In my opinion the current 12^th Time Lord, Peter Capaldi, is one of the best doctors yet but it’s all just a good yarn, isn’t it?  At the level of quantum physics the potential of time travel has recently been shown to be feasible and even the paradox of Schrödinger’s cat has now been experimentally demonstrated at a quantum level i.e. the same thing can exist in two places at the same time.  Still, intuitively time travel seems unlikely but nevertheless last week I travelled back 400 million years without moving from Fairvale Observatory!

As a result of good viewing conditions and excellent alignment of the mount and telescope, I sought to capture light that left on its journey 300 million years ago.  This time marks the end of the late Carboniferous era, taking its name from the period of worldwide formation of coal deposits, which resulted in the highest atmospheric oxygen levels the Earth has ever experienced (35%) and lead to an abundance of giant insects and amphibians as the first reptiles also appeared on Earth.

Widefield view of Stephan’s Quintet (red circle) and NGC7331 + Deer Lick Group (red box)
WO GT81, Canon 700D + FF | 20 x 120 secs + darks/bias/flats @ ISO 1,600

Located in the constellation of Pegasus, Stephan’s Quintet is a group of four galaxies whose respective gravities lock them in a cosmic dance with each other that will inevitably lead to their coalescence.  The fifth and brightest member of the group, NGC 7320, is in fact just 40 million light years away but viewed from Earth appears to be spatially associated with the aforementioned group and thus makes up the fifth member of the quintet. Unfortunately my 80 mm telescope only shows a smudge of light from Stephan’s Quintet but it is light that has just arrived here at Fairvale Observatory after making a 300 million year journey, it is literally looking back in time.  A more substantial Hubble image shows us exactly what was happening to these galaxies at that moment – it seems probable that they have by now come together but we’ll have to wait another 300 million years to see that.

Stephan’s Quintet taken by the Hubble telescope

Stephan’s Quintet (bottom left) and NGC 7331 + Deer Lick Group (top right)

One advantage of the smaller 80mm William Optics refractor telescope is that its field of view is quite large and whilst seeking to capture Stephan’s Quintet, I also inadvertently managed to image another group of galaxies.  In this case the dominant NGC 7331 galaxy with, apparently close-by but actually located up to ten times further away, the Deer Lick Group of galaxies.  The magnificent NGC 7331 is a mere 50 million light years from Earth and is thought to be similar to our very own Milky Way.  The Deer Lick Group (indicated by four red arrows in the main picture above) is however some 400 million light years* away – thus corresponding to the mid-Devonian period or the Age of Fishes; named after the red rocks first identified in Devon, UK and particularly known for its plethora of fish that developed at this time.  I am quite sure that even The Doctor would be impressed by the time travelled by the light from these objects as it arrives here on Earth after such a long journey and provides us with a glimpse of the past, today.

NGC 7331 spiral galaxy (foreground) and Deer Lick Group above (see main anotated picture for detailed location). Light from the Deer Lick Group of galaxies is over 400 million years old.

* For the record, light travels 670 million miles in one hour or 6 trillion miles in one year.

Two of astronomy’s most iconic images are Saturn and the Orion Nebula, M42 – one a highly distinctive planet of our Solar System, the other a trade mark of the winter sky as part of the Orion Constellation.  Both therefore seem quite familiar but still need to be seen or better still captured on camera to personally experience their magic.

The Orion Nebula or Great Orion Nebula, is a diffuse nebula located just south of Orion’s belt in the constellation of Orion.  It is approximately 1,344 light-years from earth and 24 light-years in diameter, which with an apparent magnitude of +4.0 is visible from Earth.  Studies of the nebula have revealed much about how new stars and planetary systems are formed, indeed it is considered a stellar nursery for new ‘baby’ stars, typically only a few hundred thousand years old.  Some 700 stars have been identified as formed from this nebula, most notably the ‘Trapezium’ asterism in the centre of the nebula, consisting of six bright stars. Spectacular red colours arise from hot hydrogen gas, whilst dust reflects the blue light from hot blue stars within the nebula.

The Orion Constellation from Fairvale Observatory last year – the Orion Nebula is just below the three central stars (Orion’s belt) in the centre of the three lower stars (Orion’s sword)

Due to its sheer beauty and notoriety I have previously dabbled with attempts to image the Orion Nebula before, initially by compact camera and subsequently by DSLR on the Skywatcher 150PL telescope, with limited success.  Notwithstanding, the colours of the nebula were evident and even four of the main stars of the Trapezium could be seen – at the time I was quite pleased but equally frustrated as I was unable to capture this magnificent object at its best.

Afocal image of the Orion Nebula in 2013: I was pleased at the time with the colour it showed and even the Trapezium stars

Orion Nebula later in 2013: DSLR & Skywatcher 150PL, single photograph, shows better colour and detail of the Trapezium

One year on, new equipment, new skills and a dark sky and all that has changed.  Very early on last Sunday morning I succeeded in imaging the Orion Nebula in all its glory, in what must be my very best astro photograph to date. Gotcha!

The Orion Nebula October 2014 – the secondary feature in the top left corner is another nebula, M43.   Orientated with equatorial North up and East to the left.
WO GT 81 Canon 700D  + FF unguided | 20 x 90 secs + darks/bias/flats @ ISO 800

“I have all the all the seven sisters that I need.

I am from Finsbury Park and am having a lark.”

Public Image Ltd (John Lydon et al), This is PiL 2012

The Seven Sisters chalk cliffs on the Sussex Heritage Coast, one of Britain’s finest unspoilt coastlines.

Seven Sisters London underground station on the Victoria line, in the borough of Haringey

Seven sisters – seven major oil companies, which formed the “Consortium for Iran” cartel that dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the 1970s.

What is it with seven sisters?  Mr Google returns 1,490,000 search results.

444 light years from Earth in the constellation of Taurus, with an apparent magnitude of +1.6, M45 or The Pleiades is one of the most prominent objects in the sky.  To the naked eye, the Pleiades look like a Little Dipper style asterism and with good eyesight it is possible to identify seven particularly bright blue stars.  This ‘young’ open star cluster actually contains over 1,700 stars, dominated by hot, blue stars.  M45 is currently passing through an interstellar dust cloud within the Milk Way, with the blue light from the brighter stars reflected off the dust, thus forming a distinctive blue nebulosity that can be seen surrounding the cluster.

M45 is generally considered to be a winter object in the Northern Hemisphere but, having just passed the Autumn Equinox at the end of September, it can already be seen in the late night / early morning sky.  Furthermore, as we leave the astronomical twilight of summer behind, the darkening skies are a real benefit to astro photographers; pity about the moon at the moment, which lingers until about 2.30am but thereafter leaves a still black sky, perfect for imaging.

Saturday night was the first time I have had to photograph the Pleiades using the new equipment so, given the prospect of a night long clear sky, there was no alternative but to get up early, very early – but it was worth the effort to capture this beautiful star group at its best: M45, the Pleiades AKA the Seven Sisters.

M45, Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster
Canon 700D unguided | 26 x 90 secs darks/bias/flats @ ISO 800

A big surprise to me since starting astronomy has been star clusters, which I was strangely unaware of before.  They come in two basic varieties – globular and open – their general nature is, as so many things astronomical, mind blowing.  The Milky Way has about 160 globular clusters, with highly elliptical orbits to the galaxy, whilst more distant galaxies such as M87 have over 13,000.  Each globular cluster typically contains hundreds or even millions of stars held together by gravitational forces in a roughly spherical form, generally packed into regions of ‘just’ 10 ly to 30 ly diameter.

Globular cluster stars are considered to be some of the oldest known objects in the Universe, formed just a few hundred million years after the formation of the Universe itself, and appear to be some of the first produced during galaxy formation.  Most of the stars are red and yellow Population II stars or ‘metal poor’, which have formed after a supernova.  More rare blue stars, known as blue stragglers, may also exist in globular clusters and are thought to be formed in the dense inner regions of stellar mergers.  Notwithstanding, the origin of globular star clusters is still poorly understood but research suggests they may be survivors of galactic mayhem 13 billion years ago.

http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/mpa/institute/news_archives/news1202_aaa/news1202_aaa-en-print.html

No known globular clusters display active star formation today, which is consistent with the view that globular clusters are typically among the oldest objects in the Universe and were some the first collection of stars to form.

And so the other evening I turned the camera on a globular cluster, M15 or NGC 7078, located by the constellation of Pegasus.  Estimated at 12 billion years old, it is one of the oldest globular clusters, 33,000 ly from Earth and one of the more densely packed clusters in the Milky Way,  containing some 100,000 stars.  Notably M15 contains a number of variable stars, pulsars, one neutron star and also unusually, a planetary nebula.  All-in-all quite a catch though I am still mystified and intrigued by their occurrence!

M15 Globular Cluster
Canon 700D unguided | 20 x 90 secs + darks / bias / flats @ ISO 800