the Rosette nebula


Rosette nebula (aka NGC 2237, NGC 2238, NGC 2239, NGC 2244, NGC 2246) is an emission nebula associated with open clusters of stars located in the constellation of Monoceros, 5,200 light years away.

Imaged from Ocala, Florida through Ha, OIII and SII filters and processed using Hubble palette, assigning SII to RED, OIII to BLUE and Ha to GREEN.
20 minute exposures combined to a total of:
3 hours Ha (binned 1x1)
3 hours OIII (binned 1x1)
3 hours SII (binned 1x1)
Processed in Photoshop using Hubble palette
Imaging telescope: Orion 80mm EON (Focal length 480mm)
Imaging camera: QSI 683 wsg-8
Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II german equatorial mount

Barnard 33 the Horsehead nebula


Barnard 33, the Horsehead nebula, is a dark nebula located in IC 434, an emission nebula in Orion located about 1,500 light years from Earth. Dark nebula is an area of dense, thick dust, and from Earth, has the appearance of a horse's head. The pink nebula is IC 434, an emission nebula. The pinkish glow originates from hydrogen gas behind the nebula, which is ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis.

RGB data: 50 minute Red, Green and Blue (binned 2x2)
Ha: 5 hours (binned 1x1) using the 8 inch RCT.
Processedd in Photoshop CS5
Imaging telescope: Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chrétien (FL 1625mm).
Imaging camera: QSI 683 wsg-8
Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II
Astrodon Tru-balance E-Series Generation II LRGB filters

Astrodon 5nm Ha filter

M74 a Grand Design Galaxy in Pisces


M74 is a Grand Design Spiral, face-on, galaxy in the constellation of Pisces located about 32 million light years from Earth. A grand design galaxy has arms of the galaxy that are well defined and extends clearly around the galaxy.
This was imaged using a combination of cameras and telescopes. I imaged the luminance with the QSI 683 wsg-8 and the color data was imaged with a modified Canon T1i in 2011.
Imaged from Ocala, FL
Six min exposures stacked in DeepSkyStacker for a total of 5 hours 43 min using a modified Canon Ti1 (RGB data).
Six minute exposures totaling 1 hour and 30 min in Luminance using a QSI 683 wsg-8 CCD camera.
Processed in Photoshop CS5
Imaging telescopes: Astro-Tech 6" Ritchey-Chrétien (RGB from 2011) and Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chrétien (Luminance from 2013)
Imaging cameras: Modified Canon T1i (RGB data from 2011) and the QSI 683 wsg-8 (Luminance from 2013)

Losmandy G 11 with Gemini II

NGC 891


NGC 891 is an edge-on barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Andromeda, located about 30 million light years from Earth.
This was imaged using a combination of cameras and telescopes. I imaged the luminance with the QSI 683 wsg-8 and the color data was imaged with a modified Canon T1i in 2011.
Imaged from Ocala, FL
Combination of 240 sec. and 360 sec. exposure stacked in DeepSkyStacker for a total of 5 hours and 23 minutes in the RGB channel
6 minute exposures stacked in DeepSkyStacker totaling 3.6 hours in the luminance channel.
Processed in Photoshop CS5
Imaging telescopes: Astro-Tech 6" Ritchey-Chrétien (RGB from 2011) and Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chrétien (Luminance from 2013)
Imaging cameras: Modified Canon T1i (RGB data from 2011) and the QSI 683 wsg-8 (Luminance from 2013)
Losmandy G 11 with Gemini II German equatorial mount

IC 410 the Tadpoles in Hubble palette


IC 410 an emission nebula about 12,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Auriga. Near the center of the nebulous region is a star cluster ( NGC 1893) and just to the bottom right of this cluster lies two structures that resemble tadpoles. These structures are made of leftover hydrogen and dust from the formation of the star cluster and the "tails" are from the solar wind coming from the stars of NGC 1893.
Imaged from Ocala, Florida through Ha, OIII and SII filters and processed using Hubble palette, assigning SII to RED, OIII to BLUE and Ha to GREEN.
20 minute exposures combined to a total of:
4 hours Ha (binned 1x1)
2 hours and 20 min OIII (binned 1x1)
2 hours and 20 min SII (binned 1x1)
Processed in Photoshop using Hubble palette
Imaging telescope: Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chrétien
Imaging camera: QSI 683 wsg-8
Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II german equatorial mount

NGC 7635, the Bubble nebula in Bicolor


NGC 7635 the Bubble nebula using bicolor narrowband technique
NGC 7635, the Bubble nebula in the Constellation Cassiopeia located 7100 to 11,000 light years from Earth.  This was processed by assigning Ha to red and OIII to blue and mashing Ha and OIII to create a "synthetic green".
Ha 20min subs totaling 3 hours.
OIII 20 min subs totaling 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Imaging camera:  QSI 683 wsg-8
Imaging telescope:  Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chrétien (FL 1625mm)
Losmandy g11 Gemini II German equatorial mount
Taken October 10 and 11, 2013

Melotte 15 using bicolor narrowband technique


Melotte 15, a star cluster in the center of the Heart nebula.
Imaged from Ocala, Florida and processed using Ha and OII data to creast an image using narrowband bicolor technique, assigning Ha to red, OIII to blue.  Ha and OIII were then used to create a "false green" color.
Ha: 4 hours (binned 1x1) 
OIII: 2 hours and 20 minute (binned 1x1)
Imaging telescopes: Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chrétien (FL 1625mm).
Imaging camera: QSI 683 wsg-8 
Losmandy G-11 with Gemini 2

NGC 281 the Pacman nebula




NGC 281 the Pac Man nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation of Cassiopeia about 9,500 light years from Earth. NGC 281 is home to IC 1590, a star cluster, and several Bok globules. Bok globules are areas of dark, dense dust found in HII regions. These dense areas ungo gravitaional collapse which in turn forms double stars or multiple star systems.
Imaged from Ocala, FL
Imaging telescope: Astro-Tech 8 inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope
Imaging camera: QSI 683wsg-8
Ha data 3 hours
SII and OIII data 2 hours and 20 minutes each filter.
PS CS5
Losmandy G11 with Gemini II



IC 410 the Tadpoles


IC 410 an emission nebula about 12,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Auriga. Near the center of the nebulous region is a star cluster ( NGC 1893) and just to the bottom right of this cluster lies two structures that resemble tadpoles. These structures are made of leftover hydrogen and dust from the formation of the star cluster and the "tails" are from the solar wind coming from the stars of NGC 1893.
Imaged November 8, 2013 and December 4, 6,7 and 18, 2012 from Ocala, Florida
RGB: 1 hour 18 min Red, 1 hour Green and 1 hour Blue (binned 1x1) using 80mm EON
Ha: 4 hours (binned 1x1) using the Astro-Tech 8 inch Ritchey-Chretien Telescope
PS CS5
Orion 80mm EON (FL 480mm) RGB data
Orion 50mm guide scope with SSAG
QSI 683 wsg-8
Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II
Astrodon Tru-balance E-Series Generation II LRGB filters
Astrodon 5nm Ha filter


Melotte 15 in Hubble palette


Melotte 15 is an Emission nebula with star cluster in the center of the Heart nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. 
Imaged from Ocala, Florida through Ha, OIII and SII . filters 
20 minutes exposures combined to a total of: 
3 hours Ha (binned 1x1) 
2 hours and 20 minutes OIII (binned 1x1) 
2 hours and 20 minutes SII (binned 1x1) 
Processed in Photoshop using Hubble Palette 
Imaging Telescope: Astro-Tech 8 "Ritchey-Chrétien 
Imaging camera: QSI 683 wsg-8 
Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II german equatorial mount

**This image can be seen as featured in NationalGeographic.com "Best New Space Pictures: Jellyfish Wave, Moons Dance and Sun Winks".

NGC 7635 the Bubble nebula in Hubble palette


NGC 7538, the Bubble nebula, is an HII Emission nebula in the constellation of Cassiopeia around 7,100 to 11,000 light years from Earth.The bubble is created by intense radiation and stellar winds from nearby stars. . This was collected over several nights this past month from my light polluted skies of central Florida 
Ha 20min subs totaling 4 hours. 
OIII 20 min subs totaling 3 hours. 
SII 20 min subs totaling 3 hours. 
Imaging camera: QSI 683 wsg-8 
Imaging Telescope: Astro-Tech 8 "Ritchey-Chretien with a focal length of 1625mm (f / 8)
Losmandy G11 with Gemini II equatorial mount
Taken October 10, 11, 26 and 27, 2013

NGC 7293 the Helix nebula


NGC 7293, the Helix nebula, in the constellation Aquarius measured to be 700 light years from Earth.  This was imaged late in September and into October from my light polluted skies, using Ha and OIII filters.  The Helix nebula is a planetary nebula and was named so based on the appearance of a helical structure from the vantage point here from Earth.  The colors are from gas expelled from a dying star.  As a star fuses all of it's hydrogen at the core and begins to fuse helium, the outer shell becomes much cooler than the core and the gravity from the star can no longer hold it near therefore expelling the outer shell.  This process will continue until a dim ember of a star, a white dwaf, is left.  
Ha 20min subs totaling 1 hour and 20 minutes.
OIII 20 min subs totaling 2 hours.
Imaging camera:  QSI 683 wsg-8
Losmandy G11 Gemini II German equatorial mount.
Imaging telescope:  Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chretien with a focal length of 1625mm (f/8)
Taken September 26 and October 5, 2013
**This image can be seen as featured in NationalGeographic.com "Best New Space Pictures: Galactic Goblins, Alaskan Glows".


Helix in Hydrogen alpha

I am slowly getting back into a decent weather pattern so hopefully I'll be imaging on a regular basis soon.  Here is Helix nebula in Hydrogen alpha.  This is 1 hour and 20 minutes of integration time with the AstroTech 8 inch RCT and the QSI 683 wsg-8.  I am hopeful to get in some OIII soon (I'm just waiting for a break in the clouds).
Helix nebula, a planetary nebula, is about 695 light years away in the constellation Aquarius and is the closest planetary nebula to Earth.
More to follow....

Reflecting on my reflections

I set out to image IC 63 "the Ghost of Cassiopeia" and happened across ghosting of a different type.  Come to find out I was getting some diffraction spikes from Navi.  After posting the question on Cloudy Nights  it looks as though CCD chips can reflect light from the sensor, onto the filter, and cause ghost reflections.  The light from a bright star (in this case a magnitude 2.15 star) is reflected internally by the narrowband filter and entered the CCD chip again causing the spider pattern seen in the image.    The pixel cells on the CCD surface is acting as a diffraction grating which is the reason for the even spacing of the spider vane shadows.  Many pixel cells, on the chip, are causing the many spider vanes to appear.
Lesson....avoid imaging targets with bright stars in the field using this gear.
Imaging scope AstroTech 8 inch Ritchey-Chretien
AstroTech Field Flattner
Astrodon 5nm Ha filter
QSI 683wsg-8
20 min subs

Reprocessed Melotte 15 from November 2012


I've reworked some data I got last year of a portion of the Heart nebula, Melotte 15.  This was taken with the Orion 80mm EON and the QSI 683 combining Ha and RGB. 
Melotte 15 is a cluster of stars about 1.5 million years old.  The cloud formation is from stellar winds and radiation from the super hot young stars

Published Letter to the Editor from the Ocala Star Banner


IN YOUR OPINION

Letters to the Editor for Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013

Published: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, August 16, 2013 at 7:15 p.m.
Another downtown study is planned?
The front page of Tuesday's Star-Banner featured an article, "Expert to advise Ocala on downtown." It appears as if the city of Ocala has paid Michigan-based Gibbs Planning Group $30,000 to tell them what's going on in Ocala's downtown.
Huh?
So, I Googled Gibbs Planning Group to see what their deal is. I mean, why does Ocala have to hire someone from Michigan to tell us what is going on in Ocala? And for $30,000? Who signed that check? Was it the guy with the city who said that, "Ocala has good bones at its heart"? Bones in the heart? Where are the city of Ocala's PR people? In New York?
Anyway, turns out that Robert Gibbs, the head honcho, is branded as a New Urbanism guru and sells his book on Amazon for $58. Further Googling led me to a magazine article where Gibbs tells the interviewer that it is frustrating that many cities actually turn away national chains, preferring a moribund downtown that seems authentically local.
So, authentic localism — death?
Mr. Gibbs, downtown Ocala is not competing with State Road 200. SR 200 owns the big boxes, chain restaurants, main vein market. Let them have it.
Recharge downtown Ocala?
Get the hobos out of the square. Finish tearing up the streets. Develop events that will draw folks from other areas. Make retail space affordable. Hire someone local to help the stores with merchandising. Make it pedestrian-friendly. And give us our damn check back.
Lisa Notlaw
Ocala
Save energy, along with the night sky
It is time to start thinking about wasted light and the economic impact it has on taxpayers.
I am an amateur astrophotographer, having spent the past three years imaging deep space objects such as nebula and distant galaxies from my backyard here in Ocala.
Over the course of three years, I have noticed an increase in Ocala "sky glow," or the amount of light that has scattered above the ground and into space. Much of this comes from needed development, and with development comes parking lot lights, street lights and general lights from business that scatter light into space above the city.
With responsible development comes responsible lighting. If we can shift the way we direct lights and direct them down, where light is needed, we can limit the amount of light, and energy, wasted to the sky above. Approximately 30 percent of energy used in unshielded lights is wasted to the sky. This wasted energy costs the U.S. $2.2 billion annually. Using full cut-off light fixtures with a lower-wattage bulb will save money for the city, provide security, limit distracting glare (while driving) and help preserve the night sky.
I propose the city of Ocala consider looking into lighting that is cheaper to run, while still providing security, safety and aesthetics.
I also ask for homeowners and business owners to consider using timers, dimmers and sensors to darken unoccupied areas and to use light only when it is needed.
Steve Coates
Ocala
Served up by God
Regarding the letter "Reason to go vegan," the writer asks who decided to label certain species "production animals"? Uh ... that would be God.
In Genesis 3:21, "The Lord God made garment of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." I was surprised our Creator was the first to produce the original fur coat.
Next, in Genesis 9:3, "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."
Deuteronomy 14:4, "These are the animals you may eat: the ox, sheep, goat, deer, gazelle, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a divided into two, and that chews the cud."
With the Lord's permission, I will continue to eat meat, for it does have nutritional value. But I also concede to the vegans, the animal's flesh producers should, for a good conscience, treat these animals with care and respect before they give up their life for ours.
The meat producers will have to answer to our maker for their inhumane treatment of his creatures.
Joy Rumans
Ocala
Where are Jesse and Al with new cases?
I feel the stand your ground law is just fine.
The black man who was shot by the teenager got out of his SUV and came at the teen with a big stick. The teen was correct in defending himself, and only a lethal defense kept this angry man from beating him severely. The teen was not charged.
By the way, where is Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton in this matter?
In another incident involving a black man (Wednesday's news), the man severely beat a woman alongside a church and then raped her. If she had had a weapon, she certainly would have been justified in shooting the criminal. Where are Jackson and Sharpton in this matter?
These rabble rousers seem to come out of the shadows only when it suits them. They should be actively involved in trying to change the aggressive nature of some of these guys, and then they would not be 70 percent of the inmate population.
George Ellis
Ocala

Images from July/August 2013


Little Deer Isle, Maine 
ISO 3200 
Canon T2i 
ProOptic 8mm Fish Eye lens 
30 second exposure 
July 30, 2013


Caterpillar Hill in Sedgwick Maine
 Canon T2i 
8mm Fish Eye lens at f/3.5
 30 second exposure
 July 30, 2013


Union, Maine
Canon T2i
Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 lens (f/3.5)
30 second exposure
August 2, 2013

Fort Point Light Fort Point State Park 
Stockton Springs, Maine 
Canon T2i 
ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5
 Single 30 second exposure
 August 1, 2013



Imaged from Lake Anasagunticook in Canton, Maine 
Canon T2i 
ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens (f/3.5) 
30 second exposure 
August 4, 2013


Lighthouse on Lake Anasagunticook 
 Canton Lighthouse
 Canon T2i 
ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5 
Single 30 second exposure
 August 6, 2013


Canton Lighthouse
 Canon T2i 
ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5 
Single 30 second exposure
 August 6, 2013


Canton Water Tower
 Canon T2i 
Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 lens (f/3.5) 
Single 30 second exposure
 August 6, 2013


Washburn-Norlands Living History Center 
Canon T2i
 ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5
 Single 30 second exposure 
August 5, 2013
 **This image can be seen as featured in DiscoveryNews.com "Perseids Bombard Earth with Comet Dust: Big Pic".


Washburn-Norlands Living History Center 
Canon T2i
 ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5
 Single 30 second exposure 
August 5, 2013


Washburn-Norlands Living History Center 
Canon T2i
 ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5
 Single 30 second exposure 
August 5, 2013


Washburn-Norlands Living History Center 
Canon T2i
 ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5
 Single 30 second exposure 
August 5, 2013


Washburn-Norlands Living History Center 
Canon T2i
 ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5
 Single 30 second exposure 
August 5, 2013


Washburn-Norlands Living History Center
 Canon T2i 
ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5
 Single 30 second exposure
 August 5, 2013 
 **This image can be seen as featured in DiscoveryNews.com "Perseids Bombard Earth with Comet Dust: Big Pic".
 **This image can also be seen as featured by UniverseToday.com "Perseid Meteor Shower 2013: Images from Around the World".



Washburn-Norlands Living History Center
 Canon T2i 
ProOptic 8mm fish eye lens f/3.5
 Single 30 second exposure
 August 5, 2013 

Letter to the editor sent to the Ocala Star Banner

It is time to start thinking about wasted light and the economic impact it has on tax payers. I am an amateur astrophotographer having spent the past 3 years imaging deep space objects such as nebula and distant galaxies from my backyard here in Ocala. Over the course of 3 years I have noticed an increase in Ocala "sky glow" or the amount of light that has scattered above the ground and into space. Much of this comes from needed development and with development comes parking lot lights, street lights and general lights from business that scatter light into space above the city. As with responsible development comes responsible lighting. If we can shift the way we direct lights and direct them down, where light is needed, we can limit the amount of light, and energy, wasted to the sky above. Approximately 30% of energy used in unshielded lights is wasted to the sky. This energy wasted costs the U.S. 2.2 billion dollars annually. Using shielded lights, with a lower wattage bulb, will save money for the city, provide security, limit distracting glare (while driving) and help preserve the night sky. I propose the city of Ocala consider looking into lighting that is cheaper to run, while still providing security, safety and aesthetics. I also ask for homeowners and business owners to consider using timers, dimmers and sensors to darken unoccupied areas and to use light only when it is needed. Steve Coates Ocala, FL

Images from the Kennedy Space Center July 6, 2013

Launchpad 39A.  All of the Saturn V missions to the moon launched from this site as well as many of the shuttle launches.


Flame trench at launchpad 39A



Once construction completed in 1966, the Vehicle Assembly Building stood at 526 feet tall, 715 feet in length and 518 feet wide making it the largest single story building in the world.  I was used to assemble the Saturn V rocket as well a staging the Shuttle to the solid rocket booster and external fuel tank.



Space shuttle Atlantis
First flight October 3rd, 1985
Final flight July 8, 2011 landing July 21, 2011 having flown a total of 125,935,769 miles in space.




Week one: Introducing the light pollution problem in Ocala

So far I have contacted my city by email and made a request to consider low voltage shielded lighting.  I got an email reply from the electrical engineer from the town who replied that they would look into this when doing street lighting projects.  I also posted to the Chiefland Astronomy Village Yahoo group and the kind folks have given me several leads.  Chiefland Astronomy Village is a premier dark sky community here in Florida.  
My early research finds that Ocala has about 8,725 street lights.  Many of these lights are 250 Watt high pressure sodium cobra style lights, as well as many open globe lights employing the 100 Watt High pressure sodium light.  I calculated (AS A VERY ROUGH ESTIMATE)  the city could save roughly $400,186.00 if the existing lights were changed to 35 Watt shielded lighting.  This was based on if the town used 175 Watt lights burning 4,100 hours a year at .08 cents a KWH (175 Watt x 4100 hours x .08 cents = $57.00 a year for one light.  $57.00 x 8,725 lights in town = $500,000.00).  There is a financial gain to changing the lights!  
I have joined the local astronomy club, the Alachua Astronomy Club.Inc and hope to meet with some folks that may have been working on this already and can offer some help.  I have also been in contact with the Managing Director of the Internation Dark-Sky Association who has been a great help with offering advise and direction.

What are my first steps in fighting light pollution???

What are the first steps in introducing better lighting to local government?  I image from central Florida where light pollution is not on the minds of many folks.  How do you persuade those elected to consider replacing new, perfectly working light fixtures to ones that are sky friendly?  
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.


My light polluted skies...

Here are some images I like to share.  I image from central Florida where there is an overabundance of light pollution.  I live in Ocala, I have Gainesville to the north of me and Orlando is about 60 miles south of me.  My skies are Bortle scale 6-7, I can barly see the summer milky way above me and my limiting magnitude stars are 5 to 5.5. 


Many communites have installed cut off light fixtures which point light down to the ground as opposed to the drop-lens cobra luminaire which allow light to spill out the sides and even upward, where light is not needed.  Communities have found a financial gain to using cut off light fixtures as it cost less to illuminate areas that ONLY need to be illuminated.  Much of the light that our towns and cities use on roads is wasted energy and money.

Right now I am information gathering I'd like to know if anyone has been part of the movement in changing their towns light fixtures and how the process went for you.  I have links to IDA and have stated reading the brochures within the page.  Please feel free to reply with your experiences.
   


Internation Dark-Sky Association
Harmful effects of light pollution

Six years ago today

Here is a cool video I took of space shuttle Atlantis that launched 6 years ago today!  I stitched the televised part of the launch to video I took.

Workaround to load drivers for the SSAG to a Windows 7 (64bit) system

Here is the workaround I use to load drivers for the SSAG to a Window 7 (64bit) system:
Load SSAG drivers from the CD
Once loaded connect the SSAG to your computer
An error message may show that the drivers are not found, NOW FOLLOW THE NEXT STEPS
Go to DEVICE MANAGER
     Other Device
          Right Click on Unknown Device
               Update Driver Software
               Browse My Computer for Driver Software
               Let Me Pick From a List of Device Drivers On My Computer
               Click Universal Serial BUS
               Under the Manufacturer column look for:
               ORION TELESCOPE AND BINOCULARS

Now you'll be able to use the SSAG using guiding software (PHD/MaximDL etc.)

Images from March 2013

M106
Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici
~23.7 million light years distant
March 14 and 15, 2013
Ocala, FL
Combination of 6 min and 10 min exposures stacked in DSS for a total of 6 hours 40 min
1 hours each RGB
3 hours and 40 min Luminance

Orion 80mm EON (FL 480mm)



 M109
Barred spiral galaxy in Ursa Major
~83 million light years distant
March 5, 6 and 7, 2013 (Luminance)
February 11, 2012 (RGB)
Ocala, FL
6 min Luminance with QSI 683 stacked in DSS for a total of 4 hours and 28 min.
6 min RGB exposures stacked in DSS for a total of 3 hours 49 min with a Canon T1i
PS CS5
AT8RC (Luminance)
AT6RC (RGB)

Images from February 2013


M81/M82 Bode's galaxy and Cigar galaxy with accompanying galaxy NGC 3077 
Constellation: Ursa Major
~11.8 million light years distant
January 31, 2012 and February 1 and 2, 2013
Ocala, FL
RGB 6 min subs for a total of 1 hour each channel
Luminance (with IDAS LP filter) combination of 4 min and 6 min subs totaling 4 hours and 16 min
Ha 15 min subs for a total of 1 hour

Images from January 2012




 NGC 2264 the Cone and Fox Fur nebula is a diffuse, dark and emission nebula ~2,700 light years from Earth, located in the constellation Monoceros.
Imaged January 14 and January 16, 2013 from Ocala, Florida.
RGB data: 6 minute exposure (each channel) stacked in DSS for a total of 3 hours
Ha data: 15minute exposure stacked in DSS for a total of 4 hours.


 
IC 443 the Jellyfish nebula 
 Ocala, FL
Constellation: Gemini
~5,000 light years distant
Imaged January 11 and 12, 2013.
RGB data: 6 minute exposure (each channel) stacked in DSS for a total of 3 hours
Ha data: 15minute exposure stacked in DSS for a total of 4 hours.


IC 405 the Flaming Star nebula
Ocala, FL
Constellation: Auriga
1,500 light years distant
Imaged December 19, 2012, January 9 and January 10, 2013.
RGB data: 6 minute exposure (each channel) stacked in DSS for a total of 3 hours
Ha data: 15minute exposure stacked in DSS for a total of 4 hours.