Telescope: Light Switch 8 @ f/10, altaz mode

Camera: Stock Canon 600D, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 23x10sec, ISO 3200, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/10sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, windy

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M56 is a relatively small, dense globular cluster that tends to get a bit lost against the background Milky Way. I have always found this to be a somewhat challenging object visually (at least from my backyard) but it blossoms beautifully with a large telescope.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques and the last image taken with my Light Switch 8 at its native f/10 focal length using my stock 600D. I increased the gain from my usual ISO 1600 to ISO 3200 for this one and it was nice to see how the healthy dose of natural dithering smoothed out the noise fairly well. Simple is good.

M56 is currently in the west at sunset.

Telescope: Light Switch 8 @ f/10, altaz mode

Camera: Stock Canon 600D, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 17x10sec + 20x15sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, windy

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: 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.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques. This is one of a short series of images taken with my Light Switch 8 at its native f/10 focal length. It was a bit windy while I was taking this image set so I combined images taken with 10 second and 15 second exposures to get as much as I could. This is a good example of how every image doesn’t have to be an over-the-top Hubble runner up. This is more about being able to see deepsky objects from my backyard with fairly basic kit.

M27 is currently in the southwest at sunset.

Telescope: Light Switch 8 @ f/10, altaz mode

Camera: Stock Canon 600D, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 39x10sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, windy

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.3

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: 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. This is supported by the fact the M15 is an x-ray source.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques. This is one of a short series of images taken with my Light Switch 8 at its native f/10 focal length.

M15 is currently well placed in the south at sunset.

Telescope: Light Switch 8 @ f/10, altaz mode

Camera: Stock Canon 600D, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 38x10sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, windy

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.3

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: 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.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques and the first image taken with my Light Switch 8.

M2 is currently well placed in the south at sunset.

Telescope: LXD75 SC8 @ f/6.3, LX65 mount, altaz mode

Camera: Baader modified Canon 600Da, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 38x10sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.6

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

NGC7789 is a large and wonderfully rich open cluster located just west of Cassiopeia. It was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1782 and is sometimes called Caroline’s Rose. It is a delicate object in small to moderate scopes, but blossoms into a rich field in large telescopes. When viewing this cluster I like to spend some time with the field. At first all I will see are the foreground stars and perhaps a soft glow in the background. As my eye adjusts, the first faint stars appear, and then it slowly blooms into a beautiful patch of stardust.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques. This is the second time that I imaged this cluster using this system. The sky conditions were much better on this evening so I decided to give it another shot and I’m very happy with the results. Not bad for 10 second exposures with an altaz mount.

Caroline’s Rose is currently well placed in the northeast at sunset.

M30 – Globular Cluster in Capricornus

Telescope: LXD75 SC8 @ f/6.3, LX65 mount, altaz mode

Camera: Baader modified Canon 600Da, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 31x10sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M30 is a relatively small, bright, condensed globular that makes a fine target for small telescopes. In larger scopes it resolves nicely into a tiny patch of stardust.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques. This is a good example of a patrol image; a quick’n simple image taken just to see what a target looks like. Looking at mjy notes this is only the 3^rd time that I have imaged M30, so for me it lies a bit off of the beaten path. I have since visited it several time with my visual gear and it makes a fine target while star-hopping across Capricornus.

M30 is currently well placed to the lower left of Jupiter in the evening sky.

Telescope: LXD75 SC8 @ f/6.3, LX65 mount, altaz mode

Camera: Baader modified Canon 600Da, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 38x10sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

Located less than 5 degrees from the north celestial pole NGC 188 is one of the most northern objects in the New General Catalog. It is also one of the oldest open clusters known with an estimated age on the order of 5 billion years. Open clusters usually slowly disperse as they interact with other stars in the surrounding galaxy. NGC 188, however, lies above the galactic plane where it is fairly isolated. Composed almost entirely of 12 and 13^th magnitude yellow giants, I find this cluster to be quite delicate, requiring very good transparency to be visible in an 8” telescope. Under these conditions it blossoms into a rich field of tiny pinpoints of light on the edge of visibility and it is quite beautiful. In a larger telescope it becomes easier to see, but remains quite faint and subtle.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques. This is a good example of a target located in a region of the sky where an altaz mount will show a significant amount of field rotation and tracking can get a bit tricky, but this system still performed quite well.

NGC 188 is currently well placed to the upper right of Polaris in the evening sky.

Telescope: LXD75 SC8 @ f/6.3, LX65 mount, altaz mode

Camera: Baader modified Canon 600Da, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 36x10sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.3

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M20, the Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius is one of a series of nebula that grace the summer Milky Way. The red is a tenuous cloud of interstellar hydrogen set aglow by stars embedded in it, the blue is dust in the background reflecting starlight, and the dark lanes are vast streamers of dust in the foreground. Being near the Milky Way this field is crowded with faint stars, though the density of stars is uneven. The dark regions show areas of dust blocking the light from the faint distant stars in the background while the brighter regions are relatively clear avenues into the deep galaxy beyond.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques. M20 is one of several examples of nebula that are utterly invisible from my backyard, even in my 16.5”, but are within easy reach of modest imaging equipment. For me, imaging is primarily an extension of visual observing and while the product is a photograph, the thrill is observing targets that are otherwise invisible.

M20 is currently low in the southwest at sunset.

Telescope: LXD75 SC8 @ f/6.3, LX65 mount, altaz mode

Camera: Baader modified Canon 600Da, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 36x10sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.3

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M8, the Lagoon Nebula, is a large bright emission nebula in Sagittarius. It is an easy binocular object and just keeps getting better with larger telescopes. Visually it does look like a lagoon, but photographically it blossoms out into a beautiful red rose. The color comes from diffuse interstellar hydrogen set aglow by stars embedded within it.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques. Diffuse objects like this emission nebula are proving to be a bit of a challenge, but still rewarding.

M8 is currently low in the southwest at sunset.

Telescope: LXD75 SC8 @ f/6.3, LX65 mount, altaz mode

Camera: Baader modified Canon 600Da, interval timer

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 28x10sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.3

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M55 is a large, relatively sparse, class 11 globular cluster in Sagittarius. Its low surface brightness and far southern declination makes it something of a challenge in small telescopes from mid northern latitudes, but it lies to the east of the Milky Way which helps to improve the contrast with the background sky. In a large telescope it blossoms into a soft patch of stardust.

This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques. This is a nice example of going after a relatively challenging target under challenging conditions.

M55 is currently low in the south at sunset.