NGC's 253

80mm Skywatcher ED Refractor Canon 450D Modified 6 X 5min frames processed in Nebulosity

 6 Inch Skywatcher Matsukov Canon 30D Modified 3 X 5 Minute frames processed in Nebulosity and Photoshop.

Pavo Globular Galaxay and LMC NGC 1968

Images acquired with 6 Inch Skywatcher Matsukov, Canon 30D on EQ6 Mount.   Guided with Meade DSI C and 50mm Prostar Guidescope.   

 NGC1968  Large Magellanic Cloud   6 X 300 second exposures. Stacked and processed Nebulosity and Photoshop

 NGC6752  PAVO Globular Cluster..  6 X 60 second exposures stacked and processed in Nebulosity.

NGC6744  PAVO Galaxy. 6 X 300 second exposures. Stacked and processed Nebulosity and Photoshop

NGC2070 2 Fields of View

 Taken 31st October 2017 with Canon 30D (Modified) Skywatcher 6 Inch (150mm) Matsukov.  5 X 2 minute frames stacked with flats and bias frames and processed and enhanced in Nebulosity and Photoshop.

For comparison below taken in July 2017 a wider field of view taken witha Canon 450D and Skywatcher ED80.  The 1800mm focal length of the 150mm Matsukov provides greater power with a wider aperture and subsequent magnification when compared to the 80mm Refractor with a 600mm focal length.  Basically 3x the magnification and almost double the light collecting ability.

NGC104 19th Sept 2017

Globular Cluster NGC104  (47 Tucanae)

One of two bright globular clusters that can be seen naked eye in the southern sky.

Canon 30D  (10 X 60 Second Exposures Stacked and Processed in Nebulosity and PhotoShop)

Autoguide with Meade DSI C and Prostar 50mm GuideScope

Skywatcher 6 Inch Matsukov and EQ6 Mount

NGC253 Sculptor Galaxy 23rd August 2017

Spiral Galaxy in constellation of Sculptor, 12 Million Light Years distant.

Camera:                                                Canon450D Modified
Telescope:                                             Skywatcher ED80 on EQ6 Mount
Guided:                                                 Meade DSI C and Prostar 50mm Guidescope
Raw Frames:                                         5 X 2 minutes
Stacking,Stretching,Noise Redn etc:    Nebulosity
Further Processing:                               Photoshop CC

Not taking flat or dark frames these days.  Dithering during image acquisition reduces the image noise and the spot healing brush tool in Photoshop removes dust mote blotches and hot pixels from the image.

Blanco1 Open Star Cluster

This cluster pretty much fills the frame.  These stars sit about 850 light years distant.  The cluster was discovered in 1949 when a Puerto Rican Astronomer noticed these stars were all of a similar type.
Imaged with Canon 450D and Skywatcher 80ED. 3 x 2 Minute exposures.Processed in Nebulosity and Photoshop.

4 Star Clusters in Scorpius

NGC6259 (Bottom Left) 3200 light years distant
NGC6249 (Left of Centre) 3400 light years distant
Lynga 14 (Top Centre) 2900 light years distant
NGC6250 (Centre Right) 2800 light years distant
Bright stars (Lower Centre) 184 and 1553 light years distant

Globular and Open Star Clusters and a Nebula

Globular Cluster  NGC 6397 7500 light years distant, Bright star(bottom left) Pi Arae146 light years distant.

 Tarantula Nebula NGC2070 160,000 light years distant in Large Magellanic Cloud outside Milky Way.

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Open Star  Cluster (Bottom Left) IC4651, 2900 light years distant, Small Globular Cluster  NGC6352(bottom Right)  18000 light years distant, Bright Star Alpha Arae (Top Left) 267 light years distant.

Globular (Caccciatore)Cluster NGC6541 24000, light years distant.  Three bright stars nearby to the right are all within 1000 light years distant.  Brightest is HIP 88726A et.al. (double star) and Small Red Star below and centre is V712 CrA et.al. is a pulsating variable star.

Three Different Catalogues, Three Faint Open Clusters

Top Left  RU127  (RU short for "J.Ruprecht" the cataloger)
Centre NGC6400 (NGC or New General Catalogue featuring objects catalogued in the 19th Century)
Top Right CR338 (CR short for "Collinder" again the cataloger)
Centre Bottom Bright Star HD160688 about 694 light years distant.

Just to help out a bit I have marked them here.

Far Off Globular Clusters M69 and NGC6652 and Bright Nearby Foreground Stars

Two globular clusters, bottom right is M69 at 29000 light years distant, and at 34000 light years NGC6652 at top left.  The bright stars in the image range from just 400 to 1300 light years distant.

HR6188, NGC 6193, NGC 6167 and HD149835

Bright Star HR6188 Top Left,
'Nebulous' Open Star Cluster NGC6193 Top Middle,
Open Star Cluster NGC 6167 Bottom Left,
Gas Ejecting Star HD149835 Bottom Right.

NGC 6231 and IC4628 Plus Zeta 1 and 2 Scorpii

NGC 6231 Open Star ClusterPlus Zeta 1 and 2 Scorpii  Top Right .
IC4628 (The Prawn Nebula)   Bottom Left.

Two Faint Star Clusters in Saggitarius

NGC 6544 and NGC 6553

Single 10 Minute Shot of Swan Nebula 15th July 2017

Star Clusters in Scorpius 15th July 2017

Messier 6  NGC 6405 Butterfly Cluster1600 light years distant

 Messier 7 NGC6475 Ptolemy's Cluster 980 light years distant

NGC6124  C75  1700 light years distant

 NGC6281  1600 light years distant

NGC 6231(Star Cluster top right) 4100 light years distant  and IC4628( "Prawn Nebula" bottom left)  2700 light years distant

Sagittarius Star Cloud M24 2nd July 2017

M17 The Eagle Nebula

Skywatcher EQ6 Mount and ED80 Refractor, Canon 450D (Modified), Autoguide with Orion 70mm Short Refractor and G3 camera and PHD(Push Here Dummy), Image capture and mount control with APT(Astrophotography Tool) linked to CDC and EQMOD.  Image stack, stretching,noise reduction and sharpening of stars of 5 x 10 minute frames(50 minutes exposure all up) in nebulosity and further colour enhancement, noise reduction and cropping in Photoshop.

Wide Field View (above)

Cropped View shows 'Pillars of Creation' (below).

Galaxies in Coma Berenices 29th June 2017

M17, Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae 26th June 2017

EQ6, SWED80, Canon 450D, 10 x 5 Minute Exposures aligned and combined and processed in Nebulosity and further tweeks in Photoshop.

Moonshine and Earthshine Monday 26th June 2017 Day 2 Lunar Phase

NGC2516 Bright Open Star Cluster in Carina

NGC3114 (Hand) Open Star Cluster Carina

Nebulosity in Carina (in the vicinity of NGC3572 and NGC3532)

Multiple exposures taken with a modified Canon 450d  and SwED80 and processed in Nebulosity and Photoshop, I was attracted to this nebulosity between or in the vicinity of  two reasonable well known deep sky open clusters NGC's 3572 and 3532.

Regulus Moon Occultation 4th May 2017

On Thursday the 4th May 2017 approximately between 8.19 pm and 9.19pm the bright star Regulus in Leo was occulted(passed in front of) by the moon.  As the moon was is a waxing gibbous phase the initial egress behind the darkened eastern limb of the moon was much easier to detect despite the cloudy conditions at the time.  The clouds thankfully cleared for egress but the bright western limb made it harder to spot with the relative glare of the illuminated portion of the moon.  Imaging was carried out with a 70mm Zenith Star William Optics Refractor, Canon 760d dslr on a motorised Eq2 mount.  A basic but quick and handy grab and go setup!

Just before Ingress (Cloudy!!)

Just after egress(Not so cloudy!!)

Shorter exposure for lunar detail.  Regulus just visible!

Telescope Gear

Picture of Canon LCD screen

A Carnival Of Monsters In Carina

A Carnival of Monsters in Carina!
Just revisited these two objects. The first is 'Running Chicken Nebula' where I have doubled the exposure to boost the brightness of the image. The same again with the second but I have also flipped the usual orientation where it reminds me a little of a huge bird or monster.

Transition From Light to Dark

The Astrophotographers and the Sky!

Night Sky LMDSS Heathcote Victoria

Rosette Nebula and M78 from Heathcote in Victoria