This is my second attempt at Messier 13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. When I attempted this target last year I only had about 10 minutes of data.
This time I was able to spend a lot more time and get about 2 hours of data. I want to attempt this again, with even more time.
Messier 101, commonly known as the Pinwheel Galaxy is a great target to image during galaxy season. I captured this image over multiple nights in NJ and at a dark site in Cherry Springs, PA.
With this target, I had gone back to my native focal length of 952mm by removing my Starizona Apex 0.65x Focal Reducer.
I had to throw away over 50 frames during this session due to focusing issues I was facing with NINA.
This is M81 & M82, also known as Bode’s and the Cigar Galaxy. This is a pair of beautiful galaxies in Ursa Major. Also in this image, is NGC3077.
This group of galaxies is the closest galaxy group to our own very local group of galaxies which include the Milky Way
This was the first target I imaged with my new telescope, the Explore Scientific FCD 100 Carbon Fiber 127mm Triplet. This was a total of 18 hours and 50 minutes of exposure time.
Is it NGC 2237 or 2244 or something else? It’s the Rosette Nebula, and multiple star clusters are part of what we normally call the Rosette Nebula. Regardless of what objects are cataloged, the whole target is beautiful.
This was the first light for my new Optolong L-eXtreme filter. I did take this image back in December 2020, but I just finally had a chance to finish the write-up for this spectacular target.
In my whole astrophotography career (which is really short), I’ve been using multiple guide scopes to guide. I finally decided to pull the trigger on an Off-Axis Guider (OAG). I recently purchased an Explore Scientific ED127 CF. This was an upgrade from the aluminum model. Purely from an aesthetic point of view, I did not want to have a white scope on top of my new shiny black carbon fiber scope. There is also the bonus of having a lighter setup as well.
I’m excited and nervous to set up something new and also to move away from a setup that has been working and been rock solid for me.
Now I’m looking forward to spending an endless amount of time getting the back focus between the OAG and the camera working correctly.
If you are interested in purchasing these items, here they are.
Messier 78 or NGC 2068, also known as Casper the Friendly Ghost (not sure how it applies, I don’t see a ghost), is a bright blue reflection nebula in Orion. The nebula can be found between Betelgeuse and closer towards Alnitak.
This is the first multi-night imaging session that I planned. I captured this over three nights totaling a little over 14 hours of data.
I also learned some new techniques in PixInishgt while processing this target.
The Pleiades is one of my favorite objects to stare at. It’s bright and can be observed from anywhere, all you need are your eyes. Binoculars and a telescope help, but is not necessary. I imaged this a few years ago and wasn’t too happy with it, and I’ve always wanted to revisit this.
This is my second attempt at the Pleiades. I took this the same night as The Horsehead Nebula as I was waiting for Orion to rise.
For Diwali, I present the Flame and the Horsehead Nebula. This is Barnard 33, a dark nebula in the constellation of Orion. The dark nebula which forms the horse’s head is illuminated from behind by the bright emission nebula IC 434
Right next to the Horsehead Nebula is the Flame Nebula and a small blue reflection nebula NGC 2023.
The Horsehead and the Flame are right by Alnitak, the first star in Orion’s Belt.
This is IC1805, also known as the Heart Nebula. This is a large nebula about 7500 light-years away from us.
The nebula shines bright red due to all the hydrogen gas excited by the nearby stars. The center of the nebula has a cluster of stars that contribute to this as well.
The other significant part of this nebula is NGC896, also known as the Fish Head Nebula. I captured this a few days ago in incredible light-polluted skies in my apartment complex.
Sometimes it’s fun to work with bad data because you’re not expecting much and it turns out OK.
The Wizard seems to be my arch-nemesis so far. This is the second time I’ve tried this target with little luck. I had issues with flats and I was able to crop in and salvage some of the data.
I will be trying this again later this month. The third time is the charm.
This is NGC 7360 The Wizard Nebula. This is a star cluster/emission nebula in Cepheus.
