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’.

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

The Jellyfish Nebula IC443


 IC 443 (also known as the Jellyfish Nebula and Sharpless 248 (Sh2-248)) is a galactic supernova remnant (SNR) in the constellation Gemini.Its distance is roughly 5,000 light years from Earth.

Location: Stinger of Scorpius Observatory, Filiates, Thesprotia - Greece.

Telescope: William optics star 71 f/4.9
Mount: Avalon linear fast reverse
Camera: CCD Atik One 6.0
Guide: ZWO ASI290MM Mini (mono) + Skywatcher ed80
Filters: Astrodon Ha 5 nm , Astrodon OIII 3nm
Exposure: Ha 39*600sec , OIII 39*600 , total : 13 hours
Process: Pixinsight - Photoshop CS6
Dates: 14/02/2023, 15/02/2023, 18/03/2023

Wednesday, March 15, 2023


The SH2-124 is an emission nebula located in the constellation of Cygnus, a not popular imaging target, very dim in OIII and SII emissions and in a  rich starfield, so it's a challenge to process.   

Instruments and exposure data:

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattenerFeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
W.O ZS80 ED
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Meade DSI
Filters: Ha 5nm Astrodon_S[II] 8nm Baader_O[III] 3nm Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro
Ha:50*10min bin1x1
S[II]:34*15min bin1x1
O[III]:39*15min bin1x1

Total exposure time:26h35min

Monday, March 13, 2023

Whirlpool Galaxy M51 wide field


 A totally new processing with the new tools in Pixinsight like Wbpp and Spcc.

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