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Showing posts with label Black and White images (Hydrogen-alpha). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black and White images (Hydrogen-alpha). Show all posts

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Grayscale Wonders part IV

All the photos, I have published, are taken with a grayscale astronomical camera. Each color channel is shot separately and then combined to RGB color image. Since I'm doing only narrowband imaging due the extensive light pollution color channels are are emission line images. Most of the time I'm capturing three emission lines hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen. (H-alpha, S-II and O-III)

Usually most of the details are in hydrogen alpha emission line. Gray scale images can be really beautiful and many times I personally like them best. I will publish now some of my images from this winter season as a grayscale compositions. This is a part IV of Grayscale Wonders, part one, two and three can be seen here: Part one, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/04/greyscale-wonders.html
Part two, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/04/grayscale-wonders-part-ii.html
Part three, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/04/grayscale-wonders-part-iii.html


Please, open the full size photo by clicking the image, it's really worth it!



Cederblad 214, the Cosmic Question Mark




Sh2-216 & Sh2-221 Supernova remnant and a planetary nebula



From the Bubble to Cave Nebula






Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Grayscale Wonders part III

All the photos, I have published, are taken with a grayscale astronomical camera. Each color channel is shot separately and then combined to RGB color image. Since I'm doing only narrowband imaging due the extensive light pollution color channels are are emission line images. Most of the time I'm capturing three emission lines hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen. (H-alpha, S-II and O-III)

Usually most of the details are in hydrogen alpha emission line. Gray scale images can be really beautiful and many times I personally like them best. I will publish now some of my images from this winter season as a grayscale compositions. This is a part III of Grayscale Wonders, part one and two can be seen here: Part one, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/04/greyscale-wonders.html
Part two, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/04/grayscale-wonders-part-ii.html


Please, open the full size photo by clicking the image, it's really worth it!


NGC 1491

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Grayscale Wonders part II


All the photos, I have published, are taken with a grayscale astronomical camera. Each color channel is shot separately and then combined to RGB color image. Since I'm doing only narrowband imaging due the extensive light pollution color channels are are emission line images. Most of the time I'm capturing three emission lines hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen. (H-alpha, S-II and O-III)

Usually most of the details are in hydrogen alpha emission line. Gray scale images can be really beautiful and many times I personally like them best. I will publish now some of my images from this winter season as a grayscale compositions. This is a part II of Grayscale Wonders, part one can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/04/greyscale-wonders.html

Please, open the full size photo by clicking the image, it's really worth it!



A two frame mosaic photo of Sharpless 205, NGC 1491 and Lynds Bright Nebula 696

Image details and a mapped color version can be found here, 
https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-two-frame-mosaic-photo-of-sharpless.html
nebula in visual colors can be seen here,
https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/03/sharpless-205-ngc-1491-and-lynds-bright.html


Great Mosaic of Cepheus


Image details and a mapped color version can be found here, 
https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/03/great-mosaic-of-cepheus.html

Great Mosaic of Auriga

Image details and a mapped color version can be found here, 
https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-grande-mosaic-of-auriga.html







Thursday, February 9, 2017

B&W universe, part IV


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, Part II  HERE and Part III from HERE


Nebulae of the Central Cygnus, a mosaic image project
Please, click for a large image

Eleven panels ( 2200 x 1000 pixels)

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


Five panels ( 2200 x 1000 pixels)

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


One panel

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.


Wednesday, February 8, 2017

B&W universe, part III

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 and Part II from HERE


Dark filaments of the Pelican nebula
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 panel mosaic
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 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, April 28, 2016

A collection of grayscale photos, Filaments of Cygnus


I haven't published any grayscale photos for a long time. Astronomical cameras are usually grayscale CCD-cameras since they have a better sensitivity and resolution. I have grayscale versions from all of my astronomical images. I have always been a big fan of grayscale images!
(Color images are not colorized, each RGB color channel is shot separately and combined to a final color image.) 


A collection of filamental structures in Cygnus
During past year or so I have shot dim and less known filamental objects in constellation 
Cygnus. In this collection there are many of them as a grayscale photos. 
Please, click for a large image!


Filaments of Western Cygnus, a two frame mosaic. Color image and info can be seen HERE



Filaments of Western Cygnus, a two frame mosaic. Color image and info can be seen HERE



Filaments of Central Cygnus, a two frame mosaic. Color image and info can be seen HERE



Filaments of Western Cygnus. Color image and info can be seen HERE



A wide field image mosaic of the whole Western Cygnus. Color image and info can be seen HERE



Filaments of Eastern Cygnus. Color image and info can be seen HERE



Filaments of  Cygnus, a two frame mosaic of Veil Nebula supernova remnant. Color image and info can be seen HERE



Filaments of  Cygnus, Veil Nebula supernova remnant. Color image and info can be seen HERE





Saturday, April 18, 2015

B&W space, Winter 2014-15



As astronomical cameras are usually cooled grayscale CCD-cameras, color images are made by shooting each color channel through a filter. For broad band RGB images usually four filters are used Luminance and RGB-filters. Due to massive light pollution in my location, I'm specialized to a narrowband imaging, it's very effective method to shoot emission nebulae, since they are emitting light in well known wavelengths. All other light can be then filtered out and let just the right wavelength pass through. I'm using the most common combination of emission lines, a light from ionized hydrogen (H-alpha), sulfur (S-II) and oxygen (O-III).

The strongest emission line is usually the H-alpha, it has most of the details also. I'm publishing here a collection of H-alpha images from the Winter season 2014-15. Sometimes B&W images can be very beautiful.

A collection of selected B&W H-alpha nebulae, Winter 2014-15
click for a large image

Pelican Nebula

Pelican Nebula mosaic, a blog post HERE


Pickering's Triangle in O-III light only

Pickering's Triangle in O-III light only, a blog post HERE


NGC 281

NGC 281, a blog post HERE


Sharpless 132

Sharpless 132, Sh2-132, a blog post HERE


Tulip Nebula

The Tulip Nebula, Sh2-101, a blog post HERE  NASA APOD


IC 405

IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula, a blog post HERE


IC 410

IC 410, a blog post HERE


IC 1805

IC 1805, The Heart Nebula,  a blog post HERE


Melotte 15

Melotte 15 inside IC 1805,  a blog post HERE


NGC 1795


NGC 1795, a blog post HERE


NGC 2175

NGC 2175, The Monkey Head Nebula, a blog post HERE






Wednesday, March 11, 2015

A start of the new imaging project, NGC 2174, the "Monkey Head Nebula"



At March 9 I managed to exposure about four hours of  H-alpha light for NGC 2147.
I'll shoot more exposures for this soon to have more signal and colors.

There seems to be some rarely imaged faint looped shapes at bottom of the object, I haven't seen them before.


NGC 2174, the Monkey Head Nebula in Orion

NGC 2174 in light of an ionized hydrogen only


A starless version

I haven't noticed the extended area of gas at bottom of the photo. There seems to be some very faint loop like gas filaments, I'll shoot more exposures for H-alpha soon to have a better signal for them.


An inverted image to show the bottom filaments better




Monday, October 27, 2014

A start of the new project, the Tulip Nebula



At night of 23.10 I managed to shoot 3h 20min H-alpha lights for the Tulip Nebula in constellation Cygnus.
It looks like we going to have a clear nigh ahead, I'll shoot more lights for the emission of Hydrogen and if possible, some data for other two emission lines, O-III and S-II.

I need some more signal to show better the area of Cygnus X-1, a black hole candidate. It's a strong source of X-ray emission and there are some interesting but kind of dim shock fronts around the X-1.  This microquasar is a brighter of two stars above the Tulip Nebula, just middle right at one o'clock position.

The Tulip Nebula
Click for a large image

The Tulip Nebula at H-alpha light only, 10 x 1200s.

Some optical analysis

I'm amazed about the optical quality of the Celestron Edge HD 1100 with a 0.7 reducer for the Edge scope.
The massive reducer seems to do some magic, since the whole image area of the massive CCD in Apogee Alta U16 camera (36,8 x36,8mm) gets filled with a pinpoint stars from corner to corner.  That shouldn't be possible, since the CCD is somehow larger, than the light path in Edge scope. See the image bellow.


As seen in the schematics, there should be some unusable areas at corners of the image. 

A single uncropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame


Image above is an uncropped, calibrated and stretched, frame directly from the camera. Even the very corners are filled with a pinpoint stars.

Analysis of the image field
With the CCDInspector software

There is some very minor tweaking needed for the perfect collimation. Otherwise the image field is nearly perfectly flat. One pixel is about one arcseconds in this analysis. 


Image corners as a closeup
Note. Images are from a single unprocessed, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame












Some very minor distortion can be seen, especially at image 2. That's due to some slight miss collimation. So large sensor is very picky about a correct distance (146,5mm), collimation and tilt.