Starship Asterisk*

The annual Geminid meteor shower
Copyright: Tony.Pan Larger:https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonypysm/16058239746/
Larger:https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonypysm/16047366082/

The Tunnel (Rosette Nebula)

Copyright: Paul Haese

Click here for full resolution

Jantar Mantar, 300 Year old Masonic Observatory on winter solstice day, 2014. panoramic View from the top of one of the instruments (samrat yantra)

M45 Pleiades Wild Field.

In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters (Messier 45 or M45), is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. The celestial entity has several meanings in different cultures and traditions.


Details Photo:

Place: Coll d'Ares-Lleida
Date: 20-12-2014
Moon Phase: New Moon
Seeing: 5/5.
Mount: Star Adventurer SkyWatcher
Camera: Sony A7S
Lense: Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
Exposures: 39 x 60 segundos a ISO 4000, darks, flats i bias.
Software: Pixinsight + Lightroom
Happy Merry Christmas.
Lluis Romero.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/llromero/
http://www.astrosirius.org/

IC 405 & IC 410
Copyright: Paolo Demaria
This image shows the field of IC 405 and IC 410 in Auriga, captured with a DSLR.
Full resolution and technical specifications:
http://www.astrobin.com/142103/C/
Best regards,
Paolo Demaria, Cuneo, Italy

The Great Orion Nebula - Widefield
Click for more details: http://www.celestialpixels.com/Nebulae/i-RfhR36L/

Copyright: Evangelos Souglakos

Solstice Moonrise


Copyright: Rafael Schmall

This picture shows the tiny waning crescent (0.9%) moon 2° above the horizon.
Picture taken: 2014.12.21. 6:41 UTC+1
Exif details: Canon EOS 6D + Admiral 400/6.3
- ISO6400
- f11 (for the landscape trees - but bequase its windy morning, a little blurred )
- 1/60sec exp
- 400mm + crop

Observation location:
Hungary, Somogy, Kaposfő
https://www.google.hu/maps/@46.3655523, ... !1e3?hl=hu


Large size: http://www.asztrofoto.hu/galeria/img/1419155207.jpg

http://rafeeen1.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/rafaelschmallphoto

Best Regards

Rafael Schmall

Orion's Sward
Credits and copyrights: Data: WISE IRSA; Processing: Francesco Antonucci
Full size: http://www.astrobin.com/full/141393/0/ California Nebula
Copyrights: Albert Barr Moon meets Saturn
Copyrights: Wang Letian Heart & Soul
Copyrights: Terry Hancock Startrails
Copyrights: Ezequiel Etcheverry Winter Solstice Aurora
Copyrights: Göran Strand

Veil Nebula
Copyrights: Viktor Linnik and Alexander Radionov
Full size: http://bonadi.com.ua/IMG_2837.jpg Cone and Christmas Tree
Copyrights: Roberto Colombari
Full size: http://www.astrobin.com/full/141862/0/?real=&mod= Winter scenery in Uludag NP
Copyrights: Tunç Tezel NGC 1169: Now better known
Copyrights: Adam Block
Full size: http://skycenter.arizona.edu/gallery/Galaxies/NGC1169 Trapezium in Orion
Credits and copyrights: Data: Hubble Legacy Archive; Processing: Michael Smythers
Full size: http://www.astrobin.com/full/141707/0/?real=&mod= IC1396
Credits and copyrights: Data: WISE IRSA; Processing: Francesco Antonucci
Full size: http://www.astrobin.com/full/141945/0/

Analemna
Copyrights: Matthew Chin Solar Halo
Copyrights: Tim Swift Copernicus
Copyrights: Alain Paillou Colours of the Moon
Copyrights: Alain Paillou Sun Sizzles in High-Energy X-Rays
Image credits: Dynamics Observatory (SDO).Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC
An article: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4422 http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=34261

Snowy night
Copyrights: Mehdi Momenzadeh The Christmas Tree Cluster
Copyrights: Derek Demeter Fireball
Copyrights: Mogens Winther Comet 15P/Finlay - December 19th
Copyrights: Damian Peach Comet Lovejoy - Dec 20th.
Copyrights: Damian Peach
Full size: http://www.damianpeach.com/deepsky/c201 ... 2_20dp.jpg Comet Lovejoy - Dec 21st.
Copyrights: Damian Peach
http://www.damianpeach.com/deepsky/c201 ... 2_21dp.jpg

Rosette Nebula by dvalid, on Flickr

Horsehead Nebula, starless version by dvalid, on Flickr

The Horsehead and the Flame Nebulas by dvalid, on Flickr

Moon in colors
HiRes

Thanks for watching.

Giancarlo.

Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) on December 21 2014
https://flic.kr/p/pywp9H
Copyright: Marion Haligowski

Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) on December 21 2014 by Radical Retinoscopy, on Flickr

Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) - Tracked on the Nucleus by Radical Retinoscopy, on Flickr

Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) has just reached a height of about fifteen degrees on December 21, 2014. From my observing site, the southern horizon is my most heavily light polluted area of the sky. I can barely discern a tail at this point; the next few weeks should prove to be interesting! The image was made of a stack of 38 twenty second exposures (Canon T2i, 100 mm f/2 lens @ f/3.2, ISO 800). Tracking was done with an iOptron Sky Tracker with stacking done in Nebulosity. The images were stacked with the nucleus of the comet remaining stationary causing slight trailing of the stars.

A Double Star Cluster (NGC869 and NGC884 in Perseus) by Oleg Bryzgalov, on Flickr

Close encounter on Christmas Eve
Comet P15/Finlay on December 24th, 2014
Copyright: Velimir Popov, Emil Ivanov @ Irida Observatory On the evening of December 24th, at 16:40 UT the comet P15/Finlay was less than 6' from the planet Mars.
More info and hi-res image on website

Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) on Dec. 24th, 2014
Copyright: Velimir Popov, Emil Ivanov @ Irida Observatory More info and hi-res image on website

Copyright: Robert Fields, Terry Hancock
https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryhanc ... /lightbox/

Solar activity on 25th December.
image : Philippe TOSI

IC 443 Jellyfish Nebula
http://observatorioelche.blogspot.com.e ... edusa.html
Copyright: Juan Lozano de Haro

Orion constellation



Full Image
Copyright: Zoltan Panik

ISS crossing over Fayette Co, TN on 25 December 2014. Canon EOS 5D Mk III, 24 mm lens, ISO 3200 at f16, mosaic of four 30-second exposures. View is to the north.

Copyright: Raul Villaverde Fraile (alcarreño)

110 hours total exposure
12 panels 30x900"halfa;20x300" RGB

NGC 1499 gran campo V3 by astrocentejo, on Flickr