AstroGear

03/22/2024

This is the rich area of nebulosity in central Cygnus that includes the Crescent Nebula (aka NGC 6888) at left, and the Tulip Nebula (aka Sharpless 2-101) at right near the star Eta Cygni.

The small circular red HII nebula at lower left is Sh 2-104, while the faint arc of whitish OxygenIII nebulosity below centre is the Wolf-Rayet nebula WR134. The Crescent Nebula is another Wolf-Rayet object, WR136, made of material expelled by stellar winds from a very hot central star. The long dark nebula above centre is B145, from Edward Emerson Barnard's catalog, while the mass of large dark nebulas of varying densities at right is collectively catalogued by Beverly Lynds as Lynds Dark Nebula LDN 862. The star cluster Messier 29 is just in the field at lower left. Many other minor star cluster dot the field.

This is a stack of 8 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 3200 through an IDAS NBX narrowband nebula filter to isolate the Ha and OIII emission lines, blended with a stack of 10 x 8 minute exposures with no filter (to retain natural star colours) at ISO 800, all with the AstroGear filter-modified Canon R, and on the Sharpstar 61 EDPH III refractor at f/4.5 with its Reducer. Autoguided on the Astro-Physics Mach1 mount with the MGENIII autoguider. Taken from home on a very fine night, May 15/16, 2023.

Stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop. A "starless" layer created with RC-Astro Star XTerminator provides most of the nebula content, enhanced with luminosity masks and a Nebula Filter action from PhotoKemi Tools.

Image Credit: Alan Dyer
AmazingSky.com

03/20/2024

This frames most of the intricate arcs and loops of the Vela Supernova Remnant (SNR), the remains of a star that exploded about 11,000 years ago. It is one of the closest SNRs to Earth, about 900 light years away. Most arcs and segments have no separate catalogue numbers, with the exception of the short straight Pencil Nebula, aka Herschel’s Ray, in the lower left corner which is NGC 2736. It is the brightest segment of the Vela SNR visually in a telescope. The nebula complex is marked with lots of cyan arcs emitting oxygen III wavelengths, mixed with regions of red hydrogen-alpha emission.

The large area of red H-alpha nebulosity at top left is Gum 17. The small compact nebula below it is RCW 36. The field is about 7.5º by 5°. North is up in this framing.

This is a stack of 8 x 10-minute exposures shot through an IDAS NBZ dual narrowband filter to bring out the nebulosity, blended with a stack of 12 x 5-minute exposures with no filter for the “natural light” background and starfield. Shot at ISO 3200 for the filtered shots and ISO 800 for the unfiltered shots, all with the filter-modified (by AstroGear.net) Canon EOS R camera, on the Sharpstar 61 EDPH III refractor at f/4.4. On the Astro-Physics AP 400 mount autoguided with the Lacerta MGEN3 stand-alone autoguider. The waning crescent Moon rising at 2 am prevented more exposures.

Shot on a perfect night March 5, 2024 from Mirrabook Cottage near Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia.

Image Credit: Alan Dyer
AmazingSky.com

03/18/2024

This is the Large Magellanic Cloud, the main Local Group member and a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way, some 160,000 light years away, It is visible only from the southern hemisphere. Nowhere else in the sky do we see such a profuse collection of star-forming nebulas as here in this frame the width typical of binocular fields, about 7.5° by 5º.

The main region of nebulosity is the massive Tarantula Nebula complex (NGC 2070) at left, with its twisted and tortured structure. The other main area is the NGC 1763 complex at upper right. At upper left are the nebulas NGC 2020 and NGC 1955, among many others. At lower right is the NGC 1748 complex. At lower left is NGC 2018.

While many of the nebulas are red or pink from hydrogen alpha emission, many are cyan from predominant oxygen III emission. This is a blend of images taken through a dual-band nebula filter and without any filter. This is a stack of 12 x 10-minute exposures at ISO 3200 through an IDAS NBZ dual-band (OIII and H-a) filter that adds most of the nebulosity, blended with a stack of 20 x 5-minute exposures at ISO 800 with no filter for the main “natural light” background content.

The Canon EOS R camera I used was modified by AstroGear.net to be more sensitive to H-a light. It was on the little Sharpstar 61mm EDPH III refractor with its Reducer for f/4.4, and on the Astro-Physics AP400 mount autoguided with the Lacerta MGEN III stand-alone auto-guider.

Image Credit: Alan Dyer
AmazingSky.com

03/17/2024

03/17/2024

Do you love Amateur Astronomy?

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If you would like to learn more about this project, please visit the link below:

Do you love Amateur Astronomy? Hi, I am Daniel Amado, an amateur astronomer and entr… Daniel Amado needs your support for New Telescopes Store Project

03/15/2024

The Milky Way core over Al-Kharana Castle Amman, Jordan.

Image Credit: Haythem Hamdi

Equipment used
Camera: Canon Rebel T7i Astromodified by AstroGear
Mount: Sky-Watcher SA 2i
Optics: Rokinon 14mm f2.8 @ 4
Total exposure for the sky 1H 47M

03/13/2024

The Soul Nebula in Cassiopeia (HOO)
Equpment Used
Telescope: Askar 80PHQ with .76X reducer
Camera: Canon Rebel T7i (800d) Astro Modified by
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro
Filter: SvBony SV220 7nm Dual-Band
Software: PixInsight
Integration: 34 X 10 minutes for a total of 5 hours and 40 minutes
Location: Charleston RI Bortel 4

Image Credit: Haythem Hamdi

03/11/2024

Milky Way at Joshua Tree National Park.

Image Credit: Bruce Herwig
https://bruceherwigphotographer.square.site/

03/10/2024

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https://www.astrogear.net/collections/filter-wheels-and-drawers/products/svbony-sv226-filter-drawer-for-1-25-and-2-round-mounted-filters

03/09/2024

The California Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus about 1,500 light years from Earth.

Equipment used:
Optics/Telescope: Apertura 60EDR
Camera: Canon Rebel T7 Astro Modified by
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro
Filter: Astronomik Ha 12nm CCD EOS APS-C Clip-Filter
Software: PixInsight
Exposure: 120X4min no filter 32X10min Ha filter for a total of 13h 20m
Bortle: 4 & 5

03/07/2024

This is a comparison between two pictures, the first one at the left side before the modification of a Canon EOS Rebel T3. A dramatic increase on the deep red structures can be easily seen on the picture at the right side that was taken after the modification of the mentioned camera. Thank you very much Heather for sharing your amazing results!!! I wish you the best in this new astrophotography journey!!!

Image Credit: Heather Charron