Tag Archives: Large Magellanic Cloud

Tarantula Nebula

The Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus, or NGC 2070) is an H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). It was originally thought to be a star, but in 1751 Nicolas Louis de Lacaille recognized its nebular nature.

A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases. Originally, nebula was a name for any diffuse astronomical object, including galaxies beyond the Milky Way. The Andromeda Galaxy, for instance, was referred to as the Andromeda Nebula (and spiral galaxies in general as “spiral nebulae”) before the true nature of galaxies was confirmed in the early 20th century by Vesto Slipher, Edwin Hubble and others.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Teleskop Service TS PHOTOLINE – 102mm f/7 ED

Imaging cameras: QSI690

Mounts: SkyWatcher HEQ5 PRO

Guiding telescopes or lenses: Orion 50mm GuideScope

Guiding cameras: ORION StarShoot AutoGuider

Software: EQMOD Project EQMOD, Pixinsight 1.8, Cartes du Ciel Sky Charts, Stark Labs Nebulosity 3, PHD Guiding

Filters: Astrodon Ha 3nm, Astronomik SII 12nm 1.25″, Astronomik OIII 12nm 1.25″

Accessories: Moonlite CF 2,5″ focuser with high resolution stepper, Teleskop-Service TS 2″ PHOTOLINE 0.8x reducer / flattener

Resolution: 3281×2569

Dates: Dec. 14, 2014, Dec. 15, 2014

Frames:
Astrodon Ha 3nm: 27×600″ -10C bin 1×1
Astronomik OIII 12nm 1.25″: 15×300″ -10C bin 1×1
Astronomik SII 12nm 1.25″: 15×300″ -10C bin 1×1

Integration: 7.0 hours

Avg. Moon age: 22.11 days

Avg. Moon phase: 50.35%

Locations: Balcony in Brisbane, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Author: Slawomir

NGC 1763 in Dorado

NGC 1763 is an emission nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) – a small satellite to our Milky Way – about 163,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Dorado. It is part of the N11 (also known as NGC 1760) star-forming region, the second largest of such in the LMC after 30 Doradus.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Astro-Physics 152mm f/7.5 Starfire EDF
Imaging cameras: FLI ProLine Proline 16803
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FS-60C
Guiding cameras: Starlight Xpress Superstar
Focal reducers: Astro-Physics AP 4.0″ Field Flattener
Software: PixInsight 1.8, FocusMax, Maxim DL Pro 5, Software Bisque TheSky6 Professional, Photoshop CS Photo Shop CS5, CCD Autopilot 5
Filters: Astrodon E-series LRGB Ha 5nm
H-Alpha: 8x30min, Oii: 5×30, Siii: 7×30.
Accessories: Sirius Dome
Dates: July 12, 2014
Locations: Sydney Australia
Frames: 20×1800″
Integration: 10.0 hours

Author: David Nguyen
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 8 Aug 2014

Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a nearby galaxy, and a satellite of the Milky Way.

History:
The very first recorded mention of the Large Magellanic Cloud was by the Persian astronomer `Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (later known in Europe as “Azophi”), in his Book of Fixed Stars around 964 AD.

The next recorded observation was in 1503–4 by Amerigo Vespucci in a letter about his third voyage. In this letter he mentions “three Canopes, two bright and one obscure”; “bright” refers to the two Magellanic Clouds, and “obscure” refers to the Coalsack.

Ferdinand Magellan sighted the LMC on his voyage in 1519, and his writings brought the LMC into common Western knowledge. The galaxy now bears his name.

Announced in 2006, measurements with the Hubble Space Telescope suggest the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds may be moving too fast to be orbiting the Milky Way.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 L
Imaging cameras: Canon 5D Mark II DSLR
Mounts: CELESTRON CG5-GT
Software: PixInsight, BinaryRivers BackyardEOS
15 x 5minute exposures
ISO800 f/3.2 135mm
Calibrated with Dark (25) / Flat (30) / Bias (100)

Author: Cory Schmitz
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 22 June 2014

The Tarantula Zone

Image Credit & Copyright: Marco Lorenzi

The Tarantula Nebula is more than 1,000 light-years in diameter, a giant star forming region within our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). That cosmic arachnid lies toward the upper left in this deep and colorful telescopic view made through broad-band and narrow-band filters. The image spans nearly 2 degrees (4 full moons) on the sky and covers a part of the LMC over 8,000 light-years across. Within the Tarantula (NGC 2070), intense radiation, stellar winds and supernova shocks from the central young cluster of massive stars, cataloged as R136, energize the nebular glow and shape the spidery filaments. Around the Tarantula are other violent star-forming regions with young star clusters, filaments, and bubble-shaped clouds In fact, the frame includes the site of the closest supernova in modern times, SN 1987A, just above center. The rich field of view is located in the southern constellation Dorado.

NASA APOD 12-Jun-14

Three Galaxies over New Zealand

Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Mackinven

No, radio dishes cannot broadcast galaxies. Although they can detect them, the above image features a photogenic superposition during a dark night in New Zealand about two weeks ago. As pictured above, the central part of our Milky Way Galaxy is seen rising to the east on the image left and arching high overhead. Beneath the Galactic arc and just above the horizon are the two brightest satellite galaxies of our Milky Way, with the Small Magellanic Cloud to the left and the Large Magellanic Cloud on the right. The radio dish is the Warkworth Satellite Station located just north of Auckland.

NASA APOD 11-Jun-14

Satellite Station and Southern Skies

Image Credit & Copyright: James Garlick

This clear night skyscape captures the colorful glow of aurora australis, the southern lights, just outside the port city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, planet Earth. As if staring into the dreamlike scene, the Tasmanian Earth Resources Satellite Station poses in the center, illuminated by nearby city lights. Used to receive data from spacebased Earth observing instruments, including NASA’s MODIS and SeaWiFS, the station was decommissioned in 2011 and dismantled only recently, shortly after the picture was taken on April 30. Still shining in southern skies though, the central bulge of our Milky Way galaxy and two bright satellite galaxies the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds appear in the frame. The Small Magellanic Cloud shines through the fainter red auroral band.
NASA APOD 31-May-14

Tarantula Nebula in H-alpha

The Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus, or NGC 2070) is an H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). It was originally thought to be a star, but in 1751 Nicolas Louis de Lacaille recognized its nebular nature.

The Tarantula Nebula has an apparent magnitude of 8. Considering its distance of about 49 kpc (160,000 light years), this is an extremely luminous non-stellar object. Its luminosity is so great that if it were as close to Earth as the Orion Nebula, the Tarantula Nebula would cast shadows. In fact, it is the most active starburst region known in the Local Group of galaxies. It is also one of the largest such region in the Local Group with an estimated diameter of 200 pc. The nebula resides on the leading edge of the LMC, where ram pressure stripping, and the compression of the interstellar medium likely resulting from this, is at a maximum. At its core lies the compact star cluster R136 (approximate diameter 35 light years) that produces most of the energy that makes the nebula visible. The estimated mass of the cluster is 450,000 solar masses, suggesting it will likely become a globular clusterin the future.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Astro-Physics AP130 Gran Turismo
Imaging cameras: Canon 450D mono modded
Mounts: Losmandy G11
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Pentax SMC Takumar 6×7 200mm f/4
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY5L-II Mono
Software: PixInsight, PHD guiding
Filters: Baader Planetariun Ha 7nm 2″
Accessories: Astro-Physics Field Flattener
Dates: March 5, 2014
Locations: Home backyard
Frames: 18×600″
Integration: 3.0 hours

Author: Ignacio Diaz Bobillo

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI

21 March 2014

Large Magellanic Cloud

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a nearby galaxy, and a satellite of the Milky Way. At a distance of slightly less than 50 kiloparsecs (≈163,000 light-years), the LMC is the third closest galaxy to the Milky Way, with the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal (~ 16 kiloparsecs) and the putative Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy (~ 12.9 kiloparsecs, though its status as a galaxy is under dispute) lying closer to the center of the Milky Way. It has a mass equivalent to approximately 10 billion times the mass of the Sun (10¹⁰ solar masses), making it roughly 1/100 as massive as the Milky Way, and a diameter of about 14,000 light-years (~ 4.3kpc). The LMC is the fourth largest galaxy in the Local Group, after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Milky Way, and theTriangulum Galaxy (M33).

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Pentax Takumar 67 SMC 75mm f/4
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS
Mounts: Losmandy G11
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Astro-Physics AP130 Gran Turismo
Guiding cameras: Philips SP 900 NC
Software: PixInsight, Canon Digital Photo Professional, PHD guiding
Dates: Sept. 24, 2011
Frames: 18×300″
Integration: 1.5 hours

Author: Ignacio Diaz Bobillo

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI

20 March 2014

Magellanic Clouds

The two Magellanic Clouds (or Nubeculae Magellani) are irregular dwarf galaxies visible from the southern hemisphere, which are members of ourLocal Group and may be orbiting our Milky Way galaxy. Because they both show signs of a bar structure, they are often reclassified as Magellanic spiral galaxies.
The Large Magellanic Cloud and its neighbour and relative, the Small Magellanic Cloud, are conspicuous objects in the southern hemisphere, looking like separated pieces of the Milky Way to the naked eye. Roughly 21° apart in the night sky, the true distance between them is roughly 75,000 light-years. Until the discovery of the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy in 1994, they were the closest known galaxies to our own. The LMC lies about 160,000 light years away, while the SMC is around 200,000. The LMC is about twice the diameter of the SMC (14,000 ly and 7,000 ly respectively). For comparison, the Milky Way is about 100,000 ly across.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Canon EF 35mm f/2.0
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi / Kiss X2
Mounts: Vixen Atlux
Filters: Baader IR EOS
Dates: July 31, 2011
Locations: Tivoli / Namibia
Frames: 5×240″ ISO800
Integration: 0.3 hours
Darks: ~5

Autor: Hartmuth Kintzel

04 March 2014

We select the best works of amateur astrophotographers with details of equipment, shooting processing etc.

Large Magellanic Cloud

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a nearby galaxy, and a satellite of the Milky Way. At a distance of slightly less than 50 kiloparsecs (≈163,000 light-years), the LMC is the third closest galaxy to the Milky Way, with the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal (~ 16 kiloparsecs) and the putative Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy (~ 12.9 kiloparsecs, though its status as a galaxy is underdispute) lying closer to the center of the Milky Way. It has a mass equivalent to approximately 10 billion times the mass of the Sun (10 solar masses), making it roughly 1/100 as massive as the Milky Way, and a diameter of about 14,000 light-years (~ 4.3kpc). The LMC is the fourth largest galaxy in the Local Group, after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Milky Way, and theTriangulum Galaxy (M33).

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Nikon Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AI
Imaging cameras: Nikon D5000
Software: DeepSkyStacker, photoshop
Dates: Jan. 30, 2014
Frames: 60×15″
Integration: 0.2 hours

Autor: Leandro Fornaziero

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI

25 February 2014

We select the best works of amateur astrophotographers with details of equipment, shooting processing etc.

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