universe – Semper Iuvenis Photography

NGC 5982 Group: A Stunning Galaxy Trio in Draco

The NGC 5982 group is also known as the Draco Triplet or Draco Group. It is a striking trio of galaxies located approximately 100 to 140 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. The group is a favorite for Astro photographers. This is because it features three distinct types of galaxies in a single field of view. The view spans about the width of a full moon. There are 10 galaxies in this photograph total.

The “triplet” is composed of the following galaxies, typically seen in a line:

NGC 5982 (Center): A bright elliptical galaxy (type E3). It features a “decoupled nucleus.” This is a core that rotates perpendicular to the rest of the galaxy. It also has faint shells. Both are strong evidence of past galactic mergers.

NGC 5985 (Top): A large, nearly face-on barred spiral galaxy. It is classified as a Seyfert galaxy. This classification means it has an extremely bright and active nucleus. This is powered by a supermassive black hole.

NGC 5981 (Bottom): A faint spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on. Its thin profile shows a prominent dust lane similar to the famous “Needle Galaxy”.

This photograph was captured from my driveway in the hills of western North Carolina. I set up my RC8 with an ASI071MC camera atop an Eq6r Pro mount. I use Astro Photography Tool (APT 4.70.1) for session management and acquisition automation. The 96 3 minute subframes were calibrated, aligned, integrated, and processed manually with Pix Insight 1.9.3. Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.

Exploring Sh2-223: The Faint Emission Nebula in Auriga

Sh2-223 is a faint emission nebula (H II region) located in a dense starfield in the constellation Auriga. It is a huge H II region, a large cloud of partially ionized gas where star formation can occur. It appears as a large, faint red arc or “wing” in deep-sky images. Its red glow comes from ionized hydrogen-alpha (Hα) emissions. The nebula is believed to be ionized by the star BD +41 1144 (an O7.5 V star) or possibly LS V +40 46.

In addition to the predominant Hii, there is also a significant amount of Oiii in the area. This leads to a bluish tinge or a slight purplish hue in parts of the image.

It is considered a difficult target for astrophotographers because of its extreme faintness. It often requires long total integration times, such as 25+ hours, to resolve clearly. Separating the IFN from the Hii nebula requires data. This photograph is only 11.4 hours. More to come in the future if the opportunity presents itself.

Image acquisition using Astro Photography Tool (APT). Subframe calibration, alignment, integration, and processing using PixInsight. Astrobin link for acquisition details and an annotated image.

NGC 1999 – The 13th Pearl Nebula or the Keyhole Void

NGC 1999 is a bright reflection nebula in the Orion constellation, located about 1,500 light-years away near the Orion Nebula. Illuminated by the variable star V380 Orionis, it features a distinctive, T-shaped dark void in its center. Once thought to be a dust cloud, this “cosmic keyhole” is actually a hole in the nebula. Energetic stellar winds likely caused this hole. It is also called the “Rubber Stamp” nebula. This name is for those familiar with the use of stamps for marking items.

The nebula is part of the remnants of star formation, surrounded by a network of dusty filaments. It is often observed alongside Herbig-Haro objects, which are small, glowing patches of gas associated with newly formed stars.

The “Keyhole” Void: The most distinctive feature is a dark, T-shaped patch at its center. The region was long thought to be a dense Bok globule. A Bok globule is a cold cloud of dust and gas that blocks light. However, 2010 observations from the Herschel Space Observatory revealed it is actually an empty region of space. It is a literal hole in the nebula.

It is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex and is located just south of the famous Orion Nebula (M42). The region is rich in Herbig-Haro (HH) objects, which are luminous shock waves created by jets from newborn stars. The entire field of view is but a tiny portion of the massive Orion molecular cloud (the Orion A Cloud). A surprise for me is the amount of Oiii in the region. The blue hues highlight its presence.

Session management and automation with APT. I Captured 262 subframes with 180s exposure each. This amounts to about 13 hours of exposure from my driveway. I used an RC8 telescope and an ASI071MC Pro camera cooled to 14f.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image

NGC 4449 – The Box Galaxy

NGC 4449, the Box Galaxy, (also known as Caldwell 21) is an irregular dwarf starburst galaxy. It is located approximately 12 to 13 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is a member of the M94 group of galaxies. Its exceptionally high rate of star formation is notable. This feature earns it the “starburst” designation.

Unlike many galaxies where star formation is central, NGC 4449 exhibits widespread star formation. It reaches all the way to its edges. This is likely triggered by gravitational interactions or past mergers with smaller companion galaxies. The galaxy is rich in blue star clusters, which are young and massive stars. It also contains reddish regions of ionized hydrogen. In these regions, new stars are actively being born.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image

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

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.

vdB 16 a Reflection in Aires

LBN 746 is a reflection nebula located approximately 947 light-years away in the constellation Aries. It is part of the Lynds’ Catalogue of Bright Nebulae. It is often identified as a portion of the larger vdB 16 (van den Bergh 16) nebulosity.

LBN 746 is embedded within a dense region of cosmic dust. It is surrounded by dark nebulae. These include LDN 1452 and several Barnard objects such as Barnard 202, 203, 204, and 206.

LBN 746 is situated near the border of Aries and Taurus. It lies about 7 degrees northwest of the Pleiades star cluster.
For Astro photographers, this region is known for its complex mix of “light and dust.” Capturing the subtle interactions between the blue reflection light of vdB 16 is a detailed process. Observing the surrounding dark molecular clouds requires time. Long exposure photography is necessary.

Image acquisition and session automation using APT. This image consists of approximately 12 hours of exposure. The equipment used included an RC8 telescope and an ASI071MC Pro camera. They were mounted on a skywatcher Eq6r Pro Mount. Subframe calibration, alignment, integration, and processing performed manually in PixInsight. Astrobin link for all the details.

Exploring multiple Sharpless targets in 1 frame – Sh2-192, 193, 194

3 Sharpless targets in 1 frame - Sh2-192, 193, 194

An uncommon bonus is that this image includes three members of the Sharpless Catalog of 313 HII regions. These are emission nebulae in the northern hemisphere. They are Sh2-192; Sh2-193; and Sh2-194. Sh2-192 is the very faint nebula in the middle of the image. Sh2-193 is the larger, still faint, nebula just below Sh2-192. Sh2-194 is the larger bright ball of gas to the right of both of the others.

Sh2-192 is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. Sh2-192 is part of a small group of nebulae. This group includes Sh2-193 and Sh2-194. They are located near the larger and well-known Heart and Soul Nebulae (IC 1805 and IC 1848).

Image captured using APT for session management and automation. Processed manually in PixInsight to its natural color.

See the Astrobin link for gear used, exposures, annotated image, etc.

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.