Arasteo Astrophotography

Melotte 15 _ another view...

2011-12-10T10:23:00.001+02:00

The bright open star cluster, in this image is known as Melotte 15 after its discoverer, Philibert Jacques Melotte (1880-1961). Melotte 15 is embedded within and illuminates the central portion of the much larger glowing nebula identified as IC 1805.
The Heart Nebula, IC 1805, Sh2-190, lies some 7500 light years away from Earth and is located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. This is an emission nebula showing glowing gas and darker dust lanes. The nebula is formed by plasma of ionized hydrogen and free electrons.

The interesting structure in the right of the image is a giant area of hydrogen gas that is caused to glow by the intense ultraviolet radiation from the massive stars of the Melotte 15 star cluster.
Dust and gas clouds are eroded by the pressure of the intense radiation.
The Melotte 15 star cluster is estimated to be 7,500 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
Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro
Ha :39*10min bin1x1 (6.5hours)

Waxing Gibbous Moon 89% of full

Kallithea Athens Greece

Melotte 15 in IC1805

2011-11-21T20:58:00.001+02:00

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

Instruments and exposure data:

S[II] 22*15min_Ha 39*10min_O[III] 26*15min
total exposure time : 1110min (18h 30min)

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

S[II] 8nm Baader

O[III] 3nm Astrodon

Kallithea Athens Hellas

Anacortes Image of the Day 22/11/2011

The ''heart'' of the Heart Nebula-Melotte 15 in IC 1805

2011-10-08T16:00:00.000+03:00

Waxing Gibbous Moon 89% of full

Kallithea Athens Greece

Elephant's Trunk nebula IC1396

2011-10-02T17:10:00.002+03:00

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)

Τελικά δεν άντεξα...και πήρα το 3nm O[III] .
Αν και βινιετάρει περισσότερο(μικρό το κακό) από αυτό της Baader , πέτυχα σημαντικά καλύτερο S/N!!!
Kallithea Athens Hellas

Anacortes Image of the Day 3/10/2011

Elephant's Trunk nebula

2011-09-11T09:49:00.003+03:00

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]

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 :29*15min bin1x1

Sharpless 171 Hubble palette

2011-09-05T20:54:00.007+03:00

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

Anacortes Image of the Day 19/09/2011

Northern Galactic Image of the Month Award for September 2011

http://www.northerngalactic.com/forum/news.php

Sharpless 171 and Berkeley 59, HII region and open cluster in Cepheus

2011-08-15T11:06:00.001+03:00

This expanding shell of gas and dust was created by the original star cluster at the heart of Cep OB4, that has now dispersed. It is now lit and ionized by the young star cluster Berkeley 59, at its south end and it is expanding into the dark nebula NGC 7822 at its north end. Berkeley 59 is surrounded by another dark region of disturbed gas and dust called W1.

credit: galaxymap.org

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

Ha:15*15min bin1x1
Total exposure time:3h45min

Leo Triplet

2011-04-25T23:01:00.000+03:00

Instruments and exposure data:
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener and FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Filter IDAS LPS _ Baader RGB
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
EQ6

L:L:RGB
Lum(LPS):81*10min(bin1x1) total 13h30min
Red:36*5(18bin1x1_18bin2x2)
Green:36*5(18bin1x1_18bin2x2)
Blue:36*5(18bin1x1_18bin2x2)
Total exposure time:22h30min

Kallithea Athens Hellas

Leo Triplet

2011-04-23T16:49:00.002+03:00

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 and FeatherTouch 3'' focuser
Filter IDAS LPS
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
EQ6
Lum(LPS):81*10min(bin1x1) total 13h30min
Kallithea Athens Hellas

Crab Nebula M1

2010-12-12T14:55:00.001+02:00

The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations M1, NGC 1952, Taurus A) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The nebula was observed by John Bevis in 1731.
The supernova was noted on July 4, 1054 A.D. by Chinese astronomers as a new or "guest star," and was about four times brighter than Venus, or about mag -6. According to the records, it was visible in daylight for 23 days, and 653 days to the naked eye in the night sky.
At X-ray and gamma-ray energies above 30 KeV, the Crab is generally the strongest persistent source in the sky, with measured flux extending to above 1012 eV. Located at a distance of about 6,500 light-years (2 kpc) from Earth, the nebula has a diameter of 11 ly (3.4 pc) and expands at a rate of about 1,500 kilometers per second.
At the center of the nebula lies the Crab Pulsar, a neutron star (or spinning ball of neutrons), 28-30km across,[5] which emits pulses of radiation from gamma rays to radio waves with a spin rate of 30.2 times per second. The nebula was the first astronomical object identified with a historical supernova explosion.
The cloudy remnants of SN 1054 are now known as the Crab Nebula. The nebula is also referred to as Messier 1 or M1, being the first Messier Object catalogued in 1758.

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:10*15min(bin1x1) total 2h30min
Kallithea Athens Hellas

NGC 1491

2010-11-15T22:30:00.001+02:00

NGC 1491 is an emission nebula found in the constellation of Perseus. This particular nebula has an 11th magnitude star in its center.This object is heavily composed of HII.The central star is "blowing" a bubble in the gas that immediately surrounds it(from www.noao.edu)
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:42*10min(bin1x1) total 7h
Kallithea Athens Hellas

Rosette Nebula

2010-11-07T19:45:00.001+02:00

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.
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
Kallithea Athens Hellas

NGC 7331 and Stephan's quintet

2010-09-25T11:32:00.004+03:00

The spiral galaxy NGC 7331, in Pegasus, can be seen with small telescopes under dark skies as a faint fuzzy spot. It is an island universe similar to our own Galaxy (or maybe somewhat larger) and placed at a distance of 50 million light-years. NGC 7331 was discovered by Wilhelm Herschel in 1784

Stephan's Quintet in the constellation Pegasus is the first identified compact galaxy group of five galaxies about 300 million light-years away. The group was discovered by Édouard Stephan in 1877 at Marseilles Observatory. The group is the most studied of all the compact galaxy groups.

Recent infrared observations made with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have revealed the presence of a huge intergalactic shock wave, or "sonic boom" in the middle of Stephan's Quintet. This discovery, made by an international research team including scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK) in Heidelberg, provides a local view of what might have been going on in the early universe, when vast mergers and collisions between galaxies were commonplace.

Instruments and exposure data

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener and Feather Touch 3'' focuser

SBIG ST10XME CFW9

Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser

EQ6

Baader RGB filters

Luminance: 74*8min(bin1x1) total 9h52min

21-22/8/2010_17-19/9/2010

Red: 11*5min(bin1x1) Green: 11x5min(bin1x1) Blue: 18x5min(bin1x1) total 3h20min

FWHM: 3.41’’-4.89’’

Kallithea Athens Hellas

Aφιερωμένη στον αγαπητό μου φίλο Γιάννη Ελευθεριάδη!!!

Γιάννη άργησα 2 μήνες αλλά πιστεύω το αποτέλεσμα να σου αρέσει...
Anacortes Image of the Day 3-10-2010

Pickering's Triangle NGC 6979

2010-08-30T22:46:00.000+03:00

Pickering's Triangle is part of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant, which includes the famous Veil Nebula.
Astronomers estimate that the supernova explosion that produced the nebula occurred between 5,000 to 10,000 years ago.
Pickering’s Triangle was discovered in 1904 by Williamina Fleming of the Harvard Observatory while examining photographic plates of the area. The object was named in honor of her boss, astronomer Edward Charles Pickering, then director of the Observatory. Pickering’s Triangle goes by a number of aliases, including Pickering’s Wedge, Fleming’s Triangular Wisp, and Simeis 3-188. Current estimates place this supernova remnant at about 1800 light years from Earth.
The entire Veil Nebula complex, of which Pickering’s Triangle is but a portion has an apparent diameter of about 3° or nine full moons!

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener and Feather Touch 3'' focuser
SBIG ST10XME CFW9

Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser

EQ6

Astrodon 5nm Ηα

320 min 32*10min subs (bin 1x1) under near full moon

Kallithea Athens Hellas

SH2-112 in Cygnus

2010-08-07T20:51:00.001+03:00

Sh2-112 is a Hα emission object.It is located in the constellation of Cygnus ,a little less than 1.5 degree from Deneb,the brightest star in this constellation.
W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener and Feather Touch 3'' focuser
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
EQ6
Astrodon 5nm Hα
320 min_40*8min subs (bin1x1) under near full moon

Near full Moon in Ha light

2010-08-01T22:28:00.000+03:00

Near full Moon in Hα light just for fun....!

William optics FLT110 f/7
Sbig ST10XME
5nm Astrodon Hα filter 0.1 sec exposure time.

(Sh2-101) Sharpless 2-101, an emission nebula in Cygnus

2010-06-13T11:25:00.022+03:00

(Sh2-101) Sharpless 2-101, an emission nebula in Cygnus.
Sh2-101 also known as Tulip Nebula, is a quite bright emission nebula.

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener and Feather Touch 3'' focuser
SBIG ST10XME CFW9
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
EQ6
Astrodon 5nmHα
240 min _30*8min subs

Anacortes Image of the Day 14-06-2010

M13

2010-05-17T21:39:00.001+03:00

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.

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener and Feather Touch 3'' focuser
SBIG ST10XME
CFW9 with Baader LRGB
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
EQ6

Lum : 175min
Red : 45min
Green : 45min
Blue : 45min
3min subs
Total exposure 4h20min from Kallithea Athens Greece

NGC 4565

2010-04-18T16:11:00.006+03:00

NGC 4565 is an edge-on unbarred spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices.
The 10th magnitude galaxy sits perpendicular to our own Milky Way galaxy.
It is also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile.First spotted in 1785 by Uranus' discoverer, Sir William Herschel (1738-1822), this is one of the most famous examples of an edge-on spiral galaxy.

W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener and Feather Touch 3'' focuser
SBIG ST10XME
CFW9 with Baader LRGB
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
EQ6

Lum : 235min
Red : 55min
Green : 55min
Blue : 55min
5min subs
Total exposure 6h40min from Kallithea Athens Greece

NGC 4565

2010-04-06T19:46:00.002+03:00

235min (47*5min) luminance
W.O FLT110 w Feather Touch 3'' focuser
SBIG ST10XME
CFW9 Baader LRGB
Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser
EQ6

M97:The OWL NEBULA

2010-03-28T21:52:00.002+03:00

Owl Nebula was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain, collaborator of Charles Messier, and it was incorporated into Messier's catalogue of diffuse objects with number 97. Although its surface brightness is quite low, it can be seen with amateur telescopes in dark nights. Large telescopes, or photographic techniques, are required in order to perceive the two cavities that justify its name. Only photographs reveal the surprising display of colours of M97.
The planetary nebula M97 is placed in the constellation of the Big Bear. It is very difficult to evaluate the distances to planetary nebulae and this case is not an exception. Thus, astronomical literature registers distances ranging from 1500 to 2500 light-years from Earth.
The central, dying star, is a small and hot object, around one hundred thousand centigrade degrees at the surface. The radiations from this white dwarf excite the atoms of the nebulous layers and make them shine. As other planetary nebulae, the shine of M97 comes mainly from the emissions from ionized hydrogen and oxygen atoms, what gives these objects their dominant reddish and greenish hues. But this object has, also, a considerable portion of light from the white dwarf that has been reflected by nebular particles. This mechanism makes its color bluer, and distinguishes this from other planetaries with a smaller reflection component.

W.O FLT-110 with dedicated field flattener
EQ6 Pro
ST10XME
Lum : 35min
Red : 35min
Green : 35min
Blue : 35min
5min subs
Total exposure 2h20min

Pinwheel Galaxy M101

2010-02-20T22:27:00.002+02:00

The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy about 27 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.
It was discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 27, 1781, and he subsequently communicated his discovery to Charles Messier who verified its position and added it to the Messier Catalogue as one of the final entries.
M101 is a relatively large galaxy compared to the Milky Way. With a diameter of 170,000 light-years it is nearly twice the size of the Milky Way. It has a disk mass on the order of 100 billion solar masses, along with a small bulge of about 3 billion solar masses.

W.O FLT-110 with dedicated field flattener
EQ6 Pro
ST10XME
Lum    : 100min
Red    : 40min
Green : 40min
Blue    : 40min
5min subs
Total exposure 3h40min

W.O FLT110 focuser upgrade

2010-01-27T15:44:00.001+02:00

The Feather Touch FTF3025 Focuser from Starlight Instruments, is a major upgrade from the stock W.O focuser.
Replacing the original focuser on my FLT110 with the Feather Touch unit required about 5 minutes.
The fit and finish of the Feather Touchwas something that had to be used to be appreciated!!!

Risky Bridge

2010-01-24T21:32:00.004+02:00

Sunrise Lake Plastira

2010-01-24T09:12:00.001+02:00

Lake Plastira