Telescope: Meade SN10 at f/4, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 268c, Mode 0, Gain 30, Offset 30, -10C

Filter: 2” Radian Triad Ultra Hb, OIII, Ha, SII filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm, ASI290MM mini, PHD

Exposure: 32x300sec, saved as RAW16/FITS

Darks: 40×300 sec

Flats: 64×2 sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, fair transparency, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: SharpCap Pro, Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

This is the iconic Horsehead Nebula in Orion. The Horsehead itself is the dark nebula, Barnard 33, silhouetted against the red emission nebula, IC 434. To the left is the blue reflection nebula NGC 2023. To the lower right is the beautiful Sigma Orionis multiple star system. It is interesting to note how the right side of this image shows an abundance of faint background stars while the left does not. This is due to an expanse of interstellar dust forming a veil blocking the light from the distant stars on the left side of this field. This is another excellent example of how well the Radian Triad Ultra cuts through challenging sky conditions. I have never seen the horsehead nebula visually from my backyard even with my 16.5” and I have only glimpsed it from our dark sky site.

IC 434 is located just south of the bright star Alnitak, the easternmost star in Orion’s belt, and rises due east around 11pm and is high in the south during the early morning.

Telescope: Meade SN10 at f/4, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 268c, Mode 0, Gain 30, Offset 30, -10C

Filter: 2” Radian Triad Ultra Hb, OIII, Ha, SII filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm, ASI290MM mini, PHD

Exposure: 19x300sec, saved as RAW16/FITS

Darks: 32×300 sec

Flats: 64×2 sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, fair transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.3 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: SharpCap Pro, Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

NGC 7293 is one of those wonderful objects that hides in plain sight. It is so large (about half the size of the full moon) that its light is spread out over a large area, making it very difficult to see and all but invisible from my red-zone backyard. This is a good example of how a modern multiband narrowband filter can punch through challenging sky conditions. The Helix appears so large as it is one of the closest planetary nebula with a distant of only 650 light years. It spans a diameter of about 2.5 light years and is relatively young with an age estimated to be about 10,600 years.

NGC 7293 is currently rising in the southwest at dusk.

Telescope: Meade SN10 at f/4, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 268c, Mode 0, Gain 30, Offset 30, -10C

Filter: 2” Radian Triad Ultra Hb, OIII, Ha, SII filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm, ASI290MM mini, PHD

Exposure: 32x300sec, saved as RAW16/FITS

Darks: 32×300 sec

Flats: 64×2 sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, fair transparency, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.5 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: SharpCap Pro, Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

This image shows the giant spiral galaxy M33 as viewed through a Triad Ultra narrowband filter. This filter suppresses the light from broadband sources like stars and reflection nebula while passing the light from narrowband sources such as planetary and emission nebula. In this image the stars of M33 are dimmed while the soft glow of emission nebula are highlighted. These are principally star formation regions sprinkled along the spiral arms. Several of the larger and brighter regions can be seen visually and even have their own NGC and IC numbers such as NGC 604 to the upper left. It’s sooo neat observing deepsky objects within a nearby galaxy!

M33 is currently rising in the southeast at dusk. (Photo credit: John Graham, 10-4-2022)

Telescope: Meade SN10 at f/4, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 268c, Mode 0, Gain 30, Offset 30, -10C

Filter: 2” Radian Triad Ultra Hb, OIII, Ha, SII filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm, ASI290MM mini, PHD

Exposure: 16x300sec, saved as RAW16/FITS

Darks: 32×300 sec

Flats: 64×2 sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, fair transparency, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: SharpCap Pro, Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

This is NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula in Cassiopeia, with just a bit of the open cluster M52 in the upper left corner. The Bubble is almost the inverse of a planetary nebula; rather than an expanding shell of gas shed from a dying star, the Bubble is formed from the intense radiation of a hot blue star pushing out a sphere in the surrounding gas, making an empty bubble and setting the hydrogen aglow with a beautiful red color.

NGC 7635 is currently high in the southeast at dusk.

Telescope: Meade SN10 at f/4, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 268c, Mode 0, Gain 30, Offset 30, -10C

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm, ASI290MM mini, PHD

Exposure: 16x180sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32×180 sec

Flats: 64×1 sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, good transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.7 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: SharpCap Pro, Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

NGC 7006 is one of two small of two globular clusters in Delphinus, the other being NGC 6934. Although relatively small and faint (Mv 10.6), NGC 7006 is very dense as a class 1 globular. This is one of the farthest globular clusters within easy reach of amateur telescopes; 135,000 light years from us and 127,000 light years from the galactic center. Visually, I’m not sure that I’ve ever resolved this cluster much more than a gray ghost, so it was very rewarding to see it nicely resolved in this image.

NGC 7006 was featured in the October 2015 issue of Sky & Telescope in Ken Hewitt-White’s Going Deep article ‘Small Globular, Tiny Galaxies.’ Many of the galaxies described in this article can be found in this image. Kinda cool.

NGC 7006 is currently high in the southeast at dusk.

Telescope: Meade 10” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 367c Pro, GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ASI120MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 28x180sec, gain 2800, offset 50, -10C, saved as Raw16/FITS

Darks: 32x180sec, gain 2800, offset 50, -10C, saved as Raw16/FITS

Flats: 64×0.250sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, smoke, haze

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: SharpCap Pro, Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M15, a bright, condensed globular cluster in a relatively lonely stretch of sky in Pegasus. It is one of the oldest known globular clusters with an estimated age of 13.2 billion years and the first globular cluster found to have a planetary nebula (Pease 1), one of only four planetary nebula associated with a globular cluster. M15 is also one of the most condensed globular cluster and at some point in the distant past it experienced a core collapse that may have heralded the formation of a black hole in its nucleus.

M15 is currently well placed in the southeast as the sky darkens.

Telescope: Meade 10” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 367c Pro, GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ASI120MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 26x180sec, gain 2800, offset 50, -10C, saved as Raw16/FITS

Darks: 32x180sec, gain 2800, offset 50, -10C, saved as Raw16/FITS

Flats: 64×0.250sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, smoke, haze

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.0

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: SharpCap Pro, Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M2 is a big, beautiful globular cluster that is well placed in the eastern sky in late summer and early fall. It is an easy target for a small telescope. Under dark skies it can even be glimpsed without a telescope or even binoculars. M2 is about 37,500 light years away and lies beyond the galactic center. Like most globular clusters M2 is an ancient relic of the early universe with an estimated age of about 13 billion years.

M2 is currently well placed in the eastern sky during the early evening.

Telescope: Meade 10” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ASI120MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 24x120sec, ISO 800, saved as Raw

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/50sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, fair transparency, light haze

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.7

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M27, the Dumbbell nebula, is an expanding shell of gas that was ejected from a sun-like star as it exhausted its hydrogen fuel. Swollen into a red giant, the star shed its outer shell while its core collapsed into a white dwarf. Fierce UV radiation from the collapsed core sets the surrounds gas aglow with the blue/green light of doubly ionized oxygen. The diameter of the nebula is about 1 light-year with an estimated age of 9,800 years. Located between Sagitta and Cygnus, M27 is fairly easy to find with a small telescope. Visually, it shows two lobes connected by a neck of nebulosity, giving the nebula its characteristic dumbbell shape.

M27 is currently high in the east after sunset.

Telescope: Meade 10” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra, GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Orion 50mm, ASI120MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 26x60sec, ISO 800, saved as Raw

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32x1sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, haze, clouds

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.1

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M2 is a big, beautiful globular cluster that is well placed in the eastern sky in late summer and early fall. It is an easy target for a small telescope. Under dark skies it can even be glimpsed without a telescope or even binoculars. M2 is about 37,500 light years away and lies beyond the galactic center. Like most globular clusters M2 is an ancient relic of the early universe with an estimated age of about 13 billion years.

M2 is currently well placed in the eastern sky during the early evening.