My short astroimaging journey has been marked by a number of challenges, which looking back can now be viewed as important steps and achievements that have made it all worthwhile.

First trying to get a recognisable astronomy picture of anything using a compact camera: widefield on a tripod or afocal through the telescope eyepiece.  Afocal imaging was surprisingly difficult to do well, even when using a camera clamp.  Eventually I managed to obtain a crude photograph of the Orion Nebula, which nevertheless showed its colour and the Trapezium star cluster.  Whilst basic, at the time I was very pleased and found the capture of the nebula’s light itself something of a seminal moment for me; using a basic compact camera, it had been possible to reveal hithero unseen colours and nebulosity. I wanted more.

M42 The Great Orion Nebula
Afocal image | February 2014

Next, with the objective of achieving basic images of other iconic astronomical objects, I adopted two paths using (a) an astronomy webcam, and (b) a DSLR camera.  At this stage I had added RA and DEC motor drives to my EQ3-2 mount, which then allowed the telescope and attached camera to track the desired object and thus achieve longer exposures required to improve quality and detail.  However, this set-up was still quite basic, with exposures of no more than 20 seconds possible without producing star trails.  Furthermore, finding the desired objects and focussing remained quite difficult.

M45 The Pleiades
150PL Newtonian relfector + EQ3-2 mount + Canon 700D + x2 Barlow |February 2014

Mars 150PL Newtonian reflector + EQ3-2 mount + ZWO ASI 120 MC webcam + x2 Barlow | May 2014

The breakthrough came in June 2014 when I acquired an AZ-EQ6 Mount, which when properly aligned significantly improved tracking accuracy and thereby extended exposure times of up to 180 seconds; for various reasons this was not easy to set-up properly and took some months to master.  At the same time I also obtained  a William Optics GT81 apochromatic triplet refractor telescope which, in combination with the mount, held the prospect of even better astrophotography.

Since then I have slowly been trying to, (i) learn how to use all the various facets of the new equipment, and through this (ii) to improve the quality of my images and tackle new, hitherto unseen features.  I have made good progress with the equipment in recent months, although there is still much untapped potential.  However, improved imaging is now revealing the otherwise inaccessible world of Deep Sky Objects that is nothing less than incredible, exciting and very rewarding.

M57 Ring Nebula
William Optics GT81 + AZ-E6 GT mount | Canon 700D | 24 x 30 secs @ ISO 1,600 | September 2014

M45 The Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster
William Optics GT81 + AZ-EQ6 GT mount (unguided) + Canon 700D DSLR| 26 x 90 secs darks/bias/flats @ ISO 800 | October 2014

M42 The Orion Nebula 
William Optics GT81 + AZ-EQ6 GT mount (unguided) | Canon 700D + field flattener| 20 x 90 secs + darks/bias/flats @ ISO 800 | October 2014

At this time of the year it is necessary to grab every opportunity possible for imaging and so it was last Monday.  With the new, waxing Moon dominating the sky until about 10.30 pm and the probable onset of dew, or worst still frost sometime after midnight, the window of opportunity was likely to be limited and cold.  As it turned out, when I started to set-up and align the equipment at 9.30 pm it was a balmy 4^oC, which subsequently cooled to less than 2^oC by midnight and -1^oC when I packed up after 2.00 am.  However, the relative humidity during most of this time varied only between 75% and 78%, thus delaying the onset of dew and eventually frost until shortly before 2.00 am.

The wonderful Orion constellation still dominates the sky at the moment but having recently ‘discovered’ the Monoceros constellation, I wanted to continue to get better acquainted with some of its exciting objects as well as something new in Orion.  Shortly before Christmas I managed to image my first Monoceros target, NGC 2264 or the Christmas Tree and Cone Nebulae.  Whilst pleased with the outcome of this seasonal object, the image suffered from noise and some lack of detail arising from the pre-dominance of Ha-light which my unmodded camera is unable to record – note to Father Christmas, modified DSLR in 2015 please.  I was concerned that my next object might suffer from the same problem but in the short imaging time I had available, was determined to improve the quality through better alignment, more subs and longer exposures of 120 seconds at ISO 1,600.  The result was excellent and, I believe, shows how far I have come with astroimaging since my earlier afocal photographs just over one year ago.  Practice + perseverance + patience = results (sometimes).

The main target this time was the Rosette Nebula, situated to the south west of NGC 2264. This giant molecular cloud of hydrogen gas consists of four nebulae (NGC 2237, 2238, 2239 & 2246), some 130 light-years in size with an open star cluster at the centre – NGC 2244.  At about 5 million years old, these superhot stars are young and still being formed, with a brightness estimated to be some 400,000 times greater than our Sun.  It is the energy and light from these stars that excites and illuminates the surrounding Rosette Nebula, which itself dominates the image.

NGC 2244 Rosette Nebula
William Optics GT 81 + AZ-EQ6 GT mount (unguided)+ Canon 700D DSLR| 30 x 120 secs @ ISO1,600 | 29th December 2014

Amongst various definitions, a rosette is the French diminutive of rose.  It is also an award given for achievements.  I’d like to think that this image captures both of these definitions – as a beautiful red, rose-like nebula and my personal award to mark a another milestone in my quest over the past year.  A rosette may also typically be awarded to the winners at a show jumping or similar sporting event – in a comparable way, it’s now time for me to raise the astroimaging bar higher in 2015.