Lunar Eclipse - 20140415 - With Mars & Spica

Lunar Eclipse 20140415 image was taken at approximately 02:04 AM on April 15 from my backyard.  The cameras was a Canon T3i using a Canon 55-250mm f8 zoom lenses set to 55mm focal length.  The image is a single shot.  The camera was mounted on a camera tripod which lacks a lot to be desired in stability.  The two stars shown faintly in the image are: Spica, the star to the lower right of the Moon and Mars in the upper right of the image.  Click on the image to see a larger view.

Lunar Eclipse 20140415 - Sometimes Called "Blood Moon"

Lunar Eclipse 20140415 image was taken at approximately 02:01 AM on April 15 from my backyard.  The cameras was a Canon T3i using a Canon 55-250mm f8 zoom lenses set to 250mm focal length.  The image is a single shot.  The camera was mounted on a camera tripod which lacks a lot to be desired in stability.  The two stars shown faintly in the image are: Spica, the star to the lower right of the Moon and Virgo 76 the faint star to the upper left.  Click on the image to see a larger view.

Comet ISON - C/2012 S1

C/2012 S1, also known as Comet ISON or Comet Nevski–Novichonok, is a sungrazing comet discovered on 21 September 2012 by Vitali Nevski (Виталий Невский, Vitebsk, Belarus) and Artyom Novichonok (Артём Новичонок, Kondopoga, Russia).^[5] The discovery was made using the 0.4-meter (16 in) reflector of the International Scientific Optical Network near Kislovodsk, Russia and the automated asteroid-discovery program CoLiTec.

The image above was taken at the Eldorado Star Party the morning of November 2, 2013. The image is a combination of 15 two minute images taken with an Orion StarShoot DSII through a Celestron 6" f5 Newtonian scope.  Autoguiding was accomplished with a Meade DSI Pro camera through a 80mm f7 Refractor.  The mount used was a Celestron CI-700.  Capture, Preprocessing and calibration of the sub-frames was done using Nebulosity 3.  Final Processing was done using Photoshop CS5.  The star trails in the final image represent 44 minutes of elapsed time.  Seven sub-frames were thrown out of the 22 total images taken due to defects.

M27 - Dumbell Nebula- 20131001

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.
This object was the first planetary nebula to be discovered; by Charles Messier in 1764. At its brightness of visual magnitude 7.5 and its diameter of about 8 arcminutes, it is easily visible in binoculars, and a popular observing target in amateur telescopes.

The images was taken at Okie-Tex Star Party on September 30, 2013.  The images is made up of 17 ten minute sub-frames combined .  Images were taken with an Orion Star Shoot DSI II color mounted on a Celestron 6" f5 Newtonian. Auto-guiding was accomplished with and 80mm f7 refractor piggybacked on the 6" Newtonian. The optical instruments were mounted on a Celestron CI-700. Calibration and pre-processing was done in Nebulosity 3.  Final processing was done using Photoshop CS5.

NGC7635 - Bubble Nebula - 20130930

NGC 7635, also called the Bubble Nebula, Sharpless 162, or Caldwell 11, is a H II region^[2] emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It lies close to the direction of the open cluster Messier 52. The "bubble" is created by the stellar wind from a massive hot, 8.7^[2] magnitude young central star, the 15 ± 5 M_☉^[4] SAO 20575 (BD+60 2522).^[7] The nebula is near a giant molecular cloud which contains the expansion of the bubble nebula while itself being excited by the hot central star, causing it to glow.^[7] It was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel.^[6] The star SAO 20575 or BD+602522 is thought to have a mass of 10-40 Solar masses.

The images was taken at Okie-Tex Star Party on September 30, 2013.  The images is made up of 2 ten minute sub-frames and4 five minute sub-frames combined .  Images were taken with an Orion Star Shoot DSI II color mounted on a Celestron 6" f5 Newtonian. Auto-guiding was accomplished with and 80mm f7 refractor piggybacked on the 6" Newtonian. The optical instruments were mounted on a Celestron CI-700. Calibration and pre-processing was done in Nebulosity 3.  Final processing was done using Photoshop CS5.

M20 - Trifid Nebula - 20130806

The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region located in Sagittarius. Its name means 'divided into three lobes'. The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars; an emission nebula (the lower, red portion), a reflection nebula (the upper, blue portion) and a dark nebula (the apparent 'gaps' within the emission nebula that cause the trifid appearance; these are also designated Barnard 85). Viewed through a small telescope, the Trifid Nebula is a bright and peculiar object, and is thus a perennial favorite of amateur astronomers


The images was taken at Ft. Griffin state historical site on August 5, 2013.  The images is made up of 20 five minute sub-frames.  Images were taken with an Orion Star Shoot DSI II color mounted on a Celestron 6" f5 Newtonian. Auto-guiding was accomplished with and 80mm f7 refractor piggybacked on the 6" Newtonian. The optical instruments were mounted on a Celestron CI-700. Calibration and pre-processing was done in Nebulosity 3.  Final processing was done using Photoshop CS5.

M16 - Eagle Nebula - 20130805

The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611, and also known as the Star Queen Nebula) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745-46. Its name derives from its shape that is thought to resemble an eagle.


The images was taken at Ft. Griffin state historical site on August 5, 2013.  The images is made up of 12 five minute sub-frames.  Images were taken with an Orion Star Shoot DSI II color mounted on a Celestron 6" f5 Newtonian. Auto-guiding was accomplished with and 80mm f7 refractor piggybacked on the 6" Newtonian. The optical instruments were mounted on a Celestron CI-700. Calibration and pre-processing was done in Nebulosity 3.  Final processing was done using Photoshop CS5.