Jupiter animation

The first Jupiter animation. Took me a good part of the evening. This animation shows the rotation of Jupiter and its four Galiean moons. I used 13 frames (5 minutes interval). Click on the picture at the left to see the animation)

NGC 2237; Rozette nebula - reprocessed

Today I'm trying to make some good use of my spare time. Found a copy of the program Nebulosity laying around. Thought it might come in handy so I tried to reproces NGC 2237. This nebula is a stellar nurcery at 5000 lightyears distance and measures about 130 lightyears across. The hot gas within the bright nebula is interlaced with wisps of dark interstellar clouds, making it one of the most beautifull objects in the sky.

Messier 13; Diamants in the sky

Last night I couldn't get any sleep - lucky for me the sky was so clear - made it also very cold! I was able to add 20 more frames to the image of 2010. This stack is a total of 40 frames. The total exposure time is allmost 4 hours. NGC 6207 is visible at the top right part of the frame. Even a tiny galaxy called IC4617 is visible (lies between both objects).

The tail of the whale (and the Hockeystick)

All those clear nights are getting pretty exhausting. :-)

Yesterday the telescope was pointed at an interacting group of galaxies; The Whale and the Hockeystick. These galaxies (including the small elliptical galaxy near the Whale) had close encounters in the past. This group lies at a distance of approx. 55 million lightyears. The total exposure time was just over two hours.

Messier 3 - Reloaded

A couple of weeks ago I did an attempt to image this cluster. Wasn't quite happy with the result. So I had a go at it again last night. This image consists of 25 frames, exposuretime 6 minutes each. The Canon 400D was set to ISO800. I used 15 darkframes to level out the background. No Flats nor Bias frames were used. This cluster has 500.000 stars and is one of the larges and brightests in our galaxy.

Moon on 12-03-2011

Was planing to go to bed but taking a last look of the sky made me change my mind - it was so clear and there was a beautifull moon. So the scope went out. And so did I :-).
This "overview" image is made with the Canon 400D attached to the Skywatcher 8" telescope. I took 50 frames and stack them with Registax. Did some touch-up with Photoshop.

Messier 63 - Sunflower galaxy

This should be one of the last images for a while. Getting so tired after all those clear nights :-).
This is M 63 - also known as the Sunflower galaxy. It lies in the constellation Canis Venatici at a distance of 37 million lightyears. Imagine, the light captured here was emmited 37.000.000 years ago. It belongs to the M 51 group -see an earlier post. This image consists of 37 frames with an exposure time 0f 5 minutes each. 8" Skywatcher Newton on an EQ6 Syntrek mount. Camera used; Canon 400D (Baader mod.)

NGC 4565 - The Needle galaxy

Last night was beautifull again. Clear skies almost all night! This is an object I wanted to image for a long time; NGC 4565. It is also called the Needle galaxy because of its slim shape, seen side on. It lies at a distance of 43 million lightyears in the constellation Coma Berenices. This image consists of 25 frames; exposure time 5 minutes each at ISO1600. 8" Skywatcher Newton telescope on an EQ6 Syntrek mount. Camera; Canon EOS400D (Baader mod.)

Messier 51 - colliding Galaxies

I seems like every spring somehowe I have to photograph M 51. Probably because it's one of the most beautifull objects in the northern sky. These are two colliding galaxies. This object lies at a distance of 23 million lightyears. Also note several tiny galaxies laying at even greater distances. This image is a stack of 30 frames with an exposure time of 4 minutes each. Canon 400D (Baader mod.) at ISO1600). 8" Skywatcher Newton on an EQ6 Syntrek.

The conditions weren't super yesterday. Although the sky was clear enough, moonlight was preventing long exposure times. This is Messier 3. It's a globular cluster and contains 500.000 stars. It lies at a distance of 34.000 lightyears. Thats 9.460.800.000.000 kilometers.
8" Skywatcher Newton - EQ6 Syntrek - Canon 400D

NGC 2237; Rozette nebula

After a couple of days feeling sick, I had to take advantage of some extreme clear skies. This is the Rozette nebula, an object I never tried before. I used 15 frames with an exposure time of 240 seconds each. The Canon 400D was set to ISO 1600. The image was stacked with DeepSkyStacker and the final touch-up was done with Photoshop. I guess it came out pretty well :-).

Comet Hartley 2010; The final animation.

Ever seen a comet flying? This is Comet Hartley, visible to the naked eye, late 2010. The animation consists of 30 frames with an exposure time of 5 minutes each and shows the movement of the comet in a time span of 2 and a half hours!

Messier 31; My Nemesis :-)

This is our closest galaxy neigbour; Messier 31. So it should be an easy object. But I find it so hard to get a decent result. There has to be something wrong here :-). This image from 2010, consists of 20 frames of 5 minutes each (Canon 400D - ISO800). I used the 8" newton Skywatcher to catch the light. If anyone has any tips, please let me know :-).

Orion nebula and the trapeziumstars

After restoring my Celestron C8, it was time to try some deepsky. The C8 is equiped with an ETX70 frome Meade, as guiding scope. The combination is placed on an EQ6 Syntrek mount. This image consists of 7 frames with an exposure time of 5 minutes each, at ISO1600 (Canon 400D - Baader mod.). The image is processed in PhotoShop. I used 5 layers to achieve the high dynamic range. Although some collimation on the telescope has to be done, the scope passed the first test.

Messier 78

Sometimes you have to make maximum advantage of the moment. Although it was very cold last night, I managed to make another picture. This time Messier 78 in Orion. In total 25 frames where used with an exposure time of 3 minutes. ISO 1600. Skywatcher 8" Newton - Canon 400D (Baader mod.)

Messier 97 and 108

Finaly clear skies again. Clear but cold. During the imaging session last night I went inside to warm up and put the telescope on remote control (via remote desktop). I used 15 frames of 3 minutes exposure time. Skywatcher 8" Newton on an EQ6 mount - Canon 400D (Baader mod.).

Elephants trunk

This one of those images that lurked on the harddisk, waiting to be processed. On the single frames there wasn't much to see. Had to pull those levels very hard to get any results. Skywatcher 8" Newton - Canon 400D - Baader mod. Exposure time 2,5 hours at ISO800.

Jupiter and Io oktober 4th, 2010

I hate those days with snow, rain and clouds. TTo kill of some time I worked on some images that where waiting for processing. This Jupiter ans on of its moons; Io. It's a stack of 815 frames processed with Registax. Telescope; 8" Skywatcher Newton; Philips SPC900 NC webcam.

Cocoon nebula

A result from last summer; IC5146 or the Cocoon nebula. This image also took over two hour exposure time. It was hard to make the dark nebula visible (notice the absence of stars below the nebula)

Flaming star nebula

Trying to get the more difficult objects lately.... This is IC405, a.k.a. the Flaming Star nebula. Took me over two hour of exposure time to get a resonable result. Skywatcher 8" Newton telescope - Canon EOS 400D (Baader mod.).

Solar eclips

Very fortunate to be able to photograph this event. The cloud cover broke open just after the sun rose.
Canon EOS 350D with a Tamron 70-300 lens (at 300mm); 1/500 sec. at f11.