Category Astronomical

January 2023 – Sh2-261

Sh2-261 AKA Lower’s Nebula – 10 Hours of Exposure time from Clinton, TN

Sh2-261, also called Lower’s Nebula in honor of Harold and Charles Lower who discovered it in 1939,  is located between the Orion and Perseus arms of the Milkyway.  It is dominated by H-alpha emission with little O[III] emission.

Calhoun County Park Oct (21-24) 2022

 

IC 348 FSQ-106ED Scope with QHY268C Camera on AP900GTO Mount, 5.67 Hours Total Exposure

 

IC 348 Annotated

 

NGC 1788, FSQ-106ED Scope with QHY268C Camera on AP900GTO Mount, 8 hours total exposure

 

NGC 1788 Annotated

 

NGC1333 -AP92 Stowaway Scope with ZWO ASI533C camera on Atlas Mount, 6.1 hours total exposure

 

NGC 1333 Annotated

 

 

NGC 7293 - The Helix Nebula
NGC 7293 – The Helix Nebula: AP92 Stowaway Scope, ZWO ASI533C camera, Atlas Mount. 4 hours total exposure time.

 

NGC 7293 – The Helix Nebula Annotated

 

IC 405 – The Flaming Star Nebula. AP92 Stowaway Scope, ZWO ASI533C Camera, Atlas EQ-G Mount. 7.9 Hours total exposure.

 

IC 405 Annotated

 

NGC 7822 – FSQ-106ED Scope with QHY268C Camera on AP900GTO Mount, 4.1 hours total exposure

 

NGC 7822 Annotated

 

 

Starless Rosette Nebula – NGC 2237 / Caldwell 49

AP130GTX with QHY268M CMOS Camera on AP1200GTO Mount. Total Exposure time of ~17.5 hours comprised of 105 x 5 minute sub frames. Images captured from Clinton, TN.

Located roughly 5,000 light years from earth, the Rosette Nebula is approximately 130 light years in diameter and is home to about 2,500 new born stars in this star forming complex. For a more down to earth factoid, the Rosette Nebula is the official astronomical object of the State of Oklahoma as passed by the Legislature in 2019.

Cherry Springs – July 2022

We had four relatively clear nights in a row. Some didn’t start great but all four produced usable imaging time even if the nights aren’t much more than 4 hours of astronomical darkness this time of year.

A couple shots with the Canon 6D DSLR and a Rokinon 135mm wide open at f/2.

  • M16 & M17
  • M16 & M17 Annotated
  • M8 Lagoon & M20 Triffid
  • M8 Lagoon & M20 Triffid Annotated
  • vdB 123
  • vdB Annotated

vdB 123 – Taken with FSQ-106ED and QHY268C OSC CMOS Camera on an AP900GTO Mount, 58 x 5min exposures totaling 4.8 Hours Exposure across two nights.

  • Sh2-136
  • Sh2-136 Annotated

Sh2-136 Taken with FSQ-106ED and QHY268C OSC CMOS Camera on AP900GTO Mount, 79 x 5 minute exposures totaling ~6.6 Hours Exposure time across two nights.

  • M20 – The Trifid Nebula
  • M20 – The Trifid Nebula Annotated

M20 – The Trifid Nebula: ZWO 533C OSC CMOS Camera with AP92 Refractor on Atlas EQ-G Mount. 57 x 5min exposures for a total of 4.75 hours captured across two nights.

2021 December – IC 417 The Spider Nebula

IC 417 – The Spider Nebula
IC 417 Annotated
  • Image Acquisition Location: Clinton, TN; Home Observatory
  • Scope: AP130GTX
  • Mount: AP1200GTO
  • Camera: QHY268M
  • Image Scale: ~0.92 arcsec/pixel
  • Integration Time: ~15.8 Hours