Starship Asterisk*

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53992380912_3b3024593a.jpg The Lobster Claw Nebula I'm excited to share my image of the striking Lobster Claw Nebula, captured from bright city skies just outside of Chicago. Over three nights, I used a dual narrowband filter (H-alpha and O III) to bring out the ...

I had the amazing experience of watching the April 8th solar eclipse from the pristine skies of Maine. To capture the high dynamic range of the solar corona, I photographed totality at many different exposures using a DSLR camera and refractor telescope. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/536496612...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53265742430_e9cda29f18.jpg Heart and Soul Nebulae This is a widefield view of the Heart and Soul Nebulae in the constellation Cassiopeia. Captured from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies over three nights in dual narrowband (H-alpha and O III). 164x300 sec Equipment: ZW...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53265742430_e9cda29f18.jpg Heart and Soul Nebulae This is a widefield view of the Heart and Soul Nebulae in the constellation Cassiopeia. Captured from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies over three nights in dual narrowband (H-alpha and O III). 164x300 sec Equipment: ZW...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53239002946_93f3bce895.jpg Orion's Dream This is the dreamlike Orion constellation, featuring the Great Orion Nebula and Horsehead/Flame Nebulae, that I captured from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies in dual narrowband. Night 1 (9/30/23): 17x300 sec Night 2 (10/1/23):...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53210417407_d247a98ffe.jpg Sadr Region, Butterfly Nebula, and Crescent Nebula This is the beautiful emission around Sadr (including the Butterfly and Crescent nebulae), that I captured from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies in narrowband. Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro Ro...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53159605967_2385015eaf.jpg Solar System in One Week My photos of our Solar System from this week: the Blue Supermoon, Saturn at opposition (with Titan, Rhea, and Iapetus), and Jupiter with its four Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto). I represent t...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53154488947_a371e2fb57.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53155067506_093e43f983.jpg Blue Supermoon Rising in Chicago I captured the second full moon of August right as it aligned with the antennas atop the John Hancock Center, the fifth tallest building in ...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53126796943_a029bf34e1.jpg Western Veil Nebula 52x300 sec Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro SVBONY SV503 80ED refractor with focal reducer Optolong L-Ultimate 2" filter Star Adventurer GTi, ZWO 30mm f/4 guidescope, ASI120MM Mini guidecamera, ASIAIR Pro Processing:...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53119059507_743fde9716.jpg Iris Nebula Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro Optolong UV/IR Cut Filter Svbony SV503 80ED 80mm refractor Star Adventurer GTi, ZWO 30mm f/4 guidescope, ASI120MM Mini guidecamera, ASIAIR Pro 31x300 sec light; flat/bias/dark frames Software: Ast...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53091255316_5d40857861.jpg Lion Nebula SH2-132 The Lion Nebula shot over two nights in dual narrowband (H-alpha and O III). Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro Optolong L-Ultimate 2" filter Svbony SV503 80ED 80mm refractor Star Adventurer GTi, ZWO 30mm f/4 guidescop...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53064159639_e7cd919400.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53064559579_9b429e4ac8_w.jpg Bubble Nebula and M52 I would like to share this picture of the Bubble Nebula and M52 (and a bit of the Lobster Claw Nebula) I captured from my backyard. Shot with an OSC ...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53053597299_4bb8cbbe1f.jpg Veil Nebula in Cygnus Widefield shot of the Veil Nebula in the Cygnus constellation. I captured this target from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies with a 135mm f/2 lens, ZWO ASI533MC color camera, and dual-band (H-alpha and O-iii emission) fi...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53044738855_cbcb207127.jpg IC 1396 Elephant's Trunk Nebula I captured the Elephant's Trunk Nebula over two nights from Bortle Class 8-9 skies, using a Samyang 135mm f/2 lens, ZWO ASI533MC color camera, and dual-band (H-alpha and O-iii emission) filter. The total ...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53023425555_c534158ea1.jpg Sadr Region, Butterfly Nebula, and Crescent Nebula Captured from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies with a ZWO ASI533MC camera, 135mm f/2 lens, and dual-band (H-alpha and O-iii emission) filter, with an integration time of one hour. Location: ...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53009990813_3895d60292.jpg Stars and Fireflies Here's another composite picture from my recent trip to a dark sky park, where I combine the blinking of thousands of fireflies and the Milky Way core rising over the forest. It was a magical sight to witness! Locati...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52999047809_ae43363e8f.jpg The famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. Captured from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies with an 80mm doublet refractor and dual-band (H-alpha and O-iii emission) filter, with an integration time of approximately four hours. Locati...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52986867697_087b6c38da.jpg Dance of Fireflies in the Core of the Milky Way While visiting a dark sky park this weekend to see the Milky Way core rise in the summer night sky, I got a rare treat: an uncountable number of fireflies had recently emerged in the centr...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52968463335_877b82e8e2.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52967488342_b77f62bcc7.jpg The North America Nebula with the Cygnus Wall. Captured from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies with an 80mm doublet refractor and dual-band (H-alpha and O-iii emission) filter, wi...

Plane transiting Strawberry Moon

Equipment: Orion XT8, Nikon 1 J1
Location: Des Plaines, Illinois
Date: June 3, 2023
Copyright Imran Sultan

Strawberry Mineral Moon

equipment: Orion XT8 dobsonian, Nikon 1 J1 mirrorless
processing: PIPP, Autostakkert (top 30% of about 60 frames), Registax, Photoshop

location: Des Plaines, Illinois
date: May 28, 2023

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52879706815_3f4751bbd8.jpg Flower Moon on a cloudy night The May full moon on a cloudy night. This picture is a composite of a stacked image edited to bring out the colors and details of the "mineral moon," and a longer exposure showing the moonlit clou...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52879329466_a32a44be1c.jpg The Shark Nebula and Surrounding Interstellar Medium I captured a widefield shot of the amazing interstellar gas and dust in the Cepheus constellation, prominently featuring the Shark Nebula. The picture represents nearly 2.5 hours of i...

Alignment https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52779563877_21d5f50da0.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52780347809_b9cf879fae.jpg I had the pleasure of viewing the planetary alignment this week shortly after the sun set into Lake Michigan. In this photo I captured the Moon, three planets, and ...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52760376352_7358bd719b.jpg starless version https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52761168319_d9c3a361c7.jpg Integrated Flux Nebula near M81 and M82 Location: Animas, New Mexico Date: December 20, 2022 Canon Rebel T5i, Samyang 135mm f/2 lens at f/2.8 59x300 sec Sta...