Every day our eyes catch the light of our memories – time spent with family, the journey to work, a special holiday, a beautiful sunset or a dark starlit night. Each image captured is a picture drawn in light – a photograph: only to be lost in our minds or forever forgotten. Nearly two hundred years ago a small group of amateur scientists achieved what had eluded mankind for centuries – the ability to capture a permanent record of an image seen by their own eyes – a moment in time frozen onto a surface. They had discovered Photography. They were the ‘Catchers of the Light’.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Melotte 15 in IC1805 reprocessed


The bright open star cluster, in this image is known as Melotte 15 after its discoverer, Philibert Jacques Melotte (1880-1961). Melotte 15 is embedded within and illuminates the central portion of the much larger glowing nebula identified as IC 1805.

The Heart Nebula, IC 1805, Sh2-190, lies some 7500 light years away from Earth and is located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. This is an emission nebula showing glowing gas and darker dust lanes. The nebula is formed by plasma of ionized hydrogen and free electrons.

The interesting structure in the right of the image is a giant area of hydrogen gas that is caused to glow by the intense ultraviolet radiation from the massive stars of the Melotte 15 star cluster.
Dust and gas clouds are eroded by the pressure of the intense radiation.

The Melotte 15 star cluster is estimated to be 7,500 light years away from Earth.

Tricolor Emmision Line image
S[II] 8nm(Red)_Ha 5nm(Green)_O[III] 3nm(Blue)
Modified Hubble Palette

Instruments and exposure data:

S[II] 22*15min_Ha 39*10min_O[III] 26*15min
total exposure time : 1110min (18h 30min)


W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener

FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
W.O ZS80 ED
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Meade DSI
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro
Filters:
Ha 5nm Astrodon

S[II] 8nm Baader
O[III] 3nm Astrodon
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