BriGuy
Life of the Party
Visit the Coffee thread. We'll fix ya up!
Stuff in the Sky
- Thread starter Canuck from Kansas
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Last few nights, well, many nights, have been clear, so have to take advantage, even though the moon is filling and brightening the night sky. Last night's visit was to M 51.
M 51, AKA the Whirlpool Galaxy, is in Canes Venatici. Discovered by Charles Messier on 13 October 1773, he described it as a "very faint nebula, without stars" (it actually has many stars, so what did he know) . His friend Pierre Mechain discovered its companion, NGC 5195, in March 1781, and M 51 is mentioned in Messier's 1781 catalog as follows: "It is double, each has a bright center, which are separated 4' 35". The two 'atmospheres' touch each other, the one is even fainter than the other." They don't actually touch each other (so Messier was wrong again, sheesh) but recent simulations support the hypothesis that M 51's spiral structure was caused by NGC 5195 passing through its main disk some 500 to 600 million years ago. In this model, NGC 5195 came from behind M 51, passed through the disk, and made another disk crossing 50 to 100 million years ago, moving to where we observe it now, slightly behind M 51.
The below is heavily cropped image (22 x 240 sec exposures; ISO 400), and even though it doesn't look like it, M 51 is of similar size, mass, and luminosity to andromeda ( #1 ), and our own Milky Way, just much further away, about 23 million light years, so no weekend visits.
Cheers
M 51, AKA the Whirlpool Galaxy, is in Canes Venatici. Discovered by Charles Messier on 13 October 1773, he described it as a "very faint nebula, without stars" (it actually has many stars, so what did he know) . His friend Pierre Mechain discovered its companion, NGC 5195, in March 1781, and M 51 is mentioned in Messier's 1781 catalog as follows: "It is double, each has a bright center, which are separated 4' 35". The two 'atmospheres' touch each other, the one is even fainter than the other." They don't actually touch each other (so Messier was wrong again, sheesh) but recent simulations support the hypothesis that M 51's spiral structure was caused by NGC 5195 passing through its main disk some 500 to 600 million years ago. In this model, NGC 5195 came from behind M 51, passed through the disk, and made another disk crossing 50 to 100 million years ago, moving to where we observe it now, slightly behind M 51.
The below is heavily cropped image (22 x 240 sec exposures; ISO 400), and even though it doesn't look like it, M 51 is of similar size, mass, and luminosity to andromeda ( #1 ), and our own Milky Way, just much further away, about 23 million light years, so no weekend visits.
Cheers
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Well, as mentioned, the Moon is filling and it's now just too bright to go to fainter targets, so, when in Rome, might as well shoot the Moon - fun fact, the Moon is not made of green cheese.
Cheers
Cheers
Matt Burke
Steelhead
Nice work. Man I been busting my old ass trying to get pics like that but our weather blows chunks of chum. I am getting the time lapse down on my z7 from sunset to dark with color, that changes into Orion. I have an 8 inch scope n guided mount. I'm glad this is here.
Matt Burke
Steelhead
Awesome, I'm going to suck your brains of all data as well.
Great shots. Looking closer at the Big Sur image there's a patch of blue light in the surf ... bioluminescence?
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
distorted full Snow Moon 30 minutes ago
Well, the final piece of the puzzle arrived, a ZWO cooled camera (CMOS 4/3 chip) - man, what a difference. Still working everything out, optimal capture parameters, processing and such, but this is a game changer. The below was from last night (might actually look better in dark mode).
The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) is an emission nebula in Orion, matter of fact, the bright star right above the Flame nebula is the eastern-most star of Orion's belt. The Flame Nebula is described as glowing in a variety of colors, from yellow to orange, though the predominant hue is shell-pink, so I actually think my capture and post processing are fairly good. The red cloud to the right (west) is another emission nebula, IC 434 (doesn't seem to rate a common name) and the dark shadow embedded within is the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33). The Horsehead nebula is a so-called dark nebula, first recorded on a photographic plate by Williamina Paton Fleming at the Harvard College Observatory in 1888, but William Henry Pickering was officially credited with its discovery in 1889 (wonder why Williamina didn't get credit, guesses anyone?).
Edit: Stack 20 x 300s exposures + 20 x 300s darks, 15 flats:
Think I'm going to have fun with this.
Cheers
The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) is an emission nebula in Orion, matter of fact, the bright star right above the Flame nebula is the eastern-most star of Orion's belt. The Flame Nebula is described as glowing in a variety of colors, from yellow to orange, though the predominant hue is shell-pink, so I actually think my capture and post processing are fairly good. The red cloud to the right (west) is another emission nebula, IC 434 (doesn't seem to rate a common name) and the dark shadow embedded within is the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33). The Horsehead nebula is a so-called dark nebula, first recorded on a photographic plate by Williamina Paton Fleming at the Harvard College Observatory in 1888, but William Henry Pickering was officially credited with its discovery in 1889 (wonder why Williamina didn't get credit, guesses anyone?).
Edit: Stack 20 x 300s exposures + 20 x 300s darks, 15 flats:
Think I'm going to have fun with this.
Cheers
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... And on the lighter side, given the day's news, ... not from my puny little setup:
www.nasa.gov
What's also amazing is all the other galaxies in this photo - how many do you count?
Galaxies crossing through each other is apparently not an uncommon event (see #22 ). Our own galaxy (the Milky Way) and Andromeda are scheduled to collide in about 4 billion years, although more recent data suggests the collision has already begun (I've started prepping).
www.nasa.gov
earthsky.org
cheers
Galaxy Collision Creates 'Space Triangle' in New Hubble Image - NASA Science
A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled the unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the glittery, distorted, star-forming spiral...
www.nasa.gov
What's also amazing is all the other galaxies in this photo - how many do you count?
Galaxies crossing through each other is apparently not an uncommon event (see #22 ). Our own galaxy (the Milky Way) and Andromeda are scheduled to collide in about 4 billion years, although more recent data suggests the collision has already begun (I've started prepping).
NASA's Hubble Shows Milky Way is Destined for Head-On Collision - NASA Science
The Milky Way is destined to get a major makeover during an encounter with the Andromeda galaxy, predicted to happen 4 billion years from now.
www.nasa.gov
| EarthSky
The Milky Way and Andromeda merger has already begun. The two spiral galaxies will form one giant elliptical galaxy in 5 billion years.
earthsky.org
cheers
So, the final setup, well, at least 'til I decide I need and 8 wt (what I have would be the equivalent of maybe a 4 wt):
Imaging telescope: William Optics Zenithstar 81 with 0.8x flattener/reducer
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI294MC-PRO 11.7 MP CMOS Color Astronomy Camera
Mount: Ioptron CEM26
Guiding telescope: Ioptron iGuider1
Filter: STC Ultra Layer Astro Multispectra Filter - 2"
Still getting to know it, so went back to an old friend, Orion, to compare/contrast with previous efforts. With the previous setup (Sony Alpha 77II camera), I really had to "stretch" the image to bring out details, bringing in noise. This ZWO is very sensitive with exceptionally low signal to noise, I actually had to tamp down some:
Image: 30 x 240s exposures, 20 darks; processed with Photoshop (essentially no cropping). Fairly please with this, I like the color palette. Blows #1 out of the sky.
Cheers
Imaging telescope: William Optics Zenithstar 81 with 0.8x flattener/reducer
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI294MC-PRO 11.7 MP CMOS Color Astronomy Camera
Mount: Ioptron CEM26
Guiding telescope: Ioptron iGuider1
Filter: STC Ultra Layer Astro Multispectra Filter - 2"
Still getting to know it, so went back to an old friend, Orion, to compare/contrast with previous efforts. With the previous setup (Sony Alpha 77II camera), I really had to "stretch" the image to bring out details, bringing in noise. This ZWO is very sensitive with exceptionally low signal to noise, I actually had to tamp down some:
Image: 30 x 240s exposures, 20 darks; processed with Photoshop (essentially no cropping). Fairly please with this, I like the color palette. Blows #1 out of the sky.
Cheers
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"Many a night I saw the Plaeiads, rising throttle mellow shade, Glitter like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid" Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1837-8
The Pleiades are an example of an open star cluster — a group of stars that were all born around the same time from a gigantic cloud of gas and dust. The brightest of the cluster display whirls of a hot blue nebulosity. They were formed within the last 100 million years, are extremely luminous, and will burn out quickly, with life spans of only a few hundred million years, which is much shorter than the billions of years our sun will enjoy.
There is a great deal of lore and mythology around the Pleiades, they are the seven daughters of the Titan god Atlas and the ocean nymph Pleione. During an ancient war, Atlas rebelled against Zeus, the king of the gods, who sentenced his foe to forever hold up the heavens on his shoulders. The sisters were so sad that Zeus allowed them a place in the sky in order to be close to their father.
The Pleiades are revered in Hindu mythology as Krittika, the six mothers of the war god Skanda, who developed six faces. Some scholars of Islam suggest that the Pleiades ("Al thuraiya" in Arabic) are the Star in Najm which is mentioned in the Quran. Their Persian name is "Soraya", after which the former Iranian empress was named.
In Japan, the Pleiades are named "Subaru", which you may be familiar with through the automaker, which derives its name from the cluster and is represented in its corporate logo.
Considering this is a stack of just 4 x 120s exposures (clouds moved in), this isn't too bad, though I want to do the Peiades better sometime soon, as they become less prominent in the northern hemisphere during the late spring and summer months.
Information from:
https://www.space.com/pleiades.html
SkySafari
cheers
The Pleiades are an example of an open star cluster — a group of stars that were all born around the same time from a gigantic cloud of gas and dust. The brightest of the cluster display whirls of a hot blue nebulosity. They were formed within the last 100 million years, are extremely luminous, and will burn out quickly, with life spans of only a few hundred million years, which is much shorter than the billions of years our sun will enjoy.
There is a great deal of lore and mythology around the Pleiades, they are the seven daughters of the Titan god Atlas and the ocean nymph Pleione. During an ancient war, Atlas rebelled against Zeus, the king of the gods, who sentenced his foe to forever hold up the heavens on his shoulders. The sisters were so sad that Zeus allowed them a place in the sky in order to be close to their father.
The Pleiades are revered in Hindu mythology as Krittika, the six mothers of the war god Skanda, who developed six faces. Some scholars of Islam suggest that the Pleiades ("Al thuraiya" in Arabic) are the Star in Najm which is mentioned in the Quran. Their Persian name is "Soraya", after which the former Iranian empress was named.
In Japan, the Pleiades are named "Subaru", which you may be familiar with through the automaker, which derives its name from the cluster and is represented in its corporate logo.
Considering this is a stack of just 4 x 120s exposures (clouds moved in), this isn't too bad, though I want to do the Peiades better sometime soon, as they become less prominent in the northern hemisphere during the late spring and summer months.
Information from:
https://www.space.com/pleiades.html
SkySafari
cheers
Matt Burke
Steelhead
I'm having issues with inclement weather in Seattle. Go figure. Working on targets in Orion. Thinking of ducting warm air on to cameras to keep dew down or at least not freeze on the lens. Now I remember why I only recognize summer constellations. I know it'll make waves or distortion but damn, really not liking water on my Z7. Also I want to run a package of zwo cams with their own power and laptop and vented air of some kind. I have tried through a window, to a mirror outside aimed skyward. Anyway, rotating cold nikons with warm ones sucks too. Time lapse is awesome except when the wind is out of the north, then I get jets on my time lapse. It's a real struggle to get a decent shot. But it's cool when it works. It's almost 8, I'm going to bed and it's clear. To old
As we transition from winter to spring, stuff in the sky similarly transitions, with friends like Orion marching lower towards the west, we have new spectacles arise into view. In the astrophotography world, spring ushers in "galaxy season", with more galaxies visible from March to mid May than at other times of the year.
A favorite target of many is the Leo Triplet, Messier 65 and 66 (M 65 [NGC3623], upper left; M 66 [NGC 3627], upper right) and NGC 3628 (lower center-right). NGC 3593, not a member of the triplet club, is up in the left upper corner.
Both M 65 and M 66 were discovered by Charles Messier in 1780 (hence the "M designation"). Apparently, Messier missed them in 1773, when a comet passed between them. Due to this oversight, Admiral Smyth incorrectly assigned their discovery to Pierre Mechain, an error which has since propagated to many other sources, but I am here to correct the error and hopefully provide accurate information. Halton Arp included M 66 as no. 16 in his Catalogue of Peculiar Galaxies. He also assigned the number 317 to the Triplet.
M65 and M66 are thought to be about 35 million light-years from us, with an apparent separation between the 2 of about 190,000 light years. Four supernovae have appeared in Messier 66: SN 1973R, SN 1989B, SN 1997bs, and SN 2009hd.
Leo Triplet (20 x 240s exposures; 20 darks):
Cropped version, holds up pretty well:
Information from:
Sky Safari 6 Pro
Cheers
A favorite target of many is the Leo Triplet, Messier 65 and 66 (M 65 [NGC3623], upper left; M 66 [NGC 3627], upper right) and NGC 3628 (lower center-right). NGC 3593, not a member of the triplet club, is up in the left upper corner.
Both M 65 and M 66 were discovered by Charles Messier in 1780 (hence the "M designation"). Apparently, Messier missed them in 1773, when a comet passed between them. Due to this oversight, Admiral Smyth incorrectly assigned their discovery to Pierre Mechain, an error which has since propagated to many other sources, but I am here to correct the error and hopefully provide accurate information. Halton Arp included M 66 as no. 16 in his Catalogue of Peculiar Galaxies. He also assigned the number 317 to the Triplet.
M65 and M66 are thought to be about 35 million light-years from us, with an apparent separation between the 2 of about 190,000 light years. Four supernovae have appeared in Messier 66: SN 1973R, SN 1989B, SN 1997bs, and SN 2009hd.
Leo Triplet (20 x 240s exposures; 20 darks):
Cropped version, holds up pretty well:
Information from:
Cheers
Last edited:
Alright, so I know it's galaxy season, but caught the Seagull Nebula the other night (sort of like targeting Bulls on the Lady M and getting a nice Brownie). Most of the nebulosity, catalogued as IC 2177 or Sh2-296, designates the Seagull's wings. The Seagull's head, cataloged as NGC 2327, Sh2-292, or Gum 1, is the brightest portion of the nebula complex. There also seems to be a lot of stars out there.
Information from:
Sky Safari 6 Pro
Cheers
Information from:
Sky Safari 6 Pro
Cheers
So, as mentioned, spring is galaxy season; with clear skies and a moon not rising until after midnight, so had to take advantage and stay up, to what for me are ungodly hours, but I got some new targets.
M95 and M96 are spiral galaxies in the constellation Leo, both first described/discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781, and catalogued by Charles Messier four days after their discovery. M95 and M96 are about 35.5 and 41 million light years away, respectively.
M95 (lower left), M96 (center), M105 and NGC3384 (middle right, left to right): 25 x 240 second exposures:
cheers
M95 and M96 are spiral galaxies in the constellation Leo, both first described/discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781, and catalogued by Charles Messier four days after their discovery. M95 and M96 are about 35.5 and 41 million light years away, respectively.
M95 (lower left), M96 (center), M105 and NGC3384 (middle right, left to right): 25 x 240 second exposures:
cheers
Thank you so much for creating this thread. I hope to frequent it. I have had an ongoing interest in Astronomy all my life. All I have though is just a 5 5 inch aperture Newtonian. I still just use the stock eyepieces too. Wish I had higher quality stuff but it has allowed me to see Andromeda, the planets, ect. So much fun.
I dont feel like clicking like on so many dang photographs folks. I will just say thankyou. All of these are breathtaking and if you look at them long enough you start thinking with deep perspective. The details on some of those galaxies are beyond words.
So a thought. From what I understand Andromeda is the closest galaxy correct? I also am of the understanding that we do not have the tech to look deep into it that galaxy either.
Therefore, the thought that blows my mind is that here I am looking at an actual galaxy, what is the probability that you are looking at something that contains life.
So a thought. From what I understand Andromeda is the closest galaxy correct? I also am of the understanding that we do not have the tech to look deep into it that galaxy either.
Therefore, the thought that blows my mind is that here I am looking at an actual galaxy, what is the probability that you are looking at something that contains life.
From my very limited understanding, what we are able to "visualize" in other galaxies is fairly limited, they are rather opaque - we can estimate luminosity (total light emitted per unit time), and solar mass, but seeing "into" them is beyond what we can do (I think) - 1 planet in Andromeda has been possibly identified in 2009, but not confirmed, another was announced in 2010. I don't think any others since; however, there is one estimate that there are as many as 6 billion, yes billion with a "B", earth-like planets within our own Milky Way.
As many as six billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, according to new estimates
There may be as many as one Earth-like planet for every five Sun-like stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, according to new estimates.
www.sciencedaily.com
Data from Hubble estimates up to 100 billion, yes, billion with a "B" galaxies in the universe and some even estimate up to 200 billion (below from Hubble),
So I would suggest the chances of life out the is pretty good. Interestingly, the closest star to our own Sun appears to have at least 1 "earth like planet", just very recently discovered.
Earth-like planet spotted orbiting Sun’s closest star
Shifts in starlight from Proxima Centauri, observed over more than 2 years, reveal its third planet.
www.nature.com
The new James Webb telescope, once operational should help us see further back into time, but I'm unsure whether is has better resolution for "seeing" into other galaxies.
Cheers
Since we are talking galaxies, we have had some clear skies the last couple of nights, and a late-rising moon, is I have been adding to my sleep deprivation to acquire some new targets
The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), found in the constellation Ursa Major, it is a beautiful, almost face on spiral galaxy. This galaxy was another one discovered by Pierre Mechain, also in 1781 (same year as M95 and M96). It was one of the last entries added by Charles Messier to his catalog that same year. M101 is #26 in Halton Arp's Catalogue of Peculiar Galaxies, which he described as a "Spiral with One Heavy Arm." It's about 27 million light years away; thus, the image you're seeing is about 27 million years out of date.
Pinwheel Galaxy (M101); NGC 5474 (upper left); NGC5422 (far right center): 35 x 240 second light exposures, 30 darks:
Bode's Nebula (M81), which is actually a galaxy, was discovered with its companion, the "Cigar Galaxy" (M82), by Johann Bode in 1774. Pierre Méchain independently rediscovered both galaxies in 1779 and reported them to Charles Messier, who added them to his catalog in 1781. These two are also in the constellation Ursa Major and are approximately 12 million light years in the distance. It is thought that the two galaxies had a close interaction a few hundred million years ago, leaving M82 rather deformed. The galaxies are still relatively close together, with their cores a mere 150,000 light-years apart.
Bode's (M81) and Cigar (M82) galaxies, collectively called Bode's nebula (I'll let you guess which is which); NGC2976 (top middle left) : 30 x 240 second light exposures, 30 darks:
I've catalogued maybe 2 dozen galaxies, with the estimate from the previous post of upwards of 100 billion galaxies, I have a few sleepless night ahead of me. Skies are hopefully clear again tonight, have my sights on Markarian's Chain, which will knock off almost another dozen.
Information from SkySafari
cheers
The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), found in the constellation Ursa Major, it is a beautiful, almost face on spiral galaxy. This galaxy was another one discovered by Pierre Mechain, also in 1781 (same year as M95 and M96). It was one of the last entries added by Charles Messier to his catalog that same year. M101 is #26 in Halton Arp's Catalogue of Peculiar Galaxies, which he described as a "Spiral with One Heavy Arm." It's about 27 million light years away; thus, the image you're seeing is about 27 million years out of date.
Pinwheel Galaxy (M101); NGC 5474 (upper left); NGC5422 (far right center): 35 x 240 second light exposures, 30 darks:
Bode's Nebula (M81), which is actually a galaxy, was discovered with its companion, the "Cigar Galaxy" (M82), by Johann Bode in 1774. Pierre Méchain independently rediscovered both galaxies in 1779 and reported them to Charles Messier, who added them to his catalog in 1781. These two are also in the constellation Ursa Major and are approximately 12 million light years in the distance. It is thought that the two galaxies had a close interaction a few hundred million years ago, leaving M82 rather deformed. The galaxies are still relatively close together, with their cores a mere 150,000 light-years apart.
Bode's (M81) and Cigar (M82) galaxies, collectively called Bode's nebula (I'll let you guess which is which); NGC2976 (top middle left) : 30 x 240 second light exposures, 30 darks:
I've catalogued maybe 2 dozen galaxies, with the estimate from the previous post of upwards of 100 billion galaxies, I have a few sleepless night ahead of me. Skies are hopefully clear again tonight, have my sights on Markarian's Chain, which will knock off almost another dozen.
Information from SkySafari
cheers
![20220916_131216[1].jpg](/forum/data/xfmg/thumbnail/8/8184-be5566244d9af92be10597af20dd85ba.jpg?1663359669)
