The Heart finally has its Soul Nebula
I have attempted to image IC1848 a few times in the past, but never ended up with an image worth sharing. Having figured out the field flattener back-focus “issue” I was having with Big Bertha and the ASI2400MC, I was able to capture data to produce this 4-tile mosaic image of the Soul Nebula, allowing it to join its soul-mate the Heart Nebula in the gallery!
Happy Halloween – the Ghosts of Cassiopeia
I have been collecting data on IC59&IC63 Ghosts of Cassiopeia for over a year – all from the front patio, with mixed results (mostly bad!). This image is comprised of data collected over two sessions in 2022 (2Sep2022, 2Dec2022) with Big Zeus – which seemed to exacerbate the halos from Navi with its open – and three (of four) sessions in 2023 (8Sep23, 16Sep23, 9Oct23).
Butterfly…placeholder #2
This version of the IC1318 Gamma Cygni Nebula (a.k.a (one of the several) Butterfly Nebula) was captured on two nights from the front patio during during the Southern Cross “framing validation” captures leading up to our annular solar eclipse and dark skies trip to Los Alamos. No…this didn’t get captured in dark skies…yet!
Letting go of an obsession, for now…
SH2-129 Flying Bat (the Ha (red) region) and OU-4 Giant Squid (the OIII (blue) region) have been an obsession for me to capture for over a year, with the obsession really kicking in this summer. This image is comprised of data from seven (7) separate imaging sessions (and no including the data from a couple of others!)…it still needs work, but I’m setting it down for now to move on to other tasks (obsessions?)
Capturing the Annular Solar Eclipse
We traveled to Los Alamos, NM to capture the annular solar eclipse.
Catching up on Front Patio image processing
Our September dark skies trip was cancelled due to storms, rain, and clouds at every dark sky location within a 400 mile radius. But in true form, Mother Nature has filled the rest of the month with clear skies – not all that dark, but we’ll take what we can get!
Butterfly…placeholder!
IC1318 Gamma Cygni Nebula (a.k.a (one of the several) Butterfly Nebula) was captured from the front patio during a dual-setup, only clear night between the rain and business travel data collection frenzy. Definitely a placeholder waiting for the opportunity to capture this image in dark skies to see what the colors really are!
Jellyfish…placeholders!
IC443 Jellyfish Nebula is beginning its visibility season, rising early in the pre-dawn hours, so it has made its way onto my September imaging target list. One brief look at it last Saturday night provided placeholder #1.
The last piece of the Veil
The Veil Nebula is a beautiful supernova remnant that is a great imaging target throughout our summer and early fall months. This is the last, but certainly not least, of the major pieces of the nebula I’ve posted
CSASTRO Ladies Rock Williamina Fleming Imaging Awards!
The ladies of CSASTRO, the Colorado Springs chapter of the Astronomical League, took 1st and 2nd place in the league’s 2023 Williamina Fleming Imaging Award competition for their Deep Space images.