Archives for December 2020

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: 37x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32x1sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dawn

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency, bright moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 17.1 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

M79 is one of the few globular clusters in the northern hemisphere’s winter sky. Although relatively bright (Mv 7.7), M79 can be a bit of a challenge for backyard observers as it hides low in the south and is often obscured by skyglow. Interestingly, there is some speculation that M79, along with NGC 1851, 2298, and 2808, may not be a native of the Milky Way, but may be associated with the Canis Major dwarf galaxy which is currently passing very close to our galaxy.

This was the next to last test image taken with this new scope and was taken primarily to examine how well the telescope held collimation and guiding near the southern horizon, a location that is particularly challenging for my equipment. The telescope showed a little bit of focus shift after slewing to this location, but remained stable once it was reset. The collimation also remained stable showing no changes after slewing. Guiding also remained spot-on. In fact, it is guiding so well that I might introduce a bit of dithering between images, but that’s for next year. 🙂

M79 is currently well placed in the evening rising in the southeast as the sky darkens. The cluster is located in southern Lepus, about halfway between the ‘feet’ of Orion and the horizon.

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: 36x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32x1sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dawn

Average Light Pollution: 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: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

NGC 2419 is one of the most remote globular clusters orbiting the Milky Way at a distance of 300,000 light years out in the fringes of the globular cluster halo, that’s nearly twice as far as the Large Magellanic cloud! At one time it was believed that NGC 2419 was not gravitationally bound to the Milky Way and was nicknamed the Intergalactic Wanderer, however it has since been shown to be a member of the Milky Way family. Its great distance and the interstellar dust between here and there contributes to the cluster’s beautiful soft color.

NGC 2419 is currently well placed in the evening rising in the northeast as the sky darkens. It is located about 7 degrees west of Castor, a little bit farther than the angular distance between Castor and Pollux.

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: 31x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32x1sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dawn

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.2 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

This is NGC 1514, a planetary nebula in Taurus. Planetary nebula form from a star very late in its life when it becomes unstable and sheds its outer surface, forming an expanding bubble of gas. In this case the shell is very uneven and detailed images show that it includes several sweeping loops. It has been conjectured that the central star in this case is a double and that the expanding shell of gas from one star has been contorted by its close companion. Neat stuff.

NGC 1514 is currently well placed in the evening rising in the northeast as the sky darkens.

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: 21x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32x1sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dawn

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, fair transparency

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

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

NGC 2903 is a fairly bright (Mv 9.0) galaxy located just south of the head of Leo (the Lion). I first spotted this galaxy while star-hopping around Leo and Cancer. It is an easy target in an 8” scope where I was able to clearly see the core and bar. The sweeping arms are gorgeous in the photograph, but they are not visible from my backyard.

NGC 2903 is currently a morning object and is high overhead around 3:30am.

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: 44x120sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x120s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32x1sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dawn

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, very poor transparency, haze, moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 17.5 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

M46 is one of several relatively bright open clusters that grace the evening sky in winter. This particular cluster also sports a beautiful little planetary nebula (NGC 2438) in the foreground. This little nebula looks quite stunning in a modest size telescope with the rich open cluster in the background.

This image was a complete surprise. The evening was pretty rough with a thin veil of haze and bright moonlight and my primary goal was to continue a set of shake-down tests on this new scope. This was one of two images that I took to check out the stability of the optical train a low altitudes and it performed very well. Getting a fairly nice image was a bonus. I was particularly interested in getting a good look at the little planetary nebula. I’m pretty happy with how this turned out, but I’d still like to try this again when it is actually clear.

M46 is currently fairly well placed rising in the southeast around 8:30 local time.

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: 11x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32x1sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dawn

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

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

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

This is M109, a beautiful little spiral galaxy in Ursa Major located very near the bowl of the Big Dipper. M109 is an example of a barred galaxy, named for the bar of stars that pass through the galaxy’s core from upper left to lower right. Our own Milky Way galaxy is also believed to be a barred spiral much like M109. If you look closely you can also see two satellite galaxies of M109; UGC 6969 to the left and UGC 6940 near the bottom of this field.