Hidden in the outskirts of the Orion constellation, close to the Witchhead Nebula (IC 2118), we can find an area rich in interstellar gas and dust around the reflection nebula NGC 1788. This bright deep sky object attracts our attention among all that faint dust and gas. It is flanked by the dark nebula known as Lynds 1616.
I began imaging NGC 1788 on January 1st and continued on the nights of Jan 4th, 7th, 10th and 11th. I acquired a touch over 200 5 minute exposures. I remember it was bloody cold! This was imaged with the Skywatcher Esprit 120ED telescope at 840mm focal length using a ZWO ASI2600MC camera.
NGC 1788 is about 2,000 light years away from Earth and is sometimes called the “Cosmic Bat” nebula. It is made up of blue reflection regions, lots of dust, and a glowing area of hydrogen gas. It is close to the celestial equator, so it is sometimes visible from both hemispheres at certain times of the year. The brightest star in the nebula is 10th magnitude and is in the northwest sector.
Although this ghostly cloud is rather isolated from Orion’s bright stars, their powerful winds and light have a strong impact on the nebula, forging its shape and making it a home to a multitude of newborn stars.
I’ve enjoyed imaging these reflection nebula showing something a little different in our night sky.
The Andromeda Galaxy is one of the most distant objects that can be seen with the naked eye. The galaxy is commonly located in the sky in reference to the constellations Cassiopeia and Pegasus.
The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224 and originally the Andromeda Nebula, is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years (770 kiloparsecs) from Earth and the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. The galaxy’s name stems from the area of Earth’s sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which itself is named after the Ethiopian (or Phoenician) princess who was the wife of Perseus in Greek mythology.
Andromeda is best seen during autumn nights in the Northern Hemisphere when it passes high overhead, reaching its highest point around midnight in October, and two hours later each successive month. The 27 subs for this image were captured in Nov 2020 and Jan 2021.
In early evening, it rises in the east in September and sets in the west in February. From the Southern Hemisphere the Andromeda Galaxy is visible between October and December, best viewed from as far north as possible. Binoculars can reveal some larger structures of the galaxy and its two brightest satellite galaxies, M32 and M110.
An amateur telescope can reveal Andromeda’s disk, some of its brightest globular clusters, dark dust lanes and the large star cloud NGC 206.
This image was captured using the ASI071MC camera; WO Z73 telescope; SW EQ6r Pro mount and other bits and pieces. Capture software is APT. Image processed in PixInsight. Jpeg creation/save in Photoshop.
Eagle Nebula – “Pillars of Creation” – (also known as the Star Queen Nebula and The Spire) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens.
Both the “Eagle” and the “Star Queen” refer to visual impressions of the dark silhouette near the center of the nebula.
The nebula contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions, including the aforementioned Pillars of Creation. The Eagle Nebula lies in the Sagittarius Arm of our Milky Way.
This image results from 366 subframes (~19 hours of exposure) captured in May, June & July 2021 using a WO Z73 scope & ASI 071MC Pro camera riding the SW EQ6r Pro mount. Supporting cast includes WO 120mm guide scope, ASI 120mm-mini, QHY Polemaster, Pegasus PBA, Senso Sesto focuser & radian ultra quad filter.
Image acquisition using APT & PHD2 on a windows platform ran remotely from inside my home. Image processing Pixinsight.
The Cave Nebula is 2,400 Light-years from earth in the constellation Cepheus.
Cave Nebula in Cepheus
Sh2-155 (also designated Caldwell 9) is a very faint diffuse nebula located 2,400 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus. It is widely known as the Cave Nebula.
The image consists of subs taken from the hills of Burke County, NC from Nov & Dec ’20 along with subs from Jan, May, June & July of ’21 – 220 subs totaling 19.5 hours of exposure.
Acquisition hardware: EQ6r Pro, WO Z73, ASI071MC Pro, Radian Quad Ultra, Polemaster, Senso Sesto 2, WO 50-200mm guidescope, ASI 120mm, and NUC.
Acquisition software: APT, PHD2, EQMOD, W10 pro.
Processed manually in Pixinsight.
Roughly 2,400 light-years away and lying in the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, the Cave Nebula is a diffuse emission nebula, within a larger nebula complex that includes a reflection nebula, and dark nebula. It is formed of gases that emit their own light. The bright arc that forms the mouth of the cave is an active birthplace for stars, known as an H II region, where hot clouds of atomic hydrogen have become ionized.
Having a magnitude of about 8 and a span of roughly 40 light-years, Caldwell 9 is a diffuse and low-contrast object, so it can still be difficult to find in the sky. Caldwell 9 is tantalizing to researchers because, according to radio and near-infrared studies of this nebula, the area is bursting with young, hot stars popping into existence.
Messier 81 (M81), also known as Bode’s Galaxy, is a grand design spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies at an approximate distance of 11.8 million light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.94. It also has the designation NGC 3031. Bode’s Galaxy is home to over 250 billion stars and is the most remote blueshifted (moving toward us) large galaxy known.
This image is a stack of 5 hours of exposures taken from my driveway. Primary imaging gear – Telescope is the WO Z73 w/flat73A (430mm doublet refractor f5.9). Camera is the ZWO ASI071MC Pro cooled to 20f. Computerized Equitorial mount is the SkyWatcher EQ6r Pro. The support ensemble include the QHY Polemaster, WO 50mm guidescope with ZWO ASI120mm mini guide camera, Pegasus PBA, Intel NUC, Senso Sesto 2 Electronic Focuser w/temp probe. The software suite include windows 10 pro platform, Astro Photography Tool (APT) for image acquisition and auto focusing, PHD2 for guiding, ASTAP for plate solving, eqmod and ascom provide the interface support. Image processing was done manually in PixInsight. Metadata information added in Adobe Bridge and JPEG conversion performed in PhotoShop.
I wasn’t certain my wide focal length scope at 430mm would adequately capture these very small targets. I look forward to a longer FL refractor telescope in my future for these size targets, but for now this is it. Happy to see that I wasnt wasting my time imaging these.
The active galactic nucleus of M81 contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of 70 million solar masses, or 15 times the mass of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. Messier 81 has two well resolved spiral arms that contain large quantities of interstellar dust, associated with numerous starburst regions. Images of M81 taken at infrared wavelengths by the Spitzer Space Telescope have revealed that the interstellar dust is responsible for most of the infrared emissions detected in the galaxy. The hot, young, blue stars in the star forming regions of M81 heat the dust, increasing the emissions from these regions.
Several other members of the M81 Group, including the Cigar Galaxy (M82), are located in the same region of the sky. The Cigar Galaxy can be seen 38 arc minutes north of M81 (just below it in this image). The two galaxies can easily be seen in binoculars and small telescopes, but are not visible to the naked eye. M82 is smaller and fainter than M81, but is a wonderful example of a starburst galaxy and the two make a popular pair among astronomers. NGC 3077 (The Garland Galaxy)can be seen in the upper left part of the image.
I hope you enjoy this image of my first galaxy. Cheers!
Flame and Horsehead Nebula in the Orion Molecular Cloud
The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex is situated close to the celestial equator and, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. This means that astrophotographers all over the world are able to share their images of the areas targets including this Flame, Horsehead, Orion, Running Man and De Marian’s Nebula among others. Here in the northern hemispehere its a winter target. Clear cold nights allow for stunning images.
This image captures several distinct items. The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an emission nebula situated just next to the very bright star Alnitak. It is about 900 to 1,500 light-years away. That bright star Alnitak (ζ Ori), the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion, shines energetic ultraviolet light into the Flame and this knocks electrons away from the great clouds of hydrogen gas that reside there. Much of the glow results when the electrons and ionized hydrogen recombine. Additional dark gas and dust lies in front of the bright part of the nebula and this is what causes the dark network that appears in the center of the glowing gas. In this center is a concentrated cluster of newly formed stars.
The Flame Nebula is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a star-forming region that includes the famous Horsehead Nebula. The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33) is a small dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of that bright star, Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion’s Belt within the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. It appears within the southern region of the dense dust cloud known as Lynds 1630, along the edge of the much larger, active star-forming H II region called IC 434, which is the backdrop of the Horsehead.
The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 422 parsecs or 1,375 light-years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse’s head. The nebula was first recorded in 1888 by Scottish astronomer Williamina Fleming on a photographic plate taken at the Harvard College Observatory. One of the first descriptions was made by E. E. Barnard, describing it as: “Dark mass, diam. 4′, on nebulous strip extending south from ζ Orionis”, cataloguing the dark nebula as Barnard 33 The dark cloud of dust and gas is a region in the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex where star formation is taking place.
Colour images reveal a deep-red colour that originates from ionised hydrogen gas (Hα) predominantly behind the nebula, and caused by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis. Magnetic fields channel the gases, leaving the nebula into streams, shown as foreground streaks against the background glow. A glowing strip of hydrogen gas marks the edge of the enormous cloud, and the densities of nearby stars are noticeably different on either side.
Heavy concentrations of dust in the Horsehead Nebula region and neighbouring Orion Nebula are localized into interstellar clouds, resulting in alternating sections of nearly complete opacity and transparency. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust blocking the light of stars behind it. The lower part of the Horsehead’s neck casts a shadow to the left. The visible dark nebula emerging from the gaseous complex is an active site of the formation of “low-mass” stars. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula’s base are young stars just in the process of forming.
The Rosette Nebula is an H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244 is closely associated with the nebulosity, the stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula’s matter.
The Rosette Nebula is a cloud of dust containing enough material to make about 10,000 stars like our Sun. In the center of the nebula, and off to the right hand side of this image, is a cluster of hot, bright young stars. These are warming up the surrounding gas and dust, making it appear blue.
The Rosette is a very busy area! A survey of the nebula with the Chandra X-ray Observatory has revealed the presence of numerous new-born stars inside optical Rosette Nebula and studded within a dense molecular cloud. Altogether, approximately 2500 young stars lie in this star-forming complex, including the massive O-type stars HD 46223 and HD 46150, which are primarily responsible for blowing the ionized bubble. Most of the ongoing star-formation activity is occurring in the dense molecular cloud to the south east of the bubble.
Another interesting tidbit of knowledge – On April 16, 2019 the Oklahoma Legislature passed HB1292, making the Rosette Nebula the official state astronomical object. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed it into law April 22, 2019.
This photograph is comprised of 318 images totaling ~20 hours of exposure taken with a ZWO ASI071MC Pro camera and a WO Z73 scope w/flat7a riding a Skywatcher EQ6r Pro equitorial mount from my driveway parking area. Captured remotely on my laptop running APT & PHD2. Processed manually in PixInsight with PS doing the jpeg conversion.
There are 2 Caldwell designations as well a 5 New General Catalog (NGC) items within this cluster. They can be read about in Wikipedia via a google search. I dare ya!
Sharpless 2-132, the Lion Nebula, is a very faint emission type nebula on the Cepheus/Lacerta border.
Lion Nebula in Cepheus
It is estimated to be about 10,000 to 12,000 light years away, but this is no more than an estimate.
This image consists of 16 hours of exposure from a ZWO ASI071MC OSC camera at -6c. Z73 440mm telescope riding a Skywatcher EQ6r Pro mount. Processed in PixInsight, sharpened and converted to jpg in Photoshop.
Night after night I would shoot this for a few hours with only a faint hint of a bright spot on the screen. Once I had 20 hours of data I began the processing journey. All calibrated, cosmetic correction, debayered, subframe selector weeded out about 4 hours of data that just wasn’t up to par. Weightings assigned, top 20 images identified, all frames registered to the best weighted frame, master reference image created from best 20, all frames reregistered to master reference frame, L_Norm reference frame generated, L_norm ran against all frames, finally image integration was run using calibrated, corrected, debayered, registered, lights & L_norm.
I was very pleasantly surprised when I got my first glimpse of this image. Just a little post processing required.
As winter continues more targets will be available to shoot. Sign up below to be notified of additions. Cheers!
A sickle for cutting hay or some sort of weapon – that’s what I first saw.
Flaming Star Nebula
The Flaming Star nebula (IC405 or Caldwell 31) is fairly unique nebula in the constellation Auriga with obvious emission and reflection components.
At first when imaging this target it appears as an isolated piece of Nebula taking the shape of a sickle for cutting hay or long grass back in the day. (yeah, I’m old). But as the stretch began on this image and the Ha & OIII were rejoined the enormity of the nebulosity became apparent.
Specifically, there’s this faint wisp that is present in the center of the nebula. Both components are due, either directly or indirectly (via dust), to the illumination of the bluish runaway star AE Aurigae. It lies ~1500 light years away from Earth and is about five light years across. It is believed that the proper motion of the central star can be traced back to the Orion’s Belt area. This nebula is very close to the Tadpoles nebula (bottom left of the image).
This image is comprised of 248 subs collected in November 2020 – (81 @ 180s; 129 @ 240s; 38 @ 360s = 987 minutes of exposure or 16.45 hours)
Gear: EQ6r Pro Eq mount; WO Z73 scope; ZWO ASI071MC Pro OSC camera; WO 50mm guidescope; ZWO ASI120mm mini guide camera; Senso Sesto 2 Focuser; Pegasus PBA; Polemaster
Software: Stellarium for planning; APT for image capture; PHD2 guiding; Pixinsight for processing; PS for metadata update and jpg creation.
One may wonder what the three of them have in common. They occupy a very small place in space.
Tadpoles, Spider, Fly – all Nebula
IC410 (bottom right), referred to as the Tadpoles Nebula, is a dusty emission nebula located in the constellation of Auriga about 12,000 ly from Earth. It is part of a larger star forming region that also contains the huge Flaming Star Nebula C 31 (upper right).
The gas structures in IC 410 are lit by the radiation from the open star cluster NGC1893 that lies in its center. This star cluster is about 4 million years old, but in astronomical terms it is still very young, with hot, massive stars.
At the top-left of the star cluster two more dense structures are visible. These are similar to the famous Pillar of Creation and they are composed of dust and gas leftover from the formation of the star cluster and are very likely to give birth to more stars in the future. As can be seen in the picture, these structures point away from the center of the nebula. This is because of the stellar winds and radiation pressure from the stars in NGC 1893. Due to these structure’s shape, the nebula is also called the Tadpoles Nebula.
IC417, located towards the middle of the picture, is named the Spider nebula – requires imagination but in context with NGC1931 (The Fly Nebula) located on the left middle of the image it makes perfect sense.
When I started imaging this target I really had no idea there would be so much nebulosity – everywhere! The very bright stars of the Tadpoles were visible, but the structures from the Flaming Star Nebula region were a nice surprise.
I printed this image on metal with an acrylic wall mount for my own collection.
