Saturday, April 11, 2015
All my new astronomical photos from the Winter season 2014-15
My humble thanks to the supporters, they made my work possible at this Winter season!
First class products and service
This is a collection of my photos from the past Winter season. We are now out of astronomical darkness for about six months due to high latitude, 65N. As every time, it's hard to give up imaging the beauty of the deep sky.
The season was very cloudy too. We had over three months a solid cloud cover this winter and clear nights just now and then. The good side is, that I have been forced to develop new imaging and processing methods to be able to finalise maximum number of photos. The "Tone mapping" method and a new unpublished "VARES" (Variable Resolution imaging method) are very powerful tools for astrophotography. I'll publish the VARES.method in a year or so, after I have tested it well enough.
All of my photos are taken from a light polluted downtown.
A closeup from my last image of the season, IC 1805, the Heart nebula
Click for a large image, 1400 x 1900 and ~2MB
A poster format collection from all of my photos from Winter 2014-15
Be sure to click for a large image, 2500 x 4000 pixels and 8MB
Images in the poster above, from upper left to lower right
- NGC 2175, The Monkey Head Nebula, a blog post HERE
- NGC 1491, a blog post HERE
- Messier 13, a blog post HERE
- Messier 3, a blog post HERE
- IC 417, a blog post HERE
- Pelican Nebula mosaic, a blog post HERE
- IC 443 SNR, a blog post HERE
- Cederblad 214, a blog post HERE
- Soul Nebula, IC 1848 mosaic, a blog post HERE
- IC 410, a blog post HERE
- The Propeller Nebula, a blog post HERE
- IC 1805, The Heart Nebula, a blog post HERE
- The Great Wall of Cygnus, a blog post HERE
- NGC 1795, a blog post HERE
- The Tulip Nebula, Sh2-101, a blog post HERE NASA APOD
- Sharpless 115 & Apell 71 PN, a blog post HERE
- Pickering's Triangle in O-III light only, a blog post HERE
- Sharpless 132, Sh2-132, a blog post HERE
- IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula, a blog post HERE
- Abell 85 (CTB1) SNR, a blog post HERE
- Sharpless objects 232, 231, 233 and 235, a blog post HERE
- NGC 281, a blog post HERE
Some highlights of the season past
Supporters, my humble thanks to the supporters, they made my work possible once again!
-
All companies are offering the first class products and service!
This setup was possible due to great support!
The new imaging system. Some image quality analysis can be seen HERE
- I won a third place at the Astronomy Photographer of the year 2014 competition by the Royal Observatory of Greenwich.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014, Royal Observatory of Greenwich, third place.
Over 2500 images from 51 countries participated.
Over 2500 images from 51 countries participated.
- I also got one NASA APOD published (Astronomy Picture Of the Day) at November 15, the Tulip nebula.
NASA publication, Sh2-101, the Tulip Nebula
- The Telegraph selected my photo as a one of the best amateur astronomy photographs of the past four years.
- Suomen Kuvalehti wrote a large article at the last issue of the year 2014 about my photographing, eleven pages total. (SK 51-52 19.12.2014, pages 1 and 42-51)
- Daily Mail published an article about the experimental 3D conversions of my astronomical photos.
California Nebula as an experimental 3D-model
In constellation Perseus
This is a looped video, click to start and stop. This is an experimental test with a 3D-conversion of my astronomical images. Only real elements from my original image are used, there is nothing added but the volumetric information!
I was invited as one of the speakers at the NEAIC conference, New York, Spring 2014.
I was invited as one of the speakers at the NEAIC conference, New York, Spring 2014.
Two large public artworks from my photos get revealed at 2014. A very large, over 10 x 3m, photographic print on aluminium "Cirrus of Cygnus" and the "Path of Swans", 4 x 2m, on aluminium. Beside public works, many of my photos ended up to a private homes.
Path of Swans, 4x2m
Cirrus of Cygnus 10x3m, the large mosaic image is a very sharp even in this scale.
- I participated to two art exhibitions with my astronomical photos, one in Helsinki and another here in Oulu.
3D-exhibition in Helsinki, large anaglyph photos, paintings and a movie.
Sale exhibition in Oulu
One of the most interesting tasks at 2014 was a cooperation with the vocal ensemble Cappella pro Vocale. This cross art production was a mixture of an old vocal music and the astronomical images. The production took place at the church of St Thomas. My photos get projected with three powerful projectors on walls and sealing and everything was matched with the music carefully.
- Optikfestival in Skara, Sweden
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Interior of the shop, they have a large stock of products on site.
I had a pleasure to be invited as one of the speakers in "Optikfestival Skara", Sweden. The happening was organized by a Astrosweden, a largest optics retailer in Sweden. They are specialized to Astronomy, nature photography, hunting and microscopy. I was really impressed by the passion and knowledge they have about the the optics!
- An exhibition in Galleria Kajaste, Oulu, Finland
Friday, April 10, 2015
My last imaging project for this Winter season, a high resolution mosaic image of the Heart Nebula
We are now out of astronomical darkness for about six months due to high latitude, 65N. As every time, it's hard to give up imaging the beauty of the deep sky.
IC 1805, the Heart Nebula is my last imaging project for this season. It's a very high resolution, six panels mosaic image. Image is shot between 20. February and 21. March, total exposure time is 49h. Original size is about 11.000 x 9000 pixels at the scale of one arcsecond/pixel.
IC 1805
Be sure to click for a high resolution photo, 2300x1900 pixels and 3MB
Natural color composition from the emission of ionized elements. This composition is very close to a visual spectrum. A higher resolution version can be seen HERE
Image in mapped colors
Click for a high resolution photo, 2300x1900 pixels and 3MB
Image is in mapped colors from an emission of the ionized elements. Golden areas are from emission of sulfur and hydrogen, S-II and H-alpha, blueish areas are from ionized oxygen, O-III.
Closeups from the mosaic
Click for a higher resolution
IC 1795
This image was published at March 31, 2015. Blog post about it can be seen HERE
The heart of the Heart, Melotte 15
Click for a higher resolution
This part of the mosaic image was published at March 9, 2015. Blog post about it can be seen HERE
IC 1805 in light of an ionized hydrogen, H-alpha, alone.
Click for a higher resolution
INFO
This high resolution photo of the IC 1805, the Heart nebula, is a six panel mosaic. (Original size is about 11.000 x 9000 pixels at the scale of one arcsecond/pixel.) It shows many details in the IC 1805, like the Melotte 15 at the heart of the Heart Nebula. Total exposure time for this narrowband photo is 49h.
The "Heart Nebula", IC 1805 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.
Orientation in a wide field photo
The Heart Nebula, IC 1805, at right. The Soul Nebula, IC 1848, can be seen at left.
The Soul Nebula, IC 1848
My previous imaging project from this area was a two frame mosaic photo of the Soul Nebula at last Autumn season, it can be seen HERE
Click for a large image
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
Mount
10-micron 1000
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Astrodon filter, 3nm S-II
Exposure times
H-alpha, 72 x 1200s = 24h
O-III, 42 x 1200s binned 4x4 = 14h
S-II, 33 x 1200s binned 4x4 = 11h
Total 49h
Monday, April 6, 2015
A globular cluster Messier 3
I have shot couple of clusters at this Autumn season and I have published an image of Messier 13 in Hercules before. My light polluted location is not ideal for broadband targets, like clusters, but with little extra work with processing, they turned to be kind of beautiful. Image is shot at March 17. 2015.
Messier 3 (M3)
Click for a large image
A closeup
INFO
Messier 3 (also known as M3 or NGC 5272) is a globular cluster in the constellation Canes Venatici. This cluster is one of the largest and brightest and It's located at a distance of about 33,900 light-years away from Earth. M3 has an apparent magnitude of 6.2, making it visible to the naked eye under dark conditions.
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
Mount
10-micron 1000
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Custom Scientific LRGB 50mm Square Filters
Exposure times
Luminance, 8 x 600s = 1h 20min
Red, 6 x 200s binned 2x2 = 20 min.
Green, 6 x 200s binned 2x2= 20 min.
Blue, 6 x 200s binned 2x2 = 20 min
Total 2h 20min
Friday, April 3, 2015
NGC 1491
I shot the data for this dim object at 16. March but the processing of it ready now. I found this as a difficult target due to a very low surface brightness of the surrounding nebula. The central part is bright and it makes difficult to balance image nicely.
Click for a large image
Click for a large image
INFO
NGC 1491 is an emission nebula at the constellation Perseus. The distance from the Earth is about 11.000 light years. In the bright area, at a center of the photo, a strong stellar wind from a star BD +50 ° 886 is blowing the gas away. The radiation from the same star makes the gas glow by ionizing elements in the nebula.
Image in mapped colors
Click for a large image
A wider field version in mapped colors
Click for a large image
Image in light of an ionized hydrogen, H-alpha, only
Orientation in an older wide field photo of the area
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
Mount
10-micron 1000
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Astrodon filter, 3nm S-II
Exposure times
H-alpha, 15 x 1200s = 5h
O-III, 6 x 1200s binned 4x4 = 2h min.
S-II, 6 x 1200s binned 4x4 = 2h min.
Total 9h
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame as it comes from the camera
Click for a large image
Not much can be seen in this single 20min. exposure of the emission of hydrogen, H-alpha.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
IC 1795 in the Heart Nebula
I spent hours in two nights by shooting this busy area in IC 1805, the Heart nebula, at 13. and 15. March.
IC 1795
Click for a large image
A closeup
Click for a large image
INFO
IC 1795 is also known as a Fish Head Nebula. It's a star forming region in the northern constellation Cassiopeia at distance of about 6000 light years. My image shows about a square degree of sky, the actual size of the imaged area is around 130 light years. IC 1795 is a part of the large nebula complex known as IC 1805, the Heart Nebula.
Image in visual spectrum
Click for a large image
Image in emission of an ionized hydrogen only (H-alpha)
A two frame mosaic
Click for a large image
This photo of IC 1805 was partly overlapping with my previous image from the same area.
I made a small two frame mosaic out of them. I have shot more frames after this imaging project and now I'm able to make a high resolution mosaic of the whole IC 1805 area. I'll publish that later.
Orientation in IC 1805, the Heart Nebula
Click for a large image
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
Mount
10-micron 1000
Mount
10-micron 1000
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Astrodon filter, 3nm S-II
Exposure times
H-alpha, 15 x 1200s = 5h
O-III, 3 x 1200s = 1h min.
S-II, 3 x 1200s = 1h min.
Total 7h
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame as it comes from the camera
Optikfestival in Skara, Sweden
I had a pleasure to be invited as one of the speakers in "Optikfestival Skara", Sweden. The happening was organized by a Astrosweden, a largest optics retailer in Sweden. They are specialized to Astronomy, nature photography, hunting and microscopy. I was really impressed by the passion and knowledge they have about the the optics!
The owner, Christer Kjellner, has a personal interest to the subject and the sales team are experienced users of the products they are selling. That's not too common now a days! No matter if you are just entering in the subject or professional user they will find a solution for you, I'm sure.
I can highly recommend Astrosweden, if you'll have any needs for Astronomy, nature photographing, hunting scopes or microscopy.
Ask for an offer or just have a look to the webshop: http://www.astrosweden.se/
Interior of the shop, they have a large stock of products on site.
Duel of the nature photographers
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The blue dot and rings in Sh2-232
This is a followup to my previous blog post. When I was processing the data, I noticed a small nebula in center of the large complex of Sharpless 232. It seems to be the only O-III emission source in this large emission nebula. My O-III exposure was relatively short though, only 2h. The origin of this small ionization zone puzzles me. I made a small animation from integrated emission channels. No other processing, than calibration and simple un linear stretching has been done to the images.
EDIT
One mystery solved with a help from another astroguy. "Saloja" from a Finnish astro group used the Megastar database and found out, that this blue dot is a known planetary nebula, PN G173.5+03.2. Thank you Saloja!
Narrowband image of Sh2-232 in mapped colors
This animated GIF shows all three emission channels imaged for this photo, O-III, S-II and H-alpha.
The small nebula is visible in both, H-a and O-III, S-II doesn't show it. It could be nice to understand the mechanism behind this small object.
Is it part of the large nebula and what is the energy source for the ionization? It might even be a planetary nebula, part of the large Sh2-232 complex or a separate object front or behind it.
Has anyone else noticed this object? Let me know, if you have some info about it.
Is it part of the large nebula and what is the energy source for the ionization? It might even be a planetary nebula, part of the large Sh2-232 complex or a separate object front or behind it.
Has anyone else noticed this object? Let me know, if you have some info about it.
Another interesting feature of Sh2-232
A ring like formation
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