NGC 281 - Packman Nebula - 8/21/2020

 

NGC 281, IC 11 or Sh2-184 is a bright emission nebula and part of an H II region in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia and is part of the Milky Way's Perseus Spiral Arm. This 20×30 arcmin sized nebulosity is also associated with open cluster IC 1590, several Bok globules and the multiple star, B 1. It collectively forms Sh2-184, spanning over a larger area of 40 arcmin. A recent distance from radio parallaxes of water masers at 22 GHz made during 2014 is estimated it lies 2.82±0.20 kpc. (9200 ly.) from us. Colloquially, NGC 281 is also known as the Pacman Nebula for its resemblance to the video game character.

Edward Emerson Barnard discovered the nebula in August 1883, describing it as "a large faint nebula, very diffuse." Multiple star 'B 1' or β 1 was later discovered by S. W. Burnham, whose bright component is identified as the highly luminous O6 spectral class star, HD 5005 or HIP 4121. It consists of an 8th-magnitude primary with four companions at distances between 1.4 and 15.7 arcsec. There has been no appreciable change in this quintuple system since the first measures were made in 1875.

The above image is a stack of 11 x 10 minute sub frames.  The images were taken with an AT6RC scope and a Starlight Express camera SXVR-M25C cooled to -5C.  The mount is an Astro Physics AP-900 with CP4 controller. The guide scope is an 80 mm refactor and a Meade DSI camera.  The  images were captured using Astro Art 7and the guiding was done using PHD2.  Calibration and some of the post processing was done in Astro Art 7 and the final processing was completed in Photoshop 5.

M17 - SWAN Nebula or Omega Nebula 8/20/2020

 

M17 know as the Swan Nebula as well as the Omega is between 5,000 and 6,000 light-years from Earth and it spans some 15 light-years in diameter. The cloud of interstellar matter of which this nebula is a part is roughly 40 light-years in diameter and has a mass of 30,000 solar masses. The total mass of the Omega Nebula is an estimated 800 solar masses.

It is considered one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions of our galaxy. Its local geometry is similar to the Orion Nebula except that it is viewed edge-on rather than face-on.

The above image is a stack of 30 x 5 minute sub frames.  The images were taken with an AT6RC scope and a Starlight Express camera SXVR-M25C cooled to -5C.  The mount is an Astro Physics AP-900 with CP4 controller. The guide scope is an 80 mm refactor and a Meade DSI camera.  The  images were captured using Astro Art 7and the guiding was done using PHD2.  Calibration and some of the post processing was done in Astro Art 7 and the final processing was completed in Photoshop 5.

Scope Setup at Copper Breaks State Park 8/22/2020

 

This is the first time out under darks skies for my new to me AP900 mount with CP4 controller I acquired in March with a trip to Tucson, AZ.  The imaging scope is an AT6RC and the guide scope is and 80mm refactor.  Imaging camera is a Starlight Express SXVR-M25C.  Guide camera is a Meade DSI.  

M33 - Triangulum Galaxy - Revised 11/1/2019

The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy 2.73 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Triangulum.  It is catalogued as Messier 33 or NGC 598.  the Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, behind the Milky Wand and the Andromeda Galaxy.  It is one of the most distatn permanent objects that can be viewed with the naked eye.

Image is a stack of 48 two minute sub-images taken with a StarLight Express SXVR-M25C camera mounted to an Astro-Tech AT6RC scope with an Astro-Tech ATFF-2 field flattener.  Nebulosity v4.3 was used for capture, calibration, stacking, combining, color balance and noise reduction.  Final image processing was done in Photoshop CS5. The scope was mounted on a Celestron CI-700 using PDH2 v2.6.6dev2 autoguiding software with a Meade DSI Pro camera mounted on an 80mm guide/finder scope.  Images were taken at the 2019 Okie-Tex Star Party near Kenton, OK.

Imaging Setup used at Copper Breaks State Park in November 2018

The mount is a Celestron CI-700 with Sky Commander push-to setting circles.  The imaging scope is AstroTech AT6RC (6 inch f9) with field flattener.  The imaging camera is a Starlight Xpress SXVR-M25C.  The guide scope is an 80mm f7 refractor.  The guide camera is a Meade DSI Pro.  Guiding software is PHD2.  Imaging software is Nebulosity 4.  The mount was polar aligned using a QHY Polemaster.

NCG7635 - Bubble Nebula - 20181106

 

 

 

NGC 7635, also known as the Bubble Nebula, Sharpless 162, or Caldwell 11, is an H II region 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 magnitude young central star, SAO 20575 (BD+60°2522). 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. It was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel.

The image was taken November 6, 2018 at Copper Breaks State Park near Quanah, Texas.  The imaging camera was a Starlight Express SXVR-M25C through an Astro-Tech AT6RC mounted on a Celestron CI-700 mount and tripod.  The image was guided using PHD2, a Meade DSI Pro camera through a 80mm F7 scope. The images is 60 minutes (6x10 minutes) pre processed with Nebulosity 2.4.  Final processing was done using Photoshop 5.5.  This is the first image I have posted with the new to me Starlight Express camera.  The camera temperature was adjusted for -10C.

 



 

Okie-Tex 2018 Rainbow - 20181010

Sadly Okie-Tex 2018 was a wash out.  The first image is of the clouds over Black Mesa to the north of the star party.  The image of the rainbow above the eastern sky was one of the few photos taken this year.  This was my fifteen year to attend this star party and the only one that was a total washout.  Maybe next year will be better.  Clear Skies to all!!!