Astro-photography (open thread)

[jerryy]

Part two of two.

Some deep sky objects also look good in black and white. The red channel in the previous image has a lot of detail:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Getting closer to M16, The Pillars of Creation jump out a little more:

it is easy to see why using monochrome cameras with special filters is so popular in astrophotography.

Note: while this one channel approach works okay here, it is only sort-of like what you would get using a monochrome camera with filters. Folks that use that kind of equipment will tell you that monochrome bodies give you more detail in the images for the same exposure length because there is no color filter array in front of the sensor to block some of the light coming in. Also, using a basic color body as I am doing here does not give you only the Hydrogen Alpha light; the red colors from Nitrogen (Nii) and Sulfur (Sii) also are put into the red channel.

Edited August 30, 2024 by jerryy

[jerryy]

September 17, 2024.

It was supposed to be a Full Moon, a Super Moon, Harvest Moon with a little off the top.

It was almost an Obscured By Clouds Moon ...

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Locally, the clouds cleared just in time to see the partial eclipse:

https://www.space.com/lunar-eclipse-september-harvest-moon-supermoon-what-to-expect

 

[jerryy]

Whoa! Pony! Slow down horse!

Located in the Pegasus Constellation is the Pegasus Cluster, a beautiful group of fresh blue-hot stars mixed in with older cooler warm-red stars. (Messier Object M15).

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

This is the equivalent of seven minutes of exposure.

According to the legends, Pegasus popped out of Medusa's neck after Medusa had the dire misfortune of encountering Perseus who was in a very bad mood that day they met. Mayhem ensued and Medusa lost that round. Time passed on and after some other adventures, Pegasus ventured up to Olympus and later retired to hanging out in the stars.

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-15

https://astro-observer.com/messier/M15

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

https://nineplanets.org/pegasus/

Giddy Up Pony!

Edited September 25, 2024 by jerryy

[jerryy]

OrioNOTS (Orionids)

Meteor showers tend to happen regularly every year, over a period of time; days, weeks or even longer. Published times are usually listed for the few nights when the showers will be most visible, i.e. a lot of meteors per hour. Sometimes, the showers’ viewing times vary, they start a little early or a little late, but mostly they start and end right on their predicted time schedules.

I was hoping to see the (October) Orionids earlier than during this year's peak viewing time. The showers best viewing times were supposed to happen during moon up in the sky time.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Pointed in the right direction, this is a thirty seconds long exposure, long enough to bring out the foreground and have some star trailing.

After an hour or so of viewing, lots of star trails, and one airplane, but no meteors. They were stubbornly insisting on staying on schedule, they had a show to put on. But no shows locally, alas.

This is the culprit, making meteor viewing very, very difficult that night. Moonrise, at 71% illumination. This puppy is bright enough to cast shadows and hide meteors.

 

 

Edited January 4 by jerryy

[SimonF]

22 hours ago, jerryy said:

OrioNOTS (Orionids)

Meteor showers tend to happen regularly every year, over a period of time; days, weeks or even longer. Published times are usually listed for the few nights when the showers will be most visible, i.e. a lot of meteors per hour. Sometimes, the showers’ viewing times vary, they start a little early or a little late, but mostly they start and end right on their predicted time schedules.

I was hoping to see the (October) Orionids earlier than during this year's peak viewing time. The showers best viewing times were supposed to happen during moon up in the sky time.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Pointed in the right direction, this is a thirty second exposure, long enough to bring out the foreground and have some star trailing.

After an hour or so of viewing, lots of star trails, and one airplane, but no meteors. They were stubbornly insisting on staying on schedule, they had a show to put on. But no shows locally, alas.

This is the culprit, making meteor viewing very, very difficult that night. Moonrise, at 71% illumination. This puppy is bright enough to cast shadows and hide meteors.

 

The star trails are pretty cool though, i have never done any astrophotography.

 

[jerryy]

6 hours ago, SimonF said:

 

It is fun. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but once you start getting some practice, you can use it as an excuse to be outdoors at night 😃.

I am looking forward to seeing images you post.

Edited November 8, 2024 by jerryy

[jerryy]

On 11/7/2024 at 2:10 PM, SimonF said:

 

@SimonF, the same image sequence used to make star trails can also be used to make time lapse videos.

Note 1: This is a .mp4 video file. Unfortunately, some browsers will not play these files, but there are plenty that will play them. Hopefully, those reading this will be able to view the file.

Note 2: This time lapse sequence shows Taurus, the Pleiades and Perseus rising in the sky. Along with a lot of other 'regional sky stuff' as well.

[SimonF]

On 11/8/2024 at 1:33 AM, jerryy said:

It is fun. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but once you start getting some practice, you can use it as an excuse to be outdoors at night 😃.

I am looking forward to seeing images you post.

Thanks Jerry, i must give it a try. I suppose it is better in a place without too much light pollution.

[SimonF]

On 11/11/2024 at 4:03 PM, jerryy said:

@SimonF, the same image sequence used to make star trails can also be used to make time lapse videos.

 

Note 1: This is a .mp4 video file. Unfortunately, some browsers will not play these files, but there are plenty that will play them. Hopefully, those reading this will be able to view the file.

Note 2: This time lapse sequence shows Taurus, the Pleiades and Perseus rising in the sky. Along with a lot of other 'regional sky stuff' as well.

That is so cool, and very clear too!  Thanks Jerry.

[jerryy]

2 hours ago, SimonF said:

Thanks Jerry, i must give it a try. I suppose it is better in a place without too much light pollution.

Much better indeed! Many places sell light pollution filters, and a while back these actually did work well enough. They are versions of the lenses used in glass blowers’ and welders’ glasses filtering out light from off-green, off-yellow and tungsten lights. Communities and people started using white led lighting in homes, street lights, etc. these filters do not work at all for blocking that. Dark skies when you can get them give the best results.

[SimonF]

On 11/13/2024 at 10:52 PM, jerryy said:

Much better indeed! Many places sell light pollution filters, and a while back these actually did work well enough. They are versions of the lenses used in glass blowers’ and welders’ glasses filtering out light from off-green, off-yellow and tungsten lights. Communities and people started using white led lighting in homes, street lights, etc. these filters do not work at all for blocking that. Dark skies when you can get them give the best results.

Thanks Jerry, sorry for late reply.

[jerryy]

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

December 04, 2024. Venus and the Waxing Moon.

[MARRIEDGUY9]

pretty cool.........I was outside tonight and they're getting further away.

[jerryy]

The Bridal Veil...

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

A long time ago, a big 'ol star near the Cygnus Constellation got very down-sized by collapsing in on itself. But things went too far, so much too far that it turned into a super-nova and the remains of that were discovered by William Herschel in 1784. This one goes by several names, the Cygnus Loop, the Filamentary Nebula, the Bridal Veil Nebula or just the Veil Nebula among other names. Then astronomers started giving names to the parts they could see and we have, today, three main named parts. The Western Veil Nebula, also known as the Witches Broom Nebula -- NGC 6960, the Eastern Veil Nebula -- NGC 6992 and some of the middle part called Pickering's Triangle also known as Fleming's Triangle. (Williamina Fleming discovered it and named it after the director of the observatory she used to find it. It does not have a NGC number because she discovered it after that catalog was published.)

https://www.constellation-guide.com/veil-nebula/

https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2015/29/3620-Image.html

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/cygnus-loop-nebula/

This one is not too hard to find and see in telescopes in moderately dark skies. Just look for the Swan up in the sky and start from there.

This is the equivalent of a few moments more than 32 minutes of exposure.

 

 

Edited December 26, 2024 by jerryy

[jerryy]

One month later (January 3, 2025) ...

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

… Venus and Waxing Moon are still playing tag.

[jerryy]

Guiding Light:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

This is the equivalent of 63 minutes, 40 seconds worth of exposure.

Often used as a guide star for night travel or as a prop in stories, this is Polaris, part of Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. Currently the North Star, it sits up in the sky, seemingly one that never moves for folks in the Northern Hemisphere while the others arc around making circles in long-exposure star-trail photos. Currently, Seemingly, but that was/is not entirely true.

https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/ursa-minor-constellation/

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

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/what-is-the-north-star-and-how-do-you-find-it/

https://science.howstuffworks.com/north-star.htm

1 of 2.

Edited February 1 by jerryy

[jerryy]

At The Cross Roads...

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

The North Celestial Pole.

Alpha UMi is the designation astronomers give Polaris. Although it does not seem to move if you casually watch it; from the watcher's perspective, Polaris does rotate 'round and round' the celestial pole, it just does it verrrry imperceptibly. There is a corresponding south celestial pole and Earth rotates around that polar line, making the stars in the sky seem to go in circles.

2 of 2.

Edited February 1 by jerryy

[jerryy]

NGC 2244 (Revisited Rosette). Testing some equipment...

Back on Page Two of this thread, NGC 2244's posting has some closer-in and further-out views. This view is from a different setup at a different location.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

This is the equivalent of 56 minutes, 10 seconds of camera capturing exposures.

And for your referencing pleasure:

https://www.constellation-guide.com/rosette-nebula/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210221.html

Edited February 5 by jerryy

[MARRIEDGUY9]

that is sooooooooooooo cool, I got a Ioptron Skyguider Pro for XMAS.............I am planning to get out soon and getting my feet wet.  I've dabbled with a tripod only, I really enjoy getting out there at night.

[jerryy]

On 2/14/2025 at 10:56 PM, MARRIEDGUY9 said:

that is sooooooooooooo cool, I got a Ioptron Skyguider Pro for XMAS.............I am planning to get out soon and getting my feet wet.  I've dabbled with a tripod only, I really enjoy getting out there at night.

I have one of those. I use it a lot for my camera lens based images. It is light, weight wise, which is good for travel/carrying, easy to use and works well. Hopefully, the weather will let you outdoors at night and you can have some fun.

Right now, the Orion Constellation is readily visible with all of its nebulae and galaxy season (Spring) is coming.

p.s. Coming up on March 13/14, 2025, is a Lunar eclipse: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2025-march-14 

Edited February 16 by jerryy

[MARRIEDGUY9]

thanks........I thought about Orion as my first attempt at a tracked photo.  I was playing around with my 150-600 and got Jupiter with its moons.  Not much of a photo, thought it was a hoot to see the moons aligned like this.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[jerryy]

Just a quick reminder, the Earth is supposed to eclipse the Moon soon.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moon/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-march-2025-total-lunar-eclipse/

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2025-march-14

🤔 As far as I know, a host of dragons is not going to erupt out of the dark side of the Moon and swoop down to devour the Earth.

[MARRIEDGUY9]

the eclipse is here!  unfortunately, it is realllllllly cloudy here, says I have to drive over an hour to have a reasonable "chance" to see it......debating.

[jerryy]

20 hours ago, MARRIEDGUY9 said:

the eclipse is here!  unfortunately, it is realllllllly cloudy here, says I have to drive over an hour to have a reasonable "chance" to see it......debating.

I hope things went well.

[jerryy]

No dragons.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

The Moon is just starting the Penumbral Eclipse (the Moon moves through the outer part of Earth's shadow called the penumbra).

A little later, the shadow is overtaking the Moon.

1 / 3.