Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Andromeda. It is also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, and is often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. Andromeda is the nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, but not the closest galaxy overall. It gets its name from the area of the sky in which it appears, the Andromeda constellation, which was named after the mythological princess Andromeda. Andromeda is the largest galaxy of the Local Group, which consists of the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 30 other smaller galaxies. Although the largest, Andromeda may not be the most massive, as recent findings suggest that the Milky Way contains more dark matter and may be the most massive in the grouping.

In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight, and is often captured by way of a plurality of differently exposed pictures of the same subject matter.

For the 2010 version see here.

Image Data: Andromeda Galaxy

Lens / Scope: William Optics Megrez 102 S.V. with WO Type II 0.8x FF/FR 

Focal Length: 571.2mm 

F/stop: f/5.6 

Exposures: 

Ha: Stack of 30 1200-second exposures (10:00 hours total exposure)

RGB: Stack of 192 420-second exposures (22:20 hours total exposure)

HDR: Stack of 50 60-second exposures (50 minutes total exposure)

Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GOTO (CdC and EQMOD Control) 

Guiding: Sky-Watcher 80 with QHY5 (PHD Control) 

Camera: Canon 500D (Digital Rebel T1i) Baader Mod (EOS Utility Control) 

Mode: RAW 

ISO: Ha – 800 ;  RGB – 400  

White Balance: Ha –  Daylight ; RGB – Custom

In-Camera Noise Reduction: Off 

Filters: Astronomik Ha 12nm ; Hutech IDAS LPS

Dates: From August 26 2011 to October 21 2011

Location: Beja, Portugal 

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias. 

Processing: Calibrated, aligned and stacked in DSS. Post-processing in Photoshop.

Elephant Trunk Nebula

Elephant Trunk in HaRGB color palette.

The RGB color model is an additive color model in which red, green, and blue light is added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additive primary colors, red, green, and blue.

The main purpose of the RGB color model is for the sensing, representation, and display of images in electronic systems, such as televisions and computers, though it has also been used in conventional photography. Before the electronic age, the RGB color model already had a solid theory behind it, based in human perception of colors.

Image Data: Elephant's Trunk Nebula and IC1396 

Lens / Scope: William Optics Megrez 102 S.V. with WO Type II 0.8x FF/FR 

Focal Length: 571.2mm 

F/stop: f/5.6 

Exposures: 

Ha: Stack of 12 1200-second exposures (4:00 hours total exposure)

RGB: Stack of 52 420-second exposures (6:00 hours total exposure)

Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GOTO (CdC and EQMOD Control) 

Guiding: Sky-Watcher 80 with QHY5 (PHD Control) 

Camera: Canon 500D (Digital Rebel T1i) Baader Mod (EOS Utility Control) 

Mode: RAW 

ISO: Ha – 800 RGB – 400  

White Balance: Ha –  Daylight RGB – Custom

In-Camera Noise Reduction: Off 

Filters: Omega Optical H-alpha 10nm - Hutech IDAS LPS

Dates: July 29 2011, July 30 2011, August 06 2011 

Location: Beja, Portugal 

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Dark Flats, Bias. 

Processing: Calibrated, aligned and stacked in DSS. Post-processing in Photoshop.

Elephant Trunk in H-alpha

The Elephant's Trunk nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust in the star cluster IC 1396 – an ionized gas region located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth. It is commonly called the Elephant's Trunk nebula because of its appearance at visible light wavelengths, where there is a dark patch with a bright, sinuous rim. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright, massive star. The entire IC 1396 region is ionized by the massive star, except for dense globules that can protect themselves from the star's harsh ultraviolet rays.

H-alpha (Hα) is a specific red visible spectral line created by hydrogen with a wavelength of 656.28 nm, is visible in the red part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which occurs when a hydrogen electron falls from its third to second lowest energy level. It is difficult for humans to see H-alpha at night, but due to the abundance of hydrogen in space, H-alpha is often the brightest wavelength of visible light in stellar astronomy.

A hydrogen-alpha filter is an optical filter designed to transmit a narrow bandwidth of light generally centered on the H-alpha wavelength. They are characterized by a bandpass width that measures the width of the wavelength band that is transmitted. These filters are manufactured by multiple (~50) layers of vacuum-deposited layers. These layers are selected to produce interference effects that filter out any wavelengths except at the requisite band.

 

Image Data: Elephant's Trunk Nebula and IC1396

Lens / Scope: William Optics Megrez 102 S.V. with WO Type II 0.8x FF/FR 
Focal Length: 571.2mm 
F/stop: f/5.6 
Exposure: Stack of 30 600-second exposures (5:00 hours total exposure) 
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GOTO (CdC and EQMOD Control) 
Guiding: Sky-Watcher 80 with QHY5 (PHD Control) 
Camera: Canon 500D (Digital Rebel T1i) Baader Mod (EOS Utility Control) 
Mode: RAW 
ISO: 1600
White Balance: Daylight
In-Camera Noise Reduction: Off 
Filter: Omega Optical H-alpha 10nm 
Date: July 22, 2011 
Start Time: 22:50
Location: Beja, Portugal 
Calibration: 30 Darks, 50 Flats, 50 Dark Flats, 50 Bias. 
Processing: Calibrated, aligned and stacked in DSS. Post-processing in Photoshop. GradientXTerminator. Carboni Tools. Noise Ninja.

Trifid Nebula & Messier 21

The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region located in Sagittarius. Its name means 'divided into three lobes'. The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula (red portion), a reflection nebula (blue portion) and a dark nebula (the apparent 'gaps' within the emission nebula that cause the trifid appearance; these are also designated Barnard 85). Viewed through a small telescope, the Trifid Nebula is a bright and colorful object, and is thus a perennial favorite of amateur astronomers.

Messier 21 is a relatively young cluster of a mere 4.6 million years of age. It is tightly packed but contains about 57 stars. A few blue giant stars have been identified in the cluster, but Messier 21 is composed mainly of small dim stars. With a magnitude of 6.5, M21 is not visible to the naked eye; however, with the smallest binoculars it can be easily spotted on a dark night.

This was my second session with guiding, it's a little better having solved some problems. However I think there is still room for improvement. Wind conditions did not help.

Image Data: Trifid Nebula & Messier 21

Lens / Scope: William Optics Megrez 102 S.V. with WO Type II 0.8x FF/FR 
Focal Length: 571.2mm 
F/stop: f/5.6 
Exposure: Stack of 37 300-second exposures (3:05 hours total exposure) 
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GOTO (CdC and EQMOD Control) 
Guiding: Sky-Watcher 80 with QHY5 (PHD Control) 
Camera: Canon 500D (Digital Rebel T1i) Baader Mod (EOS Utility Control) 
Mode: RAW 
ISO: 400 
White Balance: Custom, set on sky background 
In-Camera Noise Reduction: Off 
Filter: Hutech IDAS LPS 
Date: July 08, 2011 
Start Time: 23:45 
Location: Beja, Portugal 
Calibration: 20 Darks, 30 Flats, 30 Dark Flats, 50 Bias. 
Processing: Calibrated, aligned and stacked in DSS. Post-processing in Photoshop. GradientXTerminator. Carboni Tools. Noise Ninja.

The Western Veil

The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. It constitutes the visible portions of the Cygnus Loop (radio source W78, or Sharpless 103), a large but relatively faint supernova remnant. The source supernova exploded some 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, and the remnants have since expanded to cover an area roughly 3 degrees in diameter (about 6 times the diameter, or 36 times the area, of the full moon). The distance to the nebula is not precisely known, but recent evidence from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) supports a distance of about 1,470 light-years.

The Western Veil (also known as Caldwell 34), consisting of NGC 6960 (the "Witch's Broom") near the foreground star 52 Cygni.

Here is my first attempt with guiding. Like any first attempt errors (many) are committed and here was no exception. I wasn't worried much about calibration, just wanted to see the result, and besides i was very sleepy.

Nevertheless it's an interesting nebula!

Image Data: NGC 6960 (the "Witch's Broom")

 

Lens / Scope: William Optics Megrez 102 S.V. with WO Type II 0.8x FF/FR 
Focal Length: 571.2mm 
F/stop: f/5.6 
Exposure: Stack of 42 300-second exposures (3:30 hours total exposure) 
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GOTO (CdC and EQMOD Control) 
Guiding: Sky-Watcher 80 with QHY5 (PHD Control) 
Camera: Canon 500D (Digital Rebel T1i) Baader Mod (Nebulosity2 Control) 
Mode: FIT/RAW 
ISO: 400 
White Balance: Custom, set on sky background 
In-Camera Noise Reduction: Off 
Filter: Hutech IDAS LPS 
Date: July 01, 2011 
Start Time: 23:15 
Location: Beja, Portugal 
Calibration: 10 Darks, 10 Flats, 10 Dark Flats. 
Processing: Calibrated, aligned and stacked in DSS. Post-processing in Photoshop. GradientXTerminator. Carboni Tools.

North America Nebula

The North America Nebula (NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star). The remarkable shape of the emission nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complete with a prominent Gulf of Mexico. It is sometimes incorrectly called the "North American Nebula"

This project was the first step towards the next level: Guiding. While not yet guiding i was able to test the mount's weight capacity with all the equipment. The HEQ5 Pro passed the test.

Even with bad photo calibration there's some interesting features in there...

Image Data:  North America Nebula (NGC 7000)

Lens/Scope: William Optics Megrez 102 S.V. with WO Type II 0.8x FF/FR
Focal Length: 571.2mm
F/Stop: f/5.6
Exposure: Stack of 159 100-second exposures (4:25 hours total exposure)
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GoTo (CdC & EQMOD Control)
Guiding: None
Camera: Canon 500D (Digital Rebel T1i) Baader Mod @ Astronomiser
Mode: Raw
ISO: 800
White Balance: Custom, set on sky background
In-Camera Noise Reduction: Off
Filter: Hutech IDAS LPS
Date: June 24, 2011
Start Time: 22:45
Location: Beja, Portugal
Calibration: 33 Darks. 33 Flats. 33 Dark Flats.
Processing: Calibrated, aligned and stacked in DSS. Post-processing in Photoshop. GradientXTerminator. Carboni Tools.

Sombrero Galaxy

The Sombrero Galaxy (also known as Messier 104 or NGC 4594 ) is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It has a bright nucleus, an unusually large central bulge, and a prominent dust lane in its inclined disk. The dark dust lane and the bulge give this galaxy the appearance of a sombrero. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of +9.0, making it easily visible with amateur telescopes. The large bulge, the central supermassive black hole, and the dust lane all attract the attention of professional astronomers.

 

Image Data:  Sombrero Galaxy (M104)

Lens/Scope: William Optics Megrez 102 S.V. with WO Type II 0.8x FF/FR
Focal Length: 571.2mm
F/Stop: f/5.6
Exposure: Stack of 125 100-second exposures (3:28 hours total exposure)
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GoTo (CdC & EQMOD Control)
Guiding: None
Camera: Canon 500D (Digital Rebel T1i) Baader Mod @ Astronomiser
Mode: Raw
ISO: 800
White Balance: Custom, set on sky background
In-Camera Noise Reduction: Off
Filter: Hutech IDAS LPS
Date: May 20, 2011
Start Time: 22:30
Location: Beja, Portugal
Calibration: 50 Darks. 50 Flats. 50 Dark Flats.
Processing: Calibrated, aligned and stacked in DSS. Levels, curves, cropped, resampled in Photoshop. GradientXTerminator. Carboni Tools.

Cigar & Bode's Galaxies

The Cigar Galaxy (also known as NGC 3034, Messier 82 or M82) is the prototype nearby starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. The starburst galaxy is five times as bright as the whole Milky Way and one hundred times as bright as our galaxy's center.

The Bode's Galaxy (also known as NGC 3031, Messier 81 or M81) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Because of its proximity to Earth, its large size, and its active galactic nucleus, Messier 81 is a popular galaxy to study in professional astronomy research. The galaxy's large size and relatively low apparent magnitude (lower magnitude implies higher brightness) also make it a popular target for amateur astronomy observations.

Forming a striking pair in small telescopes with nearby spiral M81, M82 is being physically affected by its larger neighbor. Tidal forces caused by gravity have deformed this galaxy, a process that started about 100 million years ago. This interaction has caused star formation to increase tenfold compared to "normal" galaxies.

In this project i could finally test some new equipment under a starlit sky. Was planning to do a several hour long  exposure but some " technical glitch" turned to dust more than 200 photos... Post processing had it's own problems with Flat calibration being at the podium.

Image Data:  Cigar Galaxy (M82) & Bode's Galaxy (M81)

Lens/Scope: William Optics Megrez 102 S.V. with WO Type II 0.8x FF/FR
Focal Length: 571.2mm
F/Stop: f/5.6
Exposure: Stack of 41 100-second exposures (1:08 hours total exposure)
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GoTo (CdC & EQMOD Control)
Guiding: None
Camera: Canon 500D (Digital Rebel T1i) Baader Mod @ Astronomiser
Mode: Raw
ISO: 800
White Balance: Daylight
In-Camera Noise Reduction: Off
Filter: Hutech IDAS LPS
Date: April 15, 2011
Start Time: 22:00
Location: Beja, Portugal
Calibration: 20 Darks. 20 Flats. 20 Dark Flats.
Processing: Calibrated, aligned and stacked in DSS. Levels, curves, cropped, resampled in Photoshop. GradientXTerminator. Carboni Tools.