The Horsehead Nebula

I was playing with setting up the periodic error files on the telescope mount last night and just for the heck if it I pointed the scope towards the horsehead nebula in Orion. I have read this is a very hard object to image as it is basically a "backlit" nebula from a nearby star. Since I couldn't see any sign of the nebula in a 1 minute preview I just took a chance and shot 15 each 1 minute images. Imagine my surprise when I started to process the stacked image! There it was, just as I would have framed it in the photo! I'm hoping to try to get more data to add to it. But all things considered I'm really happy with what I got!

From Wikipedia:

The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 in bright nebula IC 434) is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of the star Alnitak, which is furthest east on Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1500 light years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of the shape of its swirling cloud of dark dust and gases, which is similar to that of a horse's head when viewed from Earth. The shape was first noticed in 1888 by Williamina Fleming on photographic plate B2312 taken at the Harvard College Observatory.
The red glow originates from hydrogen gas predominantly behind the nebula, ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust, although the lower part of the Horsehead's neck casts a shadow to the left. Streams of gas leaving the nebula are funneled by a strong magnetic field. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula's base are young stars just in the process of forming.

NGC246 The Skull Nebula

Here's a "scary one!"

30 each 90 second images.

From Wikipedia:
NGC 246 (sometimes called the Skull Nebula^[2]) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Cetus.

M74

M74 galaxy, 30 images @ 2 minutes each guided.

From Wikipedia:

Messier 74 (also known as NGC 628) is a face-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces. The galaxy contains two clearly-defined spiral arms and is therefore used as an archetypal example of a Grand Design Spiral Galaxy.^[4] The galaxy's low surface brightness makes it the most difficult Messier object for amateur astronomers to observe.^[5][6] However, the relatively large angular size of the galaxy and the galaxy's face-on orientation make it an ideal object for professional astronomers who want to study spiral arm structure and spiral density waves.

M74 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780. Méchain then communicated his discovery to Charles Messier, who listed the galaxy in his catalog.^[6]

M33-Triangulum Galaxy

25 each 3 minute images. (no discards!) The image also includes one 5 minute image. I switched over from ST-4 guiding to pulseguiding. Man what a difference! Anyway here are the results.

NGC7662 Blue Snowball

I finally got my polar alignment dialed in now. So gave this a shot.

From Wikipedia:

NGC 7662 otherwise known as the Blue Snowball Nebula is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Andromeda.
The distance to this nebula is not known with any real accuracy. According to the Skalnate Pleso Catalogue (1951) the distance of NGC 7662 is about 1,800 light years, the actual diameter about 20,000 AU. In a more recent survey of the brighter planetaries, C.R.O'Dell (1963) derived a distance of 1,740 parsecs or about 5,600 light years, increasing the actual size to 0.8 light year, or nearly 50,000 AU. It has a faint central star that is variable, with a magnitude range of 12 to 16.^[3] The central star is a bluish dwarf with a continuous spectrum and a computed temperature of about 75,000K. The nuclei of the planetary nebulae are among the hottest stars known.^[4]
NGC 7662 is a fairly popular planetary nebula for casual observers. A small refractor will reveal a star-like object with slight nebulosity. A 6 in. telescope with a magnification around 100x will reveal a slightly bluish disk. Telescopes of diameter 16" or greater may reveal slight color and brightness variations in the interior.

P103 Comet Hartley 2 from 10-9-10

Here's the "video" I made of Comet Hartley taken 10-9-10.

M76 Little Dumbbell

Here's last nights attempt at the Little Dumbbell. 60 each 1 minute images guided.

 

From Wikipedia:

The Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76, NGC 650/651, the Barbell Nebula, or the Cork Nebula ^[1], is a planetary nebula in the constellation Perseus. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included in Charles Messier's catalog of comet-like objects as number 76. It was first recognised as a planetary nebula in 1918 by the astronomer Heber Doust Curtis. However, there is some contention to this claim, as Isaac Roberts in 1891 did suggest that M76 might be similar to the Ring Nebula (M57), being instead as seen from the side view. ^[2] The structure is now classed as a bipolar planetary nebula (BPNe).^[3]
Distance to M76 is currently estimated as 780 parsecs or 2,500 light years ^[4], making the average dimensions about 0.378 pc. (1.23 ly.) across. ^[5]
The total nebula shines at the apparent magnitude of +10.1 with its central star or planetary nebula nucleus (PNN) at +15.9v (16.1B) magnitude.^[1] The UV-light from the PNN is expanding outer layers that form the present nebula, and has the surface temperature of about 88,400 K. The whole planetary nebula is approaching us at −19.1km.s^-1. ^[6]
The Little Dumbbell Nebula derives its common name from its resemblance to the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) in Vulpecula. It was originally thought to consist of two separate emission nebulae and was thus given two catalog numbers in the NGC 650 and 651. Some consider this object the faintest and hardest to see objects in Messier's list.

M110 galaxy

Here's a 28 x 1 minute image of the M110 galaxy. Moon was almost full so it wiped out much of the detail.

Comet P/103 Hartley 2 Video

Thought I would give this a shot. I took 16 images of the Hartley 2 comet tonight and made them into a video so you can detect the movement of the comet against the stars. 

 

Jupiter

Here's last nights attempt as Jupiter. Still need to work at the focus a little more but I definitely captured 2 of the bands.

Uranus

I decided to do a little solar system imaging last night as the moon was so bright as to wipe out most everything else. Here's my attempt at Uranus.

M20 Trifid Nebula with great guiding!

I've been busy getting the settings worked out in PHD since I changed from the 70mm guide scope to the 9x50 viewfinder setup.

I finally got it nailed down last night. I was able to catch a 10 minute single exposure guided with no star trails and nice round stars! (It's only taken a year to get the bugs worked out!)

The "test exposure" was of just a star field so nothing to really see.

I did manage to capture 3 each 2 minute images of M20 however. I would have taken more but I realized I was getting very close to the meridian and didn't want to take a chance of the scope doing a "flip".

Look at the little pin point stars...... I have never been able to get that precise of image before! I think I've finally got the bugs worked out!

Jupiter and 4 moons

While playing with the new setup, I visually spotted Jupiter rising in East, so I captured about 30 1/2 second images with the gain turned down. You can easily see 4 of her moons.

This years Bubble Nebula

With the 'dog house observatory' completed, now I have been focusing my attention towards longer exposures. I have the polar alignment pretty well dialed in and attempted some 5 minute exposures last night. I went pretty well (got three from the five I attempted). Still need to do some dialing in on PHD but I was happy with what I got. I also took some 2 minute exposures (8 stacked).

5 minute exposures:

2 minute exposures:

NGC6781

Image taken 8-9-10 (19 each 2 minute images) DSI IIc imager, SW 254N reflector with EQ5 pro mount. SSAG with 9x50 view finder for auto guiding. (Works Great!)

NGC 6781 is a nice representative of these cosmic bubbles. The planetary nebula lies a few thousand light-years away towards the constellation of Aquila (the Eagle) and is approximately two light-years across. Within NGC 6781, shells of gas blown off from the faint, but very hot, central star’s surface expand out into space. These shells shine under the harsh ultraviolet radiation from the progenitor star in intricate and beautiful patterns. The central star will steadily cool down and darken, eventually disappearing from view into cosmic oblivion.

Saturn Nebula - NGC7009

Here's a closeup of the Saturn Nebula that I took last night:

From Wikipedia:

The Saturn Nebula (also known as NGC 7009) is a planetary nebula in the Aquarius constellation. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 7, 1782 using a telescope of his own design in the garden at his home in Datchet, England and was one of his earliest discoveries in his sky survey. The nebula was originally a low-mass star that transformed into a rather bright white dwarf star, magnitude 11.5. The Saturn Nebula gets its name from its superficial resemblance to the planet Saturn with its rings nearly edge-on to the observer. It was so named by Lord Rosse in the 1840s, when telescopes had improved to the point that its Saturn-like shape could be discerned. William Henry Smyth said that the Saturn Nebula is one of Struve's 9 "Rare Celestial Objects."
The Saturn Nebula is a very complex planetary nebula and contains many morphological and kinematical sub-systems in three dimensions. It includes a halo, jet-like streams, multiple shells, ansae, and small-scale filaments and knots. The ansae are expanding non-radially from the central star.^[2]
The distance to the Saturn nebula is not known very well because there are no reference stars in its neighborhood that have been detected and could be used to accurately gauge its distance. Therefore, any distance is somewhat suspect. Sabbadin et al. 2004 estimates it to be 5,200 light-years (1.6 kpc) distance from earth. In 1963, O'Dell estimated the distance to be 3,900 light-years (1.2 kpc) which gives an approximate diameter of 0.5 light years for the object as a whole.
The central star (a very hot bluish dwarf with a temperature of 55,000 K) from which the nebula is believed to originate has an absolute magnitude of +1.5 (which equates to about 20 suns luminosity and a visual magnitude of 11.5). This strong ultraviolet pounding from the central star is believed to create the characteristic fluorescent green tint of the nebula via the radiation of doubly ionized oxygen. The object overall has a visual magnitude of 8 and a radial velocity of 28 miles per second in approach.
The nebula can be spotted 1 degree west of the star Nu Aqarii. The middle central portion measures 25" X 17", whilst the outer shell extends to 30" X 26". It is a peculiarly beautiful object with a high surface brightness.

M17 Omega Nebula

Here's this years attempt at M17. I'm much happier with the results this year from last. 36 images at 1 min each.

M20 Trifid Nebula first data

Here's the 1st data I collected for the Trifid Nebula last night. My plan is to capture more data tonight (hopefully more of the bottom area) and mosaic the two images together. This will be my first attempt so we will see how it goes. I was actually able to capture 5 minute images last night with no star trails, however it over saturated the image so I went to 2 minute captures for this (15 good ones out of 25). I also caught a satellite in one of the images and saw it coming in Stellarium. That was kind of neat. (Update) After taking a look as some other images of Trifid, I decided I have probably captured about all I'm going to get so moved on to something different for tonight.

This years Dumbbell

Here's this years attempt at M27 the Dumbbell Nebula. The autoguider is working much better now and therefore I can take nice long exposures without losing the framing. I still have a few more bugs to work out but it's much better than last year. Also the "dog house" is coming along nicely and was able to store the scope on the pier outside now, so setup times should be much better.

M16 Eagle Nebula

I was able to capture guided 2 minute images of the Eagle Nebula tonight. Here's the results.

Just a note the dark "spire" in the middle of the photo is the "Pillars of Creation".

NGC6826 The Blinking Nebula

Finally had some clear skys tonight, so had a chance to fine tune the alignment of the mount to the new pier. Figured I would give it a quick test. Found the Blinking Nebula and snapped of 15 mins of images.

From Wikipedia:

NGC 6826 is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Cygnus. It is commonly referred to as the "blinking planetary", although many other nebulae can exhibit such "blinking". When viewed through a small telescope, the brightness of the central star overwhelms the eye when viewed directly, obscuring the surrounding nebula. However, it can be viewed well in the peripheral vision (averted vision), which causes it to "blink" in and out of view as the observer's eye wanders.
A distinctive feature of this nebula are the two bright patches on either side, which are known as FLIERs, or Fast Low-Ionization Emission Regions. They appear to be relatively young, and moving outwards at supersonic speeds. According to Bruce Balick (University of Washington), "some of their observed characteristics suggest that they are like sparks flung outward from the central star late in the very recent past (a thousand years ago). Yet their shapes ... seem to suggest that they are stationary, and that material ejected from the star flows past them, scraping gas from their surfaces. Future Hubble observations will monitor any changes in the positions of FLIERs to resolve this issue. In either case, the formation of FLIERs cannot be easily explained by any models of stellar evolution.

M65

While I was out doing some 'testing' of the software and mount I decided to try to image something. I was on the "other side' of the meridian  (I normally shoot everything on the east side) and just picked something bright.
Here's my 1st attempt at M65. (only 5 images stacked / 30 seconds each).

NGC7023 The Iris Nebula

Here's my first attempt at the Iris Nebula. Guiding and polar alignment are getting easier. 2 minute images (15 each) total 30 mins of data.

from Wikipedia:

The Iris Nebula, also NGC 7023 and Caldwell 4, is a bright reflection nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cepheus. NGC 7023 is actually the cluster within the nebula, LBN 487, and the nebula is lit by a magnitude +7 star, SAO 19158.^[1] It shines at magnitude +6.8. It is located near the Mira-type variable star T Cephei, and near the bright magnitude +3.23 variable star Beta Cephei (Alphirk). It lies 1,300 light-years away and is six light-years across.

M57 Ring Nebula

Here's this years attempt at the Ring Nebula. I finally found the program to help get the polar alignment nailed down. "Alignmaster" does the trick and is easy to use. After about 5 minutes, the mount was ready to go. The autoguider only has to make minimal adjustments and I was able to get nice round stars. Took 40 minutes of data (40-1 minute images) captured with Nebulosity and minimum final processing in PS elements.

New Project

Well,
I started my new 'project'. Planning on creating a permanent pier out of concrete. Then placing a decking around that. Once that portion is finishing, I'm going to make a "dog house" to enclose everything. So far the hole is dug. (only going to do this in little bits and pieces.)

I added the concrete to the hole and base. Also placed a 5 foot long piece of galvanized pipe in the middle and 4 pieces of re-bar. Will get an 8 inch diameter "Sonotube" for the upper portion of the pier, along with a top plate and pour that when funds become available.

Friday I built the forms for the "sonotube" to pour the upper portion of the pier. Got everything level and created a template to place the "j-bolts" to attach the top plate for the mount. Filled the tube with concrete and leveled the template with the "j-bolts" in place.

The concrete has set. I completed the drilling of the holes in the 1/2 thick aluminum plate I'm using for the top plate. I installed the mount and checked clearances for the weights. So far everything is moving right along. Next I have to do a polar alignment with the polar scope and then drill the hole in the top plate for a centering post for the az adjustment screws. I'm planning on doing that tonight (Sunday June 6th.)

I completed the flooring around the pier yesterday (6-20-10) (using "free" materials donated by friends of the observatory) Next step is to add the 4x4s that the "dog house" will roll on. (see casters in photo below) The casters are 330 pound weight rated so I know I won't max them out. Keep in mind this mount and scope are only used for imaging so the "floor" doesn't need to be very large. In fact it only has to accommodate the dog house.

6-30-10
Here's a shot of the "dog house" framed and the front door hung. This is with the house opened as though it was in use. Still have work to do but it is coming along.

Here's a different angle with the "dog house" in the closed position.

Blackeye Galaxy with Meteor

During my imaging last night I discovered that I had captured a meteor in one of the images. I posted it on Astronomyforum.net and one of my friends there (Thanks Eric) did a final process and re-posted it. Here's the final shot.

M64 The Blackeye Galaxy

I was attempting to capture a different area of the sky tonight but it was a little to low so I started looking for a different target. I spotted M64 and thought I would give it a shot. There weren't many bright stars in the area so didn't take the time to set up the autoguider. These are 15 second images (50 of them stacked).

From Wikipedia:
The Black Eye Galaxy (also called Sleeping Beauty Galaxy; designated Messier 64, M64, or NGC 4826) was discovered by Edward Pigott in March 1779, and independently by Johann Elert Bode in April of the same year, as well as by Charles Messier in 1780. It has a spectacular dark band of absorbing dust in front of the galaxy's bright nucleus, giving rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye" or "Evil Eye" galaxy. M64 is well known among amateur astronomers because of its appearance in small telescopes. It is a spiral galaxy in the Coma Berenices constellation.

Antennae Galaxy

Here's tonight's results. 25 images total exposure 50 mins.

From Wikipedia:

The Antennae Galaxies (also known as NGC 4038/NGC 4039) are a pair of interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus. They were both discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1785.

The Ghost of Jupiter

Here's one from tonight. 18 - 1 min images. SW254N EQ5P mount, DSI IIc imager, SSAG, captured with Nebulosity, final process in PS elements.

From Wikipedia:
NGC 3242 is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Hydra.
William Herschel discovered this planetary nebula on February 7, 1785, and cataloged it as H IV.27. John Herschel observed it from the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, in the 1830s, and numbered it as h 3248, and included it in the 1864 General Catalogue as GC 2102; this became NGC 3242 in J. L. E. Dreyer's New General Catalogue of 1888.
This planetary nebula is most frequently called the Ghost of Jupiter, or Jupiter's Ghost, but it is also sometimes referred to as the Eye Nebula. It can be easily observed with amateur telescopes, and appears bluish green to most observers. Larger telescopes can distinguish the outer halo as well.^[2]

M83 The Southern Pinwheel

I'm still trying to get my autoguiding under control. However here's an attempt from last night. I was only able to get 7 good images from 15 takes (2 mins each). But still happy with the results.

from Wikipedia:
Pierre Mechain discovered M83 in 1752 at the Cape of Good Hope.^[6] Charles Messier added it to his catalogue of nebulous objects (now known as the Messier Catalogue) in March 1781.^[6]
On 16 June 2008 NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer project reported finding large numbers of new stars in the outer reaches of the galaxy. It had hitherto been thought that these areas lacked the materials necessary for star formation.^[7]

M63 The Sunflower Galaxy

I was able to capture 90 second images last night after doing a "drift alignment" on the scope. Here's the results: (16 minutes, SW254N, EQ5pro, guided)

from Wikipedia:
The Sunflower Galaxy (also known as Messier 63, M63, or NGC 5055) is an Spiral galaxy in the Canes Venatici constellation. It is a Spiral galaxy, consisting of a central disc surrounded by many short spiral arm segments. The Sunflower Galaxy is part of the M51 Group, a group of galaxies that also includes the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51).
The Sunflower Galaxy was discovered by Pierre Méchain on June 14, 1779.^[3] The galaxy was then listed by Charles Messier as object 63 in the Messier Catalogue.
In the mid-1800s, Lord Rosse identified spiral structure within the galaxy, making this one of the first galaxies in which such structure was identified.^[3]

M104 Sombrero Galaxy

Last night I got to try out my new Orion Starshoot autoguider. I had been attempting to use a Meade LPI for guiding and it just wasn't working out. Keep in mind I didn't have the best conditions last night. Clouds were passing and there was considerable humidity in the air. However I was able to capture great 1 minute images. Out of 20 taken I used 18. (lost tracking twice because of clouds.) What I really like is how "round" the stars in the background area. I hadn't really been able to do that with anything longer than 30 seconds. Here's the final image. (captured with Nebulosity, processed with Photoshop elements.) Skywatcher 254N newtonian, EQ5pro mount, Vixen 70mm guide scope, Starshoot guider and Meade DSI IIc imager.

from Wikipedia:
The Sombrero Galaxy (also known as M 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.

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

I have been attempting to use my Meade LPI as an autoguider. I had limited success last night (wind was gusting between 10 and 15 MPH). I was able to capture some 1 min exposures between the gusts. I took 30 but only about 8 came out. So here's the results.

The Whirlpool Galaxy (also known as Messier 51a, M51a, or NGC 5194) is an interacting^[5] grand-design^[6] spiral galaxy located at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is one of the most famous galaxies in the sky.^[7] The galaxy and its companion (NGC 5195) are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may even be seen with binoculars.^[8] The Whirlpool Galaxy is also a popular target for professional astronomers, who study it to further understanding of galaxy structure (particularly structure associated with the spiral arms) and galaxy interactions.

Mars 2nd attempt

I'm much happier with the 2nd attempt.

Latest M81 (Bodes Galaxy)

Here's an image from last night. Finally was able to capture 60 second images (30 stacked). SW254N with EQ5 p (unguided) DSI IIc.

Mars

Here's my 1st attempt at Mars. I neglected to find a star to focus on so it is a bit out of focus. However if you look closely you can see the polar ice cap (white area in the lower right). This was the first bit of "clear" weather we have had in a while so I took the opportunity. However the clouds were rolling in so I was pressed for time. Hopefully I will get another chance in the near future. Also we were at almost a full moon that was very close to Mars. Oh well we will try again!

Bubble Nebula NGC7635

Here's my 1st attempt at the Bubble Nebula. 20 each 45 sec images stacked.

(from Wikipedia)

NGC 7635, also called the Bubble Nebula and Sharpless 162, is a H II region[2] emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It lies close to the direction of the open cluster Messier 52. The "bubble" is created by the stellar wind from a massive hot, 8.7[2] magnitude young central star, the 15 ± 5 M☉[4] SAO 20575 (BD+60 2522).[7] The nebula is near a giant molecular cloud which contains the expansion of the bubble nebula while itself being excited by the hot central star, causing it to glow.[7] It was discovered in 1787 by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel.[6] The star SAO 20575 or BD+602522 is thought to have a mass of 10-40 Solar masses.

M52 Open Cluster

Here's a photo of an Open Cluster of stars (M52).

New Andromeda

I was able to capture about 20- 30 sec images of Andromedia last night. Here's the results. You can begin to see some dust trails on the edges.

Eskimo Nebula

I got a couple hours clear sky before the moon came up tonight. Allowed me to test out the new guide scope (it works!) However the LPI imager isn't going to work out. Oh well save up my nickles and dimes and get a "starshoot" autoguider (maybe my birthday hint hint).
Since I had some darkness I shot for the Eskimo Nebula. Here's the results of 20 second images (18 stacked) final process in PS Elements. (click on image for a larger view)



(from Wikipedia)
The Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392), also known as the Clownface Nebula,[4] is a bipolar[2] double-shell[5] planetary nebula (PN). It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1787. The formation resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood. It is surrounded by gas that composed the outer layers of a Sun-like star. The visible inner filaments are ejected by strong wind of particles from the central star. The outer disk contains unusual light-year long orange filaments.

NGC 2392 lies more than 2,870 light-years away and is visible with a small telescope in the constellation of Gemini.

Blue Moon

You've heard the saying "Once in a blue moon" well it happened last night. Every 19 years we are treated to a "Blue Moon" on New Years eve. A blue moon is when we have 2 full moons in the same month. I was going to attempt to see how well my new Vixen guide scope worked last night since we finally had clear sky's but the moon was soooooo bright that it pretty much wiped everything out. So I just shot the moon. The first 4 of these are using the SW254N and the Meade DSI the others are using the Vixen 70 mm guide scope with a Meade LPI. Hope you enjoy!