The Flickr Canonra Image Generatr

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This page simply reformats the Flickr public Atom feed for purposes of finding inspiration through random exploration. These images are not being copied or stored in any way by this website, nor are any links to them or any metadata about them. All images are © their owners unless otherwise specified.

This site is a busybee project and is supported by the generosity of viewers like you.

Aurora of May 31, 2025 - Zenith Fish-Eye View by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

Aurora of May 31, 2025 - Zenith Fish-Eye View

The great aurora of May 31/June 1, 2025, here looking straight up in an ultra-wide fish-eye view taking in much of the sky, during the peak of the substorm with the curtains lighting up with a range of colours blending together, and converging at the magnetic zenith. The Kp Index peaked at Kp8 this night.

The Summer Triangle stars are at left to the east; Arcturus is at right to the west. The Big DIpper is partly cut off at top, to the north. South is at bottom. Corona Borealis is near centre at the zenith.

Technical:
A single 10-second exposure with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8 on the Canon Ra at ISO 800. Taken as part of a time-lapse sequence.

Aurora of May 31, 2025 - Northern Pulsations by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

Aurora of May 31, 2025 - Northern Pulsations

The great aurora of May 31/June 1, 2025, here looking north following a substorm outburst that lit up the sky. This is a wide view covering much of the northern half of the sky, with the aurora in a post-storm recovery phase and showing pulsating and flickering curtains, blurred here in a single long exposure. Cassiopeia is below centre low in the north; the Big Dipper is at upper left. Polaris is left of centre.

Technical:
A single 10-second exposure with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8 on the Canon Ra at ISO 800.

NGC 1316 Elliptical Spiral in Fornax by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 1316 Elliptical Spiral in Fornax

This is the bright (magnitude 8.5) elliptical galaxy NGC 1316, aka Fornax A, in Fornax the Furnace. It is surrounded by faint tidal streams of stars, just recorded here, the result of collisions and mergers with other galaxies.

Just above it is the smaller elliptical NGC 1318. At top is the edge-on spiral NGC 1316A and companion NGC 1316B, and the barred spiral NGC 1326 with an odd ring shape. At right is NGC 1310.

Technical:
This is a stack of 15 x 4 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/5.6 with its 0.8x Reducer, with the Canon Ra at ISO 800. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southern Arizona, October 2024. Galaxy details brought out with Starizona's GalaxyEnhance action and Nik Color EFX Detail Extractor filter.

NGC 1097 Barred Spiral in Fornax by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 1097 Barred Spiral in Fornax

This is the bright (magnitude 9.5) face-on barred spiral galaxy NGC 1097 in Fornax the Furnace. Just on its northern edge is the companion galaxy NGC 1097A. The main galaxy is also classified as a Seyfert galaxy, due to its active quasar-like nucleus housing a massive black hole. NGC 1097 is also Caldwell 67 and Arp 77.

Technical:
This is a stack of 10 x 6 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/7, with the Canon Ra at ISO 1600. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southern Arizona, October 2024. Galaxy details brought out with Starizona's GalaxyEnhance action and Nik Color EFX Detail Extractor filter.

Galaxy and Globular Cluster in Sculptor by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

Galaxy and Globular Cluster in Sculptor

This is the pairing of the bright and large edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 253 with the large and loose globular star cluster NGC 288. The two are just 1.75 degrees apart in the constellation Sculptor, but are actually 12 million light years apart in space, with NGC 288 belonging to our Milky Way Galaxy, while NGC 253 is another galaxy altogether!

They lie close to the South Galactic Pole, so are directly below the plane of the Milky Way, indeed as far from the Milky Way band as you can get!

NGC 253 is one of the brightest galaxies in the sky and belongs to the Sculptor Group, one of the next galaxy groups out from our own Local Group that includes the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies. NGC 253 is a spiral galaxy, while NGC 288 is a Class X globular, meaning it is loose and easily resolved.

NGC 253 is also known as the Silver Coin Galaxy and is Caldwell 65 in Sir Patrick Moore's list of non-Messier objects.

The field is 3º by 2º.

Technical:
This is a stack of 20 x 3-minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor with its 0.8x Reducer for 560mm focal length and f/5.6, and the Canon Ra at ISO 1600. No filter was employed. The mount was the Astro-Physics AP400, autoguided with the MGEN3 autoguider. Taken Oct 2/3, 2024 from the Quailway Cottage in southeastern Arizona, where even from latitude 32º N the objects are still fairly low in the south.

NGC 300, the Sculptor Pinwheel Galaxy by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 300, the Sculptor Pinwheel Galaxy

This is the bright and moderately large spiral galaxy NGC 300, aka the Sculptor Pinwheel, as it is in the southern constellation of Sculptor. It is also Caldwell 70. It was discovered in 1826 by James Dunlop. NGC 300 may be a member of the Sculptor Group of nearby galaxies close to our own Local Group. Or it might lie closer to us than the Sculptor Group, along with NGC 55.

Technical:
This is a stack of 16 x 4 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/5.6 with its 0.8x Reducer, and the Canon Ra at ISO 800. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in Arizona, October 2024. Galaxy details brought out with Starizona Galaxy Enhance action and Nik Color EFX Detail Extractor.

NGC 247, the "Dusty Spiral" Galaxy in Cetus by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 247, the "Dusty Spiral" Galaxy in Cetus

This is the bright and moderately large spiral galaxy NGC 247 in southern Cetus, known as the Dusty Spiral. It is also Caldwell 62. It is a member of the Sculptor Group of nearby galaxies close to our own Local Group. A group of small faint 14th to 16th magnitude PGC galaxies called Burbidge's Chain lies just above NGC 247.

Technical:
This is a stack of 16 x 4 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/5.6 with its 0.8x Reducer, and the Canon Ra at ISO 800. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in Arizona, October 2024. Galaxy details brought out with Starizona Galaxy Enhance action and Nik Color EFX Detail Extractor.

NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula

This is the large and relatively bright (magnitude 7.6) planetary nebula NGC 7293, known as the Helix Nebula, in Aquarius. It is thought to be one of the closest planetary nebulas to us, at 650 light years away, thus its large size, nearly 1/4º across, half the size of the Moon's disk. There's an outer halo that is twice that size but only the brightest portion of it is recorded here as a partial arc. The Helix is also Caldwell 63.

The bright star at left is 5th magnitude star Upsilon Aquarii, which I composed to be in the frame and not on the edge if the Helix had been centered.

Technical:
This is a blend of:
- a stack of 24 x 8 minute exposures with no filter, blended with
- a stack of 20 x 12 minute exposures with an IDAS NBX narrowband filter to isolate just the green Oxygen III and red Hydrogen alpha light.

All through the Askar APO120 refrractor at f/7, taken over 2 nights as the object was not well-placed for long enough for all the images to be taken in one night. Shot using the Canon Ra, at ISO 3200 for the filtered frames and ISO 1600 for the unfiltered shots. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southern Arizona in October 2024. Adobe AI DeNoise applied to the raw files.

Messier 71 in Sagitta by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

Messier 71 in Sagitta

This is the modestly bright (8th magnitude) globular star cluster Messier 71 in Sagitta the Arrow. It appears in the eyepiece more like a rich open star cluster, but in fact is a loose globular cluster. Below M71 is the dim and loose open cluster Harvard 20 which barely stands out from the background starfield here. The orange star at right is 4th magnitude Delta Sagittae. Above it is the blue 5th magnitude Zeta Sagittae.

The field of view is 2.4° by 1.6°.

Technical:
This is a stack of 12 x 8 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/7 and the Canon Ra at ISO 1600. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona in October 2024.

NGC 246, the Skull Nebula in Cetus by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 246, the Skull Nebula in Cetus

This is the planetary nebula NGC 246, aka the Skull Nebula, in Cetus, a planetary with a structured disk and a 12th magnitude central star. It is about 1600 light years away. Just above it is the galaxy NGC 255. Just to the right of that spiral galaxy and below a bright star is the odd-looking 14th-magnitude spiral galaxy PGC 2689.

Technical:
This is a stack of 16 x 4 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/5.6 with its 0.8x Reducer, with the Canon Ra at ISO 1600. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southern Arizona on an astrophoto junket in October 2024.

Messier 10 Globular in Ophiuchus by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

Messier 10 Globular in Ophiuchus

This is the modestly bright (6.6th magnitude) globular star cluster Messier 10 in Ophiuchus, in a fairly sparse area of sky compared to some of the other globular clusters in the area that are embedded in rich starfields. But this is one of the best of the several Messier globulars in Ophiuchus. The orange star at left is 5th magnitude 30 Ophiuchi.

The field of view is 2.4° by 1.6°.

Technical:
This is a stack of 8 x 6 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/7 and the Canon Ra at ISO 800. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona in October 2024 with the field getting low in the southwest.

NGC 1360, the Robin's Egg Nebula in Fornax by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 1360, the Robin's Egg Nebula in Fornax

This is the large 9th magnitude blue-green planetary nebula NGC 1360 in Fornax the Furnace. It is also known as the Robin's Egg Nebula.

NGC 1360 is odd in that it is a more uniform disk, not a ring or bi-polar object as are many planetaries. The 11th magnitude central star is visible.

The barred spiral galaxy NGC 1398 is at lower left.

Technical:
This is a stack of 10 x 6 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/7 and with the Canon Ra at ISO 1600. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona in the pre-dawn hours of October 9, 2024.

Messier 9 Globular in Ophiuchus by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

Messier 9 Globular in Ophiuchus

This is the modestly bright (7th magnitude) globular star cluster Messier 9 in Ophiuchus. It is adjacent to a region of dark nebulosity. The much smaller and dimmer (8th magnitude) globular NGC 6356 is at upper left.

The field of view is 2.4° by 1.6°.

Technical:
This is a stack of just 5 x 5 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/7 and the Canon Ra at ISO 1600. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona in October 2024 with the field getting low in the southwest, thus the short and few exposures.

NGC 55 Galaxy in Sculptor by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 55 Galaxy in Sculptor

This is the large (1/2º across) and bright (8th magnitude) edge-on galaxy NGC 55 in Sculptor. It is one of the brightest members of the Sculptor Group of galaxies near the South Galactic Pole, though some consider it a member of our own Local Group. It has an asymmetrical shape and is crossed by dark dust lanes. It is classed as a barred spiral.

The field of view is 3° by 2°.

Technical:
This is a stack of 16 x 4 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/5.6 (with its 0.8x Reducer) and the Canon Ra at ISO 1000. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona in October 2024, with this field low in the south.

Messier 55 in Sagittarius by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

Messier 55 in Sagittarius

This is the bright (6th magnitude) and large (about 40 to 60 arc minutes) globular star cluster Messier 55 in Sagittarius. Visually, it is surprisingly large, rich and resolvable in the eyepiece, but tends to get ignored as it is so isolated in eastern Sagittarius, and it is quite low for northern observers. Even Charles Messier himself had difficulty finding it after Nicholas Lacaille reported it to him.

The field of view is 2.4° by 1.6°.

Technical:
This is a stack of 8 x 6 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/7 and the Canon Ra at ISO 800. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona in October 2024.

Messier 17 in Sagittarius by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

Messier 17 in Sagittarius

This is Messier 17, aka the Swan, or Omega, or Checkmark Nebula in Sagittarius — it is a nebula of many names. It was catalogued by Charles Messier in 1764, and is one of the finest nebulas in the sky. It is accompanied by the open cluster NGC 6618. The cluster M18 is just cut off at bottom.

The long exposures and processing brings out more of the fainter surrounding nebulosity, obscuring the "swan" or "checkmark" shape that is obvious to the eye in a telescope.

Technical:
This is a stack of 8 x 4-minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/5.6 with the 0.8x Reducer and the Canon Ra at ISO 800. No filter was employed here. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona in October 2024 with the field low in the southwest. On the AP400 mount, autoguided with the MGEN3.

Messier 22 Globular in Sagittarius by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

Messier 22 Globular in Sagittarius

This is the large and bright (5th magnitude) globular star cluster Messier 22 in Sagittarius. It is one of the best such clusters in the sky, but often neglected by northern observers due to its low altitude from northern latitudes. The much smaller and dimmer (9th magnitude) globular NGC 6642 is at upper right.

The field of view is 2.4° by 1.6°.

Technical:
This is a stack of 8 x 6 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/7 and the Canon Ra at ISO 800. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona in October 2024.

NGC 6712 Globular and IC 1295 Planetary in Scutum by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 6712 Globular and IC 1295 Planetary in Scutum

This is the 8th magnitude globular cluster NGC 6712 (at right) next to the 12th magnitude green planetary nebula IC 1295, both in Scutum the Shield and in a rich starfield. The globular appears yellowed by interstellar dust? They form a visual duo that is obvious even through the eyepiece of a telescope of modest aperture.

Technical:
This is a stack of 16 x 6 minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor at f/7 and with the Canon Ra at ISO 800. Taken from the Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona on October 8, 2024 with the waxing Moon up and below the field.

The Milky Way Over the Sailing Stone: A Night Under the Stars at Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California. by astroval1

© astroval1, all rights reserved.

The Milky Way Over the Sailing Stone: A Night Under the Stars at Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California.

Racetrack Playa is a place of natural intrigue. Situated in the heart of Death Valley, this dry, cracked lake bed is renowned for its "sailing stones" — large rocks that mysteriously move across the playa, leaving long tracks behind them. For decades, these stones puzzled scientists and visitors alike, as no one could quite figure out how these hefty rocks glided across the desert floor. It wasn’t until recently that a rare combination of ice, water, and wind was identified as the culprit behind their movement.

When night falls at Racetrack Playa, another marvel unfolds overhead. With its location in one of the darkest national parks in the U.S., the sky above Death Valley becomes a portal to the universe. The absence of light pollution allows for one of the most pristine views of the Milky Way, an ocean of stars arching across the sky, giving photographers an ideal canvas for astrophotography.

Panorama 27 photos, Canon EOS Ra, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens, f/2.8, ISO-25600, 20 seconds each photo.

Standing in the silence of Racetrack Playa under the brilliant Milky Way, one feels both humbled and uplifted. The ancient stones, moved over time by forces unseen, seem like they are part of a larger cosmic ballet, just as the stars above trace their eternal paths through space. In that quiet desert night, there is a profound sense of stillness, yet the sky and stones speak of movement across millennia.

NGC 6723 & The Field of Nothing in Corona Australis by Amazing Sky Photography

© Amazing Sky Photography, all rights reserved.

NGC 6723 & The Field of Nothing in Corona Australis

This frames the field in the southern constellation of Corona Australis, the Southern Crown, that is rich in bluish reflection nebulosity and brownish dusty absorption nebulas. Also in the field, but much more distant than the nebulas, is the globular star cluster NGC 6723.

The dark nebula complex is sometimes called the Anteater Nebula. Australian observers call the dense opaque area (the body of the Anteater) the "Field of Nothing," as a telescope at moderate power aimed at the area shows nothing at all, not even a star. The blue reflection nebulas are catalogued as NGC 6726, NGC 6727 and NGC 6729. The entire area is dubbed the Corona Australis Cloud Complex, or Dark Nebula Complex.

The field of view is about 3° by 2°.

Technical:
This is a stack of 19 x 4-minute exposures, unfiltered, through the Askar APO120 refractor with its 0.8x Reducer/Flattener for f/5.6 and 670mm focal length, and the Canon Ra camera at ISO 800. Taken October 3, 2024 from the Quailway Cottage near Rodeo, New Mexico, but in Arizona, at 32° N latitude. On the Astro-Physics AP400 mount, autoguided with the Lacerta MGEN3 stand-alone auto-guider. The field was low in the south in the early evening, and prone to some blurring and atmospheric refraction, but was still high enough to provide good sky quality for 80 minutes of shooting.