Telescope: ES Comet Hunter MN6 at f/4.8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Baader modified Nikon 610

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

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

Exposure: 19x240sec, ISO 400, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 64×1/5sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, good transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.7

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

The Crescent Nebula is an emission nebula, usually a cloud of diffuse interstellar hydrogen set aglow by hot young stars born within it. However, in this case the nebula was made by a single, massive, fiercely energetic Wolf-Rayet star at its core. Some 250,000-400,000 years ago this star ejected its outer surface while it was a red giant, forming the expanding shell of the nebula. As the star collapsed it ejected a fast moving solar wind that is pushing against the slower moving gas in the shell forming a shock front giving the nebula its distinctive shape. The Crescent Nebula lies among the rich star fields in Cygnus and almost gets lost in the Milky Way. The five stars forming a “W” across the northern edge of the nebula makes a handy reference for locating this field visually or with a video system.

NGC 6888 is currently well placed in the northeast late in the evening and is high overhead after midnight.

Telescope: ES Comet Hunter MN6 at f/4.8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Baader modified Nikon 610

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

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

Exposure: 10x120sec, ISO 400, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 64×1/5sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

M16 is actually the cluster in the upper right section of the nebula. The nebula is very subtle and can be difficult to see visually, though it shows well under dark skies. The name, the Eagle Nebula, comes from the dark lanes in the middle which resembles an eagle grasping a fish. These dust lanes are also the famous ‘pillars of creation’ imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula is a beautiful expanse of interstellar hydrogen set aglow from young stars embedded within it. M16 lies in the Sagittarius-Carina arm of the Milky Way, the next arm inwards from ours towards the core of our galaxy, so you are looking across the gap between adjacent spiral arms.

M17 is currently well placed in the southeast late in the evening and is high in the south after midnight.

NGC 7000 is part of a vast region of interstellar hydrogen near the plane of the Milky Way just east of the bright star Deneb. Note how the nebula appears to host a rich star field while the dark regions to the left and right appear to be relatively sparse. This shows that the nebula is actually in the background and the dark regions that give the nebula is characteristic shape are lanes of dust in the foreground blocking the light from the distant stars. The northern regions of the nebula include two open clusters; Cr 428 to the upper left and NGC 6996 to the upper right. The nebula to the right is the eastern section of IC 5070, The Pelican Nebula.

The North America Nebula is currently well placed in the northeast late in the evening and is high overhead at dawn.

Telescope: ES Comet Hunter MN6 at f/4.8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Baader modified Nikon 610

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

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

Exposure: 44x60sec, ISO 400, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 64×1/5sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, fair transparency, low altitude

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard Nikon, Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, 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. Note the little globular cluster NGC 6544 to the lower left.

M8 is currently fairly well placed rising in the southeast late in the evening and is above the southern horizon during the early morning hours.

Telescope: ES Comet Hunter MN6 at f/4.8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Baader modified Nikon 610

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

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

Exposure: 2x(16x240sec), ISO 400, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 64×1/5sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, good transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.6

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

The Veil Nebula complex is the remnants of a supernova explosion that occurred between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. At a distance of 2400 light years, this makes the nebula about 130 light years across. The various regions of the nebula marks the boundary of the shock front from the explosion expanding at a rate of 170 km/sec (106 miles/sec) and now spans a region nearly 3 degrees across in Cygnus. It is comprised of NGC 6992 & 6995 (left), NGC 6979 (upper right), and NGC 6960 (lower right).

The 2 panels of this mosaic were obtained on a single evening as part of a test of using relatively long exposures and narrow-band imaging using the Radian Triad Ultra with the Nikon 610a. The results are encouraging on both counts and bodes well for using this camera over the warm months of summer.

The Veil Nebula is currently well placed rising in the northeast late in the evening and is high overhead as the first blush of dawn tints the morning sky.

Telescope: ES Comet Hunter MN6 at f/4.8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Baader modified Nikon 610

Filter: 2” Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

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

Exposure: 16x60sec, ISO 400, 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

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: Too many clouds to get a good reading

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

This field is centered on Stephenson-1, and open cluster in Lyra near the beautiful yellow star Delta(2) Lyra, located just to the southeast of the brilliant Vega. Delta(2) was born a mere 75 million years ago as a fiercely hot blue star, but it burned through its original hydrogen quickly and is now a swollen red giant with a dead helium core. This star enormous, with a diameter of 242 million miles, 1.3 times the diameter of the Earth’s orbit! It’s beautiful red color is clearly visible through a small telescope and shows well in this image. To the upper right of Delta(2) is the wonderfully blue Delta(1). These two stars share the field with a sparse, triangular shaped open cluster of moderately bright stars called Stephenson-1. This cluster is easy to spot with binoculars and places the Delta(2) and Delta(1) stars in a wonderful field when viewed through a small telescope.

Stephenson-1 is currently well placed rising in the northeast early in the evening.

Telescope: None

Camera: Baader modified Nikon D5300, Nikkor 24mm ED, f/1.4

Filter: Optolong Clear Sky Filter (light pollution filter)

Guide scope: None

Exposure: 2x5sec, ISO 200, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: Synthetic

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

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.6 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

The Summer Triangle is formed by Vega (top), Deneb (left), and Altair (lower right), and includes a section of the Summer Milky Way that is a joy to sweep with binoculars or a small telescope. This simple, 2-frame stack was part of a test sequence using a Nikkor 24mm ED lens and a simple tripod for wide field imaging from my backyard. I plan on using this lens for wide field constellation and meteor photography.

The Summer Triangle rises in the east and northeast during the early evening and is visible all night long.

Telescope: Celestron C9.25 @ f/10, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 168c, -20C

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ASI290MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 48x240sec saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240sec saved as FITS

Flats: 64x10sec, LED tracing tablet

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, fair transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.6 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: SharpCap Pro, 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 well placed in the northeast as twilight darkens and is visible for most of the night.

Telescope: Celestron C9.25 @ f/10, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 168c, -10C

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ASI290MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 15x120sec saved as FITS

Darks: 32x120sec saved as FITS

Flats: 32x10sec, LED tracing tablet

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, fair transparency

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

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

Visually, the Ring appears as a ghostly smoke ring about the size of Jupiter. The nebula itself is not actually a ring, but more likely a torus or a short hour-glass, we just happen to the looking down the long axis, giving the nebula its characteristic shape.

M57 is currently well placed rising in the northeast as twilight darkens and is visible for most of the night.

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

Camera: QHY 168c, -10: Deepsky Default; Gain: 4, Offset 30

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm, ASI290MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 5x240sec saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240sec saved as FITS

Flats: 32×0.25sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, poor transparency, clouds

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

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

What I found remarkable about this image is that it is the product of only 5 subs! This particular evening unexpectedly turned cloudy and I was able to salvage only 5 usable source images. Pretty neat!

M104, the Sombrero Galaxy, is a barred spiral that we view from with 6 degrees of edge-on. The galaxy shows a prominent dust lane and a large central bulge that gives it an interesting 3D appearance and its characteristic shape. The galaxy itself is fairly large with an estimated diameter of 130,000 light years and hosts a super-massive black hole in its core with mass on the order of 1 billion suns. Visually, M104 is relatively condensed and bright with the dust lane forming a dark boundary across the southern edge of the core.

M104 is currently well placed in the south as the sky darkens.