Picture of the Week

This week’s featured image is the beautiful reflection nebula M78 in the constellation Orion. This is a composite image using data from both the original Hyperstar with the little H9C OSC CCD, and also the Sky90 array with the M26C OSC CCDs. Probably around 8 hours of data in total. The band of emission nebula at the top left of the image is part of Barnard’s Loop.

Posted in Picture of the Week | Leave a comment

Picture of the Week

This week we feature the beautiful carbon star popularly known as Hind’s Crimson Star, which lies below Orion and is therefore in the southern murk for me.

Image captured on the Sky90 array with the M26C OSC CCDs and comprises 4-hours of 15-minute subs.

Posted in Picture of the Week | Leave a comment

Picture of the Week

This week we feature the Caph region of Cassiopeia. This is a 4-frame Sky90 MiniWASP image taken using the M26C OSC CCDs. Each frame is 3 hours of 15-minute subs (that’s only one hour of actual imaging time per frame).

 

Posted in Picture of the Week | Leave a comment

Three 3D-printed Mathematical Objects

My winter projects this year seem to be based around the brilliant ANET A6 3D printer – especially as we’re not getting any clear nights.

Here you can see three recent prints all using Amazon Basics pearly white 1.75mm PLA at a resolution of 0.2mm and 100% fill density.

From the left we have a Sierpinsky Pyramid, 180mm along a base side and a print time of 75.5 hours. In the middle is a Roman Surface with a print time of 51.5 hours, and on the right is a Mandelbulb with a print time of 54 hours. These are mega-long print times, carried out to perfection on what the snobs of the 3D-printing world call a potato.

Like all the images you see on the New Forest Observatory, all the 3D prints are also for sale, so do enquire if you would like one. However, please be warned that those excessive print times means that none of these 3D prints comes cheap 🙂

 

Posted in Projects | Leave a comment

Picture of the Week

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.

Posted in Picture of the Week | Leave a comment

Picture of the Week

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.

 

Posted in Picture of the Week | Leave a comment

Picture of the Week

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.

Posted in Picture of the Week | Leave a comment

Picture of the Week

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.

Posted in Picture of the Week | Leave a comment

Solargraph 2024 – a Disaster

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.

Posted in Projects | Leave a comment

Picture of the Week

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.

Posted in Picture of the Week | Leave a comment