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Friday, January 27, 2017

B&W universe, part II


As I'm using a cooled Gray scale astronomical CCD camera, I have a Black and White images from all of my photos. (For a color image, colors are made by shooting each color channel trough a filter, in my case mostly a narrow band filters.)

I will publish few posts out of my B&W images. Sometimes I like them better as a color ones.
B&W universe part I can be found HERE


Veil nebula, a supernova remnant in Cygnus
Please, click for a large image

Eastern veil, image was used as a luminance layer and it contains information from all narrowband channels, hydrogen, sulphur and oxygen (Ha, S-II and O-III) A color version can be seen HERE


Eastern Veil, as a two panel mosaic
Please, click for a large image

Eastern veil, image was used as a luminance layer and it contains information from all narrowband channels, hydrogen, sulphur and oxygen (Ha, S-II and O-III) A color version can be seen HERE


Eastern Veil, as a two panel mosaic, ionized oxygen alone
Please, click for a large image

Emission of ionized oxygen, O-III, alone. A color version can be seen HERE


Filaments of Veil
Please, click for a large image

A single frame of the central Veil nebula contains information from all narrowband channels, hydrogen, sulphur and oxygen (Ha, S-II and O-III) A color version can be seen HERE



Filaments of Veil as a two frame mosaic
Please, click for a large image

A two frame mosaic image of the central Veil nebula contains information from all narrowband channels, hydrogen, sulphur and oxygen (Ha, S-II and O-III) A color version can be seen HERE

A large mosaic of the central Veil nebula
Please, click for a large image

A four panel mosaic of the central Veil nebula, a color version can be seen HERE


The whole Veil nebula supernova remnant
Please, click for a large image

This older wide field photos shows the whole nebula.





Tuesday, January 24, 2017

A quick one, Sharpless 140 in Cepheus



I have worked with an imaging project and the target is kind of dim. Many nights are needed for final photo. Every night I need to wait couple of hours to have this dim target in good position.
This new image is shot during couple of mandatory waiting periods. Nothing spectacular but I kind of like the result.


Sharpless 140, (Sh2-140)
Please, click for a large image




A bicolor composition by the light of ionized elements, hydrogen and oxygen. (H-alpha and O-III)


H-alpha emission alone
Please, click for a large image



INFO

Sh2-140 is an HII emission nebula on the southwest edge of the Lynds 1204 darn nebula. It is also on the edge the Cephus Ring, a ring of molecular gas and dust. Invisible in this image, there are about fifty young stars deeply embedded in the dark gas in the lower-left corner of the image.
Source, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, NOAO

Orientation in Cepheus
Please, click for a large image (2900 x 1700 pixels)

location of the Sharpless 140 is marked as white rectangle at top middle right. I have shot this wide field mosaic image of Cepheus back in 2014, the original blog post with technical detail can be found HERE

Technical details

Processing work flow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 21 iterations, added at 25% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera optics (For S-II and O-III channels)
Mount
10-micron 1000
Meade LX200 GPS 12" (For S-II and O-III channels)

Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
QHY9 (For S-II and O-III channels)

Astrodon filter, 5 nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3 nm O-III

Exposure times
H-alpha, 6 x 1200 s binned 2x2 
O-III, 2 x 1200 s binned 4x4 = 



Thursday, January 19, 2017

B&W universe, part I


As I'm using a cooled Gray scale astronomical CCD camera, I have a Black and White images from all of my photos. (For a color image, colors are made by shooting each color channel trough a filter, in my case mostly a narrow band filters.)

I will publish few posts out of my B&W images. Sometimes I like them better as a color ones. 


North America Nebula, a detail
Please, click for a large image

Photo shows the emission of hydrogen alone. (H-alpha) You'll find a color version and  the technical details from HERE


A two frame mosaic
Please, click for a large image

You'll find a color version and  the technical details from HERE


Three frames stitched together
Please, click for a large image

You'll find a color version and  the technical details from HERE


For technical details and a color versions, please, use a link under the images above.


Thursday, January 12, 2017

Bright nebulae of the central Cygnus, eleven panel mosaic in visual spectrum

My first photo session for the year 2017 was at January fourth. As a result, I was able to finalize my mosaic image of the central Cygnus. It has now eleven panels stitched together seamlessly.  I have made two versions, as usually. This one is in visual  colors and another version in mapped color can be seen HERE..

Mosaic images can be highly work intensive but the final resolution is great. They are very suitable for extreme large prints. Original resolution is around 20.000 x 9000 pixels.




Bright nebulae of the central Cygnus, eleven panels
Please, click for a large image, 2100 x 1000 pixels

The photo is in visual colors from the light emitted by an ionized elements, 
R=Hydrogen + Sulphur, G=Oxygen and B=Oxygen + ~10% Hydrogen. A mosaic image with seven panels. Original image has a resolution of about 20.000 x 9000 pixels. Image spans about five degrees of sky horizontally.


Sub images taken for the mosaic in chronological order
Please, click for a large images


Three panels, January 7. 2016



One panel, December 27 2016



Five panels, January 1. 2017



Eight panels, January 1. 2017



The final four panels, January 4. 2017



Orientation
Please, click for a large image

An older wide field photo with  the Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera lens and Baader narrowband filters. Area of interest is marked as a white rectangle. 


Technical details

Processing work flow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 21 iterations, added at 25% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera optics (For S-II and O-III channels)
Mount
10-micron 1000
Meade LX200 GPS 12" (For S-II and O-III channels)

Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
QHY9 (For S-II and O-III channels)

Astrodon filter, 5 nm H-alpha
Baader filter, 8,5 nm O-III
Baader filter, 8 nm S-II

Exposure times for all seven panels
H-alpha, 39 x 1200 s binned 2x2 
O-III, 22 x 1200 s binned 4x4 = 
S-II,  22 x 1200 s binned 4x4 =





Tuesday, January 10, 2017

The ghost of Christmas past, IC 63


I have shot this target many times at this time of year. Every time I have a different result due to seeing conditions, exposure times used and different optical configurations. Naturally I am more experienced to process astronomical images now, that few years back.


IC 59 and IC 63


Please, click for a large image!

A bicolor composition by the light of ionized elements, hydrogen and oxygen. (H-alpha and O-III)
The blue color in the photo is not a reflection component but weak O-III emission.


Hydrogen emission only (H-alpha)
Please, click for a large image!

H-alpha emission only


INFO

IC 59 and IC 63 at the distance of about 600 light years in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Image spans about 0,8 degrees vertically, that's about ten light years at its estimated distance.
IC 59 is at left edge of the image and IC 63 at middle. Nebulae are ionized from the ultraviolet radiation of hot, luminous star gamma Cas at upper right it locates only three to four light years from the nebulae.

C 63 is a combination of emission and reflection nebulae. Since this is a narrow band image, reflection component is not get captured due to a broad band nature of it. Instead there is an ionized Oxygen, O-III, in this image and it can be seen as a Blue.
Nebula is next to the Gamma Cassiopeiae, a bright, mag. 2.47, star in middle of the "W" asterism in constellation Cassiopeia.


Orientation in Cassiopeia

The area of interest can be seen at the middle of the image. Click for a large image.

Technical details

Processing work flow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 21 iterations, added at 25% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera optics (For S-II and O-III channels)
Mount
10-micron 1000
Meade LX200 GPS 12" (For S-II and O-III channels)

Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
QHY9 (For S-II and O-III channels)

Astrodon filter, 5 nm H-alpha
Baader filter, 8,5 nm O-III
Baader filter, 8 nm S-II

Exposure times
H-alpha, 21 x 1200 s binned 2x2 
O-III, 6 x 1200 s binned 4x4 = 


Variable Star of Mira Cet type, an animation
00 59 34.72 60 43 21.9

A variable star can be seen at center right, it's much brighter at 2010 image.
Click for a large image.

While I was combining data from 2010 to a new data, I noticed a difference between images.
There was a bright star in image from 02.10.2010, the same star in new image set from 24.12.2012 was much dimmer. I did use a Simbad astronomical database and it gave me a report of an variable star. 

V* AV Cas -- Variable Star of Mira Cet type
with radius arcmin
Distance to the center arcsec: 6.34
Other object types: Mi* () , V* (V*,AN,AAVSO) , * (CSI,[I81]) , IR (2MASS,MSX5C)
ICRS coord. (ep=J2000) : 00 59 34.00 +60 43 18.4 ( Infrared ) [ 70 60 0 ] B 2003yCat.2246....0C
FK5 coord. (ep=J2000 eq=2000) : 00 59 34.00 +60 43 18.4 ( Infrared ) [ 70 60 0 ] B 2003yCat.2246....0C
FK4 coord. (ep=B1950 eq=1950) : 00 56 30.55 +60 27 08.4 ( Infrared ) [ 70 60 0 ] B 2003yCat.2246....0C
Gal coord. (ep=J2000) : 123.9263 -02.1343 ( Infrared ) [ 70 60 0 ] B 2003yCat.2246....0C
Spectral type: M8 C ~
Fluxes (4) :
B 13.5 [~] E 2003AstL...29..468S
J 7.136 [0.020] C 2003yCat.2246....0C
H 6.170 [0.026] C 2003yCat.2246....0C
K 5.670 [0.020] C 2003yCat.2246....0C










Monday, January 9, 2017

Bright nebulae of the central Cygnus, eleven panel mosaic finalized


My first photo session for the year 2017 was at January fourth. As a result, I was able to finalize my mosaic image of the central Cygnus. It has now eleven panels stitched together seamlessly.  I have made two versions, as usually. This one is in mapped colors and another, yet unpublished, in visual spectrum.

Mosaic images can be highly work intensive but the final resolution is great. They are very suitable for extreme large prints. Original resolution is around 20.000 x 9000 pixels.


Bright nebulae of the central Cygnus, eleven panels
Please, click for a large image, 2100 x 1000 pixels

The photo is in mapped colors from the light emitted by an ionized elements, 
red=sulphur, green=hydrogen and blue=oxygen. A mosaic image with seven panels. Original image has a resolution of about 20.000 x 9000 pixels. Image spans about five degrees of sky horizontally.

Sub images taken for the mosaic in chronological order
Please, click for a large images


Three panels, January 7. 2016




One panel, December 27 2016




Four panels combined, December 27 2016




Five panels, January 1. 2017




Eight panels, January 1. 2017




The final four panels, January 4. 2017




Orientation
Please, click for a large image

An older wide field photo with  the Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera lens and Baader narrowband filters. Area of interest is marked as a white rectangle. Part of the color data is taken from this wide field photo.

Technical details

Processing work flow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 21 iterations, added at 25% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera optics (For S-II and O-III channels)
Mount
10-micron 1000
Meade LX200 GPS 12" (For S-II and O-III channels)

Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
QHY9 (For S-II and O-III channels)

Astrodon filter, 5 nm H-alpha
Baader filter, 8,5 nm O-III
Baader filter, 8 nm S-II

Exposure times for all seven panels
H-alpha, 39 x 1200 s binned 2x2 
O-III, 22 x 1200 s binned 4x4 = 
S-II,  22 x 1200 s binned 4x4 


Wednesday, January 4, 2017

The Sky on Fire, Mosaic of the central Cygnus



A three panel mosaic in visual palette, combined from narrowband channels, shows a three degrees patch of the central Cygnus gas formations. I have published a mapped color version few days ago, it can be seen HERE.


The Sky on Fire
Please, click for a large image, ~2200 x 1030 pixels

Image is in Natural colour palette from the emission of ionized elements, R=Hydrogen + Sulphur, G=Oxygen and B=Oxygen + 10% Hydrogen to compensate the missing H-beta emission..


Orientation in Cygnus
Please, click for a full size photo

Area of interest is marked as a white rectangle.
An older wide field photo with  the Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera lens and Baader narrowband filters. Area of interest is marked as a white rectangle. 


Technical details

Processing work flow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 21 iterations, added at 25% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope

Mount
10-micron 1000

Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL

Astrodon filter, 5 nm H-alpha
Baader filter, 8,5 nm O-III
Baader filter, 8 nm S-II

Exposure times for all seven panels
H-alpha, 21 x 1200 s binned 2x2 
O-III, 18 x 1200 s binned 4x4
S-II,  18 x 1200 s binned 4x4


Monday, January 2, 2017

Astro Anarchy, the year 2016



HAPPY NEW YEAR
This post is about all of my astronomical photos from the Autumn season of  the year 2016

All my photos from the Spring and Autumn seasons of 2016 are taken with my new imaging setup. Celestron Edge HD 1100 with 0.7 reducer at 10-micron mount. Apogee Alta U16 camera with Astrodon filters and an active optics unit, SXV AO LF, from Starlight Xpress.

My humble thanks to the supporters, they made my work possible!
All companies are offering the first class products and service!



The Autumn season of the year 2016 as an image poster
Please, click for a large image, 1920 x 3000 pixels, ~5MB





Links to an individual photos, with the technical data and additional images
Please, click to image to see the information


Eastern part of the Veil Nebula supernova remnant



A detail from the North America nebula, part I



A detail from the North America nebula, part II



A detail from the North America nebula, part II



KjPn8 (PN G112.5-00.1)



Filaments of the Veil Nebula, part I




Filaments of the Veil Nebula, part II




Filaments of the Veil Nebula, part III



Dark clouds in Cygnus, part I




Dark clouds in Cygnus, part II




Dark filaments of Cygnus, part I




Dark filaments of Cygnus, part II




The Great Wall of Cygnus




Sharpless 224




Bright nebulae of the central Cygnus, part I




Bright nebulae of the central Cygnus, part II




Bright nebulae of the central Cygnus, part III