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.

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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.