Nocturnal Safari

March 16, 2016 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, General Astronomy and tagged Canis Major, Constellations, DSO Imaging, Monoceros, Nebulae, Orion | 3 Comments

night eyes

Asterisms of the night sky have long been the basis for astronomy, navigation, astrology, myths, general stories and even religion. Whilst over millennia their shapes inevitably change, on the scale of human life there is an element of permanence and certainty. With so many stars it is not difficult to ‘join-the-dots’ in order to arrive at a recognisable shape, thereby making identification easier. Simplest amongst these are the seasonal often geometric asterisms such as the Summer Triangle, Winter Hexagon and The Plough or Big Dipper. However, it is the 88 constellations that dominate our definition and description of the night sky.

Computer based planetarium usually trace the relevant shapes and often the underlying historical figures from which they were originally derived – though frankly in some cases these can be quite spurious and even misleading. Of the total constellations: 17 depict humans or mythological figures, 29 inanimate objects and a whopping 42 animals – the night sky might literally be described as something of a zoo!

Despite my cynicism the patterns can be very helpful when initially learning the night sky, as well as for navigating and descriptive purposes. When starting out in astronomy I deliberately did not purchase a GoTo mount in order to first better master the geography of the night’s celestial sphere. For this purpose I purchased a planisphere and to a degree (no pun intended) it did initially help but with so many stars, light pollution and the odd cloud it wasn’t always easy when it came to essential star identification and alignment. I am sure I will forever benefit from the effort but this is 2016 and inevitably I have succumbed to using Google Sky on my smartphone to identify or at least confirm a star’s identity. Equally inevitable, I now use an AZ-EQ6 GoTo mount, which when linked to the Cartes du Ciel planetarium software is a quick and powerful combination for locating and tracking objects.

As previously discussed, this winter has been unusually cloudy but I recently managed a rare though decent imaging session in which I was able to capture night animals of a different sort. Probably like most astronomers I find the mid-winter night sky to be the highlight of the year, making the aforementioned seeing problems all the more frustrating. I have already imaged various parts of everyone’s favourite, the Orion constellation and so this time was looking for alternative objects in a similar region that would be suitable for the William Optics GT81. Whilst I find many if not most of the star asterisms unconvincing, there’s no denying that some of the DSO shapes really do look like animals and this time I found two.

animal2

NGC 2174 or the Monkey Head Nebula is located within the Milky Way, between Orion’s club and Castor’s left foot. An HII emission nebula, with an apparent magnitude of +6.8 and 40’ apparent dimension, it was a good target and a very convincing monkey’s head. Closer inspection of the image shows another smaller HII nebula north above NGC 2174 called Sh2-247, that is not only connected to the monkey but they are both part of the even larger GEM OB-1 molecular cloud complex which covers a massive region of 570 x 770 light-years!

NGC 2174 & Sh2-247 nebula above. WO GT81 & modded Canon 550D + FF | 20 x 180 sec @ ISO 1,600 | 10th February 2016

NGC 2174 The Monkey Head Nebula, cropped & inverted

In addition, situated between the constellations of Canis Major and Monoceros is IC 2177 the Seagull Nebula, which is also within the Milky Way but ‘flying’ lower than the Monkey Head Nebula to the left (south-east) of the Orion. More than 2.5^o from wing to wing, a number of bright star clusters are associated with this emission nebula, notable of which is the ‘bird’s head’ designated NGC 2327; IC 2177 is also known as the Parrot’s Head Nebula, which given the form of NGC 2327 I’m inclined to prefer.

IC 2177 The Seagull Nebula. WO GT81 & modded Canon 550D + FF | 20 x 180 sec @ ISO 1,600 | 10th February 2016

I’ve previously imaged a number of other animal-like DSO objects: Jellyfish Nebula, Crab Nebula, Pelican Nebula and the famous Horsehead Nebula. Unlike the constellations they generally but not always, really do resemble the form their names imply. Now adding to this list the Monkey Head and Seagull (Parrot) Nebulae it sometimes seems like a safari rather than astronomy!

Sky Animalscrop

A Wider Perspective

January 23, 2016 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Equipment, General Astronomy, Widefield Imaging and tagged DSO Imaging, Nebulae, Orion, Photography | 3 Comments

I like to think and operate at both ends of the spectrum: sometimes considering detail and its implications and often exquisite beauty, whilst on the other hand taking a wider view will often provide broader insight and answers – notwithstanding, I am usually drawn towards the latter. There was no shortage of scope for such thoughts in my career as a geologist and now as my hobby in astronomy. I have become fascinated with parts of the Universe and captivated by imaging them: galaxies, nebulae, star cluster etc. but the wider view is often even more astounding and perplexing.

you-are-here-2

My nascent astroimaging has already produced some rewarding photographs, which using the fast William Optics GT81 refractor has enabled me to obtain images of up to 3^o FOV. In fact this became something of a theme last year, successfully imaging features such as the Sadr Region and as they say, one thing has led to another. Wanting to image even wider views there’s mostly only one alternative, using a camera and lens. I’ve tried this before, on a tripod and fixed to the ALT-AZ EQ6 mount but with mixed success. Meanwhile, I came across excellent pictures taken using lightweight tracking mounts on a tripod and as a result the way forwards became obvious; after scanning the Classified advertisements online for a while I was fortunate to find and purchase a second-hand Vixen Polarie mount last September.

Probably my favourite object, which can rightly be considered the signature image of the winter night sky and is therefore around at the moment, is the constellation of Orion and especially its numerous and often exciting constituent parts: M42, Horsehead & Flame Nebulae etc. After waiting for weeks for the clouds to clear, I briefly got a chance to image Orion using the Vixen Polarie early in November, whilst at the same time using the WO GT81 to obtain yet another picture of the irresistible Great Orion Nebula M42.

Orion’s Sword – including the wonderful Great Orion Nebula M42 et al : WO GT81 + modded Canon 550D & FF | 14 x 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 | 9th November 2015

The Vixen Polarie is a deceivingly simple and well-made solution to obtaining long exposure images of the wider night sky using a camera and lens. As stability remains essential for the mount and camera to operate at their best, I also purchased a decent Manfrotto tripod and suitable ball heads to attach the Polarie. After that it was simple, well not quite! Trying out the Polarie at the same time as using the GT81 and being first time out was a mistake. I fumbled setting up the equipment and initially even forgot to turn on the tracking, leaving only a short time to grab a few images before the clouds rolled in once again! Not surprisingly the results were mixed and I was left frustrated. With continuing poor seeing conditions, it was to be a further month before I had an opportunity to properly use the Vixen Polarie again – this time with a new Sigma 10 – 20 mm ultra-wide angle lens I had just purchased.

Vixen Polarie & Canon 700D + 18 – 55mm lens | 19 x 60 secs @ ISO 800 | 9th November 2015

Having by now spent more time looking at the manual (we all get there, in the end) and concentrating on imaging using only the Polarie, this time I was able to achieve a good set-up and remembered the correct sequence of operation. As the mount sits high on the tripod I am just about able to see Polaris in a small gap between the roof of my garage and house, something hitherto impossible when using the lower positioned AZ-EQ6 mount. As a result I am able to achieve a reasonably good visual polar alignment, though a polar scope made specifically for the Vixen Polarie would improve this further; probably something for another time? Nevertheless, such an alignment at Fairvale Observatory is a first and was a major breakthrough that has already permitted exposures of 4 minutes and could probably go to 5 to 6 minutes or more.

The high position of the Vixen Polarie on the tripod provides an otherwise elusive view of Polaris between the garage / utility room and the main house for polar alignment, at last! Alignment of the mount is carried out by viewing through the hole in the top right of the Polarie – better alignment can be achieved by using a polar scope which fits through the middle of the Polarie mount.

Once polar aligned, fixed on the front of the Vixen Polarie the camera then rotates to follow the celestial sphere and chosen object in order to achieve a sharp image with long exposures. For this purpose there are 4 tracking rates: sidereal, half sidereal, lunar and solar. With no interesting foreground here I concentrated on the sky by using the sidereal rate; for more scenic shots with the landscape incorporated, using half-sidereal provides a compromise in order to achieve a non-blurred image of the sky and landscape, though this method is inevitably limited to shorter exposures than sidereal.

Vixen Polarie mount on Manfrotto tripod – a lightweight, portable tracking method for widefield astroimaging

Vixen Polarie – close-up showing x2 ball head fittings

Vixen Polarie – tracking speed settings

VP Dial

Vixen Polarie with DSLR attached & ultra-wide lens

I have adapted a somewhat basic red dot finder to fit on top of the DSLR camera using the hot shoe, which was immediately helpful to accurately locate the desired target area. However, as previously experienced, once again achieving focus proved quite difficult, basically requiring just trial and error; I intend to look into a more efficient method but in the absence of a Bahtinov mask this is likely to be the best technique for now. A laptop can be used for image capture but maintaining the themes of portability and simplicity, I successfully used an intervalometer to control exposures.

Whilst initially my target was the Orion constellation, I’ve long held the ambition to image Barnard’s Loop, a much larger and elusive feature surrounding the constellation and more difficult to photograph. I had tried this before last January with limited success but ever since acquiring the Vixen Polarie this has been my No1 imaging goal.

Orion Constellation 220115 Stacked1L2C3GX (Large)

The Orion Constellation & Barnard’s Loop (up / north is left) : AZ-EQ6 Mount + Canon 550D & 200mm Telephoto | 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 & calibration | 22nd January 2015

Unable to see with the naked eye, only using long exposure photography unveils the majesty of Barnard’s Loop, an emission nebula to the left (east) of the Orion constellation. Shaped as a large-C, the loop completely encompasses the eastern side of the constellation and is thought to be a recent supernova front moving out from Orion and illuminated by stars from within the nebula, as well as part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. Discovered and named after astrophotographer E. E. Barnard in 1895, at some 14^o or 300 million light-years across Barnard’s Loop is enormous; however, the entire Molecular Cloud is about 30^o in size!

pleyades31_02

The Orion constellation was originally conceived in Greek mythology as the Hunter, pursuing Taurus the Bull to the west, with the stars tracing out a shape of a hunter holding a shield and club in each hand, a belt around the waste with a sword attached. What they could not have known at the time is that he also has a head, in the form of the Lamda Orionis Nebula (Sh2-264), located centrally and above Betelgeuse and Bellatrix.

Barnard’s Loop & Lamda Orionis Nebula : Vixen Polarie & modded Canon 550D + Sigma UWA @ 20mm | 11 x 240 secs @ ISO 1,600 + darks | 7th January 2016

I was able to image Barnard’s Loop on 7^th and 14^th January; at ISO 1,600 the first images showed the Loop but certainly left room for improvement, as a result I shot the subsequent images at ISO 800 and obtained a noticeably better outcome – though I had to push post processing to reveal the features. The Loop and head are clearly evident but I’ve been intrigued to see other objects also revealed, albeit without the detail obtained with prime focus imaging using the telescope: Great Orion Nebula, Horses Head & Flame Nebulae and surprisingly on the left (east) of the Loop the Rosette Nebula. Looking at other’s images of Barnard’s Loop it is clear that I will need to take significantly more subs to properly reveal the full beauty of this wonderful and very large feature – dark skies would be nice too – but for the moment I am pleased with my first outing using the Vixen Polarie, which holds great promise for capturing a wider perspective of the Universe.

Barnard’s Loop & Lamda Orionis Nebula + Rosette Nebula on far left : Vixen Polarie & modded Canon 550D + Sigma UWA lens @ 20mm | 14 x 240 secs @ ISO 800 | 14th January 2016

Reflections – 2015

January 1, 2016 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Equipment, Imaging, Software, Solar system, Widefield Imaging and tagged Andromeda, DSO Imaging, Galaxies, Lunar Eclipse, Orion, Photography, Solar system | 1 Comment

Launched in August 2014, 2015 is the first full year of Watch This Space (Man) and despite some personal set-backs it’s been an interesting year astronomically, with much to write about. Whilst I have made progress with my imaging, it was not what I would have wished for but nonetheless I have been pleased with the outcome. Continuing on from last year, Reflections is a recap and thoughts on all that happened to me astronomically in 2015 and looks forward to the coming year.

Although this website is just intended as my record of A personal discovery of the Universe through astronomy and astrophotography, it has been pleasing to see that over the year the site has attracted 1,310 visitors from 77 countries around the world and over 2,700 views; you are all most welcome. This was not the intention of the blog but I am humbled by the interest and would be very pleased to hear from anyone who would like to get in touch with queries, comments or just to say hello – contact details are in the About section.

JANUARY TO MARCH

The first quarter turned out to be my most active and successful period of the year for reasons that will become apparent later. Strictly speaking my image of the Rosette Nebula posted on 5^th January was taken on 29^th December 2014 but what an image to start the year with, clearly I was doing something right by now. Notwithstanding, from looking at pictures of the same object taken by other more accomplished photographers, it was evident that something was missing – red! This was an easy to problem to solve and I immediately set out on a quest to find a suitably modified camera with the IR filter removed. Soon thereafter I was lucky to find an excellent second hand modded Canon EOS 550D, which has now become my main imaging camera of choice and with all that extra red Ha-light has led to a quantum improvement of many images since. Such cameras are very popular so I felt lucky to have secured this one.

Orion’s Sword: M42 The Great Orion Nebula, Running Man Nebula & NGC 1981 Star Cluster
WO GT81 + modded Canon 550D & FF | 10 x 180 secs @ ISO 800 & darks calibration | 8th February 2015. Modification of the camera by removing the IR filter increased red Ha-light.

EQMOD / ASCOM is a popular free software project developed by amateurs that, amongst other things, provides computer and planetarium linked control of the mount; with other compatible linked programmes such as APT (Astrophotography Tool) and PHD (Push Here Dummy) control can be extended to cameras and for autoguiding. At the start of the year I successfully started using Carte du Ciel planetarium linked with EQMOD for computer controlled alignment and mount control, which as expected was very useful – particularly when it got really cold and I was able to take the equipment indoors and operate the equipment remotely. However, later in the year I have encountered connection problems which are, as yet, not fully resolved.

Whilst EQMOD is an excellent project which provides first class mount control when working, it requires additional faffing about and problems on a different level of scale, which with limited imaging conditions in the UK and having to set up outside from scratch each time is a pain. For this reason and others I have not yet moved to autoguiding, which I know will be highly beneficial to imaging but for the moment has proved to be a step too far for me. Such is the fickle nature of all this that I’m now considering other ways of achieving the same end, perhaps with professional software control and a stand-alone guider, such as the Lacerta M-GEN – of course a dedicated observatory would help a lot but seems unlikely at the moment!

I have previously found the early winter sky of Orion, Taurus, Pegasus and Monoceros very productive with beautiful imaging objects such as M42 and the Horsehead Nebula. However, this year looking more closely at the late-winter / early spring skies turned out to be just as exciting, with a veritable playground of galaxies to choose from during February and March. Notwithstanding, the highlight during the winter was successfully imaging Comet Lovejoy, a first for me that required changes to normal DSO and planetary imaging techniques as this ephemeral object was speeding across the night sky at over 70,000 mph – post processing also turned out to be quite different.

C/2014 Q2 Comet Lovejoy
WO GT81 + Canon 550D (modded) & FF | 40 x 20secs @ ISO1,600 + darks | 16th January 2014

No	Date	Object*	Name
1	16/01/15	C/2014 Q2	Comet Lovejoy
2	16/01/15	C/2014 Q2	Comet Lovejoy
3	16/01/15	NGC 2244	Rosette Nebula
4	22/01/15	M42 etc	Orion Nebula
5	22/01/15	M45	Pleiades
6	22/01/15		Comet Lovejoy
7	22/01/15		Comet Lovejoy
8	22/01/15		Banard’s Loop
9	22/01/15		Banard’s Loop
10	22/01/15		Orion Constellation
11	24/01/15	NGC 1909	Witch Head Nebula
12	24/01/15	NGC 2392	Eskimo Nebula
13	24/01/15	M44	Beehive Cluster
14	24/01/15	IC-443	Jellyfish Nebula
15	08/02/15	M42	Gt Orion Nebula etc
16	08/02/15	Barnard 33	Horsehead Nebula etc
17	21/02/15	M65	Leo Triplet (Galaxies)
18	21/02/15	M105	M96 Group (Galaxies)
19	24/02/15		Venus & Mars
20	25/03/15	NGC 2903	Spiral galaxy – Leo
21	25/03/15	NGC 3842	Galaxy cluster: Leo
22	25/03/15	M 88	Spiral galaxy: Virgo cluster
23	25/03/15	M100	Spiral galaxy: Virgo cluster
24	26/03/15	NGC 4438	Markarian’s Chain
25	26/03/15	M104	Sombrero
26	26/03/15	M53	Globular cluster

*Record of quarterly photographic images in 2015, excluding other widefield pictures

APRIL TO JUNE

Things took a turn for the worse in April when I went into hospital for a knee replacement operation. All went well but it is a major operation and recovery has been slow and often painful, thus prohibiting any real astronomy until September. It did however provide the time and opportunity to read about astronomy and pursue some MOOC astronomy courses.

After a period of convalescence, I did manage to obtain some widefield camera shots of the planets, the ISS and simple night sky images in the summer. Whilst not as satisfying as prime focus photography, it was interesting and kept me sane during this otherwise difficult time.

1st July 2015. Bingo = conjunction; though one day later Jupiter has now moved to the right of Venus.

1st July 2015. Conjunction of Jupiter to the right of Venus.

No	Date	Object	Name
27	11/04/15	NGC 4438	Markarian’s Chain
28	11/04/15	NGC 4565	Spiral galaxy-side

JUNE TO SEPTEMBER

This period was more of the same until on 19^th September, when at last I managed to set-up Fairvale Observatory for the first time since March, what a relief. As a bonus I was particularly chuffed to achieve a good image of the Andromeda Galaxy but the highlight of this period and the year was the lunar eclipse at the end of the month on 28^th September.

For once everything was perfect: a clear sky all night with a perfect view of the eclipse from start to finish. I stayed up all night and would have to say it was one of the best, if not the best event I have so far experienced since taking up astronomy; apart from being an outstanding imaging opportunity, the ambiance throughout the eclipse was spellbinding. I was therefore very pleased to obtain an excellent set of images of the entire eclipse, mainly using a prime focus camera set-up with the WO GT81 telescope but also with an alternative camera and telephoto lens on a tripod. The memory of that night will stay with me for a long while and, in part, helped to make up for the lost time since my operation in April.

Eclipse Animation 28th September 2015

No	Date	Object	Name
29	19/09/15	IC 5070	Pelican Nebula
30	19/09/15	NGC 6979	Pickering inc Veil Nebula
31	19/09/15	M15	Globular Cluster
32	19/09/15	M31	Andromeda
33	28/09/15	Lunar Eclipse	Entry @ 1 sec intervals
	28/09/15	Lunar Eclipse	Totality
	28/09/15	Lunar Eclipse	Entry @ 1 sec intervals
34	28/09/15	Lunar Eclipse	Exit – camera + tripod
35	30/09/15	IC 1318	Sadr Region (+NGC 6910)
36	30/09/15	IC 1318	Sadr Region – Pt2

OCTOBER TO DECEMBER

The final quarter of the year has been very frustrating due to the almost complete absence of suitable imaging conditions, mainly due to cloud cover but even when there was a few clear nights it was of course a full Moon – you can’t win! I was particularly unhappy as this time marks the arrival of the constellation Orion and all its wonderful imaging opportunities, for which I had new plans.

Given the short focal length of the William Optics GT81 and relatively small aperture, used with a APS-C cropped sensor DSLR camera the resulting field-of-view is a quite large and, where possible, this year I’ve therefore concentrated on objects of 2.5^o to 3.0^o apparent dimensions. Together with the modded camera this has resulted in some exciting new images of old and new objects.

However, large as the field-of-view is with this set-up, I have become increasingly aware of the simply enormous scale of some nebulous features such as Barnard’s Loop. As a result I have become more interested in widefield imaging using just a camera and tripod. Like prime focus imaging, widefield imaging will also benefit from achieving longer exposures through the use of tracking. Early in this period I was fortunate to purchase a Vixen Polarie lightweight tracking mount for this purpose, but due to the aforementioned conditions I have unfortunately been unable to use it very much. In fact it’s fair to say that other than some brief experimentation, it’s hardly been used at all so far. Notwithstanding, I can see the potential and have high hopes for future imaging opportunities when the clouds part and the Moon is absent.

The year finished with a couple of other purchases that I hope will assist with imaging in 2016:

A new laptop – running Windows 10 with a core i7 Intel chip, 2 TB hard drive, 16 GB RAM, dedicated AMD graphics card and an HD 17.3” screen, which I hope will help improve post processing. Running my preferred Windows 7 operating system, I will continue to use the smaller 13” i5 chip laptop for mount and camera control.

Ultra-Wide Angle lens – the truth is I’ve recently acquired this wonderful Sigma 10 – 22mm f3.5 lens for a trip to the Grand Canyon in April, however, I will of course also be using it with the Vixen Polarie when the skies clear.

No	Date	Object	Name
37	09/10/15	NGC 6888	Crescent Nebula
38	09/10/15	M 74	Spiral galaxy (near Pegasus)
39	09/10/15	NGC 7814	Little Sombrero
40	09/10/15	NGC 7479	Barred spiral galaxy
41	09/10/15	M 31	Andromeda galaxy
42	08/12/15	NGC 1499	California Nebula
43	08/12/15	IC 405	Flaming Star Nebula
44	08/12/15	NGC 2264	Cone Nebula
45	09/12/15	M42	Great Orion Nebula etc
46	08/12/15	Orion	Constellation

Favourite Images

Despite the lack of activity this year I have been fortunate to obtain some good images and I can only hope 2016 will be just as rewarding. Acting as judge and jury, my personal favourites in no particular order are:

NGC 2024 Flame Nebula & Horsehead Nebula
WO GT81 + modded Canon 550D & FF | 10 x 180 secs @ ISO 800 & darks calibration | 8th February 2015

Eclipse: Inward sequence from umbral contact to totality
WO GT81 + Canon 700D + FF | 1/500 to 1/3 sec @ ISO 100 | 18th September 2015

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

Goals for 2016

After the year that’s just finished I am reluctant to set out goals for 2016 but here goes:

Increase imaging exposure times: This is a euphemism for (a) improving equipment set-up and alignment, and (b) start autoguiding. As previously outlined, I have been struggling with both of these issues but one way or another I have to overcome the problems in order to obtain exposure times of at least 5-minutes and hopefully longer;

Improve processing: I was pleased to get to grips with Photoshop in 2015, albeit using a very old version, which together with other minor improvements to processing has added to the quality of the final images. However, I know that even now there is more to be teased out of the existing imaging data for which I am already considering new software;

Start widefield imaging: First I just need clear skies in order to get out and start using the Vixen Polarie tracking mount from Fairvale Observatory, with the initial objective of imaging Barnard’s Loop, which has hitherto proved elusive to my current set-up. However, one of the attractions of the Polarie-DSLR-Tripod combination is its portability, which I’d like to put to good use in 2016 by visiting dark sky areas in the UK.

There are other possible developments which at the moment seem unlikely to eventuate but you never know: a larger probably SCT telescope, a cooled CCD camera, and / or a permanent observatory (well I can dream can’t I?).

So all things considered 2015 was a good but not great year. As a fundamental and important development I had really hoped to start autoguiding and thus increase exposure times but it was not to be. Certainly the loss of astronomy time between April and September was a major set-back in many different ways. Notwithstanding, during the remaining times available when I did manage to get outside I believe I achieved some of my best images to date and discovered many new and exciting objects in the night sky, which can’t be bad. In particular, I am sure the lunar eclipse in September will remain a highlight of my astronomy experiences for many years to come.

Harvest Moon at Totality
WO + Canon 700D + FF | 1/3rd Sec @ ISO 400 | 28th September 2015

I’m now looking forwards to 12-months of uninterrupted astronomy, clear skies and plenty to report in the WTSM blog at the end of 2016!

Watch this space!

Spaceship Earth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Parting Shot

February 14, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Imaging, Software and tagged DSO Imaging, Nebulae, Orion | 6 Comments

I thought I was finished with Orion for this winter but a high pressure system and clear weather provided an unexpected opportunity on Sunday evening that I couldn’t resist. The good news: as Orion is passing the Meridian by 8.00 pm it provides an early start. The bad news: being near Gatwick Airport, at this time of the evening the sky is full of aeroplanes at Fairvale Observatory, most of them flying directly through the Orion field of view!

With such good weather, I also decided to try out computer control for the first time. I installed EQMOD before Christmas and have since been reading and watching tutorials on its use and experimented operating with it indoors. Frankly I am somewhat intimidated by the large collection of software that is required to go to the next level with imaging and EQMOD is just the first step. However, eventually I just have to do it and this would be the night to start!

EQMOD is a software project written and run by enthusiasts which provides computer control to the mount, thus dispensing with the SynScan handset. It also does much, much more and in general provides far superior control and flexibility, in particular linking control with a chosen planetarium programme – usually either the excellent Stellarium or Carte du Ciel, all of which is free!

Notwithstanding, I still have the major problem of polar alignment as my house completely obstructs all views of the northern sky. For the moment I adopted a belt-and-braces approach, first achieving polar alignment using the SynScan routine before switching to EQMOD control; once comfortable using EQMOD I plan to try out alignment software called Alignmaster, which I hope will allow me to completely dispel with SynScan. On this occasion EQMOD worked a treat. For alignment, just clicking on the object you want to see in the planetarium software (with which EQMOD is linked), the telescope slews and after accurately aligning the scope with the star you press a sync button. It’s so quick that it is easy to rapidly establish five or six (or more) star alignment points, thereby constructing a triangular matrix from which the mount can then track more accurately. There are many other features I have yet to use but so far I like what I see and am in awe of those who have written and maintain the system.

With EQMOD computer control thus established successfully, I set out to image some old ‘friends’ in Orion. Having only recently acquired a modded Canon 550D, it seemed only right to take another look at M42 the Great Orion Nebula and The Flame and Horsehead nebulae.

The impact of modification was immediately evident with M42, it now being much redder than before and with greater detail exhibited in the nebulosity. The tracking also looked OK, though a few stars looked a little bloated, suggesting there’s still work to do on another day i.e. autoguiding.

Orion’s Sword: M42 The Great Orion Nebula, Running Man Nebula & NGC 1981 Star Cluster
WO GT81 + modded Canon 550D & FF | 10 x 180 secs @ ISO 800 & darks calibration | 8th February 2015

The Flame and Horsehead nebulae also show similar improvements and, in the case of the Horsehead, the actual ‘head’ is much clearer than before.

NGC 2024 Flame & Horsehead Nebula; NGS 2023 relection nebula just below/left of the Horsehead
WO GT81 + modded Canon 550D & FF | 10 x 180 secs @ ISO 800 & darks calibration | 8th February 2015

With Orion by now well past the Meridian and the weather holding up well I then decided to try my luck once again with Jupiter, which by now is well located high in the south east sky. Unfortunately like sport, astronomy is a game of two halves. Following the success using EQMOD my experience with Jupiter was a complete failure.

I had previously encountered significant problems with my webcam last year, that mostly stemmed from problems with the capture software and it was here that I was to stumble (fall more like it) once again. Initially Firecapture seemed to boot up OK and recognised the camera, though try as I may I could not see Jupiter on the screen; I knew it was there as I had previously centred and focussed it there. I therefore decided to reboot the software, which was a big mistake. This time Firecapture would not recognise the camera and on trying to de-bug the problem I ended up with the dreaded ‘black screen of death’. Here was the downside of computer control, with the black screen going nowhere I also lost all control of the mount! I therefore retreated to SynScan, parked the telescope and deliberately crashed the computer; I have not yet investigated the problem further since then – watch this space!

It was therefore something of an ignominious end to the evening. However, I was still buoyed by the earlier success of EQMOD and more than happy with what may be my parting shot of Orion for this winter. Au revoir.

Horsehead Nebula with the NGC 2023 reflection nebula, bottom left

Orion in Perspective

February 6, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Equipment, General Astronomy, Imaging, Widefield Imaging and tagged Orion, Photography | Leave a comment

Perspective:

The appearance of objects relative to each other, as determined by their distance from the viewer, or the effects of this distance on their appearance – The Free Dictionary.

Noun: The art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression on their height, width, depth and position in relation to each other – Oxford English Dictionary

I have just finished an Open University MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on Orion, which it has to be said was mixed in its content and quality. Notwithstanding, the course provided a useful basic understanding of objects in the Universe, particularly Orion, how they related to each other and as a whole. Through my professional experience I am used to viewing and understanding objects in 3D, all the more so since computer modelling has provided a tool with which to visually illustrate such spatial shapes and relationships. Although it is obvious that such relationships also describe the astronomical space in which we exist i.e. the Universe, and commonly describe the location of stars and other heavenly bodies by their distance, RA and DEC, I have seen very few of these objects visually modelled for common asterisms or constellations.

The constellation of Orion is probably the main feature of the winter night sky and it is certainly my favourite, particularly when looking at its rich content: M42 the Great Orion Nebula, the Running Man Nebula, the Horsehead and Flame Nebulae, M78, Barnard’s Loop and many more. Sadly after more than 4-months imaging these objects for the first time, Orion is now starting to rise very early in the evening and by 11pm is well past the Meridian – it will not be long before this magnificent feature will be gone for another year, until on the very early mornings of next October it will reappear again, can’t wait!

With my new found interest in astroimaging I have almost exclusively used a DSLR camera and focused my attention on DSO features, using a telescope and GoTo mount, somewhat neglecting the use of the camera for basic widefield photography. Apart from the attraction of playing with my new toys, I was put off by the lack of a suitable camera attachment and a wide angle lens; because of the inherent crop factor associated with the cropped digital sensors employed in most DSLR cameras (except very expensive full frame cameras), the real focal length of a camera lens will be extended and hence the field-of-view narrowed – in my case with a x1.61 crop factor, a 50mm lens operates at an apparent focal length of 80mm! However, using the top off an old camera tripod I recently I managed to jerry rig the camera onto the GoTo mount, thus providing tracking and enabling longer exposures. It’s only a start but there is great promise in such photography, as seen on this excellent website, and I intend to pursue more of these images with a better way of attaching the camera and decent wide-angle lens when I can.

As a result, on Christmas Eve I obtained my first reasonable image of the whole Orion constellation, which with better exposure shows the detail, beauty and context of the numerous DSO items contained within and images previously noted.

The Orion Constellation Canon 700D | 27 x 10 secs @ ISO 1,600 & calibration | 24th December 2014

The Orion Constellation
Canon 700D & Telephoto 200 mm | 27 x 10 secs @ ISO 1,600 & calibration | 24th December 2014

In the early days of my astroimaging about 12 months ago, I found focussing something of a challenge but, with the assistance of the wonderful Bahtinov mask and Live View on-screen computer focusing, I thought that had become a thing of the past, unfortunately not! Guided by the infinity mark on the camera lens for focussing, I set out to image some of Orion’s more elusive nebulosity, in particular Barnard’s Loop, with which I am fascinated – its enormous size of some 10^oor 600 arcminutes and complete absence from ordinary view are both intriguing, exciting and challenging. I had tried to photograph this feature before, which completely envelops Orion’s Sword and extends up towards Betelgeuse, but to no avail. With my bodged but useable camera set-up I tried again two weeks ago. This time the problem was once again focussing; it turns out that with widefield astroimaging using a standard camera lens, infinity does not necessarily mean infinity, as there is some leeway either side. The out-of-focus images that resulted could therefore not be stacked but, using a single image, calibration and extensive post-process stretching in Photoshop, Barnard’s Loop was finally revealed and even Lambda Orionis above Betelgeuse and Bellatrix, albeit very noisy and out of focus. Notwithstanding, I am pleased with this enticing glimpse and will return another day to rectify the problems.

The Orion Constellation & Barnard's Loop (up / north is left) AZ-EQ6 Mount + Canon 550D & 200mm Telephoto | 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 & calibration | 22nd January 2015

The Orion Constellation & Barnard’s Loop (up / north is left)
AZ-EQ6 Mount + Canon 550D & Telephoto 200 mm | 180 secs @ ISO 1,600 & calibration | 22nd January 2015

Since my first decent image of the Great Orion Nebula on a very early morning at the beginning of last October, I have had hours of fun and some frustration imaging various parts of the Orion Constellation. But despite my new familiarity with the Orion constellation, 3D modelling and, I’d like to think, good spatial awareness, I was still pleasantly surprised and impressed by this wonderful 3D video of the constellation produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute for NASA and used during the aforementioned Open University course, which really does put it all into perspective: The True Shape of Orion.

Seeing Red

January 24, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Equipment, Imaging and tagged DSO Imaging, Orion, Photography | 2 Comments

It was towards the end of last year I realised what I was missing in my images. Hydrogen alpha (Ha) is a deep-red spectral line created by energised hydrogen gas, with a wavelength of 656.28nm, such light is a dominant feature of emission nebulae. However, terrestrial cameras are made with an infra-red (IR) filter placed over the sensor in order to achieve the red-green-blue colours that typify what the human eye see as life on Earth. Unfortunately by filtering out some of the red wavelengths this has a negative impact on DSO astroimaging, as it will block the aforementioned Ha light. The result is that imaging such Ha features with a DSLR camera, as I have been doing with a Canon 700D, can significantly reduce the colour and even detail – in some cases where Ha is the principal light source the camera sensor may almost completely fail to register the object at all.

I had been aware of this problem from the outset when I purchased the Canon 700D but decided to make-do in order to see, (a) how I got on, and (b) if I even liked astrophotography. Nearly one year on and maybe I made a mistake then but I also enjoy using the camera for terrestrial photography. Here’s the catch: to improve the camera’s sensitivity to Ha it is necessary to remove the IR filter, to become what is then known colloquially as a modded camera, however, in doing so the camera becomes useless for terrestrial photography. Removing the IR filter allows more red light wavelengths to reach the sensor and, as a result, terrestrial pictures then acquire an overall pink-red hue! There are some ways round this but, as always with implications – but it was now clear I needed a modded camera.

There are three basic ways to ‘restore’ a modded camera for terrestrial use:

Adjust the custom white balance – each time the white balance needs to be set manually, depending on the type of prevailing light and subject. It will work but, in my opinion, makes the process of day-to-day photography something of a chore and certainly reduces the scope for spontaneity, something I like when I am out-and-about photographing.

Restore the colour balance during post-processing – basically this requires adjusting each photograph individually using processing software, such as Photoshop, to remove excess red that is reaching the sensor without the IR filter.

Use an OWB (Original White Balance) filter – like the CLS light pollution filter I already use, this filter fits snuggly in front of the mirror / behind the camera lens (if fitted) and essentially acts like the original IR filter that has now been removed for astrophotography. Although quite expensive, this is by far the most convenient solution but there’s a problem: the back-focus section of the standard Canon EF-S lens I use is too long to accommodate the filter. An EF or other manufacture’s lens would overcome this problem (at further expense) and I was about to go down this route when serendipity paid a visit.

Not to be taken literally, but sometimes I would rather be lucky than smart. Whilst researching the aforementioned issues and seeking out other possible solutions, such as purchasing an already modded camera, I registered on the excellent Astronomy Shed forum and posted a question on how to deal with my problem. By the next morning, together with other advice on how to proceed, my attention was drawn to a Canon 550D for sale that had just been posted on the forum that very moment. Furthermore, the price was good and the seller would modify the camera for a small charge; it requires a degree of expertise to carry this out but, as a professional photographer with an interest in astronomy, the seller had undertaken this successfully many times before, though I obtained references to be sure. Therefore, after a few online exchanges, I became the new owner of a modified Canon 550d camera, together with some other bits and pieces – leads, intervalometer and a Canon battery grip.

Apart from the fact that this was a good camera, at a good price, it had one other very useful attraction – it is a close relation of my other camera, the Canon 700D (about three years older in development terms) and thus I immediately knew my way around and, furthermore, all my existing accessories would fit. Like I said, I had just got lucky – in more than one way. It’s early days but, with a clear sky last Friday and plenty to image at the moment, I just had to try it out and was not disappointed.

Rosette Nebula
WO GT81 + Canon 550d (modded) + FF | 15 x 120secs @ ISO1,600 + darks/bias/flats | 16th January 2015

The evening’s targets were Comet Lovejoy, The Rosette Nebula and the Great Orion Nebula, of which the latter two showed off the camera’s new capabilities best. The difference was there to see immediately with the images straight out the camera and stacked, with a noticeable increase of red colour present. The benefit after post processing is perhaps more subtle but, I suspect, will become more apparent when I move on to objects where Ha is more abundant, such as NGC 2264 AKA The Christmas Tree Cluster & Cone Nebula, which when imaged just before Christmas showed just what I was missing – a shortage of red light and thereby significant detail of these beguiling astronomical objects. Hopefully this issue will now become a thing of the past and in the future I will be literally seeing red, for all the right reasons.

M42 & NGC 1977 After DSS stacking only
WO GT81 + Canon 700D (unmodded) + FF | 15 x 120secs @ ISO800 darks/bias/flats

M42 + NGC 1977 After DSS stacking
WO GT81 + Canon 550D (modded) + FF | 5 x 120secs @ISO1,600 + darks

The above stacked, pre-post processing images are the same objects shot with unmodded (Canon 700D) and modded (Canon 550D) cameras, showing a marked increased in red light using the modded camera following the removal of the IR filter. Below, the same images after post-processing.

Final, post-processing image from unmodded camera

Final, post-processing image using modified camera

The Eyes Have It

January 17, 2015 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects, Imaging and tagged DSO, Orion | 1 Comment

Before the cloud rolled in the other night and already successfully imaged the Rosette Nebula in Monoceros and M35 in Gemini, I decided to turn my attention once again towards Orion – it’s addictive! Having previously imaged M42 the Great Orion Nebula and other features of Orion’s Sword, the Flame and Horeshead Nebula, Orions belt and a basic widefield image of the constellation – alas without Barnard’s Loop and the Anglefish Nebula – it was time to tackle some of the more elusive objects.

This time the challenge was size – less than 6 arc-minutes overall and located nearby to Alnitak – the reflection nebula M78 would be difficult for my telescope. Whilst the mount was well aligned and I was confident the GoTo software would accurately point towards the chosen target, as is often the case, the original image was not promising. However, after stacking and some delicate post-processing, the nebula became apparent. Peering out of a hole in a misty patch of interstellar dust were two ‘eyes’ formed of 10^th magnitude stars, thus illuminating the nebula.

Section of sky located just above Alnitak – not promising but look closer.

At this magnification further detail is not possible but nonetheless, the image is intriguing. M78 (NGC 2068) is the brightest (+8.3 magnitude) portion of the dust cloud which also includes NGC 2071, NGC 2067 and NGC 2064, all (just) visible in the image. Together with the Flame Nebula, all these nebulae are associated with the LDN 1630 molecular cloud, part of the larger Orion complex. I’ll need something like a 10” or bigger scope to reveal better detail but at the end of an already successful night, the image was pleasing – I look forwards to looking into those eyes again one day.

M78 (top left) with NGC 2071 (lower right)
WO GT81 + Canon 700D + FF | 15 x 120 secs @ ISO1,600 | 30th December 2014

Lace up the Nikes

December 2, 2014 by grahamrob in Deep Sky Objects and tagged DSO, DSO Imaging, Orion | 2 Comments

There is no doubt in my mind that the Orion Constellation is the most spectacular of the year and right now comes into imaging view at Fairvale Observatory at about 11pm, about the same time the waxing Moon disappears over the horizon; for once the timing is perfect. So before the presence of the Full Moon later this week rules out astrophotography, last Saturday evening provided an excellent opportunity.

The more I look at the Orion Constellation the more there is to see and image, as well as some other attractive objects that will be around until at least the New Year and in some cases well beyond. One lesson I have learned early on with astrophotography is the need for good planning: what’s around to image? when is it in the best location i.e. near the Meridian? what equipment is needed and is it working? set it up in good time and ensure good alignment. Given the aforementioned favourable conditions and the arrival of Orion, my list of objects this month is considerable:

Early evening: M32 Andromeda Galaxy & NGC 1499 California Nebula.

Late evening / midnight: Orion Constellation – NGC 2024 Flame Nebula, IC 434 Horsehead Nebula, M42 & M 43 Great Orion Nebula, NGC 1977 Nebula, NGC 1981 Emission Nebula, NGC 1909 Witch Head Nebula, SH 2-276 Barnards Loop, SH 2-264 Angelfish Nebula, M78 reflection nebula and more. Other – M1 Crab Nebula, Hyades (Taurus), M77 barred spiral galaxy and Jupiter, which together with its four moons is also looking very nice after 1 a.m. at the moment.

With such an array of possibilities it can be difficult to know where to start but having recently achieved good images of the Great Orion Nebula and the Flame and Horsehead Nebulae, the next target was an easy choice – it had to be NGC 1977, which with the William Optics GT81 field-of-view also takes in NGC 1981 and M42, three for the price of one!

Orions Sword. Top to bottom: NGC 1981 Open Star Cluster, NGC 1973/75/77 Nebulae, M42 & M43 Great Orion Nebula & the binary star Hatsya. WO GT81, Canon 700D + FF | 30 x 120 secs + darks/bias/flats @ ISO 800

Orion’s Sword. Top to bottom: NGC 1981 Open Star Cluster, NGC 1973/75/77 Nebulae, M42 & M43 Great Orion Nebula & the binary star Hatysa.
WO GT81, Canon 700D + FF | 30 x 120 secs + darks/bias/flats @ ISO 800

There is so much going on in this photograph that merits attention. The view encapsulates all the major components that form Orion’s Sword, notably from top to bottom: the open star cluster NGC 1981, the star Theta Orionis C in the Trapezium cluster – itself within M42 and the star Hatysa (Iota Orionis), which forms the tip of the sword. Obviously M42, The Great Orion Nebula dominates the scene but two other major features are worthy of attention too.

Orion’s Sword – detail

The aforementioned NGC 1981 is an open cluster of about 20 stars located 40 light years closer to Earth than M42. But it is what’s between M42 and NGC 1981 that was my main target this time: the reflection nebulae of NGC 1977 and related NGC 1973 & 1975, AKA the Running Man Nebula, so named because it looks like a running man! The three nebulae are illuminated by the blue light shining from young stars that are forming within each area of nebulosity, which are separated by dark zones of interstellar dust in the form of a man running – not unlike Eadweard Muybridge’s pioneering photographic images of motion taken at the end of the 19^th Century, I am sure he would have appreciated the analogy.

NGC 1973/75/77 The Running Man Nebula (rotated – North is left)

Eadweard Muybridge’s photographic studies of a running man, late-19th Century

The Horse & Flame

November 26, 2014 by grahamrob in AstroBin, Deep Sky Objects, Imaging and tagged DSO Imaging, Nebulae, Orion | 2 Comments

With the full moon early in the month and some truly awful weather, I have been unable to get out at Fairvale Observatory since October 31^st! Notwithstanding , this has been an opportunity to spend time learning more about the dark art of processing, which can sometimes be more important than image capture itself, so is hopefully time well spent. Apart from the usual assistance of Mr Google, I have purchased the excellent online ‘book’ of Jerry Lodriguss, Photoshop for Astrophotographers – which I am slowly working through, and watched the equally excellent YouTube tutorials by Doug German on the same matter. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and Doug’s tutorials are probably the easiest and most accessible way into the use of Photoshop for astrophotography – I also enjoy his dry sense of humour. Finally, I am currently trialling Russell Croman’s Gradient Exterminator, which is intended to remove the external light gradient that inevitably creeps into even the best of images; it’s early days but I think I like it – it’s tricky to use and Doug German’s video tutorial is very helpful in this regard too.

The extended absence of clear night skies for astronomy also benefits subsequent viewing as the sky has changed, in this case a lot. We have now moved on to winter skies, which are best exemplified by the constellation of Orion here in the northern hemisphere. I was initially successful in imaging the iconic Orion Nebula early in October but only by getting up very, very early. At Fairlvale Observatory it now comes into view at about 10pm and after 11pm can be imaged. With clear skies finally arriving last Sunday evening, albeit accompanied by very cold temperatures, I was finally able to get out again – this time to spend more time with Orion.

In my ignorance, what has surprised me about Orion is the extensive presence of spectacular nebulae throughout the constellation: M42 Orion Nebula, M43 De Mairan’s Nebula, NGC 1973/5/7 The Running Man nebula, M78 between Alnitak and Betelguese etc, etc. But, I had also somehow overlooked the ‘Horse & Flame’, located above the Orion Nebula nearby the lower end of Orion’s belt: Mintaka – Alnilam – Alnitak. In close proximity to Alnitak (a triple star), which with an apparent magnitude between +2.0 and +4.0 is a problem for imaging, the sky is full of spectacular nebulae – notably the Flame Nebula and the iconic Horsehead Nebula. Having latterly learnt of their presence in the same part of the sky, I had to try and image them.

The Horsehead Nebula is a cloud of interstellar dust and gas that, as a result of it’s density, appears dark against the surrounding red nebulous ‘curtains’. The resulting shape looks like, well a horse’s head and has therefore become an iconic and well known image. However, located on the other north-eastern side of Alnitak is perhaps the real star (no pun intended) of the show, the Flame Nebula – NGC 2024. A combination of dark gas and dust with glowing hydrogen gas, energised by ultraviolet light emitted from Alnitak. Such is the form of these materials that the resulting effect is that of a burning flame. I was therefore thrilled that after my enforced indoor sojourn to be able to capture the Horse and Flame (sounds like a pub I’d like to visit!) together in one beautiful picture.

The Horsehead and Flame Nebulae. The Horse is located directly below (south) the large bright star Altinak triple star which forms the eastern end of Orion's belt, about half way down the image, sticking its 'head' into the red curtain nebulosity. The Flame is just to the left (east) of Altinak. WO GT81, Canon 700D + FF | 28 x 90 secs + darks/bias/flats ISO 1,000 | Photoshop processed + Gradient Exterminator

The Horsehead and Flame Nebulae. The Horse is located directly below (south) the large bright Alnitak triple star which forms the eastern (left) end of Orion’s belt, about half way down the image, sticking its ‘head’ into the red curtain of nebulosity. The Flame is just to the left (east) of Alnitak.
WO GT81, Canon 700D + FF | 28 x 90 secs + darks/bias/flats ISO 1,600 | Photoshop processed + Gradient Exterminator