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’.
Showing posts with label Galaxy groups and clusters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Galaxy groups and clusters. Show all posts

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Whirlpool Galaxy M51





The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a, M51a, and NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus.It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. Its distance is estimated to be 23 million light-years away from Earth.

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

Instruments and exposure data
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro Belt Drive Mod
Guiding:
W.O ZS80 ED
Meade DSI
Imaging:
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
SBIG ST10XME CFW9 Filters: Luminance Red Green Blue (Baader Planetarium)
Lum:132*5min, exposure 660min
Red:38*5min, exposure 190min
Green:35*5min, exposure 170min
Blue:36*5min, exposure 180min
Total exposure 20 hours

Monday, April 6, 2020

Whirlpool galaxy M51


An early version of M51,waiting for clear skies to add color.


Luminance only,this is a work in progress.

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

Instruments and exposure data
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro Belt Drive Mod
Guiding:
W.O ZS80 ED
Meade DSI
Imaging:
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
SBIG ST10XME CFW9 Filters: Luminance (Baader Planetarium)
Lum:132*5min total exposure 11h

Saturday, March 28, 2015

SH2-115 and Berkeley 90 Ha light


Sharpless 115 stands just north and west of Deneb. Noted in the 1959 catalog by astronomer Stewart Sharpless (as Sh2-115) the faint but lovely emission nebula lies along the edge of one of the outer Milky Way's giant molecular clouds, about 7,500 light-years away. Shining with the light of ionized atoms of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen in this Hubble palette color composite image, the nebular glow is powered by hot stars in star cluster Berkeley 90. The cluster stars are likely only 100 million years old or so and are still embedded in Sharpless 115. But the stars' strong winds and radiation have cleared away much of their dusty, natal cloud. At the emission nebula's estimated distance, this cosmic close-up spans just under 100 light-years.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130614.html

Instruments and exposure data:
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
W.O ZS80 ED
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Meade DSI
Filters: Ha 5nm Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

Ha:60*10min bin1x1

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Leo Triplet_reprocessed


The Leo Triplet (also known as the M66 Group) is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. This galaxy group consists of the spiral galaxies M65, the M66, and the NGC 3628

Instruments and exposure data

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
W.O ZS80 ED
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Meade DSI
Filters: LRGB Baader Planetarium, IDAS LPS
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

Lum(LPS):30*10min(bin1x1)_51*10min(bin1x1)
Red:36*5(18bin1x1_18bin2x2)
Green:36*5(18bin1x1_18bin2x2)
Blue:44*5(24bin1x1_20bin2x2)
Total exposure time:23h10min

Astrobin Image of the Day 31 Mar 2014