136 replies to this topic

[MartinMeredith]

Brent, lovely capture of Jones 1 in a wider field context and great commentary (some of the King clusters are under-appreciated IMO).

 

Christmas greetings from Scotland. Stay warm!

[BrentKnight]

I got a couple more last evening but this time with the Askar FMA180 and the ASI533MC-Pro.  Temperatures were right around 20° when I packed everything up and frost was on every flat surface I could find.

 

LBN534/vdB158 and Aveni-Hunter 1

 

Askar FMA180 with an ASI533MC-Pro and a ZWO UV/IR filter | 30s, 36m, G:350, 0° C | Darks, Flats and Dark Flats taken with Sharpcap Pro 4

 

LBN534 and vDB158 are hidden within the stars in my EAA capture.  I did a little reduction in GIMP so that they stand out a little better.  Link to the slightly processed capture is here.

 

NGC1499 (The California Nebula)

 

Askar FMA180 with an ASI533MC-Pro and a Optolong L-eNhance filter | 30s, 78m, G:350, 0° C | Darks, Flats and Dark Flats taken with Sharpcap Pro 4.

 

Annotation from Sharpcap

 

I had no idea there was a faint galaxy (behind) this nebula.

 

Detail from capture above showing the galaxy IC 2005

 

It's tiny and shows no details, but it's there and probably very diminished after traveling through this nebula.

Steve Gottlieb provided these notes on his NGC Notes website.

 

24" (1/1/16): at 260x; faint, very small, round, 10" diameter, faint stellar nucleus.  With averted vision the halo increases slightly to 15".  This galaxy shines through the northwest section of the California Nebula!

Stephane Javelle discovered IC 2005 = J. 3-084 on 18 Jan 1898.  His position is accurate.

[alphatripleplus]

Last night was the coldest night of the year that I've conducted an EAA session, but we had no wind and conditions were favourable. I used my now regular set-up (AT130EDT at f/7,  ASI290MM mini at 300gain, no binning and no filters, captured with  ASILive vs 1.7).

 

First up was NGC7640, which I last observed some time ago. Here is an 8 minute capture that shows what I think is a dust lane running North/South through the central bulge. It is narrow, but clearly visible in this capture and in some of the other captures of this target that have been posted in this topic. It's easier to see in the zoomed view. Click to zoom.

 

NGC7640; 32 x 15sec

 

 

 

[alphatripleplus]

Next up is the barred spiral NGC2487 in Gemini (and its companion NGC2486 to the west (right)) in this 8 minute capture. I can just see the barred structure of this spiral, but it was still low over the horizon at 28degrees altitude. Might have better luck seeing more with it higher in the sky.

 

NGC2487; 32 x 15sec

 

 

 

[alphatripleplus]

Lastly, I took a look at the the emission nebula NGC1491 in Perseus. Here is an unfiltered 10 minute capture that shows the almost snake-like swirls at the western (right) edge of the bright emission region, and only a hint of the much larger surrounding nebulosity - a wisp of which is visible to the southwest (lower left) of NGC1491.

 

NGC1491; 40 x 15sec

 

 

 

For comparison, I am including a wide field 12 minute capture that I took a few years back in H-alpha with my venerable Orion ST80 operating at f/4.0, and Lodestar X2 mono, captured with Starlight Live. NGC1491 is very bright in H-alpha and the surrounding nebulosity, which is mostly invisible in the unfiltered view with the AT130EDT is faintly visible in the ST80 H-alpha capture.

 

NGC1491 (H-alpha); 12 x  60sec

 

[MarMax]

I got a couple more last evening but this time with the Askar FMA180 and the ASI533MC-Pro.  Temperatures were right around 20° when I packed everything up and frost was on every flat surface I could find.

 

 

LBN534/vdB158 and Aveni-Hunter 1

 

Askar FMA180 with an ASI533MC-Pro and a ZWO UV/IR filter | 30s, 36m, G:350, 0° C | Darks, Flats and Dark Flats taken with Sharpcap Pro 4

 

LBN534 and vDB158 are hidden within the stars in my EAA capture.  I did a little reduction in GIMP so that they stand out a little better.  Link to the slightly processed capture is here.

 

 

NGC1499 (The California Nebula)

 

Askar FMA180 with an ASI533MC-Pro and a Optolong L-eNhance filter | 30s, 78m, G:350, 0° C | Darks, Flats and Dark Flats taken with Sharpcap Pro 4.

 

 

Annotation from Sharpcap

 

I had no idea there was a faint galaxy (behind) this nebula.

 

 

Detail from capture above showing the galaxy IC 2005

 

It's tiny and shows no details, but it's there and probably very diminished after traveling through this nebula.

Steve Gottlieb provided these notes on his NGC Notes website.

 

24" (1/1/16): at 260x; faint, very small, round, 10" diameter, faint stellar nucleus.  With averted vision the halo increases slightly to 15".  This galaxy shines through the northwest section of the California Nebula!

Stephane Javelle discovered IC 2005 = J. 3-084 on 18 Jan 1898.  His position is accurate.

A very nice LBN534 and the blue stars!

 

It's looking like my December 2022 Challenge has come to a close with the week of rain ahead. Thank you Brent for a great selection of objects.

 

I was not able to acquire some of them even though I imaged them and this will be my continuing challenge. I did notice in a reasonable attempt at LBN534 that this object may not be possible with an SQM-L of 18.00 and darker skies are necessary. At some point I will revisit it with the Hyperstar and spend at least 30 minutes on it.

[Tfer]

Amazing Errol!

 

Here is what I got last night with the 294MM at gain 300, Bin2 and 35 minutes total. My starfield is as dim as yours with the Ha filter, yet I was using a UV/IR filter. This must have been with a dew covered secondary. Not even a hint of the PN.

 

PN_Jn1_vx8_294mm_g300_br8_140F_2100S_NoEdit_12182022s.jpg

I love these challenging targets. 
 

The barely perceptible, really force a person to use all the wrenches in the toolbox to eek out an image.

 

We've all crushed the easiest targets (M42, M31), but when we are forced to really drill down, and push our equipment to its limits, it’s fun to see what we can do.

[roelb]

Mostly Bortle 7 or 4

Evo 8 @ F/5

 

Arp 31 - IC 167

ASI290MM

10 x 15 s

 

Arp 276

ASI533MM

17 x 20 s

 

M 74

ASI533MC

21 x 20 s

 

M 15

Lodestar X2 Mono

1 x 2 s

[roelb]

NGC 678 + 680 + IC 1730

ASI533MM

31 x 15 s

 

NGC 1491 - "Footprint" HII Region

ASI533MM

10 x 20 s

[roelb]

NGC 2487

ASI533MM - Veil Clouds

26 x 20 s

 

NGC 7640

ASI290MM

13 x 10 s

 

NGC 7788 + 7790

ASI533MM

5 x 10 s

[steveincolo]

Nothing more from me this month, but thanks Brent for an excellent challenge!

[BrentKnight]

Thank you Steve, for your contributions.  Thanks everyone.  Let's bring on January.  Happy new year everyone.