Busy Sun (2-27-2024)

 

This is 1/4000th of a second with the Canon T3i through the SW80ED with 0.85x flattener/reducer. We are near the peak of the solar cycle.  The big spot upper right is numbered 3590 by those who count.

Eta Carinae Nebula from 2022

 Eta Carinae is the bright star near the center of the frame.  The star formed from this cloud and then (with several other type O and B stars not quite so bright but also extremely hot) lit up the cloud from within.  Eta Carinae itself is unstable and increased sharply in brightness in 1837 before dimming back down.  It's been a constant object of study for astronomers ever since, as is the nebula surrounding it.  Unfortunately, the nebula is too far south for me to see in Texas, so this data came from Martin Pugh Observatories.

Annular Eclipse (Oct. 14, 2023)

 

Here is my take on the annular eclipse. I tried to set up near the center line in Beeville or George West (both Texas towns) but met clouds. With time running out, I drove north and bet on Kenedy, TX's Joe Gulley Park---and then for 40 minutes shot through every break in the (still present) clouds. It was pretty exciting.  These are various exposures through the SWED80 and 0.85x reducer-flattener and my old Canon T3i.  Oddly, perhaps, I am most pleased by the clarity of the sunspot in the second image.  I had very little time to focus and was happy to see that detail.

Sol (July 31, 2023)

I am thinking of the upcoming eclipses.  This is 1/4000, a single frame, with a Canon T3i and a SW80ED, processed in DPP and PS.

NGC 1555, Hind's Variable Nebula (data from 2021)

 

I've wanted to collect on this target for a long time.  It's actually positioned over my latitude, but it can't be shot from the suburbs easily.  I tried to shoot this once and only collected the brightest part of the nebula in a noisy and grainy stack.  So someone else whose telescope is in the southwest Utah desert collected this data, and this is my rendition.

This is 100 minutes of Lum combined with 50 minutes each of RGB from Starbase's ATEO-1 telescope, a 16" f/3.7 Dream Aerospace Systems reflector.

M65 (Spring 2021)

M65 is a favorite to observe and to image.  I saw the galaxy a few nights ago from my backyard with a 6" telescope at 120x.  It's thrilling to see light that has traveled 35 million light years, or so, and realize it hits my own retina.

Here is an earlier image with a 10" reflector:

https://polarisb.blogspot.com/2012/02/m65-ngc3623-feb-25-2012.html

And another in 2019 with an 8" reflector:

https://polarisb.blogspot.com/2019/04/m65-sprin-2019.html

This latest image is from very fine AG Optical data: 22 x 300 each of RGB and 81 x 300 of Lum.  It's better data than I've used in the past, and it's better color.

M35 & NGC 2158 (Feb. 2023)

I tried several times to see NGC 2158 with a telescope from the suburbs.  My wonderful 6" f/8 would only show me one star.  My C8 would show me that star and hints of two others.  My CFF 290 Classical Cassegrain would show me those three and a glow with averted vision, on the night I tried it.  With a camera on a small scope, the cluster stands out. This is just 16x600" with the Atik 460EXC through the SWED80 at f/6.375.  I am always impressed with the optical quality of the ED80, and the flattener/reducer does a superb job.