The Flickr Asi533Mcpro Image Generatr

Messier 104 a.k.a. Sombrero Galaxy
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Discovered 250 years ago, the Sombrero galaxy (The Hat) is an elliptical galaxy located just over 30 million light-years from us and can be seen between the constellation Virgo and the constellation Corvus. According to measurements made by specialists in the field, M104 has a diameter of about 40,000 light-years, being about 3 times smaller than our galaxy. The name of the Hat is given both by the angle from which we can see it, and due to that prominent ring of cosmic dust that surrounds this galaxy and which is also the main source of new star formation. Regarding the nucleus of this galaxy, with the help of special infrared measurements it was found that in the galactic center of M104 there is a massive black hole, larger than in any other galaxy located within a radius of 40 million light years around the Milky Way.
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Equipment and settings:
Mount: Skywatcher Eq6 R
Telescope: 150/750 Newtonian telescope
Camera: ASI 533MC Pro
Total integration: 4 hours.
120 light frames x 2 min + calibration frames.
Stacking in Deep Sky Stacker.
Edit in Pixinsight and Lightroom.

For the first time in months I was able to set up my telescope and do a bit of stargazing. This time I set up my Zenithstar 81 refracting telescope. It has a wider field of view than my Celestron C11. Once I had everything set up and calibrated I found Markarian's Chain of galaxies in the constellation of Virgo to be a good target for the night and spent three hours soaking up the image.

There is a whole string of different galaxies laid out in a curved line. The two largest are the Messier objects M84 and M86 but there is a whole host of other galaxies in this area.

Near the heart of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster the string of galaxies stretches across this view. In the frame at top centre are the prominent lenticular galaxies, M84 and M86, you can follow the chain down and to the left. Its centre is an estimated 50 million light-years away making it the nearest galaxy cluster. With up to about 2,000 member galaxies, it has a noticeable gravitational influence on our own Local Group of Galaxies.

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Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Plus
Main Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro at -10C
Filter: Optolong L-Pro filter
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini guidecam
Guidescope: William Optics Refractor 50/200 mm 50mm

Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 81 APO
Mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro

Stacked from:
Lights 64 at 180 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Darks 30 at 180 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Flats 30 at 2.8 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Dark Flats 30 at 2.8 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C

Bortle 4 sky.
Integrated the saved frames in Astro Pixel Processor processed in PixInsight and titles added in Photoshop CS4.

Galaxie de l'Aiguille dans la Chevelure de Bérénice

Galaxie du Tourbillon
Télescope Celestron Edge HD 8
Caméra ASI533MC Pro
Monture ZWO AM5
Asiair Plus
64 images de 120 secondes
SIRIL + Pixinsight + Lightroom

NGC 4945 is a barred spiral galaxy located approximately 11.7 million light years away from the Earth and is in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered by James Dunlop in 1826.

As it is now getting darker earlier, I am able to capture more data on objects. Looking forward to the next clear night in Melbourne.

Stacked and processed using PixInsight.

Equipment Details:
• GSO 8" Carbon Fibre Ritchey Chretien (RC8) Telescope
• Skywatcher NEQ6 Mount
• ZWO ASI533MC Pro Color Camera cooled to -10'c
• Orion ST80 Guide Scope
• ZWO ASI120 Mini Guide Camera
• ZWO ASIAir Pro for Mount Control, Polar Aligning and Image Acquisition.

Exposure Details:
• 60 X 180 seconds - Bin 1x1

Total Integration Time: 3.0 hours

Amas de la vierge

NGC 2903
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Discovered over 200 years ago by astronomer William Herschel, this galaxy is just over 30 million light-years away and can be seen during the spring nights in the constellation Leo. NGC 2903 is very similar to our galaxy in both size ( abt 100.000 light years diameter) and structure, with both galaxies being classified as "barred galaxies”. What makes it stand out (or not, in terms of popularity) is its position in night sky, being a "field galaxy" or solitary galaxy, meaning it is not part of a larger group of galaxies and is not affected by any external gravitational force, thus being gravitationally alone.
I think that, despite its "shy" position in deep space, this galaxy deserves a popular name, especially since it is not an impossible target, a focal length of 5-600 mm being able to bring out some details.
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Equipment and settings:
Mount: SW EQ6
Telescope: SW 150/750
Camera: ASI 533MC Pro
Integration: 5h30’
Stacking with DSS. Edit in Pixinsight.
Location: my Bortle 6+ backyard

In the attached image you can see a small group of galaxies that are part of the Virgo Galaxies Cluster, an area with a diameter of over 100 million light years that includes thousands of known galaxies.
To structure the data, the main galaxies in this image are:
NGC 4216 (center) is also known as the Silver Streak Galaxy and is located in the constellation Virgo, about 55 million light-years from Earth. With about 100,000 light-years in diameter, Silver Streak is similar in size to our galaxy, and is one of the largest and brightest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 4222 (in the lower left corner) is recorded as part of the constellation Coma Berenice, although it is part of the same group of galaxies. This galaxy is about 62 million light-years away and has an apparent diameter of 70,000 light-years, making it the smallest galaxy in this group.
NGC 4206 (in the upper right corner) has a calculated diameter of just under 100,000 light-years and can be seen in the constellation Virgo, almost 70 million light-years away from us.

As a bonus, in the attached image is visible (barely) a quasar that is 11 BILLION light-years away from Earth. By definition, a quasar is an active galactic nucleus that emits huge amounts of energy, and is also considered one of the oldest "objects" in the universe.
For those interested, I have attached in the lower right corner an image with the position of the quasar.
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Equipment and settings:
Mount: SW EQ6R
Telescope: SW 150/750
Camera: ASI 533MC Pro
Filter: Baader UV/IR cut
Integration: 3h06’ ( 93 exposures x 2min )
Stacking with DSS. Edit in Pixinsight.
Location: my Bortle 6+ backyard

NGC 1808 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the southern constellation of Columba. It was discovered on 10 May 1826 by James Dunlop, who described it as a "faint nebula". The galaxy is a member of the NGC 1808 group, which is part of the larger Dorado Group. It is approximately 42 million light years from Earth which is a very long way....

After imaging our last target - NGC 1672
we decided to give this Galaxy a go as it is part of a group of small galaxies in the Dorado group.

Stacked and processed using PixInsight.

Equipment Details:
• GSO 8" Carbon Fibre Ritchey Chretien (RC8) Telescope
• Skywatcher NEQ6 Mount
• ZWO ASI533MC Pro Color Camera cooled to -10'c
• Orion ST80 Guide Scope
• ZWO ASI120 Mini Guide Camera
• ZWO ASIAir Pro for Mount Control, Polar Aligning and Image Acquisition.

Exposure Details:
• 50 X 180 seconds - Bin 1x1

Total Integration Time: 2.5 hours

NGC 6960 a.k.a. Western Veil Nebula a.k.a. The Witch's Broom
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10,000 years ago, long before the first records in human history, a bright light appeared in the sky and lasted for weeks until it faded and disappeared. Now we know that the phenomenon was caused by the explosion of a supernova, a huge star, 20 times larger than the Sun. What is seen in the attached image is a part of the remnants of that star, remnants that created a cloud consisting mainly of hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue) and which expands with a speed of about 1 milion miles per hour.
This nebula is found in the constellation Cygnus, at a distance of about 2400 light-years from Earth, and is one of the best known summer targets for astrophotography enthusiasts, but due to the large number of stars in that area, it cannot be considered a easy target.
Besides Witch's Broom, other names under which this nebula is known are: Finger of God, Filamentary Nebula or Lacework Nebula.
Equipment and settings:
Mount: SW EQ6R
Telescope: SW Newtonian 150PDS
Camera: ASI 533MC Pro
Filter: Optolong Lextreme
Integration: 6h
88 light frames x 4 min + calibration frames
Stacking with DSS. Edit in Pixinsight si Lightroom.
Location: my Bortle 6+ backyard

NGC 1672 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Dorado. It was discovered by the astronomer James Dunlop on November 5, 1826. It is located approximately 60 million light-years from Earth.

Looking for targets to image, we came across this little galaxy and decided to give it a go as I don't think it is imaged that regularly.

Stacked and processed using PixInsight.

Equipment Details:
• GSO 8" Carbon Fibre Ritchey Chretien (RC8) Telescope
• Skywatcher NEQ6 Mount
• ZWO ASI533MC Pro Color Camera cooled to -10'c
• Orion ST80 Guide Scope
• ZWO ASI120 Mini Guide Camera
• ZWO ASIAir Pro for Mount Control, Polar Aligning and Image Acquisition.

Exposure Details:
• 50 X 180 seconds - Bin 1x1

Total Integration Time: 2.5 hours

Nébuleuse tête de cheval
Constellation d'Orion
30 images de 120 secondes
Télescope Celestron Edge HD 8
Monture ZWO AM5
Caméra ASI533 MC Pro
Asiair Plus
Traitement Pixinsight et Lightroom

Nébuleuse Rosette
Constellation de la Licorne
43 images de 180 secondes
Lunette Sky Watcher 72ED
Monture ZWO AM5
Caméra ASI533 MC Pro
Asiair Plus
Traitement Pixinsight et Lightroom

IC 5146 a.k.a. Cocoon Nebula
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IC5146 is a emission/reflection nebula in interaction with a star cluster. The cosmic dust floating around the nebula and the ionized gas by nearby stars form ideal conditions for the formation of new stars, making the Cocoon Nebula a true cosmic nursery.
As general information, IC 5146 has a diameter of about 15 light years and can be seen in the constellation Cygnus, being at a distance of about 4000 light years from Earth.
#luciannicu
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Equipment and settings:
Mount: Skywatcher Eq6 R
Telescope: Orion Optics VX6
Camera: ASI 533MC Pro
Filter: Baader UV/IR cut
Total integration: 4h.
120 light frames x 120 sec, + calibration frames.
Stacking in Deep Sky Stacker.
Edit in Pixinsight
Location: My Bortle 6+ backyard.

NGC 2997 is a face-on unbarred spiral galaxy about 40 million light-years away from Earth in the southern constellation of Antlia. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1793. It is the brightest galaxy of the NGC 2997 group of galaxies. In the centre core, the arms converge to form a circumnuclear ring with symmetrically-placed hot spots containing super star clusters.

This was the first attempt at using the new to me carbon fibre RC8 Telescope. I am still testing and tuning this new imaging rig and collimating the Ritchey Chretien telescope is quite difficult to get dialed in. Once i am happy with the scope setup, I will start to do some really long exposures on objects rather than try to do an object in one night.

Equipment Details:
• GSO 8" Carbon Fibre Ritchey Chretien (RC8) Telescope
• Skywatcher NEQ6 Mount
• ZWO ASI533MC Pro Color Camera cooled to -10'c
• Orion ST80 Guide Scope
• ZWO ASI120 Mini Guide Camera
• ZWO ASIAir Pro for Mount Control, Polar Aligning and Image Acquisition.

Processed in PixInsight

Exposure Details:
• 30 X 180 seconds - Bin 1x1

Total Integration Time: 90 mins

Nébuleuse IC 434 dite tête de cheval
Constellation d'Orion
30 images de 120 secondes

Messier 1 is better known as the Crab Nebula. Charles Messier originally mistook Messier 1 for Halley’s Comet, which inspired him to create his famous catalogue of celestial objects that might be mistaken for comets.

The Crab Nebula is an expanding remnant of a star's supernova explosion. Japanese and Chinese astronomers recorded this violent event nearly 1,000 years ago in 1054 AD, as likely did the Native Americans. The glowing relic has been expanding since the star exploded, and it is now approximately 11 light-years in width.

The orange filaments are the tattered remains of the star and consist mostly of hydrogen. The blue in the filaments in the outer part of the nebula represents neutral oxygen. These elements were expelled during the supernova explosion.

A rapidly spinning neutron star (the ultra-dense core of the exploded star) is embedded in the centre of the Crab Nebula. Electrons whirling at nearly the speed of light around the star’s magnetic field lines produce the eerie blue light in the interior of the nebula. The neutron star, like a lighthouse, ejects twin beams of radiation that make it appear to pulse 30 times per second as it rotates.

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Telescope: Celestron C11-A XLT Schmidt Cassegrain OTA
Mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro

Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Plus
Main Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro at -10C
Filter: Optolong L-eNhance filter
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI174MM Mini guidecam
Guide via: ZWO OAG

Stacked from:
Lights 47 at 120 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Darks 30 at 120 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Flat 30 at 7.6 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Dark Flat 30 at 7.6 seconds, gain 101 temp -10C

Bortle 4 sky.
Integrated the saved frames in Astro Pixel Processor.
Processed in Pixinsight
Captions added in Photoshop CS4

On the 2nd of January I took a few minutes to capture this colourful open cluster. It is M38, the Starfish Cluster in the constellation of Auriga.

It is about 3500 light years away and 25 light years across. The cluster's brightest stars form a pattern resembling the Greek letter Pi. (If you squint and tilt your head to the right there is a wide strip of stars representing the top of Pi, a bright fine line of stars which would be the 'left leg' of Pi and a fairly indeterminate linear group forming the 'right leg')

The lines can also be interpreted as looking like a starfish (apparently), hence the name for this cluster of stars.


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Telescope: Celestron C11-A XLT Schmidt Cassegrain OTA
Mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro

Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Plus
Main Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro at -10C
Filter: Optolong L-Pro filter
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI174MM Mini guidecam
Guide via: ZWO OAG

Stacked from:
Lights 10 at 60 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Darks 30 at 120 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Flat 30 at 1.1 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Dark Flat 30 at 1.1 seconds, gain 101 temp -10C

Bortle 4 sky.
Integrated the saved frames in Astro Pixel Processor.
Processed in PixInsight
Captions added in Photoshop CS4