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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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
The open cluster pictured above, M11, contains thousands of stars and is just over three thousand light years distant. The stars in this cluster all formed together about 150 million years ago. The many bright stars in the cluster appear blue. Open clusters, also called galactic clusters, contain fewer and younger stars than globular clusters. Also unlike globular clusters, open clusters are generally confined to the plane of our Galaxy. Photo by Jim W. Coleman. (12" LX90 GPS, Canon EOS 20D, 20 sec.)
Well, it's rained in the Seattle area for the last ten days or so. Actually, some of the days have been nice, but nights have been socked in with clouds and rain. Tonight, I spied a moment of opportunity and brought 160 pounds of equipment to the ready in hopes of having a few hours of clear skies (and clear mind) to image. I started with Venus but got no good shots as I was using a flimsy tripod. (You can't see Venus from the St. Wiggles Observatory, so I had to mount the Canon EOS 20D on a Celestron 90 and pack it down the road on an ordinary camera tripod. You know that doesn't work and so did I, but I had to try.)
Continue reading "02/18/2007 - SNAPPY SEATTLE-AREA STARGAZING"
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My first attempt at the Andromeda Galaxy (Canon EOS 20D at prime focus, single 20 second exposure.) I stacked eight such photos with Registax but didn't see any improvement. Doesn't look like the Andromeda Galaxy I see in everyone else's pictures, but I'll keep working it. Seeing conditions were not very optimal as it was getting cold and hazy; and there was a lot of reflected light in the air. It will take extremely good seeing conditions and a lot more than 8 stacked images. :)
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