Starship Asterisk*

Carlo Rocchi, Italy

sundog. frame of http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 00#p234074 . edited in ps

NGC6946 - The Fireworks Galaxy
Copyrights: Bernard Miller NGC6946 - The Fireworks Galaxy and IFN
Copyrights: Bernard Miller DreamScape
Copyrights: Adam Block LDN1235 Shark Dark Nebula in Cepheus
Copyrights: Andrea Pistocchini Thermal Bird in front of the Sun
Copyrights: John Chumack

Stephan's Quintet
Copyrights: Leonardo Orazi Milky Way on the Irish Wild Atlantic Way
Copyrights: Brendan Alexander Aurora photo from Iceland
Copyrights: Daniel Lowe Mauna Kea, bright and dark
Copyrights: Tunç Tezel

The Light of Venus




https://500px.com/acubens
https://www.flickr.com/photos/m_acubens
https://www.facebook.com/MilkyWayAddicted

Sergio Montúfar

Nitpicker wrote:

Astromontufar wrote:Objets in the Sky

Hard to get a non noisy picture using a Nikon d5100, still I think the experience I get every night I do Astrophotos its much important, working under hard conditions just makes you better. I improved my post process, the hardest part of the work,, I think a better camera will do the difference. That night weather conditions and the fact that I was out in the route taking pictures was such a great experience, we drove long way to get clear skies. The magellanic clouds, the Southern Pleiades, Eta Carinae, just a beautiful conbination of the art of the Universe.



https://500px.com/acubens
https://www.flickr.com/photos/m_acubens/
https://www.facebook.com/MilkyWayAddicted

Sergio Montúfar

Hi Sergio,

Interesting to compare notes on the Nikon D5100, which I use as well. My best (and only) image thus far of the LMC and SMC together, was created from a stack of 10-20 subs, taken with a D5100, on a fixed tripod, with the kit zoom lens at 18mm:

CON_LMC_SMC_20131228_2115+10_reduced.jpg

Note that the exact same subs were used to create my first (and only) ever star trail image, which I posted a while back, here:
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 35#p217235
... where you can see evidence of yucky orange light pollution and clouds. Less than ideal conditions, I'm sure you'll agree. I'm not sure it is fair to blame the D5100 for all the noise. I think it is a great little DSLR. It is more about stacking and processing enough subs to increase the signal-to-noise ratio.

Thank you for the note Nitpicker, I agree with you by saying that the D5100 is a great litlle DSLR, in my case I am not using a tracking mount which I bet will improve my images, thank you for the feedback

BTW yours are great images and I can see the difference in the processing.

Astromontufar wrote: Thank you for the note Nitpicker, I agree with you by saying that the D5100 is a great litlle DSLR, in my case I am not using a tracking mount which I bet will improve my images, thank you for the feedback

BTW yours are great images and I can see the difference in the processing.

I was not using a tracking mount, either (in this case). But you are too kind about my ordinary images.

That's just how Sergio is.

The Centipede
http://www.ancientskys.com/
https://www.facebook.com/AncientSkys
Copyright: Marc Toso

The Rosette Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49)

Rosette nebula


Large image : http://www.astrobin.com/full/134135/0/

Copyright : Alfonso Carreño and Alejandro Esteve

My Astrobin : http://www.astrobin.com/users/Jansalex/

Grand View of Winter Constellations rising over Grand Canyon
Copyrights: Wally Pacholka http://www.AstroPics.com The Bubble (NGC 7635), NGC 7654/Messier 52, NGC 7538, 4Cas and the edge of NGC 7510
Copyrights: George Cavanaugh NGC 602 in the Small Magellanic Cloud
Copyrights: Don Goldman
Full size: http://www.astrodonimaging.com/gallery/ ... ?imgID=281 NGC 1499 California Nebula
Copyrights: César Blanco González
Full size: http://www.cieloprofundo.com/cesar/foto ... O_2000.jpg Horse Head and IC434
Copyrights: Francesco Antonucci
Larger size: http://www.astrobin.com/134115/ Cygnus Wall
Copyrights: Francesco Antonucci
Larger size: http://www.astrobin.com/full/134139/0/ M42 with wide field structures
Copyrights: Fritz Helmut Hemmerich
Full size: http://www.eridanos.org/M42_complex_201 ... guided.png Great Orion Nebula
Copyrights: Shailesh Trivedi

Two hours of Aurora
http://www.astrofotografen.se/
Copyright: Göran Strand This is a photo that shows everything that happened during two hours of aurora on October 2nd in 2013. It was shot at lake Storsjön near Östersund, Sweden. The black silhouette by the horizon is the island of Andersön, it has the shape of someone lying down. Apart from the aurora and star trails, you can also see an airplane, a meteor and lights from cars that passed by. You can see the Aurora in motion here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YjCIoPHT0U

"Starry Eyed"
NGC869-884 - The Double Cluster
Credit: Joel Short

Higher resolution and image details at http://www.buckeyestargazer.net/Pages/N ... 9-884.html

Hello,
Thanks for my Apod Bubble nebula.
A recent image, 19, 22 and 26 october.
RCGSO8", mobile AZEQ6, Atik 383 filters Baader 50mm, Optical Divider and Lodestar.
From my terrace in a small city 450m elevation, near Clermont-Ferrand (France)
A total of 18 hours, luminance and Ha bin 2, RVB bin 4
Best regards,
Bernard
A 13 Mpx is here http://imageshack.com/a/img673/9251/9g11Mu.jpg

The Sculptor's Cauldron
Copyright: Marcus Davies

Astrophotography Web Page:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/photography
Full resolution version:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/157 ... iginal.jpg

IC 59, IC 63, NGC 225, VdB 4
Copyright: Paolo Demaria

An unusual view of IC 59 and IC 63, with the open cluster NGC 225 and the VdB 4 nebula. Image captured from Bellino (CN), Italy, with a Tecnosky 80 APO triplet reduced at f/4.8 and a Canon Eos 450D modified Baader.
Full resolution and technical specifications: http://www.astrobin.com/133726/C/
Best regards,
Paolo Demaria

M17
Picture taken from San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires Argentina.
Rural Heaven.
Telescope 200/1000. on NEQ6.
Sebastian Colombo rights reserved.
www.astrofotografiadelcielosur.blogspot.com

The Sadr's Butterfly
http://mtanous.wordpress.com/2014/11/04 ... sa-ic1318/
Copyright: Jose Mtanous

The Sombrero Galaxy with Asterisms "Jaws"

C pyright: LEPANOT Aurelien.
personal website: http://500px.com/lepanot

Full image size: http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/201 ... 04apod.png



Technical data:
Telescope: Newtonian telescope 8inch (200/1000)
Mount: Orion Atlas EQ-G
Camera: Canon EOS 1100D Astrodon filter inside.
pictures: 57x180 "@ 800ISO
Offset: 55
Dark: 31
Flat: 20
Software: PixInsight

Best regards

Aurelien LEPANOT

M1-88 aka Gum 85 in Sharpless 2-54

Hello all

The image shows part of Sharpless 2 54 area aka Gum 84 or RCW 167. It is a HII region ionised by young open star cluster NGC 6604 which is not visible in this image. This nebula complex is a larger object of about 140 arc minutes and extends beyond the FOV provided by the used gear. In the picture we are just showing the north part in a 40 x 30 arc minutes FOV.

The bright object in the center is M1-88. In 1946 Rudolph Minkowski drew the attention on this small bright nebula located at half degree north from NGC 6604. The nebula was also catalogued as Gum 85 in 1955. M1-88 is within a cometary globule in the molecular cloud that rims NGC 6604. There is not much known about M1-88, however from the location and morphology of the cometary cloud, it appears to be a case of second generation star formation triggered by NGC 6604 cluster.

Thanks to Sakib Rasool for providing guidelines on M1-88 !!

More information about the used gear and higher resolution picture in the following link

http://www.baskies.com.ar/PHOTOS/SHARPLESS%202%2054.htm

Cheers
Sergio

M8 IR Extra Frequences
Credits and copyrights: Processing: Francesco Antanucci; Data: WISE Archive
Full size: http://www.astrobin.com/134260/0/ Lunar Impact Craters Tycho & Clavius
Copyrights: John Chumack Crescent Nebula IR
Credits and copyrights: Processing: Francesco Antanucci; Data: WISE Archive
Full size: http://www.astrobin.com/134321/0/

In the Southern Hemisphere in the Chilean Atacama desert, the Milky Way is revealed in all its wonder in pristine skies.
In October, the Milky Way seems to roll onto its back in the western sky as it sets throughout the night.
In this nightscape composite image of 12 frames shot in portrait orientation at 14mm and stitched together, over 250 degrees of horizon is visible.
On the far lower left is the bright star Canopus, with the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds above.
The Milky Way reflects off Laguna Cejar with Zodiacal Light shining through the heart of the Milky Way looking due west.
Although the Atacama is a desert, and gets virtually no rainfall, runoff from the mountains brings water, and life to the desert.
On the far right (north east) the Pleiades rise over the cones of Andean volcanoes, and under a faint glow - the Gegenschein. The anit-solar point in the solar system from the Earth's perspective where the sun illuminates dust in the solar system directly behind the earth. The Andromeda Galaxy also can be seen above the photographer.

Image credit: Malcolm Park
Nikon D800 + 14-24MM f/2,8 lens at 14mm
http://www.photopark.ca

GAIA spacecraft intercepted around the Lagrangian L2 point, 1.5 million km away
Image Credit & Copyright: G. Altavilla & A.Buzzoni (INAF, Italy)

The satellite GAIA, as observed from the Loiano Observatory (Italy), on the night of Oct 17, 2014. A FOSC imager was attached the f/8 1.52m telescope, providing a plate scale of 0.58 arcsec/pixel. Night observers were A. Buzzoni, I. Foppiani and R. Gualandi of INAF, Bologna Astronomical Observatory.

The animation is a collection of 12 single frames, mainly taken in "white-light" (i.e. CCD detector with no photometric filter) and in the Johnson-Cousins V, R and Gunn z bands. The sequence is a timelapse between 20:08 and 21:42 UTC, and covers a small region (3x3 arcmin across) in Aries.

A differential telescope tracking on the satellite is on in most of the frames, giving the characteristic "trailing-star" pattern. This greatly enhanced the extremely faint signal of GAIA (currently of magnitude R=21.0), allowing us to pick
up the satellite, while heading North-East at 1.39 Million km from Earth, around the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrangian point.

As for previous famous space observatories (WMAP, Planck, Herschel) and other forthcoming missions (JWST, Euclid, Athena etc.), GAIA has been routed in a complex "halo orbit" around the L2 libration point. As this location is dynamically unstable, an active (radar and optical) station-keeping control is necessary to maintain the spacecraft in its nominal path.

.
Here's Barnard 343, data from DSS-2.
Stars derived from infra-red, red and blue images (mapped to R, G and B respectively) with the backround derived entirely from the red image. The data requested was from 20h 13m 26s, +40° 22' 43" with the image size set to 40 x 40 arcminutes.

Bob.

Centrally Sh2-232, lower to right Sh2-235 and 231.
Taken with Veloce RH200, STL11000 and ASA DDM 60 mount unguided.
Enjoy!