Astro Anarchy: December 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Autumn season 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The year 2012 is about to end and the weather doesn't allow any imaging up here. In this blog post I'm publishing a collection of my new images from this Autumn season 2012.

A poster format collection of my images
Autumn season 2012, be sure to click the image to see it in full glory!

Images are in HST mapped colors, be sure to click the image to see it in full glory!
Note. Image size 1600x2400 pixels and 3.4MB

This collection can be found in my portfolio:
http://astroanarchy.zenfolio.com/p999549908
You can start the slide show from an upper right corner of the page!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
And many thanks to all followers of Astro Anarchy blog.

Ps.

My personal Favorite, Melotte 15

A blog post about the target can be seen here:

http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2012/12/melotte-15-in-ic-1805-project-finalized.html

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Best Astronomy Images of 2012 , Astro Anarchy gets published

The astronomer Phil Plait collected an annual list of the best astronomical images for the year 2012.
My special image of IC 1396 was selected to this list.

The Best Astronomy Images of 2012
by an astronomer Phil Plait

THE LIST
click to see the content.
My image is a sixth from the top.

Here is a blog post about the selected image
http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fr/2012/10/an-experimental-3d-animation-from-my.html

An experimental 3D-study of IC 1396.
Click for a large image.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The ghost of Christmas past, IC 63

I shot new data for this object at the night of 24.12 to dig out some dimmer components. It was really freezing night, the temperature drops down to -24 centigrade (-11.2 Fahrenheit) and it was windy too.

IC 59 and IC 63

in constellation Cassiopeia

Colors are mapped to a HST-palette, R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen

Click for a large image.

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.

A closeup of IC 63

Click for a large image.

Image in visual colors

Natural color composition from the emission of ionized elements, R=80%Hydrogen+20%Sulfur, G=100%Oxygen and B=85%Oxygen+15%Hydrogen to compensate otherwise missing H-beta emission. This composition is very close to a visual spectrum. Click for a large image.

Variable Star of Mira Cet type

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

Technical data

Processing work flow:

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.

Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.

Levels, curves and color combine in PS CS3.

Optics, Meade LX200 GPS 12" @ f5

Camera, QHY9

Guiding, SXV-AO, an active optics unit, and Lodestar guide camera 8Hz

Image Scale, ~0,8 arc-seconds/pixel

Exposures from 02.10.2010

H-alpha 6x1200s, binned 1x1

O-III 1x1200s, binned 3x3

S-II 2x1200s, binned 3x3

Exposures from 24.12.2012

H-alpha 12x1200s, binned 1x1

Total exposre time 7h

A single unprocessed 20 min. H-apha exposure

The image is just calibrated, linearly stretched and scaled down.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

A detail from the Heart nebula

Have planned to shoot this detail for years. A pillar like formation at the North East corner of the IC 1805, the Heart Nebula. This is a very dim target, there is 8h of h-alpha emission captured and it's at a limit to be enough to show this object.

An unnamed object in IC 1805

Ra 02h 39m 43s Dec +61° 54′ 04″ Image is shot at 21.12.2012

Colors are mapped to a HST-palette, R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen

An experimental starless image

This image shows just the nebulosity

Image in visual colors

Orientation in IC 1805

Area of interest is marked with a white rectangle. The angular size is about 0,5 degrees. (Same as a Moon)

A two frame mosaic

This target was partly overlapping with my previous imaging project in IC 1805,

the Melotte 15, so I was able to build a two frame mosaic.

Technical details

Processing work flow:

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.

Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.

Levels, curves and color combine in PS CS3.

Optics, Meade LX200 GPS 12" @ f5

Camera, QHY9

Guiding, SXV-AO, an active optics unit, and Lodestar guide camera 8Hz

Image Scale, ~0,8 arc-seconds/pixel

24 x 1200s exposures for the H-alpha, emission of ionized Hydrogen = 8h

Narrowband cahnnels for ionized Oxygen and Sulfur are taken from an older wide field image.

A single 20 min. exposure

Image is just calibrated, linearly stretched and scaled down.

As can be seen here, this is a very dim target! The pillar like object is barely visible at the image center above.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Caldwell 49, the "Rosette Nebula", reprocessed

Images are reprocessed with my new method. This new technique will provide better color handling, softer look and high details at the same time. I collected here my Rosette Nebula images, they form a kind of zoom in series, since I have shot this target with various instruments and different focal lengths .

Be sure to click the images to see them at a full glory.

"Rosette Nebula"

Ra 06h 33m 45s Dec +04° 59′ 54″, shot with a 200mm camera lens

Image is shot with a Canon EF 200mm f1.8 lens, Baader narrowband filters and the QHY9, a cooled astronomical camera. Lens full open, exposure time ~4h

Closer look

Shot with a 300mm camera lens

Image is shot with a Tokina AT-X 300mm f2.8 lens, Baader narrowband filters and the QHY9, a cooled astronomical camera. Lens full open, exposure time ~6h

Even closer look

Shot with a Meade LX200 12" telescope

Image is shot with a Meade LX200 12" SC-telescope, Baader narrowband filters and the QHY9, a cooled astronomical camera, exposure time ~6h

INFO

The Rosette Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49) is a large, circular H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros. The open cluster NGC 2244(Caldwell 50) is closely associated with the nebulosity, the stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula's matter. The cluster and nebula locates at a distance of about 5,200 light years from Earth. The diameter is about 130 light years.

The radiation from the young stars ionized the atoms in the nebula, causing them to emit light, typical to each element, producing the visible nebula. Stellar winds, radiation pressure, from a group of stars cause compression to the interstellar clouds, followed by star formation in the nebula. This star formation is currently still ongoing.

Images in mapped colors

Colors are mapped to a HST-palette, R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen

Be sure to click the images to see them at a full glory.

A two panel mosaic

Rosette in wider context

This image shows the Rosette nebula in wider field, the Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster can be seen at left. Image is in mapped colors.

A study about the scale in the sky, compared to a full Moon

http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2011/08/rosette-nebula-apparent-scale-in-sky.html

Technical details

All technical details can be found from my portfolio:

http://astroanarchy.zenfolio.com/

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Christmas Tree cluster, Cone and the Rosette Nebulae

Images are reprocessed with my new method. This new technique will provide better color handling, softer look and high details at the same time.

Be sure to click the images to see them at a full glory.

A Cone and the Rosette Nebulae

A two panel mosaic

A two panel mosaic in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements,

R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.

Buy a photographic print from HERE

A Cone nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster

A closeup from the left part of the mosaic above
(And yes, the names are real ones, I didn't made the up...)

This very seasonal closeup shows the Cone Nebula and a Christmas Tree Cluster around it.

Buy a photographic print from HERE

Cone Nebula closeup

Click for a large image

Rosette Nebula closeup

Click for a large image

Visual color compositions

Be sure to click the images to see them at a full glory.

A closeup

INFO

In the constellation of Monoceros, just east of Orion, lies this huge nebulous duo with the famous Rosette Nebula at right and the Cone Nebula at left. The Rosette is easily recognized as a large flower to the left with bright central stars. In . The nebula on the left halves of the mosaic contains 'The Christmas Tree' star cluster in the center. The Cone Nebula lays at distance of ~2500 light years and the Rosette about a distance at 5200 light years.

An experimental starless image

This image shows the are with suppressed stars, the nebula itself stands out better by this way.

The scale in the sky

Zoom in image series with a Moon as a scale

Cone Nebula:

http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2011/05/ngc2264-cone-nebula-apparent-scale-in.html

Rosette Nebula:

http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2011/05/rosette-nebula-scale-in-sky-zoom-in.html

Technical details

Camera QHY9

Guiding QHY5

Optics Canon EF 200mm f1.8 lens, full open

Imaging platform and guiding LX200 GPS 12"

Exposures for Cone Nebula part:

H-a = 2 x 1200s

S-II = 2 x 600s

O-II = 2 x 600s

Exposures for Rosette Nebula part:

H-a = 3 x 1200s

S-II = 2 x 600s

O-III = 2 x 600s

Final image is 7000 x 2500 pixels and the resolution is 5,5 pixels/arc second

Original image from the year 2009

http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2009/02/cone-and-rosette-nebula-mosaic.html

Monday, December 17, 2012

Heart Nebula collection

I collected my images of the Heart nebula in this blog post. Most of the images are reprocessed with my new method. This new technique will provide better color handling, softer look and high details at the same time.

I have shot many targets with instruments of different focal lengths, this makes possible to show the fractal nature of our universum, more and more details shows up as focal length gets longer.

Be sure to click the images to see them at full glory.

Heart Nebula, collection of IC 1805 images
Zooming to the heart of the Heart, Melotte 15.

Heart & Soul Nebulae

IC 1805 in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements,

R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.

Heart Nebula, IC 1805, Sharpless 190 (Sh2-190) in Cassiopeia

Ra 02h 32m 36s Dec +61° 29′ 2″

Center parts of the Heart Nebula

Melotte 15, the heart of the Heart

Tip of the Heart Nebula, a closeup

IC 1795, a bright area at the tip of the Heart Nebula

INFO

The "Heart Nebula", IC1805 locates about 7500 light years away in constellation Cassiopeia. This is an emission nebula showing glow of ionized elements in a gas cloud and some darker dust lanes.

In a very center of the nebula, lays Melotte 15, it contains few very bright stars, nearly 50 times mass of our Sun, and many dim ones. The solar wind, a radiation pressure, from massive stars makes the gas twist to a various shapes.

A study about an apparent scale in the sky

Note, a Moon size circle as a scale, click for a large image!

Technical data

Information for all of the images in this post, can be found from my portfolio:

http://astroanarchy.zenfolio.com/

Messier 27, the Dumbbell Nebula

I reprocessed this image since weather doesn't support imaging up here and my processing work flow is somehow different now. My new work flow produces softer images with high details.

Messier 27, the "Dumbbell Nebula"

Ra 19^h 59^m 36.340^sDec +22° 43′ 16.09″

M27 in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements,

R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.

Click for a large image.

The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as a Messier 27, M 27, or NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1360 light years. It has a large angular diameter as a planetary nebula, about 8 x 5,6 arc minutes. (Rarely imaged outer halo is not included, it can be seen in my image. With an outer shell, the diameter is over 15'' (more than a size of the half a Moon)

Planetary nebulae are shells of gas shed by stars late in their life cycles after using up all of their nuclear fuel. The star then ejects a gaseous shell, which is illuminated by its extremely hot central star, a core left from the original star. n this image, the central star is clearly visible at very center of the nebula.

M27's central star has a magnitude of 13.5 and is an extremely hot blueish dwarf with a temperature of about 85,000 K. Our own star, the Sun, is expected to undergo the same process in a couple of billion years.

A closeup from the image center,

the central star shines at magnitude 13,5

M27 in visual colors

Click for a large image.

Closeup

A mapped color closeup with a different orientation.

Technical details:

Processing work flow:

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.

Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack.

Deconvolution with a CCDSharp, 30 iterations.

Levels, curves and color combine in PS CS3.

Telescope, Meade LX200 GPS 12" @ f5

Camera, QHY9 Guiding, SXV-AO @ 6,5Hz

Image Scale, 0,75 arcseconds/pixel

Exposures H-alpha 14x1200s, binned 1x1

2 x S-II 1x600s, binned 3x3

6 x O-III 1x600s, binned 2x2

A single 20 min. H-alpha light frame

Calibrated with Bias corrected flat and Dark masters in CCDStack

1200 seconds of light from the ionized Hydrogen with Meade LX200 12" @ f5, Baader 7nm H-a filter and a cooled astrocam QHY9. Image is scale down ~50% from the original.
At the time of imaging, the seeing was kind of good, FWHM around 2,5.

Original version, from 2009, of Messier 27 can be seen here

http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2009/09/m27-in-two-palettes.html

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Soul Nebula, up close & personal

In this blog post of mine, I'm showing a collection of the Soul Nebula images. Some of them are shot in previous years and some at this Autumn season. All images are reprocessed since I have now a better technique.

IC 1848, the "Soul Nebula"

Ra 02^h 51^m 36.24^s Dec +60° 26′ 53.9"

Image is in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements,

R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.

Soul nebula in wider field image

In this wide field image, the Soul Nebula is shown with its neighbor, the Heart nebula.

Image is shot with the Canon EF 200mm f1.8 lens, Baader narrowband filters and the QHY9 cooled astronomical camera.

Info

Soul Nebula, (Sh2-199, LBN 667) is an emission nebula in constellation Cassiopeia. IC 1848 is a cluster inside Soul Nebula. Distance is about 7.500 light years. This complex is a Eastern neighbor of IC 1805, the "Heart Nebula" and they are often mentioned together as Heart and Soul.

Closeups of the Soul Nebula

Images are shot with a Meade LX200 12" telescope

Image is in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements,

R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.