IC 410 The Tadpoles

IC 410 an emission nebula about 12,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Auriga. Near the center of the nebulous region is a star cluster ( NGC 1893) and just to the bottom left of this cluster lies two structures that resemble tadpoles. These structures are made of leftover hydrogen and dust from the formation of the star cluster and the "tails" are from the solar wind coming from the stars of NGC 1893.

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:36*10min bin1x1

This is a combination of my Ha data as a base luminance, about 6 hours of 36 frames 600 sec each, with Irving's data .

Many thanks to Irving for SII,OIII and Ha data of IC410.

Jupiter grs Europa and shadow

Jupiter grs Europa and shadow

26 April 2015
20:51:51 Local time
Athens

LX90 ota
Eq6 Pro
IS DBK21
PowerMate x2.5

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

Propeller Halo Moon

This is an old photo , back in 2006 with a 350D.

Some HDR processing in PS

SH2-115 and Berkeley 90 _ Re

Completely new processed.

Sh2-115 proved much more difficult target than i originally thought.
For collecting the photons i wanted , i had to face extremely bad atmospheric conditions, such as high humidity and temperature, in all 5 nights that needed for completion the whole project.
It is a beautiful object but very faint particulary in OIII and SII with complex structures.

Hope you like it ...!

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_S[II] 8nm Baader_O[III] 3nm Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

Ha:60*10min bin1x1
S[II]:19*15min bin1x1
O[III]:23*15min bin1x1_35*10min_bin1x1
Total exposure time:26h 20min

Venus

Venus 18 Mar 2012 19:35 local time

Telescope : Meade LX90 (ota only)
Camera : IS DBK21
Televue Powermate x2,5
Mount: EQ6Pro

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days.[11] It has no natural satellite. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows.[12] Because Venus is an inferior planet from Earth, it never appears to venture far from the Sun: its elongation reaches a maximum of 47.8°.

Venus is a terrestrial planet and is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" because of their similar size, mass, proximity to the Sun and bulk composition. However, it has also been shown to be radically different from Earth in other respects. It has the densest atmosphere of the four terrestrial planets, consisting of more than 96% carbon dioxide. The atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface is 92 times that of Earth's. With a mean surface temperature of 735 K (462 °C; 863 °F), Venus is by far the hottest planet in the Solar System, even though Mercury is closer to the Sun. Venus has no carbon cycle that puts carbon into rock, nor does it seem to have any organic life to absorb carbon in biomass. Venus is shrouded by an opaque layer of highly reflective clouds of sulfuric acid, preventing its surface from being seen from space in visible light. It may have possessed oceans in the past,[13][14] but these would have vaporized as the temperature rose due to a runaway greenhouse effect.[15] The water has most probably photodissociated, and, because of the lack of a planetary magnetic field, the free hydrogen has been swept into interplanetary space by the solar wind.[16] Venus' surface is a dry desertscape interspersed with slab-like rocks and periodically refreshed by volcanism

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) _15-1-2015

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is a long-period comet discovered on 17 August 2014 by Terry Lovejoy using a 0.2-meter (8 in) Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope.[1] It was discovered at apparent magnitude 15 in the southernconstellation of Puppis.[1] It is the fifth comet discovered by Terry Lovejoy.

By December 2014, the comet had brightened to roughly magnitude 7.4,[4] making it a small telescope and binoculars target. By mid-December, the comet was visible to the naked eye for experienced observers with dark skies and keen eyesight.[5] On 28−29 December 2014, the comet passed 1/3° from globular cluster Messier 79.[6] In January 2015, it brightened to roughly magnitude 4−5,[7] and became one of the brightest comets located high in a dark sky in years. On 7 January 2015, the comet passed 0.469 AU (70,200,000 km; 43,600,000 mi) from Earth.[8] It crossed the celestial equator on 9 January 2015 becoming better seen from thenorthern hemisphere.[9] The comet will come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 30 January 2015 at a distance of 1.29 AU (193,000,000 km; 120,000,000 mi) from the Sun.[2]

Before entering the planetary region (epoch 1950), C/2014 Q2 had an orbital period of about 11000 years.[3] After leaving the planetary region (epoch 2050), it will have an orbital period of about 8000 years.[3]

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) starless version

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) Animation

15-1-2015 C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) Animation

The gif file is quite big ,so please be patient.

No noise reduction,just calibration with darks and flats

40 frames total ,100 sec/frame

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattenerFeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
W.O ZS80 ED
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Meade DSI
Filters: Lum Baader
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

A Cosmic fairy tale

A Cosmic fairy tale , Soul Nebula (Sharpless 2-199, LBN 667) is emission nebulae in Cassiopeia. Several small open clusters are embedded in the nebula: CR 34, 632, and 634[citation needed] (in the head) and IC1848 (in the body). The object is more commonly called by the cluster designation IC1848.

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:26*10min bin1x1
S[II]:31*10min bin1x1
O[III]:41*10min bin1x1

Total exposure time:16h20min

My Hubble Palette Image of the Soul Nebulae was published in the March/April edition of First Light Magazine , thanks to everyone at First Light Magazine.
First Light Magazine is a new kind of astronomy magazine ,fully digital and interactive. — πανευτυχής.

A Cosmic Tale, the W5, a radio source within the Soul nebula

The W5, a radio source within the Soul nebula, spans an area of sky equivalent to four full moons and is about 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. Like other massive star-forming regions, such as Orion and Carina, W5 contains large cavities that were carved out by radiation and winds from the region's most massive stars. According to the theory of triggered star formation, the carving out of these cavities pushes gas together, causing it to ignite into successive generations of new stars. The image in the gallery above contains some of the best evidence yet for the triggered star formation theory. Scientists analyzing the photo have been able to show that the ages of the stars become progressively and systematically younger with distance from the center of the cavities.

Soul Nebula (Sharpless 2-199, LBN 667) is emission nebulae in Cassiopeia. Several small open clusters are embedded in the nebula: CR 34, 632, and 634[citation needed] (in the head) and IC1848 (in the body). The object is more commonly called by the cluster designation IC1848.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Nebula#mediaviewer/File:Celestial_Valentine.jpg

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 :26*10min bin1x1 (4 hours 20 min)

Athens,

Hellas

Sh 2-132

Sh 2-132 is a faint emission nebula in Cepheus and lies around 10,000 light-years away.
It is illuminated by two Wolf-Rayett stars and several OB stars.

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 :46*10min bin1x1 (7 hours 40 min)

please open it in full resolution here    http://www.astrobin.com/full/136150/0/?real=&mod=       ...and enjoy

for a HST palette version please see here: http://www.astrobin.com/35012/C/

Animated presentation of successive processing steps.

clip 1 : the original Ha master frame deconvolved with LR in ccdstack
clip 2 : after Dynamic Background Extraction in pixinsight
clip 3 : after removing stars with Straton
clip 4 : high pass sharpening , local contrast tuning and noise reduction in photoshop
clip 5 : the final image with stars back, in their positions!!!!!

NGC 2244

Instruments and exposure data:
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener and FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Filter Astrodon Hα 5nm
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
EQ6
Hα:20*5min(bin1x1) total 1h40min

The Rosette Nebula is a large, circular H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244 is closely associated with the nebulosity, the stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula's matter.
The cluster and nebula lie at a distance of some 5,200 light years from Earth (although estimates of the distance vary considerably) and measure roughly 130 light years in diameter. The radiation from the young stars excite the atoms in the nebula, causing them to emit radiation themselves producing the emission nebula we see. The mass of the nebula is estimated to be around 10,000 solar masses.
It is believed that stellar winds from a group of O and B stars are exerting pressure on interstellar clouds to cause compression, followed by star formation in the nebula. This star formation is currently still ongoing.
A survey of the nebula with the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 2001 has revealed the presence of very hot, young stars at the core of the Rosette Nebula. These stars have heated the surrounding gas to a temperature in the order of 6 million kelvins causing them to emit copious amounts of X-rays.

SH2-124 Pseudo RGB

Pseudo RGB attempt, from emmision line data Ha_SII_OIII
Red=Ha_ Green=SII_ Blue= OIII

HISTORY = COMBINE: RGB created from the following SOURCEs

HISTORY = SOURCE0: Mean SH2-124 HaALL Deconvolved

HISTORY = SOURCE1: Mean SH2_SIIALL  Deconvolved

HISTORY = SOURCE2: Mean sh2-124_OIIIALL Deconvolved

HISTORY = RGB color ratios: [1,36:0,48:1,16]

SAT_LEVE= 50000

FILESRC = 'FITS'

HISTORY = DECONVOLVE: Iterations = 30

Sh2-124 modified HST palette

The SH2-124 is an emission nebula located in the constellation of Cygnus. It is very faint target and rarely imaged.

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                                                                                                                               

Triangulum Galaxy M33 I love it !!!

This is an image with the same old data from Nov 2013 but with a new approach about processing .
I made a synthetic luminance layer from the whole of my frames. Then I apply about 30 iterations of selective deconvolution in ccdstack. With ''selective'' i mean: manual selection of the area for deconvolution.
And the question is :What is the exposure time in this image ?
the total exposure time is the sum of whole frames and that is or the sum of the separate master layers such as Lum LumSynth RedSynth(Red+Ha) and so on

Instruments and exposure data:

L_(RED+Ha)_Green_Blue
Lum :147*5min bin1x1 (12h 15min)
Red :35*6min bin 1x1(3h 30min)
Green :27*6min (2h 42min)
Blue:46*6min bin1x1(4h 36min)
Ha:23*10min bin1x1(3h 50min)

Total exposure time 26hours 53min

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, 5nm Ha Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

510 min Pure Explosion

Ha:10*5min bin1x1_46*10min bin1x1

please see in full resolution astrobin

thanks

revision B: the previous with 18 iterations Positive constraint and more contrast

Emission line data Moon

Pseudo RGB attempt, from emmision data Ha and OIII with synthetic Blue.
Red=Ha_ Green=OIII_ Blue= 33%Ha+67%OIII

too many "lies"...in one image, but the result is quite similar to RGB.

SH 2-124 Emission nebula

No, it's not the Trifid nebula , this is the SH2-124,an emission nebula located in the constellation of Cygnus. It is a faint target, rarely imaged.

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_S[II] 8nm Baader_O[III] 3nm Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

Ha:50*10min bin1x1
Total exposure time:8h20min

SH 2-115 and Berkeley 90

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

Sh2-115 proved much more difficult target than i originally thought.
For collecting the photons i wanted , i had to face extremely bad atmospheric conditions, such as high humidity and temperature, in all 5 nights that needed for completion the whole project.
It is a beautiful object but very faint particulary in OIII and SII with complex structures.

Hope you like it ...!

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_S[II] 8nm Baader_O[III] 3nm Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

Ha:60*10min bin1x1
S[II]:19*15min bin1x1
O[III]:23*15min bin1x1_35*10min_bin1x1
Total exposure time:26h20min

Astrobin Image of the Day 31 Aug 2014

M17 in Ha light

The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Lobster Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula[1][2] (catalogued as Messier 17 or M17 and as NGC 6618) is an H II region in the constellationSagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745. Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764. It is located in the rich starfields of the Sagittarius area of the Milky Way.

The Omega Nebula 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.[3] 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.An open cluster of 35 stars lies embedded in the nebulosity and causes the gases of the nebula to shine due to radiation from these hot, young stars; however the actual number of stars in the nebula is much higher - up to 800, 100 of spectral type earlier than B9, and 9 of spectral type O,plus >1000 stars in formation on its outer regions.

This is an early version in Ha light only.
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:13*10min bin1x1
Total exposure time:2h10min

Astrobin Image of the Day 17 Aug 2014 

M16 the Eagle Nebula

The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611, and also known as the Star Queen Nebula) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745-46. Its name derives from its shape that is thought to resemble an eagle. It contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions, including the famous "Pillars of Creation", photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Tricolor Emmision Line image
S[II] 8nm(Red)_Ha 5nm(Green)_O[III] 3nm(Blue)

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_S[II] 8nm Baader_O[III] 3nm Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

Ha:39*10min bin1x1
S[II]:22*10min bin1x1
O[III]:17*15min bin1x1_26*10min_1*6min bin1x1
Total exposure time:18h50min

Astrobin Image of the Day 14 Jun 2014

M16 the Eagle Nebula

This is an early version image of the M16 nebula,in Ha 5nm filter.

No crop , no noise reduction, just deconvolved and sharpen in ccdstack2 and then, contrast adjustement in photoshop.

Tonight , if i'm lucky i will continue with OIII ......

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:39*10min bin1x1

Astrobin Image of the Day 3 Jun 2014

The Flaming Star Nebula - IC 405

HaRGB technique it's not my favorite, but it's the only way to show this dramatic flaming view !!!
Ha (Ha+R)GB
Ha:80'(8x10') R:50'(10x5') G:50'(10x5') B:80'(16x5')
total exposure 260min

Instruments and exposure data:
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener and FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Filter Astrodon Hα 5nm
Astrodon RGB Filters
EQ6

Astrobin Image of the Day 27 May 2014 

M13 GLOBULAR CLUSTER

M13 was discovered by Edmond Halley in 1714, and catalogued by Charles Messier on June 1, 1764.With an apparent magnitude of 5.8, it is barely visible with the naked eye on a very clear night. Its diameter is about 23 arc minutes and it is readily viewable in small telescopes. Nearby is NGC 6207, a 12th magnitude edge-on galaxy that lies 28 arc minutes directly north east. A small galaxy, IC 4617, lies halfway between NGC 6207 and M13, north-northeast of the large globular's center.
M13 is about 145 light-years in diameter, and it is composed of several hundred thousand stars, the brightest of which is the variable starV11 with an apparent magnitude of 11.95. M13 is 25,100 light-years away from Earth.

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
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

L:60*3min bin1x1
R:15*3min bin1x1
G:15*3min bin1x1

B:15*3min bin1x1
Total exposure time:5h15min

Astrobin Image of the Day 16 May 2014

NGC 2174 The Monkey Head Nebula

NGC 2174 (also known as Monkey Head Nebula) is an H II[1] emission nebula located in the constellation Orion and is associated with the open star cluster NGC 2175.[1] It is thought to be located about 6,400 light-years away from Earth.

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_RGB Baader Planetarium
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

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

S[II] 4*10min+5Ha 5*10min_Ha 14*10min_ O[III] 23*10min
total exposure time : 1080min (18h)

L(S[II]+Ha+O[III])_Red(S[II]+Ha)_Green(Ha)_Blue(O[III])

Ha:14*10min bin1x1
S[II]:4*10min bin1x1
O[III]:23*10min bin1x1
Total exposure time:6h50min

Astrobin Image of the Day 24 Apr 2014

M27

Astrobin Image of the Day 11 Apr 2014

Dumbbel Nebula M27

The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as Messier 27, M 27, or NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula (PN) in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1,360 light years.
This object was the first planetary nebula to be discovered; by Charles Messier in 1764. At its brightness of visual magnitude 7.5 and its diameter of about 8 arcminutes, it is easily visible in binoculars, and a popular observing target in amateur telescopes.

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_RGB Baader Planetarium
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

L(Ha+Red)_Red(Ha+Red+Red)_Green_Blue

Ha:10*5min bin1x1_46*10min bin1x1
Red:28*4min bin1x1
Green:29*4min bin1x1
Blue:25*4min bin1x1
Total exposure time:13h58min

For full resolution please see in Astrobin

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

NGC 7635: THE BUBBLE NEBULA

NGC 7635, also called the Bubble Nebula and Sharpless 162, is a H II region[2] 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[2] magnitude young central star, the 15 ± 5 M☉[4] SAO 20575 (BD+60 2522).[7] 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.[7] It was discovered in 1787 by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel.[6] The star SAO 20575 or BD+602522 is thought to have a mass of 10-40 Solar masses.

Tricolor Emission Line Image


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:
SII 8nm Baader Planetarium
Ha 5nm Astrodon
OIII 8.5nm Baader Planetarium

Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

SII :26*10min bin1x1
Ha :20*10min bin1x1
OIII:24*10min bin1x1

Total exposure time:11h40min

SH 2 171 modified Hubble palette _ reworked

Cosmic pillars of cold molecular gas and clouds of dark dust lie within Sharpless 171, a star-forming region some 3,000 light-years away in the royal constellation Cepheus. This tantalizing false-color skyscape spans about 20 light-years across the nebula's bright central region. It also highlights the pervasive glow of emission from atomic gas using narrowband filters and a color palette made popular in Hubble Space Telescope images. Powering the nebular glow are the young, hot stars of a newly formed cluster, Berkeley 59. Of course, this star-forming region is entry number 171 in the famous 1959 catalog of emission nebulae compiled by astronomer Stewart Sharpless.

explanation from : NASA apod 2008 October

Tricolor Emission Line Image

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:
SII 8nm Baader Planetarium
Ha 5nm Astrodon
OIII 8.5nm Baader Planetarium

Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

SII :30*15min bin1x1
Ha :30*15min bin1x1
OIII:30*15min bin1x1

Total exposure time:22h30min

Elephant's Trunk nebula IC1396 _ rework

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

Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

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

S[II] 25*15min_Ha 29*15min_O[III] 18*15min
total exposure time : 1080min (18h)

The Elephant's Trunk nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust in the star cluster IC 1396 – an ionized gas region located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth.[1] The piece of the nebula shown here is the dark, dense globule IC 1396A; it is commonly called the Elephant's Trunk nebula because of its appearance at visible light wavelengths, where there is a dark patch with a bright, sinuous rim. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright, massive star that is just to the west of IC 1396A.The entire IC 1396 region is ionized by the massive star, except for dense globules that can protect themselves from the star's harsh ultraviolet rays.

The Elephant's Trunk nebula is now thought to be a site of star formation, containing several very young (less than 100,000 yr) stars that were discovered in infrared images in 2003. Two older (but still young, a couple of million years, by the standards of stars, which live for billions of years) stars are present in a small, circular cavity in the head of the globule. Winds from these young stars may have emptied the cavity.

The combined action of the light from the massive star ionizing and compressing the rim of the cloud, and the wind from the young stars shifting gas from the center outward lead to very high compression in the Elephant's Trunk nebula. This pressure has triggered the current generation of protostars.[2]

COMET ISON C/2012_S1 ANIMATION

Comet Ison C/2012_S1 animation November 9 2013

C/2012 S1, also known as Comet ISON or Comet Nevski–Novichonok, is a sungrazing comet discovered on 21 September 2012 by Vitali Nevski (Виталий Невский, Vitebsk, Belarus) and Artyom Novichonok (Артём Новичонок,Kondopoga, Russia).[5] The discovery was made using the 0.4-meter (16 in) reflector of the International Scientific Optical Network near Kislovodsk, Russia and the automated asteroid-discovery program CoLiTec.[2][6] Precovery images by the Mount Lemmon Survey from 28 December 2011 and by Pan-STARRS from 28 January 2012 were quickly located.[7] Follow-up observations were made on 22 September by a team from Remanzacco Observatory in Italy using the iTelescope network.[2][8] The discovery was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 24 September.[7] Observations by SWIFT suggest that C/2012 S1's nucleus is around 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) in diameter.[9]

C/2012 S1 will come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 28 November 2013 at a distance of 0.0124 AU (1,860,000 km; 1,150,000 mi) from the center point of the Sun.[3] Accounting for the solar radius of 695,500 km (432,200 mi), C/2012 S1 will pass approximately 1,165,000 km (724,000 mi) above the Sun's surface.[10] Its trajectory appears hyperbolic, which suggests that it is a dynamically new comet coming freshly from the Oort cloud.[11][12]On its closest approach, C/2012 S1 passed about 0.07248 AU (10,843,000 km; 6,737,000 mi) from Mars on 1 October 2013, and it will pass about 0.4292 AU (64,210,000 km; 39,900,000 mi) from Earth on 26 December 2013.[13]

Shortly after its discovery, similarities between the orbital elements of C/2012 S1 and the Great Comet of 1680 led to speculation that there might be a connection between them.[14] However, further observations of ISON showed that the two comets are not related.[15]

Earth will pass near the orbit of C/2012 S1 on 14–15 January 2014, well after the comet has passed, at which time micron-sized dust particles blown by the Sun's radiation may cause a meteor shower or noctilucent clouds.[16][17]However, both events are unlikely. Because Earth only passes near C/2012 S1's orbit, not actually through the tail, the chances that a meteor shower will occur are slim.[18] In addition, meteor showers from long period comets that make just one pass into the inner solar system are very rare, if ever recorded.[19] The possibility that small particles left behind on the orbital path—almost one hundred days after the nucleus has passed—could form noctilucent clouds is also slim. No such events are known to have taken place in the past under similar circumstances.[19]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Instruments and exposure data:

12*3min bin1x1

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
W.O ZS80 ED
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Meade DSI
Filters: Luminance Astrodon

Thor's Helmet_NGC 2359

This is a 2 hours test shot on a difficult target ,mainly because of a low altitude.

Instruments and exposure data:

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener

Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

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

12*10min bin1x1 5nm Ha filter

M33: Triangulum Galaxy

    M33 reprocessed with Registax Wavelets          

    

      Early version                                                                                            

The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light years (ly) from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. It is catalogued as Messier 33 or NGC 598.

With a diameter of about 50,000 light years, the Triangulum galaxy is the third largest member of the Local Group of galaxies. It may be a gravitationally bound companion of the Andromeda Galaxy. (See below.) Triangulum may be home to 40 billion stars, compared to 400 billion for the Milky Way, and 1 trillion (1000 billion) stars for Andromeda.[6]
As mentioned above, M33 is linked to M31 by several streams of neutral hydrogen[47] and stars,[47] which suggests that a past interaction between these two galaxies took place between 2-8 billion years ago,[48][49] and a more violent encounter will occur 2.5 billion years in the future.[47]

The fate of the Triangulum Galaxy is unclear, but seems to be linked to its larger neighbor the Andromeda Galaxy. Suggested future scenarios for M33 include being torn apart and absorbed by Andromeda, fueling the latter with hydrogen to form new stars; eventually exhausting all of its gas, and thus the ability to form new stars;[50] or participating in the collision between the Milky Way and M31, most likely ending up orbiting the merger product of the latter two galaxies and fusing with it much later. Two other possibilities are a collision with the Milky Way before Andromeda arrives or an ejection out of the Local Group.[51]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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, 5nm Ha Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

L_(RED+Ha)_Green_Blue
Lum :147*5min bin1x1 (12h 15min)
Red :35*6min bin 1x1(3h 30min)
Green :27*6min (2h 42min)
Blue:46*6min bin1x1(4h 36min)
Ha:23*10min bin1x1(3h 50min)

Total exposure time 26hours 53min

Software : ccdsoft, eqmod, phd guiding, focusmax, ccdstack, aip4win, maximdl, photoshop cs

Vironas Athens Greece

M33 Triangulum Galaxy in pure Ha light

M33 Triangulum Galaxy in pure Ha light

Using infrared observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope, a total of 515 discrete candidate sources of 24 μm emission within the Triangulum galaxy have been catalogued as of 2007. The brightest sources lie within the central region of the galaxy and along the spiral arms.

Many of the emission sources are associated with HII regions of star formation.[39] The four brightest HII regions are designated NGC 588, NGC 592, NGC 595 and NGC 604. These regions are associated with molecular clouds containing(1.2–4) × 105 solar masses. The brightest of these regions, NGC 604, may have undergone a discrete outburst of star formation about three million years ago.[40] This nebula is the second most luminous HII region within the Local Group of galaxies, at (4.5 ± 1.5) × 107 times the luminosity of the Sun.[37] Other prominent HII regions in Triangulum include IC 132, IC 133 and IK 53.[36]

The northern main spiral arm contains four large HII regions, while the southern arm has greater concentrations of young, hot stars.[36] The estimated rate of supernova explosions in the Triangulum Galaxy is 0.06 Type Ia and 0.62 Type Ib/Type II per century. This is equivalent to a supernova explosion every 147 years, on average.[41] As of 2008, a total of 100 supernova remnants have been identified in the Triangulum Galaxy,[42] and a majority of the remnants lie in the southern half of the spiral galaxy. Similar asymmetries exist for H I and H II regions, plus highly luminous concentrations of massive, O type stars. The center of the distribution of these features is offset about two arc minutes to the southwest.[36] Being a local galaxy, theCentral Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) tracks novae in M33 along with M31 and M81.[43]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Instruments and exposure data:

Ha 23*10min

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