Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Sharpless 132, Sh2-132, in visual spectrum
I published the original photo of Sharpless 132 at November 11 but only in mapped colors. In this version, the narrowband channels are combined so, that the resulting image is as close as possible to a visual spectrum of human eye. Red is the dominating color since the ionized hydrogen, H-alpha, is the strongest emission line and it's emitting deep red light. Blue hues are coming from the emission of an ionized oxygen, O-III.
A furious cosmic horse gets blinded by a divine blue light
Sharpless 132 (Sh2-132) in Cepheus
Image is in visual colors, if human eye could be able to see colors in extremely low light, most emission nebulae appears in deep red color due to dominance of an ionized hydrogen, H-alpha. Blue color is coming from the emission of an ionized oxygen, O-III.
An experimental starless version
A closeup composition
INFO
Sharpless 132 is a very faint emission nebula, it locates at the border of Cepheus and Lacerta. Distance is about 10.000 lightyears. My photo covers about one square degree of the sky (63x63"). The blue color in the image is from the emission of an ionized Oxygen (O-III). "The divine blue light" at horses face seems to be an Oxygen jet of some kind, or it's just a tens of light years long oddly shaped area of glowing gas. The shape can be seen in H-alpha channel too. (Ionized Hydrogen)
Technical details
Processing work flow
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
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Exposure times
H-alpha, 9 x 1200s = 3h
O-III, 3 x 1200s = 1h
S-II, 3x1200s = 1h
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Soul Nebula, IC 1848, as a two frame mosaic
This image is originally shot this Autumn between 27 and 29.10. I haven't publish it before, since I have had so much material to share. The new imaging system gives me a nice field of view, with a high resolution.
63x63 arc minutes at a scale of 0,95 arc seconds/pixel. That's over a square degree of sky.
IC 1848, the Soul Nebula
Ra 02h 51m 36.24s Dec +60° 26′ 53.9" Click for a large image!
Mapped colors from an emission of the ionized elements, Red=Sulfur, Green=Hydrogen and the Blue =Oxygen. The photo is stitched together from two separate shots.
An experimental starless view
Details of the actual nebula stands out better in this starless view.
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.
A wider field photo
In this wide field image of mine, 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. My older photos of the Soul nebula can be seen HERE
Nebula in visual spectrum
Red is a dominant color since the strongest emission line of hydrogen, H-alpha, emits red light. Bluish hues are from ionized oxygen, O-III
Hydrogen alpha image
Nebula in H-alpha light alone.
Technical details
Processing work flow
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
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Astrodon filter, 5 nm H-alpha
Exposure times
H-alpha, 24 x 1200s = 8h (4h/panel)
O-III, 6x1200 (1h/panel), binned 4x4
S-II, 6x1200 (1h/panel), binned 4x4
Total 12h
O-III, 6x1200 (1h/panel), binned 4x4
S-II, 6x1200 (1h/panel), binned 4x4
Total 12h
Saturday, November 15, 2014
APOD by NASA, Astro Anarchy gets published
Astronomy Picture of the Day
My shot of the Tulip Nebula, Sh2-101, was selected as an APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) by NASA. You can see the NASA page here: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141115.html
The Tulip Nebula
In constellation Cygnus
Originla blog post about this image, with technical details, can be seen here:
You can buy a real museum quality photographic print from HERE
This is my seventh APOD, older ones can be seen here:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131214.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110218.htmlhttp://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131214.html
Thursday, November 13, 2014
DWB-111, the Propeller nebula
The data for this object is shot at 31.10 last month but I got it processed just now.
The data for the emission of ionized Oxygen and Sulfur (O-III and S-II) is borrowed from my wide field shot of the area back from the first light image of Autumn 2011.
DWB-111, the Propeller Nebula
In constellation Cygnus, click for a large images
An experimental starless view
Info
Propeller Nebula (DWB 111, MRSL 497). This S-like formation is part of the much large area of emission nebula in constellation Cygnus. There are very little information about the origin and distance of this structure is unknown.
Image in visual colors
A wide field image of the nebula
http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2011/10/first-light-for-autumn-season-2011.html
Also O-III and S-II channels are borrowed from this photo.
Orientation in Cygnus
Technical details
Processing work flow
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
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Astrodon filter, 5 nm H-alpha
Exposure times
H-alpha, 12 x 1200s = 4h
O-III & S-II from an older wide field photo of mine.
O-III & S-II from an older wide field photo of mine.
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
A furious cosmic horse gets blinded by a divine blue light
My latest photo, Sh2-132. I rarely give a name to my photos, other than the official catalog number or well known nickname, this time I couldn't resist to give a name of my own.
A furious cosmic horse gets blinded by a divine blue light
Sharpless 132 (Sh2-132) in Cepheus
A closeup composition
Why a furious horse?
A marble horse sculpture from Piazza Navona, Rome Italy, it's placed in the image to show the horse figure.
INFO
Sharpless 132 is a very faint emission nebula, it locates at the border of Cepheus and Lacerta. Distance is about 10.000 lightyears. My photo covers about one square degree of the sky (63x63"). The blue color in the image is from the emission of an ionized Oxygen (O-III). "The divine blue light" at horses face seems to be an Oxygen jet of some kind, or it's just a tens of light years long oddly shaped area of glowing gas. The shape can be seen in H-alpha channel too. (Ionized Hydrogen)
The actual nebula is much large, as can be seen in my older wide field photo of the area.
Area of interest is marked at my older wide field image of the Sh2-132. The original image from the Winter 2011, with technical details, can be found from HERE
A starless view
The actual nebula stands out nicely in this experimental starless version of my photo.
Technical details
Processing work flow
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
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Exposure times
H-alpha, 9 x 1200s = 3h
O-III, 3 x 1200s = 1h
S-II, 3x1200s = 1h
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame
Friday, November 7, 2014
Astro Anarchy gets published
I shot my astronomical photos about five years from the rooftop of the Swedish Private School here in Oulu, Finland. Last year I had to find another location since they started to build an expansion for the school at the rooftop. I was so glad, when Anders Wentin from the school contacted me and ask, if I'm able to deliver an artwork from some of my photos to the School. Yesterday, at 6. 11. 2014, the artwork was revealed.
The photo is printed on dibond aluminium sheets and covered with a hard and glossy laminate. The size is 3600 x 1600mm (142 x 63 inch). There are three panels used for the final artwork. Seams are so thin, that's not possible to see them easily.
The Path of Swans
A large photo print in Swedish Private School, Oulu
The photo
Click for a large image, 2400 x 1100 pixels and 3,5MB
My previous large print
Artwork above is not a largest print made from my photos. Much larger one was published at spring 2014. More ifo about this gigantic, over 10 x 3 m, print can be seen in this blog post: http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2014/04/astro-anarchy-get-published.html
The Cirrus of Cygnus
A very large photographic print on aluminium, 3x10m
Even in that size, the image is very sharp, since the original image is in very high resolution due to mosaic technique used. An info board for the artwork can be seen next to the door at middle right.
This photo is actually a upper part from the very large cygnus mosaic. The new print is the lower part of the mosaic. Here is the original photo of the whole area.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
NGC 281, the Siamese fighting fish
At 31. October I shot the raw frames for the NGC 281. Yesterday I combined them as a final color photo. When the photo was ready, I didn't saw the usual "Pac Man" figure but a Siamese fighting fish!
Image in visual colors
It does look like a Siamese fighting fish!
INFO
NGC 281 is an H II region in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It includes the open cluster IC 1590 and several Bok globules (dark doo-dads at center of the Blue area). NGC 281 is also known as the Pac-Man Nebula for its resemblance to the video game character from early 80's. NGC 281 spans over 80 light years at its estimated distance of 9500 light years.
A study about the structure
All pillar like formations are pointing to a source of ionization, the open cluster NGC 281. There are some more dense areas in a gas, able to resist the radiation pressure from young star cluster. Those dense areas, at a tip of the each pillar, are also potential places for the formations of the new stars. Note. There are some very dim outer formations in this nebula, I haven't noticed them before. Like the one pillar like at the eleven o'clock position.
A starless view
An experimental starless view shows better the actual structure of the nebula.
Technical details
Processing work flow
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
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Exposure times
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Exposure times
H-alpha, 9 x 1200s = 3h
O-III, 3 x 1200s = 1h
S-II, 3x1200s = 1h
S-II, 3x1200s = 1h
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame
A sample image of Tonemapped channels
I'm using a special processing technique of mine for a weak signal, the Tone Mapping v2
Starless emission channels are much easier to process for color channels since I don't need to worry about bloating stars etc. In HST-palette, the idea is to have all the channels in equal weight in the final color image. To do that, tens of times more exposure time is needed for a weaker channels, usually O-III or S-II. Typically it's not possible in any reasonable time frame and weaker channels needs to be stretched very strongly. Doe to that, lots of artifacts are generated, like purple stars. With my technique a perfect color balance is easily done.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Sharpless 115 and a planetary nebula Abell 71
I have always wanted to shoot this complex nebula and planetary in Cygnus. The object is kind of dim and has lots of details. Actually it's so complex, that I had a hard time trying to figure out how to make a nice composition out of it.
Sharpless 115, Sh2-115 and Abell 71
A square of birth and death
Click for a large image
Closeups from the image above
Abell 71, PLN 85+4.1
Image in visual colors
A starless version
INFO
Source: NASA APOD
Sharpless 115 stands just north and west of Deneb, the alpha star of Cygnus the Swan in planet Earth's skies. Noted in the 1959 catalog by astronomer Stewart Sharpless (as Sh2-115) the faint but lovely emission nebula lies along the edge of one of the outer Milky Way's giant molecular clouds, about 7,500 light-years away. Shining with the light of ionized atoms of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen in this Hubble palette color composite image, the nebular glow is powered by hot stars in star cluster Berkeley 90. The cluster stars are likely only 100 million years old or so and are still embedded in Sharpless 115. But the stars' strong winds and radiation have cleared away much of their dusty, natal cloud. At the emission nebula's estimated distance, this cosmic close-up spans just under 100 light-years.
Orientation
More info about this image can be seen HERE.
Technical details
Processing work flow
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
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Exposure times
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Exposure times
H-alpha, 18 x 1200s = 6h
O-III, 6 x 1200s = 2h
S-II, 3x1200s = 1h
S-II, 3x1200s = 1h
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame
Friday, October 31, 2014
The Cygnus Wall
A fast image from the last night, the Cygnus Wall, a part of the much large North america Nebula, NGC 7000. This is a relatively bright formation, three hours of H-alpha light and half an hour of O-III was captured for this photo. S-II channel is borrowed from an older wide field image, since the clouds rolled in before I was able to shoot it.
Click for a large image
Detail from the image above
INFO
Source: NASA APOD
The North America nebula on the sky can do what the North America continent on Earth cannot -- form stars. Specifically, in analogy to the Earth-confined continent, the bright part that appears as Central America and Mexico is actually a hot bed of gas, dust, and newly formed stars known as the Cygnus Wall. The above image shows the star forming wall lit and eroded by bright young stars, and partly hidden by the dark dust they have created. The part of the North America nebula (NGC 7000) shown spans about 15 light years and lies about 1,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus).
Technical details
Processing work flow
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
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-aplha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Exposure times
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Exposure times
H-alpha 6 x 1200s = 3h
O-III 3 x 600s = 30min.
S-II is borrowed from my older wide field image
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame
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