By: Sam Pitts (samsastro.com)
Saturn video taken with a Phillips ToUcam through a Celestron 11″ SCT at f/25 on a Losmandy G11 mount. Dark Sky site South of Dexter, Oregon with 6+ magnitude skies at 2512′. Over 7000 frames processed in Registax, final image 413 frames. This was my 1st attempt at imaging Saturn with a Web Camera.
The photo of Orion was taken with slide film from a Dark Sky location near Dexter, Oregon. Canon F1 camera, 50mm f/1.4 lens with Elite Chrome 200 film for 8 minutes and pushed processed. The Camera was piggybacked on a Losmandy G 11 Mount and manually guided through a telescope.
Orion is a constellation near the celestial equator and dominated by bright stars, it is certainly one of the most prominent and recognized constellations. Orion depicts a Hunter from Greek Mythology with the two most noteworthy stars being Rigel (blue-white) & Betelgeuse (Red Giant).
Observations of Orion back to 32,000 years and probably further. In Ancient Egypt, Orion was a God and certainly is prevalent in many cultures of the past. Some theories suggest the pyramids were fashioned after the belt stars of Orion, likewise the Nile Rivers depicts the Milky Way.
This image of Jupiter is the result of stacking images from an avi file. The video was captured with a Phillips ToUcam through a Celestron 11″ SCT. The focal length was increased with a TeleVue 2.5x Barlow to yield a focal length of F/25 6985mm. A Losmandy G11 Equatorial mount was used to support the Telescope and equipment.
| Telescope / Lens | TMB 80mm Refractor fl/384mm |
| Mount Type | Astro-Physics 1200 |
| Camera | SBIG ST10xme cfw9 |
| Filters | Ha, LRGB Astrodon |
| Film | CCD |
| Exposure | 190 minutes Ha,LRGB |
| Processing | CCDStack, Photoshop CS2 & Picture Wind Pro |
| Date | Images taken 09/05/2008 |
| Location | June Mountain 122° 43.528′ W, 43° 48.407′
N 22 miles S of Dexter, Oregon |
| Conditions | 3232′ clear calm skies magnitude 6 |
The Bubble Nebula NGC 7635 is also known as Caldwell 11. This is an emission nebula in the constellation of Cassiopeia. The Bubble nebula was created from a massive young central star, because it is very hot, it has created a stellar wind. As a result, this stellar wind has formed a “Bubble. Surrounding the nebula is a massive molecular cloud with dark clumps that consequently form new stars as the material condenses. The Bubble nebula NGC 7635, has a diameter of 7-9 light years and lies approximately 8,000 light years from earth.
M52 is located just above and to the left. Open Star Cluster M52 (NGC 7654) is located in the Northern portion of the constellation Cassiopeia. It is 19 light years in diameter, at a distance of 5,000 light years from earth
NGC 7538 is another nebula to the right of the Bubble nebula. NGC 7538 is 9,100 light years away and reside in the Constellation Cepheus. The largest protostar discovered so far is forming here. This protostar is 300 times the size of our solar system. This nebula is also a very active star forming region.
A narrow band Ha filter was used to help capture the nebulosity made up of primarily Hydrogen. LRGB filters were also used in a SBIG ST10XME CCD through a TMB 80mm f/6 refractor & TeleVue 0.08 field flattner/reducer.
This is an emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. This nebula is rich in H2 and birthing place of stars. The massive molecular cloud is created by a stellar wind storm from a young central star that is massive and hot. The bubble itself is itself excited by a hot central star. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1787.
Great Orion Nebula M42 & NGC 1973, NGC 1975 & NGC 1977
M 42 Great Orion Nebula, Pictured above. Next to it is M43 (NGC 1982) along with the blue nebula called “The Running man” NGC 1977. The start cluster NGC 1981 is superimposed over the blue nebula. The pinkish nebula composes of M42 & M43 at magnitude 4, and is visible a a one degree fuzzy patch to the naked eye. These nebulae reside in the sword of Orion below the left bright belt star Alnitak. This region of nebulae is approximately 1344 light years from earth and 12 light years in diameter. 60 x 60 arc-minutes .
| Telescope / Lens | TEC 140 f/7 5.5″ Refractor 980mm focal length |
| Mount | AstroPhysics 1200 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20d DSLR |
| Filters | None |
| Film | DLSR |
| Exposure | 88 minutes; 5min exposures @ ISO 400, 800, 1600 & 1 minute @ ISO 100 |
| Processing | Deep SkyStacker, CCDStack, Photoshop CS2 & Picture Wind Pro |
| Date | Images taken 09/12/2007 |
| Location | June Mountain 122° 43.528′ W, 43° 48.407′
N 22 miles S of Dexter, Oregon |
| Conditions | 3232′ clear calm skies magnitude 6 |
The Orion nebula M42 is even visible in light polluted skies with the naked eye. Dark sky locations show a glowing gaseous area the middle star of the “sword” of Orion. These stars are located south of Orion’s belt. Wide Field eyepieces in a 10-14″ scope really brings out the detail.