M42 - Orion Nebula

Now with PixInsight processing figured out I'm re-processing some of my latest images. So here is the Orion Nebula, again.

M42 - EdgeHD1100 w/Hyperstar
100x30sec ISO800

Updated Horsehead and Flame Nebula

Discovered a problem with the way my software was stacking the images. Once corrected, the shadow artifacts were almost completely removed and the low contrast was fixed. The final image was much improved.  I will be re-doing some earlier images as well to see what improvements I can get. So here is the updated version of the Horsehead and Flame Nebulae.

Improved Horsehead

Interstellar technology throws light on spinning black holes

The team responsible for the Oscar-nominated visual effects at the center of Christopher Nolan’s epic Interstellar have turned science fiction into science fact by providing new insights into the powerful effects of black holes.

Astronomy magazine has the full article.

More Fun with Hyperstar

Still learning how to use the new Hyperstar I acquired this month, and although the use of my Canon 50D causes some problems with using the Hyperstar to its full capabilities I am still able to capture some amazing photos. Spend about 3 hours on February 13th to capture some cool images. When the clouds started to roll in at 10:00 I dismantled the equipment. In retrospect I should have waited about an hour as the skies cleared again. With clear and transparent skies at a premium in Maryland I should have waited and so I missed an opportunity to capture another 2-3 hours of images. Oh well.

First up is comet Lovejoy, which is now very high in the NW sky and getting fainter every day. The Hyperstar made it fairly easy to capture the comet and the tail.

Lovejoy - Feb 13, 2015
80x30sec ISO800 EdgeHD-1100 w/Hyperstar f/2

I also tried to capture the Horsehead nebula in Orion. Had I waited for the skies to clear I could have gotten at least another 50-100 subs to add to the image. This photo suffers from some of the image artifacts due to the 50D's large footprint, but I'll be able to add more subs to the mix and reprocess this wonderful nebula later this month.

Horsehead and Flame Nebula
60x30sec ISO800 EdgeHD-1100 w/Hyperstar f/2

All in all, I'm really pleased with the performance of the Hyperstar. Cuts my imaging time to less than 1/20th of the normal times, and provides a much wider field of view.

Say cheese! Hubble telescope captures extraterrestrial smiley face

Smiley face from deep space - (nasa.gov)

Kinda creepy in a way. This image is the result of gravitational lensing, where an object (in this case a group of massive galaxies) bend the light from objects behind them. In essence the galaxy cluster acts as a lens focusing the light into contorted and stretched images.

See the full article here.

First Light with Hyperstar-III

I've waited 2 full weeks for the weather to clear, the moon to disappear, and the wind to die down. And last night I was finally able to try out my new Hyperstar on the EdgeHD 1100. I picked M42, the Orion Nebula, for the first test and after taking 50 x 20sec subs with an LP filter here's my first result, processed in PI and PSP.

M42 - Orion Nebula
50x20sec ISO800 - EdgeHD 1100 w/Hyperstar

 

Then I targeted the Pleiades star cluster, M45. I’ve always wanted to see if I could get the subtle blue nebulosity to show and with the Hyperstar, success!

M45 - Pleiades
50x20sec ISO800 - EdgeHD 1100 w/Hyperstar

These are only the first test images of the new equipment. Once I get the calibration done and the proper flats applied (should eliminate the light smudgy areas around the image) I should be able to extract more detail and keep the backrgound dark.

 

 

So, What does Rosetta Have to Tell Us?

The Rosetta spacecraft is revealing Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as having a remarkable array of surface features and with many processes contributing to its activity, painting a complex picture of its evolution.Never before have we been able to examine comet terrain with such clarity and detail. In just a few weeks Rosetta has increased our knowledge of comets many times over, and, as most such discoveries do, added to our lack of understanding as well.

Astronomy Magazine has a nice article on the latest from Rosetta. You can read all about it there.

Rings Like Saturn’s, but Supersized

When the University of Rochester’s Eric Mamajek tells other astronomers about the object he and his colleagues discovered about 430 light-years from Earth, they tend to be skeptical—very skeptical. And no wonder: What he’s found is a giant ring system, sort of like Saturn’s, but some 200 times bigger, circling what may be an exoplanet between ten and 40 times the size of Jupiter.

For the complete story, go to Time.

Tiny lander lost and found

The University of Leicester announced that they have identified the remains of Beagle 2, a Mars lander presumed lost over a decade ago. Beagle 2 hitched a ride to the Red Planet on the European Space Agency's Mars Express (still in operation) back in 2003. It never communicated with earth and was presumed lost.

See the complete story at Astronomy.com.

Closer image of Lovejoy

Another clear night and so another opportunity to capture more of Lovejoy's tail.  It appears that Lovejoy is actually a little brighter now, possibly due to more transparent sky conditions, and because it continues to rise higher into the sky, now placed near the zenith in a darker sky.

After having some success with my Canon 50D and telephoto lens I decided to try and use my guidescope as an imaging scope (it is an 80mm x 400mm refractor afterall). So I attached the Canon and took 82 30 second images. Four were not processed because of image issues (bird flew around the scope!) leaving me with an effective exposure of 38 minutes at ISO1600. Processed in PixInsight and then PSP I removed as much of the noise and light pollution as I could. The result is rather good if I say so myself.

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2)
January 19, 2015 8:30PM
76x30sec ISO 1600 Orion ST80 Refractor  (80mmx400mm)

Lovejoy is now leaving the inner solar system, increasing it's distance to both sun and earth, and so will be dimming as the days go on. Soon the moon will make a reappearance and foil any more real attempts to image the comet and capture subtle details in the tail. We'll see if the weather cooperates in the later part of the week to try once more.

Comet Lovejoy

Here is the latest image I took of comet Lovejoy (C2014 Q2) on January 16, 2015.  Instead of at prime focus of my telescope, this image was taken with a Canon 50D and Tamron 18-270mm telephoto lens set at 200mm and f6.3.  Although the comet was high in the SSW sky, the light pollution and the fact that I wanted to be able to capture the faint tail conspired against me a bit.  I pushed the ISO value on the camera to 1600 which added significant noise to the image.  However, I processed it the best I could in PixInsight and PSP and managed to finally image the tail rather well.





Comet Lovejoy - January 16, 2015
Canon 50D 200mm f6.3 63x90sec at ISO 1600 (94.5 minutes)