The Iris and the Ghost (in Explore 24 Dec 2023)
The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023) and the Ghost Nebula (SH2-136) in the constellation Cepheus are reflection nebulae shrouded in dark, molecular dust.
Capture details and info on Astrobin: astrob.in/xfcobc/0/
SH2-119 (in Explore 3 Sept 2023)
My first image for some time due to problems with my mount in February, which has since been repaired (new control boards) and also the lack of darkness over the summer here in the UK.
SH2-119, sometimes called the Clamshell Nebula, is a close neighbour of the North America Nebula and Cygnus wall but not often imaged. Processed as SHO with channel and colour balance achieved using Bill Blanshan’s new NarrowBandNormalisation script in PI which makes the job of matching channels so much easier.
Capture details on Astrobin: astrob.in/zi4xky/E/
California Nebula (NGC 1499) (in Explore 24 Dec 2022)
This is an emission nebula in the Orion spiral arm of the Milky Way and is one of the nearest of these regions to our Solar System. The image is presented in false colour (SHO) using Hydrogen Alpha, Oxygen III and Sulphur II narrowband filters.
Techie stuff:
SHO Hubble palette
6h 55′ integration (2 panel mosaic)
Takahashi FSQ-85EDX
iOptron CEM70
ZWO ASI294mm-Pro
ZWO EFW with Antlia 3nm narrowband filters
ZWO EAF
APT, APP, Photoshop
More details on Astrobin: astrob.in/ki6ln6/E/
The Elephant’s Trunk (in Explore 19 November 2022)
The Elephant’s Trunk nebula (IC 1396) in the constellation Cepheus. This is a large are of gas and star forming regions approximately 2400 light years away. This version is presented in a modified HOO colour palette in which Hydrogen Alpha emissions are mapped to Red and Oxygen III emissions to Blue & Green. Taken during the night of October 10 with around 7 hours of data.
Nebulae in Cassiopeia
My latest astro image, an interesting region of the sky in the constellation Cassiopeia, this includes the Lobster Claw Nebula, The Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635), the open cluster M52 and the Northern Lagoon Nebula (NGC 7538)
More details on Astrobin astrob.in/dkl14p/E/
The Heart Nebula (IC 1805) (in Explore 24 Oct 2022)
IC1805 is a large emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia, some 7500 light years from Earth.
The image is a combination of Sulphur II, Hydrogen Alpha and Oxygen III emissions with each band mapped to R,G and B respectively to produce a false colour image from a total of 12 hours of individual frames.
Full details on Astrobin: astrob.in/0cdm6m/H/
NGC 7822 & Cederblad 214 (in Explore 17 July 2022)
Imaged over 6 separate nights in January and February 2022, this large area of nebulosity lies within the constellation Cepheus. The image consists of two separate panels, stitched together as a mosaic. For full capture details look at the version on Astrobin: astrob.in/fhosoy/0/
Horsehead Nebula (in Explore 30 April 2022)
The famous Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion, taken back in March.
For more information please see my Astrobin: astrob.in/fw4yw0/I/
The Great Orion Nebula and friends (in Explore 10 April 2022)
The nebulae, in the sword of Orion, are the brightest in the northern skies and include the Orion Nebula itself (M42), de Mairan’s Nebula (M43) and the Running Man Nebula (NGC 1977). They are 1500 light years away and are visible to the naked eye.
NGC 1333 (Embryo nebula) (in Explore 7 March 2022)
My latest project which has taken over a month to complete with data from 5 separate nights, totalling 12h 35′ of LRGB.
The giant molecular cloud complex, surrounding the reflection nebula NGC 1333, in this region of Perseus, lies approximately 1000 light years away and contains more than 10,000 solar masses of gas and dust. There are also several designated LBN, LDN and Vdb objects in this region which covers an area of 6º by 2º in total.
This was tough to process but I hope I’ve done it justice.
The Cone & Fox Fur Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster
This region of the Milky Way, in the constellation of Monoceros, is full of interest, including the Cone and Fox Fur Nebulae and the Christmas Tree Cluster designated as NGC 2264. In this field of view, Barnard’s Variable Nebula, NGC 2261 and the open cluster NGC 2259, are also visible in the frame.
Processed in narrowband in my version of the SHO Hubble palette. I had no time to capture the stars as RGB so they have uncorrected colours from the narrowband data.
Rosette Nebula (in Explore 14 Feb 2022)
The beautiful Rosette or Skull Nebula in the constellation Monoceros, lying 5219 light years away and 65 light years across.
Captured with my ZWO mono camera with Ha, OIII and SII filters with about 4 hours of integration time for each filter. Processed in the SHO (Hubble) palette.
Flaming Star and The Tadpoles (in Explore 23 Jan 2022)
The Flaming Star and the Tadpoles
The Flaming Star Nebula (IC405) and the Tadpoles Nebula (IC410) are two neighbouring emission nebulae in the constellation Auriga. The former is 1500 light years away and the latter is 12000.
My first target for 2022 during a clear spell of 4 nights. 7h 30′ of narrowband data with my ASI294MM-Pro on the Takahashi FSQ-85EDX Baby-Q with 0.73x reducer. I wasn’t expecting to get anywhere near this with the bright Moon but my dark (Bortle 4) skies definitely help.
I processed this as a modifed SHO Hubble palette in APP and Photoshop with StarXTerminator to separate the stars and Topaz Denoise AI for noise reduction.
More details on Astrobin: astrob.in/vc2q85/0/
Lion Nebula SH2-132 (in Explore 13 December 2021)
Lion Nebula – Sharpless 132
The Lion Nebula, catalogued as Sharpless 132, in the constellation Cepheus, is a faint emission nebula around 10,000 ly away. It contains two ionizing Wolf Rayet stars and two dark nebulae (LDN 1150 & 1154).
My latest astro project and my first attempt at mono with my ASI294mm-Pro. Processing was done with AstroPixelProcessor and Photoshop with StarXTerminator. A total of 17h 10′ of exposure time with Ha, OIII and SII 7nm ZWO filters. The colours are false using a SHO palette which maps the SII signal to red, Ha signal to green and OIII signal to blue and the colours then changed in Photoshop.
More details and full resolution on Astrobin: astrob.in/yghdzf/E/
Pacman Nebula (NGC 281)
This bright emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia is 9,459 light years away and is named because of it’s similarity to the famous video game character.
Also on Astrobin: astrob.in/4sorxj/D/
Technical details:
Imaging telescope: Takahashi FSQ-85EDX Baby-Q
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI533MC-Pro
Mounts: iOptron CEM70
Guiding telescope: Primaluce 60mm Guidescope
Guiding cameras: ZWO Optical ASI290MC
Focal reducers: Takahashi Flattener 1.01x for FSQ-85EDX
Software: StarXterminator · Aries Productions Astropixel Processor · openphdguiding.org PHD2 v2.6.10 · Incanus Ltd. Astro Photography Tool · Adobe Photoshop v22.5
Filters: Optolong L-eXtreme 1.25″
Accessory: ZWO EAF 5V Electronic Auto Focuser
Dates:Sept. 19, 2021 , Sept. 20, 2021
Frames:Optolong L-eXtreme 1.25″: 124×300″ (10h 20′) (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1×1
Integration: 10h 20′
Darks: 30
Flats: 50
Flat darks: 50
Bias: 50
Cygnus Wall (in Explore 31 October 2021)
The Cygnus Wall is the central part of the North America Nebula (NGC 7000) in the constellation Cygnus. It lies approximately 2202 light years away.
Gear and capture details:
Imaging telescope: Takahashi FSQ-85EDX Baby-Q
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI533MC-Pro
Mount: iOptron CEM70
Guiding telescope: Primaluce 60mm Guidescope
Guiding camera: ZWO Optical ASI290MC
Focal reducer: Takahashi Flattener 1.01x for FSQ-85EDX
Software: Adobe Photoshop v23 · Aries Productions Astropixel Processor · openphdguiding.org PHD2 v2.6.10 · RC Astro StarXterminator · Incanus Ltd. Astro Photography Tool
Filters: Optolong L-eXtreme 1.25″
Accessory: ZWO 8x 1.25″ EFW · ZWO EAF 5V Electronic Auto Focuser
Dates:Oct. 12, 2021 , Oct. 16, 2021
Frames:Optolong L-eXtreme 1.25″: 39×300″ (3h 15′) (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1×1
Integration: 3h 15′
Darks: 30
Flats: 50
Bias: 50
astrob.in/zkc087/0/
Eastern Veil Nebula (in Explore 19 September 2021)
Eastern Veil Nebula (C33)
I’ve recently upgraded my astro setup with a new scope (Takahashi FSQ-85EDX Baby Q) and also had several clear nights to try it out (amazing as new gear normally comes with clouds). I’ve also been learning AstroPixelProcessor for stacking and processing which has made a big difference to the final results.
The Eastern Veil nebula (designated parts IC1340, NGC6992 and NGC6995) is part of the larger Cygnus loop – a supernova remnant about 1500 light years away in the Cygnus (Swan) constellation and is 5000-8000 years old. The total size of the nebula is about 3 times the width of the full moon.
Technical card:
Imaging telescope: Takahashi FSQ-85EDX Baby-Q
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI533MC-Pro
Mount: iOptron CEM70
Guiding telescope: Primaluce 60mm Guidescope
Guiding camera: ZWO Optical ASI290MC
Focal reducer: Takahashi Flattener 1.01x for FSQ-85EDX
Software: Aries Productions Astropixel Processor · Adobe Photoshop v22.5 · PHD2 v2.6.10 · Icanus Ltd APT 3.88.3
Filters: Optolong L-eXtreme 1.25″
Accessory: ZWO EAF 5V Electronic Auto Focuser
Dates:Aug. 28, 2021 , Aug. 29, 2021
Frames:Optolong L-eXtreme 1.25″: 111×300″ (9h 15′) (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1×1
Integration: 9h 15′
Avg. Moon age: 20.99 days
Avg. Moon phase: 62.16%
Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 4.00
astrob.in/ih54vz/C/
IC410 (in Explore 25 April 2021)
The Tadpoles
A dusty emission nebula in Auriga, approximately 12,000 light years from Earth.
Technical card:
Captured 6 March 2021
Bortle 4
iOptron CEM70 guided and dithered with PHD2
ASI533MC-Pro at -15°C, gain 101, offset 15
Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II lens
Optolong L-eXtreme filter
3 hours 10 mins, 19×600″ lights
No darks, flats and flat darks
Captured with APT
Stacked and processed with DSS and Photoshop
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
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
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.
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
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
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
The Boogeyman Nebula (LDN1622) (In Explore 14 Jan 2024)
This area in the well known constellation of Orion consists of dark dust and Hydrogen emissions, including a small part of Barnard’s Loop which surrounds the familiar stars of Orion.
For more details have a look on Astrobin: astrob.in/p1id2c/E/
The Dark Shark (In Explore 4 Feb 2024)
An interesting part of the northern sky, in the constellation Cepheus, with clouds of dark dust, LDN 1235, making the easily recognisable Shark, two reflection nebulae (vdB 149 and vdB 150) and a couple of distant galaxies, one of them (PGC 67671) near the centre of the field is some 55 million light years distant. This has been captured over several nights in January 2024 as a side project to complete the night after my other targets in Orion have got too low.
Capture details and hires on Astrobin: astrob.in/qh8hus/0/
The Angel Nebula (in Explore 26 Feb 2024)
This region of the sky, in the constellation Monoceros, contains many different types of objects including Reflection nebulae (NGC2170), Hydrogen Alpha Emission nebulae (LBN999) and lots of surrounding molecular dust clouds. It is low in the sky from my latitude so more difficult to capture clean data and I also battled with intermittent clouds and a large number of satellite trails.
Takahashi FSQ-85EDX with 1.01x Flattener
Altair Astro Hypercam 26C
iOptron CEM70
16 hours of RGB data captured with APT
Processed using AstroPixelProcessor, Pixinsight and Photoshop
More details and hires on Astrobin: astrob.in/swtfm6/K/