Thor's Helmet (in Explore 14 March 2021)
Thor's Helmet NGC 2359
This is another one of my first images taken with my new astro camera. The object, in the constellation Canis Major, is a hydrogen emission nebula named after the Norse God due to it's resemblance to his Helmet. It lies around 15,000 light years from Earth and at it's centre is a highly luminous Wolf Rayet class star.
Technical card:
iOptron CEM70 guided and dithered with PHD2
ASI533MC-Pro at -15°C, gain 101, offset 10
Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II lens
Optolong L-eXtreme filter
1 hour 55 mins (300s subs) lights
No darks, flats or flat darks
Captured with APT
Processed with DSS and Photoshop + Topaz Denoise
Monkey Head Nebula
Monkey Head Nebula NGC 2174/2175
This is my first image with my new dedicated cooled Astro camera, a ZWO ASI533MC-Pro.
The Monkey Head Nebula, NGC 2174, is a Hydrogen Alpha emission nebula in the constellation Orion and contains the open star cluster NGC 2175 near it's centre. It is approximately 6400 light years from Earth.
Acquisition and processing details:
iOptron CEM70 guided and dithered with PHD2
ASI533MC-Pro at -10°C, gain 101, offset 20
Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II lens
Optolong L-eXtreme filter
5 hours 25 mins (300s subs) lights
No darks, flats or flat darks
Captured with APT
Processed with DSS and Photoshop + Topaz Denoise
Triangulum Galaxy (M33)
Triangulum Galaxy M33
The Triangulum Galaxy is the third largest of the local group of galaxies including ourselves, the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy and lies 2.73 million light years from Earth. This was taken over two nights in early January.
Technical stuff:
Bortle 4 skies
Canon EF 600mm f4 + 7D II on iOptron CEM70
Primaluce 60mm Guidescope + ASI290MC
Optolong L-Pro filter
4 hours of 10 min subs
Stacked in DSS
Processed with Photoshop & Topaz Denoise
Alnitak, the Horsehead and Flame nebulae (in Explore 21 Feb 2021)
My latest and probably most pleasing astro image so far taken from my backyard.
Alnitak is the eastern most star of Orion's belt and is surrounded by clouds of dust and star forming regions including the famous Horsehead Nebula (B33), the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) and NGC 2023.
Technical stuff:
iOptron CEM70 (guided)
Canon 7D Mark II (ISO 1600) with Optolong L-Pro filter
Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II + 1.4x Teleconverter
FL 840mm, f5.6, fov 1.52°×1.01°, 1.00" per pixel
Captured with APT + PHD2 (dithered every frame)
2 hours of 5 min lights stacked in DSS (no darks, 30 flats/bias)
Processed in Photoshop + Topaz Denoise
Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula can be seen with the naked eye in dark skies and is located in the belt of the Orion constellation.
This image actually consists of several catalogued objects including:
M42 the Great Orion Nebula
M43/NGC 1982 de Mairan's Nebula
NGC 1977 the Running Man Nebula
The Trapezium cluster
Technical stuff:
iOptron CEM70 mount
Canon 7D Mark II (ISO1600) + Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II (f4)
Optolong L-Pro filter
Primaluce 60mm guidescope + ZWO ASI290MC
Capture software: APT + PHD2
25 mins of 2 minute exposures + 20 10 second exposures (blended in PS)
Stacked in DSS
Processed in Photoshop + Topaz Denoise
The Pleiades
The Pleiades taken this week during a surprise and brief period of dark skies and no clouds.
The Pleiades or Seven Sisters, catalogued as Messier 45, is an open star cluster of middle-aged hot blue B-class stars in the constellation Taurus, approximately 444 light years from Earth. The glowing blue nebulosity is thought to be an interstellar dust cloud, illuminated by the stars.
Rosette Nebula (In explore 31 Jan 2021)
My first post for a long time, the reason being I've been learning astrophotography and setting up my new gear to take images of the cosmos.
This is the Rosette Cluster and Nebula, NGC2239/NGC2244/C50 and NGC2237/C49 in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way.
The capture details are:
iOptron CEM70 mount
Canon 7D Mark II (ISO1600) + Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II (f4)
Optolong L-Pro filter
Primaluce 60mm guidescope + ZWO ASI290MC
Capture software: APT + PHD2
1 hour 12 mins total integration (5 min guided subs)
Stacked in DSS (15 lights, 12 darks, 64 flats/64 dark flats)
Processed in Photoshop + Topaz Denoise
Southern Hawker (Explored 22 September 2020)
I always have a resident Southern Hawker around my pond this time of year and 2020 is no exception. I was happy to be able to capture this male in flight a couple of weeks ago.
Common Blue ♂️
A male Common Blue butterfly roosting on a Bird's Foot Trefoil flower in my local meadow
Jay
Lovely to see this Jay in my garden last week
Marbled White (Explored 24 July 2020)
I went back for a second visit to the Marbled Whites, early morning, to catch some open winged shots. They were already quite active but I managed a few shots of them sunning themselves.
Chaffinch (juvenile)
One of several young Chaffinches in my garden recently. This one looks like a male as it's starting to develop the chest colouration
Small Copper
Taken in a local meadow
Marbled White (male)
A male Marbled White from my recent shoot in my local meadow, resting on a Heath Spotted Orchid.
PS. spot the Crab Spider!!
Marbled White (female)
A solitary female Marbled White butterfly, resting on a Heath Spotted Orchid, from the shoot at my local meadow last week.
Marbled Whites (Explored 5 July 2020)
A pair of Marbled White butterflies roosting on a Heath Spotted Orchid in a local meadow.
Great Spotted Woodpecker (juvenile)
Another shot of one of the juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers in my garden recently.
Goldfinches
Another flight shot of one of the juvenile Goldfinches in my garden recently with an adult flying through as an added bonus.
Greenfinch (juvenile)
Another juvenile in my garden recently.
Great Spotted Woodpecker (juvenile)
The Woodpeckers have been conspicuous by their absence over the last few weeks but this weekend two juveniles and a male adult appeared. This youngster showed well for me, allowing me to capture lots of shots, this being my favourite.
Blue Tit (juvenile)
A juvenile Blue Tit in my garden
Goldfinch (juvenile)
There are good numbers of juveniles of varying species in my garden at the moment including this Goldfinch flying around.
Stonechat (male)
A second shot of the male Stonechat out on the Moors last week.
Stonechat (male)
A male Stonechat out on the Moors this week.
Meadow Brown
These butterflies emerged especially early this year in the lovely warm Spring weather. This one posed nicely on an Osteospermum for me.
Common Blue ♀️
A female Common Blue butterfly resting on a Sorrel flower spike in my local meadow.
Green Hairstreak
I was delighted to find these in my local woods for the first time this year. They're not so easy to spot so I decided to attempt to photograph them early afternoon while they were still on the wing. Luckily this one landed and sat up nicely for me.
Large Skipper (Explored 4 June 2020)
A Large Skipper resting on Bracken in my local woods
Common Blue ♀️
A female Common Blue open wing to complete the set.
Common Blue ♂️
Another of the Common Blues in my local meadow, a male looking a little worse for wear now.
Common Blue ♂️
A male Common Blue from the same location as my previous female. A small colony but close to home.
Common Blue ♀️ (Explored 19 May 2020)
I found a small colony of Common Blues in a meadow just 2 minutes from my house over the weekend and spent a happy hour and a half photographing them. This first shot is a female, the only one I could find, the remainder being all males.
Broad-bodied Chaser ♂️
Another shot of the male Broad-bodied Chaser on my garden pond.
Broad-bodied Chaser ♂️
A lovely mature male Broad-bodied Chaser settled around my garden pond for a few hours, posing nicely for me. The Smoke Bush provided the background for this shot.
Large Red Damselfly ♂️
Nice to see some action on my garden pond over the last couple of weeks including a few Large Red Damselflies.
Green-veined White revisited
The same Butterfly as my previous post but from the other side and a wider view.
Green-veined White
I was lucky to find this Green-veined White roosting on a Bluebell in the woods on my daily walk this week.
Orange Tip ♀️ (Explored 30 April 2020)
After several weeks of very warm weather and active Orange Tips I finally found a female roosting on a Bluebell in my garden.
Coal Tit
Another welcome visitor to my garden during lockdown. I hadn't seen much of them recently, hopefully raising a brood somewhere nearby.
Orange Tip ♂️
The Orange Tips have been around in my garden for a while now but this is the only one I've seen land, fortunately I had the camera at the ready, extender and all!!
Wren
This little fella has been visiting my garden regularly over the lockdown period so plenty of photo opportunities. This is my favourite shot so far.
Have a good weekend and stay safe and well.
Bullfinch ♂️
One of the 2 male Bullfinches frequenting my garden at the moment. A female was appearing too so hopefully some offspring will be on their way.
Speckled Wood
Another garden Butterfly to add to my list of species this Spring. So far I've seen Holly Blues, Orange Tips, Small and Large Whites, Peacock, Brimstone, Red Admiral and several of these Speckled Woods.
This one is nectaring on a flowering Skimmia Japonica.
Wren
A regular visitor to my garden over the past couple of weeks, hopefully get some youngsters to photograph in the coming weeks.
Holly Blue ♂️
A second shot of one of the male Holly Blues in my garden. Still waiting to find a female.
Holly Blue ♂️ (Explored 13 April 2020)
I believe this is a male Holly Blue Butterfly in my garden today, one of 2. I managed a record shot with the wings partially open and showing the thinner dark wingtips characteristic of the male. Hopefully a female will show up too.
Robin
Having built myself a feeding table for the garden I’m quite pleased with the results so far. First up the obligatory Robin.
Greenfinch ♂️
A rather handsome cock Greenfinch from my garden vigil this week. I've built a new bird table to get some different shots other than bird-on-a-stick so watch this space.
Chaffinch ♀️ (Explored 1 April 2020)
Here's a female Chaffy to go with the male I posted previously. Lots of Finches in my garden at present.
Chaffinch ♂️
Lots of Finches around the garden this week including this handsome cock Chaffy. More shots to come soon.
Andy,Had a look at your web,some cracking images,love the layout of your web,clean and easy to navigate,did you design it yourself?
John
Hi John,
Many apologies for the delayed reply, don’t check my website as often as I should. Thanks for taking the time to have a look and leave a comment. Yes I did design the layout, it’s a WordPress theme using Nextgen Gallery for the images, really glad you like it, it’s nice to get some feedback. I must admit it’s due for an overhaul and would like to include a marketplace for selling prints (work in progress).
Thanks again and see you back on Flickr, Andy