🔭 IC2220, Toby Jug Nebula by
This unusual and difficult to process (for me 😵💫) bipolar cloud of gas and dust resides in the southern hemisphere in the constellation Carina.Also know as the Toby Jug Nebula, IC2220 lies 1200 light years from my backyard and is a reflection Nebula made up of Star HR3126 which is an “end of life ”red giant.”A Toby Jug is and old English drinking vessel.
wsgThis unusual and difficult to process (for me 😵💫) bipolar cloud of gas and dust resides in the southern hemisphere in the constellation Carina.Also know as the Toby Jug Nebula, IC2220 lies 1200 light years from my backyard and is a reflection Nebula made up of Star HR3126 which is an “end of life ”red giant.”A Toby Jug is and old English drinking vessel.
🔭 Gassendi Crater by
Gassendi crater from this morning. A collaboration with Ken Lo (HK) while he visited for the weekend. 24" Dob, 3x ES, IR642 at 8100mm f/13.5. Average seeing.
tw__astroGassendi crater from this morning. A collaboration with Ken Lo (HK) while he visited for the weekend. 24" Dob, 3x ES, IR642 at 8100mm f/13.5. Average seeing.
🔭 Jones 1 (PK 104-29.1) in HOO w/ RGB Stars by
Not to be confused with Jones-Emberson 1, this is a pretty faint planetary nebula. I’m not thrilled with the sky brightness. I need to rework this one at some point — maybe tomorrow, but for now this is what I’ve come up with. It’s a combination of Ha and OIII, but the OIII is really dominant here. Ha only really appears in a wispy filament below the PN.ETA: I just realized that a quasar is to the lower left of Jones 1: RX J23360+3023. I can’t find much about it, but noticed it when I saw a fellow member’s image highlighting it.https://app.astrobin.com/i/270104?r=E
shirejediNot to be confused with Jones-Emberson 1, this is a pretty faint planetary nebula. I’m not thrilled with the sky brightness. I need to rework this one at some point — maybe tomorrow, but for now this is what I’ve come up with. It’s a combination of Ha and OIII, but the OIII is really dominant here. Ha only really appears in a wispy filament below the PN.ETA: I just realized that a quasar is to the lower left of Jones 1: RX J23360+3023. I can’t find much about it, but noticed it when I saw a fellow member’s image highlighting it.https://app.astrobin.com/i/270104?r=E
🔭 NGC 1055, An Unusual Edge-On Spiral in Cetus by
I can be pretty lazy about selecting new targets. I don’t maintain a list of potential targets, though I sometimes have a few interesting objects bouncing around in the back of my mind. More often than not, I finish a target and then scratch my head over what I want to go after next. So, when @Adam Block published his excellent image of NGC 1055, I was finishing up another target and it caught my attention. I love galaxies with interesting features and the extended halo around this galaxy fit the bill. Not only that, it was high in the sky. I have to admit that I feel a little cheap following on Adam’s heals but still, I wondered what I could do with it and as Adam implied, it’s not a trivial target.NGC 1055 is a nearly edge-on, type SBb spiral galaxy located at a distance of about 52 Mly in the constellation of Cetus. It has an apparent size of 7.6’ x 2. 7’ and an apparent magnitude of 11.4. The extended halo is interesting but so is the detail along the central dust lanes. If you look carefully, you can see evidence of the spiral structure in this extreme edge-on view.I could see right away that the challenge for my scope would be the two bright stars, HD16835 and HD16786, that have magnitudes of 6.80 and 6.68. These two stars are very close to the galaxy and I knew right away that scattered light and halos from these two stars would be a significant problem. The cropped image below shows the problem. The bight colorful halos and scattered light almost certainly come from strays created by the field flattener in my telescope.📷 NGC 1055 Full Field.jpgRather than trying to salvage the bright star images, I decided to go for a tighter crop on the galaxy itself. Of course, some of that stray light still extends into the field no matter how tight the crop. So what to do? I tried a few different strategies but settled on simply using the DynamicBackExtraction tool in PI. DBE allows manual selection of sample points so I added a large number of points in the stray light regions. I then use a high order fit (5) to insure a reasonable fit to the odd signal profile and bingo! DBE did a pretty good job of flattening the background. There is a still tiny bit of the glow remaining but it’s minor and within what you’d expect for such bright stars located just outside of the field. I had to do a little hand work to remove the diffraction spikes that extended all the way through the image as well. Overall, I was pretty happy with the result. It’s a tighter crop than I would normally choose but the data supports it—as long as you don’t get overly enthusiastic about pixel peeping. Remember, NGC 1055 is a small object and this is a pretty tight crop of the full field.Finally, you might wonder why in the world I spent over 82 hours on this thing. First, the seeing was generally pretty poor while I was on this object. I used to sort my data and had I done that, I’m sure that I would have probably tossed out half of the data that I gathered. Now, I just let the weighting factors sort it all out and that means that I list the total amount of data that I took—even though some of it probably contributes very little to the final result. The second reason was that I didn’t have another object on deck and with every passing night the seeing was getting just a little better. So, I hung in there taking more and more data. The best FWHM was about 1.1” and the worst was around 6”. Remember: More data is alway better than less data—and that’s especially true when you are going after something really faint like the halo around this galaxy.Hope you enjoy it. As always, C&C is always welcome.John
jhayes_tucsonI can be pretty lazy about selecting new targets. I don’t maintain a list of potential targets, though I sometimes have a few interesting objects bouncing around in the back of my mind. More often than not, I finish a target and then scratch my head over what I want to go after next. So, when @Adam Block published his excellent image of NGC 1055, I was finishing up another target and it caught my attention. I love galaxies with interesting features and the extended halo around this galaxy fit the bill. Not only that, it was high in the sky. I have to admit that I feel a little cheap following on Adam’s heals but still, I wondered what I could do with it and as Adam implied, it’s not a trivial target.NGC 1055 is a nearly edge-on, type SBb spiral galaxy located at a distance of about 52 Mly in the constellation of Cetus. It has an apparent size of 7.6’ x 2. 7’ and an apparent magnitude of 11.4. The extended halo is interesting but so is the detail along the central dust lanes. If you look carefully, you can see evidence of the spiral structure in this extreme edge-on view.I could see right away that the challenge for my scope would be the two bright stars, HD16835 and HD16786, that have magnitudes of 6.80 and 6.68. These two stars are very close to the galaxy and I knew right away that scattered light and halos from these two stars would be a significant problem. The cropped image below shows the problem. The bight colorful halos and scattered light almost certainly come from strays created by the field flattener in my telescope.📷 NGC 1055 Full Field.jpgRather than trying to salvage the bright star images, I decided to go for a tighter crop on the galaxy itself. Of course, some of that stray light still extends into the field no matter how tight the crop. So what to do? I tried a few different strategies but settled on simply using the DynamicBackExtraction tool in PI. DBE allows manual selection of sample points so I added a large number of points in the stray light regions. I then use a high order fit (5) to insure a reasonable fit to the odd signal profile and bingo! DBE did a pretty good job of flattening the background. There is a still tiny bit of the glow remaining but it’s minor and within what you’d expect for such bright stars located just outside of the field. I had to do a little hand work to remove the diffraction spikes that extended all the way through the image as well. Overall, I was pretty happy with the result. It’s a tighter crop than I would normally choose but the data supports it—as long as you don’t get overly enthusiastic about pixel peeping. Remember, NGC 1055 is a small object and this is a pretty tight crop of the full field.Finally, you might wonder why in the world I spent over 82 hours on this thing. First, the seeing was generally pretty poor while I was on this object. I used to sort my data and had I done that, I’m sure that I would have probably tossed out half of the data that I gathered. Now, I just let the weighting factors sort it all out and that means that I list the total amount of data that I took—even though some of it probably contributes very little to the final result. The second reason was that I didn’t have another object on deck and with every passing night the seeing was getting just a little better. So, I hung in there taking more and more data. The best FWHM was about 1.1” and the worst was around 6”. Remember: More data is alway better than less data—and that’s especially true when you are going after something really faint like the halo around this galaxy.Hope you enjoy it. As always, C&C is always welcome.John
🔭 Northern Lights on Norris Lake by
A six panel panorama of the Northern Lights event on 11/11/25 in East Tennessee. Taken along the shore of Norris Lake with a Sony A1ii, Sony 14mm f/1.8 lens.
pmont1A six panel panorama of the Northern Lights event on 11/11/25 in East Tennessee. Taken along the shore of Norris Lake with a Sony A1ii, Sony 14mm f/1.8 lens.
🔭 Messier's globulars by
By now, it's no secret that I'm trying to complete the Messier catalog by photographing all 110 objects listed there, and today I managed to put together the first piece of this photographic marathon I began over four years ago: grouping together all the globular clusters (my favorite objects, but this is no secret either) observed by Messier in the 18th century.My first Messier object, which I photographed in June 2021 with my first cooled astronomical camera Qhy8l, was indeed a globular cluster (M5), and from then on I began "collecting" them all, using what I could from home. At a certain point, I found myself blocked because many objects were not visibe from my homa due to buildings and trees, including the many summer globular clusters, which are very low above the horizon. In this case, remote astrophotography, which many oppose but which I find equally stimulating just like when I use my orange Konus, was very helpful. And so, with the photo of M70, I've completed the circle of Messier's globulars, which I've included side by side in the attached collage.In the last box at the bottom right, you'll find all the catalog numbers of the photographed objects.Follow all the links to the high-resolution photos, which also include all the details on the equipment used.M2: https://app.astrobin.com/i/9sdp4hM3: https://app.astrobin.com/i/49giz0M4: https://app.astrobin.com/i/jxswofM5: https://app.astrobin.com/i/ip7vjpM9: https://app.astrobin.com/i/nkl2uvM10: https://app.astrobin.com/i/3pvjxqM12: https://app.astrobin.com/i/iu24y5M13: https://app.astrobin.com/i/5dg2vvM14: https://app.astrobin.com/i/jstl0wM15: https://app.astrobin.com/i/pwn51xM19: https://app.astrobin.com/i/7uh0fuM22: https://app.astrobin.com/i/f3vw2kM28: https://app.astrobin.com/i/pmxyldM30: https://app.astrobin.com/i/ro4lwaM53: https://app.astrobin.com/i/bw1ry4M54: https://app.astrobin.com/i/7t5zznM55: https://app.astrobin.com/i/aoyfjdM56: https://app.astrobin.com/i/6jz9kyM62: https://app.astrobin.com/i/ihcgtlM68: https://app.astrobin.com/i/a0h4guM69: https://app.astrobin.com/i/99tgnoM70: https://app.astrobin.com/i/5bfzndM71: https://app.astrobin.com/i/f2extjM72: https://app.astrobin.com/i/pu10utM75: https://app.astrobin.com/i/yh7wbnM79: https://app.astrobin.com/i/kie72zM80: https://app.astrobin.com/i/15ehxoM92: https://app.astrobin.com/i/b8cq0qM107: https://app.astrobin.com/i/bkqel5
massimo.difuscoBy now, it's no secret that I'm trying to complete the Messier catalog by photographing all 110 objects listed there, and today I managed to put together the first piece of this photographic marathon I began over four years ago: grouping together all the globular clusters (my favorite objects, but this is no secret either) observed by Messier in the 18th century.My first Messier object, which I photographed in June 2021 with my first cooled astronomical camera Qhy8l, was indeed a globular cluster (M5), and from then on I began "collecting" them all, using what I could from home. At a certain point, I found myself blocked because many objects were not visibe from my homa due to buildings and trees, including the many summer globular clusters, which are very low above the horizon. In this case, remote astrophotography, which many oppose but which I find equally stimulating just like when I use my orange Konus, was very helpful. And so, with the photo of M70, I've completed the circle of Messier's globulars, which I've included side by side in the attached collage.In the last box at the bottom right, you'll find all the catalog numbers of the photographed objects.Follow all the links to the high-resolution photos, which also include all the details on the equipment used.M2: https://app.astrobin.com/i/9sdp4hM3: https://app.astrobin.com/i/49giz0M4: https://app.astrobin.com/i/jxswofM5: https://app.astrobin.com/i/ip7vjpM9: https://app.astrobin.com/i/nkl2uvM10: https://app.astrobin.com/i/3pvjxqM12: https://app.astrobin.com/i/iu24y5M13: https://app.astrobin.com/i/5dg2vvM14: https://app.astrobin.com/i/jstl0wM15: https://app.astrobin.com/i/pwn51xM19: https://app.astrobin.com/i/7uh0fuM22: https://app.astrobin.com/i/f3vw2kM28: https://app.astrobin.com/i/pmxyldM30: https://app.astrobin.com/i/ro4lwaM53: https://app.astrobin.com/i/bw1ry4M54: https://app.astrobin.com/i/7t5zznM55: https://app.astrobin.com/i/aoyfjdM56: https://app.astrobin.com/i/6jz9kyM62: https://app.astrobin.com/i/ihcgtlM68: https://app.astrobin.com/i/a0h4guM69: https://app.astrobin.com/i/99tgnoM70: https://app.astrobin.com/i/5bfzndM71: https://app.astrobin.com/i/f2extjM72: https://app.astrobin.com/i/pu10utM75: https://app.astrobin.com/i/yh7wbnM79: https://app.astrobin.com/i/kie72zM80: https://app.astrobin.com/i/15ehxoM92: https://app.astrobin.com/i/b8cq0qM107: https://app.astrobin.com/i/bkqel5
🔭 Animation of Uranus , saison 2024/2025 by
BonjourCette fois-ci pour ma cinquième animation avec Winjupos , je vous propose la planète Uranus à partir de mes images de 2024/2025....Ce qui est intéressant avec Uranus, c'est qu'avec ces images, j'ai eu suffisamment de matière pour recouvrir la totalité de la surface visible de la planète comme le démontre la projection cylindrique de Lambert en image B. Ce qui est très intéressant c'est de voir la rotation de la planète qui roule sur son axe autour du soleil avec son inclinaison de presque 98°. Pour info , avec cette rotation inhabituelle pour une planète du système solaire , chaque pôle passe un été et un hiver d'une vingtaine d'années chacun !Cet exercice est une fois de plus , plutôt amusant et donne je pense une animation qui a le mérite d'exister et ne demande qu'à être amélioré.Encore une fois j'ai essayé de repousser les limites des process et des idées et j'espère que le résultat final vous plaira ...Comme d'habitude n'hésitez pas à m'envoyer vos remarques et commentaires !! ...A bientôt pour de nouvelles aventuresGeorgesHiThis time, for my fifth animation with Winjupos, I'm presenting the planet Uranus, created from my 2024/2025 images.What's interesting about Uranus is that these images provided enough data to cover the entire visible surface of the planet, as demonstrated by the Lambert cylindrical projection in image B.What's particularly interesting is seeing the planet's rotation as it rolls on its axis around the sun, with its nearly 98° tilt.For your information, with this unusual rotation for a planet in the solar system, each pole experiences a summer and a winter of about twenty years each!This exercise is, once again, quite fun and, I think, results in an animation that has the merit of existing and is just waiting to be improved.Once again, I've tried to push the boundaries of the processes and ideas, and I hope you'll like the final result.As always, feel free to send me your remarks and comments!See you soon for new adventures!Georges
GeorgesBonjourCette fois-ci pour ma cinquième animation avec Winjupos , je vous propose la planète Uranus à partir de mes images de 2024/2025....Ce qui est intéressant avec Uranus, c'est qu'avec ces images, j'ai eu suffisamment de matière pour recouvrir la totalité de la surface visible de la planète comme le démontre la projection cylindrique de Lambert en image B. Ce qui est très intéressant c'est de voir la rotation de la planète qui roule sur son axe autour du soleil avec son inclinaison de presque 98°. Pour info , avec cette rotation inhabituelle pour une planète du système solaire , chaque pôle passe un été et un hiver d'une vingtaine d'années chacun !Cet exercice est une fois de plus , plutôt amusant et donne je pense une animation qui a le mérite d'exister et ne demande qu'à être amélioré.Encore une fois j'ai essayé de repousser les limites des process et des idées et j'espère que le résultat final vous plaira ...Comme d'habitude n'hésitez pas à m'envoyer vos remarques et commentaires !! ...A bientôt pour de nouvelles aventuresGeorgesHiThis time, for my fifth animation with Winjupos, I'm presenting the planet Uranus, created from my 2024/2025 images.What's interesting about Uranus is that these images provided enough data to cover the entire visible surface of the planet, as demonstrated by the Lambert cylindrical projection in image B.What's particularly interesting is seeing the planet's rotation as it rolls on its axis around the sun, with its nearly 98° tilt.For your information, with this unusual rotation for a planet in the solar system, each pole experiences a summer and a winter of about twenty years each!This exercise is, once again, quite fun and, I think, results in an animation that has the merit of existing and is just waiting to be improved.Once again, I've tried to push the boundaries of the processes and ideas, and I hope you'll like the final result.As always, feel free to send me your remarks and comments!See you soon for new adventures!Georges
🔭 Dreyer's Nebula - IC 447 et al (LRGBHa) by
This is one I attempted three years ago with the C11 from my Bortle 8 backyard. Man, what a difference a dark sky makes! Lots of cool vdB objects in this one.
AccidentalAstronomersThis is one I attempted three years ago with the C11 from my Bortle 8 backyard. Man, what a difference a dark sky makes! Lots of cool vdB objects in this one.
🔭 NGC3114 - Pearls on a red carpet by
NGC 3114 is a loose open cluster scattered across the southern constellation Carina, about a few thousand light-years from us. Its stars are young and bright, sprinkled lightly against the rich star fields of the Milky Way, and under a dark, clear sky it can be picked out with the naked eye. Lying close to the Carina Nebula and set against a faint haze of Hα-emitting clouds, it looks like a string of silvery pearls spilled across a soft strip of red silk.Data From Flying_Dutchman @Chilescope
MadNugNGC 3114 is a loose open cluster scattered across the southern constellation Carina, about a few thousand light-years from us. Its stars are young and bright, sprinkled lightly against the rich star fields of the Milky Way, and under a dark, clear sky it can be picked out with the naked eye. Lying close to the Carina Nebula and set against a faint haze of Hα-emitting clouds, it looks like a string of silvery pearls spilled across a soft strip of red silk.Data From Flying_Dutchman @Chilescope
🔭 The Chill Dog Nebula (GSH 122+02-77) and Oiii shells around Sh2-181 by
Early in 2024 I noticed some faint blue structures in one of my Samyang 135 images of Sh2-181, but they were too faint for me to be sure they really existed and I could not find any images of these possible objects. So in March 2024 I took the chance of aiming my dual-RASA8 rig at this area in Cassiopeia. The bluish structures were clearly there and I also noticed traces of a faint Oiii shell associated with Sh2-181 that I had not seen mentioned or imaged before (https://www.astrobin.com/cnvp2s/). Simbad has the blue filaments recorded as an "interstellar shell" (GSH 122+02-77) but it had not been imaged before. @Markus Horn saw my image and in December 2024 he posted a deep RASA image of these objects (https://www.astrobin.com/0xi28q/C/).A few nights ago I decided to revisit the area now equipped with both a dual-RASA rig (IMX571 color cameras and NBZ filters) and a dual Hyperstar-rig with mono IMX571 and Ha and Oiii filters. The night was moonless and the sky quite steady and I could collect nearly 34 hours of data that got me deeper into this area than before.The shell associated with Sh2-181 reminds me of the Crescent nebula and I wonder if it could be the result of a similar process. Wikipedia says that “the Crescent nebula is formed by a fast stellar wind from a Wolf-Rayet star colliding with and energizing a slower moving wind ejected by the star when it became a red giant, which resulted in a shell and two shock waves, one moving outward and one moving inward. The inward moving shock wave heats the stellar wind to X-ray-emitting temperatures.” I wonder if something similar may have happened to Sh2-181.Regarding GSH 122+02-77 it is tempting to speculate that a Wolf-Rayet star could be involved also here as the super-hot (112 200 K) star WR1 is in close proximity and with some imagination it looks like Oiii shells are blowing away from it. It is just twice the size of the sun, but due to the high temperature it is over 758,000 times more luminous than the sun (more about this star here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_1).It is unclear to me if the more dusty blue and elongated object below and to the right of GSH 122+02-77 is associated with GSH 122+02-77. It contains quite a bit of Ha while GSH 122+02-77 appears to be lacking any Ha (see Ha and Oiii images below). Maybe it is the result of a first shock wave and has by now become less organized and diffuse.Here is the super-hot WR1 star marked out on a crop of GSH 122+02-77:📷 20251115 Sh2-182 RASA1+2 PS13b(WR1 marked on crop).jpgI feel that GSH 122+02-77 is too striking and beautiful not to have a proper name and with some imagination my wife saw it and now I can see it: a quite relaxed dog is there. So we both suggest that it should be called The Chill Dog Nebula, and hope it will catch on:📷 Chill Dog drawing.jpgHere is the Oiii data collected with the 11” Hyperstar:📷 20251115 Sh2-182 Hystar11 Oiii PS6.jpgHere is the Ha data collected with the 8” Hyperstar:📷 20251115 Sh2-182 Hystar8 Ha PS5.jpg
gorannEarly in 2024 I noticed some faint blue structures in one of my Samyang 135 images of Sh2-181, but they were too faint for me to be sure they really existed and I could not find any images of these possible objects. So in March 2024 I took the chance of aiming my dual-RASA8 rig at this area in Cassiopeia. The bluish structures were clearly there and I also noticed traces of a faint Oiii shell associated with Sh2-181 that I had not seen mentioned or imaged before (https://www.astrobin.com/cnvp2s/). Simbad has the blue filaments recorded as an "interstellar shell" (GSH 122+02-77) but it had not been imaged before. @Markus Horn saw my image and in December 2024 he posted a deep RASA image of these objects (https://www.astrobin.com/0xi28q/C/).A few nights ago I decided to revisit the area now equipped with both a dual-RASA rig (IMX571 color cameras and NBZ filters) and a dual Hyperstar-rig with mono IMX571 and Ha and Oiii filters. The night was moonless and the sky quite steady and I could collect nearly 34 hours of data that got me deeper into this area than before.The shell associated with Sh2-181 reminds me of the Crescent nebula and I wonder if it could be the result of a similar process. Wikipedia says that “the Crescent nebula is formed by a fast stellar wind from a Wolf-Rayet star colliding with and energizing a slower moving wind ejected by the star when it became a red giant, which resulted in a shell and two shock waves, one moving outward and one moving inward. The inward moving shock wave heats the stellar wind to X-ray-emitting temperatures.” I wonder if something similar may have happened to Sh2-181.Regarding GSH 122+02-77 it is tempting to speculate that a Wolf-Rayet star could be involved also here as the super-hot (112 200 K) star WR1 is in close proximity and with some imagination it looks like Oiii shells are blowing away from it. It is just twice the size of the sun, but due to the high temperature it is over 758,000 times more luminous than the sun (more about this star here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_1).It is unclear to me if the more dusty blue and elongated object below and to the right of GSH 122+02-77 is associated with GSH 122+02-77. It contains quite a bit of Ha while GSH 122+02-77 appears to be lacking any Ha (see Ha and Oiii images below). Maybe it is the result of a first shock wave and has by now become less organized and diffuse.Here is the super-hot WR1 star marked out on a crop of GSH 122+02-77:📷 20251115 Sh2-182 RASA1+2 PS13b(WR1 marked on crop).jpgI feel that GSH 122+02-77 is too striking and beautiful not to have a proper name and with some imagination my wife saw it and now I can see it: a quite relaxed dog is there. So we both suggest that it should be called The Chill Dog Nebula, and hope it will catch on:📷 Chill Dog drawing.jpgHere is the Oiii data collected with the 11” Hyperstar:📷 20251115 Sh2-182 Hystar11 Oiii PS6.jpgHere is the Ha data collected with the 8” Hyperstar:📷 20251115 Sh2-182 Hystar8 Ha PS5.jpg
🔭 M55 by
M55, like other globular clusters in the Milky Way, contains few elements besides hydrogen and helium compared to the Sun. Therefore, Messier 55 has low metallicity.M55 is estimated to be about 12.5 billion years old, and thus contains very old stars, mostly of spectral types F to K and evolved red giants.The Shapley-Sawyer concentration class for M55 is XI, meaning the cluster is highly decongested toward the center. This class also agrees with historical observations of the cluster.Despite being in Sagittarius, where dust is abundant, M55 is located in a relatively dust-free region, so extinction in its direction is less than typical for that constellation.
Pedro_SánchezM55, like other globular clusters in the Milky Way, contains few elements besides hydrogen and helium compared to the Sun. Therefore, Messier 55 has low metallicity.M55 is estimated to be about 12.5 billion years old, and thus contains very old stars, mostly of spectral types F to K and evolved red giants.The Shapley-Sawyer concentration class for M55 is XI, meaning the cluster is highly decongested toward the center. This class also agrees with historical observations of the cluster.Despite being in Sagittarius, where dust is abundant, M55 is located in a relatively dust-free region, so extinction in its direction is less than typical for that constellation.
🔭 c/2025 K1 by
The comet designated C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) was discovered this past May. Originating from the relatively remote Oort Cloud, it is now struggling to survive within the solar system. At least three fragments have broken off from the comet to date, and it is currently observable with telescopes of 8 inches or larger in aperture. Whether it will continue its journey or disintegrate completely remains uncertain, but observers can seize this rare opportunity to witness the final outcome of this process firsthand.
APOWLuoThe comet designated C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) was discovered this past May. Originating from the relatively remote Oort Cloud, it is now struggling to survive within the solar system. At least three fragments have broken off from the comet to date, and it is currently observable with telescopes of 8 inches or larger in aperture. Whether it will continue its journey or disintegrate completely remains uncertain, but observers can seize this rare opportunity to witness the final outcome of this process firsthand.
🔭 NGC 891 - A deep dive by
NGC 891 has long been one of my favorite galaxies. I remember getting my first image of it circa 2000 with a starlight xpress camera and my trusty LX50 scope.To be able to get this detail with my observatory and 17” scope will never get old to me!If you click below you’ll see the full frame image. There are so many amazing little galaxies to be found.[url=https://app.astrobin.com/i/8dtatg?r=B][img]https://cdn.astrobin.com/thumbs/VipLxAutUEbL_130x130_rieGJgNQ.png[/img][/url]Thanks for looking!
HillbradNGC 891 has long been one of my favorite galaxies. I remember getting my first image of it circa 2000 with a starlight xpress camera and my trusty LX50 scope.To be able to get this detail with my observatory and 17” scope will never get old to me!If you click below you’ll see the full frame image. There are so many amazing little galaxies to be found.[url=https://app.astrobin.com/i/8dtatg?r=B][img]https://cdn.astrobin.com/thumbs/VipLxAutUEbL_130x130_rieGJgNQ.png[/img][/url]Thanks for looking!
🔭 M15 : A star cluster mixed with dust & Ha by
M15 / NGC 7078 / Great Pegasus Cluster captured in LRGB with a subtle layer of Hα revealing faint ionized-gas filaments in the background. The extremely dense core of M15 stands out with remarkable stellar richness, while the outer regions gradually fade into a sky gently textured by diffuse Hα emission. A composition that highlights both the compact structure of this ancient cluster and the depth of the surrounding field.
Robert13M15 / NGC 7078 / Great Pegasus Cluster captured in LRGB with a subtle layer of Hα revealing faint ionized-gas filaments in the background. The extremely dense core of M15 stands out with remarkable stellar richness, while the outer regions gradually fade into a sky gently textured by diffuse Hα emission. A composition that highlights both the compact structure of this ancient cluster and the depth of the surrounding field.
🔭 Jupiter 26-Nov-25 by
Jupiter on the morning of the 26th during a brief period of above average seeing. Detail obtained from IR data through wavelet decomposition.24" Dob, APM 2.7x (@3.25x), ADC, Uranus-C/M. IR642, UV/IR cut. 0.068"/px.
tw__astroJupiter on the morning of the 26th during a brief period of above average seeing. Detail obtained from IR data through wavelet decomposition.24" Dob, APM 2.7x (@3.25x), ADC, Uranus-C/M. IR642, UV/IR cut. 0.068"/px.
🔭 IC1805, IC1848, SNRG132.7+1.3, Mosaic X 3 (1000hrs Deep Exposure) by
Heart and Soul are two bright emission nebulae located in the northern sky, with a multi-layered background filled with dark clouds, Ha, and Sii signals. Below the Heart Nebula is a supernova remnant larger than a full moon.For this purpose, we used three SQA55 cameras and captured three vertical mosaic compositions, perfectly framing the three. The work was completed by me, 小卡子 and SSSZZZ, and took 5 months to complete. The total exposure was over 1000 hours, and the rich signal-to-noise ratio allowed almost all details to be fully revealed!📷 575e828ae0910374f7c2eb2b822bf56f.png📷 figure1.jpgThe work captured a total of seven LRGBSHO channels (Figure 1), with varying exposure times for each frame. The broadband signal was captured by ssszzz, while the narrowband signal was captured by me and 小卡子. Following the principle that S and O exposure times are several times H, the remaining shooting time for the three SHO channels was calculated based on the matching signal-to-noise ratio due to different lunar phases. A table was created for better overall planning (Figure 2).The Sii channel has been exposed for nearly 400 hours, which is the longest time. As it outlines the main target outline and a magnificent red diffuse signal in the background, it requires very strong stretching in the later stage. Therefore, the Sii power with sufficient exposure is enormous, which can be said to be the basis of the entire work. At the same time, the supernova remnant signal is also the strongest in the Sii channel (Figure 3)📷 figure3.pngThe O-channel was exposed for 266 hours, and its signal showed a diffuse surface distribution on the main body, while on the supernova remnant at the tail, it showed sharp filamentous patterns. This is the most difficult point of this work, as it is very dim and weak, with only a faint shadow after 20 hours. Therefore, the third single O-channel took nearly 154 hours to obtain the ultimate three-dimensional filamentous details (Figure 4); The SNR near the core has already overflowed, so there is basically no need for noise reduction, and the later consumption experience is very good.The H channel was exposed for 156 hours and was very bright with a high signal-to-noise ratio, perfectly consuming almost all of the lunar time. Due to the limited distribution of supernova remnants in H, no key shots were taken, but the signal-to-noise ratio was still good.The L-channel exposure was 168 hours, and the main reason for the long shooting time was that my friend did not have a SHO filter. However, it was still sufficient to capture the signal-to-noise ratio of the dark clouds in the spatial background. The background dark clouds and Sii, Ha signals interweave, highlighting the visible and invisible layers of the universe and greatly improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the entire image.The RGB channel has a total exposure of 36 hours, providing color supplementation for background dark clouds and sparkling RGB star points.This work was taken from mid July to early December, and we pressed almost all the exposure time of three SQA55 cameras, almost shooting until vomiting. After organizing the shooting folder, I alone have 100 GB of data, which can be described as a ruthless exposure machine.Thank you to the “小卡子” and “ssszzz” who were forcibly tied to the car by me for their participation. This is our most in-depth work since we entered the pit, and your collaboration has made this picture even more dazzling. It has shown me the ocean of signal-to-noise ratio and the potential of small aperture ultra wide mosaic!📷 figure4.jpg
Wanzhiyuan001Heart and Soul are two bright emission nebulae located in the northern sky, with a multi-layered background filled with dark clouds, Ha, and Sii signals. Below the Heart Nebula is a supernova remnant larger than a full moon.For this purpose, we used three SQA55 cameras and captured three vertical mosaic compositions, perfectly framing the three. The work was completed by me, 小卡子 and SSSZZZ, and took 5 months to complete. The total exposure was over 1000 hours, and the rich signal-to-noise ratio allowed almost all details to be fully revealed!📷 575e828ae0910374f7c2eb2b822bf56f.png📷 figure1.jpgThe work captured a total of seven LRGBSHO channels (Figure 1), with varying exposure times for each frame. The broadband signal was captured by ssszzz, while the narrowband signal was captured by me and 小卡子. Following the principle that S and O exposure times are several times H, the remaining shooting time for the three SHO channels was calculated based on the matching signal-to-noise ratio due to different lunar phases. A table was created for better overall planning (Figure 2).The Sii channel has been exposed for nearly 400 hours, which is the longest time. As it outlines the main target outline and a magnificent red diffuse signal in the background, it requires very strong stretching in the later stage. Therefore, the Sii power with sufficient exposure is enormous, which can be said to be the basis of the entire work. At the same time, the supernova remnant signal is also the strongest in the Sii channel (Figure 3)📷 figure3.pngThe O-channel was exposed for 266 hours, and its signal showed a diffuse surface distribution on the main body, while on the supernova remnant at the tail, it showed sharp filamentous patterns. This is the most difficult point of this work, as it is very dim and weak, with only a faint shadow after 20 hours. Therefore, the third single O-channel took nearly 154 hours to obtain the ultimate three-dimensional filamentous details (Figure 4); The SNR near the core has already overflowed, so there is basically no need for noise reduction, and the later consumption experience is very good.The H channel was exposed for 156 hours and was very bright with a high signal-to-noise ratio, perfectly consuming almost all of the lunar time. Due to the limited distribution of supernova remnants in H, no key shots were taken, but the signal-to-noise ratio was still good.The L-channel exposure was 168 hours, and the main reason for the long shooting time was that my friend did not have a SHO filter. However, it was still sufficient to capture the signal-to-noise ratio of the dark clouds in the spatial background. The background dark clouds and Sii, Ha signals interweave, highlighting the visible and invisible layers of the universe and greatly improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the entire image.The RGB channel has a total exposure of 36 hours, providing color supplementation for background dark clouds and sparkling RGB star points.This work was taken from mid July to early December, and we pressed almost all the exposure time of three SQA55 cameras, almost shooting until vomiting. After organizing the shooting folder, I alone have 100 GB of data, which can be described as a ruthless exposure machine.Thank you to the “小卡子” and “ssszzz” who were forcibly tied to the car by me for their participation. This is our most in-depth work since we entered the pit, and your collaboration has made this picture even more dazzling. It has shown me the ocean of signal-to-noise ratio and the potential of small aperture ultra wide mosaic!📷 figure4.jpg
🔭 Lookout for the stoneman by
Lookout for the mysterious Stonemen of Namibia under a breathtaking Milky Way sky. Silhouetted against the vibrant tapestry of stars, they stand as silent witnesses to the wonders of the cosmos. Littered next to the gravel off-roads of Kaokoland in the far reaches of North-West Namibia these men of stone invite the intrepid explorer and astrophotographer to locate them and image them against the dark skies. Certainly a bucket list destination which I hope to visit once again…
vikaschander@rolexhosiery.comLookout for the mysterious Stonemen of Namibia under a breathtaking Milky Way sky. Silhouetted against the vibrant tapestry of stars, they stand as silent witnesses to the wonders of the cosmos. Littered next to the gravel off-roads of Kaokoland in the far reaches of North-West Namibia these men of stone invite the intrepid explorer and astrophotographer to locate them and image them against the dark skies. Certainly a bucket list destination which I hope to visit once again…
🔭 La frattura di Vallis Alpes by
Finalmente una qualita del cielo degna per le riprese in alta risoluzione mi ha permesso di definire la frattura presente nella Vallis Alpes, valle che spezza la catena delle alpi della nostra luna. La valle ha una lunghezza di circa 166 km ed una larghezza che va dai 10 ai 20 km. La frattura ha una larghezza massima stimata in circa 600 metri, quindi diciamo che, pur non avendo utilizzato una barlow sul treno ottico, il mio C14 ha mostrato i denti in termini di risoluzione!!
Giannimelis3@msn.comFinalmente una qualita del cielo degna per le riprese in alta risoluzione mi ha permesso di definire la frattura presente nella Vallis Alpes, valle che spezza la catena delle alpi della nostra luna. La valle ha una lunghezza di circa 166 km ed una larghezza che va dai 10 ai 20 km. La frattura ha una larghezza massima stimata in circa 600 metri, quindi diciamo che, pur non avendo utilizzato una barlow sul treno ottico, il mio C14 ha mostrato i denti in termini di risoluzione!!
🔭 Gyulbudaghian's Nebula and the Loop of Darkness! by
I stumbled upon this dark nebula region (LBN 468) when looking at wide field images of the Iris nebula. One area that caught my eye was what looked like a swirling reflection nebula with some nice color: Gyulbudaghian’s Nebula. There doesn’t seem to be a catalog name for this nebula shown when plate solving and took me some digging to figure out what it was called. It is a very interesting object in that it is changing on a timescale of months to years!I couldn’t find any long focal length images of this target on Astrobin, which is suprising because it is such a cool target! Here is some info about the nebula from wiki:“Gyulbudaghian's Nebula (gyool-boo-DAH-ghee-an) is a reflection nebula in the northern constellation Cepheus, located about 1.5 degrees west of the much brighter reflection nebula NGC 7023. The light illuminating it comes from the T Tauri star PV Cephei. It is known for changing its shape dramatically on a timescale of months to years, as the brightness of PV Cephei changes.In 1986 Scarrott et al. reported that Gyulbudaghian's Nebula is either bipolar or biconical. In addition to the fan shaped nebulousity to the north of PV Cephei, seen by earlier observers, they detected a fainter counterlobe south of the star. From polarization measurements they concluded that the bright north lobe is not reflected light, but rather intrinsic emission. The faint southern counterlobe was later found to be quite red; it is brighter in the near-infrared than in visible light and is dimmed by at least 4 magnitudes of extinction in visible light. The streak, when it is visible, coincides with the eastern edge of the fan-shaped nebula.”Here is a crop of Gyulbudaghian’s nebula:📷 dark neb with jet_extreme crop on neb.jpgI was surprised by all of the colorful brown/yellow dust surrounding LBN 468. I shot 19.6 hours of Hydrogen alpha and there was virtually no Ha in the area except for what appeared to be pushing outwards from PV Cephei. I have not seen this Ha nebulosity in other images, perhaps because it is very faint and small for short focal lengths. Data was captured in the summer of 2025. Processing was a bit difficult due to the colors and gradients from the dust, which cast a greenish hue. Processing was primarily done in Pixinsight with final touches in Photoshop. Here is a NASA Hubble image of the nebula for comparison:
@hyperspaced_imagingI stumbled upon this dark nebula region (LBN 468) when looking at wide field images of the Iris nebula. One area that caught my eye was what looked like a swirling reflection nebula with some nice color: Gyulbudaghian’s Nebula. There doesn’t seem to be a catalog name for this nebula shown when plate solving and took me some digging to figure out what it was called. It is a very interesting object in that it is changing on a timescale of months to years!I couldn’t find any long focal length images of this target on Astrobin, which is suprising because it is such a cool target! Here is some info about the nebula from wiki:“Gyulbudaghian's Nebula (gyool-boo-DAH-ghee-an) is a reflection nebula in the northern constellation Cepheus, located about 1.5 degrees west of the much brighter reflection nebula NGC 7023. The light illuminating it comes from the T Tauri star PV Cephei. It is known for changing its shape dramatically on a timescale of months to years, as the brightness of PV Cephei changes.In 1986 Scarrott et al. reported that Gyulbudaghian's Nebula is either bipolar or biconical. In addition to the fan shaped nebulousity to the north of PV Cephei, seen by earlier observers, they detected a fainter counterlobe south of the star. From polarization measurements they concluded that the bright north lobe is not reflected light, but rather intrinsic emission. The faint southern counterlobe was later found to be quite red; it is brighter in the near-infrared than in visible light and is dimmed by at least 4 magnitudes of extinction in visible light. The streak, when it is visible, coincides with the eastern edge of the fan-shaped nebula.”Here is a crop of Gyulbudaghian’s nebula:📷 dark neb with jet_extreme crop on neb.jpgI was surprised by all of the colorful brown/yellow dust surrounding LBN 468. I shot 19.6 hours of Hydrogen alpha and there was virtually no Ha in the area except for what appeared to be pushing outwards from PV Cephei. I have not seen this Ha nebulosity in other images, perhaps because it is very faint and small for short focal lengths. Data was captured in the summer of 2025. Processing was a bit difficult due to the colors and gradients from the dust, which cast a greenish hue. Processing was primarily done in Pixinsight with final touches in Photoshop. Here is a NASA Hubble image of the nebula for comparison:
🔭 Gum 15: A Star-Carved Nebula in Vela by
This images reveals one of the Vela constellation’s most delicate and chaotic star-forming regions: Gum 15. A glowing H-alpha region, however done in pure LRGB in this rendition, is a cradle of young, massive stars whose intense radiation sculpts the surrounding hydrogen into twisting ridges, hollowed cavities, and feathered filaments. The bright central cavity is shaped by energetic O-type stars, while the surrounding blue-white tendrils trace regions where shock fronts collide with denser clouds. Subtle dust lanes thread the scene, adding contrast and depth to what is, at heart, a cosmic landscape in constant motion. First processed lightly to preserve the natural textures, then refined to highlight the nebula’s sculpted structure, this image is a look into one of the Milky Way’s quietly dramatic star-forming nurseries.Captured from my remote setup at Obstech in Chile:PlaneWave CDK500 Observatory SystemMoravian C3-61000 PRO CameraChroma L, R, G, and B FiltersL: 90x300s, R: 30x600s, G: 30x600s, B: 30x600s (22.5 hours)Processed in PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop
ashastryThis images reveals one of the Vela constellation’s most delicate and chaotic star-forming regions: Gum 15. A glowing H-alpha region, however done in pure LRGB in this rendition, is a cradle of young, massive stars whose intense radiation sculpts the surrounding hydrogen into twisting ridges, hollowed cavities, and feathered filaments. The bright central cavity is shaped by energetic O-type stars, while the surrounding blue-white tendrils trace regions where shock fronts collide with denser clouds. Subtle dust lanes thread the scene, adding contrast and depth to what is, at heart, a cosmic landscape in constant motion. First processed lightly to preserve the natural textures, then refined to highlight the nebula’s sculpted structure, this image is a look into one of the Milky Way’s quietly dramatic star-forming nurseries.Captured from my remote setup at Obstech in Chile:PlaneWave CDK500 Observatory SystemMoravian C3-61000 PRO CameraChroma L, R, G, and B FiltersL: 90x300s, R: 30x600s, G: 30x600s, B: 30x600s (22.5 hours)Processed in PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop
🔭 Baby Eagle Nebula by
Naming this one is a bit more arbitrary than normal since any number of LDN and LBN catalog entries are in the field as well. LBN 777 might be the bettter choice but even that looks wonky in plate solves so I’m going to go with the common name of the Baby Eagle Nebula.Processing:lum:SPFCMGCBXTSXTNXTHTRGB:channel combinationSPFCMGCBXTSPCCSXT (extracting stars)NXTHTLRGB Combination (to add in L)Curves transformationstars:Star Stretch noscriptPS Layers:stars (screen)copy of nebula (high pass, overlay)nebula (ACR)
ac4ltNaming this one is a bit more arbitrary than normal since any number of LDN and LBN catalog entries are in the field as well. LBN 777 might be the bettter choice but even that looks wonky in plate solves so I’m going to go with the common name of the Baby Eagle Nebula.Processing:lum:SPFCMGCBXTSXTNXTHTRGB:channel combinationSPFCMGCBXTSPCCSXT (extracting stars)NXTHTLRGB Combination (to add in L)Curves transformationstars:Star Stretch noscriptPS Layers:stars (screen)copy of nebula (high pass, overlay)nebula (ACR)