Melotte 15 in the Heart nebula

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, Red, Green and Blue filters.

30 minute exposures (unbinned) in Ha combined for a total of 3 hours.

6 minute exposured (binned 2x2) totaling 1 hour Red, 1 hour Green and 1 hour Blue.

Processed in Photoshop

Imaging telescope: Explore Scientific 127mm CF Apochromatic refractor

Imaging camera: QSI 683 wsg-8

Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II German equatorial mount

NGC 2174, the Monkey Head nebula

NGC 2174, or the Monkey Head nebula, is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion located around 6,400 light years from Earth.

Ha 30 min subs x 6 (unbinned)

OIII 30 minute subs x6 (binned 2x2)

SII 30 minute subs x6 (binned 2x2)

Red, Green and Blue 4 minute subs x6 (binned 2x2) for star color

Imaging telescope: Explore Scientific 127mm CF APO refractor

Imaging camera: QSI 683 wsg-8 cooled CCD camera

Losmandy G11 with Gemini 2 German equatorial mount

M78 in Orion

M78 is a reflection nebula in Orion located around 1,600 light years from Earth.

Imaged from Chiefland Star Party Group Field in Chiefland, Florida.

Luminance: 8 minute subs x 18 (unbinned)

Red/Green/Blue: 4 minute subs x 10 (binned 2x2)

Imaging telescope: Explore Scientific 127mm CF Apochromatic refracter

Imaging camera: QSI 683wsg-8 cooled CCD camera

Losmandy G11 with Gemini 2 German equatorial mount

NGC 2174, the Monkey Head nebula (BiColor)

NGC 2174, the Monkey Head nebula

NGC 2174, or the Monkey Head nebula, is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion located around 6,400 light years from Earth. 

This is a bicolor image taken through Hydrogen alpha and Oxygen 3 filters.  A "synthetic green" channel was created by using data from the Ha (Red) and OIII (blue).  My plan is to add SII data to create the Hubble palette and to also image through Red, Green and Blue filters to correct the star colors.

Ha 30 min subs x 6 (unbinned)

OIII 30 minute subs x6 (binned 2x2)

Imaging telescope:  Explore Scientific 127mm CF APO refractor

Imaging camera:  QSI 683 wsg-8 cooled CCD camera

Losmandy G11 with Gemini 2 German equatorial mount

M33 the Triangulum galaxy (widefield)

M33 the Triangulum galaxy is a spiral galaxy ~3 million light years distant in the constellation Triangulum.

This was imaged October 21 and 22, 2012 and November 21, 2014 from Ocala, FL and Chiefland, FL.

Luminance 48min, Red 60min, Green 60min, Blue 60min and 60min of Ha using the Orion 80mm EON

An additional 8 minutes luminance (x15) was imaged November 21, 2014 with the Explore Scientific 127mm APO from Chiefland Star Party Group field.

IC 1871 the Soul nebula (Hubble palette)

IC 1871 the Soul nebula (Hubble palette)

The soul nebula is an emission nebulae located in Cassiopeia ~7,500 light years from Earth.

Ha: 1800 second subs x 10

OIII:  1800 second subs x 6

SII:  1800 second subs x 6

Imaging telescope: Explore Scientific 127mm Apochromatic refractor

Imaging camera: QSI 683wsg-8

Losmany G11 with Gemini 2 German equatorial mount

IC 1871 the Soul nebula

IC 1871 the Soul nebula

The soul nebula is an emission nebulae located in Cassiopeia ~7,500 light years from Earth.

RGB: 360 sec x 10 subs in each channel

Ha: 1800 second subs x 6

Imaging telescope: Explore Scientific 127mm Apochromatic refractor

Imaging camera: QSI 683wsg-8

Losmany G11 with Gemini 2 German equatorial mount

IC 63 the Ghost of Cassiopeia

IC 63 the Ghost of Cassiopeia

IC 63 is an emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia located around 600 light years from Earth. The cloud formation (resembling a ghost) is caused by ionized Hydrogen ions from nearby star, gamma Cas, also known as Navi.

Imaged from Ocala, Florida

Imaging telescope: Explore Scientific 127mm apochromatic refractor.

Imaging camera: QSI 683wsg-8 cooled CCD camera

Losmandy G112 with Gemini 2 German equatorial mount.

M33 the Triangulum galaxy

M33 the Triangulum galaxy

Spiral galaxy int he constellation Triangulum located around 3 million light years from Earth.

Imaged from Chiefland Star Party Group field (Luminance) and Ocala, Florida (RGB)

Red, Green and Blue imaged October 21 and 22, 2012 with the Orion 80mm EON

Luminance imaged November 21, 2014 with the Explore Scientific 127mm APO

Imaging camera:  QSI 683 wsg-8

Processed in Photoshop CS5

Losmandy G11 with Gemini 2 German equatorial mount

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 telescopes: Astro-Tech 8 inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope (Ha data) and Explore Scientific 127mm CF APO (RGB)

Imaging camera: QSI 683wsg-8

Ha data 3 hours

RGB data 40 min each Red, Green and Blue channel binned 2x2

PS CS5

Losmandy G11 with Gemini II

Widefield of Andromeda

Here is an image in which I combined a recent M31 from Chiefland (taken with the 80mm EON) from this past weekend and blended it to an image I took with a Nikon 180mm ED lens. 

Imaged October 2, 2011 and October 23, 24 and 25, 2014

Imaged from Ocala, FL and Chiefland, Florida

Nikon 180mm ED at f/4 and Orion 80mm EON

Imaging cameras: Canon T1i (Hap Griffin modified) and QSI 683 wsg-8

Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II German equatorial mount

Processed in Photoshop CS5

Registar used to combine galaxies from the two different imaging scales.

M42 the Orion nebula

M42 the Orion nebula
Imaged from Chiefland Star Party Group Field in Chiefland, Florida. This was imaged October 23, 24 and 25, 2014
M42 is a reflection and emission nebula located around 1,344 light years distant in the Orion constellation
Imaging telescope Orion 80mm EON focal length of 480mm 
Imaging camera QSI 683 wsg-8
Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II German equatorial mount

M31 the Andromeda galaxy

I finally was able to make it to dark skies of Chiefland, Florida.  I quickly found that the only way to image galaxies is from dark skies.  Here is M31, the Andromeda galaxy, a Spiral galaxy  around 2.5 million light years distant located in the constellation Andromeda.

Imaged October 23,24 and 25 from Chiefland Star Party Group Field, Chiefland, Florida

Imaging telescope:  Orion 80mm EON with a focal length of 480mm

Imaging camera:  QSI 683wsg-8

Losmandy G11 with Gemini 2 German equatorial mount

For Sale Astro-Tech 8" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien with Moonlight High Resolution Stepper Motor focuser

For sale is an Astro-Tech 8" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien with Moonlight High Resolution Stepper Motor focuser in excellent condition. I am the only owner and user of this scope and focuser. I have owned this scope from February 2012 to the present and was used primarily for AstroPhotography. This scope is in excellent condition with no scratches on the body. The mirror has no blemishes other than the expected dust on the surface.

Specs from the Astronomics web site:

* 1625mm focal length

* 8 inch f/8 true Ritchey-Chretien hyperbolic mirror optical design

* 0.57 arc sec resolution

* low thermal expansion quartz primary and secondary mirrors

* 99% reflectivity non-tarnishing dielectric mirror coatings

* High strength/low thermal expansion carbon fiber optical tube

* ten contrast-enhancing main tube knife edge light baffles

* two dovetail rails, one Vixen-style and one Losmandy-style "D-plate".

Included with the sale:

*2" extension ring

*Two 1" extension rings

*Moonlight focuser with High Resolution Stepper Motor CS model flange, 1.15" travel brass compression ring drawtube.

***NOTE*** You will need buy the motor controller if planning to use for automation.

Asking $1500.00.  Will ship CONUS only. Prefer PayPal.  The AT8RC optical tube will ship in the original box. Please email me with any questions.

IC 5067

IC 5067 is an HII emission, and part of the Pelican nebula located in the constellation Cygnus. IC 5067 is around 1,800 light years from Earth.

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 German equatorial mount.

Wide field of Helix nebula

Widefield of Helix nebula in Aquarius

This was imaged using the 80mm Orion EON and the Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chretien with a focal length of 1625mm (f/8).

RGB 6min subs totaling 3 hours (1 hour each channel) using the Orion 80mm EON.

Ha 20min subs totaling 1 hour and 20 minutes.

OIII 20 min subs totaling 2 hours using the Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chretien with a focal length of 1625mm (f/8)

Imaging camera:  QSI 683 wsg-8

Losmandy G11 Gemini II German equatorial mount

Imaging telescopes:  Orion 80mm EON and Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chretien.

Processing software:  DeepSkyStacker, Photoshop CS5 and RegiStar

the Rosette nebula in HaRGB

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. 

RGB data: 2 minute exposure stacked in DeepSkyStacker for a total of 3 hours and 40 min using a modified Canon Ti1.

Ha data: 15minute exposures stacked in DeepSkyStacker for a total of 2 hours and 45 min. using the QSI 683 ws cooled CCD camera.

Processed in Photoshop CS5

Imaging telescope Orion 80mm EON

Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II German equatorial mount.

Widefield of the Tadpoles

Here is a widefield image of 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.

This was imaged using red, green and blue filters and taking 6 minute exposures stacked, to improve the signal to noise, for a total of 1 hour 18 minutes in the red, and 1 hour in each the green and blue filter.

Fifteen minute exposures were taken through a hydrogen alpha filter for a total of 5 hours and 15 min. integration time.  Many emission nebulas are composed of hydrogen and when excited by nearby stars they glow red.  Using a specialized filter like the hydrogen alpha filter enhances the detail in the nebula.

Imaged from Ocala, Florida

Processed in Photoshop CS5

Imaging telescope:  Orion 80mm EON (FL 480mm)

Imaging camera:  QSI 683 ws

Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II German equatorial mount

IC 443 the Jellyfish nebula

IC 443 the Jellyfish nebula

Supernova remnant located in the constellation Gemini about 5,000 light years from Earth. A supernova remnant is the material expelled from a massive star that burned up all of it's fuel and collapsed onto itself.

IThis target was imaged from Ocala, Florida using the QSI 683 cooled CCD camera and an Orion 80mm EON (FL 480mm).  I combined 6 minute subs to total one hour in each color in Red, Green and Blue.

To image the detail  in this nebula I used 15 minute exposures through a hydrogen alpha filter for a total of 4 hours integration.Taking multiple exposures improves the signal to noise ratio.

This was processed in Photoshop  CS5

Orion 80mm EON (FL 480mm)

Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II German equatorial mount.

Feel free to share if you enjoy this image.

M 106 widefield

Here is a reprocess of M106 with accompanying galaxies NGC 4217, NGC 4248, NGC 4232, NGC 4231 and NGC 4220.

M106 is a Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici ~23.7 million light years from Earth.

This is a composite image in which the larger telescope was used to capture detail in the larger galaxy (M 106) and the smaller focal length telescope was used to capture the wide field of view.  

This was imaged from my backyard in Ocala, FL using a combination of 6 min and 10 min exposures stacked in DeepSkyStacker for a total of 6 hours 40 min.

Imaging telescopes Orion 80mm EON (focal length 480mm) and an 8 inch Ritchey-Chretien (focal length 1625mm)

Imaging camera was a QSI 683 ws cooled CCD camera

Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II German equatorial mount

Images from Maine

Lakefront in Canton, Maine.

Sails and mast of the Privateer Lynx sailing from Belfast, Maine.

Save energy, along with the night sky

By broca1  |  Posted June 2, 2014  |  Ocala, Florida

CNN PRODUCER NOTE     Steven Coates is a physician’s assistant by day and astrophotographer by night. His interest in astronomy fuels his desire to capture the night sky through pictures. These photos of the Milky Way were taken in rural Livermore and Canton Maine.

Coates says “It is difficult to image the Milky Way from light-polluted skies as the city lights 'washes out' the light from space,” says Coates, which is why he is a member of the International Dark-Sky Association.
- taliaday, CNN iReport producer

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 four years imaging deep space objects such as nebula and distant galaxies from my backyard in Ocala, Florida.
Over the course of these four years, I have noticed an increase in my town's "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.
The following images were images I took from dark skies of rural Maine durign the summer of 2013.

For more information on light pollution please visit the International Dark-Sky Association ( http://www.darksky.org/ )

Steve Coates
http://www.CoatesAstrophotography.com

Aliner Storage Solutions

Storage is pretty tight in these campers.  Here are some images of shelving and storage ideas for an Aliner Classic that I worked on this past week.

    

    

   

Images Published from the Past Year

Here are some images that were featured in publications from the past year. Links to each site can be found at the end of each image description. This past year has images featured in National Geographic.com , Space.com , Discovery News, YahooNews, All About Space , Sky & Telescope Magazine, The World at Night, Universe Today and Mother Nature Network.com.

Images of the new ALiner

Here are some images of the new ALiner that we bought a couple of weeks ago.  

SQM readings from Ocala Florida

Here are some sample SQM readings using the Dark Sky Meter for iPhone.  Skies in Ocala are a Bortle scale 6 and the Milky Way is faint on the the best of nights at zenith.

http://bit.ly/1dX4vDs

Losmandy G11 with Gemini 2 Periodic Error (PEMPro)

My findings on PE and the Losmandy G11 "stock" worm gear BEFORE and AFTER PEC using PEMPro...

This was my first time using PEMPro and I followed the directions as outlined.

The first curve (Before PEC) was taken with 7 cycles and the second curve (After PEC) was taken with 3 cycles.

Focal length of scope 1625mm

Imaging camera QSI 683

Mount: Losmandy G11 with Gemini 2

If I did this correctly (and I understand what was collected) I am quite happy with these results.

Before PEC

After PEC

Current equipment and configuration

Current equipment and configuration...

Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chretien with a focal length of 1625mm (f/8)

Losmandy G 11 mount with Gemini II

Astro-Tech 2" Field Flattener
7.5mm extension ring by Baader Planetarium

Starlight Xpress Lodestar

Quantum Scientific Imaging, Inc. 683wsg-8 Monochrome CCD Camera

Astrodon Tru-balance E-Series Generation II LRGB

Astrodon 5nm SII. OIII and Ha Narrowband Filter

http://coatesastrophotography.com/p928014830

M106

M106 is a Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici ~23.7 million light years from Earth.
Imaged February 15, 16, 28 and March 2 2014 from Ocala, FL.
1 6 min hours each RGB
3 hours and 40 min Luminance
2 hours and 20 min Ha 
Processed in Photoshop CS5
Imaging camera: QSI 683 wsg-8
Imaging telescope: Astro-Tech 8" Richey-Chretien
Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II

M106 reprocess

Here is a reprocess of M106 that I worked on over the weekend. ..

M106 is a Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici ~23.7 million light years from Earth.

Imaged from Ocala, FL using a combination of 6 min and 10 min exposures stacked in DeepSkyStacker for a total of 6 hours 40 min.

1 hours each RGB

3 hours and 40 min Luminance

Photoshop CS5

Imaging telescope: Orion 80mm EON

Orion 50mm guidescope with SSAG

Imaging camera: QSI 683 ws

Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II

Hutech IDAS Light Pollution Suppression (LPS) Filter

http://bit.ly/1gw2Zqp

Barnard 33, the Horsehead nebula

Barnard 33 the Horsehead nebula

12/17, 12/18 and 12/22, 2011 and 1/2, 1/3 2012

Emission, reflection and dark nebula ~1,344 light years from Earth located in the Orion constellation.

Ocala, FL

RGB data: combination of 2 minute and 4 minute exposure stacked in DSS for a total of 5 hours and 2 min

PS CS5

RegiStar

Orion 80mm EON

Orion 50mm guide scope with SSAG

Canon T1i

Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II

Atronomik 6nm Ha clip filter for Canon EOS

Hutech IDAS Light Pollution Suppression (LPS) Filter

Portions of this image has data from the Astro-Tech 8" Ritchey-Chrétien which was used to add more detail to the Horsehead.

M82 the Cigar galaxy

M82, with supernova SN 2014J, the Cigar galaxy in Ursa Major is 11.8 million light years from Earth.

The galaxy center of M82 is active with high rate of star formation caused by the gravitational effect from nearby spiral galaxy, M81.

This is a composite image taken from two different telescopes and two different cameras. The color is from a Canon T1i that was collected in 2011. The QSI 683wsg-8 was used to collect Luminance and Hydrogen-alpha data.

RGB data: Combination of 120 sec and 180 sec exposures stacked in DSS for a total integration time of 6 hours and 32 min. using Canon T1i.

Luminance data: 360 second exposures totaling 2.2 hours of integration using QSI 683wsg-8.

Hydrogen-alpha data: 20 minute exposures totaling 2 hours and 40 minutes of integration using the QSI CCD camera

Astro-Tech 6" Richey-Chretien (RGB)

Astro-Tech 8" Richey-Chretien (Luminance)

Celestron CG-5 German equatorial mount (2011)

Losmandy G11 with Gemini 2 (2014)

M81 Bode's galaxy

M81, Bode's galaxy, is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major approximately 11.8 million light years from Earth.

This is a composite of luminance data imaged from the QSI 683 (2014) and RGB data from a Canon T1i (2011).

Imaged from Ocala, FL

RGB data: Combination of 120 sec and 180 sec exposures stacked in DSS for a total integration time of 6 hours and 32 min. using Canon T1i.

Luminance data: 360 second exposures totaling 1.6 hours of integration using QSI 683wsg-8.

Astro-Tech 6" Richey-Chretien (RGB)

Astro-Tech 8" Richey-Chretien (Luminance)

Celestron CG-5 German equatorial mount (2011)

Losmandy G11 with Gemini 2