Waxing Gibbous Moon (12/26/20)

Yes it's the Moon again.  So this was not planned it was just there, really there.  It has been tough imaging lately, fake clear nights where it looks clear so I image but end up trashing most of the exposures.  Saturday night it was clear but the moon was really close to one my four targets so even imaging in Ha was not useful - I actually tried but it was so bright the guider would not work.  So, I shot the moon and put a slight mineralized color to it.  It actually crossed my object target 12 hours later so I will post a composite once I am done with it.  It actually came out OK.  The crater Tycho, bottom of the image, shows the shock wave radiating off from it really well.    

Waxing Gibbous Moon
Home Monroe, CT
Date: 12-26-20
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805
f/7
Focal Reducer:  AstroTech 0.8x Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius

Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO L, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
Exposure: L 500 x 23fps, R 500 x 23fps, G 500 x 23fps, B 500 x 23fps
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: 0 C
Processing: Sharpcap, Autostakkert2, Photoshop, Topaz NoiseNR.

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NGC 1579 - Northern Trifid Nebula

NGC 1579 (a.k.a. The Northern Trifid Nebula) resembles the very popular Trifid Nebula which is much further south in the night sky from my location.  Ironically it is so far south I can't see it from my yard which is why I only imaged it once several years ago off site.  NGC 1579 is approximately 2,100 light-years away and three light-years across.  It is classified as a diffuse nebula located in the constellation of Perseus and lies within the California Molecular Cloud.  The blue colors are produced by dust reflecting nearby star light as is the case for the Trifid Nebula.  The red color, however, results from an immense  young star that emits a tremendous amount of hydrogen alpha light located within in the nebula.

There are many other objects located in this image as well.   IC 2067 is a bright blue reflection nebula located below and to the right of the NGC 1579.  Other named objects in the image are an Ha region known as LBN 766 (just above IC 2067), a dusty area known as Ced 36 (to the left of IC 2067), and a dark nebula LDN 1482 (lower right corner).  There are several other unnamed dark nebula in this image as well.  If you look carefully one is above NGC 1579 and another one is located directly below NGC 1579.  I cropped the image a small amount but not much so the other objects would still be in the FOV.

Processing was straight forward, however, putting the Ha to use was a bit tough as most of the Ha was limited to the core of the nebula (NGC 1579).  In fact many people don't bother with Ha on this object and the main reason I did was because the moon was out when I started on it.  The other areas had no Ha as it was mainly the dark molecular cloud.  The Ha data detracted the image as a whole.  As a result, I combined only the core region of the Ha into the red channel of the RGB image and the Luminosity image and then combined them together to make the final image as the Ha did sharpen the central portion.

 Dates: 12-1, 12-2, 12-5, 12-6, 12-8, 12-10, 12-13

NGC 1579 - Northern Trifid Nebula
Dates: 12-1, 12-2, 12-5, 12-6, 12-8, 12-10, 12-13
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm
f/7
Focal Reducer: AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO Ha, L, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 46 x 240, L 83 x 90, R 62 x 90, G 50 x 90, B 61 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: 0 C
Processing: APT, NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

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Jupiter & Saturn with the Crescent Moon

I don't have a good view from my yard but fortunately we live on a not so well travelled road.  Taken from on Williamsburg Drive (side of the road). 

Jupiter & Saturn with the Crescent Moon
Location: Monroe, CT
Date: 12-17-20
Camera: Canon T3i/600D modified
Lens: Canon 50mm f/1.8 
Focal Length: 50mm
f/4.5
Mount: iOptron SkyGuider Pro on a Manfrotto Tripod
Filter: Astronomik OWB Clip-In
Autoguiding: none
Exposure: 1 x 4s
ISO: 400
Processing: Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI

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NGC 1491 - Fossil Footprint Nebula

NGC 1491 or Fossil Footprint Nebula (a.k.a. SH2-206 and LBN 704) is listed as a bright emission nebula and HII region on Stellarium.   It is located about 10,700 light-years away in gaseous region in the constellation Perseus on the edge of the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way.  It seems this a popular object to image but i was not aware of until recently.  I shot this over 13 nights do to my limited FOV but I did not mind as I just switched to another object when this went behind some trees.

The object looks really cool especially bright streamers in the center and also the many other streamers throughout the nebula.  The data collection was straight forward despite the many nights, however, what a pain-in-the neck to process.  I used Starnet++ to remove the stars to make the nebula 'easier' to process.  I spent my hours trying to adjust the colors to make it presentable with the typical blue-gold color scheme - at one point there were six versions going on at once including an HOS, however, I came to realize that are not that many blue-gold versions.  The SHO version one out as it produced the sharpest and most detailed view in the main portion of the nebula.  I still like how the HOS version looked so it is attached (Link).  There is a lot of faint nebulosity on the lower right portion of the image which I attempted to bring out more but it looked really bad so I left it faint.  Some others have brought it out  really well, however, they had more than double the exposure time.  Finally, there is an interesting small colorful spot on the right central edge that looks like a planetary nebula or something like it that was in the NB channels.

Also, I made a video on Ionization - Why Nebulae Shine, using demos since I have all of my 'stuff' at home while we are doing remote learning (https://youtu.be/UmIxclwCtvE). 

Dates: 10-30, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9, 11-13, 11-14, 11-16, 11-18, 11-20, 11-23, 11-26, 11-28

SHO Version

HOS Version

NGC 1491 (SH2-206 and LBN 704) - Fossil Footprint Nebula 

Dates: 10-30, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9, 11-13, 11-14, 11-16, 11-18, 11-20, 11-23, 11-26, 11-28

Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm
f/7
Focal Reducer: AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO L, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 57 x 240, OIII 52 x 240, SII 56 x 240, R 29 x 90, G 29 x 90, B 28 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: 5 C
Processing: APT, NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

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NGC 891 & Abell 347

The main object in this image is of course the edge-on unbarred spiral galaxy, NGC 891 (a.k.a. Caldwell 23 or Silver Sliver Galaxy), 100 thousand light-years across located 30 million LY away in the constellation Andromeda.  It is a member of the NGC 1023 Group of galaxies which in turn is part of the Virgo Supercluster which the Milky Way is part of.  Larger telescopes do a great job of bringing out the detail in this galaxy, however, the dust lane is well defined even in my image.  Surprisingly this region of space was unknown to me until I saw some really cool images on Astrobin from some of my friends.  The really prominent yellow star in the lower center approximately 3545 LY away is HIP 11185 (apparent magnitude 6.7/absolute magnitude).  It was even more prominent but I toned it down a bit.   

I purposely framed it off center as I wanted to show part of the the galaxy cluster Abell 347 located 240 million LY away.  I really wanted to show this object as Abell objects typically are small dinky things too small for my equipment.  The cluster is located in the in the lower right portion of my image and many gorgeous galaxies and interesting looking galaxies which still show some structure even though they 8-times further than NGC 891.  There are numerous other galaxies throughout the entire image and I found myself getting lost trying to spot them.

Imaging this was straight forward and processing went well but would have been easier had it not been for the poor quality of the luminosity data which took quite a bit of extra inventive work.  That was the bad news, the good news is I discovered the cause and fixed it.  Turns out the luminosity filter had something on it.  It was not dust or a typical spot but more of a dendritic pattern in a couple of areas.  Whatever it was came off with the isopropyl alcohol cleaner and the new flats are perfect.  I will keep a close eye on this to see if it happens again but I have been looking to replace my 7nm ZWO 1.25" filter set with the 6 nm Astronomik set or 6.5 nm Optolong set.

Dates: 11-16-20, 11-18-20, 11-20-20

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NGC 891 & Abell 347
Dates: 11-16-20, 11-18-20, 11-20-20
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm
f/7
Focal Reducer: AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO L, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: L 82 x 90, R 41 x 90, G 34 x 90, B 36 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: 5 C
Processing: APT, NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

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Triangulum Galaxy, M33 (2020)

If you are wondering why I imaged the second most photographed galaxy (M33), because it's there.  What I mean is that I have a poor field of view and at that particular time there are not a lot of choices from my location.  I imaged this for couple of hrs. each night while waiting for another target - this is visible for longer periods in my FOV but the other targets are not. The good thing is this is only the third time I have ever imaged it an the first time with the AT115 EDT (115mm refractor) so I was able to get closer in than my previous times with the ED80 (80mm refractor).    

M33 or Triangulum is a spiral galaxy and is the third largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, after Andromeda and the Milky Way.  It is located 3 million light-years from Earth in the Triangulum Constellation and can be seen with the naked eye in dark locations.  Triangulum is moving towards Andromeda and studies from 2005 and 2011 suggest that it may have interacted with Andromeda in the past.  Several regions contain star-forming HII nebula some of which are visible in my image.  One of the largest Ha regions in the Local Group of galaxies, NGC 604, is found in Triangulum.  It is estimated to be 1500 light-years across making it 40 times larger than the visible portion of Orion.  On my image it is the large red area to the left of the core in one of the main arms.  Hubble has a detailed image of NGC 604 (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121211.html) and surprisingly some the detail is visible on my image closeup.

I like the blue tone this time around more than the magenta tone of my previous images.  Processing was tough mainly due to my luminosity data - captured a lot but I seem to have developed on odd problem recently.  There are two artifacts/regions that the flats do not seem to fix.  I reprocessed the luminosity without the flats and there was no problem.  When I have the camera on live view with the luminosity filter, I notice the darker regions.  I am thinking a couple of spots on the luminosity filter but wonder why without the flats the image was fine?  Oh well, so I spent a lot of time tweaking this layer.

I blended the Ha into the red channel at 50 % with PixelMath although I did try other percentages I did not want to make the Ha region look too harsh - wanted a softer feel.  I blended only the galaxy portion of the Luminosity layer in at 50 % as well - enough to add to the outer reaches but so much that it overexposed the core region.

Dates: 11-2-20, 11-3-20, 11-4-20, 11-6-20, 11-8-20, 11-9-20, 11-10-20, 11-13-20, 11-14-20

 

M33 - Triangulum Galaxy
Dates: 11-2-20, 11-3-20, 11-4-20, 11-6-20, 11-8-20, 11-9-20, 11-10-20, 11-13-20, 11-14-20
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro                                                                                                  Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope

Barlow: None

Focal Length: 805mm

f/7

Focal Reducer: AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer

Mount: Orion Sirius

Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"

Filter: ZWO Ha, L, R, G, B

Focuser: ZWO EAF

Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope

Exposure: Ha 66 x 240, L 141 x 90, R 72 x 90, G 80 x 90, B 80 x 90

Gain: 139

Offset 21

Temp: 5 C

Processing: APT, NINA, PixInsight, DSS, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

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LBN 438

LBN 438 is a dark dusty nebula located in the south part of the constellation Lacerta with many fragments. It is a member of the Lynds Bright Nebula catalog which is ironic considering this object is quite dim.  Various internet sources describe the nebula as being illuminated by interstellar radiation also known as  Extended Red Emission (ERE).  It seems LBN 438 is a part of a much larger molecular cloud complex approximately 1200 light-years away, known as Lacerta 10 and includes Sh2-126 and LBN 437 (not shown - north of my image).

I really like all the gas and dust in the region and it sits in a rich colorful star field.  In addition to the typical reflection from the dust, there is some hydrogen gas in this region and within the nebula itself.  There are numerous small galaxies scattered throughout this image with two prominent ones on the upper left (PGC 69469) and right (PGC 69605).  My favorite is PGC 69469 as the colorful spiral arms are clearly visible.

One of the reasons I imaged this nebula in particular is because I was able to image the Ha when the moon was out.  I have to be very strategic with targets due to a very poor field of view which is why I miss a lot of popular objects.  There are not many images of LBN 438 on Astrobin but it is getting imaged much more frequently now.  I seem to have a couple of small spots on my sensor or glass plate that the flats are not correcting so whenever I get convenient place to break down my set up, a good cleaning is in order.  In the mean time they are easy to fix in post processing. 

Blending of the Ha into the RGB image was done first with a 70% Ha and 30% Red replacing the Red channel using PixelMath to make the HaRGB image - other percentages were also tested.  Following this the Luminosity was added to the HaRGB using the LRGB combination.

Dates: 10-30-20, 11-2-20, 11-3-20, 11-4-20, 11-6-20, 11-8-20, 11-9-20

LBN 438 and Others
Home Monroe, CT
Dates: 10-30-20, 11-2-20, 11-3-20, 11-3-20, 11-4-20, 11-6-20, 11-8-20, 11-9-20
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm
f/7
Focal Reducer: AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO Ha, L, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 59 x 240, L 142 x 90, R 79 x 90, G 83 x 90, B 76 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: 5 C
Processing: APT, NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1