Monthly Archives: September 2014

M82, Cigar Galaxy

Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in theconstellation Ursa Major. It is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy’s center. The starburst activity is thought to be triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81, and M82 is a member of the M81 Group. As the closest starburst galaxy to our own, M82 is the prototypical example of this type of galaxy. SN 2014J, a Type Ia supernova, was observed in the galaxy on 21 January 2014.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Imaging cameras: Atik 460 EX
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Guiding cameras: Atik 314L+
Software: PixInsight, Software Bisque CCDSoft 5, Software Bisque TheSkyX, iLanga AstroPlanner, Matt Thomas’s CCDCommander
Filters: Baader H-alpha 7nm 36mm, Baader Luminance 36mm, Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm
Accessories: Atik EFW2, Innovations Foresight On-axis guider
Dates: Dec. 18, 2013, Dec. 23, 2013
Frames:
Baader H-alpha 7nm 36mm: 25×900″ bin 2×2
Baader Luminance 36mm: 31×600″ bin 1×1
Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm: 55×600″ bin 2×2
Integration: 20.6 hours

Author: Colin McGill
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 30 Sep 2014

NGC 5907

NGC 5907 is a spiral galaxy located approximately 50 million light years from Earth. It has an anomalously low metallicity and few detectable giant stars, being apparently composed almost entirely of dwarf stars. It is a member of the NGC 5866 Group.
NGC 5907 has long been considered a prototypical example of a warped spiral in relative isolation. Then in 2006, an international team of astronomers announced the presence of an extended tidal stream surrounding the galaxy that challenges this picture and suggests the gravitational perturbations induced by the stream progenitor may be the cause for the warp.
NGC 5907 is also known at the Knife Edge or Splinter galaxy.
The galaxy was discovered in 1788 by William Herschel. Supernova 1940A was in this galaxy.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Imaging cameras: Atik 460 EX
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Guiding cameras: Atik 314L+
Software: PixInsight, Software Bisque CCDSoft 5, Software Bisque TheSkyX, iLanga AstroPlanner, Matt Thomas’s CCDCommander
Filters: Baader Luminance 36mm, Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm
Accessories: Atik EFW2, Innovations Foresight On-axis guider
Dates: May 22, 2014
Frames: 103×600″
Integration: 17.2 hours

Author: Colin McGill
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 29 Sep 2014

NGC 2903

NGC 2903 is a barred spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by William Herschel who cataloged it on November 16, 1784. NGC 2905 is a bright star cloud within this galaxy.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Imaging cameras: Atik 460 EX
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Guiding cameras: Atik 314L+
Software: PixInsight, Software Bisque CCDSoft 5, Software Bisque TheSkyX, iLanga AstroPlanner, Matt Thomas’s CCDCommander
Filters: Baader Luminance 36mm, Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm
Accessories: Atik EFW2, Innovations Foresight On-axis guider
Dates: April 16, 2014
Frames: 100×600″
Integration: 16.7 hours

Author: Colin McGill
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 28 Sep 2014

Ring Nebula

The Ring Nebula (also catalogued as Messier 57, M57 or NGC 6720) is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Lyra. Such objects are formed when a shell of ionized gas is expelled into the surrounding interstellar medium by a red giant star, which was passing through the last stage in its evolution before becoming a white dwarf.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Imaging cameras: Atik 460 EX
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Guiding cameras: Atik 314L+
Software: PixInsight, Software Bisque CCDSoft 5, Software Bisque TheSkyX, iLanga AstroPlanner, Matt Thomas’s CCDCommander
Filters: Baader Luminance 36mm, Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm
Accessories: Atik EFW2, Innovations Foresight On-axis guider
Dates: June 19, 2014
Frames:
Baader H-alpha 7nm 36mm: 55×900″ bin 2×2
Baader Luminance 36mm: 69×300″ bin 1×1
Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm: 75×300″ bin 1×1
Integration: 25.8 hours

Author: Colin McGill
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 27 Sep 2014

NGC 6946, Fireworks Galaxy

NGC 6946, (also known as the Fireworks Galaxy, Arp 29, and Caldwell 12), is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 22.5 million light-years away, in the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 9, 1798. NGC 6946 is highly obscured by interstellar matter of the Milky Way galaxy, as it is quite close to the galactic plane. Ninesupernovae (SN 1917A, SN 1939C, SN 1948B, SN 1968D, SN 1969P, SN 1980K, SN 2002hh, SN 2004et, and SN 2008S) in the last 60 years or so, have been observed in NGC 6946.
There are polarisation data within ranges 0.17-0.18 m and 0.21-0.23 m, observed in 2003 by WSRT.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Imaging cameras: Atik 460 EX
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Guiding cameras: Atik 314L+
Software: PixInsight, Software Bisque CCDSoft 5, Software Bisque TheSkyX, iLanga AstroPlanner, Matt Thomas’s CCDCommander
Filters: Baader Luminance 36mm, Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm
Accessories: Atik EFW2, Innovations Foresight On-axis guider
Dates: June 29, 2014
Frames: 74×600″
Integration: 12.3 hours

Author: Colin McGill
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 25 Sep 2014

NGC 7331

NGC 7331 (also known as Caldwell 30) is a spiral galaxy about 40 megalight-years (12 Mpc) away in the constellation Pegasus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. NGC 7331 is the brightest member of the NGC 7331 Group of galaxies.

The galaxy is similar in size and structure to the galaxy we inhabit, and is often referred to as “the Milky Way’s twin”, although recent discoveries regarding the structure of the Milky Way may call this similarity into doubt.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Imaging cameras: Atik 460 EX
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Guiding cameras: Atik 314L+
Software: PixInsight, Software Bisque CCDSoft 5, Software Bisque TheSkyX, iLanga AstroPlanner, Matt Thomas’s CCDCommander
Filters: Baader Luminance 36mm, Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm
Accessories: Atik EFW2, Innovations Foresight On-axis guider
Dates: Aug. 22, 2014
Frames: 127×600″
Integration: 21.2 hours

Author: Colin McGill
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 24 Sep 2014

North America nebula

The North America Nebula (NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star). The remarkable shape of the nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complete with a prominent Gulf of Mexico. It is sometimes incorrectly called the “North American Nebula”.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Sky-Watcher ED80
Imaging cameras: Canon 1100D
Mounts: Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro SyncScan
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Sky-Watcher BK804
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY 5
Software: Adobe Photoshop CC, AstroSurf IRIS v5.59
Dates: April 26, 2014
Frames: 5×300″ ISO1600 bin 1×1
Integration: 0.4 hours
Darks: ~4
Bias: ~25

Author: Pavel Syrin
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 23 Sep 2014

M101

The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101, M101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy distanced 21 million light-years (six megaparsecs) away in the constellation Ursa Major, first discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 27, 1781, and communicated to Charles Messier who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries.
On February 28, 2006, NASA and the ESA released a very detailed image of the Pinwheel Galaxy, which was the largest and most detailed image of a galaxy by Hubble Space Telescope at the time. The image was composed from 51 individual exposures, plus some extra ground-based photos.
On August 24, 2011, a Type Ia supernova, SN 2011fe, was discovered in M101.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Sky-Watcher ED80
Imaging cameras: Canon 1100D
Mounts: Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro SyncScan
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Finder 8×50
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY 5
Software: Adobe Photoshop CC, AstroSurf IRIS v5.59, Pleaides Astrophoto Pixinsight LE
Dates: March 7, 2014
Frames: 16×600″ ISO800 bin 1×1
Integration: 2.7 hours
Darks: ~6
Flats: ~15
Bias: ~49

Author: Pavel Syrin
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 22 Sep 2014

M42

The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orion’s Belt in theconstellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of 1,344 ± 20 light years and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2000 times the mass of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula.
The Orion Nebula is one of the most scrutinized and photographed objects in the night sky, and is among the most intensely studied celestial features.The nebula has revealed much about the process of how stars and planetary systems are formed from collapsing clouds of gas and dust. Astronomers have directly observed protoplanetary disks, brown dwarfs, intense and turbulent motions of the gas, and the photo-ionizing effects of massive nearby stars in the nebula.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Borg 71FL
Imaging cameras: Canon / CentralDS EOS 60D
Mounts: Sky-Watcher EQ-6 Skyscan
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Borg 50 Achromat 50/250
Focal reducers: Borg Super reducer
Software: PixInsight, BinaryRivers BackyardEOS
Dates: March 9, 2013
Frames: 25×360″ ISO1600 -20C
Integration: 2.5 hours

Author: Emanuele Todini
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 21 Sep 2014

Jellyfish Nebula

IC 443 (also known as the Jellyfish Nebula and Sharpless 248 (Sh2-248)) is a Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) in the constellation Gemini. On the plan of the sky, it is located near the star Eta Geminorum. Its distance is roughly 5,000 light yearsfrom Earth.

IC 443 may be the remains of a supernova that occurred 3,000 – 30,000 years ago. The same supernova event likely created the neutron star CXOU J061705.3+222127, the collapsed remnant of the stellar core. IC 443 is one of the best-studied cases of supernova remnants interacting with surrounding molecular clouds.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi Sky 90
Imaging cameras: Canon / CentralDS EOS 60D
Mounts: Sky-Watcher EQ-6 Skyscan
Focal reducers: Takahashi Sky 90 Flattener/Reducer 407mm
Software: PixInsight, BinaryRivers BackyardEOS
Dates: April 21, 2012
Frames: 12×480″ ISO1600 -15C
Integration: 1.6 hours
Darks: ~14
Flats: ~21
Bias: ~21

Author: Emanuele Todini
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 20 Sep 2014

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