jgraham

Lunar Mosaic – 10” LX6 – 4/21/2013 2h UT

jgraham — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:55:42 GMT

Lunar Mosaic – 10” LX6 – 4/21/2013 2h UT

Telescope: Meade LX6 10” f/6.3 in manual altaz mode Camera: Canon Rebel T2i, wired remote switch Filter: None Exposure: 6x1/500sec, ISO 800 saved as RAW Software: Digital Photo Professional, Nebulosity 2, Panorama Maker 3, Registax 6, Photoshop CS5 This is a simple test image taken with my 10” Meade LX6 configured in a manual altaz mode. I used a wired remote switch and the mirror lock-up function to raise the mirror, pause about 5 seconds to let vibrations settled, and then trip the shutter. The source images were converted from RAW to TIFF, and then binned 4x4 in Nebulosity to reduce their size and improve the signal to noise. The 6 source images were aligned and combined in Panorama Maker, sharpened using mild wavelets in Registax, then rotated, cropped, and resized in Photoshop.

Partial Lunar Mosaic-2/24/2013 0h UT

jgraham — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 18:43:18 GMT

Partial Lunar Mosaic-2/24/2013 0h UT

Telescope: Meade Lightbridge 16 @ f/9 (OPT 2” 2x Barlow) Camera: Canon Rebel T2i, 1.25” adapter, manual remote switch Filter: None Exposure: 4x1/500sec, ISO 400 saved as RAW Mirror Lock-up: On, 10 second pause to allow vibrations to settle Software: Nebulosity 2, Panorama Maker 3, Registax 6, Photoshop CS4 Ack! Clouds rolled in before I could finish a complete mosaic of the moon last night, but I was able to salvage at least part of the image set. This is a crop of a 4x4 mosaic of the moon’s northwest quadrant. I still need to work out the best way to make sure I have enough overlapping frames, but I’m making good progress. This will never replace my high resolution imaging gear, but it is fun to see what you can do with an undriven Dob and a modern DSLR.

Mars – 5/19/2012 2h 03m UT

jgraham — Sat, 19 May 2012 20:17:51 GMT

Mars – 5/19/2012 2h 03m UT

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SC8 @ f/30 Camera: Imaging Source DBK21, Meade IR (Lum) Filter Exposures: 3min @ 30fps (~4,000 frames out of 5,400) Software: IC Capture, Registax 6, Photoshop The apparent size of Mars is steadily shrinking, but it still shows a fascinating amount of detail when the air is steady. One significant change that caught my eye is that the south polar cap is beginning to show as winter approaches the northern hemisphere and summer in the south.

Saturn – 5/19/2012 2h 20m UT

jgraham — Sat, 19 May 2012 20:01:32 GMT

Saturn – 5/19/2012 2h 20m UT

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SC8 @ f/30 Camera: Imaging Source DBK21, Meade IR (Lum) Filter Exposures: 3min @ 15fps (~2,000 frames out of 2,700) Software: IC Capture, Registax 6, Photoshop To the lower left is Dione (far left) and Tethys (below the rings). Just barely visible to the left of the rings is Enceladus.

M13 – Globular Cluster in Hercules

jgraham — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:01:00 GMT

M13 – Globular Cluster in Hercules

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SN6 Camera: Canon Rebel T2i Filter: Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Exposure: 32x30sec, ISO 1600 saved as RAW Darks: Internal Flat: Synthetic Software: Backyard EOS, Digital Photo Professional, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop M13 is one of those objects that you can spend a lot of time exploring. I’ll never forget the time I had an opportunity to observe this cluster through the 32” at Perkins Observatory in Dublin, Ohio. At the time (over 30 years ago) I wasn’t aware of the dust lanes to the lower left of the cluster’s center (the Y shaped feature called the Propeller). I’ve never seen this visually, but I hope to look for it this summer once I have access to a 16” telescope. Also in the picture is the galaxy NGC 6207 (Mv 11.6) in the upper left corner. If you look carefully you can also see the little edge-on galaxy IC4617 (Mv 15.2) about halfway between M13 and NGC 6207.

M5 – Globular Cluster in Serpens Caput

jgraham — Sat, 12 May 2012 22:36:48 GMT

M5 – Globular Cluster in Serpens Caput

M81 & 82 – Galaxies in Ursa Major – Wide Field

jgraham — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:50:08 GMT

M81 & 82 – Galaxies in Ursa Major – Wide Field

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SN6 Camera: Canon Rebel T2i Filter: Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Exposure: 55x30sec, ISO 1600 saved as RAW Darks: 16x30sec, ISO 1600 saved as RAW Flat: Synthetic Software: Backyard EOS, Digital Photo Professional, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop This is my third pass through this data, taken my first night out with my Canon Rebel T2i. The original data has a nasty gradient that I’ve learned to deal with over the past couple of months. The result is that I’ve been able to include almost the entire original field showing the galaxies in their proper north/south orientation. I hope that I get a chance to visit this pair at least one more time this year to take a set of longer subs. I’m starting to bump up against the limits of what my red zone sky will give me, but I think I can push this out just a tad more.

NGC3115 - Lenticular Galaxy in Sextans

jgraham — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:45:49 GMT

NGC3115 - Lenticular Galaxy in Sextans

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SN6 Camera: Canon Rebel T2i Filter: Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Exposure: 32x30sec, ISO 1600 saved as RAW Darks: Internal Flat: Synthetic Software: Backyard EOS, Digital Photo Professional, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop NGC3115 is an interesting edge-on spiral in that is lack an apparent dust lane. Visually, the bright stellar core (about magnitude 9) is within easy reach of a modest telescope and the faint galactic plane cuts a fine line on either side. The galaxy itself is much larger than the Milky Way and it has a super-massive black hole at its core with a mass of about 2 billion suns. If you look closely to the lower left you can glimpse PGC29300 glowing softly at magnitude 12.5

M53 – Globular Cluster in Coma Berenices

jgraham — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:29:16 GMT

M53 – Globular Cluster in Coma Berenices

Luminance LXD75 SN6 #1, DSI Pro III, Hutech IDAS LPS2, 17x30sec saved as FITS Darks: Envisage Automatic Flats: 80x0.20sec saved as FITS Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Color LXD75 SN6 #2, DSI III, Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter, 18x30sec saved as FITS3P Darks: Envisage Automatic Flats: None Guide scope: None Software: Envisage, Autostar Image Processing, Photoshop

NGC5466 – Globular Cluster in Bootes

jgraham — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:25:06 GMT

NGC5466 – Globular Cluster in Bootes

Luminance LXD75 SN6 #1, DSI Pro III, Hutech IDAS LPS2, 11x60sec saved as FITS Darks: Envisage Automatic Flats: 80x0.20sec saved as FITS Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Color LXD75 SN6 #2, DSI III, Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter, 44x30sec saved as FITS3P Darks: Envisage Automatic Flats: None Guide scope: None Software: Envisage, Autostar Image Processing, Nebulosity, Photoshop NGC5466 is a relatively sparse globular clustering located a few degrees to east of M3. In 2006 it was discovered that NGC5466 may be the source of a narrow stream of stars about 1.4 degrees wide and arcing from Bootes to Ursa Major. It is thought that tidal forces acting on the cluster as it crosses the galactic plane and passes near the galactic core are causing it to eject stars and has probably lost about 60% of its original mass.

NGC5053 – Globular Cluster in Coma Berenices

jgraham — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:42:25 GMT

NGC5053 – Globular Cluster in Coma Berenices

Luminance LXD75 SN6 #1, DSI Pro III, Hutech IDAS LPS2, 26x60sec saved as FITS Darks: Envisage Automatic Flats: 80x0.20sec saved as FITS Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Color LXD75 SN6 #2, DSI III, Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter, 31x30sec saved as FITS3P Darks: Envisage Automatic Flats: None Guide scope: None Software: Envisage, Autostar Image Processing, Nebulosity, Photoshop NGC5053 is an incredibly sparse globular clustering lying about 1 degree to the southeast of M53. It also lies at about the same distance as M53, about 53,500 light years away. This cluster is so sparse there was some debate as to whether it was an open or globular cluster, but spectroscopic analysis of the group confirms that it is indeed a globular. This isn’t one of the fancier objects, but a fun diversion off the beaten path. I’ve seen pictures of NGC50503 taken under dark skies and with the right conditions you can begin to pick up its core and photographically it begins to look like a proper globular.

M51 – Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici

jgraham — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 01:34:27 GMT

M51 – Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SN6 Camera: Canon Rebel T2i Filter: Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Exposure: 60x60sec, ISO 1600 saved as RAW Darks: Internal Flat: Synthetic Software: Backyard EOS, Digital Photo Professional, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, Nebulosity We had an evening of very good transparency so I took this image to compare how lengthening my exposure from 30 to 60 seconds at ISO1600 would do. (The prior image used 100x30sec subs.) This one does go a tad deeper, but not as much as I thought it would.

M35 & NGC2158 – Open Clusters in Gemini

jgraham — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:30:12 GMT

M35 & NGC2158 – Open Clusters in Gemini

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SN6 Camera: Canon Rebel T2i Filter: Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Exposure: 30x30sec, ISO 1600 saved as RAW Darks: Automatic Flat: Synthetic Software: Backyard EOS, Digital Photo Professional, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop This is one of my favorite open clusters. Through a small telescope it appears as a beautiful patch of stardust that just keeps on getting better as you use larger and larger scopes.

M42 – The Great Nebula in Orion

jgraham — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 02:16:27 GMT

M42 – The Great Nebula in Orion

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SN6 Camera: Canon Rebel T2i Filter: Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Exposure: 32x20sec, ISO 1600 saved as RAW Darks: Automatic Flat: Synthetic (borrowed from an image of M3 taken on the same evening) Software: Backyard EOS, Digital Photo Professional, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop This is a reprocess of an image I took my first night out with my shiny new Canon 550D. In the original image I had a nasty gradient to deal with and a mismatch between this image and my flats. (I suspect that the batteries in my light box were running low.) I’ve gotten good results with synthetic flats (flats made from the source image itself) but these are tough to make with extended objects like M42. As a Plan-B I ‘borrowed’ a synthetic flat I made from an image of M3 taken on the same evening. It didn’t scale quite right, but I was able to fix most of the mismatch by tinkering with levels on the flat. Overall, I’m happy with the result, but I definitely want to try this again next year.

M3 – Globular Cluster in Canes Venatici

jgraham — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:25:04 GMT

M3 – Globular Cluster in Canes Venatici

LXD75 SN6 #1, DSI Pro III, Hutech IDAS LPS2, 34x45sec saved as FITS Darks: Envisage Automatic Flats: 80x0.20sec saved as FITS Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Color LXD75 SN6 #2, DSI III, Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter, 33x30sec saved as FITS3P Darks: Envisage Automatic Flats: None Guide scope: None Software: Envisage, Autostar Image Processing, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M53 – Globular Cluster in Coma Berenices – ISO6400

jgraham — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:12:36 GMT

M53 – Globular Cluster in Coma Berenices – ISO6400

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SC8 @ f/10 Camera: Canon Rebel T2i Filter: Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter Guide scope: None Exposure: 32x30sec, ISO 6400 saved as RAW Darks: Automatic In-camera Flat: Synthetic Luminance: Green Data Software: Backyard EOS, Digital Photo Professional, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop This was a test of using ISO6400 along with unguided dithering. The focus was a tad off, I gotta be more careful to check the focus when using an SCT and the temperature is changing. This results is encouraging, but I need to work at ISO6400 a bit more before I’m convinced this going to work well on faint objects.

Mars – 2012/4/7 0h14m & 2h28m UT

jgraham — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:15:15 GMT

Mars – 2012/4/7 0h14m & 2h28m UT

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SC8 @ f/30 (image scaled 2x) Camera: Imaging Source DBK21, Meade IR (Lum) Filter Exposures: 3min @ 30fps (~4,200 frames out of 5,400) Software: IC Capture, Registax 6, Photoshop This has been a fascinating year to watch Mars. My equipment has finally matured to the point where I can take images that are good enough to make good observations. Mars has passed opposition and has begun to slowly shrink, but it’s still large enough to easily show a lot of detail. The terminator has switched from the sunset to the sunrise side of the planet, the north polar cap has shrunk to a very small size, and now it seems to be showing some fairly bright clouds over the southern polar region.

Saturn – 2012/4/7 4h 14m UT

jgraham — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:15:51 GMT

Saturn – 2012/4/7 4h 14m UT

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SC8 @ f/30 Camera: Imaging Source DBK21, Meade IR (Lum) Filter Exposures: 3min @ 15fps (~2,000 frames out of 2,700) Software: IC Capture, Registax 6, Photoshop This is easily my best image of Saturn so far. If you look really closely I just barely caught Rhea to the lower right, Dione to the upper left, and Tethys to the left of the planet.

SN 2012aw – Supernova in M95 – 2012/3/26.05 UT

jgraham — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:58:14 GMT

SN 2012aw – Supernova in M95 – 2012/3/26.05 UT

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SN6 Camera: Meade DSI Pro III Filter: V Photometric Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Exposure: 20x60sec, saved as FITS Software: Envisage, Autostar Image Processing, Photoshop, Nebulosity This is my latest photometric image of SN 2012aw, the supernova in M95. Based on the observations reported to the AAVSO it appears that this star has gotten about as bright as it is going to get. One thing that strikes me as fascinating about these events is that this is just about the only opportunity to observe an individual star in a distant galaxy. In the image below the supernova is marked in red while the brightness of reference stars from the AAVSO E chart are marked in gray.

M95 and SN2012aw 2012/3/17.13 UT

jgraham — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 03:01:31 GMT

M95 and SN2012aw 2012/3/17.13 UT

Telescope: Meade LXD75 SN6 Camera: Canon Rebel T2i Filter: Orion Imaging Sky Glow Filter Guide scope: Meade DSX-90, DSI Pro II, PHD Exposure: 32x30sec, ISO 1600 saved as RAW Darks: Internal Flat: Synthetic Software: Backyard EOS, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, Nebulosity As luck should have it, while imaging Mars and M96 I also captured M95 in the same field. A few hours after I took those images a supernova (SN2012aw) was discovered in M95. I went back and re-cropped the original source images to center M95 in the field. This isn’t the best image of M95, but it does show the supernova quite well. I went back and looked at M95 with my photometric kit this evening and although I wasn’t able to get a good image due to increasing haze I was able to get a good estimate of the brightness through a V photometric filter; 13.3 at 1h 20m UT on 3/21/2012.