Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
Oh! I don't know. At times I think that I could trade my snowblower for clear skies & more photo opportunities & different subjects.
Stuff in the Sky
- Thread starter Canuck from Kansas
- Start date
Well, finally got back out; however, it has been such a long while we had to do some re-training, be sure we had everything hooked up correctly, captured, and processed. Full team at the observatory had to participate. To that end, we pointed the Zenithstar at a relatively bright and discrete object that we had previously imaged, the Pelican Nebula (IC 5070, #112 ), an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus (the Swan). We actually like this rendition better, even though it is composed of fewer light frames; the different filter (OIII/Halpha), which we had not yet acquired when we previously imaged, helped bring out some color.
Pelican Nebula: 15 x 240 second light exposures, 50 darks; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:
Satisfied that we actually had a clue, we next trained the Zenithstar an a far less forgiving subject, the Phantom of the Opera. SH 2-173 (Sharlpess 2-173) is a very faint emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It lies in the Perseus arm of our Milky Way, some 8800 light years distant. The emission nebula contains 7 bright CAS-OB5 stars and is primarily ionized by the only O-star (hot, blue-white star of spectral type O) BD+6039. It turns out that SH2-173 is still expanding at a speed of about 16km/s.
The dust cloud's general shape and haunting eyes resemble the mask worn by the Lon Chaney in the classic film, the Phantom of the Opera (we refuse to site the Broadway musical).
Due to its very low luminosity, many long exposures are required to bring the Phantom out; unfortunately, clouds rolled in and we had to discard half our images. It is supposed to be cold and clear tonight, so hopefully we can capture a lot more images and add on to the current set, hopefully bringing the Phantom out even more.
Phantom of the Opera (SH 2-173): 5 x 600 second light exposures; 15 x 600 second dark exposure; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:
Cheers
Pelican Nebula: 15 x 240 second light exposures, 50 darks; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:
Satisfied that we actually had a clue, we next trained the Zenithstar an a far less forgiving subject, the Phantom of the Opera. SH 2-173 (Sharlpess 2-173) is a very faint emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It lies in the Perseus arm of our Milky Way, some 8800 light years distant. The emission nebula contains 7 bright CAS-OB5 stars and is primarily ionized by the only O-star (hot, blue-white star of spectral type O) BD+6039. It turns out that SH2-173 is still expanding at a speed of about 16km/s.
The dust cloud's general shape and haunting eyes resemble the mask worn by the Lon Chaney in the classic film, the Phantom of the Opera (we refuse to site the Broadway musical).
Due to its very low luminosity, many long exposures are required to bring the Phantom out; unfortunately, clouds rolled in and we had to discard half our images. It is supposed to be cold and clear tonight, so hopefully we can capture a lot more images and add on to the current set, hopefully bringing the Phantom out even more.
Phantom of the Opera (SH 2-173): 5 x 600 second light exposures; 15 x 600 second dark exposure; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:
Cheers
While waiting for the Phantom of the Opera to come into good viewing position, the team decided to grab some images of the Eastern Veil nebula (NGC 6995), not to be confused with the Western or Central Veil Nebula ( #88 ). Oddly, but perhaps fittingly, the Eastern Veil nebula can be found to the east of the Western (and Central) Veil. Collectively, they are the remnants of a supernova in the constellation Cygnus.
Eastern Veil Nebula (NGC 6995): 14 x 240 second light exposures; 25 darks, OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:
After capturing a few shots of the Eastern Veil, we went back to see if we could capture the Phantom of the Opera. The skies remained clear and so we were able to grab a whole bunch more data (apologies for using technical terms such as "whole bunch"). With the additional data, the Phantom does emerge a little more clearly - with a little star removal, which we generally do not do, he would really come out.
Phantom of the Opera (SH 2-173): 46 x 600 second light exposures; 40 x 600 second dark exposure; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:
Cheer
Eastern Veil Nebula (NGC 6995): 14 x 240 second light exposures; 25 darks, OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:
After capturing a few shots of the Eastern Veil, we went back to see if we could capture the Phantom of the Opera. The skies remained clear and so we were able to grab a whole bunch more data (apologies for using technical terms such as "whole bunch"). With the additional data, the Phantom does emerge a little more clearly - with a little star removal, which we generally do not do, he would really come out.
Phantom of the Opera (SH 2-173): 46 x 600 second light exposures; 40 x 600 second dark exposure; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:
Cheer
Thanks very much Jim. The team at the Observatory are very happy to bring it to you. It is truly amazing what is up there!! Once we find a new home for the observatory, we are hoping to upgrade our software so we can clean up the images even more and use different palettes (Hubble palette, etc).
Cheers
SpeyrodGB
Steelhead
I was outside last hoping to see some meteors. While looking at O’rion’s Belt, I noticed a semi orange colored star to the north of the “belt”. I was wondering if anyone knew what the name of the star/planet might be. Sorry for the poor pic. A cell phone is only so good. Thanks.
Attachments
That was probably Betelgeuse you saw.
When I arrived home this morning around 1 AM the sky was just completely lit up with other worlds out there. Clear and cold. @Canuck from Kansas is probably still in the observatory trying to determine which treasures from above he’ll be sharing with us later today. Can’t wait!
... It'll be coming
Yup, Betelgeuse. Interesting star that underwent a significant dimming a few years ago, some thought it might explode in a supernova, but it regained its brightness. Was also earlier in the week "eclipsed" for a few seconds by an asteroid, if you lived Florida or some other locations (about 2:21:00 of the second link - they thought it was a cloud at the time, but was probably the occultation).
What is Betelgeuse? Inside the Strange, Volatile Star - NASA Science
A blazing red supergiant shining brilliantly in the night sky, Betelgeuse is a star that has captured attention for centuries.
universe.nasa.gov
Cheers
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Even though it isn't "Galaxy Season" there are still galaxies out and about up there, so we thought we'd take a look.
M 77 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus. It was discovered in 1780 and described as a nebula by Pierre Mechain, who then passed his information on to Charles Messier and he included it in his catalogues as star cluster and designated it as, you guessed it, the 77th item. Lord Rosse described its spiral nature and listed it as one of 14 "spiral nebula" discovered up to 1850. Halton Arp listed Messier 77 as No. 37 in his Catalogue of Peculiar Galaxies, describing it as a "Spiral with a Low Surface Brightness Companion On Arm". M77 has a very active nucleus and is the radio source Cetus A. It is a prototypical Seyfert galaxy, with a quasar-like nucleus. You can find the Hubble image here (heic1305a ) - kinda puts ours to shame, but then, the Canuck Observatory does not have quite the same budget.
M 77: 14 x 240 second light exposures, multispectrum broadband filter:
Next up was NGC 1365. We have been wondering if we would be able to capture this beautiful barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Fornax, it is very low on our southern horizon and we weren't sure if it would ever clear the trees, or for how long. Luckily, we were able to capture 12 shots for stacking, but a power line created some odd shadowing; with the magic of our software we were able to essentially blend the shadows into the darkness. NGC 1365 is one of the finest examples of a barred galaxy, but you really need about an 8" telescope to bring out the details (ours is 81 mm, about 3.2 inches - check out this image from NoirLab https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-ngc1365/, again, we are put to shame - will have to ask the wife if the observatory can have a bigger budget - Honey, I need an 8 weight).
NGC 1365: 12 x 240 second light exposures, multispectrum broadband filter:
Cheers
M 77 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus. It was discovered in 1780 and described as a nebula by Pierre Mechain, who then passed his information on to Charles Messier and he included it in his catalogues as star cluster and designated it as, you guessed it, the 77th item. Lord Rosse described its spiral nature and listed it as one of 14 "spiral nebula" discovered up to 1850. Halton Arp listed Messier 77 as No. 37 in his Catalogue of Peculiar Galaxies, describing it as a "Spiral with a Low Surface Brightness Companion On Arm". M77 has a very active nucleus and is the radio source Cetus A. It is a prototypical Seyfert galaxy, with a quasar-like nucleus. You can find the Hubble image here (heic1305a ) - kinda puts ours to shame, but then, the Canuck Observatory does not have quite the same budget.
M 77: 14 x 240 second light exposures, multispectrum broadband filter:
Next up was NGC 1365. We have been wondering if we would be able to capture this beautiful barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Fornax, it is very low on our southern horizon and we weren't sure if it would ever clear the trees, or for how long. Luckily, we were able to capture 12 shots for stacking, but a power line created some odd shadowing; with the magic of our software we were able to essentially blend the shadows into the darkness. NGC 1365 is one of the finest examples of a barred galaxy, but you really need about an 8" telescope to bring out the details (ours is 81 mm, about 3.2 inches - check out this image from NoirLab https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-ngc1365/, again, we are put to shame - will have to ask the wife if the observatory can have a bigger budget - Honey, I need an 8 weight).
NGC 1365: 12 x 240 second light exposures, multispectrum broadband filter:
Cheers
The "Sculptor Galaxy" (NGC 253), also often called the Silver Dollar Galaxy (RASC Observer's Handbook), is the brightest member of the Sculptor group of galaxies. It was discovered on September 23, 1783 by Caroline Herschel, the sister of the more famous William Herschel. She added it to her list as number 10. Not to be out done, brother William included it in his catalog as No. V.1. NGC's size is estimated to be approximately 70,000 light years in diameter, comparable to our own Milky Way.
The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253): 40 x 240 second light exposures, 30 x 240 second darks, multispectrum broadband filter:
Cropped:
Cheers
The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253): 40 x 240 second light exposures, 30 x 240 second darks, multispectrum broadband filter:
Cropped:
Cheers
So many mind blowing, far away parts of our Universe. Here's a local friend, peaking over a ridge of lavender at dusk in Provence, France, last July.
On a roadtrip and checked off a bucket list item, the Very Large Array..... so cool....while there the telescopes changed positions multiple times
Bass-O-Matic
Life of the Party
Very cool - come to the Canuck Observatory and you can see the Incredibly Little Array
Cheers
A merry Christmas from the staff of the Canuck Observatory
With blinking lights from the Chandra X-ray Observatory:
ngc2264_blinking.mp4
Cheers
With blinking lights from the Chandra X-ray Observatory:
ngc2264_blinking.mp4
Cheers
Speaking of far away parts of our universe……great image btw.
Here’s something to think about from a pretty interesting guy I follow at times
We have visited Leo's Triplet before (#34); however, what sets this image of M 65, M 66, and NGC 3628 apart is the flyby of Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan, a periodic comet that orbits the sun every 2,330 days (6.38 years). It completed its perihelion (point of orbit closest to the sun) just a few days ago, on 25 December. Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan should be at its brightest on New Years.
Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan, Leo's Triplet with Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan: 40 x 120 second light exposures; 40 x 120 second darks; multispectrum broadband filter:
The comet was even closer to NGC 3628 yesterday morning (28 December), but it was cloudy here. A really great image by Fernando Jordan is posted here:
Cheers
Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan, Leo's Triplet with Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan: 40 x 120 second light exposures; 40 x 120 second darks; multispectrum broadband filter:
The comet was even closer to NGC 3628 yesterday morning (28 December), but it was cloudy here. A really great image by Fernando Jordan is posted here:
Cheers
