Astro-photography (open thread)

[jerryy]

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[YOUTA]

On 12/24/2020 at 6:17 AM, jerryy said:

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very nice !!!

[Govind Vijayakumar]

Good shot. Is it a single image or an HDR?

[jerryy]

21 hours ago, Govind Vijayakumar said:

Good shot. Is it a single image or an HDR?

Thank you.

It is a single frame.

[jerryy]

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Arcturus

Arcturus’ bright light was used to open the 1933 World’s Fair in the host city Chicago, Illinois (USA). Back then, people thought Arcturus was 40 light years away from Earth, so it was chosen to go along with the 40th anniversary of the previous Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

https://chicagology.com/centuryprogress/1933fair54/

https://www.space.com/22842-arcturus.html

[jerryy]

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August's full moon goes by a lot of names, including the Sturgeon Moon, the Green Corn Moon, the Raksha Bandhan Moon, Nikini Soya, and the end of the Esala Perahera festival.

It is called the Sturgeon moon because during this time of the year, there is supposed to be lots of sturgeons out swimming around. Here is a link to some more information:

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1390/august-2020-the-next-full-moon-is-the-sturgeon-moon/

[jerryy]

Venus and the Falling Leaves Moon

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When this new moon grows up it will be called the Hunter's Full Moon or the Falling Leaves Moon.

Edited April 13 by jerryy

[jerryy]

I was able to get to see some of this year's Draconid meteor shower (*1.), it was a bit different. Usually the meteors I get to see have longer lasting bright flashes as they come whizzing down out of the sky, these tended to be less colorful, but still very neat to see.

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*1.) https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/draconid.html

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Edited April 13 by jerryy

[jerryy]

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Hanging out close by Cassiopeia's neighborhood.

https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/cassiopeia-constellation/

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Edited April 13 by jerryy

[jerryy]

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Andromeda: M31

The small blob on the right hand side is Le Gentil M32

https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-31-andromeda-galaxy/

https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-32-le-gentil/

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[jerryy]

Look up!

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[jerryy]

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NGC 281

This is the equivalent of 116 minutes exposure time.

NGC 281 also goes by the name of the Pacman Nebula.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/763/the-pacman-nebula/

Wocca, wocca, wocca.

edit: 2022/10/24 - swapped the old image out for this new one. The time listed is for this new one.

Edited October 24, 2022 by jerryy

[jerryy]

The Seven Sisters (1.5 minutes)...

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up closer (30 minutes)...

more so (50 minutes)...

This one goes by many names, it is mostly known as M45

https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-45-pleiades/

or The Pleiades:

https://www.space.com/pleiades.html

it has a lot of history:

https://naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/pleiades_myth.html

.

[jerryy]

Auriga The Charioteer. This constellation usually shows up in the Northern Hemisphere during the late fall, early winter months. Its shape is easy to recognize and with its mainstay star Capella being so bright, it is easy to find.

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(constellation stars are listed in red, DSOs are listed in green.)

Auriga is itself home to lots and lots of DSOs (deep sky objects --- various kinds of nebulas, galaxies, star clusters, etc.) one of these is IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula:

This is the equivalent of a 30 minute exposure.

 

1.) https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/auriga-constellation/

2.) https://science.nasa.gov/ic-405-flaming-star-nebula

 

[jerryy]

Orion is easily recognizable once you know it is there. Orion's Belt is probably the famous part of the constellation, but there is more to the star show than these three twinkling lights. Below the belt (below the left most star -- Alnitak) is Orion's Sword. The sword is usually visible even in light polluted skies, while you need darker skies to see Orion's Bow. The sword contains beautiful nebulas and star clusters.

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This is a four-minutes-exposure equivalent merged with a 42-seconds-exposure equivalent.

1.) https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/orion-constellation/

2.)https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia08653-the-sword-of-orion

 

Edited April 13 by jerryy

[jerryy]

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Big Bear Rising.

Ursa Major, some call her The Big Dipper or The Plough (according to Greek mythology, Callisto was turned into the big bear and put up in the sky to roam around. One of the usual tales of jealousy.)

https://nineplanets.org/ursa-major-constellation/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major

On a seasonal note, during the Northern Hemisphere's winter months, Ursa Major tends to stay low in the northern sky, always just above the horizon. Somewhat like a bear hibernating. And like a bear, in the springtime it will shake off winter napping and climb up out of its den. Once you see it rising in the sky above the light dome (light dome is a polite term for the light pollution around cities and towns) spring is not too far away.

[jerryy]

Mintaka

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Mintaka is the star on the top right of Orion's Belt (Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka). Steady and stolid, it is not part of nebulae and things like that, but without it, Orion would not have much of a belt. When you look up at the constellation, it looks like Mintaka is a single star in a dark part of space, but there are actually several stars orbiting around each other.

https://www.star-facts.com/mintaka/

https://nineplanets.org/mintaka-δ-orionis/

This is the equivalent of a thirty minute exposure.

Edited April 13 by jerryy

[jerryy]

Bode's Stuff

 

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M81: Upper Right

M82: Lower left.

Messier Object M81 is named Bode's Galaxy after Johann Elert Bode, the German Astronomer who found it in 1774 along with the very nearby M82. Originally, it was called Bode's Nebula, but after folks took another closer look, they realized it was a galaxy. Still, the name Bode's Nebula stuck around and today the two names are interchangeable.

https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-81-bodes-galaxy/

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-81

 

Messier Object M82, also found by Johann Elert Bode in 1774, is called the Cigar Galaxy. It is bright enough and large enough to see using binoculars, usually during March and April.

https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-82-cigar-galaxy/

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-82-the-cigar-galaxy

Edit: added 20 minutes of additional exposure time to the M81 section to show some more definition in the dust lanes.

This is the equivalent of a seventy minute exposure (fifty minutes for the M82 part).

edit: I framed this shot a little differently. So this is a new image.

 

Edited August 3, 2022 by jerryy

[jerryy]

Mineralized Worm Moon

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The moon shines so brightly that it seems there is no color there, just bright reflected sunlight. Not even green, if you recall that the moon is made of green cheese. 😀. Actually there is a lot of color, one technique called 'Mineral Moon' brings it out. NASA has an example: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_819.html

March's full moon is called The Worm Moon, on account of the soil warms up and the worms crawl out. Worm Moon goes by quite a few other names:  https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/worm.html

 

[jerryy]

Stars' light...

Stars bright...

A cluster o'stars I saw that night...

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Messier Object M3 is a globular cluster of all kinds of different types of stars.

https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-3/

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-3

https://www.messier.seds.org/m/m003.html

This is the equivalent of a 48 minute, 20 second exposure. If the skies are dark, you can see this one using binoculars, or a small telescope, or, if the skies are really dark and you have pretty good vision, you can just look up and see it (if you look in the right place).

[jerryy]

Of a Whale, a Calf, and a Crowbar...

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NGC 4627: The Calf (aka The Pup) Galaxy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_4627

NGC 4656: The Crowbar (aka The Hockey Stick) Galaxy: https://www.messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n4656.html

NGC 4631: The Whale (aka The Herring) Galaxy: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040123.html

This is the equivalent of a 110 minute exposure.

 

[jerryy]

Markarian's Chain

Markarian's Chain is a swooping line of galaxies close by the Virgo Constellation, named after Benjamin E. Markarian.

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Here is some more information about a few of the Chain's inhabitants:

https://www.seetheglory.com/galaxies-m84-and-m86-in-virgo/

https://esahubble.org/images/heic0911c/

https://www.messier-objects.com/markarians-chain/

This is the equivalent of just over 110 minutes of exposure.

Edited April 13 by jerryy

[jerryy]

(Mid) April's full moon is the Pink Moon...

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Just at sunset. Okay it was not all that much pink after all.

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/pink.html

 

 

[jerryy]

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Hercules Cluster M13 (84 minute equivalent exposure).

From a dark place, you can see this one in the northern sky just by looking up. Of course, having more than 100,000 stars in the cluster helps brighten it up a bit.

https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-13-hercules-globular-cluster/

https://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/m13-finest-globular-cluster-in-northern-skies/

https://science.nasa.gov/m13-great-globular-cluster-hercules

edit: Back in 1974, radio messages were sent out into space. The ‘Arecibo Message’ was sent toward M13.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_message

 

Edited April 13 by jerryy

[jerryy]

A whirlpool in space ...

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M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy (larger object on the left) and NGC 5195 (smaller object on the right). Located not too far from the Big Dipper -- Ursa Major. This is equivalent to a just over 97 minute exposure.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-51-the-whirlpool-galaxy

https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-51-whirlpool-galaxy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy