Recent Submissions: 2012 March 3-4

[PeterR]

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[attachment=0]peterr.jpg[/attachment]
http://spaceweather.com/submissions/pic ... f5at66vil2
Full resolution image: http://spaceweather.com/submissions/pic ... 652895.jpg

Image taken on Feb. 29, 2012 from Stockholm, Sweden.
For a long time I had planned for a planet Marathon on Leap Day as it would be possible to photograph all the planets except Neptune, which was to close to the Sun, on one single day.
I also included the Sun, the Moon, 3 of Jupiters moons and our own planet Earth symbolised by a view of the Earthshadow photographed with a fisheye lens.
Uranus is the central tiny dot in the surrounding starfield in the circle in the upper right.
That accounts for 12 bodies of our solar system.

/*Peter R

[PeterR]

Full resolution image: http://spaceweather.com/submissions/pic ... 552483.jpg

Image taken on Feb. 29, 2012 from Stockholm, Sweden
While doing the photographic Planet Marathon above, I photographed the setting Sun and when it was just to disappear behind the treetops, I caught a strong blue flash.

/Peter R

[Emil Ivanov]

IC 443 (Jellyfish Nebula)
http://www.emilivanov.com/CCD%20Images/ ... HO_RGB.htm
Copyright: Emil Ivanov

Click to view full size image

Higher resolution

[Emil Ivanov]

IC 2177 (Seagull Nebula)
http://www.emilivanov.com/CCD%20Images/IC2177_HRGB.htm
Copyright: Emil Ivanov

Click to view full size image

Higher resolution

[owlice]

Mars at Opposition
Copyright: Amirreza Kamkar
[attachment=6]img_3772.jpg[/attachment]

Jupiter and the International Space Station
http://www.stronglycelestial.net/newpicturegaller.html
Copyright: John Strong

Click to view full size image

Leo Triplet Galaxies
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10089041/Leo_tr ... RGB-66.jpg
Copyright: Morten la Cour (photography), Niels V. Christensen (processing)
[attachment=5]leo_triplet_lrgb-33.jpg[/attachment]

Deep view of the Orion Nebula + Flare of a geostationary satellite
http://www.astrophoto.de/
Copyright: Sebastian Voltmer
[attachment=4]orionnebulam42_satflare.jpg[/attachment]

Mars and More
Copyright: Tunç Tezel

[attachment=2]sirvanmars2012.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment=3]20120226h20.jpg[/attachment]

Mars Nears Opposition
http://www.jwestlake.com
Copyright: Jimmy Westlake

[attachment=1]Mars2 022612.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment=0]Mars2 022612(key).jpg[/attachment]

[astromazzo]

Comet Garradd near minimum distance from Earth.

[owlice]

Night Sky over Wadi Rum
Copyright: Alexandria Noor Renfore
[attachment=5]DSC_5094.jpg[/attachment]

M35 & NGC2158: Open Star Clusters in Gemini
http://www.starkeeper.it/M35_NGC2158.htm
Copyright: Leonardo Orazi
[attachment=4]leoclusters.jpg[/attachment]

NGC 2264: Cone Nebula Region in Halpha
http://www.colorsofyesterday.org/
Copyright: François Chevenet
[attachment=3]ngc2264-scale25.jpg[/attachment]

Trees and Trails
budbranch.smugmug.com
Copyright: Bud Branch
[attachment=2]startrails-mn-venus-jupiter-2.jpg[/attachment]

IC410: Bright Nebula in Auriga
http://www.starhopper.de
Copyright: Thomas Jaeger
[attachment=1]IC410-HOS.jpg[/attachment]

Asteroid (1331) Solvejg 'flying by' M1: Crab Nebula
http://jeffjastro.com/dso/M1_25Feb12.htm
Copyright: Jeff Johnson
[attachment=0]asteroid_near_m1.jpg[/attachment]

[Rothkko]

Mercury

[mexhunter]

Celestial Equator over Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan
Copyright: César Cantú

Click to view full size image

Also: http://www.astrophoto.com.mx/picture.ph ... category/9

Temple of the Feathered Serpent

Click to view full size image

Also: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6950 ... a9ec_b.jpg

Pyramid of the Moon

Click to view full size image

Also: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7205/6804 ... ec7d_b.jpg

Canis Major on Teotihuacan (City of the Gods)

Click to view full size image

Also: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6950 ... f1df_b.jpg

[Efrain Morales]

Mars on this day is at opposition and showing some popular regions they are (Top) Hellas getting bright (winter), (Mid) Syrtis Major (R) and Sinus Sabeaus (L), Arabia region, (Bot) Deuteronilos and Utopia regions and the polar cap in which is shrinking in size.

Click to view full size image

[ManuelJ]

NGC 3718
http://www.manuelj.com
Copyright: Manuel Jimenez

Click to view full size image

Full size under: http://www.manuelj.com/Astronomy/GalaxyGallery

[Arbacia]

Aristarchus region: a ratio image showing the geologic material composition in the Moon
by Patricio Domínguez (patricio@geo.ucm.es. Faculty of Geology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain)


The Aristarchus region is one of the most interesting areas on the Moon. It is one of the very few places where the moon is not grey at the naked eye as it appears with a distinctive olive green colour. Moreover, the high albedo ofAristarchus crater makes it one of the brightest spots in the moon.

Sometimes the differences in brightness values from pictures are caused by variations in topographic slopes and hence changes in sunlight illumination angle. However, some of the differences are because of variations in mineralogical composition. Ratio transformations of a set of pictures taken in different spectral bands can be applied to reduce the effects of such environmental conditions isolating the colour differences related to composition of rocks. Therefore, ratio images can be meaningfully interpreted as a surface mineralogy composition chart.

In this composite picture I have used blue, red and near infrared bands as primary pictures. Then I calculate the ratio pictures using ImageJ, a free image analysis software. Hence, three ratio pictures are created and combined in a RGB picture in which the ratio R/B controls the red-channel brightness, its reverse (B/R) the blue channel and the ratio IR/R the green. For reference, later, I have used an NIR image to show some of the topography details.

In the picture, red and orange colours are mainly pyroclastic blankets. Mature mare materials are blue (younger) or magenta (older), however fresh basalts are clear yellow as it is visible in the small craters that excavate the altered surface materials. Highland materials appear in cyan and light blue (i.e. cobra head, Western of Aristarchus and some other small near craters. Montes Agricola and the Agricola Straits are covered by younger pyroclasts than the surrounding mare units at the North-West.

The Aristarchus impact crater was produced near the limit between highland and mare material and because this difference in composition the ejecta blanket shows an asymmetry in colour (greenish grey derived from mare basalts towards the South and orange derived from highlands towards the N and NE).


Technical details
Pictures taken at home in Madrid, Spain. August 19 2011, 01:33UT
Telescope Celestron C11 CGE. Camera DMK 21AU618.AS, Filters Astronomik R and G type II and IR Planet Pro 742. Ratio images calculated with ImageJ <http://rsbweb.nih.gov/ij/>

[owlice]

Leo Triplet
http://www.astrodad.com
Copyright: Max Corneau
[attachment=5]astrodadLeo.jpg[/attachment]

VERITAS Telescope at Sunset
Copyright: Simon Archambault
[attachment=4]431641_10150559978856482_666821481_9122083_1309917767_n.jpg[/attachment]

NGC 4625 and NGC 4618: Spiral Galaxies in Canes Venatici
http://www.astroconti.com
Copyright: Stefano Conti
[attachment=3]NGC-4618-25-LRGB-rid.jpg[/attachment]

IC 443: The Jellyfish Nebula
http://www.azstarman.net
Copyright: Bernard Miller
[attachment=2]ic443_ps1_full.jpg[/attachment]

22° Halo and Upper Tangent Arc
Copyright: Michal Kolpak
[attachment=1]bifurcated sundog.jpg[/attachment]

NIght Sky with Venus and Orionids Meteors
Copyright: Zach McCarley
[attachment=0]Venus - meteor.jpg[/attachment]

[owlice]

HEGRA Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope at Night
Copyright: Alex Tudoricǎ
[attachment=4]HEGRA-1.jpg[/attachment]

NGC 2170: Reflection Nebula in Monoceros
http://astronomiapampeana.com.ar/foto/80/NGC-2170.html
Copyright: Leonardo Julio and Carlos Milovic

Click to view full size image

Milky Way and Airglow over Eastern Iran
Copyright: Amirreza Kamkar
[attachment=3]IMG_2183 Panorama_beta.jpg[/attachment]

Ina Structure in Lacus Felicitatis
http://moonposter.wikispaces.com/file/v ... color3.jpg
Credit and copyright: LROC DTM and John Moore
[attachment=2]mooremoon.jpg[/attachment]

M65 and M66: Spiral Galaxies in Leo
http://www.malagon.webs.com
Copyright: Carlos Malagón
[attachment=1]la foto.JPG[/attachment]

Widefield of Flaming Star and Skull Nebulae
Copyright: Mark Johnston
[attachment=0]flamingstarnebula_apod_submission_120220.jpg[/attachment]

[owlice]

Coronographe, Pic du Midi
Copyright: Pascal Drabik
[attachment=5]Coronographe_PicDuMidi.jpg[/attachment]

Sunset on St David's Day
Copyright: E. Storey
[attachment=4]st d's day 2012 potd.jpg[/attachment]

Bicolor Luna
http://www.paquettefamily.ca/astro/p2/2 ... _test4.jpg
Copyright: Andre Paquette and Dave Rowe
[attachment=3]bicolormoon.jpg[/attachment]

Finding Mars
http://www.jackfusco.com
Copyright: Jack Fusco
[attachment=2]jackfusco_skywatcher-marsopposition.jpg[/attachment]

LIDAR Laser System and Milky Way
Christophmalin.com
Copyright: Christoph Malin
[attachment=1]_dsc3530.jpeg[/attachment]

Earth's Natural Satellite
Copyright: Paulo Cacella
[attachment=0]luaflt98.jpg[/attachment]

[kvwood]

Heart of the Rose, NGC 2244
Copyright: Kent Wood
[attachment=0]woodrose.jpg[/attachment]
http://www.pbase.com/kvwood/image/141587664/

[avdhoeven]

I know moon images are not so common as an apod image but I would like to submit this mosaic that was made yesterday evening using my C11 telescope. It consist of 107 images put together covering the full moon disk. Details up to about 1 km can be seen on the image....

The full size image (18 megapixel) can be found here...

The attached image is a 20% version of the full image linked above...

[chrismalin]

Added description of above submission and link to bigger image:

Image of the LIDAR (DIAL) Laser System of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (schneefernerhaus.de/en/forschung/partner/karlsruhe-institute-of-technology.html) at the Schneefernerhaus Research Station below the Zugspitze Peak.

In the Backdrop you see the Milky Way rising above the Inntal Valley near Innsbruck, Austria. The most western part of Innsbruck is just visible, as well as a part of the Brenner Highway to North Italy. The faint Red light (just below the cables of Zugspitze Cable car) on Top of the 2450 m high Patscherkofel Mountain is emitted from the Austrian State Television Broadcast Station. A bit right of the Cables are two lights illuminating stations of the Zillertaler Glacier Skiing Area.

The first blueish light in the Karwendel Mountain Range before Innsbruck is coming from the Rosshuette Skiing Area (Night Skiing).

Finally Northern Italy - well known for some of the biggest light pollution in Europe - is illuminating much of the Horizon on the right side of the Image. Bottom right is a Restaurant Station of the Zugspitze Skiing area, and on the very left a snow slope is illuminated by a light coming from a scientific room.

As for all the light pollution over Inntal and coming from the Italian Border at the Alps main ridge, I am happy with the result. Shot with Nikon D700 and AFS 14-24/2.8.

Cheers
Chris

LIDAR and the Milky Way above Innsbruck
http://www.christophmalin.com
Copyright: Christoph Malin

Click to view full size image

For a bigger image (still < 400 KB) go here:
http://www.christophmalin.com/apod/0303 ... ar_sfh.jpg

[nicola montecchiari]

Cederblad 214 and friends
http://www.skymonsters.net
Copyright: Nicola Montecchiari

Click to view full size image

[moladso]

The pilar of the World: Caucasus Mons area
Please, visit my web page at www.astronomica.es for the annotated mouseover version and hi resolution, full sized version of this image.
Mosaic composed of 6 infrared images, Celestron 9.25 and DMK 21AU618
Copyright: Jaime Fernandez

Click to view full size image

Click to view full size image

[moladso]

Mars, perfect seeing
Please, visit my web page at www.astronomica.es for the annotated mouseover version of this image.
Celestron 9.25 and DMK 21AU618
Copyright: Jaime Fernandez

Click to view full size image

Click to view full size image

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[Ann]

Submissions are pouring in, so I'd better post some comments while I can!

I have to start by congratulating a fellow Swede. Peter R, it was a fun idea to have a planet marathon on Leap Day, and I like the "poster" you made. I like the fact that you considered the relative apparent sizes of the various objects, but I have to wonder: Is the Moon ever so apparently larger than the Sun in our skies? In any case, your image is fun, clever and thought-provoking.

And as a lover of all blue things, I love your blue flash! I'm envious of you for having seen it.

Emil Ivanov, that's a great-looking Jellyfish Nebula. You have brought out excellent structure in it, and I can discern a large red "S" in its twisting shape. Add the bluish area to the "S", and the nebula takes on a "yin-yang" shape. With the colors you have brought out, red, some blue and a lot of warm yellow from the foreground star, Eta Gem, the whole composition reminds me faintly of Superman (with the red "S" and all, and he can fly in space.)

Amirreza Kamkar, I like your (moonlit?) landscape with Mars and Leo in the light blue sky above.

There are several pictures of the Leo galaxies in this thread. Morten la Cour and Niels V. Christensen, that's a nice image which brings out the different shapes of the three galaxies.

Max Corneau, your picture brings out the tidal tail of the non-Messier member of the Leo triplet (NGC 3628).

Carlos Malagón, your image is my favorite. I love the soft yellowness of M65 and M66, underscoring the fact that both these galaxies have very large yellow populations. I love how you bring out the outer neutral-colored intermediate (or metal-poor) populations, and I love how you bring out the outer tidal features or faint broad "arms" of M66. And I love how you bring out the pink and blue star formation in M66, which is absent in M65 (or at least too faint to be visible here).

Sebastian Voltmer, I like the interesting colors of your Orion Nebula. The nebulosity near the Trapezium is quite green, underscoring the OIII emission there. And I love how the geostationary satellite reflects the light of the Sun, so that it looks yellow-white in contrast with the hot blue stars near the Orion Nebula.

Tunç Tezel and Jimmy Westlake, I like both your Mars and Leo images. Jimmy Westlake, thank you for your annotated version and for emphasizing the color difference between Mars and Regulus! And Tunç Tezel, thank you for that nice fisheye(?) view of the winter Milky Way with the Moon, Jupiter and Venus off to one side.

Alexandria Noor Renfore, it's very nice to see a woman here! I like your image with the blue stars over the deep red light pollution(?). I like how you have captured the late February/early March position of Orion and the Pleiades, which are sinking fast in the west. I think that is one of the things I like the least about spring, that the lovely Pleiades disappear from the sky! Oh, but to return to your image, I like that you have captured a meteor, too.

Leonardo Orazi, that's an absolutely lovely portrait of M35 and NGC 2158. I have rarely seen M35 look so rich and blue against the background. The contrast with small compact yellow NGC 2158 is great, of course. And I think you have brought out what looks like a ring of brownish dust surrounding M35, as if this dust is what remains after the formation of this young cluster.

And now I have no more time, so I will have to come back later!

Ann

[Emil Ivanov]

Emil Ivanov, that's a great-looking Jellyfish Nebula. You have brought out excellent structure in it, and I can discern a large red "S" in its twisting shape. Add the bluish area to the "S", and the nebula takes on a "yin-yang" shape. With the colors you have brought out, red, some blue and a lot of warm yellow from the foreground star, Eta Gem, the whole composition reminds me faintly of Superman (with the red "S" and all, and he can fly in space.)

Thank you very much for the kind comment, Ann!
Now I can distinguish this shape too

Kindest regards, Emil

[Ann]

You're welcome, Emil! Glad I could help you see something in your own picture!

Now it's time for me to add some more comments. I think I'll start with the Moon images, since there are so many Moon images here.

Arbacia, that's a very interesting discussion about the Aristarchus region, and it is a very interesting way to use color to bring out the age and composition of various layers around this area in a fine picture. You also had to work hard to create this picture and interpret what we see in it. Well done!

John Moore (and LROC DTM), that's a rather amazing-looking part of the Moon(?). I would have guessed it was Mars, because that sure looks like old ice or melting ice or something. But the colors represent elevation. Quite fantastic.

Andre Paquette and Dave Rowe, I really like your bicolor Luna. It brings out the redder and the bluer parts of the Moon, and it also underscores the fact that the Moon is somewhat reddish (or more red than blue, at any rate).

Paulo Cacella, that's a fine-looking Moon, very much in true color, I think. You really bring out the smoother and the rougher "texture" of the Moon".

avdhoeven, your Moon image is beautifully detailed, too.

Jaime Fernandez, that's a great closeup of a part of the Moon, and it's a great annotated image!

And now for the other images. François Chevenet, yur black and white picture of the Cone Nebula region brings out that huge arc which is almost "embracing" this whole region of star formation. It looks a bit like Barnard's Loop in Orion, too.

I'm absolutely terrible at reading star trails, Bud Branch, but I can actually discern the Moon, Jupiter and Venus and their very bright trails in your image!

Thomas Jaeger, I've never seen IC 410 look so much like a huge cosmic rose!

Jeff Johnson, how interesting - tiny asteroid Solvejg is flying past the Crab Nebula. Solvejg must be Norwegian, judging from her name.

Rothkko, I love the delicate colors of your Mercury photo. I have often stared at the sunset or sunrise sky and been wondering how the sky does that trick - how it can change from that rich apricot-orange hue into its familiar blue without passing through a "phase" where it looks either dirty or greenish. There is something otherworldly about how the sky changes color. Thank you for showing to us so clearly, Rothko! (And thank you for showing us Mercury, too!)

César Cantú, you have submitted several fine images from what looks like a fascinating trip to a place where there are old temples. I love the "differently-curving" star trails in the first image. I love the Big Dipper and Polaris over Pyramid of the Moon, and I have rarely seen Canis Major look so frisky as in your image Canis Major on Teotihuacan (City of the Gods). You can really see that celestial dog running after Orion!

Efrain Morales, that's a fine Mars image.

Manuel Jimenez, your image is one of my absolute favorites in this thread. I love how you bring out the twisted shape of NGC 3718, and I love the fantastic, luminous colors of your image. You make us see so clearly how the outer parts of NGC 3718 look like wind-blown hair sparkling with new young stars, while the outer parts of the other obvious galaxy, NGC 3729, are sedate. Love that amazing lozenge shape of the bulge of NGC 3718. And I have to say it again, your picture is just so beautiful!

Stefano Conti, your galaxy picture is very fine, too. I much appreciate that you have photographed a pair of galaxies that don't get all that much attention, NGC 4625 and NGC 4618. Your image brings out the many pink star emission nebulae in these two richly starforming galaxies, and we can also see the large, faint outer arms of the otherwise small galaxy NGC 4625. Nothing similar can be seen around larger galaxy NGC 4618.

Michal Kolpak, that's an interesting sky phenomenon: 22° Halo and Upper Tangent Arc! Thanks for showing it to us!

Zach McCarley, that's a fine Venus and Orionids Meteors image. Again I love the delicate, fantastic colors of the deep twilight sky.

Leonardo Julio and Carlos Milovic, I love how you pepper you image with delightful colors! And your picture is full of fantastic details, too. For example, on the left there is a tall, faint but dark structure which stars at the bottom and extends almost to the top. And at upper left there is some faint emission nebulosity.

Mark Johnston, that's a fine portrait of IC 405 and IC 410 and the delightful asterism between them, the Leaping Minnow.

Pascal Drabik, I love the clouds washing in like water between the mountains.

E. Storey, that's a wonderful sunset!

Kent Wood, that's a fine center of the Rosette Nebula. I really like how you bring out the stellar richness in the roundish "hole" of the Rosette. The bright stars are not alone there, but there are many relatively faint stars there too, and many more stars than there are in the right part of the image, for example.

Jaime Fernandez, thank you for the beautifully annotated Mars image!

And thanks to everyone else who contributed images here!

Ann

[Rothkko]

Rothkko, I love the delicate colors of your Mercury photo. I have often stared at the sunset or sunrise sky and been wondering how the sky does that trick - how it can change from that rich apricot-orange hue into its familiar blue without passing through a "phase" where it looks either dirty or greenish. There is something otherworldly about how the sky changes color. Thank you for showing to us so clearly, Rothko! (And thank you for showing us Mercury, too!)
Ann

Thank you, Ann.