NGC 1499 - California Nebula (2025)

This is my latest version of NGC 1499, also known as the California Nebula. NGC 1499 is an emission nebula resembling California is approximately 100 light-years long and located only about 1,000 light-years away in the constellation of Perseus. Emission nebulae get their energetic glow from electrons recombining with atoms after they were stripped away by ionizing radiation from nearby stars (hydrogen is most common). The responsible star for this nebula is believed to be Xi Persei (Menkib), the hot blue star on the right central side of the nebula. Halfway up the nebula on the left edge there are a few dark nebulae which show some well defined detail - my favorite is LDN 1464, the most interior.


My previous images were from 2017 with the Orion ED80 scope & Canon T3i camera and in 2022 with the AstroTech AT115 scope & ZWO ASI1600MM camera. Since the previous images were with different setups, they highlighted different aspects of this iconic object. This latest version represents the widest field of view and shows the most detail. The IDAS NBZ dual band filter was used to collect Ha and OIII data and create a HOO image. Many color variations of this object are found on the web and no one is considered to be the correct blend unless a natural color image was produced. I did collect some RGB data but only for the stars. This was the color that came through after the blend and I did a few adjustments, however, when I went further there was a degradation in detail so went it.


High Resolution:
https://www.astrobin.com/c0om27/?nc=collection&nce=712

Dates: 11-26-24, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-8, 12-26

NGC 1499 - California Nebula (2025)
Dates: 1-15-25, 1-17, 1-20, 1-23, 1-27
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Telescope: Askar FRA300 Pro
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 300mm
F/5
Focal Reducer: None
Mount: ZWO AM3
Filter Adaptor: ZWO Filter Drawer
Filter: IDAS NBZ, Camera UV-IR
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to a ZWO Mini guidescope
Exposure: UV-IR 61 x 90 (1h 31'), NBZ 111 x 300 (9h 15'), Total (10h 46')
Gain: 100
Offset 0
Temp: -20 C
Processing: Asiair app, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXT, NoiseXT, StarX, Bill's Color Masks, Bill's Star Reduction, Bill's Stretching, GraXpert

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M97-M108 & many more

This is my latest version of M97 & M108, two different types of Messier objects in one field of view. M97 (also known as the Owl Nebula or NGC 3587) is a planetary nebula located 2000 light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major. The nebula appears blue due the presence of oxygen gas, however, there is some hydrogen around the rim appearing red in color. The nebula formed approximately 8,000 years ago when the central star began to blow its outer layers away and is currently 2 light-years in diameter. Interestingly, a faint outer halo of oxygen was detected in 1991 and I managed to capture it in this image thanks to collecting over three hours of OIII data.

​M108 (also known as the Surfboard galaxy or NGC 3556) is located approximately 46 million light-years away. At 75 degrees inclination to our line of sight, it is almost edge-on and resembles a Surfboard to some people through a telescope. It has thick dust lanes throughout the disk with blue star clusters and pink Ha regions in the outer arms. I collected over four hours of Ha data which brought out many of these pink regions.

In addition to these main objects, there are many other galaxies in this image. Using PixInsight's annotation feature I counted 120 identified galaxies but there are probably more - many of the 'dots' are not stars but galaxies.

Processing was straightforward except I only blended the Ha data into M108 and the OIII into M97 and only to get the faint outer rim. The dense portion on M97 is straight RGB as it gives the best definition and color in my opinion.

Higher Quality:
https://www.astrobin.com/4lx6lo/?nc=collection&nce=712

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M97-M108 & many more 
Dates: 12-30-24, 1-1-25, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-23

Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm (644mm w/ FR)
f/7
Focal Reducer: 0.8x AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO
EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: Antlia Ha; ZWO R, G, B, UV
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 54 x 300, OIII 37 x 300, R 43 x 90, G 42 x 90, B 45 x 90 (10h 50')
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: -20 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, GraXpert, Bill Blanshan Stretching.

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NGC 1999

The highlight of this image is the tiny bright reflection nebula, NGC 1999 located in the middle of my image. It is around 1,350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion and is just south of the famous Orion Nebula. The nebula shines not because it is producing its own light but rather from reflected light from the star, V380 Orionis - the star shines on dust in the Orion A Giant Molecular Cloud. The dark area in the center resembling a keyhole was originally thought to be a dark nebula or Bok globule, however, recent studies indicate that it is an empty space which is still quite interesting.

The rest of this region is filled with faint hydrogen gas in addition to the dust from the molecular cloud. It is much less bright than the nearby Orion Nebula but still shows quite a bit of radiating flow structure. There are also many other features in the field such as Herbig-Haro (HH) objects which are objects associated with newborn stars and other reflection nebulae such as IC 430.

This was one of the most challenging objects in capturing and processing. The Readers' Digest version of difficulties follow. When imaging LRGB between 12-30-24 and 1-4-25 streaks appeared in most of the 90 second exposures taken over a couple of hours each day - it was as if an armada of satellites were passing by over a couple of hours on a certain trajectory over several nights. I was able to process them out in PS. Speaking of processing, I spent a few days almost ready to post the results only to start over from scratch. The original was more dependent on the luminosity data. The luminosity did bring out some interesting detail in certain regions that was different from what the Ha brought out, however, it degraded an even larger portion of the image. Ultimately the reason for the degradation is the same reason I do not image nearby NGC 1909, the Witch Head Nebula, the light pollution to the south is noticeably worse especially at lower altitudes.

Hydrogen looked really good as it was unaffected by the poor sky conditions. I did numerous blends in the red channel, luminosity channel, and additional blend. I also blended some of the LRGB portions from the original processed image into this version. I was having trouble with adjusting the red color so I asked my wife for assistance - I like the resulting deep red color.

Dates: 12-30-24, 1-1-25, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-15, 1-17, 1-20, 1-23

Higher Quality:
https://www.astrobin.com/htbva6/?nc=collection&nce=712

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NGC 1999 (2025)
Dates: 12-30-24, 1-1-25, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-15, 1-17, 1-20, 1-23

Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm (644mm w/ FR)
f/7
Focal Reducer: 0.8x AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO
EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: Antlia Ha; ZWO R, G, B, UV
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 67 x 300, UV 141 x 90, R 53 x 90, G 43 x 90, B 66 x 90 (13h 9')
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: -20 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, GraXpert, Bill Blanshan Stretching.

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The Pleiades - M45 w/ H-alpha (2024)

This is my latest image of Messier 45, The Pleiades Cluster (Seven Sisters), in the constellation Taurus. Lying 444 light-years away it contains over 1,000 stars loosely bound by gravity however only few of the brightest ones give it its fame. The blue reflection nebula around the star cluster is a result of the cluster just passing through a gigantic dust cloud.

For this project I decided to use my 300mm Askar telescope combined with the ZWO ASI2600MC camera to get a wider field of view than previous attempts. In addition I went after some of the faint hydrogen surrounding the cluster with my IDAS NBZ dual band filter. The dual band filter picks up Hydrogen (Ha) at 656.3nm and Oxygen (OIII) at 495.9nm (& 500.7nm) with a bandwidth of 12nm for both Ha and OIII. The newer IDAS NBZ-II has a bandwidth of 10nm for Ha and 8nm for OIII which narrows the light band thus filtering more of the undesired light (i.e. better). Surprisingly the stacked image using the NBZ filter was not too different from the straight color image without any additional filter other than the built in camera UV/IR. I believe the 12nm bandwidth for the OIII was enough to overlap with the normal reflection color - sometimes a wider bandwidth has an advantage.

For this image, however, I separeted NBZ image into indivual RGB channels and only used the red channel data which is actually the Ha. I then blended that into the normal color image to make this HaRGB image. Of course I wanted to collect more data but obtaining it was a bit difficult with crazy weather. We did have some clear nights but the best ones seemed to be when the moon was out. It is OK to image with narrowband filters when the moon is out using the general rule of thumb: farther than 60° for Ha and 120° for OIII. The problem with M45 was that the moon not only was within 60° of M45, it was directly in front of it.

High Resolution:
https://www.astrobin.com/2ld9ky/?nc=collection&nce=712

Dates: 11-26-24, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-8, 12-26

The Pleiades - M45 w/ H-alpha (2024)
Dates: 11-26-24, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-8, 12-26
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Telescope: Askar FRA300 Pro
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 300mm
F/5
Focal Reducer: None
Mount: ZWO AM3
Filter Adaptor: ZWO Filter Drawer
Filter: IDAS NBZ, Camera UV-IR
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to a ZWO Mini guidescope
Exposure: UV-IR 575 x 90 (14h 22'), NBZ 190 x 300 (15h 50'), Total (30h 12')
Gain: 100
Offset 0
Temp: -10 C
Processing: Asiair app, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXT, NoiseXT, StarX, Bill's Color Masks, Bill's Star Reduction, Bill's Stretching, Topaz Denoise, GraXpert

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http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
https://www.astrobin.com/users/kurtzepp/collections/
http://youtube.com/AstroQuest1

M15 - A different Look! (2024)

Messier 15 is a globular cluster located some 35,000 light-years away in the constellation of Pegasus (a.k.a. The Winged Horse). At an age of roughly 12 billion years, it is one of the oldest globular clusters known. The last time I imaged this was in 2018 so it was time for a revisit. This time around I went after some of the integrated galactic dust (IFN) as well as the very dim hydrogen gas in this region of space. I was very happy to get some of the gas and dust especially since none of this was in any of the subframes.

The cluster itself is much better than my previous versions which was expected since my camera and telescope are better. In addition to the faint gas and dust, the region is rich in colorful stars as well as tiny galaxies such as PGC 66899 (upper left), IC 5115 (middle left), and PGC 66834 - PGC 66835 (lower left). My favorites are PGC 66834 and PGC 66835 which appear to be interacting with each other. A larger aperture scope would bring these out really well. 

Dates: 10-23-24, 10-24, 10-26, 10-27, 10-28, 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9, 11-15, 11-16, 11-24, 12-1

Higher Quality:
https://www.astrobin.com/q4akvg/?nc=collection&nce=712

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http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
https://www.astrobin.com/users/kurtzepp/collections/
http://youtube.com/AstroQuest1

M15 - A different Look! (2024)
Dates: 10-23-24, 10-24, 10-26, 10-27, 10-28, 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9, 11-15, 11-16, 11-24, 12-1
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm (644mm w/ FR)
f/7
Focal Reducer: 0.8x AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO
EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: Antlia Ha; ZWO R, G, B, UV
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 248 x 300, UV 336 x 90, R 48 x 90, G 51 x 90, B 48 x 90 (32h 44')
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: -10 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, GraXpert, Bill Blanshan Stretching, Topaz Denoise.

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http://youtube.com/AstroQuest1

Sh2-103 - Cygus Loop (2024)

This is the second time I imaged Sh2-103, the first was in 2021, however, this was with a different setup (better). In this attempt, the 200mm camera lens was replaced with the Askar FRA300 and the ZWO ASI294MC was replaced with the ASI2600MC. These changes allowed for much better resolution and detail than the previous version.

The Cygnus Loop or the Filamentary Nebula refers to the visible structure of a supernova remnant located in Cygnus. The progenitor star was 20 times more massive than the Sun and exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. The nebula is quite large at 120 light-years in diameter (3 degrees) and approximately 2400 light-years across.

The Veil Nebula is so large that it consists of several different NGC numbers describing different parts but I like the way Howard Banich (September 2021 Sky & Telescope) separated it into five parts.

1 - The First Veil - NGC 6960 is also known as the Witch’s Broom. (bottom)

2 - The Second Veil - Fleming’s Triangle (formerly Pickering’s Triangle) also known as Simeis 3-188 was discovered by Williamina Fleming in 1904 at the Harvard College Observatory but credit was given to her director E. C. Pickering until recently. (bottom, just above NGC 6960)

3 - The Third Veil - Southern Blowout Region is very faint and located at the left edge of Fleming’s Triangle. (left side)

4 - The Fourth Veil - NGC 6974, NGC 6979, and Assorted Filaments are located just above Fleming’s Triangle and are also quite dim. (middle right)

5 - The Fifth Veil - NGC 6992, NGC 6995, IC 1340, and the Southeastern Knot - The portion is very bright and to me, resembles a claw. (top)

I started this project in October and finished in November 2024 for a total of 34.7 hours with the dual band NBZ filter and 1.3 hours of straight color for the star. The goal was to be sure to get enough data to get some of the dim Ha nebulosity surrounding the main portions without having to push the saturation and sacrifice the detail. In fact that was what I still struggled with - trying to get the right balance. I had to collect over numerous nights because of the not so great field of view, although it is improving with neighbors removing trees.

High Resolution:

https://www.astrobin.com/ugaytn/?nc=collection&nce=712

Dates:

10-5, 10-6, 10-7, 10-9, 10-20, 10-21, 10-22, 10-23, 10-24, 10-26, 10-27, 10-28, 11-2, 11-3, 11-5, 11-18

Sh2-103 - Cygus Loop (2024)
Dates: 10-5-24, 10-6, 10-7, 10-9, 10-20, 10-21, 10-22, 10-23, 10-24, 10-26, 10-27, 10-28, 11-2, 11-3, 11-5, 11-18
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Telescope: Askar FRA300 Pro
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 300mm
F/5
Focal Reducer: None
Mount: ZWO AM3
Filter Adaptor: ZWO Filter Drawer
Filter: IDAS NBZ, Camera UV-IR
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to a ZWO Mini guidescope
Exposure: UV-IR 52 x 90, NBZ 417 x 300 (36h 3')
Gain: 100
Offset 0
Temp: -10 C
Processing: Asiair app, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXT, NoiseXT, StarX, Bill's Color Masks, Bill's Star Reduction, Bill's Stretching, Topaz Denoise, GraXpert

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IC 63 - Ghost of Cassiopeia

Located 550 light-years away in Cassiopeia IC 63 and the surrounding objects such as IC 59 and Sh2-185 are reflection and emission nebulae composed of gas and dust. Energy in the form of ultraviolet radiation from the nearby but not shown, blue-giant star Gamma Cassiopeiae (a.k.a. Navi), excites the hydrogen gas which inturn causes the red glow. The blue colored regions are from reflected light off the dust.

I like how IC 63 seems to be pointing upwards towards Gamma Cassiopeiae (not shown) wanting to be fed more energy so it can continue to glow. Even though I love stars and imaged it with Gamma Cass in the field of view, I cropped it out for a number of reasons. Also, I captured ~9 hrs of OIII but in hindsight probably would have been better off with more RGB data instead as the natural blue came out much more than the oxygen. IC 59 in the upper left had the most blue signal. I did blend the OIII in as the background was somewhat smoother with it added in. As usual I struggle with how much star reduction to do and I did more than I typically do, however, I am sure most people would be more aggressive.

Dates: 9-15-24, 9-19, 9-20, 9-22, 10-3, 10-5, 10-6, 10-7, 10-8, 10-9, 10-15, 10-20, 10-21, 10-22

Higher Quality:
https://www.astrobin.com/j3n02i/?nc=collection&nce=712

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http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
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http://youtube.com/AstroQuest1

IC 63 - Ghost of Cassiopeia
Dates: 9-15-24, 9-19, 9-20, 9-22, 10-3, 10-5, 10-6, 10-7, 10-8, 10-9, 10-15, 10-20, 10-21, 10-22
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm (644mm w/ FR)
f/7
Focal Reducer: 0.8x AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO
EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: Antlia Ha, OIII; ZWO R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 157 x 300, OIII 109 x 300, R 41 x 90, G 43 x 90, B 41 x 90 (25h 20')
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: 0 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, GraXpert, Bill Blanshan Color Masks, Bill Blanshan Stretching, Topaz Denoise.

https://www.instagram.com/astroquest1/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
https://www.astrobin.com/users/kurtzepp/collections/
http://youtube.com/AstroQuest1