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Friday, April 10, 2015
My last imaging project for this Winter season, a high resolution mosaic image of the Heart Nebula
We are now out of astronomical darkness for about six months due to high latitude, 65N. As every time, it's hard to give up imaging the beauty of the deep sky.
IC 1805, the Heart Nebula is my last imaging project for this season. It's a very high resolution, six panels mosaic image. Image is shot between 20. February and 21. March, total exposure time is 49h. Original size is about 11.000 x 9000 pixels at the scale of one arcsecond/pixel.
IC 1805
Be sure to click for a high resolution photo, 2300x1900 pixels and 3MB
Natural color composition from the emission of ionized elements. This composition is very close to a visual spectrum. A higher resolution version can be seen HERE
Image in mapped colors
Click for a high resolution photo, 2300x1900 pixels and 3MB
Image is in mapped colors from an emission of the ionized elements. Golden areas are from emission of sulfur and hydrogen, S-II and H-alpha, blueish areas are from ionized oxygen, O-III.
Closeups from the mosaic
Click for a higher resolution
IC 1795
This image was published at March 31, 2015. Blog post about it can be seen HERE
The heart of the Heart, Melotte 15
Click for a higher resolution
This part of the mosaic image was published at March 9, 2015. Blog post about it can be seen HERE
This part of the mosaic image was published at March 9, 2015. Blog post about it can be seen HERE
INFO
This high resolution photo of the IC 1805, the Heart nebula, is a six panel mosaic. (Original size is about 11.000 x 9000 pixels at the scale of one arcsecond/pixel.) It shows many details in the IC 1805, like the Melotte 15 at the heart of the Heart Nebula. Total exposure time for this narrowband photo is 49h.
The "Heart Nebula", IC 1805 locates about 7500 light years away in constellation Cassiopeia. This is an emission nebula showing glow of ionized elements in a gas cloud and some darker dust lanes.In a very center of the nebula, lays Melotte 15, it contains few very bright stars, nearly 50 times mass of our Sun, and many dim ones. The solar wind, a radiation pressure, from massive stars makes the gas twist to a various shapes.
Orientation in a wide field photo
The Heart Nebula, IC 1805, at right. The Soul Nebula, IC 1848, can be seen at left.
The Soul Nebula, IC 1848
My previous imaging project from this area was a two frame mosaic photo of the Soul Nebula at last Autumn season, it can be seen HERE
Click for a large image
Technical details
Processing work flow
Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 50% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.
Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Mount
10-micron 1000
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Astrodon filter, 3nm S-II
Exposure times
H-alpha, 72 x 1200s = 24h
O-III, 42 x 1200s binned 4x4 = 14h
S-II, 33 x 1200s binned 4x4 = 11h
Total 49h
Labels:
Narrowband color images,
nebula
Monday, April 6, 2015
A globular cluster Messier 3
I have shot couple of clusters at this Autumn season and I have published an image of Messier 13 in Hercules before. My light polluted location is not ideal for broadband targets, like clusters, but with little extra work with processing, they turned to be kind of beautiful. Image is shot at March 17. 2015.
Messier 3 (M3)
Click for a large imageLRGB shot of Messier 3
A closeup
INFO
Messier 3 (also known as M3 or NGC 5272) is a globular cluster in the constellation Canes Venatici. This cluster is one of the largest and brightest and It's located at a distance of about 33,900 light-years away from Earth. M3 has an apparent magnitude of 6.2, making it visible to the naked eye under dark conditions.
Technical details
Processing work flow
Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 50% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.
Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Mount
10-micron 1000
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Custom Scientific LRGB 50mm Square Filters
Exposure times
Luminance, 8 x 600s = 1h 20min
Red, 6 x 200s binned 2x2 = 20 min.
Green, 6 x 200s binned 2x2= 20 min.
Blue, 6 x 200s binned 2x2 = 20 min
Total 2h 20min
Labels:
star clusters
Friday, April 3, 2015
NGC 1491
I shot the data for this dim object at 16. March but the processing of it ready now. I found this as a difficult target due to a very low surface brightness of the surrounding nebula. The central part is bright and it makes difficult to balance image nicely.
Click for a large image
Natural color composition from the emission of ionized elements, R=80%Hydrogen+20%Sulfur, G=100%Oxygen and B=85%Oxygen+15%Hydrogen to compensate otherwise missing H-beta emission. This composition is very close to a visual spectrum.
Click for a large image
INFO
NGC 1491 is an emission nebula at the constellation Perseus. The distance from the Earth is about 11.000 light years. In the bright area, at a center of the photo, a strong stellar wind from a star BD +50 ° 886 is blowing the gas away. The radiation from the same star makes the gas glow by ionizing elements in the nebula.
Image in mapped colors
Click for a large imageImage is in mapped colors from an emission of the ionized elements. Golden areas are from emission of sulfur and hydrogen, S-II and H-alpha, blueish areas are from ionized oxygen, O-III.
A wider field version in mapped colors
Click for a large image
Image in light of an ionized hydrogen, H-alpha, only
This B&W photo show the emission of H-alpha only
Orientation in an older wide field photo of the area
An area of the new photo is marked as a white rectangle. The wide field photo is taken at February 5, 2012 with a Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera lens, QHY9 camera and narrowband filters. More info about this picture can be seen HERE.
Technical details
Processing work flow
Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 50% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.
Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Mount
10-micron 1000
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Astrodon filter, 3nm S-II
Exposure times
H-alpha, 15 x 1200s = 5h
O-III, 6 x 1200s binned 4x4 = 2h min.
S-II, 6 x 1200s binned 4x4 = 2h min.
Total 9h
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame as it comes from the camera
Click for a large image
Not much can be seen in this single 20min. exposure of the emission of hydrogen, H-alpha.
Labels:
Narrowband color images,
nebula
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
IC 1795 in the Heart Nebula
I spent hours in two nights by shooting this busy area in IC 1805, the Heart nebula, at 13. and 15. March.
IC 1795
Click for a large image
Image is in mapped colors from an emission of the ionized elements. Golden areas are from emission of sulfur and hydrogen, S-II and H-alpha, blueish areas are from ionized oxygen, O-III.
A closeup
Click for a large image
INFO
IC 1795 is also known as a Fish Head Nebula. It's a star forming region in the northern constellation Cassiopeia at distance of about 6000 light years. My image shows about a square degree of sky, the actual size of the imaged area is around 130 light years. IC 1795 is a part of the large nebula complex known as IC 1805, the Heart Nebula.
Image in visual spectrum
Click for a large image
Natural color composition from the emission of ionized elements, R=80%Hydrogen+20%Sulfur, G=100%Oxygen and B=85%Oxygen+15%Hydrogen to compensate otherwise missing H-beta emission. This composition is very close to a visual spectrum.
Image in emission of an ionized hydrogen only (H-alpha)
A two frame mosaic
Click for a large image
This photo of IC 1805 was partly overlapping with my previous image from the same area.
I made a small two frame mosaic out of them. I have shot more frames after this imaging project and now I'm able to make a high resolution mosaic of the whole IC 1805 area. I'll publish that later.
This two frame mosaic is in mapped colors. I have material for the whole IC 1805 area but I'll publish it later. Blog post about the Melotte 15 at the left part of the mosaic above can be seen HERE.
Orientation in IC 1805, the Heart Nebula
Click for a large image
The area of IC 1795 is marked as a white rectangle.
Technical details
Processing work flow
Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 50% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.
Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Mount
10-micron 1000
Mount
10-micron 1000
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Astrodon filter, 3nm S-II
Exposure times
H-alpha, 15 x 1200s = 5h
O-III, 3 x 1200s = 1h min.
S-II, 3 x 1200s = 1h min.
Total 7h
A single un cropped, calibrated and stretched 20 min. H-alpha frame as it comes from the camera
Labels:
Narrowband color images,
nebula
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