Jupiter with GRS

 

Imaging Telescope: Meade LX90 UHTC 8" OTA

Imaging Camera: Player One Mars-C

Mounts: Meade LX90

Filters: Baader UV/IR cut 1.25"

Accessories: Tele Vue 2.5x 1.25" Powermate (PMT-2513)

Software: Emil Kraaikamp AutoStakkert! · Grischa Hahn WinJUPOS · Lucien AstroSurface

Via Lactea Observatory, Paramithia, Epirus, Greece

Sculptor Galaxy

 

The Sculptor Galaxy, NGC 253, is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. The Sculptor Galaxy is a starburst galaxy, which means that it is currently undergoing a period of intense star formation.A weighted average of the most reliable distance estimates gives a distance of 11.4 ± 0.7 Mly

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: LRGB (Baader Planetarium)

Lum:180*4min  Red:62*2min Green:60*2 Blue:80*2 

Total exposure:18h 44min

NGC 1333

 

Πρώτο φως από το NGC1333.
Λόγω των άσχημων καιρικών συνθηκών που επικρατούν τους τελευταίους μήνες κατάφερα να συλλέξω μόνο 7 ώρες αν και η αρχική μου πρόθεση ήταν για τουλάχιστον 12 με 14 ώρες.Ελπίζω του χρόνου να καταφέρω να το ολοκληρώσω.
Το NGC1333 είναι ένα νεφέλωμα αντανάκλασης ,βρίσκεται στον αστερισμό του Περσέα και απέχει περίπου 960 έτη φωτός.
Οι φωτεινές περιοχές του νεφελώματος αποτελούνται από πίδακες καυτής σκόνης και λαμπρών αερίων που φωτίζονται από πρόσφατα σχηματισμένα άστρα.
Στην πραγματικότητα το NGC1333 περιέχει εκατοντάδες άστρα ηλικίας μικρότερης του 1 εκατομμυρίου ετών, που τα περισσότερα είναι κρυμμένα από τα οπτικά μας τηλεσκόπια λόγω της υπέρπυκνης σκόνης.
Αυτό το χαοτικό περιβάλλον ίσως είναι παρόμοιο με αυτό που δημιουργήθηκε ο δικός μας ήλιος πριν από 4,5 δισεκατομμύρια χρόνια!!!

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

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 DSIFilters: Ha 5nm Astrodon__O[III] 3nm Astrodon

Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

LUM:140*3min bin1x1

Total exposure time:7h 

The Tulip Nebula SH2-101

 

Το Νεφέλωμα της Τουλίπας(Sharpless 101) είναι νεφέλωμα εκπομπής στον αστερισμό του Κύκνου. Απέχει περίπου 6,000 έτη φωτός από τη Γη και η διάμετρός του υπολογίζεται στα 70 έτη φωτός.

Στο δεξί κάτω άκρο της φωτογραφίας ακριβώς κάτω από το αχνό τόξο που σχηματίζεται, έχει καταγραφεί η περιοχή που βρίσκεται η πρώτη υποψήφια Μαύρη Τρύπα Cygnus X-1 και μια από τις ισχυρότερες πηγές ακτίνων Χ του γαλαξία μας.

The Tulip Nebula (Sharpless 101) is an emission nebula located in Cygnus constellation. It lies at an approximate distance of 6,000 light years from Earth. It occupies an area of 16 x 9 arc minutes of apparent sky and has a linear diameter of about 70 light years

The Tulip Nebula is located in the same region of the sky as the microquasar Cygnus X-1, the first galactic X-ray source widely believed to be a black hole. Cygnus X-1 consists of a star, HD 226868, and a very small high-mass object. The two orbit around each other with a period of 5.6 days. The object was one of the first ever candidates for a black hole.

A new project begins...I hope to finish next year the other 2 narrowband filters

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

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 DSIFilters: Ha 5nm Astrodon__O[III] 3nm Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro
Ha:119*3min bin1x1

Total exposure time:5h 57min

The Wizard Nebula

The Wizard Nebula is an emission nebula that surrounds the open star cluster NGC 7380 in the constellation Cepheus. The nebula is known for its unique shape, resembling the appearance of a medieval sorcerer. The active star forming region lies at a distance of 7,200 light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 7.2. It has a radius of 100 light years and occupies 25 arc minutes of the apparent sky. It has the designation Sh2-142 in the Sharpless catalog of H II regions.

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

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 DSIFilters: Ha 5nm Astrodon__O[III] 3nm Astrodon
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

Ha_OIII_OIII modified palette: Ha_(OIII+0.4Ha)_OIII

Ha:71*10min bin1x1
O[III]:72*10min bin1x1
Total exposure time:23h 50min

i totally reprocessed my previous published image of Wizard Nebula,hope you like it...

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

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

Sculptor Galaxy

The Sculptor Galaxy, NGC 253, is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. The Sculptor Galaxy is a starburst galaxy, which means that it is currently undergoing a period of intense star formation.A weighted average of the most reliable distance estimates gives a distance of 11.4 ± 0.7 Mly

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:180*4min  total exposure 12h

NGC 6951 with IFN

NGC 6951 with IFN
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
Imaging:
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
SBIG ST10XME CFW9 Filters: Luminance (Baader Planetarium)
Lum:49*7min  total exposure 5h 43min

NGC 6822 Barnard's Galaxy

NGC 6822 (also known as Barnard's Galaxy, IC 4895, or Caldwell 57) is a barred irregular galaxy approximately 1.6 million light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Part of the Local Group of galaxies, it was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1884. It is one of the closer galaxies to the Milky Way. It is similar in structure and composition to the Small Magellanic Cloud. It is about 7,000 light-years in diameter.The galaxy contains regions of rich star formation and curious nebulae, such as the bubble visible in this image. Astronomers classify NGC 6822 as an irregular dwarf galaxy because of its odd shape and relatively diminutive size by galactic standards. The strange shapes of these cosmic misfits help researchers understand how galaxies interact, evolve and occasionally "cannibalise" each other, leaving behind radiant, star-filled scraps.

At only about a tenth of the Milky Way's size, Barnard’s Galaxy fits contains about 10 million stars — a far cry from the Milky Way’s estimated 400 billion.

Ο NGC 6822 ή Γαλαξίας του Μπάρναρντ, είναι ακανόνιστος γαλαξίας που βρίσκεται περίπου 1,6 εκατομμύριο έτη φωτός μακριά, στον αστερισμό Τοξότη. Είναι μέλος της Τοπικής ομάδας γαλαξιών και ανακαλύφθηκε από τον Αμερικανό αστρονόμο E.E. Μπάρναρντ το 1884. Είναι ένας από τους κοντινότερους γαλαξίες, παρόμοιος σε δομή και σύσταση με το Μικρό Νέφος του Μαγγελάνου. Οι διαστάσεις του είναι περίπου 7000 έτη φωτός.

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

Instruments and exposure data
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro Belt Drive Mod

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    :23*8min 39*7min 1*10min -10C bin 1x1 total: 7h 47min

Red     :21*8min -10C bin 1x1 total: 2h 48min

Green:26*6min -10C bin1x1 total: 2h 36min

Blue    :27*5min  -10C bin1x1 total: 2h 15min

Darks 50 Bias 350 Flats 25

Guiding:

W.O ZS80 ED
Meade DSI

Total exposure time:15h 26min  6 nights  Jul 3,8 Aug 2,6,24,27  

A more stretched luminance channel with IFN clearly visible...i suppose

M33 animated

This is an experimental animated project of M33 from a single image

https://www.astrobin.com/124560/C/?nc=collection&nce=1278

The gif file is quite large so please be patient!!!

SH2 108 Hubble Palette

playing with starless sh2-108 i ended up to this version

Sh2 108 a close view in Hubble Palette (SHO)
SII as Red
Ha as Green
OIII as Blue

Instruments and exposure data:
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener
FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
SBIG ST10XME CFW9 W.O ZS80 ED
Meade DSI
Filters: 5nm Hα Astrodon, 3nm OIII Astrodon, 8nm SII Baader
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

SII  :25*10min bin 1x1

Ha  :11*10min bin1x1

OIII:25*10min bin 1x1

Total exposure time:10h 10min

Location: Via Lactea Observatory, Kristallopigi Paramithia, Greece

SH2 108

SH2 108 a close view
The Sadr region, IC 1318, is the busy neighborhood round the mag 2.2 star Sadr or gamma Cygni. It is a large expanse of nebulosity with dominant Ha emission nebulae and various dark nebulae.
We are looking deep into the Orion Arm of our Galaxy in this direction and the nebula is more than 3000 light years from us.

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

Ha:11*10min bin1x1
Total exposure time:1h 50min

Propeller Nebula a more stretched version

Via Lactea Observatory

Via Lactea Observatory

Via Lactea Observatory

View SW

Via Lactea Observatory

View of the interior

Via Lactea Observatory

Almost 18 years ago,i embarked on a very special, difficult and demanding journey in the world of astronomy and especially in astrophotography.
Through the light pollution of Athens, the whole venture seemed almost impossible.

Watching the first shadows of nebulae and galaxies appearing on the computer screen, the pictures of planets with their moons floating into space and the spectacular formations of craters and canyons of our moon, i realized that this is was makes me feel complete, that this is what I love doing.
After long hours of studying and investing a lot of time and money, i believe that i have managed to have a decent course in the field of astrophotography. The only problem that was holding me behind was the lack of a permanent observatory.

Completely by chance i had the opportunity to meet two lovely people , Kostas and Spyros Tsekas. Without their voluntary offer, i would have never managed to full fill my dream and have my own observatory today.I would also like to thank all my friends, relatives and fellow villagers that helped me complete the observatory.
And of course I would like to thank my wife Alice that without her encouragement and understanding I wouldn't even have dreamed of turning my dream into reality.

The Observatory is located in Kristallopigi Paramithias in Thesprotia , where I have settled permanently with my family the last two years. The purpose of the observatory is the dissemination of amateur astronomy in the province of Epirus, through seminars and night sky watching.

Good luck to all with clear skies

The Propeller Nebula in Cygnus_ Simeis 57

This is the first image taken from Via Lactea Observatory, my own observatory.
Photos of Via lactea Observatory will be published soon.

Instruments and exposure data:

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

Lum:38*10min bin1x1
Total exposure time:6h 20min

Gum 85 & 84 and Sharpless 54

The bright "egg" in this image is nebula Gum 85 in Serpens; surrounding it is Gum 84 and surrounding that is Sharpless 54.Sharpless 54 is a larger object as described in the catalog as a 140 arc minutes which extends well beyond this field.This area of sky is located just north of M16, the Eagle Nebula.

Instruments and exposure data:

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

Lum:35*10min bin1x1
Total exposure time:5h 50min

Messier 106

Messier 106 (also known as NGC 4258) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781. M106 is at a distance of about 22 to 25 million light-years away from Earth. It is also a Seyfert II galaxy. Due to x-rays and unusual emission lines detected, it is suspected that part of the galaxy is falling into a supermassive black hole in the center. NGC 4217 is a possible companion galaxy of Messier 106. A Type II supernova was observed in this galaxy in May 2014.

Instruments and exposure data:

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

Lum:130*6min bin1x1
Total exposure time:18h