Monday, October 13, 2014
Cygnus panorama
While waiting the weather to clear, I reprocessed my older material to keep up my skills. This one turned to be so nice. I decided to publish it here.
Cygnus Panorama
Click for a large image. Note. A largish file, 2400 x 1100 pixels and 3.6MB
Labeled
Click for a large image
An original photo and processing, with the technical details, can be seen HERE
Monday, October 6, 2014
A new imaging setup starts to build up.
At beginning of the last Spring season my old imaging setup blew up.
During a mandatory Summer pause I have been building a new imaging set up little by little. It starts to be ready mechanically, I need to wait for a couple of clear nights to be able to finalize the setup procedure.
Without a help from couple of great companies this could be a mission impossible for me.
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I have got the most needed help from the beloved neighbour country, Sweden! The Astro Sweden is a largish company specialized to astronomical equipments. They have support my work by equipments and technical knowhow.
Starlight Xpress CCD
I have been using many years some very clever products from the UK based company, Starlight Xpress .
I now have a new Active Optics unit from them, it supports full frame CCD cameras. With the AO-unit I'm using an OAG with the ultra sensitive guider, Lodestar X2. I used to have a smaller version of the AO-unit and Lodestar guider for many years. They really turn any poorly tracking mount to a extremely stable imaging platform. Best of all, the AO-unit works with any third party imaging camera, like the Apogee in my case.
I now have a new Active Optics unit from them, it supports full frame CCD cameras. With the AO-unit I'm using an OAG with the ultra sensitive guider, Lodestar X2. I used to have a smaller version of the AO-unit and Lodestar guider for many years. They really turn any poorly tracking mount to a extremely stable imaging platform. Best of all, the AO-unit works with any third party imaging camera, like the Apogee in my case.
New Setup
click for a large image
Light path
The Active Optics Unit from Starlight Xpress CCD is attached to a large custom made adapter ring at right.
List of new equipments
- Mount, 10-micron 1000
- Optics, Celestron Edge HD 1100
- Camera, Apogee U16 D09 with KAF16803 chip, 4096x4096 9 microns pixels, 36,8x36,8mm
- Filter Wheel, Apogee, seven square slots 50x50mm
- Focuser, FeatherTouch with MicroTouch control unit
- Heater, Dew Buster
- Active Optics Unit, SXV AO LF from Starlight Xpress + OAG
- Guider, an ultra sensitive Lodestar X2, also from Starlight Xpress
- Focal Reducer, Celestron reducer 0.7 for Edge 1100 (Not yet arrived)
- Finder, Telrad
- Filters, Astrodon, H-alpha 5nm, O-III 3nm, S-II 3nm. R, G, B and L
I need to wait for a clear weather to be able to finalize the setup. Few things must be done before any imaging is possible.
To do list
- Polar alignment, The axis of the telescope must be exactly parallel to Earth axis
- Collimation, the optical axis must be perfectly concentric
- Fine tune any possible tilt in CCD to have it perfectly perpendicular to light path.
- FocusMax training, ~30 V-curves to have an accurate model of the optical behavior for auto focusing.
- Temperature compensation training, so that temp expansion of the optics can be compensated.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Winning images in Buzzfeed, Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014
The Buzzfeed published The winners of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 competition by the Royal Observatory Greenwich
My photo of Supernova remnant detail, NGC 1340, winned a shared third price.
Also the Helsingin Sanomat, a finnish national newspaper, published an article about my work
Read the story here (In Finnish)
The list of all winners
I'm in a Deep Space category
Earth and SpaceJames Woodend (UK) with Aurora over a Glacier Lagoon (Winner and Overall Winner)
Matt James (Australia) with Wind Farm Star Trails (Runner-up)
Patrick Cullis (USA) with Moon Balloon (Highly Commended)
Catalin Beldea (Romania) with Totality from Above the Clouds (Highly Commended)
O Chul Kwon (South Korea) with Venus-Lunar Occultation (Highly Commended)
Deep Space
Bill Snyder (USA) with Horsehead Nebula (IC 434) (Winner)
David Fitz-Henry (Australia) with The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) (Runner-Up)
J.P Metsävainio (Finland) with Veil Nebula Detail (IC 1340) (Highly Commended)
Rogelio Bernal Andreo (USA) with California vs Pleiades (Highly Commended)
Marco Lorenzi (China) with At the Feet of Orion (NGC 1999) – Full Field (Highly Commended)
Our Solar System
Alexandra Hart (UK) with Ripples in a Pond (Winner)
George Tarsoudis (Greece) with Best of the Craters (Runner-Up)
Alexandra Hart (UK) with Solar Nexus (Highly Commended)
Stephen Ramsden (USA) with Calcium K Eruption (Highly Commended)
Tunç Tezel (Turkey) with Diamond and Rubies (Highly Commended)
Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Shishir & Shashank Dholakia (USA, aged 15) with The Horsehead Nebula (IC 434) (Winner)
Emmett Sparling (Canada, aged 15) with New Year over Cypress Mountain (Runner-up)
Olivia Williamson (UK, aged 10) with The Martian Territory (Highly Commended)
Shishir & Shashank Dholakia (USA, aged 15) with The Heart Nebula (IC 1805) (Highly Commended)
Emily Jeremy (UK, aged 12) with Moon Behind the Trees (Highly Commended)
Special Prize: People and Space
Eugen Kamenew (Germany) with Hybrid Solar Eclipse 2 (Winner)
Julie Fletcher (Australia) with Lost Souls (Runner-up)
Special Prize: Sir Patrick Moore prize for Best Newcomer
Chris Murphy (New Zealand) with Coastal Stairways (Winner)
Robotic Scope Image of the Year
Mark Hanson (USA) with NGC 3718 (Winner)
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Astro Anarchy gets published
The winners of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 competition by the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Over 2500 images from 51 countries participated this competition
Over 2500 images from 51 countries participated this competition
My image of IC 1340 wins the third place, "Highly Commended", in Deep space category
Daily Mail, news about the winners of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 competition
My photo is a fourth from the top
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2760574/Shimmering-green-aurora-total-eclipse-exploding-star-Winning-images-Astronomy-Photographer-Year-revealed.html
BBC news about the winners of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 competition
My photo can be seen at 3:50 position in the movie of the winner images.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29237571
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014
The winners of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 competition by the Royal Observatory Greenwich has been published today at 19.30 at UK time.
My image of IC 1340 wins the shared THIRD PLACE, "Highly Commended", in Deep space category
Over 2500 images from 51 countries participated this competition,
photos from best imagers, best tools and best locations around the world.
photos from best imagers, best tools and best locations around the world.
http://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/astronomy-photographer-of-the-year/2014-winners/deep-space
Winning images from all six categories:
My placed photo, IC 340, a detail of the Veil Nebula
A supernova remnant in constellation Cygnus
A detail image of the Veil Nebula supernova remnant. Angular size about the same as full Moon.
Technical details and other information about this photo
The original blog post of the IC 1340 from Autumn 2012, with a technical details:
http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2012/10/ic-1340-project-finalized.html
This photo was taken with a kind of modest tool, an old Meade LX200 GPS 12" telescope:
http://www.astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2012/09/my-equipment.html
The Meade telescope is not in use anymore:
http://www.astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2014/01/its-over-i-cant-do-my-loved.html
(An advice! Don't buy any Meade equipments, they are generally very poor quality)
The new imaging system is under construction at the moment.
Location of the detail image in a wide field image
Area of interest marked as a white rectangle
Location of the Veil Nebula in constellation Cygnus
Veil Nebula at most left
All of my astronomical photos can be seen in my portfolio, please, have a look:
http://astroanarchy.zenfolio.com/
A supernova remnant in constellation Cygnus
Technical details and other information about this photo
The original blog post of the IC 1340 from Autumn 2012, with a technical details:
http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2012/10/ic-1340-project-finalized.html
This photo was taken with a kind of modest tool, an old Meade LX200 GPS 12" telescope:
http://www.astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2012/09/my-equipment.html
The Meade telescope is not in use anymore:
http://www.astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2014/01/its-over-i-cant-do-my-loved.html
(An advice! Don't buy any Meade equipments, they are generally very poor quality)
The new imaging system is under construction at the moment.
Location of the detail image in a wide field image
Location of the Veil Nebula in constellation Cygnus
All of my astronomical photos can be seen in my portfolio, please, have a look:
http://astroanarchy.zenfolio.com/
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
IC 1896 reprocessed
The astronomical darkness hasn't arrived yet, up here 65N, and I don't have any equipments to continue my imaging work. Due to that, I have done some reprocessing of older material of mine. An other reason is to keep up my processing skills.
IC 1396
Click for a large image
Technical data and more info can be seen HERE
A two frame mosaic image of IC 1396 with the Sharpless 129 and OU4, a planetary nebula candidate
A closeup of an Elephant's Trunk Nebula in IC 1396
An experimental 3D-study of IC 1396 can be seen HERE
Naturally you can buy a museum quality photographic print from any of my images!
HERE is the portfolio with a shopping possibility.
Friday, August 22, 2014
35% discount from all of the photographic prints!
I have a portfolio for my astronomical images. You can buy museum quality photographic prints directly from the there,
http://astroanarchy.zenfolio.com/p1072219942
35% discount with the coupon code 334587 !
Just type the code when asked, while filling the order form, and you will see the final price with a discount.
NOTE!
This code will be valid between 22. - 29. August 2014
Friday, June 6, 2014
A collection of a starless Veil nebula shots
Sometimes I'm publishing experimental starless versions of my astronomical images. They'll show the actual nebula better and have a kind of mystique feel.
Human brains has a tendency to form some quasi logical shapes out of the cloud of random dots, like stars in this case. Without stars, the shapes in a gas cloud stands out much better.
A collection of Veil Nebula supernova remnant images without stars
The Veil Nebula supernova remnant in constellation Cygnus without stars.
Original image and information can be seen HERE
Closeup of the Eastern Veil, IC 1340
Original image and information can be seen HERE
IC 1340 in ionized Oxygen light, O-III
The Pickering's Triangle
Original image and information can be seen HERE
Pickering's Triangle in ionized Oxygen light, O-III
A closeup of the Eastern veil
Original image and information can be seen HERE
Eastern Veil in ionized Oxygen light, O-III
The Witch Broom Nebula
Original image and information can be seen HERE
Witch Broom Nebula in ionized Oxygen light, O-III
Veil Nebula supernova remnant with stars
Original image and information can be seen HERE
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Cone Nebula as an animated zoom in series
I have shot many targets with a several focal lengths and instruments.
Due to that, I'm able to publish some of my photos as an image set, with a different field of view and detail levels. The fractal nature of our universe stands out nicely by this way and it will make the orientation more easy.
Zooming into the Cone Nebula
An animated GIF, 3,4MB
The Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster
Buy a photographic print from HERE
Note. an apparent size of the Moon is marked as a circle.
Moon has an angular diameter of ~0,5 degrees, that's ~30 arc minutes.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
North America Nebula, a zoom in animation
I have shot many targets with a several focal lengths and instruments.
Due to that, I'm able to publish some of my photos as an image set, with a different field of view and detail levels. The fractal nature of our universe stands out nicely by this way and it will make the orientation more easy.
An animated GIF, 3,4MB
Zooming into the North America Nebula, NGC 7000
A closeup of NGC 7000, the Great Wall
Buy a photographic print from HERE
An animated 3D study of the North America Nebula can be seen HERE
A study about the apparent scale in the sky
Note. an apparent size of the Moon is marked as a circle.
Moon has an angular diameter of ~0,5 degrees, that's ~30 arc minutes.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
An animated zoom in series to the Bubble Nebula
I have shot many targets with a several focal lengths and instruments.
Due to that, I'm able to publish some of my photos as an image set, with a different field of view and detail levels. The fractal nature of our universe stands out nicely by this way and it will make the orientation more easy.
An animated GIF, 3MB
Zooming into the Bubble Nebula
A closeup picture of the Bubble formation
Buy a photographic print from HERE
An animated 3D study of the Bubble Nebula can be seen HERE
A study about the apparent scale in the sky
Note. an apparent size of the Moon is marked as a circle.
Moon has an angular diameter of ~0,5 degrees, that's ~30 arc minutes.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
The largest Fine Art print in Finland
About three weeks ago I posted about my astronomical photo as a public artwork.
This very large, 10x3m, photographic print on aluminium was produced by a Finnish company Dialab.
They made an inquiry from the Finnish Museum of Photography about this print. The museum confirmed, that this is the largest photographic fine art print in Finland. The photo is located in main lobby of The "Oulu Region Joint Authority for Education" in Haukipudas
Cirrus of Cygnus
The largest fine art photo in Finland
The photo is printed on aluminium and it has a glossy finishing. This is the largest fine art print in Finland.
The size of the photographic prin is over 3 x 10 meters (= 10 x 33 feet) Even in that size, the image is very sharp, since the original image is in very high resolution due to mosaic technique used.
The size of the photographic prin is over 3 x 10 meters (= 10 x 33 feet) Even in that size, the image is very sharp, since the original image is in very high resolution due to mosaic technique used.
More info about the print and the image HERE
Monday, May 12, 2014
Cepheus, an animated zoom in series to the IC 1396
I have shot many targets with several focal lengths.
Due to that, I'm able to publish some of my material as an image sets, with different field of view and detail levels. The fractal nature of our universe stands out nicely by this way and it will make the orientation more easy.
An animated zoom in series to an Elephant's Trunk Nebula
A closeup picture of the Elephant's Trunk Nebula in IC 1396
Buy a photographic print from HERE
A study about the apparent scale in the sky
Note. an apparent size of the Moon is marked as a circle.
Moon has an angular diameter of ~0,5 degrees, that's ~30 arc minutes.
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