2012

The imaging situation at home has been disastrous this winter, What a lousy season, particularly here in the North East UK. I started this image at the beginning of January. Then on 1st March got some more data. Nothing in between, due partly to other engagements on the rare occasions the sky was clear, and of course the almost total lack of clear nights anyway! Still just monochrome. And this target which is situated in Taurus just above the Hyades is soon going to have to wait until next season. It's dark nebula Barnard 22. Imaged 13 x 15 minute subs, QSI 683 wsg on TS65 Quad scope. So if we don't get a clear early evening before the Moon comes back, it's going to stay monochrome for a while! Larger size.

My annual spring stay at Kielder was blessed (!) with snow and cloud for most of the weekend. But Monday 11th March cleared for a few hours and I was finally able to obtain another luminance sub and colour data.. RGB each 5 x 10 minute subs binned 2x2, QSI 683 on TS65 quad. Larger size

There is a rather nice grouping of edge on galaxies (and numerous smaller ones of various types) in Virgo. Of the three larger ones 10th magnitude NGC 4216 is the biggest and brightest - in the centre of the image. Above is 13th mag. NGC 4222 and below is 12th mag. NGC 4206. the other galaxy of note towards the bottom right corner is 12th mag NGC 4193. I acquired initial data on March 11th at Kielder after capturing colour frames for Barnard 22 above, then finished off at home on March 13th. Luminance 24 x 10 minutes, RGB each 5 x 10 minutes. All binned 1x1. QSI683wsg on Meade 127 refractor at f7.5 with SX AO unit. Larger size

NGC4731 is a disturbed barred galaxy in Virgo. On my 'must do' list for a couple of years. Rather low from my location, never rising above 28 degrees altitude, quite faint at magnitude 11.5, and being a late Spring object with light nights approaching, limited time to collect data. This was not helped by the appalling weather this year, but eventually I managed to collect enough data, some at the end of March, finishing off in early May! Even so generally the sky was a bit hazy, so the image is more noisy' than I would like. But it's such a beautiful and interesting galaxy I think it was worth the effort. Luminance 11 x 10 minutes, RGB each 5 x 10 minutes, all binned 2x2. QSI 683 on Meade 12" at f10 (approx. 3200mm focal length). Full Size

 

The Summer months at my Northern latitude are not the best time for imaging deep sky objects - twilight rules for several weeks. But narrowband filters can do some useful work, so here is a rendering of the beautiful Veil Nebula complex in Cygnus (various NGCs including 6960 for the bright West limb and 6992 for the East section). Taken over several sessions in early June and mid July 2013. A total of over 12 hours for luminance (Hydrogen-alpha) and 4.5 hours for OIII and SII blended with the Ha, RGB=HOS. Mainly 15 minute subs, using Baader narrowband filters (around 7nm). This is in fact a mosaic of two image sets taken with the QSI683wsg on the little TS65 Quad telescope, which has certainly proved itself here! This image appeared in the September 2013 issue of Astronomy Now magazine. Large Size (900 KB)

Messier 27, the well known 'Dumbbell' planetary nebula in Vulpecula has a faint outer shell, not often imaged, and difficult except from a very dark site. But narrow band imaging can show it up. This image has rather 'noisy' colour having been stretched from a limited amount of data collected on the nights of 31st August and 2nd September 2013. QSI 683WSG on Meade 12" ACF at 2600 mm fl with Starlight Xpress Adaptive Optics unit. 5 x 20 minutes and 7 x 30 minutes H-alpha, but only one each x 10 minutes of OII and SII. All binned 2x2. Colour mix RGB=HOS. Maybe I'll try again in 2014....  Full size

This beautiful reflection nebula, NGC 7129, approximately 3,300 light years distant in the constellation Cepheus contains bright young stars whose intense radiation has dispersed gas and dust creating a bubble in the original star forming cloud. Imaged from my Observatory, some of the luminance from September 2012, the bulk of the data this September 10th, one of the few decently clear nights this lunation. Luminance 12 x 20 minutes binned 1, RGB each 5 x 10 minutes binned 2x2. QSI 683 wsg camera with Starlight Xpress Adaptive Optics and Baader filters on Meade 12" ACF at 2600 mm. Larger Size (940KB)

The night of 7th September 2013 was beautifully clear and just got better as the night went on. I did an imaging run with my 70-200 lens on the North American and Pelican nebulae with an f6 exterior mask similar to this one. Nice field of view, but I'm not sure about the star shapes towards the top - it may be that the camera/lens mounting had some play which allowed them to tilt wrt each other. I was using a lens mount so the QSI with the big filter wheel was hanging on the back. But nice resolution in the middle ;) QSI 683 with Baader narrowband filters and Canon 70-200 lens at 200 mm fl. Luminance Ha, 12 x 10 mins + 2 x 20 min ( I was guiding for the longer exposures with my SCT but got some flex, so reverted to unguided 10 minute subs), OIII and SII each 7 x 5 minutes binned 2x2. Darks and flats applied, Colour mix RGB = HOS. This image appeared in the December 2013 issue of Sky at Night magazine. Larger size (1MB)

This area is very strong in Hydrogen alpha light which makes it difficult to show variations - in essence it should be all red! So for those who prefer a more restful image, here is the monochrome Ha Luminance image. Larger size

The dark nebula Barnard 173-4 in Cepheus is extremely thick in places, completely blanking out background stars. This image was taken on 26th October 2013, using the QSI683 and Meade 127 refractor (950 mm fl) with Starlight Xpress Adaptive Optics unit. Luminance 15 x 10 minutes unbinned, RGB each 5 x 5 minutes binned 2x2.  Full Size (775KB)

This is the 'Butterfly' nebula and associated nebulosity surrounding the bright star Gamma Cygni, with the Crescent nebula tucked away in the corner. Apparently more nebulosity out of field - guess I'll have to have another go zoomed out further! Friday and Saturday nights of 27th and 28th September 2013 had superb clear skies. Had to pack in early Sunday morning - big day ahead, but got the colour data.  QSI 683 with Canon 70/200 L lens at 200 mm, f6 (external stop). Luminance 15 x 10 minutes Ha binned 1x1. RGB Ha, OIII, SII each 5 x 5 minutes binned 2x2. Larger image

This image, taken on 3rd November 2013 contains a number of Van den Bergh reflection nebulae, VdB12, 13, 16 and 17 (NGC1333) in Perseus. 'Mouse over' the medium size image for names (click on the thumbnail). QSI 683 on the TS Quad refractor (420mm). Luminance 10 x 15 minutes unbinned, RGB each 5 x 10 minutes binned 2x2  Large image (950 KB)

The night of 9th November 2013 was beautifully clear, so while waitning to try again for comet ISON I turned my attention to Messier 33 - always worth a visit! QSI 683 with SX AO unit on Meade 127 refractor. Luminance 12 x 10 minutes, RGB each 4 x 10 minutes, all unbinned.  Also ST4000 image here. Large image (1 MB)

Although my Canon 350D picture of the Hyades, Pleiades and California nebula was quite pleasing, I was disappointed with the rendering of the California nebula. The night of 5th December 2013 was set to be clear all night - one of the very few this season, so I set to with my QSI camera. Originally outside on my EQ3-2 mount, but the weather was still very blustery after the severe gales of the morning (which cut off our electricity for 8 hours - fortunately it was back on in the evening!) so I had to admit defeat and move the camera onto my Observatory mount. QSI 683 with Tamron 17-50 zoom lens at 35 mm and f5.6 Luminance 11 x 10 minutes, RGB each 4 x 10 minutes binned 1x1. I also took 6 x 15 minutes Hydrogen-alpha to pick out detail of the California nebula. This was then used for both luminance and colour of the nebula. The brighter stars were already showing 'starburst' effects from the lens diaphragm, so I lightly enhanced them further using Star Spikes Pro. Large image here, annotated with constellation lines, some stars and deep sky objects here, or 'mouseover' here (if your mouse has a wheel use it to scroll the annotated image without losing the annotations.)

This has to be shaping up to be an even worse season than last winter - at least in NE England. A continuous succession of gales, rain and cloud with only glimpses of Sun or Stars. But Christmas Day was decent and I managed a few hours imaging that night. The first image is the result. Messier 77 and NGC 1055 galaxies lie quite close together, but are very different in appearance,. In the past the two bright stars 'above' NGC1055 meant I had difficulty imaging with my SBIG camera because of blooming. But now my QSI 683 is anti-blooming so no problems there. The bright blue star at the right hand edge is 4th magnitude delta Ceti, the small galaxy to the left is NGC 1072. QSI 683 on Meade series 5000 127 refractor (950 mm focal length). Baader LRGB filters, SX AO unit. Luminance 13 x 10 minutes unbinned, RGB each 5 x 5 minutes binned 2x2. As always more data would have been nice, but it's a bit late in the season for them - they were dropping into slightly hazy sky and the subject is fairly low for me. Better than nothing! Larger image The next very brief window of opportunity was on 30th December. I've always wanted to image the Cone and Foxfur nebulae in Monoceros (the only previous attempt was in 2006 here) but again the very bright stars of the associated open cluster (NGC2264) caused problems until I got my QSI camera. Even so, I only managed 5 x 15 minute Luminance subs before the clouds rolled back in. And again there was slight high haze. Needs many more hours data, but it's a start, and the subject will be available for several weeks yet IF the skies ever clear. Same optics as above. Larger image North is up in both images.

2014