Tuesday, March 31, 2020
From Cassiopeia to Cepheus
This spring season I have shot wider field images with 300 mm f2.8 camera optics. Here are couple of panoramic mosaic images made by overlapping photos.
I do many of my mosaic images by shooting individual artworks pre planned so, that after few years I have overlapping photos from most of the area. Then I do some additional shots to fill the gaps.
My workflow is so constant, that very little or none tweaking is needed when it's time to joint the pieces together.
From CTB1 to Cave nebula
Click for a large mage, it's worth it!
CTB1 supernova remnant at upper left, Cave Nebula at upper right. Image is in mapped colors from a light from the ionized elements, hydrogen = green, sulfur = red and oxygen = blue.
Link to CTB1 image, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/02/ctb1-supernova-remnant-in-cassiopeia.html Link to Cave Nebula area photo, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/03/from-bubble-to-cave-round-ii.html
Even wider view
Click for a large mage
From Cassiopeia to Cepheus
Unfinished mosaic with Cederblad 214 (The Cosmic Question Mark)
Click for a large mage
Image is in mapped colours, from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulphur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.
Link to CTB1 image, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/02/ctb1-supernova-remnant-in-cassiopeia.html Link to Cave Nebula area photo, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/03/from-bubble-to-cave-round-ii.html
Even wider view
Click for a large mage
Unfinished mosaic with Cederblad 214 (The Cosmic Question Mark)
Click for a large mage
CTB1 (Abell 85)
Please, click for a large image, it's worth it.
An older longer focal length image back from 2016
Please, click for a large image
Please, click for a large image
More info about this photo here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2016/01/abell-85-ctb1-dim-galactic-supernova.html
Mosaic in visual colors
Large mosaic photograph, shot between 2014 - 2020, 160h
Click for a large mage
INFO about this mosaic photo, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/03/great-mosaic-of-cepheus.html
Monday, March 30, 2020
IC 63 and NGC 281
I shot data for this image few weeks ago at 7.3.2020. little over two hours for H-alpha light and only 20 min for both O-III and S-III. Beside that I took colors from my older longer focal length images of NGC 281 and IC 63. There is a reflection nebula component in IC 63 but in this narrowband image the blueish hueas are from an ionized oxygen, O-III.
IC 63 & NGC 281
Click for a large image
Image is an visual colors from light of an ionized elements, hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen.
Orientation in Cassiopeia
Click for a large image
Older longer focal length photos
IC 63
Click for a large image
Image details, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-ghost-of-christmas-past-ic-63.html
NGC 281
Click for a large image
Image details, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2014/11/ngc-281-siamese-fighting-fish.html
Orientation in Cassiopeia
Click for a large image
Older longer focal length photos
IC 63
Click for a large image
NGC 281
Click for a large image
Saturday, March 28, 2020
The rise of Phoenixes, From Bubble to Cave Nebula
I have published this image in mapped colors couple of weeks ago, it can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/03/from-bubble-to-cave-round-ii.html
This time I'll like to show this beautiful area near Cassiopeia in visual spectrum. Ionized hydrogen (H-alpha) glows deep red light. Bluish hues are from an ionized oxygen.
From Bubble to Cave Nebula
Click for a large image,
Image is in visual colors composed from narrowband channels. Red light from an ionized hydrogen is dominating the view. Object at lower left is known asharpless 157, at lower center lays the Bubble Nebula, it can be seen as a tiny red pearl in his vide field image. The bluish are at upper right ist the Cave Nebula.
Sharpless 157, a Zoom Out Series
Click for a large image, NOTE, 4500 x 1024 pixels!
I made a Zoom out serie about Sharpless 157. It's a complex region near the famous Bubble nebula and it's kind of large. There are not too many photos of it around. I have marked the apparent size of the full Moon in each image. The angular size of a Moon is about 0,5 degrees, that's 30 arc minutes.
This kind of image gives an idea, how complex and fractal the gas structures can be. there are endless amount of variations and new details at every zoom level and beyond.
Technical details
Sharpless 157, a Zoom Out Series
Click for a large image, NOTE, 4500 x 1024 pixels!
This kind of image gives an idea, how complex and fractal the gas structures can be. there are endless amount of variations and new details at every zoom level and beyond.
Technical details
The vertical image is taken with Tokina AT-x camera optics, Apogee Alta U16 astrocamera and Astrodon narrowband filter set. Info about my imaging system can be seen here,
https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-frankenstein-monster-my-current.html
Some older parts of the photo are taken back in 2014 with QHY9 astrocam, Baader narrowband filters and Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera lens.
Some older parts of the photo are taken back in 2014 with QHY9 astrocam, Baader narrowband filters and Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera lens.
Photo is taken from downtown Oulu, Finland. Due to an extensive light pollution I can do only narrowband imaging in my location.
Total exposure time is around 20 hours.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Sharpless 205, NGC 1491 and Lynds Bright Nebula 696 in visual spectrum
I haven't seen any color photos out of those two large nebulae in this image, SSh2-205 at left and Lynds Bright Nebula 696 at right edge of the photo. The astronomer
Richard Perabo Wilds Helped me to recognize this object, many thanks for him! (NOTE, South is up.) I have publish a mapped color version couple of days ago, it can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-two-frame-mosaic-photo-of-sharpless.html
Sharpless 205, NGC 1491 and Lynds Bright Nebula 696
You really should click the photo to see the large image!
Visual colors from narrowband channels, H-alpha, O-III and S-II, red emission from ionized hydrogen is dominating the view, there are some bluish hues from am ionized oxygen too. Star colors are from narrowband channels.
This grayscale photo shows only the light emitted by an ionized hydrogen. (H-alpha)
Sharpless 205 & NGC 1491
H-alpha channel alone
Click for a large image
I actually like grayscale photos very much, somehow they are much more delicate to the subject.
INFO
This must be one of the dimmest targets I have shot so far. There are very weak emission from the ionized oxygen and sulfur, so I was able to make a three band color composition.
There are lots of 20 min. sub-exposures, total exposure time for H-alpha emission is 25h, for O-III 9h and for S-II 9h. Total 43h from several nights between 28.02 and 21.03.
Total exposure time is 43 hours but the effective exposure time is much more 30 hours of of sub-exposures was taken as binned down to 2x2. It means that four pixels act like a one pixel, the resolution drops to 1/4 from original but the signal is four times stronger. When binned down 2x2 the signal in 30 hours of exposure has as strong signal as in 120 hours of exposures at binning level 1x1!
My imaging system works better than I thought when I build it. Old Tokina AT-x 300 mm f2.8 camera lens, Astrodon narrowband filter set (H-a 5nm, O-III 3nm & S-II 3nm) and Apogee Alta U16 astro camera with 9 microns pixel size and 4096 x 4096 pixel CCD array. This gives me spatial resolution of about six arc seconds / pixel. Undersampling is a great thing, if you want to capture some very dim nebulae in relatively short time!
I was using my VARES imaging method to this photo. (VAriable RESolution imaging) All the high signal/noise elements, like stars and brighter parts of the nebula are from binning level 1x1. Lower signal/noise elements, like dim background glow and dimmer parts of the nebula clouds, are from binning level 2x2. Lower binning modes, like 4x4 or 8x8, was not used this time. There star field is way too dense at 300mm focal length when shooting at 6 arch seconds / pixel.
Orientation
This really is a large target, it spans about eleven degrees horizontally.
Sharpless 205 & NGC 1491
Click for a large image (~1300 x 1300 pixels)
Left half of the mosaic image above as an individual artwork.
An older long focal length image of NGC 1491
Click for a large image
Image from Spring 2015, more info here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2015/04/ngc-1491.html
NGC 1491 is a very dim target in Perseus. Original image from the Spring season 2015. Image is reprocessed, about twenty hours of new data added from the new wide field image. (Unpublished) Added data is very dim background glow from ionized hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen, it's pretty featureless so difference in resolution does no harm the image. The final photo is now deeper with better colors.
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 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
Total exposure time 43 hours
(30 hours was shot binned down 2x2, that gives equal signal as 120 hours of 1x1 binned exposures!)
(30 hours was shot binned down 2x2, that gives equal signal as 120 hours of 1x1 binned exposures!)
H-alpha, 15 x 1200 s, binned 1x1 = 13 h
H-alpha, 21 x 1200 s, binned 2x2 = 14 h
O-III, 9 x 1200 s, binned 2x2 = 8 h
S-II, 9 x 1200 s. binned 2x2 = 8 h
H-alpha, 21 x 1200 s, binned 2x2 = 14 h
O-III, 9 x 1200 s, binned 2x2 = 8 h
S-II, 9 x 1200 s. binned 2x2 = 8 h
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