This week we feature what I call the “Thunderclouds Region” of Orion. Lying between M42 and the Running Man nebula we see this chaotic H-alpha region which to me looks like a brewing thunderstorm.
This is a VERY OLD image taken using the original Hyperstar on a C11 SCT with a tiny little H9C OSC CCD. It is a single frame of around 120 x 1-minute subs.
This is my favourite Carbon star image, one reason being that there are 2 Carbon stars in a beautiful H-alpha setting, both in the constellation Cygnus.
This is a 2-frame horizontal mosaic taken with the Hyperstar III and M25C OSC CCD. Each frame is 20 x 200-second subs.
The bright yellow star, one-third of the way down from the top and in the middle of the frame is 32 Cygni at magnitude 3.96. Move up a little from 32 Cygni and off to the left and you come to the first Carbon star which sits right next to a star of similar magnitude. This is U Cygni (magnitude 8.25) also designated SAO49477. Return to 32 Cygni, go as far up as you did for U Cygni, but this time move over to the right a similar distance and here you’ll find the second Carbon star, SV Cygni (magnitude 8.65), also designated HIP99310.
For orientation, the bright yellow star towards the bottom of the frame is 31 Cygni (SAO49377) at magnitude 3.80, and its accompanying blue star is 30 Cygni (SAO49332) at magnitude 4.80.
This week we feature Bellatrix in the constellation Orion, but this a 2-frame mosaic for a reason. On the right hand side of the image, all the “brown stars” are in fact a bunch of faint fuzzies – a very nice galaxy cluster. Image aquired using the Sky90 MiniWASP array with each frame approximately 4-hours of 15-minute subs.
This week features a composite image of the Pickering’s Triangle region of the Veil nebula in the constellation Cygnus. This is a composite Hyperstar image taken using the original Hyperstar as well as the Hyperstar III and Hyperstar 4. Many hours of data have gone into this one.
Yesterday was Winter Solstice and I went out after dark to collect the Solargraph which has been exposing the photopaper since Summer Solstice in June. Felt more than a bit sick when I saw a hole had been punched in the Aluminium foil containing the pinhole, looks like it might have been a bird pecking (at its reflection?). So the massive overexposure at the bottom going back maybe 3 weeks is due to the hole in the foil. One thing we do get from the Solargraph is the dreadful lack of sunshine we’ve experienced these past 6 months.
This week we feature the beautiful Pac Man nebula and nearby main star Schedar in the constellation Cassiopeia. This image comprises many hours (well over 8) of 15-minute subs taken with the Sky90 array and the M26C OSC CCDs.
This week we feature the whole of the constellation Sagitta, together with nearby asterism the Coathanger cluster. This is a 3-frame mosaic taken using the 200mm lenses and ASI 2600MC Pro OSC CMOS cameras. UV/IR filter only (RGB data only) and over 9-hours of total integration time.
This week’s image is a real blast from the past! This is the Flaming Star nebula in Auriga taken with the original Hyperstar (no collimation or rotation adjusters) and a tiny little H9C OSC CCD. That really was a very powerful imaging combination.
This week we feature a very recent composite image of the Crescent nebula region in Cygnus. The data comprises 8 hours and 40-minutes total exposure time using UV/IR cut filters (for RGB data) and Optolong L-Enhance filters (for narrowband H-alpha and OIII data) on the 200mm lenses with the 2600MC Pro OSC CMOS cameras.
This week features a rare (for me) 4-framer with the 200mm lenses. This is the whole of the inner part of the constellation Lyra featuring Vega. This was taken using the M26C OSC CCDs and I would like to redo this one using the 2600MC Pro CMOS cameras. Trouble is I have a lot of new stuff already awaiting imaging on the 200mm array, so I’m not sure if I’m ever going to get around to redoing this one. I also need to redo the Butterfly Cluster with the Stargate in Cancer – but once again – redoing old stuff might be a luxury I can’t afford.
