Spaceship Earth

December 23, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Earth, General Astronomy, Software and tagged DSO Imaging, Earth, Monoceros, Orion, Solar system | Leave a comment

I’m now into my second year of ‘serious’ astronomy and astrophotography, which accompanied by a greater knowledge of the Universe has brought an element of familiarity: with the equipment, with viewing & imaging techniques and space itself. In the past I have worked underground as a geologist on mines and like to think that I have good spatial awareness. Through this growing familiarity and knowledge of the night sky, I have become increasingly aware of our place in the Universe and how we on Earth are travelling through space; I also feel a growing empathy other peoples such as mariners who use and relate to the sky and space in a way ordinary people do not.

Whilst spinning on its axis at 1,037 mph at the equator (653 mph here at Fairvale Observatory’s higher latitude), the Earth is moving at about 70,000 mph round the Sun. Furthermore, located in the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way, the Solar System is also moving around the spiral galaxy at 500,000 mph, resulting in a galactic year of nearly 250,000 Earth years . Notwithstanding these complex and frankly mind boggling statistics, it thankfully all feels quite serene when outside at night with my telescope at Fairvale Observatory.

Going back some 5,000 years the constellations might seem to describe the ‘shape’ of space and provide a sense of stability to the sky but this is misleading. These and other asterisms are 2D patterns that mankind has created for practical use, whereas in reality most of the stars that make up these patterns bear little if any meaningful relationship with each other when viewed in 3D – like this animation showing the true shape of Orion.

Furthermore, under the force of gravity and other as yet unknown influences e.g. dark energy, these too are moving through space in their own way at vast speeds. In reality the constellations are therefore anything but permanent and through the millennia their apparent shapes change and will eventually be destroyed as far as we on Earth are concerned. As with my professional subject geology, this is the problem with space – it is very big and the timescales are very, very large, essentially beyond human comprehension, which result in otherwise unimaginable events; this animation wonderfully illustrates the scale and complexity of the known Universe.

Space selfie = the insignificance of Earth.
The Pale Blue Spot photograph of Earth (right side of picture) taken 6 billion kilometers (40.5 AU) away by Voyager-1 on February 14th 1990,

The beauty of such a system is that it can be modelled very accurately, from which it is possible to predict with great certainty the projected position of all these celestial objects, thus making spaceflight and the prediction of astronomical events possible. Likewise using the same data modelling it is possible to look backwards at past events. Such computerisation is no longer just the preserve of NASA and University academics but is at our fingertips using a computer based planetarium, in my case Carte du Ciel – incredible!

Given the time of year I have therefore used the aforesaid programme to generate a view of the night sky from Bethlehem 2015 years ago on the morning and evening of 25^th December. Even then differences can be seen in the shape of the constellations compared to now. If we are to believe the story of the Three Wise Men following a bight ‘star’ at this time, it seems it would be most likely to be in the morning when first Jupiter and then Venus are present. Either way it’s fascinating to be able to model the night sky in this way for any chosen moment in time.

Santa's view of Bethlehem - actually from the ISS on 24th December 2011

Santa’s view of Bethlehem from the ISS on 24th December 2011

After weeks of cloud cover I recently managed to get outside again for what turned out to be a wonderfully clear night, from dawn to dusk, furthermore there was no Moon! As a result imaging was productive and included some exciting new objects. However, again given the time of year for the moment I am repeating an object used last Christmas. One year on the difference is that this time I have used a modded Canon 550D DSLR camera and thus improved (I think) the red Ha-light detail.

Cone Nebula & Christmas Tree Cluster WO GT81 + Modded Canon 550D & FF | 15 sec @ ISO 1,600 + calibration | 8th December 2015

Cone Nebula & Christmas Tree Cluster – right of centre
WO GT81 + Modded Canon 550D & FF | 15 sec @ ISO 1,600 + calibration | 8th December 2015

Cone Nebula (bottom centre) & Christmas Tree Cluster (inverted)

NGC 2264 or Christmas Tree cluster and its neighbour the Cone Nebula are located within the Monoceros AKA Unicorn constellation, which being part of the Milky Way are therefore inextricably linked to a similar destiny as spaceship Earth as it makes its way through space. Being some 2,700 light-years away we are unlikely to meet, though you never know with space and time!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

It’s all relative

December 5, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects and tagged DSO Imaging, Globular Clusters, Pegasus | 2 Comments

Having missed 6-months astronomy earlier this year following an operation, come September I was desperate to get back to my nascent interest in astronomy and astroimaging. Apart from some initial operating mishaps, it turned out to be a good month: warm evenings, clear skies and interesting skies. Since then it’s all gone Pete Tong, with no imaging opportunities here at Fairvale Observatory since early October due either to cloudy skies or the coincidence of the full Moon with clear periods; it was therefore not surprising to learn that November was recorded as the dullest on record, with just 18 hours of sunshine compared to an average of 63 hours.

My antidote to physical incapacity and cloudy skies this year has been the MOOC or Massive Open Online Course – free online courses run by Universities from all over the world, in my case of course I naturally chose various aspects of astronomy:

In the night sky: Orion – Monica Grady, Open University. Orion constellation and star evolution.
Moons – David Rothery, Open University. Everything about moons; there are 176 moons in the Solar System some bigger than planets and some with the potential for life.
AstroTech: The science and technology behind astronomical discovery – Andy Lawrence & Catherine Hymans, Edinburgh University. Does what it says on the tin!
Imagining Other Earths – David Spergel, Princeton University. The complete astronomy course and more! Ongoing 24-week course that covers just about everything in astronomy – outstanding.
Gravity! – Pierre Binétruy and George Smoot (Nobel Laureate), Paris Centre for Cosmological Physics – Paris University Diderot. Gravity and how it shapes the universe etc.

This week marked the centenary of Einstein’s general theory of relativity and the end of the course Gravity! At the same time on Thursday ESA launched the LISAPathfinder space mission, that is designed to assess the viability of ground breaking technology which if successful will be used later to study and measure gravitational waves; whilst on this theme I also watched the movie Interstellar.

Whatever gravity is, and it is clear that despite Einstein et al we still don’t really know (no shortage of theories though), its effects clearly shape the Universe in a major way and at all levels.

One such feature is the globular cluster, groups of up to one million very old stars, tightly bound by gravity that orbit a galactic core; over 150 have so far been identified with the Milky Way Galaxy. I find them to be one of the most interesting and enigmatic features of astronomy and therefore before the clouds rolled in some weeks ago I managed to image such a cluster, M15.

Globular star cluster M15 lies about 33,000 light years away towards the constellation Pegasus, about 4° northwest of Enif, the star at the tip of Pegasus’ nose. It was discovered by French-Italian astronomer Giacomo Filippo Maraldi in 1746 and rediscovered by Messier in 1764. At magnitude +6.2, M15 is generally considered to rank amongst the finest objects of its type in the northern sky.

M15 Globular Cluster
WO GT81 + modded Canon 550D & FF | 15 x 120 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 19th September 2015

M15 has a diameter of 120 light years and revolves around the Galaxy once every 250 million years in a prograde orbit, meaning it moves about the galaxy in the same direction as the galaxy’s own rotation. In 1974, M15 was discovered to be a source of x-ray energy, which may suggest that one or more supernova remnants are buried deep within the cluster.

With such unreliable viewing conditions in the UK it’s essential to find other areas of interest when pursuing astronomy. I have found MOOCs to be an excellent and accessible source of first rate, up-to-date information that have expanded my knowledge of astronomy significantly, whilst post processing and planning are also both essential tasks that can also often be interesting. Notwithstanding, with Orion and other exciting features of the winter sky now upon us, I can’t wait to get back outside soon.

The big picture unveiled

November 12, 2015 by grahamrob in AstroBin, Deep Sky Objects, Equipment, Imaging, Widefield Imaging and tagged Cygnus, NGC, Photography | 1 Comment

About this time last year I successfully imaged first NGC 6960 the Western Veil, AKA the Witch’s Broom Nebula and shortly afterwards NGC 6992 the Eastern Veil, which includes NGC 6995 AKA the Bat Nebula. In themselves they are both wonderful parts of the larger but perhaps more elusive (photographically speaking) Veil Nebula. Located in the constellation Cygnus, the Veil Nebula or Cygnus Loop is formed from the remains of a supernova that exploded in our galaxy about ten thousand years ago and at a distance of almost 1,500 light-years, now spans a 3^o area of the sky or 80 light-years in diameter. At the time I struggled to get these images but was very pleased with the outcome.

One year on and I was now thinking about other parts of the Veil, in particular Pickering’s Triangle. The Triangle might be thought of as the third central section of the Veil, situated between the Eastern and Western Veils but slightly further north. At some 52 x 35 arcminutes it is itself a significant feature, which surprisingly does not have an NGC catalogue number of its own.

Pickering’s Triangle

Notwithstanding the success of Pickering’s Triangle, in the end I got much more than I bargained for. This time using a modded camera, I was able to capture the entire Veil Nebula in one photograph – progress indeed.

The Veil Nebula AKA Cygnus Loop: Ultraviolet view ref. NASA

Light from the bulk of the Veil Nebula is very faint and notoriously difficult to image, whilst furthermore much of it is Ha in nature – hence this time finding its way to the camera’s sensor having had the IR filter removed. The result is a staggering view of the entire supernova, with the Witch’s Broom in the west (right), the Eastern Veil (left) and Pickering’s Triangle nestled in between. However, in addition extensive regions of delicate, wispy nebulous filaments can be seen flowing everywhere in between – hence the name of Veil.

Veil Nebula / Cygnus Loop WO GT81 & modded Canon 550D + FF | 30 x 180 sec exposures @ ISO 1,600 | 19th September 2015

Veil Nebula / Cygnus Loop
WO GT81 & modded Canon 550D + FF | 30 x 120 sec @ ISO 1,600 | 19th September 2015

Whilst I am very pleased with the resulting photograph, there’s still more to achieve another time. Apart for the added potential that would be gained from longer, guided exposures, the use of Ha and OIII filters would also uncover even more of the Veil’s diaphanous beauty.

At the limit

October 30, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Equipment, Imaging and tagged Galaxies, Pegasus, Photography | Leave a comment

Earlier this month the weather and clear skies produced particularly good imaging conditions that resulted in some excellent pictures; it’s already a distant memory as the weather has since turned cold and cloudy day-after-day – or at least every night except when there’s a full Moon! With these images knowingly in the bag and the telescope well aligned, I took the opportunity to indulge in a short session imaging some galaxies that happened to be around the Meridian at this time which, as it turned out, were located in proximity to the constellation of Pegasus.

Two of the objects (M74 & NGC 7814) were confined to just ten shots and the third fifteen, all at 180 seconds exposure and ISO 1,600. For such dim and distant objects this in itself was obviously insufficient but still it was fun to experiment. As expected the resulting images are feint and noisy but the object’s form can be clearly seen and, in the case NGC 7814 – the Little Sombrero, even the edge-on dust lanes are evident.

In order to better understand the limits of the equipment, a comparison of the images with the objects’ physical information given side-by-side illustrates the problems and possibilities for the future. The truth is that these are all at or beyond the realistic limit of my current set-up but I was interested to see what results could be achieved and I always enjoy their beauty, even if imperfectly captured.

Apart from the obvious problem of size, mainly a function of distance in this case, their apparent magnitude is also challenging. It is interesting to consider that using the 18 megapixel Canon 550D and WO GT81, each camera pixel which measures 4.30μm samples just 1.855 arc seconds per pixel and therefore even the largest of these objects (M74) spans an area of just about one tenth of a degree (0.10^o). Better alignment and longer exposure should tease out more detail but as the recorded image of each object is no more than 2% of the total image the reality is that I am pushing my luck.

Still it is fun and I have managed to capture a few of the photons that left these galaxies so long ago. As my equipment, techniques and knowledge continue to improve then hopefully so will the limits. Watch this space!

Rock On!

October 19, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Equipment, Imaging, Widefield Imaging and tagged Andromeda, Cygnus, DSO Imaging, Nebulae, Photography, Star Clusters | 2 Comments

Due to my viewing limitations at Fairvale Observatory planning is essential, with the best imaging range mainly restricted to a zone between 65^o and 85^o and within +/-20^o of the Meridian. Furthermore, as I am mostly using the William Optics GT81 telescope at the moment, imaging targets should preferably be large – something between 1^o& 2^o is perfect, such as the Rosetta Nebula at 1.3^o or Andromeda Galaxy at 190’ x 60’. As luck would have it these conditions are favourable for a number of objects at the moment and I have been somewhat spoilt for choice: North America Nebula, Veil Nebula and Andromeda.

Notwithstanding, for some reason I have until now overlooked the Sadr Region IC 1318, which is also large and in a similar part of the sky as the aforementioned North America and Veil Nebulae but perhaps overshadowed by their notoriety. In reality it is an enormous area of nebulosity containing many features worthy of imaging which are perfect at this time of the year from my location.

Sadr Region: green rectangle indicates the approximate area of IC 1318 image, yellow rectangle the NGC 6888 Crescent Nebula image.

IC 1318 is a diffuse emission nebula surrounding the star Sadr or Gamma Cygni, which is at the centre of the Cygnus Cross and on the plane of the Milky Way. The Sadr region is located deep within the Orion arm of the Milky Way about 3,000 light-years from Earth, with Gamma Cygni actually situated closer in the foreground. Such is the size of IC 1318 that its three constituent parts, A – B – C, extend over some 200 light-years or about 4 degrees, which is well beyond the FOV of the WO GT81; how could I have overlooked his enormous area of nebulosity before? As a result of its size and complexity I also chose to image two other interesting features nearby.

IC 1318 Sadr Region – image inverted & annotated

IC 1318 Sadr Region
WO GT81 + modded Canon 550D & FF | 30 x 120 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 30th September 2015

Situated just above Sadr is the small star cluster of NGC 6910 AKA Rocking Horse Cluster. Although only 10’ in size the cluster is visually quite prominent, though I struggle to see the little horse that others have identified. Notwithstanding, it is an interesting and attractive part of the Sadr region.

NGC 6910 The Rocking Horse Nebula as recorded by StarObersever.eu – located just above Gamma Cygni in the previous image.

Located about 2 degrees south west of Sadr is the Crescent Nebula NGC 6888, which is not unlike the Jellyfish Nebula in appearance but is younger in its evolution. An emission nebula, NGC 6888 is formed by a stellar wind from the Wolf-Rayet star WR 126 colliding with a slower moving wind ejected when the star previously became a red giant. The result is an illuminated shell-like feature consisting of two shock waves, one moving inward and the other outward, producing this amazing spectacle which measures some 25 light-years across. Near the end of its existence, the star will eventually end its life in a spectacular supernova explosion – now that would be an image.

NGC 6888 Crescent Nebula
WO GT81 + modded Canon 550D & FF | 20 x 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 9th October 2015

Crescent Nebula – cropped

Crescent Nebula – GradientXTerminator applied

Whilst IC 1318 has proved to be an excellent and productive imaging target for my equipment, it has become clear that it represents a much, much larger area of nebulosity that incorporates or is at least immediately adjacent to NGC 7000, the North America Nebula. At a rough estimate this larger area spans a distance of some 2,000 light-years and is some 50-times bigger than the Sadr region. Like other major areas of nebulosity (Barnard’s Loop) such a scale is way beyond the ability of my equipment and most others without resorting to a mosaic technique.

However, my interest in seeing and potentially imaging the bigger picture has been piqued and I have recently purchased a Vixen Polarie tracking mount, which can be fixed onto a camera tripod with a standard camera and lens in order to take long exposures without forming star trails. This set-up has two advantages over prime focus + telescope imaging: (i) it is highly portable and can easily be taken anywhere in a rucksack, and (ii) by using a camera lens of say <=50mm focal length it is possible to achieve a much wider FOV and thus photograph some of these very large nebulous areas in one image.

Alas the Sadr region is now moving on and it is probably too late to tackle using the Polarie mount but it will be something to look forwards to again next autumn and meanwhile Orion is just round the corner. Watch this space for developments!

Space Odyssey

October 9, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, General Astronomy and tagged Andromeda, DSO Imaging, Galaxies, Messier Objects | 3 Comments

I have just finished reading Chris Hadfield’s excellent book An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, which is an entertaining and insightful look at being an astronaut and the lessons it provides for life in general. Who of us has not at least considered such an adventure ourselves but, of course, it is impossible for all but a few.

Astronomy is thought provoking enough in itself looking out at the vastness and beauty of the Universe, being in space and looking down on our planet would take such thoughts to a whole different level; from their subsequent accounts it is clear that those who have walked on the Moon became changed people, returning different to the rest of us.

Ever since following the pioneering space adventures of Yuri Gagarin and Alan Sheppard and especially watching the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969, I have been fascinated by space, its science and the human experience of travelling there. My solution to going into space was to take up scuba diving and since 1976 have had many wonderful diving experiences all over the world. Of course, it’s not space but it is very much other worldly and the weightless feeling is as close as most of us will get to being in space; the astronauts train extensively underwater for just that reason. Furthermore, as a geologist and more recently taking up astronomy has altogether provided me with a better understanding of the Universe.

Maldives, Kandooma 2004: the closest I’ll get to space!

Given my long standing interest in space, it is perhaps surprising that I came late to astronomy itself, so why now? The best answer is time – in recent years I have had more of it and in the past work, family and extensive travel precluded such a pastime. Like so many sciences in the modern era, technology has also unlocked major new opportunities for scientists and amateurs alike. Whilst I enjoy the science itself and especially viewing the night sky, the ability to produce frankly incredible images has been the most important key to my recent personal interest.

The phenomenal imaging improvements that have occurred since the launch of Hubble have made the power and beauty of the Universe even more accessible to us all on Earth. Digital image capture and processing is now so powerful that pictures of hitherto unimaginable quality can be achieved from Earth. Furthermore, for a relatively modest cost outlay, such images can be obtained by amateurs like me, literally outside my back door. More than any other development, this is what has now engaged my interest. The product of astroimaging can easily be overlooked as just an attractive, often spectacular photograph of the night sky – and they are. But the equipment and pictures produced are also important tools that can assist our understanding as well as imagination of space.

After a forced absence from astroimaging for the past six months, I was recently fortunate to obtain a number of exciting pictures of familiar objects on my first night back, in particular M31 or the Andromeda Galaxy. As the nearest galaxy to Earth, Andromeda is an obvious target for those new to astroimaging but despite its proximity, it is not to be underestimated as an imaging target. I have attempted imaging M31 before but, like many others, found it very difficult to coax out the detail which makes it such a beauty. I am not completely sure what was different this time but the resulting picture at last starts to capture these details; I was even more surprised at the outcome which is the result of just nine 120 second exposures at the end of a long night before heading for bed!

M31 Andromeda Galaxy
WO GT 81 + modded Canon 550D + FF | 9 x 120 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 19th September 2015

Andromeda poses two main challenges for the photographer: (i) the contrast in brightness between the central area and the rest of the galaxy, and (ii) the need to show the brown dust bands within the main disc, which provide a fascinating insight into the galaxy’s overall structure – that is not unlike out own Milky Way. The classic technique is to use two sets of images, with camera settings appropriate to the two contrasting areas, subsequently bringing them together during post-processing. Despite the limited number of prime focus images taken the final picture achieved still came out well. Though the bright central area is overexposed, the galaxy’s dust bands are clearly evident and for the first time have captured the full character of this magnificent feature. Furthermore, within M31 the NGC 206 is evident, a star formation region of over 300 new stars, whilst in the adjacent sky two other Messier galaxies are shown in the image M32 and M110.

M31 Anfromeda Galaxy: inverted & anotated

M31 Andromeda Galaxy: inverted & annotated

I think it is correct to say that the Andromeda Galaxy is one of the iconic images of the night sky and I feel obtaining such a picture marks another notable point in my personal space odyssey. I would hope Chris would approve, as well as Major Tom?

The Pelican & The Phoenix

September 22, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Equipment, Imaging and tagged Cygnus, DSO Imaging, Nebulae | 2 Comments

As we pass the Autumn Equinox the promise of long and exciting Winter skies is not far off but there are still some wonderful late Summer features around worth imaging before they move away from the Meridian and out of view from Fairvale Observatory. Following a major operation earlier in the year I’ve been unable to move the heavy equipment outdoors until very recently and have therefore almost completely missed the Summer skies; even as I’ve been getting better in recent weeks, poor skies and other circumstances have stopped my return to astronomy – until now.

Up until shortly before midnight the Cygnus constellation is favourably located close to the Meridian at the moment and at a very high, southerly altitude – perfect for my location – it was therefore here that I chose to make my long awaited resumption to astroimaging last Saturday. The weather forecast in the morning showed clear skies for that night but by early evening had changed to cloud and looked like being another lost opportunity; on this basis the Flamsteed Astronomy Society had already cancelled their planned evening astronomy session. However, unlike previous attempts in recent weeks when clear skies were forecast and the cloud rolled in unannounced, this time the outcome was very different, with a clear moonless sky throughout the night – I sometime wonder if the weather forecasters have windows and bother to look outside!

Located northeast of the first magnitude star Deneb and some 1,600 ly from Earth is NGC 7000 or the North America Nebula, an enormous H II region that in outline resembles the North American continent. I first encountered this emission nebula at a similar time last year, which was my first experience of such a feature and I was therefore thrilled to capture part of it in my picture; my blog title at the time captures my feelings – WOW! However, taking the image using the longer focal length Skywatcher 150PL with a smaller field-of-view (FOV), the picture only captured part of the ‘USA’ and the ‘Gulf of Mexico’. Furthermore, using an unmodded camera much of the red H-alpha light that is characteristic of these nebulae was not recorded.

Since then my equipment has changed in a number of important ways, so that the William Optics GT81 with a wider FOV would now enable me to image more of the nebula, whilst using a modded DSLR camera would also record much more of the H-alpha light; an additional year’s experience also helped. This time my target was the related IC 5070 and IC 5067 H II regions otherwise known as the Pelican Nebula, situated just west of NGC 7000 and close to Deneb.

The Pelican Nebula, IC5070 & IC 5067. WO GT81 & modded Canon 550D + FF | 30 x 120 secs @ ISO 1,600 + calibration | 19th September 2015

The Pelican Nebula, IC5070 & IC 5067
WO GT81 & modded Canon 550D + FF cropped | 30 x 120 secs @ ISO 1,600 + calibration | 19th September 2015

With an apparent magnitude of +8 the Pelican is generally less bright than its larger +4 neighbour but is no less exciting. The bright double star Cygnus 57 and binary Cygnus 56 shine conspicuously just in front of the ‘bird’ and within the ‘body’ respectively. In addition a bright area at the northern top of the ‘bird’s head’ is an active area of star formation, which ionizes the gases creating the glowing red area.

Whilst missing the impact of being my first H II nebula last time, the larger image of the North America Nebula now captures most of the ‘continent’ and encompasses ‘Central America’. As a result the picture clearly shows the Cygnus Wall, another bright area of star formation that runs along ‘Baja California’ / ‘northern Mexico’ area.

NGC 7000 The North America & Pelican Nebulae
WO GT81 + modded Canon EOS 550D + FF | 30 x 120 secs @ ISO 1,600 + calibration | 19th September 2015

The combined Pelican and North America Nebulae span some 50 ly across, which when imaged together makes a wonderful picture of these spectacular features. I would be happy with this image at any time but after nearly six months away from astroimaging it’s a very pleasing result. I feel re-invigorated, like the phoenix has risen again.

Spring’s Playground

May 12, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects and tagged Coma Berenices, Galaxies, Leo, Virgo | 1 Comment

The night sky has been full of surprises for me this Spring, in particular the very extensive presence of galaxies. Their occurrence has been mostly associated with the constellations of Leo and Virgo but also less well known (to me) Coma Berenices, located between the two aforementioned constellations. Despite being the 42^nd constellation by size and relatively small with few bright stars, Coma Berenices is nonetheless something of a little gem and every bit as interesting as it’s more famous neighbours.

Previously part of the Leo Constellation, Coma Berenices was promoted to a constellation in the 16^th Century and named after Queen Berenice II of Egypt; the asterism was previously considered to be the tuft of hair at the end of the lion’s (Leo) tail, which has now become the ‘Queens Hair’. Though small, Coma Berenices contains eight Messier objects, several globular clusters and is rich in galaxies – including the northern part of the Virgo cluster – also with the North Galactic Pole located within its boundaries. All-in-all the constellation forms an impressive and interesting part of the sky at this time of the year.

Notable objects are: M53 (NGC 5024), M85 (NGC 4382), M88 (NGC 4501), M91 (NGC 4548), M98 (NGC 4192), M99 (NGC 4254), and M100 (NGC 4321). Whilst amongst the more famous features of the Coma Berenices is the Black Eye Galaxy (M64), the Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565) and the Coma Cluster of galaxies.

M64, AKA Black Eye Galaxy, Evil Eye Galaxy or the Sleeping Beauty Galaxy is the brightest in Coma Berenices and gets its name from the dark (black) dust band that obscures the stars in its bright core.

M64 Black Eye Galaxy
WO GT81 & Canon 550D (modded) + FF | 10 x 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 11th April 2015

NGC 4565 or the Needle Eye Galaxy is considered one of the finest examples of an edge-on galaxy, thus producing a slender, needle-like profile. Located 40 million light years away, almost directly above the North Galactic Pol, this giant barred spiral galaxy is about one third larger than the Milky Way and is more luminous that Andromeda.

NGC 4565 Needle Eye Galaxy
WO GT81 & Canon 550D (modded) + FF | 10 x 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 11th April 2015

Some 60 million light-years away, M88 is located in the lower area of Coma Berenices, is over 100,000 light years diameter and one of the brightest galaxies of the Virgo Cluster.

M88 with other galaxies of the Virgo Cluster nearby.
WO GT81 + Canon 550D (modded) + FF | 20 x 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 25th March 2015

Apart from a few occasional opportunities since obtaining my new equipment last Summer, I have been yearning for more galaxies to image and have thoroughly enjoyed Spring’s veritable playground of galaxies that have filled the sky in their hundreds and sometimes thousands since February. Notwithstanding, my 81mm refractor though good struggles to obtain the detail of these magnificent, mind-blowing Deep Sky Objects and I can only look forward to the day of owning a larger aperture telescope and have mastered the art of long-exposure tracking, which I am still working on. In the meantime, I now await the development of the Summer sky and another crack at objects first encountered last year.

All in a spin

April 23, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects and tagged Coma Berenices, DSO Imaging, Galaxies, Star Clusters, Virgo | 1 Comment

It is now just over six months since acquiring my new astronomy equipment and therefore the first time I have experienced imaging DSO objects of the Spring night sky. Following the passage of Leo, the main show has now well and truly arrived as the constellations of first Coma Berenices and then Virgo pass overhead, bringing with them a virtual fireworks type display of spectacular stellar features. To DSO fans Spring means one thing – galaxies – too many to comprehend, making it difficult to know where to start. In my case the detailed beauty of these galaxies will need to wait until I have a substantially larger telescope and can achieve much, much longer exposures. In the meantime I just marvel at the spectacle and have been trying to image some of the more iconic of these springtime beauties. Both constellations seem abound with galaxies but two groups are particularly exciting: the Coma Cluster and Virgo Cluster, within which there a large number of fine examples to choose from.

Just the tip of the iceberg: part of the Virgo Cluster that is crowded by galaxies.

Just the tip of the iceberg: part of the Virgo Cluster crowded with thousands of galaxies.

I was first drawn to Markarain’s Chain in the Virgo Cluster, a string of galaxies that form a gentle curve. Stretched over some x ly the chain includes two Messier Objects – M86 & M84, together with NGC 4438, NGC 4435, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4473 & NGC 4477 amongst many others. In fact this entire part of the sky contains literally thousands of galaxies, of which Markarain’s Chain is just a small but interesting part.

Markarain's Chain WO GT81 & Canon 550D + FF | 15 x 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 26th March 2015

Markarian’s Chain
WO GT81 & Canon 550D + FF | 15 x 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 26th March 2015

Markarian’s Chain (red) & some other galaxies (green) – inverted image.

The one that got away

April 14, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects and tagged DSO Imaging, Galaxies, Leo | Leave a comment

At the end of February the appearance of the Leo constellation marks the end of the winter sky and the transition to Spring. After previously succeeding in imaging the Leo Triplet and M96 group, there remained one feature I still wanted to capture and, after a long period of difficult seeing conditions, I finally got my chance much later in March.

Just west of the lion’s head, south of the star Alterf (Lambda Leonis) is the 10^th magnitude barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903, discovered by no less than William Herschel in 1784. At 12.6’ x 6.0’ (80,000 ly) NGC 2903 is a little smaller than the Milky Way and too small for my equipment to show much detail but it is possible to see the spiral arms and the bright core, which is known to exhibit an exceptional rate of star formation. However, the galaxy’s main notoriety is that this significant feature should have been overlooked by Messier though, to be fair, he did well with 103 other wonderful objects that I’m still working through.