Here, you can quickly and easily spot the motion of Uranus against the backdrop of space. Taken five days apart, these pictures make identification of the planet a snap.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this time sequence shot over a period of five days, you can clearly see the planet Neptune move across the field of background stars.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was able to positively identify Pluto in several of my images by carefully watching its movement over the period of a week. Unfortunately, the planet is so tiny and so far away that in our light-polluted skies, the photo is grainy. I will try to get some better images soon! It literally was like searching for a needle in a haystack - taking the photos was the easy part.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Ring Nebula (Messier Object 57 or NGC 6720) is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Lyra, south of its brightest star, Vega. This time of year, both lie near the zenith, directly overhead. M57 is best seen through at least an 8-inch telescope - a 12 inch telescope was used here. This was my first time to image this particular nebula, and it was the highlight of the night.
(Canon EOS20D, f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Field Flattener, Meade 12" LX90 GPS, Jim W. Coleman, Port Orchard, Washington)

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Wild Duck Cluster (Messier Object 11 or NGC 6705) is an open cluster in the constellation Scutum. It contains thousands of stars and is just over 5,000 light years distant. I haven't imaged this in a year - it was a lot of fun to return to it.
(Canon EOS20D, f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Field Flattener, Meade 12" LX90 GPS, Jim W. Coleman, Port Orchard, Washington)

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Omega Nebula (Messier Object 17 or NGC 6618) is also called the Swan Nebula, the Horseshoe Nebula or (particularly south of the equator) the Lobster Nebula. It is a region of star formation and shines by excited emission casued by the higher radiation of young stars. Star formation is either still active in this nebula, or very recently ceased. A small cluster of about 35 bright but obscured stars seems embedded in the nebulosity.
(Canon EOS20D, f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Field Flattener, Meade 12" LX90 GPS, Jim W. Coleman, Port Orchard, Washington)

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Eagle Nebula (Messier Object 15 or NGC 6611) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens. The brightest star in the nebula has an apparent magnitude of 8.24, easily visible with good binoculars. The Eagle Nebula is home to the famous "Pillars of Creation," one of the Hubble Space Telescope's finest images.

(Canon EOS20D, f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Field Flattener, Meade 12" LX90 GPS, Jim W. Coleman, Port Orchard, Washington)

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Globular cluster Messier 15 (M15, NGC 7078) is among the more conspicuous of these great stellar swarms. At a distance of about 33,600 light years, its diameter of 18.0 arc min corresponds to a linear extension of about 175 light-years, and its total visual brightness of 6.2 magnitudes corresponds to an absolute magnitude of -9.17, or roughly 360,000 times that of our sun.
(Canon EOS20D, f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Field Flattener, Meade 12" LX90 GPS, Jim W. Coleman, Port Orchard, Washington)

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)