Total Lunar Eclipse - September 7, 2025

 

Yesterday’s total lunar eclipse gave us a breathtaking spectacle, where the Earth covered the sunlightand dressed the Moon in its deep red cloak, offering us a unique moment of connection with the vast and mysterious universe around us.

M27 The Dumbbell Nebula

 

The End of a Star's Life M27 Nebula - A Cosmic Dumbbell

The M27 nebula, also known as the Dumbbell Nebula, represents one of the most spectacular and brightest planetary nebulae in the night sky.

The characteristic dumbbell shape that gives the nebula its name results from its unique structure.
It is located approximately 1,360 light-years from Earth in the constellation Vulpecula

Hidden at the center of the nebula lies a white dwarf star with a temperature of approximately 85,000 K. This extremely hot star is the remnant of a star that exhausted its nuclear fuel and expelled its outer layers, creating the dazzling spectacle we see today.

The nebula glows with a distinctive green-blue color, which is primarily due to doubly ionized oxygen.
This color, combined with the red regions created by ionized hydrogen, gives the nebula its impressive appearance. Scientists estimate that the M27 nebula formed approximately 9,800-10,000 years ago, based on measurements of its expansion velocity.

The M27 nebula remains one of the most accessible and spectacular targets for amateur astronomers, offering a window into the future of our own Sun, which in about five billion years will follow a similar evolution.

Narrowband data: Kostas Tsekas

Avalon linear fast reverse

Askar 107 PHQ Flatfield Astrograph

Asi 533 MΜ Pro

ZWO ASI290MM Mini + WO UniGuide 50mm Scope

Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Advance Gen2

Pegasus Astro FocusCube Universal 2

Astrodon Ha 5 nm 120*300sec

Astrodon OIII 3nm 123*300sec

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

Color data: Aras Teo

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener

Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro Belt Drive Mod

Asi 533 MC Pro

W.O ZS 80 ED

P1 Mars-C IMX 462

FeatherTouch 3'' focuser

Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser

Exposure: 151*180sec

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

Total Integration: 27h 48min

The Trifid Nebula

Starless view 

Original view 

The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region in the north-west of Sagittarius in a star-forming region in the Milky Way's Scutum–Centaurus Arm. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. Its name means 'three-lobe'. The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula (the relatively dense, reddish-pink portion), a reflection nebula (the mainly NNE blue portion), and a dark nebula (the apparent 'gaps' in the former that cause the trifurcated appearance, 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.

Luminance data: Kostas Tsekas
Avalon linear fast reverse
Askar 107 PHQ Flatfield Astrograph
Asi 533 MΜ Pro
ZWO ASI290MM Mini + WO UniGuide 50mm Scope
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Advance Gen2
Luminance Baader Ir/cut
Exposure: 190*180sec
Location: Stinger of Scorpius Observatory, Filiates, Thesprotia, Greece.

Color data: Aras Teo
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro Belt Drive Mod
Asi 533 MC Pro
W.O ZS 80 ED
P1 Mars-C IMX 462
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
Exposure: 103*180sec
Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

Total Integration:14h 39min

NGC 4565 Needle Galaxy

 NGC 4565, also known as the Needle Galaxy, was discovered by the astronomer Sir William Herschel on April 6, 1785. Herschel, who also discovered the planet Uranus, first identified this prominent edge-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices. Its bright, narrow appearance earned it the nickname "Needle Galaxy." The galaxy lies approximately 30 to 40 million light-years away from Earth and is a well-studied example of an edge-on spiral galaxy.

Luminance data: Kostas Tsekas

Avalon linear fast reverse
Askar 107 PHQ Flatfield Astrograph
Asi 533 MΜ Pro
ZWO ASI290MM Mini + WO UniGuide 50mm Scope
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Advance Gen2
Luminance Baader Ir/cut
Exposure: 184*180sec
Location: Stinger of Scorpius Observatory, Filiates, Thesprotia, Greece.

Color data: Aras Teo
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro Belt Drive Mod
Asi 533 MC Pro
W.O ZS 80 ED
P1 Mars-C IMX 462
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
Exposure: 106*180sec
Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

Total Integration:14h 30min

Full Moon in ir 850nm

 

An interesting view of the full moon at 850 nm with the ZWO IR 850 filter.

this filter allows the passage of infrared light at 850 nm, which can be useful for cameras sensitive to the infrared spectrum. This helps isolate specific details and features in planetary and lunar objects that are more visible in infrared light.

By using the IR 850nm filter, interference from visible light is reduced, which can improve the contrast and sharpness of images, especially under conditions of atmospheric turbulence or in the presence of ambient lighting.

If you are using a color camera such, you can use it as a monochrome camera with this filter by setting the white balance parameters (WB_R and WB_B) to 50, so that no white balance is applied and you can fully exploit the sensitivity in the infrared spectrum.

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro Belt Drive Mod
Asi 533 MC Pro Color  with ZWO IR 850
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

NGC 3169 and NGC 3166

NGC 3169 is a spiral galaxy about 75 million light years away in the constellation Sextans. It has the morphological classification SA(s)a pec, which indicates this is a pure, unbarred spiral galaxy with tightly-wound arms and peculiar features.There is an asymmetrical spiral arm and an extended halo around the galaxy.It is a member of the NGC 3166 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Leo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

NGC 3166 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Sextans. The galaxy lies about 65 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 3166 is approximately 105,000 light years across.It was discovered by William Herschel on December 19, 1783.

Luminance data: Kostas Tsekas

Avalon linear fast reverse

Askar 107 PHQ Flatfield Astrograph
Asi 533 MM Pro
ZWO ASI290MM Mini (mono) + WO UniGuide 50mm Scope
Location: Stinger of Scorpius Observatory, Filiates, Thesprotia, Greece.

Color data: Theodore Arampatzoglou

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro Belt Drive Mod
Asi 533 MC Pro Color
W.O ZS 80 ED
P1 Mars-C IMX 462
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

Total Integration:14h 6min