Welcome to my astrophotography website
I began imaging with an 8" Meade LX200R telescope in 2007. In January, 2010, I acquired a 14" Meade LX200GPS telescope mounted on a Milburn wedge and installed it in Dan Good's observatory in the Chiefland Astronomy Village, Chiefland, FL. Future images from Chiefland will be made with this scope, and I will continue to image in Mastersonville, PA, using the 8" Meade LX200R.
Scope control is done with Astroplanner, and camera control and autoguiding for the images made with the SBIG ST-2000XM camera were done with Equinox Image, both running on a MacBook Pro. Those images were processed with Maxim DL and Photoshop using Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools Action Set, both running in Windows XP under Parallels Desktop. Unless otherwise noted, for the images made with the ST-2000XM, the luminance is unbinned and the colors are binned 2X2.
In March, 2011, I added a Hyperstar 3 to the 14" scope and started imaging with an SBIG ST-8300C one-shot color camera. I use Nebulosity for camera control and PHD for guiding with a Meade DSI/Orion ST-80 mm on this setup. All images made with the ST-8300C are processed with Nebulosity running in Mac OS and Photoshop running in Windows XP under Parallels Desktop.
Here is the intrepid astronomer and the 14" telescope with the Hyperstar and the ST-8300C camera installed.
I want to thank Dan Good and John Yecker for their encouragement that got me started in astrophotography and for their many tips on telescopes, imaging and image processing.
CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO VIEW IT AT HIGHER RESOLUTION.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, MARCH 3 - 17, 2013.
NGC 2841 - This striking spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major is about 46 million light-years away. It is structurally similar to our neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, and is the defining example of a flocculent spiral galaxy because of its knotty arms.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 135 min, R = G = B = 60 min
Messier 95 - This beautiful spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo is about 38 million light-years away. It was discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781 and included in Charles Messier's catalog shortly thereafter. Its most striking feature, the reddish ring around the core, is a band of intense star formation. Also, blue patches of young, hot stars are evident. A type II supernova was discovered in M95 in March of 2012.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 125 min, R = G = B = 40 min
Messier 90 - This galaxy in the constellation Virgo, one of the largest and brightest spiral galaxies in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, is about 60 million light-years away. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781. Although the complex structure of the center of this galaxy indicates significant star formation, interactions with other members of the cluster have removed much of the interstellar gas from the outer regions of this galaxy and severely reduced the amount of star formation. Thus the outer spiral arms are soft and smooth. The irregular dwarf galaxy just above M90 is IC3583. It is only about 10,000 light-years from M90, and the two are almost surely interacting gravitationally.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 120 min, R = G = B = 40 min
NGC 4731 - This barred spiral galaxy in Virgo is about 65 million light-years away. Gravitational interactions with a nearby giant elliptical galaxy, NGC 4697, have distorted the arms of this galaxy. The blue color in the spiral arms indicates the presence of numerous young, hot stars. A smaller irregular galaxy, NGC4731A is visible at the bottom left of the image.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 120 min, R = G = B = 40 min
NGC 4298 and NGC 4302 - These two galaxies in the constellation Coma Berenices show two aspects for spiral galaxies. NGC 4298 is seen almost face-on, and NGC 4302 is seen edge-on. NGC 4298 is about 53 million light-years away and NGC 4302 is about 1 million light-years farther away. The relative proximity of the two should result in gravitational distortions, but none are evident. NGC 4302, with a diameter of 97,000 light-years, is about the same size as our galaxy, the Milky Way. The tiny spiral galaxy just to the left of NGC4302 is PGC 169114 and is about 1.2 billion light-years away.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 150 min, R = G = B = 60 min
NGC 4314 - This barred spiral galaxy is about 40 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. Even more striking than its symmetric shape is the prominent star-forming ring at its core, just visible in this image. It is thought that this ring has formed fairly recently, over the past few million years. A close-up of this ring, imaged by the Hubble space telescope, may be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NGC_4314HST1998-21-b-full.jpg .
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 120 min, R = G = B = 40 min
NGC 2419 - This globular cluster in the constellation Lynx was discovered by William Herschel in 1788. It is called the Intergalactic Wanderer because, at 300,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way, it is much farther away than any other of our galaxy's globular clusters. At such a distance it takes 3 billion years to make one orbit around the Milky Way.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 90 min, R = G = B = 30 min
Possible supernova in NGC 2207 - On March 1, 2013 a French-Australian group announced the discovery of a supernova candidate in the spiral galaxy, NGC 2207, which is about 80 million light-years away. The brightening of a star was immediately confirmed by others. This image was made on March 14, 2013 clearly shows a star where none is evident in an image made several years ago. Click here to see a comparison of the two images.
Note: This supernova was recently designated SN 2013ai.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 60 min
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, JANUARY 3 - 18, 2013. THE WEATHER DID NOT COOPERATE FOR THIS TRIP. MOST NIGHTS WERE CLOUDY OR HAD PASSING CLOUDS WITH HIGH CIRRUS ABOVE THEM.
The Great Orion Nebula (M42) and the Running Man Nebula (NGC1977) - One night as the clouds came and went I noticed a clear spot in Orion, so I set the camera running with one minute exposures of this region of Orion. I only got six exposures before it clouded over. This just shows that with a bright object at f/2 it does not take long to get a reasonable image. This is a region of dense nebulosity and intense star formation about 1300 light-years away. The Great Orion Nebula is the lower half of the image and the Running Man nebula is the upper blue region. You have to look close to see the shadowy running man.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 6 X 1 minute = 6 min
NGC 1365 - This barred spiral galaxy is 56 million light-years away in Fornax. It is the largest member of the Fornax galaxy cluster and has been well studied because of its prominent bar connecting the core with long tenuous arms. It is thought that the bar serves as a channel to direct material towards the central black hole. The bar is also a region of intense star formation. There are a number of smaller, background galaxies in this image.
Thanks go to Bill Williams, who noted that supernova SN2102fr is visible in this image. It is the lower, and dimmer, of the two stars visible just above the galactic core. SN2012fr was discovered in late October of 2012 and reached its peak brightness of magnitude 12 in mid-Novermber. It was about magnitude 14.6 when this image was taken in mid-January, 2013.
Update 2/27/2013 - Astronomers announced that using NASA's recently launched X-ray telescope, NuStar, and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray telescope, the first definitive measurement of the spin of a supermassive black hole has been made. The black hole at the center of NGC 1365 is rotating at very near the limit allowed by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
This galaxy was extremely low in the southern sky, reaching 2.4 air masses at its highest point. As with most images in this group, the skies were hazy.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 32 X 5 minutes = 2 hr 40 min
NGC 1097 - This barred spiral galaxy in Fornax it about 45 million light-years away. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1790. It is a Seyfert galaxy, meaning that it has a very active core containing a supermassive black hole. Two smaller galaxies are interacting gravitationally with NGC 1097. One, NGC 1097A, can be seen in this image just above NGC 1097. The other was discovered by HI emission and is not visible here.
This galaxy was very low in the southern sky, barely clearing 2 air masses at its highest point. That, along with the hazy skies, limited the amount of fine detail I was able to get.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 19 X 5 minutes = 1 hr 35 min
Images of planetary nebulae - For those who are not familiar with them, planetary nebulae are formed when stars like our sun burn up all their nuclear fuel and start to collapse. They blow off their outer layers of gas, and the hot core of the collapsed star then illuminates the gas blown off causing it to glow. That glowing gas is the planetary nebula. They have nothing to do with planets, but were misnamed by William Herschel, who discovered them in the 18th century and thought they looked like Uranus, the planet he had just discovered.
My friend, Barry Riu, has made some wonderful images that show tiny planetary nebulae imbedded in dense star fields and faint nebulosity. I decided to give wide field imaging of planetary nebulae a try. The poor seeing hampered me somewhat. In particular I was not able to do any deep imaging to pick up faint nebulosity. However, overall I am pretty pleased with these images.
Abell 24 (PK217+14.1) - This annular planetary nebula in Canis Major has a diameter of about 4 arcmin and a magnitude of 13.6. Its blue, magnitude 17.1, central star is visible in this image as the topmost of a very small triangle of stars near the center of the nebula.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 24 X 5 minutes = 2 hr
Abell 33 (PK238+34.1) - This beautiful blue planetary nebula in Hydra has a diameter of 4.5 arcmin and a magnitude of 13.4. Its apparent spherical shape belies a more complicated structure which is evidenced by the darker oval regions inside it. It is about 1500 light-years from earth. The blue central star is magnitude 15.5.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 23 X 5 minutes = 1 hr 55 min
NGC 1514 - Also known as the Crystal Ball Nebula, this planetary nebula in Taurus was discovered by William Herschel in 1790. Until then, he thought that nebulosity was made up of faint, unresolvable stars, but this bright star surrounded by what he called "a faintly luminous atmosphere" seemed inconsistent with that view. The central star is now thought to be a double star with a period of rotation of about 10 days. The nebula is about 600 light-year away and has a diameter of about 2 arcmin. In infrared images NGC 1514 has an unusual, double loop shape (see http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20101117.html ).
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 12 X 5 minutes = 1 hr
Abell 13 (PK804-08.1) - This very faint planetary nebula in Orion resembles the Ring Nebula in Lyra. It is brightest in hydrogen (HII) emission and in nitrogen (NII) emission, both of which are red. It has an angular diameter of 2.9 arcmin and a magnitude of 15.3.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 22 X 5 minutes = 1 hr 50 min
THE IMAGE BELOW WAS MADE IN MASTERSONVILLE, PA, IN THE WINTER OF 2012.
M77 and NGC 1055 - These two spiral galaxies, which form a binary system, are about 50 million light-years away in the constellation, Cetus. The face-on galaxy, M77, is a Seyfert Galaxy, which means it has an extremely active core, emitting large amounts of radiation in a wide band of wavelengths. NGC 1055 is seen edge-on and is characterised by dense, turbulent dust lanes. It is a strong emitter of infrared and X-ray radiation. Each of these galaxies is about the same size as the Milky Way, and they are about 500,000 light-years apart.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, OCTOBER 8- 21, 2012.
The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) - This bright nebula is only 700 light-years from earth in the constellation, Aquarius. It was formed when a star similar to our sun reached the end of its life, collapsed, and ejected its outer layers into space. The remainder of the star is visible at the center of the nebula and is destined to become a white dwarf. The red glow is hydrogen emission and the blue glow is oxygen emission. Nebulas of this sort are called planetary nebulas because, when William Herschel first observed them in the 18th century, they reminded him of the planet, Uranus, which he had just discovered. However, they have nothing to do with planets that orbit stars.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 49 X 5 minutes = 4 hr 5 min.
The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) and Barnard 168 - The bright nebula, Cocoon, glows red from hydrogen emission and blue from light reflected off the gas and dust at its periphery. The central star that is illuminating it is young and hot, having formed about only 100,000 years ago. The dark nebula, Barnard 168, seems to form a trail attached to the Cocoon. Both are about 4000 light-years away in the constellation, Cygnus.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 17 X 5 minutes = 1 hr 25 min.
The Flame (NGC 2024) and the Horsehead (B33) - This region in the constellation, Orion, is part of a large star-forming complex called the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. North is up in this image. The bright star northwest of the center of the image is Alnitak, a 2nd magnitude star that is the easternmost star in Orion's belt. The pinkish object at the top is the Flame Nebula, a region of glowing hydrogen gas being illuminated by Alnitak. At the lower right is the Horsehead Nebula. Near the center of the image is NGC 2023, a gas cloud reflecting light from a star embedded in it. It is one of the brightest sources of fluorescent molecular hydrogen in the sky. And finally to the east of NGC 2023 is another reflection nebula, IC 435.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 19 X 45 seconds = 14 min 15 sec.
The Silver Dollar Galaxy (NGC 253) - This spiral galaxy in the constellation, Sculptor, lies at the center of the Sculptor group of galaxies, about 11 million light-years away. It is characterized by regions of intense star formation and complex knots of dark dust. Caroline Herschel discovered it during one of her searches for comets in 1783.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 17 X 5 minutes = 1 hr 25 min.
NGC 247 - This spiral galaxy, about 11 million light-years away in the constellation, Cetus, is a member of the Sculptor group of galaxies. It is much fainter than its neighbor NGC 253 (see above) and shows some distortion caused by interactions of other galaxies. It contains prominent knots that are regions of intense star formation.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 51 X 5 minutes = 4 hr 15 min.
The Spider (IC 417) and the Fly (NGC 1931) - These two regions of hydrogen emission in the constellation, Auriga, are composed of newly formed stars that are still surrounded by the hydrogen gas from which they formed. An artistic eye can see a spider in the larger nebula on the right, and a fly in the smaller region on the left. Both are about 10,000 light-years away.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 36 X 5 minutes = 3 hrs.
The Pacman Nebula (NGC 281) - This region of hydrogen emission is about 9.5 thousand light-years away in the constellation, Cassiopeia. Its name derives from its resemblance to the video game character.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 24 X 5 minutes = 2 hrs.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 40 X 5 minutes = 3 hr 20 min.
Comet 168P/Hergenrother - This 9th magnitude comet was zipping through the constellation, Pegasus, on the night of October 12-13. A very short (3 frames) movie showing its motion can be viewed by clicking here. The image above is one frame of the movie.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer /corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: Each frame was 5 minutes
THE IMAGES BELOW WERE MADE IN MASTERSONVILLE, PA, IN THE SUMMER OF 2012.
Eastern Veil Nebula (NGC 6992)
Pickering's Triangle
Western Veil Nebula (NGC 6960)
The three images above show some of the visible portions of a large supernova remnant known as the Cygnus Loop. It was discovered in 1784 by William Herschel and is now known to be about 1400 light-years away. The whole Cygnus Loop, all of which does not radiate at visible wavelengths, is about 3° in diameter. This makes the linear diameter about 50 light years. The red and blue filaments are the emission from hydrogen and oxygen, respectively. The supernova that formed the Loop happened between 5000 and 8000 years ago.
The bright, 4th magnitude star in the Western Veil image is 52 Cygni. It is much closer than the nebulae at about 200 light-years.
Pickering's Triangle, which is situated between the eastern and westen nebulae, is much fainter than either of them and was discovered photographically by Williamina Fleming in 1904. It carries the name of Edward Charles Pickering, who was the director of the Harvard College Observatory, where she did her work.
Propeller Nebula (DWB111) - This odd-shaped nebula in Cygnus, listed in a catalog developed by Dickel, Wendker and Bieritz (1969), is a bit of a mystery. Neither its distance nor its source of excitation is known, and its twisted shape is not understood. It is part of a much larger region of hydrogen emission. Also, its mass is rather low, amounting to only a few tens of solar masses. Alternative designations are Simeis 57 and MRSL 470.
Poor weather here in Pennsylvania this spring has made it almost impossible to image faint deep sky objects, so I decided to turn my attention to globular clusters in the Milky Way, many of which are quite bright and can be imaged with relatively short exposures. Globular clusters are spherical aggregates of stars, typically tens to hundreds of thousands, held together by their mutual gravitational attraction (picture a ball of bees buzzing around each other).They are thought to be nearly as old as the universe itself.
M13 (The Great Globular Cluster of Hercules) - M13 is one of the brightest globular clusters in the sky with an apparent magnitude of 5.8, visible to the naked eye on a clear, dark night. It was discovered by Edmund Halley in 1714 and placed by Charles Messier on his list of "nebulae" in 1764. Composed of about 300,000 stars, M13 is about 25,000 light-years from earth and is about 145 light-years in diameter.
M92 - This cluster was discovered by Bode in 1777 and rediscovered by Messier in 1781. It is about 27,000 light years from earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.3. Like M13 it is visible to the naked eye on a clear, dark night. It is about 100 light-years in diameter.
Transits of Venus, 2004 and 2012 - The top image is of the transit of Venus across the sun on June 8, 2004 and the bottom image is of the transit on June 5, 2012. (I know, the only evident difference is that my astrophotography skills have improved in the interim.) Transits of Venus are rare because the orbital planes of Venus and the earth are tilted with respect to one another, making it unusual that the earth, Venus and the sun line up. These transits occur in pairs separated by 8 years and the pairs are separated from each other by either 105.5 years or 121.5 year. The last pair of transits before these occurred in 1874 and 1882; there were none in the 20th century. I have been fortunate to image both of the 21st century transits. At my location in Lancaster County, PA, the transit of 2004 ended a couple of hours after sunrise on June 8 and the transit of 2012 began a couple of hours before sunset on June 5. Clouds obscured much of the 2012 transit; this image is the one (of about 40) that had the least cloud obscuration. A very short movie of the 2012 transit can be seen here, and a short movie of the 2004 transit is here.
Another thing to notice is that the solar surface is essentially devoid of sunspots during the 2004 transit. There is one region of faint sunspot activity, NOAA solar active region 0627, visible above Venus and just below the center of the sun. At this time in 2004 the sun was headed toward a sunspot minimum. During the 2012 transit there are numerous regions of sunspot activity as the sun heads toward a sunspot maximum.
For the 2004 transit:
Telescope: Meade ETX-60 with Baader film solar filter
Camera: Canon S110 mounted afocally to 24 mm eyepiece
For the 2012 transit:
Telescope: Meade ETX-125 with Baader film solar filter
Camera: Olympus C-765 mounted afocally to 40 mm eyepiece
M88 - Messier 88, discovered by the French astronomer, Charles Messier, in 1781, is about 47 million light-years away in the constellation, Coma Berenices. It is classified as an Sbc spiral galaxy and has well defined spiral arms that can be traced right to the bright core. The core has a supermassive black hole in its center with the mass of 80 million suns. M88 is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, and there is some evidence that it is orbiting the large elliptical galaxy, M87.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R
Camera: Olympus C-765 @ 10X zoom mounted afocally to 15 mm Plossl eyepiece
Effective focal length and focal ratio: 8400 mm and f/42
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, MARCH 11- 26, 2012. THE SUMMER WEATHER PATTERN HAD SET IN EARLY, WHICH MEANT LATE AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS AND HAZY, HUMID NIGHTS. THERE WERE ONLY A COUPLE OF REASONABLY CLEAR NIGHTS THE WHOLE TWO WEEKS.
M95 with supernova,SN2012aw, M96 and the glow of Mars - A wide-field view of M95 and M96, the galaxies on the right and left, respectvely, was on my imaging list, but I got the unexpected treat of being able to image a supernova (SN2012aw) in M95 just 6 days after its discovery. The supernova was 13th magnitude at the time this image was made. Reflections caused by Mars, which was very bright and just out of the field of view, gives an artistic appearance to this image.
M95 is about 38 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It is a barred spiral with ring of star-forming gas clouds circling its core. It is a member of the M96 group of galaxies.
M96 is about 31 million light-years away, also in the constellation Leo and is the brightest member of the M96 group. It is a spiral galaxy with a core that is displaced from its center, probably by interaction with a nearby galaxy.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 24 X 5 minutes = 2 hrs.
Mars - Mars was just past its closest point to Earth this time around, but was still only 13.6 arc seconds in diameter. Even so, and with skies that were not too steady, I was able to capture some surface features. A good explanation of these features can be found in a Sky and Telescope article by Daniel M. Troiani (see http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/3307776.html?page=4&c=y ). The location of the orographic cloud in this image makes it highly likely that it was generated by the Martian atmosphere flowing over Elysium Mons, a 14 km high volcano in the Elysium plain (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium_Mons ).
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS
Lonely Galaxies - The images above are wide-field views of two iconic galaxies, M104, the Sombrero Galaxy, and M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy. Click on each image to get a better look at the galaxies.
M104 is about 29 million light-years away in the constellation, Virgo. It is characterized by a very bright core, thought to be a supermassive black hole of 2 billion solar masses, a large central bulge, and a prominent dust lane. A rather large number of globular clusters have been identified in the bulge.
M51 is about 23 million light-years away in the constellation, Canes Venatici. It is characterized by distinct, classic spiral arms containing many star-forming regions and by distortion both probably caused by its interaction with its nearby neighbor galaxy, NGC 5195, also visible in this image. M51 is the brightest member of a small cluster containing 3 other galaxies, M63, NGC 5023 and NGC 5229.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 24 X 5 minutes = 2 hrs.
NGC 2467 - This region in the constellation, Puppis, has a number of stars that have recently formed, some still surrounded by the gas cloud from which they condensed. See, for example, the bright star just above the center of the image that has a cocoon of red hydrogen gas around it. The bright nebula on the right is about 17,000 light-years away and is also made up of hydrogen gas that is being excited by the numerous young stars within it.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 15 X 5 minutes = 1 hr 15 min
THE IMAGE BELOW WAS MADE IN MASTERSONVILLE, PA, IN THE WINTER OF 2011-12.
The Crab Nebula (M1) - This puff of gas and dust in the constellation, Taurus, is the result of a supernova explosion observed by Arab, Chinese and Japanese astronomers in 1054 CE. Images taken over time show that it is still expanding at a high rate. The remnant of the star that exploded is a rapidly rotating neutron star visible in this image as the lower of a close pair of dim stars near the center of the nebula.This star is one of the first "pulsars" discovered when it was observed in 1968 to emit pulses of electromagnetic radiation about 30 times per second. The Crab Nebula was thought to be rather quiet when in early 2011 a strong gamma ray burst was oberved to emanate from it. This burst is not completely understood, but is thought to have been caused by a rapid reconfiguration of the magnetic field of the pulsar.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, JANUARY 11- 29, 2012. ALL WERE TAKEN WITH MY SBIG ST-8300C CAMERA AND HYPERSTAR LENS MOUNTED ON THE 14" MEADE LX200GPS SCOPE.
The Medusa Nebula (Abell 21) - This emission nebula, about 1500 light-years away in the constellation, Gemini, was discovered by George O. Abell in 1955. Until 1970 it was classified as a supernova remnant, but a Soviet study found it to be a planetary nebula. In addition to the bright hydrogen (H-alpha) emission from the crescent and the faint blue oxygen (OIII) emission intermingled with it, there is quite a lot of very faint emission visible around this nebula.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 67 X 5 minutes = 5 h 35 min
Dreyer's Nebula (IC 447/ IC 2169) - This large, blue reflection nebula in Monoceros dominates a region that contains a number of other reflection nebulae, IC 446, vdB 76, 78 and 79, and dark nebulae, Barnard 37, LDN 1606 and 1607. This region is thought to be a part of huge cloud of dust and gas that includes the Cone Nebula, the Fox Fur Nebula and the Christmas Tree open star cluster. If so, it is about 2700 light-years away.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 24 X 5 minutes = 2 hr
The Flaming Star Nebula - The spectacular nebula is about 1500 light-years away in the constellation, Auriga. The bright blue 6th magnitude star near the center of the image is AE Aurigae and appears to be on fire because of the red emission and blue reflection it generates in the gas around it.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 28 X 5 minutes = 2 hr 20 min
Jones-Emberson 1 - This 14th magnitude planetary nebula, also known at PK 164+31.1, is 1600 light-years away in the constellation, Lynx. It is the remnant of the material blown off by a red giant star late in its evolution. The central star, the final ember of the red giant, is a 17th magnitude blue-colored white dwarf just visible in this image. The nebula was discovered in 1939 by R. Jones and R. Emberson.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 15 X 5 minutes = 1 hr 15 min
M78 - The dust in this cloud, which is about 1600 light-years away in Orion, reflects light from nearby stars, giving it a blue color. It is the brightest reflection nebula in the sky. The reddish glow is cause by emission from gas illuminated by hot stars. Dark dust lanes add to the complexity of this beautiful region of the Milky Way. A closer view of this is further down this web page.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 32 X 5 minutes = 2 hr 40 min
The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (M83) - This barred spiral galaxy is about 15 million light-years away in the constellation, Hydra. A number of supernovae have been observed in M83. It was discovered by French astronomer, Pierre Mechain in 1752 at the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. It is low in the sky at Chiefland, only reaching 2 air masses at its highest point.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 28 X 5 minutes = 2 hr 20 min
Thor's Helmet (NGC 2359) - This emission nebula, about 15,000 light-years away in the constellation, Canis Major, is caused by the strong stellar winds of a very hot Wolf-Rayet star at its center. This star is thought to be near its supernova stage of development. The bluish regions are due to emission from oxygen atoms in the surrounding gas cloud.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 24 X 5 minutes = 2 hr
IC 342 - This large spiral galaxy is only 7 million light-years away in the constellation, Camelopardalis. This is close enough to the Milky Way's local group to have gravitationally influenced its development. IC 342 is dim and appears yellowish because we are looking at it through the dust and gas of the Milky Way.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 32 X 5 minutes = 2 hr 40 min
The Witch's Head Nebula - Also known as IC 2118, this faint reflection nebula, about 900 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus, is illuminated by the nearby supergiant, Rigel, in Orion. It is believed to be the remnant of an ancient supernova.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 37 X 5 minutes = 3 hr 5 min
NGC 2170 and surroundings - This complex region of reflection, emission and dark nebulae is about 2700 light-years away in the constellation, Monoceros. The red emission and blue reflection nebular region at the center is NGC 2170 and van den Berg 67. The blue reflection nebula just to the left of NGC2170 is van den Berg 69. The reflection nebula above and to the left of NGC 2170 is van den Berg 68. One remarkable feature of this region is the dark nebula near the middle that resembles spilled ink.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 45 X 5 minutes = 3 hr 45 min
Leo 2 - This very faint dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the constellation, Leo, is about 700,000 light-years away. It is one of over 24 known satellite galaxies to the Milky Way. It was discovered in 1950 by Wilson and Harrington of Mount Wilson Observatory. A 2007 study found that Leo 2 consists mainly of older, metal-poor stars and apparently has not been ripped apart by other larger galaxies as might have been expected.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 36 X 5 minutes = 3 hr
Head of the Seagull (IC 2177) - This region of red emission and bluish reflection nebulae is about 3600 light-years away in the constellation, Monoceros. It is part of a very large region of complex nebulosity.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 25 X 5 minutes = 2 hr 5 min
van den Berg 94 and Sharpless 2-297 - This region of reflection and emission at the tip of one of the Seagull's wings is illuminated by the bright star near the center of the image.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 18 X 5 minutes = 1 hr 30 min
Sharpless 2-284 - This large, faint cloud of hydrogen emission about 7800 light-years away in the constellation, Monoceros, has an interesting history. In 1979 it was determined by Bonsignori-Facondi and Tomasi (http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1979A%26A....77...93Bl) using radio observations to be a supernova remnant. In 2011 M. Stupar and Q. A. Parker (http://arxiv.org/pdf/1110.1827.pdf ) in a higher resolution radio study found that it did not have the characteristics expected of a supernova remnant. However they did find that the very faint emission clouds to the east did have the properties of a supernova remnant. A bit of that remnant, designated G213.3-0.4, is barely visible in the lower left corner of this image. I thank Bill Williams for making me aware of the Stupar and Parker paper. I imaged this mainly to see if I could image an object of low surface brightness in a reasonable exposure time with the Hyperstar.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 36 X 5 minutes = 3 hr
THE IMAGES BELOW WERE MADE IN MASTERSONVILLE, PA, IN THE WINTER OF 2011-12.
Jupiter's Great Red Spot - This is an image of Jupiter made during a transit of the Great Red Spot on the evening of December 1. 2011. The Great Red Spot is a persistent hurricane-like storm that has been evident in the atmosphere of Jupiter for nearly 200 years. Its diameter is over twice the diameter of the earth.
Click here to see a movie that covers about 2 hours of another transit on December 11, 2011. One of Jupiter's moons, Europa, can be seen moving in from the left at the end.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R
Camera: Olympus C-765 @ 10X zoom mounted afocally to 15 mm Plossl eyepiece
Effective focal length and focal ratio: 8400 mm and f/42
NGC1023 - This galaxy, 33 million light-years away in Perseus, doesn't look all that interesting. However, it has a super-massive black hole in its core that is between 40 and 60 million times as massive as our sun as determined by studying the motions of stars around it. Some of the stars near the core are orbiting at speeds up to 1.3 million miles per hour. NGC1023 has a bar, barely visible in this image, and it is undergoing a collision with another galaxy, as is evidenced by the soft star cloud seen at the lower left edge of the disk.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, OCTOBER 16- 30, 2011. ALL WERE TAKEN WITH MY SBIG ST-8300C CAMERA AND HYPERSTAR LENS MOUNTED ON THE 14" MEADE LX200GPS SCOPE. I AM GETTING A LITTLE BETTER AT COLLIMATING THE HYPERSTAR, BUT THERE ARE STILL SOME FUNKY STARS, THOUGH THEY ARE NOW MOSTLY IN ONE CORNER OF THE IMAGES. I THINK I KNOW THE PROBLEM AND HOPE TO SOLVE IT NEXT TIME DOWN.
The Great Nebula of Orion - A must for any astrophotographer from novice to expert, I had never imaged this nebula. So early one morning after a long night of imaging, I noticed Orion high in the sky and decided to give it a try. I shot 30 one-minute exposures, knowing the Trapezium region would be blown out, but hoping to capture the beauty of the larger nebular structure. I am not disappointed.
Also known as Messier 42, this nebula in Orion is about 1300 light-years away and is a region of extraordinary star formation. It is easily visible to the naked eye in Orion's sword. This image captures only about 1 degree of the 10 degree extent of the enormous cloud of gas and dust. Even in this image the turbulent combination of red emission regions, blue reflection nebulae and dark clouds of dust is evident.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 30 X 1 minutes = 0.5 hrs
The Andromeda Galaxy - Also designated Messier 31, this spectacular galaxy in Andromeda is visible to the naked eye on a clear, dark night. It is, together with the MIlky Way, among the largest members of the local galaxy cluster. This image shows less than half its total extent. About 2.5 million light-years away, it is destined to merge with the Milky Way in a few billion years. The blue star cluster near the top left edge of the image is NGC 206, one of the largest known open clusters. It is believed to be located in the Andromeda galaxy. A number of globular star clusters have been identified in this galaxy; some of those near NGC 206 can be seen here.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 18 X 5 minutes = 1.5 hrs
NGC 1333 - This reflection nebula is located about 1000 light-years away in the Perseus molecular cloud. This cloud, a mere 1 million years old, is a nearby star-forming region. As is evident in this image, it is a region with a very complex structure, embodying a blue reflection nebula, red emission nebulae and extensive dark dust clouds. In October, 2011 a University of Toronto-led international team of astronomers reported that NGC 1333 contains an unusually large number of brown dwarfs, failed stars that did not get hot enough to initiate hydrogen fusion. One of these brown dwarfs is only 6 times as massive as Jupiter. A description of this work can be seen here.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 24 X 5 minutes = 2 hrs.
The Iris Nebula - This reflection nebula, about 1300 light-years away in Cepheus, surrounds the open cluster, NGC 7023. A bright star in the cluster, SAO 19158, illuminates the surrounding cloud of gas and dust. Dark dust clouds extend out from the bright nebula.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 12 X 5 minutes = 1 hr.
NGC 7129 and NGC 7142 - NGC 7129 is a reflection nebula about 3300 light-years away in Cepheus. It is illuminated by a cluster of young, hot stars. This nebula, though not very prominent at visible wavelengths, is large and bright in the infrared because of dust grains that are heated by the ultraviolet radiation from the cluster and then re-radiate in the infrared. NGC 7142 is an open cluster, also in Cepheus, but whose distance has been difficult to ascertain because of obscuration by a molecular cloud, probably the one surrounding NGC 7129.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 19 X 5 minutes = 1 hrs. 35 min.
The Bubble Nebula and M52 - These two objects reside in the constellation, Cassiopeia. The Bubble Nebula, near the center of the image, is about 10,000 light-years away and is carved out of a cloud of hydrogen gas by the stellar wind from the hot young star, SAO 20575, just above its center. It has a radius of about 5 light-years. The same star is causing the whole larger gas cloud to glow. M52, at the upper left, is an open cluster discovered by Charles Messier in 1774. It is about 5000 light-years away and is approximately 35 million years old.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 31 X 5 minutes = 2 hrs. 35 min.
The Heart Nebula - This emission nebula, also known as IC 1805, is a glowing region of ionized hydrogen gas about 7500 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Cassiopeia. The gas is being ionized by the radiation from a small open cluster near its center known as Mellotte 15.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 18 X 5 minutes = 1.5 hrs
IC 1795 - Also designated as Lynd's Bright Nebula 645 and NGC 896, the region of strong emission in the center of the image is adjacent to the Heart Nebula, just to the northwest, and is part of the same star-forming region. The bright portion of IC 1795 is about 70 light.years across.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 12 X 5 minutes = 1 hr
The Wizard Nebula - Also known as NGC 7380 this open cluster and emission nebula in Cepheus was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787. It is 8000 light-years away and spans about 100 light-years in extent. The complex structure is due to the interactions of gas, dust and stars.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 36 X 5 minutes = 3 hrs
NGC 300 - This spiral galaxy, somewhat reminiscent of M33, is about 7 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation, Sculptor. Long thought to be a member of the Sculptor Group, which includes NGC 253 and NGC 247, recent distance measurements place it in the foreground. It has had two optical transients in recent years, one in 2008 that was probably the explosion of a low-mass star and one in 2010 that was originally designated a supernova, but later classified as another optical transient. The core of NGC 300 is an X-ray source thought to be a binary black hole with a period of about 30 hours.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 24 X 5 minutes = 2 hrs
Crescent Nebula and Cygnus Bubble - The upper image is of a region in Cygnus that contains both the Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888 visible in the top right) and the Cygnus Bubble (a very faint planetary nebula PN G75.5+1.7 located just below the middle and slightly to the right of the 3-pronged dark nebula, but not visible). I had hoped that 2 hours 20 minutes at f/2 would be sufficient to reveal the Cygnus Bubble, but it was not. However, by converting the image to reversed black and white and performing a tortuous curves stretch, I believe I have revealed the Cygnus Bubble in the lower image. Click on it to enlarge it (click again to get full size). The head of the yellow arrow points to the lower edge of this remarkably spherical nebula. The lower half of the bubble is all that is visible. I see it; do you? If you want to see a clearer H-alpha image of the Cygnus Bubble, click here.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 28 X 5 minutes = 2 hrs 20 min
Tulip Nebula and surroundings - This is a wider-field view of the image seen directly below. Go to that image for a description.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 24 X 5 minutes = 2 hrs
THE IMAGES BELOW WERE MADE IN MASTERSONVILLE, PA, IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 2011.
Tulip Nebula and Cygnus X-1 - Also designated Sharpless 2-101, this emission nebula, which is about 6000 light-years distant, is embedded in a larger region of fainter nebulosity a few degrees south of Sadr, the star at the center of Cygnus. The blue star near the center of the image is probably the star illuminating this region. Noted near the right edge of the image is the visible component of Cygus X-1, a bright x-ray source that was the first such object confirmed to contain a black hole. The black hole, with a mass of about 9 solar masses, is orbiting the visible star, a blue supergiant made yellow by interstellar reddening. Matter pulled from the star is heated to very high temperatures as it falls into the black hole thus producing the x-rays.
Comet Garradd - Officially designated Comet Garradd (C/2009 P1) it is seen in the two images above when it is about twice as far from the sun as the earth. In the top image, which is one 2.5 minute exposure, it is passing the globular cluster, M71, in Sagitta on August 26, 2011. In the bottom image, which is 15 2-minute exposures centered on the comet and stacked, it is seen moving through the constellation Delphinus on August 22, 2011. At the times of these images it was about magnitude 8, and it will reach its brightest at about magnitude 7 in February, 2012. It will not get very close to the sun, its closest approach occurring on December 23, 2011 at a distance of 1.55 times the distance from the earth to the sun.
M16 (Eagle Nebula) - M16 is an open star cluster in the constellation, Serpens, that is imbedded in a star-forming cloud of hydogen gas containing a structure that looks like an eagle, hence the name. The cluster was discovered in 1745-46 by Jean-Phillipe de Cheseaux. It is about 6500 light-years away and contains a famous structure imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope and named "The Pillars of Creation".
Lynd's Bright Nebula 187 - This region, about 4° southwest of Sadr, the star at the heart of Cygnus, contains a number of emission and dark nebulae. One of each is seen in this image. The emission nebula in the center is Lynd's Bright Nebula 187, and the dark nebula in the upper right is Lynd's Dark Nebula 862. The bright blue star on the left is 28 Cygni, a B2 dwarf that has been observed to have two similar periodicities, as well as outbursts correlated with constructive intereference between the two (see http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2000ASPC..214..232T ). The halos around the brighter stars are caused by high, thin clouds that were passing during the exposures.
Supernova in M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) - A supernova in M51, now designated SN2011dh, was discovered on May 31, 2011 by several amateur astronomers. The magnitude at that time was estimated to be 14.0. I made this image on June 6 when the magnitude was estmated to be 13.8. Initial indications are that this is a Type II supernova, an explosion that results from the collapse of a massive star whose nuclear fusion reactions can no longer support it against its own weight. Such a star must be at least 9 times as massive as our sun.To view a movie showing M51 before and after the supernova cilck here.
M51 is 35 million light-years away in Canes Venatici. A smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5195, seen above M51 in this image, is partially obscured by the dust in one of M51's arms. The gravitational interaction of the two is evident from the gas and dust spewing from NGC 5195. It is believed that the prominent spiral arms in M51 are due to tidal forces from NGC 5195. There are many hot, young blue stars in the arms of M51 and well as reddish star-forming regions. In the distant future these two galaxies will merge.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, MARCH 24 -APRIL 9, 2011. ALL WERE TAKEN WITH MY NEW SBIG ST-8300C CAMERA AND HYPERSTAR LENS MOUNTED ON THE 14" MEADE LX200GPS SCOPE. THEY ARE OF VARYING QUALITY BECAUSE I DID NOT SPEND MUCH TIME ON COLLIMATION OF THE HYPERSTAR LENS. I'LL TACKLE THAT NEXT TIME DOWN. OVERALL, I AM PRETTY PLEASED, PARTICULARLY WITH THE RATHER SHORT EXPOSURES ON MOST OF THE IMAGES.
The Rosette Nebula - This cloud of ionized hydrogen in Monoceros, almost three time the angular size of the moon, is probably the birthplace of open cluster, NGC 2244, of hot, young stars. The radiation from those stars is ionizing the gas and the stellar winds are blowing the gas outward from the center of the cloud.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 65 minutes
M81 and M82 - At the bottom of this image is M81, a spectacular spiral galaxy in Ursa Major about 12 million light-years from earth. It was discovered in 1774 by Johann Bode and is thus also known as Bode's Galaxy. Dust in the spiral arms is heated by young stars resulting in strong infrared emission. It is interacting gravitationally with M82, the galaxy at the top of this image, causing intense star formation in the latter. The star-forming region is just visible as red tendrils at the center of the galaxy. The overall result is that M82 is exceptionally bright, 5 times a bright as the whole Milky Way.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 65 minutes
Markarian's Chain - In the mid-1970's B. E. Markarian, an Armenian astronomer, discovered that seven members of this string of galaxies in Virgo share a common motion. The chain includes the two bright elliptical galaxies, M84 and M86, on the right and left, respectively, near the bottom right corner, as well as numerous smaller galaxies. The two interacting galaxies near the center form Arp 120. All are members of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, which is about 70 million light years away and exerts a gravitational influence on the Milky Way.
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 25 minutes
The Leo Triplet - This trio of spiral galaxies in Leo consists of, clockwise from the top, NGC 3628, M65 and M66. The gravitational interactions among the three have resulted in the distortions seen in NGC 3628 and the faint outer arms of M66. The group is about 35 million light-years away.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 185 minutes
M106 and NGC 4217 - M106, on the left, is a Seyfert II galaxy, meaning it shows strong, narrow-band emission. It is believed to harbor a supermassive black hole in its core. It is 25 million light-years away and contains a water vapor maser emitting at a frequency of 22 GHz. Regions of young, blue stars can be seen in its arms. NGC 4217, the edge-on spiral galaxy on the right, may be a companion to M106. There are also a number of small, more distant galaxies in this image.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 140 minutes
NGC 2174 and NGC 2175 - NGC 2174, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula, is a emission nebula in Orion associated with the open cluster, NGC 2175, about 6500 light-years away. In the upper left corner of the emission nebula is a faint reflection nebula.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 70 minutes
Coma Cluster - These two images are an attempt to capture both the breadth and the depth of this enormous cluster of galaxies in Coma Berenices. Over 1000 confirmed galaxies have been counted. Ninety percent of the matter in this cluster is thought to be dark matter. The average distance of the galaxies in this cluster from earth is 320 million light-years.
The top image has a width of 1.5 angular degrees, encompassing most of the cluster. It shows the variety of galaxies in this cluster.
The bottom image shows a small region near the center of the cluster, giving a sense of its density. Essentially every tan, fuzzy spot in this image is a galaxy.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 240 minutes
NGC 4365 - This large elliptical galaxy, embedded in a field of smaller, more distant galaxies, is about 60 million light-years away in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. Its age is estimated at 12 billion years, but images from the Hubble Space Telescope and ground based telescopes have been used to discover the surprising fact that it contains numerous young star clusters, likely only a few billion years old.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 50 minutes
Abell 1367 - This cluster in Leo is about 330 million light-years away. It and the Coma Cluster (see below) are two of the largest clusters in the Coma Supercluster, which has played an important role in developing our current picture of the large-scale structure of the universe (see http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/superc/com.html ).
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 150 minutes
The Jellyfish Nebula - Also known as IC 443 and Sharpless 248, this large supernova remnant in Gemini is about 5000 light-years away. It is estimated that the supernova occurred sometime between 3000 and 30,000 years ago. The nebula's extended shape is thought to result from interaction with surrounding molecular clouds. Embedded in this nebula is a neutron star, likely the remnant of the supernova.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 75 minutes
M101 - This face-on spiral galaxy, about 25 million light-years away in Ursa Major, is nearly twice the size of the Milky Way. It is notable for its numerous star-forming regions of ionized hydrogen. Pierre Mechain discovered it in 1781 and Charles Messier confirmed its position and added it to his catalog.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/2 with Hyperstar 3
Camera: SBIG ST-8300C
Autoguiding: Orion ST-80 with Meade DSI using PHD
Exposure: 145 minutes
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, JANUARY 23 -FEBRUARY 6, 2011. THE SKIES WERE MOSTLY HAZY AND UNSTEADY.
NGC 2903 - This rather bright barred spiral galaxy in Leo is about 20 million light-year away. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784, having not been included by Messier in his catalog of 1781. It s a very active galaxy, emitting strongly in every wavelength from the infrared to the X-ray. There are regions of strong star formation and many young hot globular clusters. An excellent description of this galaxy is given by Warren Keller at http://www.universetoday.com/35296/i-coulda-been-a-contender-ngc-2903-by-warren-keller/ . The 18th magnitude dwarf galaxy, UGC 5086, is visible near the left edge of the image just below the middle.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 135 min, R = G = B = 40 min
NGC 2261 (Hubble's Variable Nebula) - The small, fan-shaped reflection nebula 2500 light-years away in Monoceros was discovered by William Herschel in 1783. In 1916 Edwin Hubble noticed that its brightness varied over periods of weeks to months, hence the name. It is now understood to be a thin parabolic funnel of gas being illuminated by a bright proto-star, R Monocerotis, at its throat. Its variability is thought to be caused by dust clouds emanating from R Monocerotis and casting shadows on the walls of the nebula. Also, R Monocerotis is emitting jets of material from its poles; the northern jet is hidden by the nebula, but the southern jet is visible below the nebula. The reversed black and white image better shows the structure of this complicated nebula. For more information on this fascinating object see http://www.cc.umanitoba.ca/faculties/science/astronomy/cbrown/imaging/hvn/ .
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 90 min, R = G = B = 30 min
LBN 850 and VdB 37 - This rarely imaged region in Orion north of Bellatrix contains an emission nebula, LBN 850, a reflection nebula, VdB 37 and a very distant galaxy, PGC 17069. The latter is not visible in this image. The yellow 8th magnitude K5 star in the center of the image illuminates VdB 37 and probably causes ionization of the larger gas cloud forming the emission nebula.
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 90 min, R = G = B = 30 min
THE IMAGE BELOW WAS MADE IN MASTERSONVILLE, PA, IN JANUARY OF 2011.
Sh2-284 - Also called LBN983, this diffuse nebula is the brightest of several related HII regions in Monoceros, the others being Sh2-283, 285 and 286. All are about 25000 light-years away and together they form a large star-forming system. The hydrogen gas in Sh2-284 is ionized by the star cluster, Dolidze 25.
This nebula is very faint and the image has been enhanced with an exposure through an H-alpha filter.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 11, 2010. THE SKIES WERE UNUSUALLY CLEAR, DARK AND STEADY.
NGC1788 - The light from the 10th magnitude star just below and to the right of the center of this image is reflecting from surrounding dust and gas giving this nebula, 3000 light-years away in Orion, its blue color. It is sometimes called the Foxface or the Bat nebula. Near the reflection nebula is a diffuse region of reddish hydrogen-alpha emission; exposure through an H-alpha filter was used to enhance the visibillty of this emission. This image was begun in Chiefland, FL, and completed in Mastersonville, PA.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector for the luminance data and Meade 8" LX200R @ f/7 for color and H-alpha data
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 90 min unbinned, R = G = B = Ha = 60 min binned
M78 - The dust in this cloud, which is about 1600 light-years away in Orion, reflects light from nearby stars, giving it a blue color. It is the brightest reflection nebula in the sky. The reddish glow is cause by emission from gas illuminated by hot stars. Dark dust lanes add to the complexity of this beautiful region of the Milky Way.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 120 min, R = G = B = 40 min 
NGC 206 and globular clusters in the Andromeda Galaxy - The very luminous, blue open star cluster at the center of this image is located in the arms of our neighboring galaxy, the Andromeda galaxy (M31), thus placing it about 2.5 million light-years away. The striking blue glow of the stars indicates that they are young and very hot.
Over 300 globular clusters have been identified in the Andromeda galaxy. Some of those visible in this image are indicated. The ones designated by RBC are from the Revised Bologna Catalog, and the ones designated by G are from Paul Hodge's Atlas of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 180 min, R = G = B = 60 min
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Exposures: L = 150 min, R = G = B = 50 min
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Exposures: L = 120 min, R = G = B = 40 min
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Exposures: L = 120 min, R = G = B = 40 min
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Exposures: L = 150 min, R = G = B = 50 min
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Exposures: L = 180 min, R = G = B = 60 min
THE IMAGES BELOW WERE MADE IN MASTERSONVILLE, PA, IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 2010.
NGC 891 - This edge-on galaxy in Andromeda is about 30 million light-years away. It is believed to be an unbarred spiral, though recent infrared images show signs of a bar. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784, though an error in his notes led to its discovery being attributed to his sister, Caroline, for many years.
M33 (Triangulum Galaxy) with globular clusters - This spiral galaxy, also know as the Pinwheel Galaxy, is about 3 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum. It is a member of the local group of galaxies that includes the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy (see below) and 30 or so other galaxies. It is probably interacting gravitationally with Andromeda. There are a number of reddish star-forming regions visible in M33, the most notable being NGC 604 in the upper right. Exposures in light emitted by hydrogen gas (H-alpha) have been used in this image to enhance these regions. The blue regions indicate the presence of young, hot stars.
Over 100 globular clusters have been identified in M33 (see, for example, Identification and photometry of globular clusters in M31 and M33 galaxies, Mochejska B.J., Kaluzny J., Krockenberger M., Sasselov D.D., Stanek K.Z., Acta Astron., 48, 455 (1998)), and a number of them are indicated in this image.
M29 - This somewhat colorful open cluster in Cygnus is about 6000 light-years away, though its distance is uncertain because the absorption of light from its stars in unknown. The nebulosity in this image, enhanced by an H-alpha exposure, is DWB 33, a diffuse HII region which was cataloged by Dickel, Wendker and Bieritz in 1968.
Deer Lick Group and Stephan's Quintet -The Deer Lick Group of galaxies in the upper right of the image is dominated by NGC 7331, a beautiful, almost edge-on galaxy about 46 million light-years away in Pegasus. There are a number of more distant galaxies surrounding NGC 7331. In the lower left of the image is Stephan's Quintet, consisting of NGC 7320, the blue-ish galaxy about 40 million light years away and the other more distant galaxies about 300 million light-years away. This image also contains a number of small, faint, very distant background galaxies.
NGC 6910 - This open cluster of bright stars in Cygnus is known as the Rocking Horse Cluster. It is about 3700 light-years away in the same large gas cloud that contains NGC 6888 (see two images below). There are a number of star clusters that have formed in this region, NGC 6910 and M29 being the brightest.
NGC 6888 - About 4000 light-years away, this nebula in Cygnus, known as the Crescent Nebula, is a bubble of gas that is being expanded and illuminated by the bright star at the center of the image. This star is a Wolf-Rayet star, which means that it is very massive and and near the end of its lifespan. It is burning its fuel rapidly and producing a very strong stellar wind. It will soon come to an end as a spectacular supernova.
This image has been enhanced by blending exposures in light emitted by excited hydrogen gas (H-alpha) with the LRGB exposures to better show the nebulosity within and surrounding NGC 6888.
M106 and NGC 4217 - Two spiral galaxies, M106 on the left and NGC 4217 on the right, dominate this field in Canes Venatici. There are also a number of smaller background galaxies. M106, 25 million light-years away, is a complex galaxy with a bright active core, making it a Seyfert galaxy, and pink and blue star forming regions at the tips of its visible arms. I say "visible" because there are two additional arms that are visible only in radio and X-ray images. These were a mystery for many years, but are now thought to be caused by heating from jets emanating from the core. M106 has also been deformed by interactions with other nearby galaxies in the past. NGC 4217, possibly a companion to M106, is seen edge-on and shows the typical dust lane of a spiral galaxy. The small galaxy just above M106 is NGC 4248 and the barred spiral galaxy just below NGC 4217 is NGC 4226.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R @ f/5 with 2" Antares 0.5X reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 1 hr 30 min, R = G = B = 30 min
M94 - Also known as the Croc's Eye, this unusual spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici is about 15 million light-years away. Its bright, active core makes it a Seyfert galaxy, and the ring of hot, blue, young stars just outside the core is a region of intense star formation making it a startburst galaxy. Further out is a fainter region of older, reddish stars and beyond that is a very faint halo perhaps caused by a collision with another galaxy in the distant past. Most galaxies require the existence of large quantities of dark matter to explain the dynamics of their stellar motions, but M94 requires little or no dark matter to account for its motions; the Newtonian gravity of the visible matter is sufficent.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R @ f/5 with 2" Antares 0.5X reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 1 hr 30 min, R = G = B = 30 min
M63 - Known as the Sunflower Galaxy because the turbulence in its spiral arms resembles sunflower petals, this galaxy, 37 million light-year away in Canes Venatici, is interacting with its neighbor, M51. The odd dust lane on the southern edge of M63 may lead to a faint dwarf galaxy just to the west which is being swallowed up by M63. Also barely visible in this image is a small, irregular galaxy, UGCA 342, just under the bright star below and to the right of M63.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R @ f/5 with 2" Antares 0.5X reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 2 hr 30 min, R = G = B = 45 min
NGC 4631/4627/4656 - Commonly known as the Whale, the Pup and the Hockey Stick, these three galaxies, approximately 30 million light-years away in Canes Venatici, have probably interacted in the past, resulting in the severe distortion of NGC 4631 and NGC 4656. See image below for a close-up of the Whale.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R @ f/5 with 2" Antares 0.5X reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 1 hr 27 min, R = G = B = 30 min
Note: This image was made with a bright, first quarter moon nearby and thus is a bit noisier than most. It was done to test whether I could get round stars over the whole field with the 2" Antares 0.5X focal reducer. The results are encouraging.
NGC 4631 - Also known as the Whale Galaxy, it is 30 million light-years away in Canes Venatici and is seen edge-on showing distortions that may come from interactions with the small elliptical galaxy just above it, NGC 4627, as well as NGC 4656, which is also nearby (see image above). The pair seen here is also in the Arp Catalog of Peculiar Galaxies as Arp 281.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R @ f/7 with Astro-Physics 0.67X reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 3hr, R = G = B = 60 min
NGC 4216 - This almost edge-on galaxy near the center of the Virgo Cluster is 40 million light-years away, and it is classified as a metal-rich, barred spiral. It is flanked above and below by edge-on galaxies, NGC 4222 and NGC 4206, respectively. There are numerous small background galaxies in this image.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R @ f/7 with Astro-Physics 0.67X reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 3hr, R = G = B = 45 min
NGC 4274 - This barred, ring galaxy is 44 million light-years away in Coma Berenices. Its unique features are a turbulent ring and a dark feature connecting the core to the ring. There was a supernova in NGC 4274 in 1999.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R @ f/7 with Astro-Physics 0.67X reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 3hr, R = G = B = 60 min
M64 - Commonly known as the Black Eye (or Sleeping Beauty) Galaxy, the dust obscuring some of the light from the bright core gives this galaxy a distinct look. It is 17 million light-years away in Coma Berenices and has a complicated dynamical structure. The gas in the outer regions is orbiting the core in the opposite direction from the stars and gas in the inner region; this is probably the result of a merger with another, smaller galaxy.
Telescope: Meade 8" LX200R @ f/7 with Astro-Physics 0.67X reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
Exposures: L = 2hr, R = G = B = 45 min
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, MARCH 14-21, 2010.
NGC 4565 - With its bright, bulging core and prominent dust lanes this is arguably the finest example of an edge-on spiral galaxy and one of the objects that Messier missed when he created his catalog in the 18th century. It is 49 million light-years away in the direction of Coma Berenices. There are quite a large number of background galaxies in this image, the most notable being the dwarf galaxy, PGC 2993674, below NGC 4565.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
NGC 4051 - A supermassive black hole probably resides at the core of this very active galaxy that is 41 million light-years away in Ursa Major. Star-forming H-alpha (red) regions are clearly visible and radio studies indicate that a jet of gas is spewing from the center towards us. One hypothesis for the enormous activity in the galaxy is that it is interacting with its neighbor galaxy, NGC 4013.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
NGC 3628 - This galaxy, seen edge-on, is 35 million light-years away in the direction of Leo. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784 and is a member of the Leo Triplet of interacting galaxies, which also includes M65 and M66. Studies of NGC 3628 show that its stars orbit in the opposite direction of its gas. This odd feature probably is the result of recent mergers with other galaxies.
Telescope: Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/5 with Optec 0.5X reducer/corrector
Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM
The deep sky images shown below were taken with an 8" Meade LX200R operating at f/7 using an Astro-Physics 0.67X telecompressor, except where noted. A few early ones were made with an SBIG ST-8XE ccd camera and all recent ones were made with an SBIG ST-2000XM.
The planetary images at the very bottom of the page were made with the same telescope configured afocally using a point-and-shoot digital camera.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, JANUARY 6-20, 2010.
NGC 2775 - This tightly wound galaxy is about 60 million light-years away in Cancer. The spiral arms, which are sharply delineated from the bright core, have a very complex structure. This galaxy bears some resemblance to NGC 488 (click here for a comparison). Note the passing asteroid, (550) Senta mag.=14.2, in the lower right corner of the image. The exposure times for this image are L=3hr, R=G=B=60min.
NGC 3169, 3166 and 3165 - These interacting galaxies in Sextans are about 60 million light-years away. The two larger ones, NGC 3169 and NGC 3166, are only about 50,000 light-years apart. NGC 3169 seems active with evident distortion, and the smaller ones, NGC 3166 and NGC 3165, seem rather quiescent. This image was taken at f/5 using an Antares 0.5X focal reducer. The exposure times for this image are L=90min, R=B=30min, G=25min.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, NOVEMBER 4-20, 2009.
NGC 1931 - This is a rich star-forming region about 10,000 light years away in Auriga. It contains a bright cluster of newly formed stars that are driving H-alpha emission in the surrounding gas cloud. You can see a large region of faint H-alpha emission surrounding the bright nebula. There is also substantial reflection nebulosity. Noted astrophotographer, Adam Block, has called this region a small Orion nebula. The exposure times for this image are L=3hr 40min, R=G=B=60min.
NGC 660 - This is a polar ring galaxy about 24 million light-years away in Pisces. It is a bit of an optical illusion, but, if you stare at it long enough, you will see a large ring almost edge on and tilted about 45° counterclockwise from vertical. This ring is being pierced by a smaller galaxy moving almost horizontally through it. It has been suggested that the dark dust clouds in the ring indicate that the larger galaxy is rich in metals. The exposure times for this image are L=4hr, R=G=B=90min.
NGC 474 (Arp 227) - This is a shell galaxy with the wispy outer shells caused by gravitational interactions with NGC 470, the bright spiral galaxy just to the right. Both are about 100 million light-years away in Pisces. The galaxy to the far right, just past the bright star, is NGC 467. It is 250 million light-years away and is also undergoing some interactions. There is a lot of color noise in this image, but I chose to leave it to avoid losing the faint outer shells of NGC 474. The exposure times for the image are L= 7hr 10min, R=G=B=90min.
THE IMAGES BELOW WERE MADE IN MASTERSONVILLE, PA, IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 2009.
NGC 488 - This galaxy, about 90 million light-years away in Pisces, is notable for its softly defined and tightly wound spiral arms. The stars in the disk are orbiting the galactic nucleus at an unusually high speed (~330 km/sec) and the spiral structure is due to waves of star formation. It has been suggested that the bulging nucleus is the result of a number of smaller galaxies merging with NGC 488, but measurements of the "temperature" of the stars in the disk do not seem to support this (see http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9708029v1). The total exposure time was 6 hours 9 minutes.
SN2009jf - This supernova in NGC 7479 in Pegasus was discovered September 27, 2009 by Lick Observatory. It was magnitude 18 at that time and has brightened to magnitude 15 at the time of this image on October 13. Astronomers at Lick determined it to be type 1b; progenitors of this type are thought to be Wolf-Rayet stars, very hot, massive stars with strong stellar winds. NGC 7479 is about 100 million light-years from earth. This luminance image is a 75 minute exposure through thin clouds.
To see a full color image of NGC 7479 before the supernova click here.
NGC 7769, NGC 7771 and surroundings - Four of the galaxies, about 220 million light-year away in the direction of Pegasus, are interacting - NGC 7771, the lower bright, reddish spiral; NGC 7770, the small galaxy just below NGC 7771; NGC 7771A, the faint (mag 17.5) edge-on galaxy to the right of NGC 7771; and NGC 7769, the bright blue spiral above the other three. Faint dust clouds caused by the interactions are visible. There are many other distant galaxies in the field of view. The total exposure time was 4 hours 18 minutes.
Stephan's Quintet - This group of 5 galaxies in Pegasus, discovered in 1877 by Edouard Stephan, consists of 4 interacting galaxies (NGC 7317, 7318a, 7318b and 7319) about 300 million light-years away and the blue foreground galaxy, NGC 7320, about 40 million light-years away. The small galaxy to the left of the group, NGC 7320c, is interacting with the other 4 interacting galaxies, and the 5 form the compact galaxy group, Hickson 92. Halton Arp, famous for his catalog of "peculiar" galaxies (Stephan's Quintet is Arp 319), has argued that the physical characteristics of Stephan's Quintet provide evidence against the Big Bang (see http://www.electric-cosmos.org/arp.htm). The total exposure time was 5 hours 21 minutes.
Arp 86 - This object, which consists of the spiral galaxy, NGC 7753, interacting with the smaller irregular galaxy, NGC 7752, is about 270 million light-years away in the direction of Pegasus. The connection between the two galaxies gives them a visual appearance similar to M 51. The total exposure time was 7 hr 15 min under somewhat hazy skies.
NGC 6914 - This complex of emission and reflection nebulae about 4000 light years away in Cygnus includes van den Berg 131 (lower reflection nebula), van den Berg 132 (center reflection nebula) and LDN 897 (dark nebula to the right of vdB 132). It lies in the Orion arm of the Milky Way. The total exposure time was 6 hr 9 min.
The yellowish star in the lower right corner of the image is V1515 Cygni, one of the best known examples of an FU Orionis variable. Starting in about 1945 this star increased in brightness from magnitude 17 to 14 over a 20 year period and has remained constant in brightness since then. A close look reveals "horns" of material emanating from the star, which may have something to do with its odd variabliity.
Arp 278 - This Arp object is two colliding galaxies, NGC 7253A (left) and NGC 7253B (right) about 240 million light-years away in the direction of Pegasus. Each of the galaxies is about the size of the Milky Way. Intense star forming activity is evident from the colors and bright regions in the indivicual galaxies. Faint, diffuse material between the galaxies also indicates the strength of their interaction. The total exposure time was 4 hr 27 min.
Cygnus Bubble - Discovered in the summer of 2008 by Dave Jurasevich of Mount Wilson Observatory and, shortly afterwards and independently, by amateur astronomers, Keith Quattrocchi and Mel Helm, this very faint, remarkably symmetric object in Cygnus was designated by the IAU in the summer of 2009 as planetary nebula, PN G75.5+1.7. Re-analysis of earlier Palomar Sky Survey images show that the nebula was there at about the same size and brightness 16 years ago. This image is a combination of two H-alpha exposures, one unbinned of 3 hrs 20 mins reduced to half size and one binned of 1 hr 30 min, both under an almost full moon.
NGC 6384 - This spiral galaxy is 60 million light-years away in the direction of Ophiuchus. The numerous foreground stars are in the Milky Way. The total exposure time was 4 hr 39 min. The skies were hazy and somewhat unstable.
NGC 5033 - This galaxy is about 37 million light-years away in the direction of Canes Venatici. It is classified as a Seyfert galaxy because of the very bright and active nucleus, probably the signs of a massive black hole. NGC 5033 interacts weakly with its neighbor galaxy, NGC 5005. The total exposure time for this image was 4 hr 3 min. The skies were unsteady and a bright, first-quarter moon was visible.
Hickson 68 - This cluster is about 120 million light-years away in the direction of Canes Venatici and includes five relatively bright galaxies - NGC 5350, the barred spiral near the center; NGC 5354 and NGC 5353, ellipticals apparently colliding with each other; NGC 5355, to the left of NGC 5354; and NGC 5358, lower left. There are a number of faint background galaxies, including a cluster just below HD121197, the mag 6.5 star. The total exposure time for this image was 3 hr 27 min.
Hickson 68 (zoom) -In addition to the colliding galaxies, NGC 5353 and NGC 5354, seen above in the image of this cluster, zooming in on the faint group of galaxies just below the bright star reveals another possible colliding galaxy pair. The magnitude of a nearby star is indicated for reference
Arp 286 - This galaxy group, which includes NGC 5566 (center), NGC 5560 (top) and NGC 5569 (bottom left), is about 80 million light-years away in the direction of Virgo. NGC 5566 and 5560 are both deformed and probably interacting. NGC 5569 shows no signs of interaction. It was taken in Mastersonville, PA, and the seeing was not very good. The total exposure time for this image was 6 hrs.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM MY TRIP TO THE CHIEFLAND ASTRONOMY VILLAGE IN CHIEFLAND, FL, MARCH 14 - 29, 2009.
Arp 94 - Arp 94 is about 120 million light-years away in the direction of Leo. It consists of a small elliptical galaxy, NGC 3226, which is merging with a larger Seyfert galaxy, NGC 3227, and causing gas to spew out everywhere. Faint wisps can be seen on either side of NGC 3227, probably indicating that the two galaxies have orbited each other several times. There are also lots of nice background galaxies, including what appears to be another interacting pair in the upper right part of the image.
I started this image in Chiefland (1 hour of luminance) and finished it in Mastersonville, PA (2 more hours of luminance and 1 hour each of R,G and B).
Abell 1367 (Leo Cluster) - This cluster, about 270 million light-years away, contains over 100 galaxies and is dominated by NGC 3842 (mag 13.0), the elliptical galaxy near the center. Though this image only covers about 30 arc-minutes, the visible extent of the cluster is over 4 arc-degrees. Abell 1367 is part of The Great Wall, one of the largest currently known structures in the universe consisting of a number of galaxy clusters and superclusters.The total exposure time for this image was 6 hrs.
Abell 2151 (Hercules Cluster) – This cluster of about 100 galaxies is approximately 500 million light-years away. The cluster is loaded with gas and dust-rich, star-forming spiral galaxies, but has relatively few elliptical galaxies. Many galaxies seem to be colliding or merging while others seem distorted - clear evidence of interaction in cluster galaxies. Abell 2151, like Abell 1367, is part of The Great Wall, one of the largest currently known structures in the universe consisting of a number of galaxy clusters and superclusters. The total exposure time for this image was 6 hrs.
NGC 4490 and NGC 4485 (Cocoon Galaxy) - These are about 45 million light years away in the direction of Canes Venatici. Originally spiral galaxies, they have been distorted by each other. They are past perigalacticon and are speeding away from each other, now about 24,000 light years apart. The total exposure time for this image was 6 hrs.
NGC 4567, 4568 (Siamese Twins) and 4564 – These are in Virgo and the two interacting galaxies are about 92 million light years away. They will eventually merge. The total exposure time for this image was 6 hrs.
OTHER RECENT IMAGES
IC 410 and NGC 1893 - IC 410 is a large gas and dust cloud about 12,000 light-years away in Auriga. The bright star cluster (NGC 1893) just above the dark dust cloud causes the gases to glow. The two faint streams of gas just above the center and to the right have been named the "Tadpoles" and may be regions of star formation. The total exposure time for this image was 6 hrs.
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 - These are thought to be galaxies that have undergone a glancing collision with the smaller (IC 2163) passing behind the larger (NGC 2207). They are about 150 million light-years away in Canis Major. The gravitational interaction of the two has produced gas, dust and star streams that are faintly visible in this image. The total exposure time for this image was 8 hrs.
NGC 2859 - The central core of this galaxy contains a bar and the outer ring of stars is detached from it. Many such ring galaxies are thought to be formed by another small galaxy passing through and clearing out the center, but there is speculation that the ring in NGC 2859 was formed by a resonant interaction of the central bar with the outer stars. NGC 2859 is about 80 million light-year away in Leo Minor. The total exposure time for this image was 6 hrs.
NGC 3184 - This large face-on spiral galaxy is about 25 million light years away in Ursa Major. The pinkish spots in the spiral arms are star-forming regions. Visible near the edge of the galaxy is the bright star, HD 68988 (mag 8.2, distance from sun 190 light years), which has a planet about twice the size of Jupiter orbiting it every 6.276 days at a distance of 0.07 AU. The planet was discovered in 2001 using doppler spectroscopy. Detailed information on this system can be found here. The total exposure time for this image was 7 hrs.
NGC 772 – This spiral galaxy is the largest in a cluster of galaxies named Arp 78, which is about 130 million light years away. The distortion of NGC 772 and the gas and dust streams indicate that it is probably interacting with two dwarf galaxies to the south (below in the image). The larger, closer dwarf galaxy is NGC 770 and the smaller one is PGC 212884. The total exposure time for this image was 9 hr 50 min.
[Note: Two passing asteroids were observed during the imaging of NGC 772. They can be seen in this movie clip. They have been identified via the Harvard/CFA IAU Minor Planets Center website as 2000 DA78 and 2001 PK. The identification is shown in this movie clip. The frames for this clip were created with Equinox 6 using the Harvard/CFA IAU Minor Planets database.]
NGC 2170 and VdB 67-69 – This is a small portion of the Monoceros R2 association of reflection nebulae, which is about 2700 light years away. The red emission and blue reflection nebular region on the lower right is NGC 2170 and van den Berg 67. The blue reflection nebula just to the left of NGC2170 is van den Berg 69. The reflection nebula in the upper left of the image is van den Berg 68. The total exposure time for this image was 5 hr.
NGC 7814 – This galaxy in Pegasus is seen edge-on showing a very narrow dust lane. Close inspection reveals a number of background galaxies, two of the brighter ones being PGC 259 to the left of NGC 7814 and IC 5381 to the lower right. NGC 7814 is about 40 million light years away. The total exposure time for this image was 8 hr 20 min.
NGC 1579 – This diffuse nebula in Perseus has both emission (red from the excitation of hydrogen) and reflection (blue from reflected starlight) components, as well as dark dusty lanes. It is a star-forming region about 2100 light years away. The total exposure time for this image was 5 hr 30 min.
NGC 6960 – This is the western portion of the very large Veil Nebula in Cygnus.. The Veil Nebula, about 1400 light years away and spanning 3° in the sky, is the remnant of an exploding star that would have been visible about 10,000 years ago. The bright star in this image is 52 Cygni (mag 4.3) and is unrelated to the nebula. The total exposure time for this image was 5 hr.
NGC 672 and IC 1727 – These interacting galaxies in Triangulum are about 18 million light years away, but only about 90,000 light-years apart - next door neighbors by galactic standards. The total exposure time for this image was 5 hr.
OLDER IMAGES
GALAXIES
M 104 (Sombrero Galaxy)
NGC 247
NGC 253 (Sculptor Galaxy)
NGC 5364 and NGC 5363
Hickson 44 (Cluster of interacting galaxies)
NEBULAE
IC 434 (Horsehead Nebula)
IC 5070 (Pelican Nebula) in Ha
IC 5076
IC 5146 (Cocoon Nebula)
M 16 (Eagle Nebula) in Ha
M 27 (Dumbbell Nebula)
NGC 6820 in Ha
NGC 6992 (Veil Nebula East) in Ha
Sharpless 2-112 in Ha
Sharpless 2-124 in Ha
PLANETS - For movies of some of the planets, cliick on the following: Transit of Venus, 2004; Mars, 2005; Jupiter, 2005.
Venus, March 2004 Mars, October 2005 Jupiter, April 2005
Saturn, February 2006 Uranus, November 2006 Neptune, November 2006