New Images

Spent some quality time with my telescope taking advantage of the clear sky on December 27-28. Yep, another "all-nighter", but the results were worth it. I'm planning on setting up a separate page for all my astro-photos,  with accompanying details, but for now here are the three I captured and processed with Nebulosity 3.1 and PaintShopPro X6.

M42 (Orion Nebula)
EdgeHD-11, 5.5 minutes (11x30sec), ISO 3200
Dec 27, 2013    11:48 pm

M101 (Pinwheel Galaxy)
EdgeHD-11, 24 minutes (12x120sec), ISO 3200
Dec 28, 2013    3:14 am

Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1)
EdgeHD 11, 8 minutes (6x60sec + 2x120sec), ISO 3200
Dec 28, 2013   5:57 am

Merry Christmas to all

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.

M35 (Corrected)

Here is M35 with some corrections to show proper star colors. Still researching into why the color shifted to the yellow in the original image.

M35 3x30sec

M35 with Yellow Stars?

Hmmm ... after posting my first astro photos of star clusters a few nights ago I started thinking about the color of the stars in M35. As a relatively young cluster the stars in M35 should be on the blue side. After reviewing other images from sites such as AstroBin they are definitively blue. So, back to the drawing (imaging) board. Got to find out why my images are on the yellow side!

Star Clusters and Comet Lovejoy

Astro-Imaging of Star Clusters

December 10, 2013: With the weather clearing after dropping three more inches of snow to add to the seven we already got on Sunday, I decided to take the scope out to continue with my testing of the new software and the procedure of aligning the scope for long exposure astrophotography. Although the new software worked as expected, the frigid temperatures caused havoc on my computer and there were multiple communication drop outs and extreme sluggishness of computer response to commands. Now keep in mind that it never occurred to me that a laptop PC might have issues with being subjected to temperatures nearing single digits! Next project is to build an insulated containment box to hold the laptop while it's running the telescope mount and camera.

However, the concept proved to be successful and I was able to setup the telescope, align it to the pole, attach the camera, get a good focus and then ... keep warm and comfortable inside the Rocket Barn while remotely operating the telescope via WiFi. Here are a few of the images I captured. All single exposures were limited to 30sec since moonlight was a problem and the scope alignment/drift issues are not totally resolved as yet.

M35
3x30sec ISO 3200

M37 - "Salt and Pepper" Cluster
8x30sec  ISO 3200

M50 - "Heart Shaped Cluster"
4x30sec  ISO 3200

Comet Lovejoy still visible

Comet Lovejoy continues on its path out of the solar system. And even with multiple computer failures preventing me from capturing the image until late in the morning with dawn lightening up the eastern horizon, I did manage to capture the comet.

Comet Lovejoy, December 11, 2013 6:20AM
6x10sec Exposures for 60sec total time

Comet Lovejoy Going Strong

Comet ISON has come and gone, but lovely Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) is still going strong. It is now at or near peak brightness, and well placed in the Northern Hemisphere's predawn sky. If the weather would only clear up I would be up bright and early looking to photograph Lovejoy once more before the moon interferes. Info on observing Comet Lovejoy is available on SkyAndTelescope.com.

RIP ISON

Well it looks like in the battle of Fire vs. ISON, the fire won.  Apparently the sun's corona was just too much for the small nucleus of the fragile comet. NASA announced earlier this evening that ISON has most likely disintegrated under the high heat and gravitational stress of the Sun on Nov. 28, 2013. It is not visible in Solar Dynamics Observatory footage and NASA scientists confirmed that they do not see it. You can see the video at Space.com.

In other news, SpaceX aborted the launch of the Dragon9 due to engine malfunction at T-1 second. Next available launch window is tomorrow.

Astronomy News

Birth of black hole witnessed, marking watershed moment for astronomy

This week a momentous event occurred somewhere in the universe ... and an “armada of instruments” from all over the world saw it produce a gamma ray burst more powerful than what many researchers believed theoretically possible. Many think this was the collapse of a giant star and the birth of a black hole, something that has never been observed while the event is taking place! This will go down in history as a “Rosetta stone moment” for astronomy.  Check out the full story here.

See Comet ISON Slingshot Around Sun: Live SOHO Spacecraft Views

Astronomers all over the world are training their eyes and telescopes on Comet ISON as it approaches its closest distance to the sun on Thursday (Nov. 28), with several unblinking space telescopes offering live views of the comet's solar encounter. Live coverage of the event can be viewed from http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/home.html

Comet ISON vs. the Solar Storm - Wow

Check the video on the website below - just plain awesome!
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/24nov_isoncme/

Comet ISON peaks as it rounds the Sun

Comet ISON continues on its way to the Sun. Recent observations have hinted at a possible breakup of the comet and it is still uncertain as to whether or not ISON will survive it's trip around the Sun. Only a few weeks ago astronomers measured ISON's diameter to be about 3 miles - large enough to take the intense heat and extreme pull of the Sun's gravity. But new data shows ISON at only 3/4 to 1 mile wide.

Viewing ISON is getting to be really difficult. Although the comet has brightened twice in the last few days and is now recorded at magnitude 4.0 - 4.5 she is also very close to the Sun and hence low to the horizon in the pre-dawn glow. ISON may shine at magnitude -4.0 at perihelion which occurs about midday on Thanksgiving day (about as bright as Venus). Under optimum conditions (and very careful observation techniques!) ISON could be visible to the naked eye.

But the best views of perihelion likely will come from a trio of solar telescopes located outside Earth’s atmosphere. The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) each supply different perspectives.

More details on this and a really cool photo of ISON is available on the Astronomy Magazine's website. Sky&Telescope has some suggestions if you really want to try to see ISON at perihelion.

ORS-3 Launch

Earlier this evening Joan and I watched the launch of ORS-3 from our home in Reisterstown, MD. Photo is a composite of two images, 94 seconds and the other 82 seconds taken with a Canon 50D, 18mm f8.0 ASA400.