M27

Taken on the 6th of July 2015, during a collimation session. The telescope was an Orion Optics ODK12 and the camera a Canon 550D. The exposure was 20 frames of 60sec each, at ISO800, no guiding, no flats, no darks and not with my usual IDAS filter. It was just to see the effect on photography that collimation by eye had. The frames were stacked in Astroart as 4 groups of 5 frames sigma-added, and the resultant 4 frames were averaged. Final processing was done in Photoshop. It needs more time to make a reasonable photograph but it was done as a test of detail, so look at the number of stars in the body of the nebula particularly the one next to the White Dwarf.

M27 Dumbbel Nebula

The Dumbbell Nebula known as M27, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula at a distance of about 1,360 light years from Earth. This image was taken at a WYAS open night on 2nd September 2013. This was taken using my 8" Celestron U2K SCT scope guided with a Canon 40D DSLR. This image is a stack of the best 26 images taken with a 180sec exposure at ISO 800. This image has an overall combined exposure of 78 minutes approx. Images taken in RAW were stacked using Deep Sky Stacker software to create a composite image with final image processing done in Photoshop CS6 with the aid of B McSorley.

M57 Ring Nebula

The Ring Nebula appears in the northern constellation of Lyra.  It is a prominent example of a planetary nebula.  This is a shell of ionized gas expelled into the surrounding interstellar medium by a red giant star, which was passing through the last stage in its evolution before becoming a white dwarf.

This image was taken using an 8" SCT, a Canon 40D DSLR. It is a composite image of  10 x 70sec images at ISO 640 stacked in RegiStax and final processing in Photoshop.

M27 - Dumbbell Nebula

The Dumbbell Nebula also known as the Apple Core Nebula, is Messier object 27, or M 27, or NGC 6853). This is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, and is at a distance of about 1,360 light years from Earth.

This image was taken at a WYAS open night on 19th September 2012 using one of the new piers on the Telescope pad. This was taken using my 8" Celestron U2K SCT scope unguided with a Canon 40D DSLR.

This image is a stack of the best 47 from 65 images taken. All images are 59 seconds exposure at either 800, 1200 or 1600 ISO. This image has an overall combined exposure of 46 minutes approx. Images taken in RAW were stacked using Deep Sky Stacker software to create a composite image with final image processing done in Photoshop CS5. 

M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula

I took this image on the 4th August 2010, on a night of very good seeing conditions. It's a stack of 28 30sec. frames with darks and flats. Comparing this image to Brian's further down this blog shows how DSLRs (unmodified) are not as sensitive in the red region due to the filters in front of the sensor.
The Milky Way was clearly visible running through Cygnus and across to Cassiopeia, a rare sight from just South of Pontefract! I also saw two bright Meteors which could have been early Perseids since they both seemed to radiate from the direction of Perseus. The evening was capped off with a first look at Jupiter this season, despite being very low in the sky several cloud belts were easily visible, the SEB was still missing though.

M57 - The Ring Nebula

This is my first image of the Summer and is really just a quick test of the gadgets I've made/bought over the past few months. As usual, after spending several hours setting up the telescope and imaging bits then waiting for the sky to darken a bit, I only managed 5 minutes photography before the clouds rolled in and the Moon came out to play. The image is a single 30second exposure of M57, but taken through a coma corrector which, at first glance, seems to have done a good job. I've purposefully left the image un-cropped so you can see the stars right at the edge of the field, these would normally look like comets. 6 flats were taken with my new light box, which, when combined in DeepSkyStacker, have produced a nice evenly illuminated field. 2 dark frames were also taken but their effect isn't really visible in the image. The Ring shows slight colouring and, if you zoom in, the central star is just visible. I need more focal length for this object ideally. Equipment used: Skywatcher 8" Newtonian, Skywatcher Coma corrector, Canon EOS550d.

NGC40 - a planetary in Cepheus - 100705

This is quite a bright one, recorded as mag 12.3, but being compact, about 1.2 arcmin across, is easier to catch than the number suggests.
Near the top of the sky, so well clear of the rubbish near the horizon. Taken with a Vixen 260, focal length 3000mm, and an SX M25C camera, though a smaller one would do as well. Guided by an SX H9C in a WO98 on an AP 900GTO mount. Acquired in AstroArt and processed in AstroArt and Photoshop, and not cropped. 25 flats were taken and averaged but darks aren't needed with my camera. An IDAS filter was used. The exposure was 30x120sec, 120sec to retain star colours.
The 14" Meade should manage this well enough.

M27 - the Dumbbell nebula

More testing of the Vixen 260 I use on the 900GTO mount. It was taken on the 12th of May 2010, with an M25C camera and a .5 focal reducer in the optical train. An IDAS LPS filter was used, as always. The exposure was 9x120sec and the guiding, with an H9C in a WO98 was working well, but dawn was encroaching and I had to shut down. It needs more time, though this is bright enough to get a satisfactory result with minimal time.
The whole was acquired and stacked in AstroArt4 and processed in Photoshop CS2, with help from GradX and Noel's Actions.

M57 - the Ring

Taken on 26.4.10, using a 10" Vixen reflector and M25C camera. Not as good as it should be so I'll be looking for this again. The individual frames were overexposed, can hardly say that about astronomical targets, but I'll try this one with 60sec instead of 300sec frames. The middle of the ring was too bright in comparison with the rest of it and took lots of work to balance, but I suppose I'll have a similar problem with shorter exposures, but it should be easier, we'll see. I'll try to focus more carefully too.
Processed as usual in AA4 and CS2, with help from Noel's Actions and GradX.

NGC 6543 - Cat's Eye nebula - 100417

A planetary of some 3arcsec dia. So quite small, but they almost all are. This is another unguided test picture, taken from Austerfield, using the Vixen VMC260L and an H9C camera, without filters. The exposure was 40x60sec, and it was acquired in AstroArt4 and processed there and in Photoshop CS2.

NGC 2392 - the Eskimo nebula - 100408

This is a small planetary nebula in Gemini, sometimes called the Clown nebula. Not as good as the CFHT one, at least I think it was theirs, you know the one, but not bad for 45x60sec unguided frames on a hazy night. It was taken using a Vixen VMC260L with an Antares .5 focal reducer. This reduces the focal length to 1500mm. The camera was an SX M25C. Stacked and pre-processed in AstroArt4 and finalised in Photoshop CS2.
There aren't many objects up there with green in them but some planetaries are so endowed, due to the oxygen in their gas clouds caused to fluoresce by the ultraviolet light from the white dwarf in the middle
Brian

M27 the Dumbbell

Taken on the 16th of May 09, with an M25C and a Skywatcher 80ED. It was acquired and processed in AstroArt4 and Photoshop7. The exposure was 10x300sec. Flats were used.