Astrophotography – Page 3 – Semper Iuvenis Photography

Discovering the Splinter Galaxy: NGC 5906

NGC 5906 is often referred to as part of the Splinter Galaxy or Knife Edge Galaxy. It is an edge-on spiral galaxy. It is located approximately 46–55 million light-years away in the Draco constellation. It is closely associated with NGC 5907. Many, including early observers, distinguish the western part of this thin, dusty galaxy as NGC 5906. The brighter, eastern side is identified as NGC 5907.

It has an extreme edge-on orientation. Because of this, it appears as a thin sliver of light or “knife edge” in telescopes. A prominent dust lane divides it. It is a spiral galaxy with a small, compact nucleus containing a supermassive black hole. Deep imaging reveals faint, massive stellar tidal streams looping around the galaxy. These are believed to be the remnants of a dwarf galaxy absorbed about 4 billion years ago.

I photographed this from my driveway with a GSO RC8 telescope. I used an ASI071MC Pro camera cooled to 14f. The setup included a Skywatcher EQ6r Pro equatorial mount. APT controls image acquisition and session automation. 102 3 minute subs, or about 5 hours of exposure. Subframes were calibrated, debayered, aligned, integrated, and processed using PixInsight 1.9.3.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image

Exploring NGC 3521 – The Bubble Galaxy in Leo

NGC 3521 is popularly known as the Bubble Galaxy. It is an intermediate spiral galaxy. It is located approximately 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. The galaxy earns its nickname from the gigantic, very faint bubble-like shells and tidal remnants that surround it.

Astronomers believe these shells are tidal debris. They consist of streams of stars and gas. These materials were torn from smaller satellite galaxies. NGC 3521 absorbed them in the distant past. These outer structures are very faint and typically only appear in deep, long-exposure astrophotography. In smaller backyard telescopes, the galaxy often appears as a simple glowing object. It is rounded in shape. This appearance also contributes to the “bubble” moniker.

I photographed this galaxy from my driveway here in Burke County, NC. I used APT for session management and automation. Over two nights, I gathered 105 3 minute exposures. I used a GSO RC8 telescope at 1625mm fl paired with a ZWO ASI071MC Pro cooled to 14f. These ride a Skywatcher EQ6r Pro Equatorial mount. The subframes are manually calibrated, debayered, aligned, integrated, and processed in PixInsight 1.9.3.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image

NGC 2355 Insights: Chemical Evolution and Star Formation

NGC 2355, also known as NGC 2356, is an old open star cluster in the constellation Gemini. It is approximately a billion years old. The cluster is located about 5,400 light-years from the Solar System. It is 1,100 light-years above the Milky Way galaxy’s plane.

NGC 2355 is useful for studying the chemical and dynamical evolution of the Galactic disk. Recent studies using Gaia DR3 data have identified over 400 member stars within the cluster. They have also discovered dozens of variable stars. These include eclipsing binaries and pulsating stars.

NGC 2355 is located in the outer disk and elevated above the plane. This position makes it an important probe for understanding the evolution and structure of the Milky Way’s galactic disk. It is particularly valuable for studying star formation and dynamical processes in less dense regions.

NGC 2355 lies near the celestial equator. It is observable from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It favors northern latitudes where Gemini rises higher in the sky. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is best viewed during winter months from December to March. During this time, the constellation is prominent in the evening sky. From mid-northern latitudes such as 40°N, the cluster culminates at an altitude of approximately 63° above the horizon. This provides favorable viewing conditions away from atmospheric distortion.

I photographed this cluster from my driveway in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I use APT for session management, image acquisition, and automation. 71 60sec subframes for just a touch over an hour of integration. Calibrated, aligned, integrated, and processed manually using PixInsight.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.

Exploring the Beauty of Reflection Nebulae: IC 2169

Dreyer's Nebula - Reflections in Monoceros

Perhaps among the most beautiful targets to image in our night sky. There are no less than five reflection nebulae in the photograph. They are contrasted by large areas of ionized hydrogen showing as red in the image.

IC 2169, popularly known as Dreyer’s Nebula, is a large blue reflection nebula located in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn). It is a primary feature of the Monoceros R1 complex. This is a region of active star formation situated approximately 2,500 to 2,700 light-years away from Earth. It’s in a massive starfield!

The nebula has a distinctive blue hue. This color occurs as interstellar dust particles scatter blue light from nearby hot, young stars. It is primarily illuminated by the massive B-type stars of the young open cluster Collinder 95. Some sources also associate its glow with the variable star T Orionis or the star HD 45677.

The Nebula is often referred to as Dreyer’s Nebula. This name honors John Dreyer, who compiled the NGC and IC catalogs. However, it was actually discovered by Barnard. The nebula is also designated as IC 447. This duplication exists because it was recorded twice in the Index Catalogue (IC) due to separate observations by Edward Barnard. It is located about 2 degrees west of the more famous Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster (NGC 2264). It is often imaged alongside smaller reflection nebulae such as IC 446, NGC 2245, and NGC 2247.

I took this photograph from my driveway in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina. Here, I enjoy a bortle 4/5 sky. Continued development pushes it ever closer to a 5. Imaged with a Skywatcher Esprit 120ED telescope at 840mm focal length and a ZWO ASI2600MC camera cooled to 14f. These are mounted on a Skywatcher Eq6r Pro equatorial mount. It runs EQMOD and guides via PHD2. This is done through a ZWO OAG and an ASI290mm mini guide camera.

Component control is done by APT. Session automation and image acquisition are also managed by APT. These are the magic dust in getting the 143 5 minute subframes. The subframes were manually calibrated, debayered, aligned, integrated, and processed to the targets natural colors using PixInsight.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.

Exploring Messier 48: A Bright Open Star Cluster

Messier 48 or M48, also known as NGC 2548, is a bright open cluster of stars. It is located in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. It is located near Hydra’s westernmost limit with Monoceros. The location is about 18° 34′ to the east and slightly south of Hydra’s brightest star, Alphard.

The cluster contains roughly 80 to 165 stars, with about 50 stars brighter than magnitude 13. Its population includes three yellow giant stars.
It is estimated to be around 300 to 450 million years old. This makes it an intermediate-age cluster, younger than the Hyades but older than the Pleiades.
The number of very bright blue giant stars intrigues me. This forms a contrast with a few yellow giants.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image

M 35 – The Shoe Buckle Cluster

Messier 35 (M35) is the only Messier object in the constellation Gemini. It is also called NGC 2168 or the Shoe Buckle Cluster. M35 is a relatively young open cluster of stars about 150 million years old.

Open clusters are groupings of stars that are loosely gravitationally bound. They tend to form from the same cloud of gas and dust. Their stars share characteristics like age and chemical composition. This can be helpful for studying how stars form and evolve. Over time, tidal forces within a host galaxy may be very strong. They may overwhelm an open clusters’ gravitational pull. As a result, its stars may disperse into the galaxy.

M35 is large. On very dark nights, it can be seen as a fuzzy object with the unaided eye. In binoculars, it appears as a haze with some resolvable stars. Through a telescope, it reveals a grouping of bright stars.

Located near Castor’s right foot in Gemini, it is best seen in the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere. A smaller and more compact neighboring open cluster, NGC 2158, may also be visible. It is within nearly the same field of view. It is located at the bottom center of my photograph.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.

IC 2177: The Stunning Seagull Nebula Explained

The first thing that struck me was the vast number of stars. I noticed them as I began to see this image unfold in the illuminated sky. Varying temperatures are seen in the gases with hot Hydrogen gases glowing in reddish hues with cooler gases expanding outward.

IC 2177 is a region of nebulosity that lies along the border between the constellations Monoceros and Canis Major. The name Seagull Nebula is sometimes applied by astronomers to this emission region. It resembles a gull in flight. It also includes the neighboring regions of star clusters, dust clouds, and reflection nebulae.

Astronomers catalog the nebula as IC 2177. This cosmic cloud is one of many sites of star formation within the Milky Way galaxy. It is located 3,800 light-years away from Earth. It resides inside the Orion spur. This is the same partial spiral arm of the Milky Way where our solar system is located. The nebula is nearly 240 light-years across.

NGC 2327 is located in IC 2177. It is also known as the Seagull’s Head, due to its larger presence in the Seagull nebula. The region near the seagull’s eye (or lizard’s hip) is listed as NGC 2327 by astronomers. It contains a cluster of stars born about 1.5 million years ago. The eye is the brightest and hottest of the newborn stars in the entire nebula. It heats up the dust. Consequently, the dust glows in infrared light.

The complex of gas and dust clouds is dominated by the reddish glow of atomic hydrogen. It spans over 100 light-years. Bright young stars are within it at an estimated distance of 3,800 light-years.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.

Astrophotography Insights: NGC 247 and Its Mysteries

NGC 247 (also known as Caldwell 62) is an intermediate spiral galaxy located approximately 11.1 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus. It is a prominent member of the Sculptor Group, one of the closest galaxy clusters to our own Local Group. At a dec of -20, it’s as far south as I can image. I do this from my driveway here in the forest of western North Carolina.

The “Needle’s Eye” / “Claw” Galaxy: It has an unusual nickname. It’s called the “Needle’s Eye” because of an unusually large void or “hole” on one side of its spiral disk. This region contains older, redder stars. It lacks younger, bluer stars. This indicates that star formation there stopped about a billion years ago. Spanning about 70,000 light-years in diameter, it is smaller than the Milky Way and is viewed nearly edge-on from Earth.

Burbidge’s Chain: In deep images, a striking string of four distant background galaxies is visible. They are roughly 300 million light-years away. This string is located just to the north-east of NGC 247. These were a bonus I found in my image as I was processing it. I never saw them in the faint subframes. The difference between 11 million and 300 million light-years.

Astronomers speculate the galaxy’s distinctive void may have been caused by gravitational interaction with a “dark subhalo.” Another possibility is that another galaxy passed through its disk. While the void is quiet, the rest of the disk features bright pink H II regions. These are knots of glowing hydrogen gas where new stars are actively forming.

Astrobin version for acquisition details and annotated image.

Discovering Messier 96

Messier 96 is also known as M96 or NGC 3368. It is an intermediate spiral galaxy. It is located approximately 31 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It is the brightest member of the M96 Group (or Leo I Group). This group includes other prominent galaxies, such as M95 and M105.

M96 has an asymmetrical structure with unevenly distributed dust and gas and ill-defined spiral arms, likely due to gravitational interactions. Its core is not perfectly centered. It has a diameter of about 100,000 light-years. It contains an estimated 100 billion stars. This makes it comparable in size and mass to the Milky Way.

Astrobin link for the acquisition details.

Discovering The Broken Heart Cluster in Auriga: NGC 2281

NGC 2281 - The Broken Heart Cluster of Auriga

NGC 2281 is popularly known as the Broken Heart Cluster. It is a bright open star cluster. It is located in the northern constellation of Auriga. Located in the eastern part of Auriga. It is southeast of the star Menkalinan and about halfway between Castor, Pollux, and Capella.

Estimated to be between 435 and 660 million years old. Recent 2023 studies suggest an age of 435 ± 50 million years. This makes it similar in age to clusters like M37 and M48.

NGC 2281 is often described as having a sparse but pleasing arrangement of stars. Notable visual features include:

Central Rhombus: A prominent group of four stars forming a parallelogram or diamond shape at its center.

Member Stars: Contains more than 400 cataloged members. The brightest stars are mostly white A-type stars, with a few evolved red and yellow giants.

Besides the “Broken Heart,” some observers describe the arrangement as resembling a “floppy fish” or the Greek letter lambda (λ).

This image contains 114 60s subs captured using APT for acquisition and session automation. Telescope – Skywatcher Esprit 120ED; Camera – ZWO ASI2600MC Pro; Filter – Antlia Quad light pollution filter; Mount Skywatcher Eq6r Pro

Astrobin link for all of the details