Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

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

Exposure: 27x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32×0.2sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

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

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

NGC 2841 is a delicate, tightly wound spiral galaxy in western Ursa Major. Like many galaxies, only the core is readily visible from suburban skies, but even that can be quite beautiful. As I relax at the eyepiece and study the field the core takes on a soft glow resembling pearl; the combined radiance of millions of suns.

NGC is currently well placed high in the northeast during the early evening high overhead before midnight.

Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

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

Exposure: 67x120sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x120s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32×0.2sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

This is M13, the Great Cluster in Hercules. Also in the picture is the galaxy NGC 6207 (Mv 11.6) in the upper left corner, and about halfway between NGC 6207 and M13 is the tiny galaxy IC 4617 (Mv 15.2) . If you look carefully at M13 you can see a dust lane to the lower left of the cluster. This is a very unusual feature for globular clusters and it is not clear if this is actually associated with M13 or simply lies in the line of sight with the cluster.

M13 currently rises in the northeast late in the evening and is high overhead at dawn.

Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

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

Exposure: 24x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32×0.2sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.1 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

NGC 3115 is an edge-on spiral galaxy in Sextans. It’s a type S0 lenticular galaxy; a flat disk with a central bulge, but with almost no visible spiral structure such as the usual prominent spiral arms. Another feature that is notably absent is a significant dust lane. NGC 3115 has apparently consumed nearly all of its interstellar matter and star birth has come to a stop and the galaxy is composed primarily of old stars. These unique features gives the galaxy its characteristic shape and nickname; the Spindle Galaxy. NGC 3115 is one of two galaxies known as the Spindle, the other being NGC 5866 in Draco.

NGC 3115 is a relatively small, but fairly easy visible target and is currently well low in the southeast during the early evening.

Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

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

Exposure: 17x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32×0.2sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

NGC 2683 is a moderately bright, nearly edge-on spiral galaxy in Lynx. The relatively bright inner core is a fairly easy visual target for modest size telescopes while the faint outer expanse becomes visible in long exposure images. This is the first in a series of images that I hope to take of galaxies that are a bit off of the beaten path in the coming months using either this 12” LX850 or my trusty SN10. It will be fun seeing which performs better; the high resolution of the LX850 or the fast optics of the SN10.

NGC 2683 is currently well placed high in the northeast during the early evening.

Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

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

Exposure: 15x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32×0.2sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

M51 is a beautiful face-on spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, just south of Alkaid, the bright star that lies at the eastern end of the Big Dipper’s handle. The spiral arm that appears to connect M51 to the nearby companion (NGC 5195) is a bit of an illusion. The companion actually lies behind M51, and if you look closely you can see that the spiral arm is silhouetted against the background galaxy. Modern observations with radio telescope and computer modeling suggest that the companion has made at least two passes through the main disk of M51. During the first, it approached M51 from behind, passed through M51, swung around in an orbit that took it in front of M51, then back through the disk where it lies now behind M51. These passes set off bursts of star formation that gives the arms of M51 their beautiful blue color.

Under dark skies the spiral structure of M51 shows quite well, but from my light polluted backyard all I can see are the cores of the two galaxies. On this particular evening a band of clouds passed overhead about an hour after I started this sequence and I lost nearly all of the source images. Still, the result is very pretty. M51 is currently well placed rising in the northeast during the early evening.

Telescope: Meade SN6 Comet Tracker at f/3.6, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Full Spectrum Modified Nikon D5300, Baader Mk III MPCC

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

Guide scope: Orion 50mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini

Exposure: 18x120sec, ISO 200, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32x60sec, LED tracing tablet covered with 3 layers of muslin

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

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 17.0 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

NGC 2359 (Thor’s Helmet) is similar to the Bubble Nebula in Cassiopeia (NGC 7635) in that it is a bubble blown out in the interstellar medium from the fierce solar wind of a Wolf-Rayet star, an extremely massive pre-supernova giant. These stars are very rare, extremely hot (45,000 – 90,000F), and expel their outer layers at very high speeds. The spherical shell is the shock-front formed as the expanding gas pushes against the surrounding emission nebula.

NGC 2359 is currently well placed rising in the southeast during the early evening.

Telescope: Meade SN6 Comet Tracker at f/3.6, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Full Spectrum Modified Nikon D5300, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Orion 50mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini

Exposure: 15x60sec, ISO 200, 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, bright moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.0 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

M38 is the westernmost of three relatively bright open clusters in Auriga, the others being M36 and M37. M38 is the largest of the three and is a wonderful object in small telescopes. Just to the south is the smaller and fainter open cluster NGC 1907.

M38 is currently well placed high in the northeast during the early evening.

Telescope: Meade SN6 Comet Tracker at f/3.6, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Full Spectrum Modified Nikon D5300, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Orion 50mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini

Exposure: 16x60sec, ISO 200, 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, bright moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.0 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

M37 is the easternmost of three relatively bright open clusters in Auriga, the others being M36 and M38. M37 is the richest of the three and appears as a nice patch of stardust in small telescopes. In larger telescopes it blossoms in to a grand sight.

M37 is currently well placed high in the northeast during the early evening.

Telescope: Meade SN6 Comet Tracker at f/3.6, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Full Spectrum Modified Nikon D5300, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Orion 50mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini

Exposure: 17x60sec, ISO 200, 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, bright moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.0 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

M36 is one of three relatively bright open clusters in Auriga, nestled in between M37 to the east and M38 to the west. M36 is the smallest of the three and is a tad sparse, but it does very well in small telescopes and is one of my favorite stops with my little ETX-60. If you look closely you will see a little puff of nebula on the right edge of this field; a beautiful, small, red emission nebula, NGC 1931.

M36 is currently well placed high in the northeast during the early evening.

Telescope: Meade SN6 Comet Tracker at f/3.6, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Full Spectrum Modified Nikon D5300, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Orion 50mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini

Exposure: 70x60sec, ISO 200, 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

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

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

This is M13, the Great Cluster in Hercules. Also in the picture is the galaxy NGC 6207 (Mv 11.6) in the upper left corner, and about halfway between NGC 6207 and M13 is the tiny galaxy IC 4617 (Mv 15.2). Globular clusters are relics of the ancient universe and M13 is no exception with an estimated age of 12 billion years. Their great age is an indication of their unusual stability. One consequence of this stability is that any heavy elements that their stars have made remains buried in their cores and the cluster itself has little, if any, interstellar dust. M13 is one of the few globular clusters with a dust-like feature that can be seen as a dark lane extending to the lower left of the core. It is possible that this dust lane is not really associated with M13, but instead is an independent object that just happens to be in front of the cluster.

M13 is currently a morning object, rising in the northeast after midnight and is high overhead at dawn.