Monday, February 14, 2022
Supernova remnant HB3 and the cosmic heart
I have shot this target originally at January 14 2020 and it was the second light to my modified Tokina lens. Now I have reprocessed the data and I do like this result much better.
new imaging system based on Tokina AT-x 300mm f2.8 camera lens.
The Heart Nebula, IC 1805
Please, click for a large image
Going very deep just in two hours! Image is in visual color palette from emission of an ionized hydrogen and oxygen. R=hydrogen, G=Oxygen and B=oxygen. I have made a starless version out of this image, it can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/01/an-animated-heart-nebula-ic1805805-with.html
SUPERNOVA REMNANT 132.7+1.3 (HB3)
IC 1805 in visual palette
Please, click for a large image
Supernova remnant
In this photo there is a large supernova remnant, marked as a white circle. I haven't seen any photos of it before. I must take more O-III exposures to see, if I'm able to pick up any signal from this supernova remnant.
Radio image of the area shows mostly signal from OB6
Technical details
Processing workflow
Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 50% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.
Imaging optics
Tokina AT-x 300mm f2.8 camera lens
Mount
10-micron 1000
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x 2 and an old spotting scope of Meade LX200
Astrodon filters,
5nm H-alpha 3nm S-II and 3nm O-III
5nm H-alpha 3nm S-II and 3nm O-III
Total exposure time
H-alpha, 12 x 600 s, binned 1x1 = 2 h
O-III, 3x 600 s, binned 1x1 = 30 min..
S-II, 2x1200 s, binned 2x2 = 40 min.
O-III, 3x 600 s, binned 1x1 = 30 min..
S-II, 2x1200 s, binned 2x2 = 40 min.
INFO About undersampling etc
The CCD I'm using has kind of large pixels, 9 microns, so I'm undersampled, the image scale is almost 5 arc seconds / pixel. Undersampling is not a bad thing when my targets are large and dim nebula complexes. This system collects photons very fast!
I selected the Heart Nebula as a target since I have plenty of reference material for it. Another reason is interesting and rarely imaged area after the bright tip of the heart. There are some remnants of a supernova explosion. I was really thrilled, when I saw the final stack of 12 600s H-alpha light frames. (Equal to 2h of exposures) I never have seen so much background nebulae and details from this popular target.
Beside 2h of H-alpha (Light from an ionized hydrogen) I shot 30 min of O-IIII (Light from an ionized Oxygen) To be able to make an image in visual palette.
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Cygnus Mosaic in Visual Colors
Three Musketeers of Swan
Deepest and most detailed image showing the whole constellation Cygnus ever taken
There are three large supernova remnants visible in this image. The Veil nebula is the most bright of them, other two are really dim and diffused. I spent about 200 exposure hours for those two alone to show them well. I call this trio to the Three musketeers.
I like the new composition, it's very dynamic and shows the whole constellation Cygnus first time ever at this detail level and deepness. I haven't seen anything like this before. Image spans now 31 x 23 degrees of sky and has 118 individual frames in it. total exposure time is now around 700 hours and the resolution 20.000 x 25.500 pixels. Image it took over a decade to finalize this photo between 2010 and 2021.
The mapped color version of this mosaic can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/12/cygnus-mosaic-gets-large.html
Bang, Bang & Bang
Three large supernova remnants in the same field of view
Click for a large image
Click for a large image
ZOOMABLE VERSION
Three Large Supernova Remnants
Click for a large image
Click for a large image
INFO
Three supernova remnants, two Wolf Rayet stars and a black hole
In the orientation image above, there are three large supernova remnants visible, first the Cygnus Shell W63 , bluish ring at middle left, secondly the large SNR G65.3+5.7 at upper right and the third is a brighter SNR, the Veil nebula at right edge of the image.
Beside three supernova remnants there are two Wolf Rayet stars with outer shell formations. NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula at center of the image and the WR 134, it can be seen as a blue arch just right from the Crescent Nebula, near the Tulip nebula.
Next to the Tulip Nebula lays a Black hole Cygnus X-1
Constellation Cygnus is an endless source of celestial wonders, both scientifically and aesthetically. For me, as an visual artist, this are of night sky is very inspiring There are endless amount of amazing shapes and structures, I can spend rest of my life just shooting images from this treasury.
Equipments used
Monday, December 20, 2021
Cygnus mosaic gets large
Three Musketeers of Swan
The Deepest and Most Detailed Image of the Entire Cygnus Constellation Ever Captured
This new composition is designed to frame the Veil Nebula supernova remnant within the field of view.
In this image, three large supernova remnants are visible. The Veil Nebula is the brightest among them, while the other two are extremely faint and diffuse. To make these two remnants more visible, I dedicated approximately 200 hours of exposure time to capturing them alone. I like to call this trio The Three Musketeers.
I’m particularly pleased with this new composition—it’s dynamic and, for the first time, showcases the entire Cygnus constellation at this level of detail and depth. At least, I haven’t seen anything quite like it before. The image spans 31 × 23 degrees of the sky and is composed of 118 individual frames. The total exposure time is around 700 hours, and the final resolution is an impressive 20,000 × 25,500 pixels. This photograph was over a decade in the making, from 2010 to 2021.
The previous version of this mosaic can be seen here: Great Mosaic of Cygnus.
Bang, bang & bang
Three large supernova remnants in the same field of view
Click for a large image
Three large supernova remnants in the same field of view
Click for a large image
This is a large area of sky, it spans 31 x 23 degrees of sky. Image is in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulphur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.
ZOOMABLE VERSION
ZOOMABLE VERSION
Image is reduced to 6000 x 7700 pixels size from the original 20.000 x 25.500 pixels.
118 Mosaic Panels
Click for a large image
Click for a large image
All 118 frames used in this image are displayed here. Since many of these frames were originally captured as independent artworks, the panel structure is highly complex. Additionally, different instruments have varying fields of view and resolutions, resulting in mosaic panels of three different sizes.
DETAILS
Click for a large image
Three large supernova remnants in constellation Cygnus, the Swan, are in image as colored circles
NOTE, there is an apparent size of the Moon as a scale at lower right corner in a grayscale image.
INFO
Three Supernova Remnants, Two Wolf-Rayet Stars, and a Black Hole
In the orientation image above, three large supernova remnants are visible. The first is the Cygnus Shell (W63), a bluish ring located toward the middle left. The second is the large supernova remnant (SNR) G65.3+5.7, positioned in the upper right. The third is the brightest of the three, the Veil Nebula, found along the right edge of the image.
Beyond these supernova remnants, two Wolf-Rayet stars with outer shell formations can be seen. The first is NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula, located at the center of the image. The second is WR 134, appearing as a blue arc just to the right of the Crescent Nebula, near the Tulip Nebula.
Next to the Tulip Nebula lies the black hole Cygnus X-1. It is marked in a small close-up of the Tulip Nebula, positioned in the center-right section of the orientation image above.
The Cygnus constellation is an endless source of celestial wonders, both scientifically and artistically. As a visual artist, I find this region of the night sky incredibly inspiring. Its intricate structures and mesmerizing shapes captivate me—I could easily spend a lifetime capturing images of this cosmic treasury.
Equipment Used
Over the years, I have employed multiple optical configurations to assemble this mosaic image. Until 2014, I worked with an old Meade LX200 GPS 12" telescope, a QHY9 astro camera, Canon EF 200mm f/1.8 camera optics, and a Baader narrowband filter set.
Since 2014, I have been using a 10Micron 1000 equatorial mount, an Apogee Alta U16 astro camera, a Tokina AT-X 200mm f/2.8 camera lens, and an Astrodon 50mm square narrowband filter set.
Additionally, I have captured many detailed images using longer focal lengths. Before 2014, I used the Meade 12" scope with a reducer, and after 2014, I switched to a Celestron EDGE 11" with a reducer. My guiding cameras have included the Lodestar and, later, the Lodestar II
Monday, December 13, 2021
The Pelican Nebula with new data
I originally publish this nebula image at December 2016. After that, I have shot some very high resolution material from the same area of sky and I decided to upgrade my old image with better data. I'm kind of happy with the result, especially the details in dark nebulae are much sharper now and shows the complex structures of unionized gas and dust. Main reason is the long exposure time used, for H-alpha alone, there are 30 hours of exposures. Total exposure time is around 60 hours.
The dark nebula in the upper part of the photo is the gas bridge splitting visually the Pelican Nebula and the North America nebula so that the they look like two separate nebula. In reality they are actually a one large emission area.
Pelican Nebula, constellation Cygnus, the Swan
Click for a large image
The older version of this image can be seen here: https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2016/12/pelican-nebula-two-frame-mosaic.html
Zoomable Image
Zoomable Image
Orientation in large context
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