Supernova in M82 imaged

Well the skies finally cleared for me to attempt to photograph the new supernova in the Cigar Galaxy, M82. My equipment was acting a bit finicky - I had some trouble getting the new power cords and dew prevention heaters set-up and I couldn't get the balance on the scope correct to prevent image drifting. So with clouds starting to form just north and west I had to settle for short exposures. Here is the result. The greenish cast and the horizontal bands are artifacts of the noise in the image since I really stretched the light curves quite a bit to get the galaxy to come through with only 10 second subs.

M82 with Supernova 2014J marked
120 seconds (12x10sec subs), ISO3200, EdgeHD-11 Prime Focus 

It appears that the nova is about Mag 10.5 or 10.6 based on the examination of stars in the local vicinity. Not an accurate comparison since the camera sensor will make some stars appear brighter based on their color, but as a rough estimate, I'm probably in the ball park. 

Like the Energizer Bunny ... Opportunity keeps on going!

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Opportunity rover's exploration of Mars. With a planned mission of only 3 months, NASA, and the public, really got their money's worth. Full story here.

Oh How 'Sweet' These New Batteries Are!

Check out the gizmag report on the potential for a new type of battery. Sounds too good to be true.

Spacecraft Phones Home ... ready for the final chapter of its mission

Comet-chasing probe wakes up, calls home

The European Space Agency's comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft woke up, warmed up and called home Monday before setting off on the final leg of its journey. Launched way back in 2004, it has been on a 10 year mission to ultimately rendezvous with the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, follow it around the sun, and even land a small craft on the comet itself - really cool stuff. For the past 31 months it was in hibernation, saving energy, but was told to "call home" when it's ready to complete it's mission. That call came today! Complete story can be found on Space.com and CNN.

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.