Eye of the Raven

Weather Problems...

2011-02-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

It seems I can't catch a break. The sub-zero conditions need to let up a bit before my equipment will function properly. I hope to get some more images as Spring arrives.

Six hours of NGC-772

2010-11-03T13:58:00.000-06:00

I spent last night making adjustments to my guidance system, with the imaging session running late into the night. I ran out of good targets to image for the time available, and decided to go back to a galaxy I have imaged twice in the past. This makes at least 3 years worth of two hour images to stack of this particular galaxy. At this level of detail, you can plainly begin to see the halo of small galaxies surrounding the lopsided NGC-772. Also visible is the distorted spiral arm which has been torn apart by tidal forces.

I hope to get some color to add later.

First Image of the New Season

2010-10-30T13:18:00.000-06:00

Here is NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula, shot last night after I worked out the bugs from my new computer and software upgrade. It's not the greatest pic in the world, but far better than most of my other attempts at this elusive, wispy, nebula.

This nebula is a cloud of dust blown off by the star in the lower middle, called a Wolf-Rayet Star. These stars burn at a very high temperature, much higher than a regular star, and they blow off an unusual dusty shell.

Back in business, but no images yet...

2010-10-10T23:22:00.001-06:00

I have used the Summer rains to get a handle on a computer problem that developed during the last imaging season. After a computer replacement, I am still feverishly programming it and installing the appropriate software. Last night I did a test run, but ran out of imaging time. The main CCD is back up and operational, but the guider needs some adjustment. Hopefully tommorrow night all will be ironed out.

Last night I attended the White Sands Star Party, with the family. I have often contemplated bringing a few of my scopes out there, but never seem to be able to commit to it due to other priorities. It is nice, however, to look through other people's scopes, if not to simply confirm that the scopes I am using are just as good, if not better and that my choices have been validated.

Star parties are nice, but I am usually a bit dissappointed in the diversity of scopes available. It is good to see the public interested in telescopes and astronomy, but the rise of the mostly Chinese scope dealers has pushed out many of the truly exotic optics that would have been seen in the past. Many of my telescopes would be seen as truly odd in comparison, as they consist of hand-made items and optics, or they deviate from the purpose for which they were built by way of modifications. I really love to see the unusual, but it seems these days that is becoming a bit rare, at least for visual observers.

Gone are the days where the budding astronomer lovingly crafts his scope out of available parts bought from the local hardware store and plumbing parts. The star party was nice, and the kids won prizes, and that is all that counts. Times do change after-all.

For those of us who image, the unusual seems to be much more common-place, only our scopes live their entire life covered with a jellfish of electrical cables, and buried underneath piles of computers and guidance systems. They are usually not very "public" friendly, nor are they portable.

Stay Tuned...

2010-09-18T18:47:00.000-06:00

Just waiting for the rainy season to end up here in the mountains. More astronomy pictures are on their way.

M16 - The Eagle Nebula

2010-07-07T23:01:00.000-06:00

I took this image of the Eagle Nebula several nights ago. I am afraid I have not been very active as far as imaging goes... other tasks have taken priority. This was a quickie, done with 6 ten minute images shot with my big 9" telescope at F6.3. I used my trusty old Canon 300D DSLR set at ISO 800.

M82 - The Exploding Galaxy?

2010-06-11T22:29:00.000-06:00

This is a pretty commonly imaged galaxy. It is also somewhat of a mystery. Nobody quite knows exactly what is happening with this galaxy. It emits massive amounts of radiation and energy, and for many years Astronomers thought it was "exploding" through some largely unknown process. Now that we can see it better with more advanced telescopes and imaging systems, the mystery only deepens. Visibly, it appears to be a very distorted spiral, seen edge-wise, but the center is almost obscured by vast clouds of Hydrogen gas that appear to be streaming out of it. On closer inspection (like, with the Hubble), it becomes debatable whether these clouds are in fact coming from the galaxy, and are simply situated in between us and M82. The fact remains that this galaxy is highly distorted by it's larger neighbor, Messier 81, and whatever is taking place is more than likely because of this distortion.

This galaxy has another close cousin, NGC 1275, which appears to be doing almost the very same thing, but is located in another region of the sky - however, it has no larger neighbor to distort it.

Image taken with my Canon DSLR using a Celestron 9.25" schmidt-cassegrain telescope at F6.3.
Eight 11 minute sub-exposures.

Bode's Galaxy - Messier 81

2010-05-18T10:25:00.000-06:00

This large galaxy is located in the northern sky, in the constellation of Ursa Major. It is quite bright, and can be seen with the naked eye on a dark night. It is the major member of a large group of smaller galaxies all orbiting each-other. This is about 1 1/2 hours worth of images shot with the big 9 1/4" scope and my DSLR.

M101 - Distorted Spiral in Ursa Major

2010-05-08T12:51:00.000-06:00

I shot this photo of Messier 101 last night using the big 9.25" scope. M101 is a large spiral, with a distorted arm. To the upper left, out of the frame, is a smaller galaxy that is more than likely the cause of this distortion. M101 can be seen with the naked eye on a good dark night. The photo came out pretty good even though a stiff breeze was blowing and bumping the camera all around. It was shot using my Canon 300D and a .63 focal reducer. 13 images of 8 minute duration median stacked.

M51 Whirlpool Galaxy with the Big Scope

2010-04-14T10:08:00.000-06:00

M51 is a nearby galaxy undergoing a close pass with a smaller neighbor. The smaller galaxy is being ripped apart by the tidal forces generated by the encounter.

I took this photo of Messier 51, the Whirlpool Galaxy using my biggest telescope, the Celestron 9.25" inch Schmidt-Cassegrain and my Canon 300D DSLR. It is a median stacked composite of five 10 minute images. It is a little grainy, and the stars are a bit wonky because the wind was blowing. Overall I am pleased with the color it captured. I had planned to capture more than just five images, to reduce the graininess, but a windstorm kicked up and thwarted my plans.

M100 - Two Armed Spiral in Coma Cluster.

2010-04-11T00:11:00.000-06:00

M100 is a spiral galaxy near Coma Berenices. It sits amongst a vast cloud of nearby galaxies, in a very rich section of the sky. It is considered a classic spiral, and has a very bright core. In a telescope, it almost looks like a star with a hazy patch around it. It known for producing at least two well known Supernovae over the last decade or so.

I took this with my Canon 300D DSLR using my big C9 and a .63 reducer. It is 7 eight minute images, more or less. The wind was giving me problems, so the stars are not perfect. I eventually gave up and went inside. Wind is awful to fight against - you can't win.

M94 - The Eye in the Sky

2010-04-10T14:51:00.000-06:00

I shot this picture of Messier 94 with my Canon DSLR and my big 9 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain scope. This galaxy is considered an active galaxy, and has a very violent nucleus. It is theorized to hold a super-massive black hole. It is very dusty, and the collapse of the dust into the nucleus is thought to be producing an outburst of star formation, called a "Starburst". The faint glowing cloud surrounding it is a very dim halo of stars, offset from the central arms and "starburst" ring. The whole effect makes it appear similar to an "eye" floating in space.

This image is a compilation of nearly 2 hours worth of images.

NGC 3627 - The Cheeseburger Galaxy

2010-04-05T07:58:00.000-06:00

This galaxy is part of the "Leo Trio" of Spring galaxies situated in close proximity to one another. This is a close up with my Orion CCD, shot throught the C9.25 telescope. It is 6 ten minute images shot at F 6.3.

This galaxy is also known as the "Cheeseburger Galaxy" due to the slight resemblance. It is actually a spiral galaxy with a vast dusty halo seen edgewise.

Three Hours not Enough...

2010-03-21T23:18:00.000-06:00

One would think 3 hours of 13 minute exposures would bring out a lot of detail, but I guess this galaxy is just too faint. This is NGC 3344, a relatively obscure spiral galaxy that is surrounded by a faint ring of stars. However, the faint ring is too faint, and did not show up in my image. Nor did a lot of other detail either. This was a disappointment. I will have to add another 3 hours some other night.

The stars came out nice and round though, no guiding errors here.

Shot with the SBIG ST7 and the Celestron C6S.

Spiral Galaxy M66 - One third of the Leo Trio.

2010-03-19T09:42:00.000-06:00

This galaxy makes up one third of what is known as the Leo Trio, a cluster of bright galaxies which appear to lie in close proximity to one another. These galaxies can be seen with a small telescope as a triangular group of smudges near the hindquarters of Leo the Lion. They are much more impressive when photographed. This galaxy, M66, is a distorted barred spiral with a massive dusty core.

This is a composite of 10 thirteen minute images shot with my ST7 using a .63 reducer. The scope was my handy-dandy 6" inch SCT.

Arp 94 - Intergalactic Hunger Pangs or Something Else Entirely...

2010-03-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

These two galaxies, NGC 3226 and 3227, are cataloged together as Arp 94. They are interacting, and one appears to be devouring the other. Halton Arp included this pair in his Catalogue of Peculiar Galaxies, due to this interaction. This catalog is a running record of all major galaxies known to be unusual, odd, or breaking the rules in some way. As always, there is controversy attached to it, as is typical of most things stemming from Mr. Arp.

The larger spiral galaxy is known to harbor an active nucleus, thought to be a Black Hole by most scientists. Most agree the larger spiral is slowly consuming it's smaller dwarf neighbor, the elliptical (round) galaxy. Mr. Arp has pointed out that this combination of Spiral Galaxy with an active nucleus paired with a smaller Dwarf Elliptical occurs very frequently in his catalog. He feels something else is taking place other than one galaxy consuming the other, in most of these cases.

While Mr. Arp is considered somewhat of a crank amongst his peers, he is a very astute observer. Maybe there is more to the story than we can really see, then again maybe not.

NGC 3184 - Dusty Spiral in Leo Minor

2010-03-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

OK, not the best image ever... I had to contend with glare from a nearby star out of frame, and a frozen up ccd chip. Could have got more detail, but had to process those other problems out.

Stats are on the picture.

NGC 2903 - Dusty Barred Spiral

2010-02-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

NGC 2903 is one of the brighter galaxies found in the late Winter/ early Spring and heralds the arrival of galaxy hunting season. It is a dusty spiral with a prominent bar. You can see it prominently in a scope 4" in diameter and up.

This is a composite of 13 thirteen minute images shot with my ST7 using a .63 reducer on my 6" schmidt-cassegrain.

NGC 2683 Close up

2010-02-17T14:53:00.001-07:00

Here is NGC 2683 as seen through my C9. It is a fairly bright and dusty edge on spiral, which is also a known Seyfert Galaxy. Seyfert Galaxies have an active nucleus, and emit large amounts of radio waves. It is suspected that they harbor massive Black Holes in their core. The image has some drift and the stars have trailed a little mostly due to gusty wind.

The little dash shaped star on the bottom limb is actually two stars very close together. The seeing wasn't good enough to split them.

This is a composite of 11 five minute images shot at F5 or so through my C 9.25. I did it with my old StarShoot I CCD.

Signs of Spring...

2010-02-16T12:05:00.001-07:00

The rise of the Leo constellation tells us that Spring is on the way. With this in mind, I braved subzero temperatures and got this shot of spiral galaxy M66, part of the "Leo Trio" of large, bright galaxies grouped close together. M66 is a dusty galaxy made of mostly of older stars. It normally has a yellowish tint, but my image does not really show it well.

This image is made of seven stacked 5 minute pics shot through the C9.25 using the StarShoot I CCD. All shot at approximately F5 'ish.

Nearly 4 hours of NGC 2841

2010-01-21T08:53:00.002-07:00

I took this last night. I sort of overcooked the bright star on the lower left. It is the spiral galaxy known as NGC 2841, mostly known for being very pretty and producing a few supernovas over the last few decades.

It is 18 thirteen minute images shot through my 6" sct at F6.3 using my ST7.

No color channels yet.

The Horsehead

2010-01-13T00:33:00.003-07:00

I do not do Nebulas often. I mainly stick with somewhat obscure galaxies. Anyway, I decided to take a break from the ordinary. Here is IC 434, or the Horsehead Nebula as it is most commonly known. A large, dark cloud of gas and dust near Orion's Belt. It takes a very dark night and a scope around 8 to 10 inches in diameter to see it with your eyes, and even then a special Hydrogen Beta filter is normally needed.

This image was taken with my 6 inch sct and my ST7 ccd camera. It is 7 thirteen minute images shot with a .63 reducer in place.

NGC 7814 - Edge on Spiral

2010-01-04T23:47:00.005-07:00

Here is an uncommonly seen edge on spiral, NGC 7814. It is a flattened disk of stars seen exactly along the edge. Our galaxy would look like this if viewed at this angle. Some of those faint fuzzies surrounding the galaxy are globular clusters.

It is 9 thirteen minute images shot at F6.3 with my 6" inch sct.

NGC 936 - A source of some controversy...

2009-12-20T00:12:00.008-07:00

OK, here is an interesting one, at least in an astrophysics sense. NGC 936, the big ugly blob with a bar through it, is a very unusual spiral galaxy with an active radio source in it's nucleus. It is surrounded by no less than four Quasars, and a whole host of smaller objects. The controversy lies in the fact that according to the standard model of astrophysics, these objects should not be influencing each other. Quasars should be well in the very distant reaches of deep space, out near the big bang someplace.

As the notorious Halton Arp points out this galaxy appears to have EJECTED a quasar, and it shows physical signs of still being connected. Supporters of the Plasma Universe theory, and others like it use this galaxy as a test case. It is all very odd, and points to the fact that one or all of these theories is not correct, and the universe still is not truly understood by man.

Note: I do not really subscribe to any one theory over the others, as I am not a Cosmologist, but I do love controversy. Nothing like a good fight to stir things up. That and the fact that this galaxy is basically an ugly blob no matter how you take it's picture, so it needs an interesting back-story.

NGC 925 - Barred Spiral

2009-12-19T22:41:00.003-07:00

This is NGC 925, a very coarse looking barred spiral. This galaxy's arms are pretty faint, but the bar is easy to see in a six inch scope. At least I could see it very well.

This is 14 thirteen minute images median stacked, shot with the ST7 and the C6 sct with the standard .63 focal reducer.

Veil Nebula

2009-12-16T00:00:00.002-07:00

I shot this about a year ago, but never did a very good processing job, until now. I re-did this one night when I was totally bored. It was shot with my 100mm achro refractor and my DSLR, but I don't remember the stats.

NGC 772 - an unusual spiral

2009-12-15T23:45:00.003-07:00

Here is one not usually seen. This one really needs some color, as it is quite colorful in RGB. This galaxy is named NGC 772, and is an off-kilter spiral. It is interacting with a whole host of small ellipticals and dwarf galaxies surrounding it. There are a lot of background galaxies in this image too, if you look real hard.

10 thirteen minute images with the 6" sct and ST7 ccd. Shot with a .63 reducer and guided on my LXD75.

Obligatory Crab Image...

2009-12-15T23:41:00.002-07:00

Here is my obligatory Crab Nebula image for the end of 2009. It was up, so I shot it. Again. No color this time. Same stats as the others, but 6 thirteen minute images with the C6 sct.

NGC 891 - Looking Good!

2009-12-13T11:33:00.003-07:00

Lately my CCD has been doing so well, and the sky has been cooperating in such a manner I haven't wanted to touch anything, lest I fudge it up. So I have just been shooting monochrome images. I hope you guys like BW images.

Here is NGC 891, off center a little, but not too bad. It is about a dozen 13 minute images binned 1x1, shot with my trusty little c6 using an ST7 and .63 reducer.

I will add it to the growing list of Luminance images needing color data.

Does anybody else do this? Things get on a roll and working great, and I don't really want to mess with it too much so I just go with the mono because I can get more imaging time in.

Also, after about a year of ownership, I have found the little C6 sct to be one heck of a sleeper scope for imaging. It pairs up almost perfectly with my ST7.

A New M74 for 2009

2009-12-12T15:08:00.005-07:00

I re-shot M74 to see if I could improve upon last years image. Here is 8 thirteen minute images stacked. All shot with the ST7 using the C6 and .63 reducer, with simple UV/IR filtration.

I seem to have picked up some fainter details but got more overall noise.

Back on Track - Here's M77...

2009-12-09T22:51:00.003-07:00

After a break of several weeks of snow, I have finally gotten a chance to image again. My C6 seems to work the best with my ST7, so I mounted it up and aimed it at Messier 77, a fairly bright Seyfert galaxy with a very violent nucleus. It has a very faint, S-shaped spiral halo around the main center portion. I have brightened the contrast in this image to bring it out. You can faintly see it amongst the skyglow, along with a lot of very tiny, fuzzy galaxies (If you look hard!).

This image is eight 13 minute shots stacked Sigma Clipped, all taken with the ST7 using a .63 reducer. The scope was my C6 sct.

NGC 7217 - An Unusual Spiral

2009-11-22T01:13:00.003-07:00

This is NGC 7217, a rather strange spiral galaxy located near NGC 7331. It has a dusty yellow core surrounded by compact blue-ish arms. They don't really look like arms though, and are really more like a ring. These rings are filled with young, blue stars. This image is nearly 2 hours worth of imaging. It is 20 ten minute images shot through the C9.25 at F5. I did it with the old Starshoot DSCI CCD.

Crab Nebula - with C 9.25 scope

2009-11-20T10:04:00.004-07:00

I shot this picture of M1, the Crab Nebula last night. It has been really windy, so I have not had much chance to get out and image. I am also still adjusting the focus on this scope and finding a ccd set-up that works for me. This seems to be about the best, though it is an old camera; the Starshoot I.

This is about a dozen 8 minute images shot at F5'ish guided on my LXD75 with a separate guidescope. Focus was slightly off, but a good deconvolution corrected it.

Stephan's Quintet

2009-11-11T16:58:00.003-07:00

Here is another C9.25 image shot under VERY windy conditions. I am shocked it actually came out. The seeing conditions were also atrocious, with the stars furiously twinkling.

This is a stack of 6 ten minute images shot with the old Orion Starshoot at F6.3

This is a colliding galaxy cluster, with a slightly controversial nature. All of the galaxies have a similar red-shift except for one. This one seems to be interacting with the others, and seems to be part of the same group, but the red-shift says it is not. The astronomy world is divided as to whether this disproves the use of red shifts as a measure for distance. This cluster is also near to NGC 7331, and it shows signs of being connected to this group as well. This group also has a different red-shift, however.

Need to get some new targets...

2009-11-11T16:48:00.004-07:00

Here is another small image of NGC 891. I did this with the C 9.25 but used the ST7. I shot this binned to save some imaging time, but the image did not hold up well when I drizzled it up in size. It is about 4 six minute images stacked, shot at F5 under VERY windy conditions.

I really like my ST7, but it is so heavy, especially with the filter wheel, that it causes drag on the scope when guiding. The cables are a real problem too. I think I will take it off for the time being.

M27 redone

2009-11-05T22:52:00.002-07:00

I re-processed the M27 shot I did with the C9. I think it looks a lot better.

Spiral Galaxy NGC 6946

2009-10-25T01:06:00.004-06:00

Here is a shot I did with the ST7 running through the new C9.25. I imaged this galaxy at F5 with a stack of 7 ten minute images.

NGC 6946 is noteworthy as being located near an open cluster. It is also known as the Firework's Galaxy. It is rather dim and can be found in the constellation Cepheus

The Pitfalls of AstroImaging...

2009-10-18T12:23:00.004-06:00

Lots of things can go wrong. The most common are trailed stars, computer problems, and bad focus. This image of The Crescent Nebulas, has a lot of them. I started out the night with a computer problem, requiring about 4 re-boots. Then it was a problem with a guider trailing stars in the wrong direction. After I thought it was all squared away, I downloaded the night's images, and found the focus was slightly off.

Some nights you just can't win. Here is the result of this problem ridden imaging debacle. To this date, I have never taken a good image of the Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888.

This is a stack of 20 images at 8 minutes each through my C9.25.

Two Views of the Ring Nebula

2009-10-17T15:36:00.005-06:00

I shot the Ring Nebula, M57, last night. I normally do not do this nebula, since it is relatively small, but I thought I would give it a go in the new scope.

I shot two versions. One is a stack of 30 thirty second images done with my Starshoot DSCI 1. The other is a composite of the 30 short exposures stacked on a stack of 15 ten-minute exposures. I managed to bring out the small nearby galaxy, and the outer shell is starting to appear around the ring. It looks like a faint ghost. The colors are a bit washed out because of the stretching process.
All imaged through the C9.25 at F3 'ish, not sure what it is exactly.

Getting the C9 Dialed In...

2009-10-15T00:06:00.004-06:00

I went back to M27, since it is an easy target, to start getting the rig set better for the new C9.25 OTA. I ran a stream of 30 five minute images, and played around with the guider settings. The stars are sort of blobby (I think because the focus may be a little off - by a hair). I managed to get quite a bit of detail. I think I over-did the sharpening a bit though.

I can already see the C9.25 has all the benefits of my old SN-10 without the drawbacks.

Note: I shot this with a slight southern breeze. It did not seem to make a difference.

More Images From the new Scope...

2009-09-25T00:23:00.006-06:00

Here are a few images I shot with the new C 9.25, they are not the greatest in the world, but it is slowly coming together. The stars are sort of funky due to stacking errors and a stiff breeze.

All images shot with my older Orion Starshoot imager. I believe both sets are stacks of 10 images shot at 6 minutes each with the C9 running at F5.

The top galaxy is NGC 891 and the bottom is NGC 7331; both are easy targets this time of year.

Image From Another New Scope

2009-09-22T07:54:00.003-06:00

I acquired a Celestron C 9.25 OTA in a trade a few weeks ago. Last night was the first time I got to run a camera through it, mostly due to weather. It has been one giant rainstorm for at least a month now. Last night was no exception. It was windy and had just rained an hour before. The sky was very turbulent, and lightning was flashing all about. I got the scope out anyway, because I wanted to try it out.

It did a fine job. Much better than I expected in the wind. It was taking 10 mph gusts, and it did not affect it much at all. I had it set to run at F3 with a little screw in focal reducer. I will have to put the regular F6.3 reducer in place and see how it works out. My focus was slightly off too. Overall not bad though.

The test image was of M27 with my old Starshoot CCD. Ten images at 5 minutes each.

Barred Spiral M109

2009-06-16T13:11:00.005-06:00

Here is a shot of the faint Barred Spiral Galaxy M109. This galaxy is one of the few barred spirals you can see visually using an 8 inch scope. It is said, our Milky Way galaxy looks a lot like this one.

It is very faint, and could really use more integration time.

Scope: Celestron C6-SE sct
CCD: SBIG St-7
F-Ratio: F6.3
Mount: LXD 75
Filters: UV/IR only
Stack: 8 thirteen minute images

M94, subexposure test

2009-05-19T00:31:00.003-06:00

I did this as a test shot using shorter sub-exposures. This is 9 ten-minute images. I am not sure I gained anything with more images to stack. I think my set-up works best with 13 minute minimum sub-exposures. The faint outer shell was visible, but was exceedingly noisy, so I had to tone it way down during processing. The longer subs would have brought it out.

I did this with my ST7 and C6 at F6.3

Floating in the Sky

2009-05-17T22:17:00.003-06:00

I found a balloon today, just before sunset. It made a nice target for my 300D and 100mm F6 refractor telescope. They launch these several hundred miles to the east of my house. It was way up there, floating on the edge of space.

M104 Sombrero Galaxy

2009-05-15T22:15:00.003-06:00

Well, the Sombrero looks more like a ring in this image. I tried to emphasize the ring of dust around this otherwise elliptical galaxy. It is theorized that this is an elliptical Galaxy that collided with a spiral many billions of years ago. The dusty ring is the final remains of the spiral galaxy.

I did not get a lot of detail, but the ring is clearly visible.

Spiral Galaxy M100

2009-05-15T21:48:00.004-06:00

This galaxy is a fairly dim one, but has a very bright, almost star-like core when seen visually. I have never taken a good image of it. This Luminance image with my ST7 is about the best so far, though it is not that great.

CCD: SBIG ST7
No Filters
Scope: Celestron C6 sct @F6.3
8 fifteen minute images stacked

Added color to M51

2009-05-01T12:09:00.005-06:00

I added C/M/Y color to the M51 I did earlier. Each color channel binned 3x3 and ten minutes duration.

M51 Whirpool Galaxy

2009-04-27T19:30:00.002-06:00

I shot this Luminance image a few nights ago. It is the Whirlpool Galaxy. It is 8 thirteen minute images median stacked. All shot at F6.3 with my C6 sct using my ST7 ccd.

M63 - now in Color

2009-04-23T15:47:00.004-06:00

Here is the final color image of M63, the Sunflower Galaxy.

C: 3 images @ 13 minutes Binned 2x2
M: 3 images @ 13 minutes Binned 2x2
Y: 3 images @ 13 minutes Binned 2x2
L: 8 images @ 13 minutes

M63 Sunflower Galaxy

2009-04-21T11:31:00.003-06:00

Here's another image I need to shoot color for. It is M63, the Sunflower Galaxy. There is a strange line in this image that appears to run through the nucleus from edge to edge. I am not sure if it is a processing artifact or a real feature of the galaxy. I will have to research it.

CCD: SBIG ST7
Scope: Celestron C6S SCT
Mount LXD 75
Reducer: .63
Luminance: 8 thirteen minute images

Project: M106

2009-03-30T23:34:00.002-06:00

I am waiting for the weather to clear so I can shoot some color for this galaxy. This is M106, near Ursa Major. It is a large and very violent spiral galaxy said to harbor a Black Hole in the core.

Shame I cut off the small galaxy next to it. I will have to redo the image, I guess.

Scope: Celestron C6S w/ .63 reducer
Mount LXD75
CCD: ST7
Filters: UV/IR block
L: 15 thirteen minute images

NGC 2681 - maybe?

2009-03-25T14:03:00.005-06:00

I thought I was imaging the relatively obscure, NGC 2681 when I shot this. After comparing it to other shots of NGC 2681, I am not so sure what it is.

It is a spiral galaxy, but it is definitely not NGC 2681.

This sort of thing happens occasionally, since imaging these tiny galaxies is a lot like taking a picture of a grain of sand on a beach a mile away.

Eskimo Nebula in LCMY color

2009-03-12T23:21:00.002-06:00

I shot this image of the Eskimo Nebula with a full moon out. It was sort of a "target of chance", since I was actually hunting for Comet Lulin, but could not find it in the glow of the moon. This nebula is so named because it resembles a little eskimo face at high magnification. My image is sort of small, being shot with a focal reducer, but I did bring out a bit of color. Something on my imaging set-up was dragging, though, causing a small swing in my guider. The stars are not completely perfect.

Scope: Celestron C6-S
Mount: LXD-75
CCD: SBIG ST7 w/Atik filter wheel
Filters: Edmund CMY Dichroic
Focal Ratio: F6.3
L: 6 @ 60 seconds
C/M/Y: 6 @ 60 seconds binned 2x2

M108 - Now in Color!

2009-03-02T22:48:00.003-07:00

Here is my earlier image of M108 colored with CMY coloring.

C = 5 images @ 13mins 2x2 binned
M = 5 images @ 13mins 2x2 binned
Y = 1 image @ 13mins 2x2 binned (What can I say? clouds moved in.)

Messier 108

2009-02-26T21:42:00.003-07:00

I shot this Luminance Image of M108 two nights ago. I need to shoot some color for it. M108 is a spiral galaxy seen along its edge.

Telescope: Celestron C6S
F 6.3
SBIG ST7 CCD / UV-IR filter
12 thirteen minute images.

M81 Redux

2009-02-22T20:38:00.004-07:00

I re-did the first color image I have taken with the ST7, this image of M81 Bode's Galaxy. It could use some mor integration time for more color, but at least you can see the color. I had a lot of trouble with the CCD chip frosting over. I need to bake my desiccant plug, but haven't yet.

This is the very same image as posted below, just with different processing.

M82 - Re-shot with CMY filters

2009-02-22T15:55:00.004-07:00

Here is M82 re-done with my ST7 and CMY filters. I had an old HA filter laying around, so I tried to blend it in as well.

Scope: Celestron C6S
CCD: ST-7 w/ Edmund CMY filters
L: eight 13 minute images
C/M/Y: four (each) 10 minute images
HA: six 13 minute images

M81 Done in LCMY Color

2009-02-18T20:25:00.003-07:00

Not the best image ever, but this is the first real color shot I have done with My ST7. M81, shot with my new Atik filter wheel and my Edmund CMY filters. It came out a bit bluer than I expected. All images shot at F6.3 through my SC6 with 13 minute sub exposures. Stack: L=8, CMY=3

I could have probably brought out more color with a better CMY stack, but I was in a hurry and it was freezing out.

NGC 2336 - The Most Northern Galaxy

2009-01-31T23:24:00.008-07:00

This galaxy, NGC 2336, is the closest to Polaris of all known galaxies. Because of this, it is relatively little known or photographed. It's proximity to the celestial pole makes it a tough target. Those who attempt it are rewarded with a spectacular and very faint barred spiral.

Scope: Celestron 6" SCT

Reducer: .63

CCD: SBIG ST7

Subs: 11

Duration: 13 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 38 minutes

Mount: LXD 75

No Filter

NGC 2976 in color

2009-01-29T12:40:00.002-07:00

NGC 2976 is definitely odd, but it is also quite colorful. Here it is again imaged with my 1st generation Orion Starshoot color CCD. It is 11 thirteen minute images shot at F6.3 with my C6 sct.

M82 - Starshoot / ST7 Composite

2009-01-27T18:00:00.001-07:00

Just for fun, I added my color data from my Orion Starshoot camera to the Luminance data from my ST7 ccd. This is the result.

More of M82

2009-01-27T17:57:00.002-07:00

Here is M82 re-done with my ST7 ccd. A little more of the HA Tendrils can be seen.

Scope: Celestron 6" sct
Camera: SBIG ST7
Reducer: .63
Subexposure: 13 minutes
Images: 9
No Filter

The Spiral That Isn't a Spiral

2009-01-21T23:17:00.005-07:00

Here is another anomalistic galaxy from Ursa Major. It is the peculiar NGC 2976, the spiral galaxy with no spiral shape. It has hints of a core, clouds of gas and dust, and a halo of outlying star clouds, but no spiral arm structure is to be seen anywhere. This galaxy has been torn apart by the gravitational forces exerted by it's larger neighbors. The small blur slightly to the left and down from this galaxy is the smaller galaxy, PGC 213630.

Scope: Celestron 6" sct
Camera: SBIG ST7
Reducer: .63
Subexposure: 13 minutes
Images: 15
No Filter

First UFO Image Obtained!

2009-01-21T08:13:00.004-07:00

Hardly! This galaxy is NGC 2683, otherwise known as the UFO galaxy. It is a nearly edge on spiral named for it's shape resembling a "flying saucer".

Scope: Celestron 6" sct
Camera: SBIG ST7
Reducer: .63
Subexposure: 13 minutes
Images: 10
No Filter

More Weirdness from Ursa Major

2009-01-20T23:02:00.003-07:00

Ursa Major is full of strangeness. For example, M82 - the exploding galaxy, or NGC 2976 - the spiral that is not a spiral. This image is of another strange galaxy. It is NGC 3077, thought to be an elliptical, but classed by some as an Irregular. At first glance it looks like a typical elliptical galaxy, but look again. There are dust lanes and tendrils in it very similar to the ones seen in M82. Conventional wisdom tells us that Elliptical Galaxies have no dust or gases, and are simply large oval clusters of stars. The accepted knowledge says this galaxy should not have these dust lanes, or whatever they are. However, we do not make the rules. Here is an elliptical which apperantly breaks our preconcieved notions of these objects.

My image does not do it justice. I had some problems with the bright star flaring on the main lens of my scope, and making a big ugly smear or two right above the galaxy. I took this image with my ST7 and 6 inch sct. It is 9 thirteen minute images median stacked and deconvolved.

More of Ursa Major... NGC 2403

2009-01-19T16:37:00.004-07:00

I thought I would go ahead and image some other objects in Ursa Major, since my scope is set-up for this region right now, and I will have to re-balance everything to move someplace else. This galaxy is known as NGC 2403. It is very large and can be seen in a 4" scope very easily. It is near M81/82. This object is big enough and bright enough that Charles Messier should have caught it in his first catalogue survey, but did not. I underestimated it's size a little, and it is not centered well on the chip. I had to crop it to keep it even. It is a composite of 13 ten minute images with the ST7 ccd, all shot through the C6 sct at F6.3.

Not really a very interesting galaxy, it sort of looks like a big blur. It has a similar appearance to M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, but is pretty asymmetrical.

M81 with the ST7

2009-01-18T11:55:00.004-07:00

Continuing my current fixation on Ursa Major, I re-shot M81 again, this time using mt C6 sct and ST7 CCD. This image is 14 ten minute images median stacked and deconvolved, all shot at F6.3.

A Deeper View of Messier 82

2009-01-17T11:00:00.002-07:00

This image is 1 hour and 48 minutes of eight minute exposures with the Orion CCD and my 8 inch newt. A lot deeper than I normally go, but worth it. The strange Hydrogen tendrils are clearly visible in pink, along with the strange edge on spiral-like galactic form that makes up the main part of M82. A very interesting object, which no one quite seems to know what is going on with it. It seems to be the result of a collision or massive explosion, and the core seems to be ejecting massive amounts of synchrotron radiation in the pinkish hydrogen tendrils.

Another Shot from the 8 Inch...

2009-01-13T22:46:00.002-07:00

I know I have done this one before, but it was an easy target in the cold, to help work the bugs out of the new scope. It is a color view of the Crab Nebula through my 8 inch newt, shot with the Orion DSCI. It is a stack of 10 eight minute images. The focus was off a bit, so I had to overcorrect and re-sample a bit.

First Image with 8 inch Astrograph

2009-01-04T11:08:00.004-07:00

Here are the first two images from the new 8 inch scope. They are of spiral galaxy M81, taken with the Orion DSCI 1 CCD. The color image is a stack of 18 five minute exposures. The mono image is a stack of a dozen 5 minute exposures shot binned 2x2. The focus and collimation could be better, but all in all, it is not too bad.
All images shot guided with the SV Nighthawk II and a DSI Pro.

Focus on Eye Candy

2009-01-03T17:38:00.006-07:00

One more shot from the new scope. Here is a close up of the focuser. I can't speak better of it. It is totally custom machined by a fellow in Utah. It was about $160 total, but I would have paid much more for an item like this. It rotates, and has compression rings built into the drawtube. It can also support camera weights beyond 4lbs, from what I understand. The only thing it is missing is a hook-up for a focus motor. May not be a Moonlight, but the coolness factor is definitely up there. That and the fact it looks plain mean and nasty on this black scope. The photos do not do it justice.

You can get one too buy emailing them at wyorock@comcast.net. He also sells on Ebay. If you order one, remember you are buying from a person, and not an assembly line business, so it may take a bit for it to be assembled and shipped. It is well worth the wait, though.

Bedliner Astrograph Project Completed

2009-01-03T12:02:00.004-07:00

I just this week finished up a project I have been working on for a while. It was the re-furbishment and modification of an 8" project astrographic telescope. It is not really a true astrograph, like a Takahashi Epsilon, but it fits the bill close enough for me. An astrograph is a scope designed primarily for photography. As such, visual use is normally not an intended function, or is secondary in nature. I built this scope to replace the 10" Schmidt Newtonian that I recently sold. It was my wish to get a slightly smaller scope that rode a bit better in the crazy New Mexico wind, but still be big enough to seriously image small faint objects.

At it's core is an old Coulter 8" F4.5 mirror, which is not too bad optically, unlike a lot of larger Coulter mirrors. It has a custom machined Wyorock focuser, which is basically a work of unpolished aluminum art. And the tube is from an older GSO scope, cut down to size. I am not sure of the size of the secondary, as it came with the tube, but it works very well. I have a larger one I am planning to install for better FOV illumination, but have not done so yet. And to top it all off, the scope is finished in a coat of rubberized bedliner (from a pickup truck) to make it completely indestructible. Gives it sort of a mean, black scope from the Underworld look.

I hope to get it in use in the next few days.

M74 with the ST7 CCD

2009-01-01T16:01:00.003-07:00

Here is spiral galaxy M74 with the ST7 ccd taken through the 6 inch SCT. It is a stack of 16 six minute images shot guided at F6.3.

2 hours and 40 minutes of the Deer Lick

2008-12-28T23:14:00.004-07:00

Just for comparisons sake, I am posting the final results of nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes of integrated imaging time. It is a composite of all the images I have gotten of it so far with the SBIG. I added about 8 ten minute subs from tonight. The arms are still a little fuzzy, but the galaxy is starting to really stand out. Can't hardly tell it was shot through a 6 inch scope, and not something bigger.

56 Minutes More Minutes of The Deer Lick Group

2008-12-24T23:15:00.002-07:00

As another test of my new CCD camera. I turned it once again to NGC 7331. This galaxy is proving to be a very tough target. I shot 8 six minute integrations and added it to what I shot the other night for a total of 56 minutes. All through the SC6 at F6.3 using the SBIG ST7. The core turned out OK, but the arms are still really faint. It needs a lot more integration time. I guess I will have to try again.

First Images From New Camera

2008-12-22T00:43:00.002-07:00

This image of M1 "The Crab Nebula" was shot with my new SBIG ST7 CCD camera. I recently sold my largest scope to buy this and enter the world of self-guided CCD's. However, I still haven't gotten all the guide bugs worked out, and for the time being, I am still guiding with a separate camera - my DSI Pro.

This camera works a little different I am figuring out. Most of my other camera's like a lot of stacked medium to short exposures to keep the noise level low. This camera seems to do best with a few stacked long exposures, the longer the better.

Anyway, this image is the result of median stacking 7 three minute images.

M77 with the 6 inch scope

2008-12-20T22:22:00.005-07:00

Here is an image of Messier 77, a strange galaxy with an Active Galactic Nucleus. It is basically considered my most astronomers to be a sort of mini-quasar. It is suspected that it's nucleus contains a very large and active black hole.

I took this image with my Orion DSCI. It is a composite of 17 two minute images, shot guided through my 6" sct at F6.3.

Another Look at the Deer Lick

2008-12-20T19:17:00.004-07:00

I took another image of NGC 7331, the Deer Lick Galaxy. I used my Canon DSLR and the little 6" sct. It could use some more integration time, but I got the main part of it. This image was shot guided, and is a composite of about 8 five minute integrations at ISO 1600.

There seems to be some vignetting in the small image that does not show so bad in the full sized image. The SC6 seems to be a bit harder to image with using a DSLR than I care for. I may not use it much for this anymore. Vignetting and spherical errors seem to be the main issues.

Look! It's the Moon...

2008-12-10T22:20:00.002-07:00

Bet you didn't know the Moon has colors? Look closely at this image. I shot it with my Canon 300D and my C6 sct.

Another Oldie I don't Remember Posting...

2008-11-24T22:29:00.002-07:00

This time it is the Cocoon Nebula, Caldwell 19, shot with my DSI Pro and the Stellarvue Nighthawk II. No color this time.

Another windy image...

2008-11-20T16:59:00.003-07:00

I took this shortly after the image of the Crescent Nebula. It is the Crab Nebula, the remnant of an exploded star. At it's core lies a spinning pulsar, belching out x-rays and gamma rays. It is not visible in this image though.

Image shot through my SC6 SCT using my Orion DSCI 1.

A not so clear Crescent Nebula

2008-11-20T16:52:00.003-07:00

It was exceeding windy when I did this image the other night. This is a very hard object to image anyway, I will just have to try again.

The Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, is a shell of gas created by the star near the center. This star is known as a Wolf-Rayet star, a very unusual object and not related to the visually similar planetary nebulas.

Imaged with my SC6 SCT and my Orion DSCI 1. Twenty five 2 and 1/2 minute images median stacked.

An Older Image I Can't Remember Posting...

2008-11-14T21:14:00.004-07:00

Here is an older image of M94 I took this summer with my Orion DSCI1 and my SN10. Can't remember if I posted it or not. I don't think I did. Maybe I did, who knows....

The Experiments Continue...

2008-11-12T21:35:00.003-07:00

It was a full moon, so I decided to see what my Omega OIII filter would do on my Orion DSCI. This is a one-shot color camera, and should show if there was any leaks of any other color frequencies besides the teal color of Triple Ionized Oxygen (OIII) which it was designed to pass. I shot this image through my new Celestron SC-6 at F5, guided by my ST-80. It is 19 ninety second images median combined.

It is a very interesting result, and shows a bit more detail than I expected. It also shows some red leaking through at the Hydrogen Alpha (HA) range, but not a lot. I wonder what several hours worth of images would look like using this filter set-up.

NGC 7331 with SC-6 scope

2008-11-08T20:03:00.002-07:00

I shot this image of the Deer Lick Galaxy several nights back to compare with the shot I posted below with the larger scope. The stats are similar, though it was shot guided. My guider was not cooperating well, and as a result, the stars look sort of the same. I guess I will have to try again later. Image shot through my Orion DSCI 1.

More Fun with the New Scope

2008-11-06T23:45:00.005-07:00

It is really cold up here in the mountains, like about 14 degrees, so I tried to do a quick imaging session. I am still working the bugs out of my new C6 sct scope, so I picked a few easy targets. I picked M27, because it makes a good target to judge against other scopes, and the galaxy NGC 253, basically because it was there and I was freezing. Both of these shots are done with my Orion DSCI 1 and were guided with my ST80. The guiding was not perfect, because numb fingers don't like to play with guider settings.

The M27 image is about 1 hour worth of composite images. The NGC 253 Image is about 15 minutes worth.
NGC 253 is an interesting object. It is called the "Silver Coin Galaxy" because it looks like a coin on it's side. It is quite large and bright, and can be spotted in binoculars, or if you are really good, youe naked eyeballs. It is found low on the southern sky this time of year. It is amazing that Charles Messier did not discover it back in the 1700-1800's. It is really hard to miss. It was actually discovered much later, around the turn of the century if I remember correctly.

M74 with the Big scope

2008-10-31T09:24:00.002-06:00

The spiral galaxy in the image above is known as M74. It is a very nice spiral, but is notoriously difficult to image. It takes a very dark sky to bring out all the details. This image was shot through my SN10, with my Canon 300D. It is about 12 four minute images at ISO 1600, shot guided by a 60mm refractor. I have been doing lots of images with the SNT, since I have had some collimation problems. This is one of the images I used for that, sort of a diagnostic image, if you will.

First Light for Another New Scope...

2008-10-30T21:53:00.003-06:00

Here is the first Image taken with my newest addition, a Celestron SC6, intended to take the place of my M500. I heard they were a little easier to image with, and weighed a bit less. Anyway, here is the result of about 30 each of thirty second L/C/M/Y images all shot unguided, with a .5 focal reducer and my DSI Pro Mono.

Not too shabby for the first time out. I think I will keep it a while.

The Deer Lick Group

2008-10-19T23:15:00.005-06:00

Yes, I know it is a strange name for a galaxy group, it bears no resemblance to a licking deer. It is named for Deer Lick Gap, if I remember correctly. The Large galaxy is called NGC 7331, or the Deer Lick Galaxy. The other smaller galaxies are all part of the group, but I do not know their names. I took this as part of a test of my scope to make sure I got the focuser squared on straight. I shot it with my Orion DSCI 1, 29 subs all unguided at 30 seconds. It was taken through my Meade SN10 running at F4. The wind was pretty breezy, so my stars look kind of blobby from the scope bouncing around.

I shot it about 20:45 on today's date.

Trifid Up Close

2008-10-11T22:31:00.003-06:00

The Trifid Nebula is very unique. It has a red portion where stars are actively being formed inside a cloud of heated hydrogen gas, and a cold blue portion where the light is simply reflected from the stars. I have captured most of it in this close up I did with My Stellarvue 80mm refractor, using my Orion DSCI. Once again, I do not remember the stats. I must get better at that. This is from a series of test shots I did to test out using a Minus Violet filter with a one-shot color camera and an achro refractor. It seems to work pretty well, other than a slight color imbalance. Only a few stars are bloaty blue. For the newbies out there, a big blue-violet ring around the bright stars is the bane of an achromatic refractor. A minus violet filter is made to help get rid of it, but they are normally a visual filter and not a photographic filter.

Spiral Galaxy M74

2008-10-11T22:25:00.002-06:00

I shot M74 through my little Stellarvue NightHawk II. It came out pretty good for an achro refractor. I used my Orion Deep Space Imager for this shot, and a strong minus violet filter. I do not remember the stats for the image, but I think it was about a dozen 3 minute images. I am pretty sure I guided these shots.

M74 is a very tough target, especially on a night that is not totally dark. It was quite a feat to locate it in a small 80mm scope.

The Cat's Eye

2008-10-11T22:15:00.002-06:00

The little blue object in this photo is NGC 6543, otherwise known as the Cat's Eye Nebula. I will let you guess why it is called that. This is not the best image in the world, but it does bring out some of the colors of this rather small object.

I took this with my DSI Pro using CMY filters. It is a composite of around 25 thirty second images for each color channel. I shot it through my MN66 Mak-Newt uniguided.

M33 Triangulum Galaxy

2008-09-16T22:48:00.003-06:00

This galaxy is a big one, located in the constellation of Triangulum. It is visible in binoculars as a hazy round patch about the size of the full moon. It is next to impossible to see in a telescope, unless it is a wide field type. I don't remember all the stats for this image, just that it was taken through my 100mm F6 achro refractor with my Canon 300D DSLR. It was 1600 ISO with 8 minute sub-exposures. Probably around 8-10 frames were stacked for this image, I can't remember.

This galaxy is sometimes called the Pinwheel.

Jupiter with the MN66

2008-09-16T22:15:00.002-06:00

I have been vacillating recently over possibly selling the Mak-Newt MN66, and buying a smaller Apo refractor. The MN66 tends to get bounced around by the wind, and ruins more images than it captures. It is very frustrating. I decided to use it tonight for what the scope is famous for, planetary images. The full moon would make deep sky imaging a pain anyway. Time for a break.

I am glad I did. I have not really used this scope much for planets, but that may be changing. This thing is absolutely razor sharp. This image of Jupiter is almost exactly what the eye sees, during periods of clear viewing. Three moons are also visible.

My image does show a bit of atmospheric refraction (the red/blue on the edges of the planet), but this is due to Jupiter's low position in the sky. It has nothing to do with the optics.

I guess the little MN66 stays for a while longer.

A Very Full M31

2008-09-05T16:19:00.004-06:00

This is one of the better M31 images I have taken. It is 6 ten minute images at ISO 800 taken with my Orion 100mm F6 refractor and my Canon 300D DSLR.

The big spiral galaxy, M31, also known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is our closest major intergalactic neighbor. It is speculated that it is on a collision course with our galaxy, to occur billions of years from now. The two smaller elliptical galaxies are M110 and M32. They orbit around their larger brother M31.

M31 can be spotted by the naked eye very easily, but the sky must be reasonably dark. It is a large hazy patch about the same size as the full moon. This galaxy is located near the square of the constellation Pegasus.

Iris Nebula

2008-09-02T23:29:00.002-06:00

This is a relatively obscure nebula, but can be seen in a scope as small as 80mm if you know what to look for. NGC 7023 or the Iris Nebula, as it is commonly called, is a hot blue star surrounded by a dusty dark nebula cloud. The star peeks out at us through a hole in this cloud, giving this deep sky object a unique appearance.

This image is 7 ten minute exposures taken with my 300D through my Orion 100mm F6 achro refractor. All shot at ISO 800. It could use some more exposure time, but my battery died and so far the weather has not cooperated.

A Wide View of the Eagle Nebula

2008-09-02T23:16:00.003-06:00

The Eagle Nebula, also known as Messier 16, is a dusty star forming region nestled in the summer Milky Way. It is a large cloud of interstellar dust coalescing into stars, of which the main portion resembles an eagle in flight at first glance. If you look closely, you may just make it out.

I took this through my Orion 100mm F6 achromatic refractor using my Canon 300D DSLR. It is a composite of 4 ten minute sub-exposures at ISO 800.

An Hour of the Veil

2008-08-26T12:39:00.002-06:00

I took this several nights back. It is an hour total exposure time, with 8 minute subexposures. All shot at ISO 1600 using my CAnon 300D and my Orion 100mm F6 achromatic refractor. This region is known as the " Witch's Broom" or the "Finger of God" because of it's visual resemblance. It is the remains of the pressure wave from a long past supernova explosion of a nearby star.

Lagoon and Trifid

2008-08-24T18:33:00.003-06:00

I shot this image of the Lagoon and Trifid Nebula's using the Stellarvue Nighthawk II and my Canon DSLR. I do not remember the statistics, only that it was 6 minute subs at ISO 1600. It illustrates the wide field available with this scope, though there is some definite curvature towrds the extreme edges of the field. It is a FAST achro, after all.