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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.

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: 46x30sec, 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

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

M22 is one of several gorgeous globular clusters in and near Sagittarius and is one of the gems of the summer sky in the northern hemisphere. With an estimated distance of 10,600 light years it is one of the closer globulars in our galaxy. In many ways M22 should outshine M13, but it can get a bit lost among the stars near the Sagittarius star clouds and its light is dimmed by dust along the galactic plane. Still, it is large, bright, and easily resolves into this beautiful glow of stardust even in a modest telescope. In a large telescope it blossoms into a glorious sight.

M22 is currently well placed in the southern sky during the early evening.

Telescope: Astro-Tech 8” f/8 Ritchey-Chretien, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 367c Pro, 0C, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini, PHD2

Exposure: 33x300sec, gain 2800, offset 50, saved as FITS, dithered every 2 images

Darks: 32, 0C, gain 2800, offset 50, saved as FITS

Flats: 64x500ms, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.6

Stacking: Average, 1 sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

This is NGC 7635 is almost the inverse of a planetary nebula. Planetaries are expanding shells of gas shed from a dying star. The Bubble is formed from the intense radiation a hot blue star pushing out a spherical void in the surrounding gas and setting the hydrogen aglow with a beautiful red color. The Bubble looks like a delicate Christmas ornament on an unimaginable scale.

NGC 7635 rises in the northeast in the early evening and is high overhead at dawn.

Telescope: Astro-Tech 8” f/8 Ritchey-Chretien, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 367c Pro, 0C, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini, PHD2

Exposure: 21x300sec, gain 2800, offset 50, saved as FITS, dithered every 2 images

Darks: 32, 0C, gain 2800, offset 50, saved as FITS

Flats: 64x500ms, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.6

Stacking: Average, 1 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.

It took a couple of nights to get this new camera settled in, but I think that I’m close. There’s a little bit of tweaking to do yet, bit I’m starting to get the results that I was hoping for.

M27 is currently well placed in the northeast in the early evening and is high in the south after midnight.

Telescope: Astro-Tech 8” f/8 Ritchey-Chretien, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Full Spectrum Modified Nikon D810, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini, PHD2

Exposure: 26x120sec, ISO 200, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/20sec, 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, 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 as seen from my backyard, but it blossoms beautifully with a camera.

M56 is currently placed high in the northeast at dusk. (Photo credit: John Graham, 5–30-2022)

Telescope: Astro-Tech 8” f/8 Ritchey-Chretien, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Full Spectrum Modified Nikon D810, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini, PHD2

Exposure: 43x60sec, ISO 200, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/20sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.1

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard Nikon, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M62 is one of several small globular clusters that are well placed for observing during the early evening hours this time of year. M62 appears small in part due to its great distance; 25,000 light years from Earth and 5,500 light years from the galactic core. It is actually one of the larger clusters in the Milky Way with an estimated mass of 1.2 million suns. Visually, M62 appears a bit lop-sided with the core shifted off-center to the east giving it a comet-like appearance. This may be a result of the cluster’s close proximity to the galactic core.

M62 is currently placed low in the south at dusk.

Telescope: Astro-Tech 8” f/8 Ritchey-Chretien, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 367c Pro, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

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

Exposure: 17x180sec, gain 2000, offset 50, 0C, saved as FITS

Darks: 32×180sec, gain 2000, offset 50, 0C, saved as FITS

Flats: 64×0.5sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

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

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 17.2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

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

M9 is a relatively bright modestly condensed (Class 8) globular cluster located 3 degrees to the southeast of Sabik in Ophiuchus. It is relatively close to the galactic core being about 5,500 light years from the galactic core and 26,000 light years from Earth. It is interesting to note the dark lane cutting across the lower right corner of this field as compared to the star rich field to the upper left indicating a swath of dust along the Milky Way blocking the light from the distant star fields beyond.

This was the first test image taken with my new to me QHY 367C Pro full-frame camera. This camera uses the same sensor as my full spectrum modified Nikon D810 and it will be interesting to compare the two. As it turns out this image was taken at a relatively low gain. I used a fairly conservative gain of 2000 for this image as compared to the unity gain for the 367 of 2800that I used here. It has also been a long time since I previously used SharpCap Pro for deepsky imaging. I have a few adjustments to make as I get familiar with this new camera, but this is a good start, particularly given the poor sky conditions and bright moonlight.

M9 is currently well placed in the southeast at sunset.