Category Archives: Narrowband

Reflections 2019

by in Broadband, Deep Sky Objects, Galaxy, General Astronomy, Imaging, Mosaic, Narrowband, Nebula, Processing, Software, Solar system, Widefield Imaging and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The website Watch This Space (Man) began in 2015 as I started out in astronomy and is a record of my personal journey, comments and thoughts.  Apart from the main blog, the website also contains links to other astrophotographers, astronomy tools, astronomy weather, and scientific papers etc., which can be accessed from the top menu.

Whilst there is a photo gallery of my work in this website, an overview of the better images can be found in the My Astrophotography FLICKR album, which can be found in the GALLERY menu.  Furthermore, this year I took the plunge and joined the Astrobin community, where my images can be found using the appropriate link also in the GALLERY menu.

Heat Map 2019

During the past year the site was visited from 64 different countries, literally from every corner of the world.  I always like to hear from anybody out there – comments, questions, help or just to say hello  – and can be contacted via details given in the ABOUT menu section or just leave a comment on any item if you prefer.

Reflections 2019 BannerX

Reflections is compiled at the end of each year as a review of my astronomy and astrophotography during the previous twelve months, together with some thoughts on possible future developments.

Overview, Images & Goals for 2020

The past year’s plan was simple: build-on and experiment with developments from the previous year, in particular using Plate Solving to achieve longer integration times and explore further the north sky, which I could now see from the new Shed Observatory and operates during the spring and summer months.

By routinely using Plate Solving integration times, now obtained over a number of nights or even months, have increased by up to four-fold compared to previous years.  As a result I concentrated on less objects but for longer time, achieving between 6 to 8 hours of subs on some occasions, the limiting factor as ever being British weather.  Although quite modest compared to those able to use fixed observatories, or in clear, dry climates with Bortle 1 or 2 skies, I was very pleased with the positive impact this had on my images.

Starting astronomy and astrophotography somewhat late in the day a few years ago, like many others after retirement, the learning curve was steep and often frustrating.  There were times I’ve almost considered giving up but with perseverance I’ve made progress and often get great pleasure from some of the results, as well as just enjoying and learning about this wonderful subject.  For me it is just a hobby but recognising some of my achievements and abilities acquired since starting out in 2014, I was especially proud this year to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.  For all the help in reaching this point, I’d like to thank all those who have helped me from the astronomy community, wherever they are.

RAS logo

Favourite Images

My weakness in astrophotography remains processing but having at last obtained some good integration times, this year I made a greater effort to improve these techniques – with some success.  Adopting the theme less is more, I imaged just 17 different objects this year – of which nine were full narrow or broadfband images, with the rest being  experimental or DSLR – with a total integration time of 65 hours (2018: 25 objects & 43 hours).  The resulting images turned out well, achieving Picture of the Week on the British Astronomical Association website on six occasions.  It’s therefore difficult to choose favourites from this select group based on merit alone, so this year’s favourites (see below) represent those good images that also mark a significant milestone in my astrophotography.  Detailed reviews of these and all other images from 2019 are discussed in dedicated articles that can be found via the Blog Index under the ABOUT dropdown menu.

SHO2 CompF (Large)

Horsehead & Flame Nebula: Usually imaged in LRGB broadband, this narrowband SHO version produced a very different affect and colours, whilst also showing the beauty of the accompanying clouds of interstellar gas and dust.  Taken over three nights, at nearly 7-hours, this image was also one of my longest integration times to date.     

M101 HaLRGB final Closeup

M101 Pinwheel Galaxy: Given Bortle 5-6 skies, being on the Gatwick Airport flightpath and a using a small refractor, I struggle to image galaxies and often LRGB images in general from Fairvale Observatory.  However, on this occasion the combination of 5-hours HaLRGB subs and new processing techniques to enhance the colours, M101 proved the exception and is perhaps my first decent classic spiral galaxy imaged from home.  Moreover, the HII regions light up along the spiral arms with the addition of Ha wavelength, producing a dazzling and dynamic image. 

Picture saved with settings embedded.

Heart & Soul Nebula:  Combining existing data from 2018 of the Heart Nebula and new 2019 data of the Soul Nebula + the intervening space, this is my first albeit modest mosaic, which promises to open up significant possibilities in the future. 

RECORD CARD – 2019
Goal Specifics / Results Outcome
Improve broadband and narrowband imaging

 

 Achieved major increase of image integration times and overall quality. MUCH, MUCH BETTER

 
Improve processing Continuing to make slow improvements, with greater use of new Photoshop techniques. BETTER

 
Expand & Improve Widefield Imaging Despite some good images of the Milky Way in the USA, I never used the Vixen Polarie tracking mount and did not make it to any other dark sky sites  = disappointing. FAILED

 

My objectives in 2019 mostly went well in (see above), so here goes for 2020:

  • Imaging: There’s always scope to improve imaging techniques but probably most of all I still need to improve guiding quality and increase exposure and image integration times even further.
  • Mosaic: Expand the use of mosaic imaging using Plate Solving and new CdC planning software.
  • Improve processing: I expect this will continue to be something of a challenge for some time to come unless I go to the dark side and adopt software such as PixInsight & / or APP.
  • New Observatory: Unfortunately this will not be a fixed obsy whilst I continue to live here at Fairvale which is unsuitable.  However, I’m hopeful that another location between the Main (North) Observatory and the Shed Observatory might open up the north sky better and by getting away from the high hedges that surround the garden allow longer imaging sessions than can be currently obtained at the Shed.
  • Other: My mind is always thinking about larger telescopes or a dual rig and / or a new high-end encoded mount but probably not until I make further progress with the above goals and / or move to a better dark sky location – dreaming is part of astrophotography = watch this space!

Although you never know, I don’t see any major breakthroughs in the coming year but more of the same – revisiting familiar objects in order to obtain new image versions based on greater integration time and hopefully using mosaic techniques to build-out images in order to encompass wider areas of the sky.  This year I was surprised to discover objects that I had hitherto considered out of reach from my location (M101, M51 etc.), as well as exciting features that were completely new to me and still hold great promise e.g. DWB 111 AKA the Propeller Nebula.

Looking back I’m very happy to say 2019 was an excellent year for astronomy and astrophotography, almost certainly my best yet.  You can’t ask for more than that and I hope that WTSM’s Reflections 2020 will record further such success.

Watch this space!

wtsm logo

 

2019 CHRONICLE 

Below is a quarter by quarter summary of my astronomy and astrophotography for the year, followed by an imaging record.

JANUARY TO MARCH

Towards the end of 2018 I decided to undertake a project, with the prime objective to gather a much longer period of integration than hitherto achieved by using my newly developed skill of Plate Solving.  I’d previously imaged the Horsehead and Flame Nebula in the more traditional colour palette, either with a modded DSLR or by LRGB broadband.  However, I’d recently seen this iconic image undertaken using the Hubble Palette to great affect and was inspired to do the same myself. Thereafter, for more than 2-months the clouds rolled in and I thought my project would then be impossible, not least because by now Orion had crossed the Meridian in the early evening and imaging times were at best limited.  But as is often the case with astrophotography everything suddenly changed and it was game on!

The first evening of clear skies since 11th November 2018 coincided with the full lunar eclipse on 21st January, which I was therefore able to image once again.  Then six days later a very untypical clear and quite warm period of weather arrived and I was able to complete my intended project after all, with further time to image both the Great Orion Nebula and the reflection nebula M78 + Barnard’s Loop (see images below).

HaLRGB2FINALcrop (Large)

Combined +180 degrees 3+5min HaLRGB (Large)

Achieving much longer integration times of between 5 and nearly 8-hours, the impact on the resulting images was transformative.  I was especially pleased with the outcome of the Horsehead project in SHO (see Favourites Images section) but found the Ha-only starless version of the same scene (see below) particularly mesmerising, as the large HII structures throughout this region bring the image to life.

NGC 2024 Ha Starless2

By the end of February the night sky at 51o latitude has moved inexorably on to the so-called Galaxy Season, which provides something of a dearth of imaging opportunities for my 81mm telescope.  However, with a good patch of weather at the end of March, whilst experimenting with the Leo Group I noticed that small areas of Ursa Major region could be seen directly above for a couple of hours, which to my surprise opened up a whole new world of possibilities hitherto considered unavailable.  Shortly after I managed to obtain almost 5-hours of data on M101 the Pinwheel Galaxy, which is one of my best galaxy images taken from Fairvale Observatory (see Favourite Images section).

APRIL TO JUNE

Having discovered the albeit limited possibilities of seeing Ursa Major, I moved to the Shed Observatory early in April, which by then afforded slightly better views of the same area of sky and thereby to my great joy provided the possibility of imaging the wonderful Whirlpool Galaxy, M51.  Unfortunately time was somewhat limited but it was better than nothing and I was thrilled to obtain an image of this wonderful object for the first time.  Weather permitting I’ll be back for more data in 2020 with which to build on the promising result obtained this year.

LRGB Image FINALX2 (Large)

By the end of April just 8-weeks away from the summer solstice astronomical darkness is in short supply.  Fortunately having moved earlier to the Shed Observatory this year, I was in a good position to return to inaging the Bodes and Cigar Galaxies (see below), which had been my first ever image of north sky objects in 2018.

LRGBFinal (Large)

JULY TO SEPTEMBER

From May until late July the absence of Astronomical darkness makes astronomy difficult and frankly having progressed from the time of being a beginner, it is quite refreshing to take a break.  Therefore it was only after an evening viewing the partial eclipse on 16th July and a brief experiment with the Wizzard Nebula (something for the future) at the beginning of August, that much later I returned to astrophotography seriously.

SHO2SCcrop (Large)

Having messed up imaging the Soul Nebula with poor framing in 2018 and being at the Shed Observatory, I decided to re-image the Soul properly, together with some of the adjacent sky in order to combine the new data with last year’s adjacent Heart Nebula to form a mosaic of both objects.  I don’t know why but this was my first attempt at a mosaic.  Only very recently has integrated software for mosaic planning combining  Cartes de Ciel and Astrophotography Tool for image capture has been released.  However, on this occasion I planned and implemented the said mosaic imaging manually, with a satisfying outcome (see Favourite Images section) but with the new software now available I hope to embark on more extensive mosaic projects in the near future.

This year’s astrophotography has followed two themes, the aforementioned ‘less is more’ with the aim of producing better images using much greater integration times.  The second has been largely determined by chance, being the discovery of new objects that had hitherto either been unknown to me or considered to be out of view from Fairvale Observatory; the combination of my house, very high hedges + trees and adjacent houses obscures large swathes of the night sky.  Earlier in the year such chance had led me to the M101 and M51 galaxies and in the autumn it was first the iconic Pacman Nebula and then an exciting area of Cygnus constellation.

Pacman is not particularly large for my equipment but nevertheless produced a decent narrowband image, my last from the Shed Observatory for this year.  Not until late September did the clouds again relent for my next project that initially seemed something of a long shot but actually turned out very well.  The Propeller Nebula is located in a vast HII region of the Cygnus Constellation, which from my point-of-view was a complete surprise.  At some 25 arc seconds the nebula is again on the small side for my equipment but the complexity of the adjacent HII region transforms the wider image into something really spectacular (SHO version below), which I certainly intend to visit again next year to build on the current data and explore further afield the HII region which presents exciting possibilities.

SHO F HLVG (Large)

A subsequent long trip to the USA stopped all astronomy in Surrey but a couple of evenings out in Wyoming and Utah produced some incredible dark skies and DSLR Milky Way images (see below).  Despite the remoteness of Spilt Mountain in the UTAH section of the Dinosaur National Monument – designated a Dark Sky Area – whilst imaging at 20 second exposures only one-in-ten images were without a plane track, very sad.

IMG_2345 ComboX

OCTOBER TO DECEMBER

Prior to the arrival of Orion and other fun objects of the mid-winter night skies, imaging opportunities are sparse with my equipment but it’s been a couple of years since I last imaged M31 the Andromeda Galaxy and therefore for two evenings in late October it was time to give our neighbour the extended integration treatment.  At 7½ hours data acquisition went well but although the processed image is probably my best yet of this object, there’s room for improvement, which I suspect will require a move to more advanced processing software?

HaLRGBx5b (Large)

ASTROMINAGING RECORD 2019

No Date Type Object Name
       
1 21/01/19 DSLR Full Lunar Eclipse  
       
2 27/01/19* NB  Barnard-33 &

 NGC 2024

 Horsehead & Flame Nebula
       
3 23/02/19* Combo M42 Great Orion Nebula
       
4 25/02/19* Combo M78 Reflection Nebula Orion
       
5 12/03/19 BB NGC443/444 Jellyfish Nebula
       
6 24/03/19 Combo M95/96/105 Leo-1 Group
       
7 29/03/19* Combo M101 Pinwheel Galaxy
       
8 10/04/19 Combo M51 Whirlpool Galaxy
       
9 13/04/19 BB M81 & m82 Bodes & Cigar Galaxies
       
10 16/07/19 DSLR Partial Lunar Eclipse  
       
11 02/08/19 NB NGC 7380 Wizzard Nebula
       
12 23/08/19* BB IC 1848 Soul Nebula +

Mosaic Link

       
13 26/08/19 NB NGC 281 PacMan Nebula
       
14 05/09/19* NB DWB 111 Propeller Nebula
       
15 Sept DSLR Milky Way Split Mountain Utah
       
16 22/10/19* Combo M31 Andromeda Galaxy
       
17 18/11/19 BB M74 Galaxy
       
18 18/11/18 NB SH2-240 Spaghetti Nebula
       

*multiple evenings        Combo = HaLRGB       Underlined = BAA published

POSTSCRIPT

The ones that got away – imaged but not seen in WTSM this year – warts and all

RHB_2ajelly (Medium)

I saw some wonderful narrowband versions of the supernova remnant IC 443 Jellyfish Nebula this year, in particular adopting a wider view to incoporate its sentinel-like parner stars Tejat (Mu Geminorum) left and the tripple star Propus (Eta Geminorum) right, together with the reflection nebula IC 444 in the background.  As an experiment I think it may hold promise but will require a lot more integration time to improve the quality, colour and bring out more of IC 444.

M95_96_105 (Medium)

I’ve tried the Leo-1 group (M95/96/105) before but, as they say, if you don’t succeed try again.  Unfortunately the passage of time didn’t help – I need a larger telescope to do these critters justice! 

IMG_2336 (Large)

Dinosaur National Monument – Split Mountain, Utah.  Even at this wonderfully remote location, which is one of the darkest places in the USA, passing planes still get in the way of a good image – just like at Fairvale Observatory! 

M74 LRGBx (Medium)

At <=10 arc minutes the spiral galaxy M74 is too much for my equipment.

SH2-240 AB combined Ha Stretch (Large)

Located between the constellations Auriga and Gemini, SH2-240, Simeis 147 AKA the Spaghetti Nebula is a very large (+3 degrees) supernova remnant but it’s very low brightness makes imaging extremely difficult.  In fact prior to and during capture in Ha-wavelength, I had no idea if it was even within the image frame.  Aggressive stretching shows that it was there but only much darker skies and probably longer exposure time is likely to produce a more viable picture. 

 

One In A Trillion

by in Broadband, Deep Sky Objects, Galaxy, Narrowband and tagged , | 1 Comment

HaLRGBx5b (Large)

Since the early twentieth century when Edwin Hubble recognized that the Milky Way was not the only galaxy, it has been estimated that there are some two hundred billion galaxies in the observable Universe; the Milky Way is thought to contain about 250 billion stars +/- 150 billion.  Research in 2016 now suggests this might significantly underestimate the number of galaxies, which could exceed more than two trillion!

Perhaps the ultimate astrophotograph is the Hubble Ultra Deep field image.  At just one seventeenth a degree of the sky in size it shows objects up to some 13 billion light-years away, which is the furthest visible light image ever taken and contains some 10,000 galaxies.

Somewhat closer to home at a mere 2.5 million light-years, is our nearest neighbour M31, AKA the Andromeda galaxy.  Like the Milky Way, Andromeda is a spiral galaxy with a concentrated bulge of matter at the centre, surrounded by a disk of gas, dust and stars and an immense halo.  Andromeda and the Milky Way are moving inexorably together on a collision course at the rate of about 70 miles per second and are expeted to meet in about 4.5-billion years.  However, such is the space between the matter in each galaxy, the most likely outcome will not be a collision but the interaction of gravity between the opposing masses, leading to their eventual coalescence into a new giant galaxy.

Since starting astroimaging I’ve often returned to Andromeda at this time of the year ( 21/08/14 Meet the Neighbours, 09/10/15 Space Oddysey, 27/10/15 Overspill, 03/11/17 Galactic Neighbours), it is after all one of the magnificent features of the night sky.  At some 3o x 1o in size, with an apparent magnitude of +3.44 the galaxy completely fills the field-of-view of my equipment but I’ve always found imaging and particularly processing to be somewhat challenging.  As ever integration time is a major determinant of final image quality and this time I was able to obtain 7.5 hours over two nights, far greater than on previous occasions.   However, the overwhelming brightness of the galaxy’s core is always difficult to control during capture and processing and this was again to be the case.

Notwithstanding, I’m pleased to say that after four previous occasions imaging Andromeda, the combination of much greater integration time and better processing is this time evident in an improved image, which is overall more powerful.  Moreover, the galaxy’s internal structure has been enhanced with the addition of Ha-subs, which highlight large HII-areas of star formation that broadly follow the dust lanes.  However, you can never have too many subs and I’ll inevitably return again to this object in order to add to this year’s data and hopefully further improve processing so as to tame the subtleties that make Andromeda such a wonderful feature for astrophptography.

IMAGING DETAILS
Object M31 the Andromeda galaxy.
Constellation Andromeda
Distance 2.5 million light-years
Size 3.2o  x 1o  or 220,000  light-years  
Apparent Magnitude +3.44
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control & Cartes du Ciel
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 camera & PHD2 guiding
Camera ZWO1600M M-Cool mono  CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix  Max. image size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool + PHD2 +  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS3
Image Location              & Orientation Centre  RA 00:42:44      DEC 41:16:04                     

  Top = North
Exposures L 44 x 180 sec  R 26 x 180 sec  G 26 x 180  B  27 x 180sec  Ha 27 x 180sec                            (Total time: 7hr 30 minutes)   
  @ 139 Gain   21  Offset @ -20oC    
Calibration 10 x 180 sec & 15 x 60 sec Darks  20 x 1/4000 sec Bias  10 x  HaLRGB Flats               @ ADU 25,000
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK        Typically Bortle 5-6
Date & Time 22nd & 27th October 2019 @ +/-19.00h  
Weather Approx. 7oC   RH >=75%                  🌙 50% to 5% waning

 

The Sum Of The Parts

by in Deep Sky Objects, General Astronomy, Mosaic, Narrowband, Nebula and tagged | 1 Comment

Picture saved with settings embedded.

Having established an alternative imaging site at the southern end of my garden in the summer of 2018 AKA “The Shed Observatory”, I was thrilled to be able to image objects in the north sky for the first time, hitherto obscured by my house from the usual observing location.  Soon thereafter it was with great pleasure I achieved a good narrowband image of IC 1805 the Heart Nebula but was subsequently disappointed to find that part of the neighbouring object, IC 1848 the Soul Nebula, had been missed after encountering a framing problem.

One year on I was back in The Shed with new objectives for these targets: (i) to obtain a complete image of the Soul Nebula, and (ii) given the relative proximity of the Heart & Soul Nebula, to compile a mosaic which included the two objects; surprisingly I’d not attempted a mosaic before and this seemed like a good place to start.  Given the increased imaging time needed to complete even a small mosaic + the lack of darkness at the end of August + British Weather, I chose to restrict imaging to just the Ha-wavelength, which works well with both these targets and could build on the Ha subs already obtained of the Heart Nebula in 2018.

Traditionally mosaic images are based on a grid of say 1+1, 1+1+1, 2 x 2, 3 x 3  etc., which are then combined using the relevant aforesaid sequences, however, in this case starting with the original Heart Ha-subs such a system was not possible.  Since moving to mono imaging with the ZWO ASI1600-Cool camera I’ve used the excellent APT (Astro Photography) image capture software, which hitherto has catered very well with all my needs – including plate solving.  However, at this time APT did not yet have a comprehensive mosaic facility (see footnote) which would allow an imaging grid to be planned and pre-programmed.  Instead it was therefore necessary to first determine suitable image coordinates for each mosaic panel that would cover the Heart & Soul + 25% overlap and then manually establish each position prior to imaging.

Given the proximity of each component I estimated a suitable mosaic could be achieved with three panels, one for each of the main objects and an intermediate panel that would bridge the space between, thus linking the objects to form a continuous mosaic.  Given the spatial relationship, each ofthe three panes needed to be stepped relative to each other and also slightly rotated.  The final data for each nebula consisted of 1h 40m integration time + a further 1h 15m for the link panel, or 4h 35m in total for the complete mosaic.

To my relief the final mosaic was relatively easy to create.  First modestly stretching each panel, paying attention to the background levels and removing any gradients, in order to ensure uniformity between the images before compilation.  I then used Microsoft’s free ICE (Image Composite Editor) software to stich the three panels together into a final mosaic, after which further adjustments were made in Photoshop.

I’m very pleased with the outcome of my first, albeit modest mosaic.  With the ability to return to targets on any occasion using plate solving and, as always weather permitting, multi-image mosaics now open up whole new possibilities which can be captured and compiled over a period of time – even years.  However, until I am able to use a suitable mosaic programme for sequencing, I’m more likely to restrict such projects to small areas that only require limited imaging time, such as the Heart & Soul.

The Greeks and Romans knew a thing or two about mosaics and I’ve long enjoyed Escher’s use of the mosaic form as a basis for his graphic art (see above).  I’m quite sure they would marvel at the astrophotography of Deep Sky Objects and how mosaics can be used in their creation.  The mosaic is all about the sum of the parts, which not only produces a wider, more encompassing view but in doing, so the combined parts add a different quality to the final image.  For now my first mosaic has been quite successful, was good fun and moreover, I can see that the technique ultimately has the potential to open up new and exciting possibilities even with my existing equipment.

Footnote: Since imaging and processing the Heart & Soul mosaic, a recently updated Cartes du Ciel (CdC) verson 4.2 has been released, which incorporates a mosaic planning function.  Moreover, the aforesaid plan can then be imported into the APT software (subject to a minor adjustment being undertaken by APT to fix a panel numbering issue) and thereby provide integrated mosaic planning and programming.   

IMAGING DETAILS – 2018
Object Heart Nebula IC 1805     
Constellation Cassiopeia
Distance 7,500 light-years
Size 150’ x 150’  =  2.5o or 200 light-years
Apparent Magnitude +18.3
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 guide camera & PHD2 control
Camera ZWO1600MM-Cool (mono)   CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix  Max. image size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool + PS2,  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS2, HLVG
Image Location              & Orientation Centre  RA 02:33:09    DEC 61:24:23                     

 
Exposures Heart Nebula 20 x 300 sec Ha  =  100 minutes   
  @ 139 Gain   21  Offset @ -20oC    
Calibration 5 x 300 sec Darks  20 x 1/4000 sec Bias  10 x Flats Ha  @ ADU 25,000  
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK        Typically Bortle 5
Date & Time 16th & 17th  August 2018 @ +23.30h  
Weather Approx. 12oC   RH <=95%

 

IMAGING DETAILS – 2019
Object Soul Nebula IC 1848   & Link Pane
Constellation Cassiopeia
Distance 6,500 light-years
Size 150’ x 75’  or 100 light-years
Apparent Magnitude +18.3
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 guide camera & PHD2 control
Camera ZWO1600MM-Cool (mono)   CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix  Max. image size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool + PS2,  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS2, HLVG
Image Location              & Orientation Centre – Soul Nebula   RA 02:56:16    DEC 60:20:07

Centre – Link Pane         RA 02:43:38    DEC 60:55:59    
Exposures Soul Nebula  20 x 300 sec Ha  = 100 mins   

Link Pane       15 x 300 sec Ha  =  75 mins
  @ 139 Gain   21  Offset @ -20oC    
Calibration 5 x 300 sec Darks  20 x 1/4000 sec Bias  10 x Flats HaI  @ ADU 25,000  
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK        Typically Bortle 5
Date & Time 23rd & 25th August 2019 @ +23.30h 
Weather Approx. 18oC   RH <=60%

 

Horseplay

by in AstroBin, Deep Sky Objects, Imaging, Narrowband, Nebula, Processing and tagged , , | 2 Comments

SHO2 CompF (Large)

Who doesn’t like Orion and its constituent parts – M42/43, M78, the Witch’s Head, Barnard’s Loop etc.?  For many its annual appearance in the night sky is greatly anticipated and will form one of the main astrophotography highlights of the year as it passes across the sky between late November and February.  For me a basic afocal image of the Great Orion Nebula for the first time in 2013 marked something of an epiphany, as it demonstrated the power of long exposures in capturing the otherwise hidden beauty and excitement of Deep Sky Objects.

Since taking up astronomy and then astrophotography, I always return to at least one of Orion’s  objects each year, initially to see if I could just capture it on camera with my equipment and then to try and improve the image of each target.  It’s been a gradual process but I’m pleased to say I’ve usually managed to achieve such improvements over time, which has been both satisfying and often exciting – such is the nature of these objects.  Progress almost always resulted from one or more of four developments: new equipment, new software, new techniques and better processing.

Each step was usually small but occasionally a quantum change took place, such has been the case during the past two years: first with the change from DSLR to a CMOS mono camera and then, more recently, learning to plate solve.  I was reluctant to change to a traditional CCD mono camera which usually requires very long exposures that, in my opinion, is incompatible with British weather, light pollution and the frequent overhead passage of aircraft where I live between Gatwick and Heathrow airports – if one doesn’t get me the other will, or the low flying helicopters that pass over my observatory throughout the night from nearby Redhill aerodrome!

It was therefore very fortunate that at the same time I wanted to upgrade my camera from a DSLR, the new CMOS sensor technology had literally just arrived on the market.  With low read noise and shorter exposures, the ZWO1600MM-Cool mono camera I purchased has been a revolution for me, as well as the entire astroimaging community.  Furthermore, the use of narrowband imaging has added a completely new dimension to my astrophotography – apart from the ability to image when the Moon’s about each month and defy light pollution, narrow Ha-OIII-SII wavelengths reveal a whole new world that is both interesting and often dramatic in appearance.

Notwithstanding these developments, I was hitherto hampered by limited integration times of just over two hours (at most) either east or west of the Meridian, until in 2018 I finally mastered (probably that’s overstating my current prowess) plate solving, thereby making integration times literally infinite.  All I needed now was clear skies! Despite my enthusiasm for astrophotography, there have been times over recent months when I’ve questioned my choice of hobby and even maybe giving up.  Given sufficient funds it is possible to have the most incredible imaging set-up, capable of obtaining equally incredible images – subject to user ability – but if the sky remains cloudy it’s no more than a pile of expensive junk!

Having obtained a very decent LRGB image of the Pleiades on 17th November, armed with the ZWO1600 camera and my new plate solving skills, I decided to take on a project over the winter months.  My objective was to obtain one very good image based on a much longer integration time than I’ve previously achieved, acquired by imaging the same object over as many nights as possible during December and January. However, as Robert Burns once put it “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, / Gang aft agley,” (translated – the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry).  Apart from one evening that fortuitously coincided with the lunar eclipse on 21st January, the skies here remained obscured by cloud from November 18th until January 27th (or 70-days!!!) and I thought my project was scuppered, that is until the other qualities required of astronomy came into play: patience and good luck.

Picture saved with settings embedded.

My first image of the Horsehead & Flame Nebulae, 23rd November 2014: William Optics GT81 +FF, Canon 700D (unmodded), SW AZ-EQ6 GT mount, 30 x 90 secs @ ISO1600 + full calibration

The Horsehead and Flame nebulae are traditionally imaged in LRGB colour, indeed my first and subsequent images of these objects have been mostly undertaken in this way (see image above).   However, inspired by a narrowband image of these objects I’d seen earlier last year, I too wanted to try and capture these nocturnal bedfellows in narrowband and process the subs using the Hubble Palette technique.  Given the aforementioned cloud problem, by the time late January had been reached Orion was already slipping over the western horizon for another year and I thought the project was dead before it could even start, at which point good luck played its part.  Starting on 27th January and for three out of the four evenings, the sky cleared and I eagerly launched into the long awaited project.

Unfortunately by now Orion crossed the Meridian about 9 p.m. and most imaging could only be undertaken on the west side, thus limiting each night’s subs again to 2½ hours or less.  But with three nights in the bag before inevitably the cloud returned on the 31st January, I had secured 106 x 5-minute Ha, OIII and SII subs or 6 hours 50 minutes of total integration time, at least three times what I had ever previously achieved.  The key was plate solving, as each night I could return to exactly the same part of the sky and continue imaging the same objects to the nearest pixel.  Having obtained and reviewed the data, it was now time to start processing.

NGC 2024 Ha Starless2

Given the quality and quantity of data obtained I decided to take my time processing and, furthermore, try to use some new techniques to make the very best of the final image.  I was particularly keen to tame some of the brighter stars like the blue supergiant Alnitak located uncomfortably close to the Flame and at the same time bring out the interstellar dust that is present in the foreground below the Horsehead and across the lower right quadrant, which becomes evident in the starless processed Ha layer (see image above).  It took quite a while but in the end I am very pleased with the outcome, which I think shows all the benefits of longer data integration and the extra care taken processing.  The final SHO narrowband version of the Horsehead and Flame nebulae looks a real cracker, perhaps one of my best and has been worth all the patience and additional time taken to show these two objects and the adjacent region literally in a new light.

Needless to say, I’m already thinking about next year, cloud permitting!  I hope to return to the Horsehead and Flame for another playtime next winter, in order to acquire more subs with which to build further on the foundation achieved this year by a stroke of luck at the very end of Orion’s annual visit – can’t wait.

IMAGING DETAILS
Object (i)Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33)  &  (ii)  Flame Nebula (NGC 2024)
Constellation Orion
Distance 1,500 light-years
Size (i)8” x 6”  &  (ii)  30’ x 30’
Apparent Magnitude +10.0
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQ-ASCOM computer control
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 guide camera & PHD2 control
Camera ZWO1600MM-Cool (mono)   CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix Max. image size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool + PS2,  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS2, HLVG
Image Location              & Orientation Centre  RA 05:40:57    DEC -02:30:55                     

Top = North 
Exposures 40×300 sec Ha+34×300 sec OIII+32x300sec SII  (Total time: 6hr 50min )   
  @ 139 Gain   21  Offset @ -20oC    
Calibration 5×300 sec Darks  20×1/4000 sec Bias 10xFlats Ha-OIII-SII  @ ADU 25,000  
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK     Typically Bortle 5-6
Date & Time 27th, 28th & 30th  January 2019 @ +21.30h  
Weather Approx. <=1oC   RH <=90%                🌙 ½ to ¼ waning

Reflections 2018

by in Astronomy holidays, Broadband, Deep Sky Objects, Galaxy, General Astronomy, Imaging, Narrowband, Processing, Software and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reflections is a summary of my astronomy and astrophotography during the past year, plus some thoughts about what might happen in going forwards.  In some ways it’s a bit of a chore to compile but as it provides me with some perspective on what I’ve achieved year-to-year, I do find it to be a worthwhile exercise.

Watch This Space (Man) started in 2015 as a personal record of my astronomy journey. Notwithstanding, the blog has so far attracted 15,000 views from all over the world, including various locations in 64 countries over the past year (see map below for visitors in 2018).   I do like to hear from anybody out there – comments, questions, help or just to say hello  – and can be contacted via details in the ABOUT menu section or alternatively  just leave a comment on any item if you prefer.

 

WTSM Map 2018

 

I’m always tinkering with the website where apart from the main blog, there are also links to other astrophotographers, astronomy tools, astronomy weather, scientific papers etc.,  so even if you’re a regular visitor please take a look around from time-to-time.  Looking back I see I did not file any reports this year  under the new Astrobites section, on the other hand look out for more notable occasional image that now appears in the right-hand column under the heading Screenshot, which this year included: the Eskimo Nebula, Jupiter, the Moon & Jupiter in conjunction and Venus etc.         

Whilst there is a photo gallery of my work, for a more summary view of some of my better images there’s a FLICKR album link which is accessible from the GALLERY menu.  Following the change to mono imaging techniques in 2017, for reference each image is now accompanied by a detailed tabulation of the technical information; personally I find this information invaluable when looking at other astrophotographer’s images as a guide to settings and issues when imaging the same object myself for the first time.

Reflections Banner

Overview, Images & Goals for 2019

Since getting to grips with autoguiding in 2017, I’m pleased to say all the basic processes worked well throughout 2018, resulting in a marked improvement of individual image subs.  Long imaging times are difficult to achieve in the UK with poor skies being the norm but the successful adoption of Plate Solving this year marked a very significant breakthrough and holds great promise for ever longer integration times in the future.  Re-configuring the equipment and operating set-up in 2017 now enables operating from indoors most of the time, which apart from improving working conditions, has also made operating itself much more efficient.

I’m especially pleased that after more than 4-years astrophotography I finally manged to establish a new imaging location at the bottom of the garden this year, thereby for the first time enabling imaging of the north sky, literally opening up a new world!  For another perspective I was also fortunate to experience some excellent night skies in New Zealand, France and Cornwall during the year, which was great fun and led to some excellent images too (see 2018 CHRONICLE later in this blog).

Favourite Images

Apart from the odd DSLR shot of the night sky, my astrophotography at Fairvale Observatory in 2018 was entirely carried out with the ZWO1600MM-Cool mono CMOS sensor camera & EFW, combined with the William Optics GT81 scope, in both narrowband and broadband wavelengths.  The new camera has in every sense been a game changer and a lot more work but, in my opinion, the images this year show substantial improvement.  I also made progress using more complex processing techniques in Photoshop and improved colour and detail by combining Ha with LRGB or adding RGB and narrowband wavelengths.  With these advances I submitted a number of images to the British Astronomical Association which, I’m pleased to say, were chosen for publication on their website at various times throughout the year (see Astroimaging Record 2018 at end of blog for details).

A few of my personal favourites are shown below, in no particular order:

GR Final HaLRGB

M74 Phantom Galaxy (HaLRGB)

RGB HaOO XXX2

Rosette Nebula (HaOO) 

M13 LRGB Close-up

M13 Great Globular Cluster of Hercules (LRGB) 

Sombrero Galaxy

M104 Sombrero Galaxy (LRGB)

HHOO hlvg (Large)

Heart Nebula (HaOO)

RGB2 GxFinalX (Large)

M45 Pleiades (LRGB)

 

RECORD CARD – 2018
Goal Specifics / Results Outcome
Improve broadband and narrowband imaging

 

 Improved understanding and use of the ZWO1600MM-Cool mono camera leading to better subs.  Major breakthrough with Plate Solving enabling a significant increase in image integration times and overall quality. MUCH BETTER

 

 
Improve processing Continuing to make improvements and achieving noticeably better narrowband images but with more work to do in broadband. Much greater use of various Photoshop techniques is improving detail, colours and final quality. BETTER

 

 
Expand & Improve Widefield Imaging Despite some good images of the Milky Way in the UK and NZ I barely used the Vixen Polarie tracking mount and did not make it to any dark sky sites in the UK. FAILED

 

 

I think it helps to set new goals each year, so here goes for 2019:

  • Imaging: (i) There’s lots of scope to improve imaging techniques but probably most of all I now need to improve guiding quality and then increase exposure and image integration times further. (ii) Start mosaic imaging using Plate Solving.
  • Improve processing: Despite progress, I expect this will continue to be a major challenge for some time to come. Working with Olly Penrice in France and using Steve Richards’ new book Dark Art or Magic Bullet provided lots of opportunities to learn more but I’m still considering a move to new software for pre- and post-processing – we shall see.
  • Other: (i) Widefield imaging – Since acquiring the Vixen Polarie two years ago I’ve done little more than dabble in the occasional night sky shot. Maybe just set my sights lower this year and just see what happens! (ii) Do more observing – I had been thinking of getting something bigger like a Dob for observing whilst imaging is underway but frankly now thinking just do a bit more when I can with what I’ve got.  (iii) Notwithstanding weather issues at Les Granges observatory in France, get back to at least one good dark sky site next year.

I’m very pleased to say 2018 was again very good year for astrophotography, almost certainly my best yet, which was especially defined by two positive developments that are already transforming my astrophotography and hold further promise in 2019 (I said the same last year but it’s true):

  • Starting to Plate Solve has opened up whole new possibilities, in particular: Meridian flips and multiple imaging over different nights; Mosaic imaging.
  • Fairvale Observatory South – The ability to see and image the north sky from the new location expands imaging possibilities very significantly – should have done it sooner.

You can’t ask for more than that and hope that WTSM’s Reflections 2019 will record further such success.

Watch this space!

wtsm logo

2018 CHRONICLE

Below is a quarter by quarter summary of my astronomy and astrophotography for the year 2018, followed by an imaging record.  It’s interesting but not surprising that I recorded about 50% less objects than in the previous year but, as explained, integration times have increased markedly – “never mind the width, feel the quality”!

JANUARY TO MARCH

The year started with a new perspective on astronomy – upside down!  A six week trip to New Zealand over the Christmas period produced some wonderful views of the night sky in the Southern Hemisphere. Using my basic DSLR and a GorillaPod, I was able to obtain some good images of the Milky Way, accompanied by the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which are unseen in the Northern Hemisphere.  New Zealand’s weather conditions and terrain also produced opportunities to see various noctilucent cloud formations, particularly on South Island (below).

IMG_9102 (Large)

Being Down Under for much of January I was unable to start astroimaging until February but it was worth the wait, which resulted in an excellent narrowband image of the Rosette Nebula with which to start the year .  From the experience and advice gained in 2017, in narrowband I now tend to stretch each Ha-OII-SII wavelength more aggressively prior to post-processing and, as a result, obtain better detail and contrast.  In this case the resulting HaOO version of the Rosette (see Favourite Images section above) was particularly good and for the first time was included on the British Astronomy Association’s website 🙂

BAA PotW

Since obtaining the ZWO1600MM-Cool mono camera narrowband imaging has been nothing less than a revelation to me.  Whilst tone mapping using the Hubble Palette produces quite spectacular and colourful results, applying the aforementioned stretching to the just the stacked Ha-wavelength subs can often result in equally exciting black and white (grey) images which show exquisite detail.  One such image taken in March was the Cone Nebula, which showed the more extensive nature of the HII-region as well as the Cone and Fox Fur Nebulae (below).

Picture saved with settings embedded.

With the passing of winter’s narrowband targets by the end of February, I moved on to broadband imaging in March.  Of all the DSO features, I am perhaps most fascinated by globular clusters but had previously obtained mixed results with a DSLR camera.  Using the CMOS based ZWO1600 mono camera, I was now able to obtain much noticeably better colour and detail of these exciting but enigmatic objects (see Favourite Images section for M13 & below for M3).

M3 LRGB Crop (Large)

I can be put-off by some of the more technical requirements associated with astrophotography and, I‘m ashamed to say, that my approach is first to – ignore it, then maybe undertake some research but do nothing, then consciously put it off again and then, when there’s absolutely no alternative – give it a try.  I am not a technophobe, quite the opposite, but often find technology and the people who design and write about it unclear to the point of making no sense sometimes or at least misleading; it seems  somewhat paradoxical that I even got onto astrophotography given these issues! Notwithstanding, when I eventually summon the courage to tackle such problems, almost always I get it to work, eventually.  Such has been the case with Plate Solving this year.

With sight lines limited by houses, hedges and tall trees to the east, south and west, I’ve hitherto had to make do with average imaging windows of up to 2-hours, either to the east or west of the Meridian and depending on the object’s declination – a lower levels  the Meridian view is itself hidden by two tall trees, obscuring up to 30o vertically and 10o either side.  Naturally these constraints limit the image integration times severely, with an inevitable impact on the quality of images, notably with higher noise, less colour and detail.  The answer of course is plate solving and during February this year I finally bit the proverbial bullet.

Since changing to the ZWO 1600MM-Cool camera I have used Astro Photography Tool (APT) for image capture and camera control, with great success.  The software is quite comprehensive and it is excellent to use, though like most software can be a little idiosyncratic in places.  This is the point where I either give-up, try other software or, as is the case with APT, turn to their excellent product Forum.  Armed with the APT manual and answers from the Forum, I soon managed to plate solve and obtain images of the Leo Triplet over two consecutive nights, which subsequently aligned and stacked well – at last!

APRIL TO JUNE

For the past year or more I’d been thinking about the possibility of moving the observatory to the end of the back garden during the spring and summer period, so as to provide a platform from which to view the northern sky, which as previously mentioned is otherwise completely obscured by my house.  The principal issue was how to operate the equipment some 30-metres away?  From the experience of others it seemed that both WiFi and Bluetooth can have big reliability issues and I am always keen to keep it simple, so for now I chose to try and use a long ethernet cable to link the operating / capture computer with a control computer indoors.

I had intended to set-up on the lawn but after I had recently extended the paving around a nearby shed in the corner of the garden, cut back some of the bushes and cleared out the shed it, was obvious that this was a preferable location; the paved base was more stable and provided a dry foundation on which to work but, furthermore, the adjacent shed could house the operating computer.  Despite successful tests indoors using an ethernet cable between the two computers and Teamviewer software, only when the equipment was set-up in position outside did I finally discover it no longer worked; I still don’t know why and the problem remains work in progress (when I can be bothered to look at it again).

The Shed & equipment set-up
Working inside The Shed

Notwithstanding, it was obvious that I could instead comfortably operate the mount and camera myself from the shed and duly set about establishing what has now become Fairvale Observatory South or the Shed Observatory (see photos above); the principal observatory location by the house now becomes Fairvale Observatory North or Patio Observatory. Having established myself at the end of the garden with a not unreasonable view of the north sky over the roof of my house, I eagerly set about imaging some northern classics over the next few months.  Imaging in both narrowband and broadband I was pleased to obtain decent pictures of the Bode & Cigar galaxies and the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula before taking a break in June and July when there’s no astronomical darkness; I have imaged at this time of the year before but it’s sometimes good to take a break.

M81 B (Large)

My very first image of the northern sky M81 Bode & M82 Cigar Galaxies (LRGB)

Now I know the observatory works from this location, I plan to move there sooner in 2019 in order to spend more time with new set-up, hopefully improving on the aforementioned objects as well as trying new ones.  All-in-all the new location was a big success as well as being great fun.  Strangely I was surprised to find that the experience of guiding could be more demanding in the north sky but of course thinking about it more, as the views essentially centre on Polaris on which RA lines converge the tracking needs to be more extreme in order to move the same angular distance when compared to a southward view.  However, anxious not to upset the established settings too much, my set-up was shoddy and, as a result, guiding error was generally poor from this locality.  Next time I’ll pay more attention to this and hopefully achieve better guiding and subs.

JULY TO SEPTEMBER

After a break of nearly 8-weeks I was eager to get back to the ‘new’ observatory at the bottom of the garden.  Furthermore, much of the summer through into September was dominated by a heatwave which was accompanied by clear skies, night after night!  As a result I was able to get some very encouraging results of the Heart (see Favourite Images section above) and Soul Nebulae and finally, to my surprise, the unusual Bubble Nebula (see image below).

SHO2int3 (Large)

OCTOBER TO DECEMBER

Needless to say, once back at Fairvale Observatory North the clouds rolled in and, furthermore, suitable objects for my equipment are initially sparse at this time of the year.  Since obtaining the ZWO1600MM-Cool camera I’ve concentrated on nebulae and narrowband imaging.  Though I’ve managed a few decent LRGB images, it’s fair to say that there’s room for improvement here and therefore finished the year on M33 the Triangulum Galaxy (see below) and subsequently M45 the Pleiades.  Despite being a good size for my scope it’s become clear to me that M33 is actually a tricky object and I was not satisfied with the final image – again better guiding and longer integration next time will almost certainly help.  However, Pleiades subsequently came out well (see Favourite Images section above) but the delicate interplay of the blue star light and interstellar dust does require careful post-processing.

LRGB P2 CropXX

As it was my birthday and it’s been something of an overdue trip since first conceived in 2015, I travelled to Olly Penrice’s Les Granges Observatory at the beginning of November.  It’s a great set-up and Olly was a real pleasure to work and learn from.  As a somewhat remote location in the Hautes-Alpes region of Provence, when it’s clear the SQM values at Les Granges can exceed 22 and for the first two nights we were able to image M74 the Phantom galaxy in HaLRGB under such conditions using his TEC 140, though following some rain during the day seeing conditions were mixed on the first night.

HaLRGB mosaic (Large)

Unfortunately the clouds had followed me from the UK and for the rest of the time there we were unable to image, though it did allow me to spend some useful and enjoyable time processing with Olly.  Other than processing the M74 image and learning some new techniques, using data previously acquired by Olly and with his help, I was able to compile a wonderful 9-panel HaLRGB widefield mosaic image of the North America Nebula and surrounding region (see above).

 

Notwithstanding the mixed weather conditions, I was able to obtain my first good, face-on image of a spiral galaxy (see Favourite Images section above), which with some additional subs from Olly’s previous sessions using an 14″ ODK scope turned into a truly spectacular image (see below) of this less than popular object.

M74 ODK with TEC STARS HaLRGB Crop

 

ASTROIMAGING RECORD 2018

No Date Type Object Name
1 Jan 2018 DSLR New Zealand

 

 Milky Way, Lenticular Clouds etc. 
2 09/02/18 NB NGC 2244 Rosette Nebula
       
3 11/02/18 NB NGC 2264 Cone Nebula
       
4 11/02/18 BB M44 Beehive Cluster
       
5 11/02/18 NB Abell 21 Medusa Nebula
       
6 11/02/18 BB NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula
       
7 24/02/18 NB IC 405 Flaming Star Nebula
       
8 24/02/18 BB Moon  
       
9 19/04/18 BB M65 + M66 Leo Triplet
       
10 05/05/18 BB M3 Globular Cluster
       
11 06/05/18 BB M104 Sombrero Galaxy
       
12 06/05/18 BB M13 Globular Cluster
       
13 18/05/18 * BB M81 & M82 Bodes & Cigar Galaxies
       
14 20/05/18 NB NGC 7822 Nebula
       
15 22/05/18 NB IC 1396 Elephant’s Trunk Nebula
       
17 16/08/18 * NB IC 1805 Heart Nebula
       
18 02/09/18 NB IC 1848 Soul Nebula
       
19 03/09/18 NB NGC 7635 Bubble Nebula
       
20 09/10/18 BB M33 Triangulum Galaxy
       
21 28/10/18 BB M33 Triangulum Galaxy
       
22 2/11/18 BB M74 Phantom Galaxy
       
23 17/11/18 BB M45 Pleiades
       
24 18/11/18 BB IC 2118 Witch’s Head Nebula
       

*multiple evenings                                            Underlined = BAA published

 

Other Worlds

by in Broadband, Deep Sky Objects, Imaging, Narrowband, Software, Viewing and tagged , | 1 Comment

GR Final HaLRGB

Apart from the simple enjoyment of travel, it often opens the potential for new opportunities and experiences that more profoundly broadens one’s horizons; I’ve travelled extensively during my life which has been enriched accordingly.  Earlier this month I visited astrophotographer Oliver (Olly) Penrice at his Les Granges Observatory in the Hautes-Alps region of Provence in France, with the objectives of imaging with a more favourable dark sky and to learn from Olly’s experience.

Les Granges Location (Medium)

Situated deep in the mountains and very much off the beaten track, Les Granges is in the small (28 people) hamlet of Ètoile-Saint-Cyrice, some way from Peter Mayle’s better known Provence but nonetheless itself interesting and beautiful, with some wonderful geology to boot; after all my wife and I are also geologists.

IMG_1046 (Medium)

Area immediately north east of Etoile-Saint-Cyrice

IMG_1066 (Medium)

Spectacular monocline rock folding at Sisteron

Subject to time and conditions, I particularly wanted to image a target that could not be achieved at home, either because it cannot be seen from my location or is beyond the capabilities of my equipment. Before leaving for France I therefore researched the projected night sky at Les Granges and developed a short list of potential targets, number one of which was a spiral galaxy.  At the moment my equipment struggles with these faint fuzzies and I’ve long wished to bag a good image of a ‘proper’ galaxy.  With galaxy season still a few months off the choice was limited but it soon became clear that M74, the Phantom Galaxy would provide such a target: it is not commonly imaged, is somewhat faint and difficult to see but is a classic, face-on spiral galaxy – just right for Guy Fawkes Night on November 5th too!

M74 at les granges 051118 10pm

Olly’s imaging equipment consists of a Takahashi FSQ106Ns rig and a more suitable TEC 140 f/7 refractor, which when matched with an Atik 460 CCD camera was just the job for the proposed task.  Outstanding night skies at the Les Granges Observatory are commonplace, with SQM values in excess of 22 but it was raining when we arrived and the outlook seemed less than perfect.  Notwithstanding, the next two nights were clear in the early evening and so on the first night we managed to obtain 3-hours of RGB subs, followed by nearly 2.5 hours of Ha and Luminance data the following evening.  Whilst imaging we also spent time observing, in these conditions Andromeda Galaxy was clearly visible with the naked eye but using the 14″ Meade LX200 which Olly inherited from the late Alan Longstaff other objects such as M27 and M33 came to life in the eyepiece.

IMG_20181108_115731653 (Medium)

Does what it says on the tin – entrance to Les Granges observatory

Sadly the rain returned thereafter and this turned out to be the only window of opportunity for the rest of the week!  Thankfully Olly has a vast wealth of data that included some of M74, from which we were able to bolster our meagre data from the first two evenings of imaging the same object.

Since returning home I’ve worked on the recently acquired data again and am pleased with the resulting image, shown at the top of the page.  In particular, the addition of Ha-wavelength light has brought the galaxy to life where it highlights areas of star formation located within the spiral arms, in the form of distinctive areas of magenta coloured red spots – a characteristic sign of such activity within galaxies.  Olly also produced an alternative image by combining data from the aforesaid recent image with additional data previously taken with an ODK 14 inch scope.  This resulted in a total integration time of some 17-hours and produced a stunning image of M74 that I’m pleased to say I played a small part in (see below).

M74 ODK with TEC STARS HaLRGB Crop

It was disappointing that much of the time at Les Granges was spoilt by poor weather but I was able to use some of that time on processing techniques with Olly and just enjoying the wonderful ambiance that comes from being in such a location.  I hope to return again some time in order to enjoy the beauty of the area and the night sky that can be seen – when it’s not cloudy.  In the meantime, I’m more than pleased to catch some photons from another world of another world, which has resulted in stunning images of a spiral galaxy – at last.

  IMAGING DETAILS
Object M74 Phantom Galaxy
Constellation Pisces
Distance 30-million light-years
Size 10.5’ x 9.50’     
Apparent Magnitude +10.0
   
Scope  TEC 140   FL 980 mm   f7.00      (+ADK 14”)
Mount Mesu 200
Guiding PHD2 
Camera Atik 460 CCD  Pixels 4.50 ɥm
  FOV 43.80’ x 35.04’  Resolution 0.96”/ pixel     
Capture & Processing Atik software capture, Astroart pre-processing, PixInsight and Photoshop CS3 post processing
Image Location RA 01:36:41    DEC 15:47:01                       
Exposures 6 x 600sec RGB + 5×900 sec L & Ha  = 320 minutes  @ -20oC 
Location & Darkness Ètolie-Saint-Cyrice, Hautes-Alps Provence, France        SQM <=21.50 – 22.00
Date & Time 2nd & 3rd November 2018 @ +20.30h  
Weather <=8oC    RH% high

New Northern Horizons

by in Deep Sky Objects, Imaging, Narrowband and tagged , , , | 1 Comment

SHO2int3 (Large)

Having past the Autumn Equinox I’ve moved the observatory back to its main location on the patio looking south for the winter but not before a final look at the northern sky from the newly established Shed Observatory situated at the end of the garden.  After setting up The Shed in mid-May I have had a productive and very enjoyable time imaging and looking at the northern night sky properly for the first time.  My objective has been to learn more about this part of the sky and bag as many northern DSO classics as possible during the limited darkness available at this time of the year.  Furthermore, I set out to determine optimum imaging parameters for these objects in preparation for more extensive sessions at the same time next year.

Altogether I managed six targets with some good results, three of which have already been posted here: M81 Bodes & M82 Cigar galaxies, IC 1396 Elephant’s Trunk Nebula and IC 1805 the Heart Nebula. Whilst the new Shed Observatory provided a good view of much of the north sky, I did cut corners with the set-up and as a result guiding was not always at its best, sometimes with an impact on quality.  This has been a period of experimentation but now I know this location works, next time I’ll pay more attention to these matters.  In addition to the aforementioned objects I was also able to image three others, with mixed results.

I came across NGC 7822 soon after moving to the new Shed Observatory site whilst investigating the imaging possibilities from this location.  This complex emission nebula appears to be overlooked by many astrophotographers, though judging from the images that are available it can be quite a spectacular target, providing great promise in narrowband wavelengths when using the right equipment.  Whilst the main Ha image looked promising (below), sadly on this occasion the SHO & HOO images lack detail and colour; on reflection the focus looks a bit suspect too!

NGC 7822 in Ha
NGC 7822 HaHOO
NGC 7822 SHO
IMAGING DETAILS
Object NGC 7822
Constellation Cepheus
Distance 2,900 light-years
Size 100’   
Apparent Magnitude +18.3
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 guide camera & PHD2 control
Camera ZWO1600MM-Cool (mono)   CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix  Max. size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool + PS2,  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS2, HLVG
Image Location              & Orientation Centre  RA 00:02:35     DEC 67:13:55                     

North Sky: Top Left = North  Top Right = East  
Exposures 20 x 180 sec Ha + 10×180 sec OIII & SII  (Total time: 120 minutes)   
  @ 300 Gain   50 Offset @ -20oC    
Calibration 5 x 300 sec Darks  20 x 1/4000 sec Bias  10 x Flats Ha-OIII-SII  @ ADU 25,000  
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory  South – Redhill – Surrey – UK        Typically Bortle 5
Date & Time 20th May 2018 @ +00.00h  
Weather Approx. <12oC   RH 70%

Once astronomical darkness was re-established in late July I soon returned to the northern sky thereafter.  After a gap of more than 2-months since my previous session in May, the north sky now provided other new opportunities, principal of which were the Heart Nebula and Soul Nebula.  Given their size and my field-of-view these objects need to be imaged separately and after a good result with the Heart Nebula, I was soon also able to tackle the nearby Soul Nebula.  However, this time the guiding was at first very poor and I decided to use the PHD2 Guiding Assistant to help correct the problem.  The new settings recommended by the Assistant made a big difference to the guiding but unfortunately I then overlooked that the consequence of running the process had changed the previous image framing of the object.  As a result of this the lower section of the nebula was no longer within the field-of-view and subsequently lost in the final image – oh well lesson learned for another day.

HaHOO crop (Large)

IMAGING DETAILS – Soul Nebula HaHOO (above) 
Object Soul Nebula IC 1848   (Westerhout-5)
Constellation Cassiopeia
Distance 6,500 light-years
Size 150’ x 75’  or 100 light-years
Apparent Magnitude +18.3
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 guide camera & PHD2 control
Camera ZWO1600MM-Cool (mono)   CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix  Max. size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool + PS2,  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS2, HLVG
Image Location              & Orientation Centre  RA 02:52:25    DEC 60:01:35                     

Top  Left North  Top Right = East   Bottom Right = South   Bottom Left = West      
Exposures 20 x 300 sec Ha + 10×300 sec OIII  (Total time: 150 minutes)   
  @ 139 Gain   21  Offset @ -20oC    
Calibration 5 x 300 sec Darks  20 x 1/4000 sec Bias  10 x Flats Ha-OIII-SII  @ ADU 25,000  
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK        Typically Bortle 5
Date & Time 2nd September 2018 @ +00.20h  
Weather Approx. 12oC   RH <=95%

Finally I was surprised and pleased to discover that with the early evening darkness now available in September, I might be able to image the strange but beautiful Bubble Nebula NGC 7635.  Being very high in the sky at this time, the challenge was to track the object for as long as possible before at about 1.00 a.m. it disappears overhead behind the high garden hedge located immediately adjacent to the telescope location.  I managed, just about, and was very happy to see the ‘bubble’ in the middle of the resulting image. The enigmatic bubble is created by a stellar wind from a massive, hot central star (SAO 20575) which excites the nebula and causes it to glow.  Whilst the central Bubble Nebula is undoubtedly the star of the show, this region of the sky and resulting picture holds great promise to image other objects on another occasion, notably the open cluster M51 just below and to the left of the Bubble and the Lobster Claw Nebula SH2-157 in the top-right corner.

Ha2A (Large)

 

Claw2

IMAGING DETAILS: Bubble Nebula – Ha above, SHO top of page 
Object Bubble Nebula NGC 7635
Constellation Cassiopeia
Distance 7,100 light-years
Size 15’ x 8’  (Bubble 7 light-years)
Apparent Magnitude +10.0
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 guide camera & PHD2 control
Camera ZWO1600MM-Cool (mono)   CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix Max. size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool + PS2,  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS2, HLVG
Image Location              & Orientation Centre  RA 23:21:27    DEC 61:06:52                     

Top = north  Right = East   Bottom = South  Left = West 
Exposures 15 x 300 sec Ha + 10×300 sec OIII & SII  (Total time: 175 minutes)   
  @ 139 Gain   21  Offset @ -20oC    
Calibration 5 x 300 sec Darks  20 x 1/4000 sec Bias  10 x Flats Ha-OIII-SII  @ ADU 25,000  
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK        Typically Bortle 5
Date & Time 3rd September 2018 @ +21.45h  
Weather Approx. 15oC   RH >=70%

My time at the end of the garden this summer at the Shed Observatory has been a great success, made all the better by a prolonged period of warm weather.  I am confident that with more attention to the set-up, better guiding and longer integration times, next year will be even better and I’m already looking forwards to revisiting this year’s new horizons in the north sky in 2019.

North Sky summer Objects

North Sky Imaged Objects May to September 2018

Heart Of Darkness

by in Deep Sky Objects, Narrowband, Solar system and tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

HHOO hlvg (Large)

Aside from all the paraphernalia required for astrophotography, two other critical items are essential to start imaging: clear skies and darkness.  This year astronomical darkness ceased on 25th May at Fairvale Observatory and remained absent for the next 8-weeks  whilst Earth performed its annual summer gyration about the Sun, culminating on 21st June with the solstice.  As a result this period is typically quite a barren time for astronomers, especially for those in the higher latitudes where the sun does not set for the entire 24-hour day.  Some options during this time are:  give up, stop imaging and use the time to sort out equipment, if you have the right equipment change to solar astronomy or just enjoy what happens to be about in the less than dark sky.  This year I chose the latter, during what has been a very hot summer, often with continuously clear skies for days-on-end.

Planets June 2018

From the early evening we’ve been treated to views of all the planets of the Solar System, as during the short nights one-by-one they transited along the ecliptic, though were relatively low in the sky seen from the UK.  In order of appearance, the main show (see above) each night has been that of Jupiter, followed by Saturn and finally at about 2.00 a.m. (June) Mars – which this year was an unusually large, unusually bright  red disc as it reached its closest orbit relative to Earth for almost 60,000 years – all of which could be clearly seen with the naked eye.  Unable to sleep in the hot weather, night after night I was able to view and sometimes imaged the aforesaid planets with a DSLR camera as they moved across the night sky.

Shortly after darkness started to return on 20th July came two further special events.  First on 27th July a lunar eclipse, that despite all the previous clear nights was ironically obscured by cloud cover over most of the UK!  Fortunately, clear skies returned for 13th August and the annual Perseids meteor shower, which on this occasion produced some of the best meteor trails I have personally experienced.

And so, with astronomical darkness back and the chance to return to the recently established Fairvale Observatory South AKA The Shed Observatory, it was time to resume my hitherto brief imaging experience of the northern sky again.  As a newcomer to this part of the night sky there were considerable new imaging possibilities to explore but only one I now wanted to capture – the Heart Nebula or IC 1805 (also known as the Running Dog Nebula when viewed from a different angle).

Heart-and-Soul-location The Heart and nearby Soul Nebula are situated in a busy region of the sky (see above – from Wikisky), which also contains seven open clusters of young stars, as well as the Pacman Nebula and galaxies of Maffei 1 & 2 and M31 Andromeda.  The discovery of a bright fish-shaped HII object – known as the Fishhead Nebula IC 1795 or NGC 896 at the edge of the main object – preceded that of the Heart Nebula itself in 1787 by William Herschel.  The Heart Nebula has a red glow, a result of intense radiation emanating from a small cluster of large, hot, young (1.5 My) bright-blue stars at the centre known as Melotte-15.  The stellar wind and stream of charged particles that flow out from these newborn stars then creates the characteristic heart-shape of the nebula from the stellar dust and hydrogen gas clouds.

Picture saved with settings embedded.

Located in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way in the Cassiopeia constellation, this large emission nebula is an excellent object for narrowband imaging at all wavelengths and is also well framed in the field-of-view of my telescope-camera combination; the images presented here are rotated 180 degrees to achieve the correct orientation to see the heart shape, with the Fishhead Nebula located in the bottom right corner.  Not surprisingly this large HII object produces strong Ha subs, which make a pleasing stand-alone image (above section). But the OIII and especially SII wavelengths are also very good, resulting in very good HHOO bi-colour (top-of-the-page) and SHO (below) images too.

SHO end3Final (Large)

The limited time I’ve had to image the northern sky for the first time this year has already proved to be exciting and bodes well for the future.  On this occasion I’ve been very pleased with my first imaging results of the Heart Nebula, which is a superb object for my equipment and am sure to return next year given suitably clear skies and, of course, darkness.

IMAGING DETAILS
Object Heart Nebula IC 1805    AKA Running Dog Nebula   Sharpless 2-190
Constellation Cassiopeia
Distance 7,500 light-years
Size 150’ x 150’  =  2.5o or 200 light-years
Apparent Magnitude +18.3
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 guide camera & PHD2 control
Camera ZWO1600MM-Cool (mono)   CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix  Max. image size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool + PS2,  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS2, HLVG
Image Location             & Orientation Centre  RA 02:33:09    DEC 61:24:23 

Top = South   Right = West   Bottom = North   Left = East  
Exposures 20 x 300 sec Ha + 10×300 sec OIII & SII  (Total time: 200 minutes)   
  @ 139 Gain   21  Offset @ -20oC    
Calibration 5 x 300 sec Darks  20 x 1/4000 sec Bias  10 x Flats Ha-OIII-SII  @ ADU 25,000  
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK        Typically Bortle 5
Date & Time 16th & 17th  August 2018 @ +23.30h  
Weather Approx. 12oC   RH <=95%

 

Jumbo Joy

by in Deep Sky Objects, General Astronomy, Imaging, Narrowband and tagged | 1 Comment

Picture saved with settings embedded.

After recently establishing Fairvale Observatory South AKA “The Shed” and dealt with some expected and unexpected problems, I was able to turn my attention to the object of my desire in this hitherto inaccessible part of the northern night sky.  With the summer solstice approaching I had originally planned on imaging this astrophotographers’ favourite later in the year but I couldn’t resist an early look.  A few nights after finishing Bodes galaxy from my new, northward looking location, I therefore swung the scope across the Meridian to the north east in order to obtain a few subs of this object just to see: (a) what it might look like with my equipment (b) bearing in mind the previous objective, to assess the best framing and (c) just for the fun of it, and was not disappointed!

RGB XXX Final (Large)The aforesaid object of interest was the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula or IC 1396, a very large emission nebula, which in narrowband shows wonderful colour and detail (HaSHO above).  IC 1396 consists of glowing gas illuminated by an open star cluster, broken up by intervening lanes of dark interstellar dust clouds.  The ‘trunk’ itself, designated IC 1396A, is the long dark area protruding from the lower edge of the image, spectacularly illuminated from behind by a bright star forming region; the image has been rotated 180o from its natural position.  Top right on the edge is the red supergiant Mu Cephei or Herschel’s Garnet Star, one of the largest and brightest known stars in the Milky Way, which in the position of the Sun would extend out to Saturn’s orbit!

HHOO (Large)

The large IC 1396 nebula will not fit my field-of-view but with some judicious framing, using the Garnet Star as a marker and helped by a few previously taken test subs, I achieved a pleasing composition with the aforesaid trunk and nearby billowing dark clouds well placed (HaOIIIOIII bicolour image above).  Whilst I am pleased with my first attempt at the Elephant’s Trunk, the colour could be better and is too noisy – a consequence of too little integration time and high gain setting.  Having had success before using similar settings for Ha-type features like the Rosette Nebula, I was a little surprised by this outcome but it just goes to show that each object is different.  Notwithstanding, the Ha version is – I think – very promising (top of the page) but obviously there is too little OIII and SII in the composite wavelength images.

RGB XXX Final Crop (Medium)

I used to live and have worked all over Africa but this is a very different type of elephant to what I have met before (the “trunk” HaSHO above).  It forms an exciting imaging subject at this time of the year, made all the more rewarding being one of my first serious attempts to image the north sky.  I hope to return to this object in a couple of months when astronomical darkness has resumed but in the meantime the Jumbo of the night sky has been a real joy on my first encounter.

Elephant Location Crop

IMAGING DETAILS
Object Elephant’s Trunk Nebula   IC 1396   
Constellation Cepheus
Distance 2,400 light-years
Size 5o or “Trunk” only approx.. 45’   
Apparent Magnitude +3.5 to +5.7
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 guide camera & PHD2 control
Camera ZWO1600MM-Cool (mono)   CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix  Max. image size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool + PS2,  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS2
Image Location Centre  RA 21:38:37    DEC 57:30:16  
Exposures 12 x 300 sec Ha + 6 x300 sec OIII & SII  (Total time: 120 minutes)   
  @ 300 Gain   50 Offset @ -20oC    
Calibration 5 x 300sec Darks  20 x 1/4000 sec Bias  10 x  Ha + OIII + SII  Flats @ ADU 25,000  
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK        Typically Bortle 5
Date & Time 22nd May 2018  @ midnight

Playing With Fire

by in Narrowband and tagged | Leave a comment

RGB (Large)

When possible my current repertoire has continued with DSO targets previously imaged with a modded DSLR and now revisited using the ZWO1600MM-Cool camera.  In general I’ve found the outcome with the new camera has been noticeably better in detail and colour but I’m still learning and know I can do better in time.  Last imaged in December 2015 with a DSRL camera, the larger FOV comfortably encompassed both the Tadpole (IC410) and adjacent Flaming Star (IC405) nebulae, resulting in an exciting composition. However, this time the ZWO CMOS sensor could only accommodate the latter in the image but with improved resolution.

fn3

Picture saved with settings embedded.

IC 405 (right) The Flaming Star Nebula & IC 410 The Tadpole Nebula: WO GT81 & modded Canon 550D + FF | 15 x 180 sec @ ISO 1,600 & full calibration | 8th December 2015

The Flaming Star is an emission / reflection nebula, which surrounds the bright blue variable star AE Aurigae.  Imaging in narrowband produced decent Ha data but was very weak in OIII and SII wavelengths and even with 2-hours integration time is somewhat lacking in colour both in SHO (top-of-the-page) & HOO (below).  Notwithstanding, it’s an exciting object that at some point in the future will obviously require much longer imaging time and perhaps even a mosaic  in order to include its neighbour the Tadpole once again.

HOO (Large)

FN

IMAGING DETAILS
Object The Flaming Star Nebula   IC405     
Constellation Auriga
Distance 1,500 light-years
Size 37’ x 19’  
Apparent Magnitude +6.0
 
Scope  William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control
Guiding William Optics 50mm guide scope
  + Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 guide camera & PHD2 control
Camera ZWO1600MM-Cool (mono)   CMOS sensor
  FOV 2.65o x 2.0o Resolution 2.05”/pix  Max. image size 4,656 x 3,520 pix   
EFW ZWOx8 + ZWO LRGB & Ha OIII SII 7nm filters 
Capture & Processing Astro Photography Tool,  Deep Sky Stacker & Photoshop CS2
Exposures 300 sec x12 Ha, x6 SII & x6 OIII (Total time: 120 minutes)
  @ 139 Gain  21 Offset @ -20oC  
Calibration 5 x 300 sec Darks  20 x 1/4000 sec Bias  10 x Flats Ha, OIII & SII @ ADU 25,000  
Location & Darkness Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK        Typically Bortle 5
Date & Time 24th February 2018 @ 20.30h approx.