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Saturday 13 October 2012

Deep sky objects

Messier 57 The Ring Nebula
The famous Ring Nebula (also catalogued as NGC 6720) appears in the northern constellation of Lyra. It is a prominent example of a planetary nebula. This is a shell of ionized gas expelled into the surrounding interstellar medium by a red giant star, which was passing through the last stage in its evolution before becoming a white dwarf.

 Equipment
Telescope -Meade 10" SN
Camera- Canon EOS 300D
Exposures- 19 x 30 second exposures @ 800iso
Processing-  Registax and Photoshop.



M27 The Dumbell Nebula
The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as Apple Core Nebula, Messier 27, M 27, or NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1,360 light years.

 Equipment
Telescope -Meade 10" SN
Camera- Canon EOS 300D
Exposures- 19 x 30 second exposures @ 800iso
Processing-  Registax and Photoshop.





M33 The pinwheel/ Triangulum Galaxy

The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light years (ly) from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. It is catalogued as Messier 33 or NGC 598, and is sometimes informally referred to as the Pinwheel Galaxy, a nickname it shares with Messier 101. The Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way Galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy and about 30 other smaller galaxies. It is one of the most distant permanent objects that can be viewed with the naked eye.


 Equipment
Telescope -Meade 10" SN
Camera- Canon EOS 300D
Exposures- 45 x 30 second exposures @ 1600iso
Processing-  Registax and Photoshop.





Messier 3 
This image is made from a stack of 19x6"second images taken on the night of  Tuesday 17th April 2012.
Equipment 
SCOPE- Meade LXD55
CAMERA- Canon EOS300D
EXPOSURE- 19x 6seconds @1600iso
PROCESS SOFTWARE- Registax 6 & Photoshop




This is one of the nineteen original frames before processing.





M81 & 82
Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the Ursa Major. Due to its proximity to Earth, large size and active galactic nucleus (which harbors a 70 million solar mass supermassive black hole ), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional  astronomers.
Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is the prototype nearby starburst galaxy  about 12 million light-years away in the Ursa Major. The starburst galaxy is five times as bright as the whole Milky Way and one hundred times as bright as our galaxy's center.
In 2005, the Hubble Space Telescope  revealed 197 young massive clusters in the starburst core. The average mass of these clusters is around 2×105 M, hence the starburst core is a very energetic and high-density environment. Throughout the galaxy's center, young stars are being born 10 times faster than they are inside our entire Milky Way Galaxy. .
Equipment 
SCOPE- Meade LXD55
CAMERA- Canon EOS300D (A-Focal)
EYE PIECE- 15mm (70x)
EXPOSURE- 6x 30seconds @1600iso
PROCESS SOFTWARE- Registax 6 & Photoshop



This is a reprocessed image of M31 The Andromeda Galaxy, by reducing the selective colours mainly neutrals and increasing the blacks in makes the dust lanes and spiral arm more prominent.
Some times less is more!


Owl Nebula (M97, NGC 3587)
A planetary nebula in the constellation Ursa Major. It was the third to be discovered, by Pierre Méchain in 1781, and was named by Lord Rosse in 1848. The Owl is one of the more complex planetary nebulae known. Its appearance has been interpreted as that of a cylindrical torus shell (or globe without poles), viewed obliquely, so that the projected matter-poor ends of the cylinder correspond with the Owl's eyes. This shell is enveloped by a fainter nebula of lower ionization. The mass of the nebula has been estimated at 0.15 solar mass and that of the magnitude 16 central star at 0.7 solar mass. M108 can also be seen in this photograph, Messier 108 (M108, NGC 3556) is a nice edge-on spiral galaxy situated near the conspicuous star Beta Ursa Majoris
Image details, Telescope - Meade LXD 55 10 sn, Camera - Canon EOS 300D, Exposure time- 4ox 30second = 20 minutes, Processing - Registax and Photshop

This is a close up image of The Owl Nebula Image details, Telescope - Meade LXD 55 10 sn, Camera - Canon EOS 300D, Exposure time- 51x 30second = 25.5 minutes, Processing - Registax and Photshop

M42 The Orion Nebula
The Nebula is in fact part of a much larger nebula that is known as the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex extends throughout the constellation of Orion and includes Barnard's Loop, the Horsehead Nebula, M43, M78 and the Flame Nebula. Stars are forming throughout the Orion Nebula, and due to this heat-intensive process the region is particularly prominent in the infrared. The nebula is visible with the naked eye even from areas affected by some light pollution. It is seen as the middle "star" in the sword of Orion, which are the three stars located south of Orion's Belt. The star appears fuzzy to sharp-eyed observers, and the nebulosity is obvious through binoculars or a small telescope. This image was produced from a single 40 second exposure with my Canon EOS 300D at 400 iso attached to my LXD 55 10" SN, and processed in photoshop.




This is the same image as above with adjustment made to the selective colours and a little lens flare added to give the picture a little bit of bling.


NGC 2264, The Christmas Tree Cluster/ Cone Nebula
An open cluster of about 40 stars in the constellation Monoceros, which is immersed in nebulosity and forms the nearly perfect outline of a fir tree. The fifth magnitude star S Monocerotis (also known as 15 Mon) lies at the base of the Cluster. It is an O7 giant, about 8,500 times as luminous as the Sun, which varies in between magnitudes 4.2 and 4.6. S Mon forms a visual double with a 7.5 magnitude companion lying just 2.8 arc-seconds away. Another reasonably bright star, immediately to the north of the Cone Nebula, marks the apex.The Christmas Tree Cluster, which was named by L. S. Copeland, and the Cone Nebula were both discovered by William Herschel in 1783.









THE RING NEBULA, M57 is located in Lyra, south of its brightest star Vega. Vega is the northeastern vertex of the three stars of the Summer Triangle. M57 lies about 40% of the angular distance from β Lyrae to γ Lyrae.[5]
M57 is best seen through at least a 20 cm (8-inch) telescope, but even a 7.5 cm (3-inch) telescope will show the ring.[5] Larger instruments will show a few darker zones on the eastern and western edges of the ring, and some faint nebulosity inside the disk











VEIL NEBULA The Veil Nebula, also known as the Cygnus Loop or the Witch's Broom Nebula, is a large, relatively faint supernova remnant in the constellation Cygnus. The source supernova exploded some 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, and the remnants have since expanded to cover an area of 3 degrees; about 6 times the size of a full moon. The distance to the nebula is not precisely known, with estimates ranging from 1,400 to 2,600 light-years. It was discovered on 1784 September 5 by William Herschel. Camera - Canon EOS 300D, 23x 30 sec 800 iso exposures, Scope- Meade LXD 55 10" SN 15mm eyepiece fitted with an OIII filter, Processing- Registax and Photoshop
















The Double Cluster is the common name for the naked-eye open clusters NGC 884 and NGC 869, which are close together in the constellation Perseus. NGC 884 and NGC 869 are at distances of 7600 and 6800 light-years away, respectively, so they are close to one another in space as well.
They are relatively young clusters, with NGC 869 5.6 million years and NGC 884 at 3.2 million years according to the 2000 Sky Catalogue. In comparison, the Pleiades have an estimated age ranging from 75 million years to 150 million years.
They are also blueshifted, with NGC 869 approaching Earth at a speed of 22 km/s and NGC 884 approaching at a similar speed of 21 km/s. Their hottest main sequence stars are of spectral type B0.

Tec info- Scope Meade LXD 55, Camera- Canon EOS 300D , 11x 15 sec exposures,
Processing- Registacks/ Photoshop









M13 was discovered by Edmond Halley in 1714, and catalogued by Charles Messier on June 1, 1764.
It is located at right ascension 16h 41.7m and declination +36° 28'. With an apparent magnitude of 5.8, it is barely visible with the naked eye on a very clear night. Its diameter is about 23 arc minutes and it is readily viewable in small telescopes.
M13 is about 145 light-years in diameter, and it is composed of several hundred thousand stars, the brightest of which is the variable star V11 with an apparent magnitude of 11.95. M13 is 25,100 light-years away from Earth.

Tec Info-
Date 24th Aug 2009
Scope- LXD55 10"sn
Camera- Canon Eos 300d, iso 800, 10 x 30 second exposures.
Processing- Registax 5 and Photoshop C3


























I have reprocessed my image of M51 using the new Registax, very impressed with the new version. This image was made by stacking eight 30 second exposures in registax 5, and quick despecel in PS3 was all the processing that was needed. The clarity of the image is so good that other galaxies down to Mag 15 can be seen.





























M65, Messier 65 (M65, NGC 3623), together with its neighbors M66 and NGC 3628, forms a most conspicuous triplet of galaxies, the Leo Triplett or M66 group, located at a distance of about 35 million light years.
Although it is close to and thus under the gravitational influence of its neighbors, M65 looks like a very "normal" Sa type spiral and seems to have felt little influence. It has a prominent central lense and tightly wound spiral arms, plus a prominent dust lane marking the facing edge. The luminous disk is dominated by a smooth old stellar population. Near the lane, some knots are visible, which, according to J.D. Wray, may be associated with star forming regions. The lane may hide regions of star formation usually associated with such features in spiral galaxies.
Tec info-
Telescope - Meade lxd 55 10" SN
Eyepiece - 20mm
Camera - Canon EOS 300D (Afocal)
Exposure - 3x 30 seconds
Processing - Deep Sky Stacker and Photoshop




M3, This globular cluster is in the constellation of Canis Venatici and contains about 500'000 stars and is 33'900 light years from Earth. This cluster when viewed in a telescope is as good as , or if not better than M13 the great globular cluster in Hurcules.
Tec details-
Scope- Meade LXD 55 10"SN (15mm eyepiece)
Camera- Canon 300D (A Focal)
Exposure- A single 30 second exposure at 800 iso processed in Photoshop.







M104, This unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Vigro is seen edge on as viewed from Earth. It's large central core and prominent dust lane gives it the name of The Sombrero Galaxy. M104 is 29.3 million light years away from the Earth, and is 50'000 light years across.





Tec' details-
Scope- Meade LXD 55 10" SN with a 15mm eyepiece (70x)




Camera- Canon 300D (Afocal)




Exposure- A single 52 second exposure at 1600 iso












The Whirlpool Galaxy, (also known as Messier 51a, M51a, or NGC 5194) is an interacting[4] grand-design[5] spiral galaxy located at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is one of the most famous spiral galaxies in the sky. The galaxy and its companion (NGC 5195) are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may even be seen with binoculars.[6] 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.
This Image was produced by stacking 8 light frames, 1 dark and 1 flat frame in deepsky staker and processed in Photo shop.
Date - 1st March 2009
Equipment, Scope- Meade LXD 55. Camera- Canon EOS 300D















M42 The Orion Nebula, The Nebula is in fact part of a much larger nebula that is known as the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex extends throughout the constellation of Orion and includes Barnard's Loop, the Horsehead Nebula, M43, M78 and the Flame Nebula. Stars are forming throughout the Orion Nebula, and due to this heat-intensive process the region is particularly prominent in the infrared. The nebula is visible with the naked eye even from areas affected by some light pollution. It is seen as the middle "star" in the sword of Orion, which are the three stars located south of Orion's Belt. The star appears fuzzy to sharp-eyed observers, and the nebulosity is obvious through binoculars or a small telescope. This image was produced from a single 40 second exposure with my Canon EOS 300D at 400 iso attached to my LXD 55 10" SN, and processed in photoshop.







M1, The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations M1, NGC 1952, Taurus A) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. Located at a distance of about 6,500 light-years (2 kpc) from Earth, the nebula has a diameter of 11 ly (3.4 pc) and expands at a rate of about 1,500 kilometers per second.
At the center of the nebula lies the Crab Pulsar, a rotating neutron star, which emits pulses of radiation from gamma rays to radio waves with a spin rate of 30.2 times per second. The nebula was the first astronomical object identified with a historical supernova explosion.



This is the most distant objects I photographed so far. M81 a spiral galaxy (bottom left) lies some 11 million light years away and M82 a star burst galaxy (top right) is 12 million light years away, in the constellation of Ursa Major.


M42 The Orion Nebula, The Nebula is in fact part of a much larger nebula that is known as the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex extends throughout the constellation of Orion and includes Barnard's Loop, the Horsehead Nebula, M43, M78 and the Flame Nebula. Stars are forming throughout the Orion Nebula, and due to this heat-intensive process the region is particularly prominent in the infrared.
The nebula is visible with the naked eye even from areas affected by some light pollution. It is seen as the middle "star" in the sword of Orion, which are the three stars located south of Orion's Belt. The star appears fuzzy to sharp-eyed observers, and the nebulosity is obvious through binoculars or a small telescope.
This image is made up of 3 8 second exposures at 800 iso and one dark frame, stacked with Deepsky Stacker and processed in Photo shop




M16, The Eagle Nebula, perhaps one of the most famous and easily recognized space objects, is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745-46. It is associated with a diffuse emission nebula, or H II region, which is catalogued as IC 4703. This region of active current star formation is about 7,000 light-years distant. The brightest star in the nebula has an apparent magnitude of 8.24.
This image was made by stacking nine 30 seconds 1600 iso exposures and one dark frame exposure, in Deep sky stacker.




This photo is of M27, The Dumbbell Nebula, a planetary nebula (PN) in the constellation of Vulpecula, M27 lies at a distance of about 1360 light years from us. It has two gas shells moving away from the central star, the Oxyegn shell is moving at 15 Km per second while the Nitrogen shell is moving at 30 Km per second. This was a 35 second exposure at ISO 1600.


M31 is one of the closest Galaxies to the Milky Way, at a distance of 2.5 Million Light Years. M31 is also the most distant object that can be seen by the naked eye. Below M31 is M32, another Galaxy that lies behind M31 at a distance of 2.9 million light years. This Photo was taken using the Prime focus Method (no Eyepiece), through my Meade LXD55 10" SN, with a Canon ESO 300D. A single 90 second exposure at 1600iso.

M31 and a faint Perseid Meteor, Imaged during the Perseid Meteor Shower Maximum at 2.30AM on August 12th 2008. M31, The Andromeda Galaxy is Bottom Center and the Meteor is running form M31 to Top Right. I observed from 11PM on the 11th until 3:30AM on the 12th, during which time the gaps in the clouds aloud for 3 hours of broken observation. The total number I counted was 58 , with the highest between 2 and 3AM when the rate was 3 per minute at times.

M31, This was a 89 second exposure, 3.5 AV, ISO 400 and 18mm Focal length.


M3, this Globular cluster is 35000 Light year away in the constellation of Canes Venatici, it contains about 500'000 stars. It is one of the biggest and brightest globular clusters I have see to date.

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Aurora October 08/09 2012


 The Northern Lights mad a spectacular return to our sky  on the night of  08/09 October. All these photos were taken between 19:45 and 22:30 at which point the clouds moved in and and it was time for me to get the kids home for bed. Please scroll down the images and take note of the one taken by my daughter Heather Sherman, it was her first attempt at photographing the Aurora, and I hate to say I think hers are better than mine.


 NOTE ALL TIMES ARE IN BST

 20:18









 21:10







20:40



20:42


20:47



All of the following images we taken by Heather Sherman (age 14)
20:51 

20:53








 21:02




21:13




21:17






21:25

















21:40



21:43
As a final treat Heather imaged this Draconid meteor within the Aurora, what a night!