2013 

In January 2014 a supernova appeared in the bright nearby (11 million Light Years) galaxy Messier 82. soon classified as a type 1A, and named Supernova 2014J. I first heard about it on 22nd January and determined to image it. As always click on the thumbnails for a larger image. This image featured in the article on this Supernova in the March 2014 Astronomy Now magazine, and also appeared in the April and May 2014 issues.   As luck would have it, 23rd January was the first clear night for a long time, and of course I was out for dinner with friends I haven't seen for some time. Typical! However I managed 3 subs before going out and another 8 on return. Only monochrome subs - the clouds rolled in around midnight, so I used the colour from a previous image which I also used for the animation. Large image   The new image was 11 x 5 minute subs. QSI 683 on Meade 12" at 2600 mm. The supernova measured at magnitude 11.3   The monochrome image is a crop from the calibrated but only linear stretched combined frames showing the true magnitude of the supernova relative to the galaxy. Pretty bright!

Cone and Foxfur in Monoceros, or if you prefer, NGC 2264 and associated nebulosity! With our truly awful weather, this was on the go from the end of December 2013 (early monochrome image here), and I didn't manage to get the last bit of data until the night of 20th February 2014. Here is the result. An area I've been after for some time, but never had the right combination of camera and optics until the last year or so. An image in 2006 only captured part of the area. QSI 683wsg with Starlight Xpress AO unit on Meade Series 5000 127 refractor. Luminance 17 x 15 minutes, RGB each 9 x 5 minutes binned 2x2. Larger image. Phew!

The night of 10th March 2014 was clear and crisp, so despite the presence of a waxing gibbous Moon I imaged the elliptical Leo galaxy Messier 105 and it's associated elliptical NGC 3371 and colourful disturbed galaxy NGC 3373. M105 is the one towards the bottom of the image, right is North. I wanted these for insertion into the Stellarium planetarium program. Despite the bright Moon I was able to reduce the background sufficiently to make this a 'keeper'. But will probably return next opportunity! Because of the bright background I stayed with 2x2 binning and short exposures. Luminance 22 x 5 minutes, RGB each 7 x 5 minutes, QSI 683 on Meade 12" at 2600 mm. Full size

Spiral galaxy NGC 3521 in Leo is surprisingly not a Messier object despite its bright 9.2 magnitude. But worth visiting, not just for its overall appearance but also for the faint halo of stars, beautifully captured in this APOD image. Alas my UK skies are not so favourable, but I have a hint of the 'bubble'. This image was some time in the capturing! I first visited it on 14th April 2012, but only managed 3 x 20 minute subs. Then overlooked it until 24th March 2014, one of very rare clear nights in this awful season. So the final image consists of Luminance 3 x 20 minutes + 7 x 10 minutes, RGB each 5 x 10 minutes, all binned 2x2. QSI 683 on Meade 12" at 2600mm. The image is cropped from the original combination - there was some misalignment between the 2012 and 2014 images (I didn't realise I had the 2012 images until after getting the 2014 data) and due to the position of the guide star it was off centre anyway. North is to the right. Full size

I hadn't imaged the great Ursa Major galaxy Messier 81 for some years, and decided at the start of 2014 to try for an image with my QSI 683 which with its larger chip would nicely fill the field of view on my Meade 12" at 2600 mm. But the dreadful weather stood in my way, and it wasn't until the night of 2nd May that the gods relented and gave me a few hours of clear sky without an obtrusive Moon. And this is the result. Luminance 10 x 10 minutes, RGB each 4 x 10 minutes, all binned 2x2. Phew! This was Picture of the Month in the July 2014 issue of Astronomy Now. Full Size

Supernova in M106 SN2014bc More information here. I heard about this a week or so after it was announced, and presumed with our lousy weather up North that I wouldn't get a chance to go for it. But the night of Friday 30th May was clear, so despite only astronomical twilight had a go. Further handicapped by the fact that I have sold my 12" Meade 'big gun' and am waiting for its successor. So brought my 5" Meade 127 refractor into play (950 mm focal length). Well of course refractors have no central obstruction, so that helps. And surprisingly with careful processing there it is. Very close to the core, but I've compared my image with the discovery images and I'm sure that's it. Just monochrome, 9 subs x 10 minutes, QSI 683 unbinned. The close up is doubled in size from the original, better to show the supernova. The galaxy lower right of the main image is NGC 4217.

Messier 16 in Serpens, better known as the Eagle Nebula and made famous by the iconic Hubble image of the 'Pillars of Creation' never rises higher than 21 degrees at my location, and to add insult to injury only during the Suumer months when I have predominantly twilight nights. I last imaged it in 2005, and reckoned it was time for another visit. A couple of clear still nights in early July (with a first quarter Moon in the West) gave me an opportunity to collect some Hydrogen-alpha data, the narrow band filter making the best of the difficult conditions. Only 3 sub frames on 7th July - the clouds rolled in, but a further 8 on 9th July. I now have to wait a couple of weeks until the waxing Moon (full on 12th) moves past M16 and far enough away to allow collection of OIII and SII data for a full colour image. But for now here is the monochrome version. 11 subs of 10 minutes, QSI683 with Baader 7 nm Ha filter, unbinned on Meade 127 refractor. Larger size

Eventually in the early hours of 9th July I was able to obtain colour information. OIII and SII each 5 x 10 minutes. Applied as the 'Hubble palette' RGB = SHO. The result looks a bit strange - the preponderance of Ha light means that it is difficult to avoid overpowering the central section. But for what it is worth.... Larger image.

First light of my new RC10 telescope took place on 21st September 2014 after a long spell of awful murky weather. Far from pristine, with a lot of haze so I chose a bright target. Didn't bother with colour, here is the monochrome. The classic 'Dumbbell Nebula ' M27 in Vulpecula, 7 x 5 minute subs unbinned, darks and flats applied. QSI 683 on 10" RC (f8). Guided with Lodestar and Starlight Xpress AO unit. Very promising, just a little distortion in the top left corner as witness the diffraction spikes. May be a small amount of camera tilt - need to check the adjustments. But I think a very satisfactory first light. Large image

Despite the haze, seeing was good, and I was very pleased with the definition of the nebula. So used the colour data from an earlier image to complete the picture. In 2009 I attempted to capture the outer halo with limited success. Perhaps another visit at some time....

While envying those fortunate enough to be at the Autumn 2014 Kelling Heath Star Party who had an amazing night on Friday 26th September, nevertheless the skies here at Hexham were not too bad, and although struggling with an injured leg which had prevented me going to Kelling I was able to operate my new RC10 in my Observatory. It helps to have Teamviewer so I could sit in the house in relative comfort! Rather hazy in the earlier part of the night, but crisped up later. First target was the pretty planetary nebula NGC 7094, less than 2 degrees East of M15 in Pegasus. Quite faint at mag 13.5, and the haze reduced the contrast. Seeing only moderate, but I managed to bring up reasonable detail. Luminance 7 x 10 minutes, RGB each 3 x 10 minutes, QSI 683 on RC 10, all binned 2x2. I would have liked more data, but the target was already crossing the meridian when I started imaging, and was falling into haze. Full Size

But as the night progressed, the clarity improved. I had more time available for my next target, Messier 74 in Pisces. Previously imaged several years ago, but deserved a revisit. As the clarity improved, so the seeing deteriorated slightly, but the brighter target (although M74 has low surface brightness) helped to compensate. Luminance 12 x 10 minutes unbinned, RGB each 5 x 5 minutes binned 2x2. Same optics for both. 2 metres focal length, but admirably guided with a Starlight Xpress AO unit. Larger Size

The night of 1st October 2014 was nicely clear although seeing was mediocre. But the iconic Owl/ET nebula, NGC457 in Cassiopeia was high overhead so made the best of the conditions. And such a bright target does not demand long exposures. I guess I'll get used to the diffraction spikes from my RC10! This replaces an image from 2009. QSI 683, RC10, Luminance 15 x 2 minutes, RGB each 7 x 2 minutes, all unbinned. Guided with SX AO. This image appeared in the December 2014 issue of Astronomy Now magazine, and again in the October 2016 issue. Large Size

NGC7538 is an attractive bright nebula in Cepheus, just West of the more popular Bubble nebula (in Cassiopeia!) Despite an almost full Moon on the night of 7th October, narrow band filters worked their magic with this result. QSI 683 on RC10 with SX AO. Luminance 12 x 10 minutes H-alpha RGB = Ha OIII SII. OII and SII each 6 x 10 minute subs. All binned 2x2 Full Size

This interesting but faint dusty nebula, Barnard 175, is situated in Cepheus, and needs a fair bit of data to show up, but the nights are getting longer ;) High overhead this time of year, so with a clear night forecast for the night of 21st October 2014, hopefully the first of many this season, it was one to go for. North approximately at the top. The bright nebula at the tip is van den Bergh 152. QSI 683 on Meade 127 refractor with AP67 reducer, approx. focal length 760mm. Luminance 10 x 15 minutes, RGB each 4 x 15 minutes, all unbinned. Larger image. At this angle, to me it strongly resembles a horse's foreleg, complete with a shiny horseshoe and 'feathers' - horsey people will know what I mean. How about (with tongue in cheek for the famous cousin) naming it the 'Horse Leg' Nebula?

Those of you who haven't already seen this marvellous image by Adam Block, have a peek now. And do look at the full size image. Taken at 9000 ft. in Arizona with a 32 inch telescope, an image of that quality is far out of reach of aspiring UK imagers (unless using remote telescopes of course). But an interesting cluster, and I hope to get an acceptable version this season. So far only one attempt, poor seeing and thickening haze, but 10 x 15 minutes exposures on 28th October gave me this monochrome image for starters. QSI 683 with SX Active Optics, binned 2x2 on 10" RC Truss. NGC90 (the face on spiral) is located in Andromeda just East of the great square of Pegasus, so nicely positioned for November and December. Fingers crossed for many steady clear nights! Full size Later - see the final result from 2016

At last! A clear night all night (2-3 December 2014) and although I was away from home earlier, I was able to start imaging around 11 pm right through to 5 am. Bright Moon of course so narrow band was the order of the night. With this result. This group of nebulae is situated in Orion about 10 degrees North of the well known Cone nebula, close to the border with Gemini. The brightest patch is IC 2162. North is straight up. Also classified as Sharpless objects. From right to left, SH 254, 256, 257, 255 (IC2162), 258. Unlike many areas of emission nebulae these are relatively small, so were imaged with my QSI 683 and SX AO unit at 2000 mm on my RC10. Luminance and R, H-alpha 9 x 20 minutes, G and B are OIII and SII, each 3 x 20minutes. All binned 2x2. A bit noisy still - the nebulae, and in particular the outlying wispy bits are quite faint so a lot of stretching needed. But with so few imaging opportunities these days, although twice as much data would be nice I might not return! Full size

At last, after a disastrous Autumn season, with some images still awaiting more data for completion (and possibly going to have to wait a year) a couple of clear nights here in cloudy ol' North East England on 29th and 30th of December 2014. But typically with a bright first quarter Moon, so narrowband was in order. I'd seen a pic of an infrequently imaged and relatively small emission nebula, Sh2-170 in Cassiopeia, likened to the well known Rosette nebula, nice and high and not too close to the Moon, so went for that. Quite faint, so needed a lot of data over the two nights to get a reasonably 'quiet' result. 3 subs of Hydrogen alpha had to be scrapped due to passing clouds, so in the end, 16 x 20 minutes H-a, OIII and SII each 5 x 20 minutes, all binned 2x2. QSI683 on 10" RC with AP reducer giving 1540 mm focal length (f6.16). Blended RGB=HOS. Very little colour in OIII and SII, so the final nebula is predominantly Red. Full size

2015