Astrophotography – Page 4 – Semper Iuvenis Photography

Discovering Messier 95

Barred Spiral Galaxy in Leo - Messier 95

Messier 95 (M95 or NGC 3351) is a barred spiral galaxy. It is located approximately 33 million light-years away. You can find it in the constellation Leo. It is a notable member of the Leo I galaxy group. The group also includes other Messier objects like M96 and M105.

M95 has a prominent linear bar structure that crosses its core. It also has tightly wound spiral arms that form a nearly circular inner ring. This inner ring is an active region with a high rate of star formation. It sparkles with the light of countless young, blue stars.

Astrobin link to image acquisition details and an annotated image.

Imaging a Planetary Nebula in Cetus: The Skull Nebula

NGC 246, commonly known as the Skull Nebula (or Caldwell 56), is a planetary nebula. It is located about 1,600 light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale). It gets its nickname from the appearance of the glowing gas shell surrounding its central stars. In certain orientations, this can resemble a human skull.

I chose to image this just by chance as I was perusing stellarium for targets. At -11 dec it’s a bit low for me, just over the tree line to the south. It was surprisingly bright at 180s subs. Very few stars in the area made guiding a challenge at 1625mm focal length.

Image acquisition and session automation by APT using a RC8 scope, ASI071MC Pro camera, and Eq6r Pro Mount. 176 subframes calibrated, integrated, and processed in PixInsight. Acquisition details and annotated image link.

Discover a very faint cloud of ionized hydrogen in Cassiopeia – Sh2-202

A very faint cloud of ionized hydrogen in Cassiopeia cataloged as Sh2-202

A faint diffused Nebula in Cassiopeia. I chose it because of the dark nebula amid the apparent reflection nebula. There are 7 cataloged LDN targets in this image. These clouds of dust are so dense. They block all light behind them. This creates the subtle illusion of rivers running through the clouds. It is indeed a faint cloud of Hii gas.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.

Exploring The Great Lacerta Nebula – Sh2-126

Sh2-126, also known as the Great Lacerta Nebula, is a large red emission nebula located in the constellation Lacerta. It is part of the massive star-forming region Lacerta OB1, approximately 1,200 light-years from Earth. The nebula’s glowing hydrogen gas is ionized by the intense ultraviolet radiation from the bright, blue star 10 Lacertae.

A unique feature is a “stellar funnel” in the center. It appears greyish in this image as it reflects light from nearby stars. It is part of the LBN 437 molecular cloud. Another striking feature is a bright reflection nebula associated with the young star V375 Lacertae, which also produces Herbig-Haro objects.

APT managed and controlled my imaging sessions. It helped acquire 148 300s subframes. This amounts to a touch over 12 hours of exposure during our few clear nights in October. PixInsight was used to calibrate, debayer, integrate, and process to its natural color.

Astrobin link for the details.

IC 2087 – The Little Flame in Taurus

IC 2087 is a reflection nebula located in the constellation Taurus, approximately 430–450 light-years from Earth. It is embedded within the massive dark Taurus Molecular Cloud, which is a large stellar nursery.

The nebula is often described as resembling a small, yellowish “flame.” It stands out against the dark dust of the surrounding molecular cloud. Most reflection nebulae are blue. However, IC 2087 appears yellow or orange in some images. This is due to the “Taurus reddening law”.

I found the target difficult to image as there are limited stars visible due to the dark molecular cloud present. Guiding was difficult as their were few guide stars to lock on to. Several times my plate-solving failed during goto++ operations at the meridian flip due to the limited stars. Fortunately APT uses the background during auto focus as there weren’t many stars. Not a target for sleeping while imaging.

I managed to capture 198 300s subframes using APT, for a total of 16.5 hours of exposure. Processed manually in PixInsight to achieve a natural color image.

Sh2-165 in Cassiopeia

Sh2-165 is a small bright Hii emission nebula approximately 5,200 light years away in Cassiopeia. Not often imaged I find many of the Sharpless catalog items appealing. As with most Sharpless targets it is rich in Ha with little Oiii, if any.

I used APT for image acquisition and control. This photo was produced using a GSO f8 RC8 steel tube telescope at 1625mm fl. I used a ZWO ASI071MC Pro camera cooled to 15f. A Skywatcher Eq6r Pro mount supported the payload and tracked the stars.

General PixInsight processing to achieve a natural color palette included several steps. These steps included calibration, debayer, star alignment, and integration. Other processes used were gradient correction, background neutralization, and noise reduction. Finally, GHS stretch and curves were applied. 220 subframes at 300s exposures were integrated for this photo.

Astrobin link for Sh2-165 acquisition details.

Sh2-263 – The Strawberry Nebula

The SH2-263 region, aka the Strawberry Nebula, is located approximately 1,300 light years away in the Orion constellation. This region contains multiple classified objects. The most prominent are the red emission nebula SH2-263 and the blue reflection nebula vdB 38.

The central star, HD34989, is relatively young and energetic. It ionizes the hydrogen that makes up SH2-263. It illuminates the local molecular cloud to create the blue reflection nebula.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and an annotated image.

The Phantom Tiara Nebula – NGC 1333

NGC 1333 is a reflection nebula located in the northern constellation Perseus. It is positioned next to the southern constellation border with Taurus and Aries. This nebula is in the western part of the Perseus molecular cloud. It is a young region with very active star formation.

This is a bright but small object surrounded by thick interstellar dust clouds. Some of these clouds are so thick that they completely hide the light behind them. NGC 1333 is commonly referred to as the Embryo Nebula, or the Phantom Tiara.

Session management and acquisition control by APT. Processed manually in PixInsight. Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated contents.

Exploring LBN 646 – Fish Head Nebula in Cassiopeia

LBN 646 is a part of the Fish Head Nebula (IC 1795). It is a star-forming region about 6,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is adjacent to the larger Heart Nebula (IC 1805).

This region is known for the bright NGC 896. It contains young, hot stars that excite the surrounding gas and cause it to glow. The bright region NGC 896 is rich with young, massive stars. These stars emit strong ultraviolet light. This ultraviolet light causes the surrounding gas to become luminous.

The entire complex of star-forming regions, including LBN 646, is about 70 light-years across.

Image acquisition was controlled by APT using an RC8 telescope with an ASI071MC camera atop an Eq6r Pro mount. The radian Ultra Quad-band filter was used in acquiring the 541 300s subs. Subs processed manually in PixInsight. In processing, I stayed true to the natural Hii color. I made a very slight enhancement in the SHO palette. This approach avoided the false blue/yellow colors. Astrobin link for acquisition details.

WR 134 – Cygnus Star Field

WR 134 is a variable Wolf-Rayet star located about 6,000 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus. This star is bright and massive. It has a radius that is five times greater than our own Sun’s radius. Its temperature is 63,000K, making it 400,000 times more luminous! It is surrounded by a faint bubble nebula formed by this star’s intense radiation and solar wind.

There is an excellent article in Wikipedia covering WR 134 in depth. I urge you to have a read – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_134

I imaged his target in mid-Oct 2025. 170 5 minute subs or approx. 14 hrs. Cloudy nights prevented an earlier start on this target. These few nights I was imaging post-meridian flip. I was impressed by the intensity and density of the starfield. Limited time per session. Target acquisition control using APT. Imaged with an Esprit 120ED and ASI2600MC atop an Eq6r Pro mount. Processed manually in PixInsight using a natural color palette.

Astrobin link for this image – acquisition details.