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Friday, January 27, 2017

B&W universe, part II


As I'm using a cooled Gray scale astronomical CCD camera, I have a Black and White images from all of my photos. (For a color image, colors are made by shooting each color channel trough a filter, in my case mostly a narrow band filters.)

I will publish few posts out of my B&W images. Sometimes I like them better as a color ones.
B&W universe part I can be found HERE


Veil nebula, a supernova remnant in Cygnus
Please, click for a large image

Eastern veil, image was used as a luminance layer and it contains information from all narrowband channels, hydrogen, sulphur and oxygen (Ha, S-II and O-III) A color version can be seen HERE


Eastern Veil, as a two panel mosaic
Please, click for a large image

Eastern veil, image was used as a luminance layer and it contains information from all narrowband channels, hydrogen, sulphur and oxygen (Ha, S-II and O-III) A color version can be seen HERE


Eastern Veil, as a two panel mosaic, ionized oxygen alone
Please, click for a large image

Emission of ionized oxygen, O-III, alone. A color version can be seen HERE


Filaments of Veil
Please, click for a large image

A single frame of the central Veil nebula contains information from all narrowband channels, hydrogen, sulphur and oxygen (Ha, S-II and O-III) A color version can be seen HERE



Filaments of Veil as a two frame mosaic
Please, click for a large image

A two frame mosaic image of the central Veil nebula contains information from all narrowband channels, hydrogen, sulphur and oxygen (Ha, S-II and O-III) A color version can be seen HERE

A large mosaic of the central Veil nebula
Please, click for a large image

A four panel mosaic of the central Veil nebula, a color version can be seen HERE


The whole Veil nebula supernova remnant
Please, click for a large image

This older wide field photos shows the whole nebula.





Tuesday, January 24, 2017

A quick one, Sharpless 140 in Cepheus



I have worked with an imaging project and the target is kind of dim. Many nights are needed for final photo. Every night I need to wait couple of hours to have this dim target in good position.
This new image is shot during couple of mandatory waiting periods. Nothing spectacular but I kind of like the result.


Sharpless 140, (Sh2-140)
Please, click for a large image




A bicolor composition by the light of ionized elements, hydrogen and oxygen. (H-alpha and O-III)


H-alpha emission alone
Please, click for a large image



INFO

Sh2-140 is an HII emission nebula on the southwest edge of the Lynds 1204 darn nebula. It is also on the edge the Cephus Ring, a ring of molecular gas and dust. Invisible in this image, there are about fifty young stars deeply embedded in the dark gas in the lower-left corner of the image.
Source, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, NOAO

Orientation in Cepheus
Please, click for a large image (2900 x 1700 pixels)

location of the Sharpless 140 is marked as white rectangle at top middle right. I have shot this wide field mosaic image of Cepheus back in 2014, the original blog post with technical detail can be found HERE

Technical details

Processing work flow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 21 iterations, added at 25% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera optics (For S-II and O-III channels)
Mount
10-micron 1000
Meade LX200 GPS 12" (For S-II and O-III channels)

Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
QHY9 (For S-II and O-III channels)

Astrodon filter, 5 nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3 nm O-III

Exposure times
H-alpha, 6 x 1200 s binned 2x2 
O-III, 2 x 1200 s binned 4x4 = 



Thursday, January 19, 2017

B&W universe, part I


As I'm using a cooled Gray scale astronomical CCD camera, I have a Black and White images from all of my photos. (For a color image, colors are made by shooting each color channel trough a filter, in my case mostly a narrow band filters.)

I will publish few posts out of my B&W images. Sometimes I like them better as a color ones. 


North America Nebula, a detail
Please, click for a large image

Photo shows the emission of hydrogen alone. (H-alpha) You'll find a color version and  the technical details from HERE


A two frame mosaic
Please, click for a large image

You'll find a color version and  the technical details from HERE


Three frames stitched together
Please, click for a large image

You'll find a color version and  the technical details from HERE


For technical details and a color versions, please, use a link under the images above.


Thursday, January 12, 2017

Bright nebulae of the central Cygnus, eleven panel mosaic in visual spectrum

My first photo session for the year 2017 was at January fourth. As a result, I was able to finalize my mosaic image of the central Cygnus. It has now eleven panels stitched together seamlessly.  I have made two versions, as usually. This one is in visual  colors and another version in mapped color can be seen HERE..

Mosaic images can be highly work intensive but the final resolution is great. They are very suitable for extreme large prints. Original resolution is around 20.000 x 9000 pixels.




Bright nebulae of the central Cygnus, eleven panels
Please, click for a large image, 2100 x 1000 pixels

The photo is in visual colors from the light emitted by an ionized elements, 
R=Hydrogen + Sulphur, G=Oxygen and B=Oxygen + ~10% Hydrogen. A mosaic image with seven panels. Original image has a resolution of about 20.000 x 9000 pixels. Image spans about five degrees of sky horizontally.


Sub images taken for the mosaic in chronological order
Please, click for a large images


Three panels, January 7. 2016



One panel, December 27 2016



Five panels, January 1. 2017



Eight panels, January 1. 2017



The final four panels, January 4. 2017



Orientation
Please, click for a large image

An older wide field photo with  the Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera lens and Baader narrowband filters. Area of interest is marked as a white rectangle. 


Technical details

Processing work flow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 21 iterations, added at 25% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera optics (For S-II and O-III channels)
Mount
10-micron 1000
Meade LX200 GPS 12" (For S-II and O-III channels)

Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL
QHY9 (For S-II and O-III channels)

Astrodon filter, 5 nm H-alpha
Baader filter, 8,5 nm O-III
Baader filter, 8 nm S-II

Exposure times for all seven panels
H-alpha, 39 x 1200 s binned 2x2 
O-III, 22 x 1200 s binned 4x4 = 
S-II,  22 x 1200 s binned 4x4 =