have no commercial interest at all with this so don't worry about me sharing your email with anyone else.  You can also just check back to this blog and I will try and update if the weather is looking good for another star night.  In any case, I hope you enjoyed it and will come back to see more!
Clear skies!

M8 and M14

Messier 8 with the Lagoon Nebula

Messier 14

I officially have a new favorite summertime Messier object.  Just as the Orion Nebula (M42) rules the winter sky, so does Messier 8 with the Lagoon Nebula, located in Sagittarius.  This stunning sight is a young stellar cluster where stars are actively forming.  Messier 8 is the bright cluster of stars within the emission nebula.  The nebula was given the name "Lagoon" due to dark, dusky lane running through its center.  You might also notice numerous dark areas scattered through the nebula.  These so-called "dark nebula" are interstellar clouds that are so dense they obscure the light from the emission nebula.  Another gem in this nebula is the extremely bright hourglass shaped nebula to the right side of the lagoon.  Can you spot it?  One final note on M8.  As I was processing the image through my stacking software, I was noticing the star count reported during the stacking process.  Nearly 3,500 individual stars are within this photo.  Stunning.

The second photo is Messier 14 which suffers from having been taken on the same night as M8 and listed here with it.  Though seemingly far less impressive, it contains approximately 1.2 million solar masses and is a beautiful sight in its own right.

Photo Details

Messier 8 with the Lagoon Nebula
July 29, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
19 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 1 hour 57 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Messier 14
July 29, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
8 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 24 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

M-92 - Globular Cluster

Messier 92 is one of the few celestial objects that looks as good through the eyepiece as it does photographed.  This is one of my summertime favorites as it is high in the sky, in Hercules, in July.  Many compare it to the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules (M13), though this cluster is much smaller and less appreciated.  Despite that, it does contain about 400,000 solar masses and is believed to be nearly as old as the universe itself.  It also has an eccentric orbit around the galactic core and it's expected that in about 14,000 years it will lie within one degree of the celestial north pole.  

Photo Details
July 16, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
11 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 33 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

M89, M90 (Spiral Galaxy) and IC 3606

We had a beautiful night at the Test Track to capture this image.  Unfortunately, we did have some high clouds that seemed to have caused a bit of streaking.  Despite that, I was pretty happy overall with the image.  It represented my longest continuous run to date at nearly 4 total hours of exposure time.  We also had a lot of fun looking for and seeing a few meteors as we got deeper into the night.

The main event in the photo is Messier 90 which is a face-on spiral galaxy somewhere between 30 and 65 million light years from us.  I love the well-defined structure of the arms swirling about the bright core.  Astronomers have determined about 2 new stars are born in the core every year, so it's a stellar nursery of sorts.

The second largest, and much less dramatic, object in the image is another galaxy, M89.  Clearly outdone by the grand spiral design of its neighbor, this seemingly inconspicuous galaxy is 74,000 light years in diameter and hosts a super massive central object of a thousand million solar masses, which is probably a black hole.


The third largest object, I believe, is IC 3606.  This is yet another galaxy found the galaxy-rich constellation of Virgo.

Photo Details
May 23, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
78 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 3 hours 54 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

M104-Sombrero Galaxy

The name of this galaxy speaks for itself and I find the most remarkable feature is the well-defined dark dust lane that bisects the galaxy.  Astronomers report that these dust particles, many of which are micron in size, comprise an estimated mass of at least 10 million suns.  Another amazing feature of this galaxy is the massive black hole at its center which contains an estimated thousand million solar masses.

Photo Details
May 18-19, 21, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
82 sub-frames at 1.5 minutes/frame
21 sub-frames at 3.0 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 3 hours 7 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy

This massive galaxy is known as a textbook grand-design spiral. About 24 million light years away from us, it is nearly twice the size of our own Milky Way galaxy.  If you look closely at the image, you may see numerous bluish clusters and red HIII regions along the arms.  Though faint, astronomers estimate some of these knots hold 10 million suns.  Staggering and amazing to think that the light from this galaxy began its journey here as the Earth was beginning to enter a series of ice ages and the great apes were spreading across the old world.

Photo Details
May 3-4, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
100 sub-frames at 1.5 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 2 hours 30 minutes
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop
Note:  This was the first image taken over multiple nights.  

M44 - The Beehive

I was able to enjoy the absolute rarest of celestial alignments on April 16, 2014.  I received a new piece of equipment and on the very same day had clear skies to try it out.  This only happens maybe once or twice in a lifetime.  I was able to image the Beehive Cluster in Praesepe, otherwise known as Messier 44.  This magnificent cluster of stars has been known since classical times.  The first recorded view through a telescope was made by Galileo himself in 1609 who remarked, "The so-called nebula is not a single star but consists of a mass of more than 40 stars."  Today, astronomers estimate there are about 200 stars belonging to this cluster.  My favorites are the clusters of three that look a bit like bees buzzing through the cosmos.

Photo Details
April 16, 2014
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera - ISO 1600
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
Autoguider
27 sub-frames at 1.5 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 40 mins 30 seconds
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

Opposition of Mars

Tonight was the opposition of Mars, an event that only happens every two years when the sun, Earth and Mars form a straight line.  We also are closer to Mars tonight than we've been in the last 6 1/2 years, approximately 57 million miles.  As I was eagerly awaiting this event over the past few days, I was getting pretty dispirited about the weather forecast; cloudy with rain.  Jen encouraged me not to give up, despite the heavy cloud cover this evening.  So, I set up the 12" Dob on the deck and the clouds miraculously parted just as Mars cleared the tree line in my line of sight. Jen's hyper-vigilance once again influenced natural events. The radar image below shows I had a perfectly placed small window to see this event.  Amazing!  I've been doing so much astrophotography lately, I had forgotten the pure joy of looking through the eyepiece. I have never seen Mars look so stunning. A deep reddish hue fading into the polar ice cap. Stunning.  I was gifted with about 40 minutes of good seeing before the clouds reclaimed the sky.  Fleeting but fantastic.