The Flickr Asiairplus Image Generatr

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.

The M101 galaxy, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, is a stunning face-on spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major, approximately 21 million light-years away from Earth. With its grand design structure and sprawling arms rich in star-forming regions.

Back yard photography (UK)
Bortle 5/6
Skywatcher 200P
ZWO 2600MC PRO + Dual narrowband filter. (default gain)
Harmonic mount + ZWO ASIAIR mini
3hrs of lights @ 200s each
Calibration frames(darks, flats, bias)

Processed in Pixinsight and Photoshop.
Still learning but happy with the result.

This is a deep space photograph of NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster and Cone Nebula, some of the lovely night sky jewels in our Milky Way. Inside NGC 2264 is Sh2-273 the Fox Fur Nebula—which is the bright, blue nebula at the center of the image along with some intermingling nebulosity—which, now that I have been able to appreciate it more with this photograph, quickly became one of my favorite objects in space.

Alternate Photograph with Closer View
www.flickr.com/photos/jamespeirce/54418093584

I’ve wanted to photograph this region for a while now with the idea of making a fun family Christmas card. Maybe even doing something seasonally themed with narrowband images and colorful RGB stars. And then probably never sending a Christmas card out again. That ambition got kicked down the road year after year for a while. Around the time NGC 2264 starts climbing in my skies temperatures are starting to drop well below freezing and weather become rather consistently cloudy and gloomy. Then the holidays come and go. And then, when I do have an opportunity coming out of winter, I’m usually after one of the other amazing winter targets.

This year, though, I decided to buck the trend, and spent some time on NGC 2264 over a couple clear nights coming out of winter. I’m glad I did! Some aspects of this nebula ended up being much more amazing than I anticipated, and the Fox Fur Nebula, and region around it, in particular, earned its place as one of my favorite objects in space, and this ended up being one of my favorite photographs.

This photograph of NGC 2264 was taken over three nights—one in 2022 and two in February of 2025—in Skull Valley, Utah. I used my Epsilon Takahashi 180D telescope for color images used to create this image and incorporated some narrowband (photographing specific wavelengths of light, much as the Hubble Space Telescope does) which I photographed with my Takahashi FS-60CB (0.72x Reducer) and my Takahashi FCT-65D (0.65x Reducer) (one night in 2022 and the other in 2025, with the later telescope upgrading the former). Images were stacked together and edited in PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop.

For more editing notes and other technical details see my website link below.

Equipment Used
Takahashi FS-60CB (0.72x Reducer)
Takahashi FCT-65D (0.65x Reducer)
- ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Astronomik MaxFR Hα & OIII
- Rainbow Astro RST 135E
- ZWO ASIAir Plus
Takahashi ε180D (1.5x Extender)
- ZWO ASI2600MC Pro Duo
- ZWO AM5
- ZWO ASIAir Plus

For more information about NGC 2264, other photographs, information about how this was photographed, editing notes, see:
mypetstars.com/astrophotography/NGC2264

Creative Commons License
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED
Attribute to James Peirce

This is a deep space photograph of NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster and Cone Nebula, some of the lovely night sky jewels in our Milky Way. Inside NGC 2264 is Sh2-273 the Fox Fur Nebula—which is the bright, blue nebula at the center of the image along with some intermingling nebulosity—which, now that I have been able to appreciate it more with this photograph, quickly became one of my favorite objects in space.

This is a second version of this photograph, meant to share some of the lovely objects in this nebulous region without needing to zoom in. This also orients the Christmas Tree Cluster—shown center to the right of the bright blue nebula and ending above at the round nebula which looks like Pac-Man chomping upward—in a way that may be easier to see.

Original Photograph With Wider View
www.flickr.com/photos/jamespeirce/54417032292

I’ve wanted to photograph this region for a while now with the idea of making a fun family Christmas card. Maybe even doing something seasonally themed with narrowband images and colorful RGB stars. And then probably never sending a Christmas card out again. That ambition got kicked down the road year after year for a while. Around the time NGC 2264 starts climbing in my skies temperatures are starting to drop well below freezing and weather become rather consistently cloudy and gloomy. Then the holidays come and go. And then, when I do have an opportunity coming out of winter, I’m usually after one of the other amazing winter targets.

This year, though, I decided to buck the trend, and spent some time on NGC 2264 over a couple clear nights coming out of winter. I’m glad I did! Some aspects of this nebula ended up being much more amazing than I anticipated, and the Fox Fur Nebula, and region around it, in particular, earned its place as one of my favorite objects in space, and this ended up being one of my favorite photographs.

This photograph of NGC 2264 was taken over three nights—one in 2022 and two in February of 2025—in Skull Valley, Utah. I used my Epsilon Takahashi 180D telescope for color images used to create this image and incorporated some narrowband (photographing specific wavelengths of light, much as the Hubble Space Telescope does) which I photographed with my Takahashi FS-60CB (0.72x Reducer) and my Takahashi FCT-65D (0.65x Reducer) (one night in 2022 and the other in 2025, with the later telescope upgrading the former). Images were stacked together and edited in PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop.

For more editing notes and other technical details see my website link below.

Equipment Used
Takahashi FS-60CB (0.72x Reducer)
Takahashi FCT-65D (0.65x Reducer)
- ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Astronomik MaxFR Hα & OIII
- Rainbow Astro RST 135E
- ZWO ASIAir Plus
Takahashi ε180D (1.5x Extender)
- ZWO ASI2600MC Pro Duo
- ZWO AM5
- ZWO ASIAir Plus

For more information about NGC 2264, other photographs, information about how this was photographed, editing notes, see:
mypetstars.com/astrophotography/NGC2264

Creative Commons License
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED
Attribute to James Peirce

XWO ASI 533 MCPro camera/Skywatcher esprit 100 ‘scope. 38 x 5 mins + calibration frames

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

It was bitterly cold on the night of 2nd January 2025, but what a beautifully crystal clear starry night it was. So the year began with stargazing late into the night (or early morning).
To begin proceedings I spent over 4 hours capturing this image of IC 342, the Hidden Galaxy in the northern constellation of Camelopardilus.

It is a spiral galaxy the far side of the equator of the Milky Way’s pearly disk, which is crowded with thick cosmic gas, dark dust, and glowing stars that all obscure our view, earning it the nickname of the Hidden Galaxy. It is roughly 11 million light years away and about 50,000 light-years across (half the size of our own Milk Way galaxy).

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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 126 at 120 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

Messier 74 (also known as NGC 628 and Phantom Galaxy) is a large spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces. It is about 32 million light-years away from Earth. The galaxy contains two clearly defined spiral arms and is therefore used as an archetypal example of a grand design spiral galaxy. The galaxy's low surface brightness makes it the most difficult Messier object for amateur astronomers to observe. Its relatively large apparent size and the galaxy's face-on orientation make it an ideal object for astronomers who want to study spiral arm structure and spiral density waves. It is estimated that M74 hosts about 100 billion 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 110 at 120 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

The Deer Lick Galaxy Group is really only a visual grouping of galaxies in the constellation Pegasus.

The large, spiral galaxy NGC 7331 in the centre of this picture is a foreground galaxy in the same field of view as the collection known as the Deer Lick Group. It contains four other members, affectionately referred to as the "fleas": the lenticular or unbarred spirals NGC 7335 and NGC 7336, the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7337 and the elliptical galaxy NGC 7340. These galaxies lie at distances of approximately 332, 365, 348 and 294 million light years, respectively.

Although adjacent on the sky, this collection is not a galaxy group, as NGC 7331 itself is not gravitationally associated with the far more distant "fleas"; indeed, even they are separated by far more than the normal distances (~2 million light years) of a galaxy group.

Even so, it is nice to be able to capture so many galaxies in one shot.


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

Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Pro
Main Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro at -10C
Filter: ZWO UV/IR Cut filter
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI174MM Mini guidecam
Guide via: ZWO OAG

Stacked from:
Lights 93 at 120 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Darks 30 at 120 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Flat 30 at 1.14s, gain 101, temp -10C
Dark Flat 30 at 1.14s, gain 101 temp -10C

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

This is my only shot of the comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) that everyone has been talking about in recent weeks. It has passed its prime and is fading now as it zooms away from the sun for another 80,000 years.

The relentless cloud cover prevented me from seeing it until a couple of days ago. A rare clear night, so I pointed my Celestron C11 scope up and this is what it saw, after a bit of processing with PixInsight to extract and align the coment and reapply to the starless image. It turns out that is harder than it sounds.

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

Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Plus 256G
Main Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro at -10C
Filter: ZWO UV/IR Cut filter
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI174MM Mini guidecam
Guide via: ZWO OAG

Stacked from:
Lights 40 at 10 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Darks 30 at 10 seconds, gain 101, temp -10C
Flats 30 at 610ms, gain 101, temp -10C
Dark Flats 30 at 610ms, gain 101 temp -10C

Bortle 4 sky.
Integrated and processed in PixInsight
Added captions in Photoshop CS4

The Andromeda Galaxy featuring it's rich hydrogen alpha nebulae regions.

Deep Sky Object NGC 7000

North America nebula was photographed under a 100% Full "Hunter's" Moon.

63 Lights x 300 sec
25 Darks
30 Flats
50 Bias

Redcat 51
ASI2600MC Pro
Star Adventurer GTi
ASIAIR Plus
L-Ultimate filter
Bortle 5

Stacked and part processed in PixInsight, Lightroom and Photoshop