Category: Astronomy

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10/5/2024 Flame and Horsehead, Orion Belt and Sword, Triangulum Galaxy

Saturday night was another good night at the River Ridge Observatory. I had two rigs running. My C11 with Hyperstar and ZWO ASI533MC Pro camera on CGEM DX mount was one, my Samyang F/2 135mm with ZWO ASI294MC Pro on AVX mount was the other.

Please click the pictures for a full scale view.

The Flame and Horsehead Nebulas in Orion’s Belt are among the favorite objects for astrophotographers. This is probably my best Horsehead image to date. Shot with the C11 and ASI533MC Pro, two hours of three minute subs.

Meanwhile, with the Samyang and ASI294MC Pro, I was shooting all of the belt and sword of Orion. Also two hours but with two minute subs.

Finally, but actually first in the evening was M33 shot with the C11 and ASI533MC Pro. 2 3/4 hours of five minute subs. Notice the red hydrogen areas.

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10/4/2024 North America and Pelican

Friday night was another good night at the River Ridge Observatory. I got this image of the North America and Pelican Nebulas with my Samyang F/2 135mm with ZWO ASI294MC Pro on AVX mount. This was made from 4 hours of two minute subs. North America (NGC 7000) is clearly visible on the left while the Pelican (IC 5070) is more subtle almost exactly in the middle. It actually looks like a Pterodactyl head oriented downward to me. That bright star at the top is Deneb, Tail of the Swan and the last star in the Summer Triangle. In rural skies or darker, you can see this patch of nebulosity with your unaided eyes though not the details.

Please click the picture for a full scale view.

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10/3/2024 Sculptor, California, and Sh 2-86

Thursday night was another good night at the River Ridge Observatory. I had two rigs running. My C11 with Hyperstar and ZWO ASI533MC Pro camera on CGEM DX mount was one, my Samyang F/2 135mm with ZWO ASI294MC Pro on AVX mount was the other.

Please click the pictures for a full scale view.

The Sculptor Galaxy (also known as the Silver Coin Galaxy, Silver Dollar Galaxy, NGC 253, or Caldwell 65) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. The Sculptor Galaxy is a starburst galaxy, which means that it is currently undergoing a period of intense star formation.

NGC 6820 is a small reflection nebula near the open cluster NGC 6823 in Vulpecula. The reflection nebula and cluster are embedded in a large faint emission nebula called Sh 2-86. The whole area of nebulosity is often referred to as NGC 6820.

The California Nebula (Also known NGC 1499or Sh2-220) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. Its name comes from its resemblance to the outline of the US State of California in long exposure photographs. It is almost 2.5° long on the sky and, because of its very low surface brightness, it is extremely difficult to observe visually.

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