M31, Andromeda Galaxy
Another one from last night's imaging run--finished up last night, with 34 subs from November 1st: Our largest galactic neighbor, Andromeda, with the William Optics SpaceCat 51 refractor and the ZWO ASI071MC cooled color camera.
Posted November 4, 2021
Orion Nebula (Messier 42)
From last night's imaging run: The Orion Nebula (M42) is one of my all-time favorite deep sky objects, and the Constellation Orion is in my top five places to go with a telescope. Imaging Notes: Ha+RGB, Ha: 55 x 240-second subs, color: 123 x 120-second subs stacked in DSS, processed in PSCC2022. William Optics SpaceCat51 Apo refractor, ZWO ASI071MC cooled color camera & ASI1600MM-Pro monochrome camera, Controller: INDI, Ekos, KStars.
Posted November 4, 2021
Something I've been meaning to correct for a while...
It's a gray rainy autumn day, so a good time to do a little upgrade. I ordered an ⅛" (3.2mm) thick aluminum spacer (6"/152mm OD x 3"/76mm ID) for the Orion Atlas pier adapter I use for both the Orion and the Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro. The Orion Atlas sits perfectly flat in the machined center and cut out ring, but the EQ6-R Pro sits slightly higher because the depth of the center is probably millimeter too shallow. Although the center bolt held it in place, the EQ6-R Pro always sat at a slight angle. I never liked that. Time to fix it with an aluminum spacer. I drilled a hole for the azimuth post, and we're back in business!
Posted October 30, 2021
M31 in BLUE
This is the blue bandpass of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), revealing dense spirals of dust that wind through starfields and curl around the galactic core. I have labeled NGC 206, one of the brightest of the star clouds inside Andromeda, along with a couple of M31's captive galaxies (M32 and M101). Imaging Notes: 51 x 120-second stacked subs from my WilliamOptics SpaceCat51 (250mm FL) and ZWO ASi1600MM-Pro mono camera.
Posted October 29, 2021
NGC 281 - Pacman Nebula
Narrowband version of NGC 281, the Pacman Nebula in Cassiopeia.
Posted October 25, 2021
Soul Nebula in SHO
And the Soul Nebula in color… I haven’t captured any OIII or SII data in the last few months, but I do have the Sh2-199 data in all three bandpasses from last year. Using Ha from last week with O3 and S2 from last year for this one in SHO -> RGB.
Posted October 24, 2021
Soul Nebula Westerhout 5 (Sharpless 2-199) in Hydrogen-alpha
From last night's imaging run: Soul Nebula (Westerhout 5, Sharpless 2-199) in the Constellation Cassiopeia, 65 x 240 second stacked subs with the William Optics SpaceCat51 APO refractor, ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro monochrome camera, and the Antlia 3nm Ha Pro narrowband filter. The designation IC 1848, which is the catalog entry for the star cluster in the lower right region of the nebula, but it's popularly used to refer to the entire nebula. The Soul is a massive star-forming region about 6500 lightyears away, with several open clusters, including CR 34, 632, and 634.
Posted October 12, 2021
Orion Nebula (M42) in Hydrogen-alpha
More fun with the Antlia 3nm Ha filter on the William Optics SpaceCat 51. 55 x 240-second stacked subs of the Orion Nebula and surrounding clouds of atomic hydrogen.
