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Thursday, September 17, 2015

APOD by NASA, Astro Anarchy gets published




Astronomy Picture of the Day

My shot of the Pickering's Triangle in Veil Nebula was selected today as an APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) by NASA. You can see the NASA page here: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150917.html

Pickering's Triangle
Be sure to click for a large image!


INFO

Original 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 eighth APOD, older ones can be seen here:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141115.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131214.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110218.html





Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Pickering's Triangle, my first light for the Autumn season 2015



This is my opening photo for the Autumn season 2015. I started this imaging project a year ago, at Autumn 2014. Back then I shot 12h of the light form an ionized oxygen, O-III. This is a two frame mosaic of the Veil Nebula supernova remnant. This Autumn I shot 5h of light from an ionized hydrogen, H-alpha. I was able to make a Hubble palette image by using the S-II from my older wide field photo of the Veil Nebula.


Pickering's Triangle
Be sure to click for a large image!

Part of the two frame mosaic of the Veil Nebula supernova remnant, the Pickering's Triangle.
Colors are from the ionized elements, Hydrogen, Sulfur and Oxygen. 
S-II = Red, H-alpha = Green and O-III = Blue. 

Same area in light of an ionized oxygen only
(A content of this O-III image can be seen as a blueish color at image above.)


Pickering's Triangle in light of an ionized oxygen, O-III, alone.


A zoom out series to the whole two frame mosaic

A closeup
Click for a large image



A less zoomed version
Click for a large image



The whole two frame mosaic
Click for a large image

A two frame mosaic of the Pickering's Triangle


A wide field photo of the Veil Nebula supernova remnant

The Pickering's Triangle can be see at one o'clock position.
My blog post about the wide field shot 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 33% 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, 36 x 1200s binned = 12h (Autumn 2014)
S-II,  from my older wide field photo of the Veil Nebula = 3h 
Total 20h





Tuesday, September 8, 2015

IC 4603, at the core of the colorful Scorpion


This is a third image produced as a collaboration with me and Eric Recurt. The data is shot from his observatory at Tenerife. The Observatory locates at 2400 m altitude and at 28 degrees North. The site has excellent seeing conditions, 0.8 " on average and can be below 0.3 "  


IC 4603, the core region of the Rho Ophiuchi complex in the constellation Scorpion 
Click for a full size image

This is a broadband LRGB natural color image of the IC 4603 from a remote observatory in Tenerife.


Full scale closeups
Click for a full size image






Technical details

Processing workflow

Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 27 iterations, added at 33% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
 340mm F3.3 astrograph

Mount
ASA DDM 85

Cameras and filters
FLI PL 16803



Exposure times
Luminance, 10 x 300s 
Red = 10 x 180s
Green = 9 x 180s
Blue = 8 x 180s
Total 2h 11min






Sunday, September 6, 2015

"Howling Wolf" Nebula, vdB 149, vdB 150, LDN 1235 and PGG 67671



The second photo published from the Deep Sky West observatory. Lights are taken under a very dark skie. Unlike in my current light polluted location, it's now possible to image broadband targets, galaxies, reflection nebulae and dark nebulae! HERE is some more info about the Deep sky West Observatory.

I gave the nickname "Howling Wolf" after I saw the photo first time in my monitor. At the end of this blog post, there is an explanation for the nickname.


VdB 149 and companions in the constellation Cepheus
Click for a large image

Beautiful collection of dark and reflection nebulae in Cepheus including a galaxy. This is a broadband LRGB image in natural colors.


Full resolution details from the image above

LDN 1235



vdB 150



vdB 149



vdB 149 and some interesting shapes in the dust cloud
Click for a large photo



PGG 67671



An experimental starless version
Click for a large photo

A starless version to show better the actual dust cloud


Howling Wolf

This is how I see the photo in my head.


An animated GIF, stars vs starless
Click for a large image



Technical details

Processing workflow

Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 27 iterations, added at 33% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
 Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII

Mount
 Astro-Physics Mach1AP GTO with GTOCP3

Cameras and filters
QSI683WSG

Astrodon Luminance Tru-Balance E-Series Gen
Astrodon Red Tru-Balance E-Series Gen 2
Astrodon Green Tru-Balance E-Series Gen 2
Astrodon Blue Tru-Balance E-Series Gen 2

Exposure times
Luminance, 32 x 900s = 8h
Red = 13 x 900s = 3.25h
Green = 12 x 900s = 3h
Blue = 5 x 900s = 1.25h
Total 15.5h