Starship Asterisk*

CATEGORY:
Panoramic Shot

SOCIAL IG:
@victorlimaphoto

STORY:
Image taken on the last night of my Photo Tour in the Atacama Desert, in the Vado Putana region, a swampy area that appears in the middle of the desert, thus attracting a diversity of animals that live in this region.
Centralized in the image is Cerro Colorado, a stratovolcano belonging to the Sairecabur volcanic group.
This image was taken on the last night of my Photo Tour in the Atacama Desert. The temperature in the place, presented by the car's thermostat, was in the range of -7 degrees Celsius, without considering the wind, which certainly gave a thermal sensation of even colder.
The Air Glow, characteristic of the Atacama region, dyed the sky in shades of green, yellow and red, while the Milky Way cloud stood out in the scene, visible in detail in the night of the Chilean altiplano.

EXIF:
Vertical Panorama
Canon 6Da | Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art
5x 15 sec | f/1.8 | ISO 5000

Vado Putana by Victor Lima, no Flickr

Sh2 73 and more in Hercules constellation; Lrgb ( 4h:3h:3h:3h ) with drizzle composition - Astrograph Spacecat 51 - Camera Sbig 16200.




Copyright Iaffaldano G.C.

CATEGORY: Panoramic Shot
SOCIAL IG:
www.instagram.com/victorlimaphoto
STORY:
Panoramic photography taken in the Rainbow Valley on the first night of my photo tour in the Atacama Desert.
About 60km away from San Pedro de Atacama, a village that is the base for exploration in the region, the Rainbow Valley is one of the closest places and with the best conditions for Landscape Astrophotography in the region.
EXIF:
Panoramic Shot
Canon 6Da | Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art
24x 15 sec | f/2 | ISO 5000

Rainbow Valley by Victor Lima, no Flickr

Large Jet Stream at the North North Temperate Zone of Jupiter (NASA Juno, Perijove 21)
Full resolution version, data source and processing workflow at https://www.astrobin.com/k3lgxt/
Credit: NASA / SwRI / MSSS / Sergio Díaz-Ruiz After some tinkering with Junocam raw data, this image of the "N4" jet stream captured during PJ21 finally came to life. The jet stream shows some red glowing areas near the center of the image that look like they were being illuminated from fires inside the atmosphere. The North North Temperate Belt extends from the top center to the left, and at the right side of the image, some gigantic but very differently textured whirlpools stand out. The lower right area includes part of the filamentary region, not far from the North pole.

Hope you enjoy it!

Cassiopeia in 3D.

Cassiopeia, at least its asterism, is pretty simple, but looking at the stars, their position and absolute/apparent magnitudes, I realized that the stars' intrinsic brightnesses nicely compensates for their distance, presenting the casual observer with a constellation that is fairly uniform in brightness from star to star. (This applies to at least for 3 of the 5 stars, as Segin is a bit dimmer than the rest and Navi is a variable star.) This approximate uniformity in brightness gives the observer the impression that the stars are all about the same size and distance from us, but looking at the 3D view shows that is not the case.

A more complete discussion, called Cassiopeia's Illusion, can be found here: http://om-blog.orbitalmaneuvers.com/202 ... -illusion/.

Copyright: RC Davison

Coma Cluster, (Abell 1656)

364x300 LRGB, 30 hours and 20 minutes.

Telescope Service TS ONTC 203 mm f/5 with Moravian G2 8300.
Taken in February from Stockholm/Sweden.

/Firas Haki

Location: Chemillé-sur-Indrois (France)
Date: Friday, May 6th 2022 - 4h09 CEST

Chartreuse du Liget - J. KLINGER (light) by Joel Klinger, sur Flickr

This picture has been taken during the night of last Thursday to Friday. Given the local weather (in western France) it was my last chance to easily catch the heart of the Milky Way before the Moon sets too late.
Well, I woke up at 2am, took all my photo stuff I had prepared the evening before and jumped in my car. After a 45-minutes drive listening to London Grammar (it's my ritual when shooting the MW) I reached that great location (the Chartreuse du Liget, dating XIIth century AD) where the sky was amazingly dark!
As I was preparing my first captures with my 35mm, my phone notified my that the ISS would pass by in the hour to come. That was just perfect to add it in the panorama of the arch of the Milky Way I had in mind - and you have the final result just in front of your eyes. I find it really aesthetic with the two arch-shaped showing on the picture, while the faint green airglow add a touch of magic to it.

EXIF
Nikon D610 + Sigma 20mm Art
Horizontal panorama of 22 vertical shots @ f/2, 13s, ISO3200

A few new images for May 22:
Full details and resolution:
https://pbase.com/tango33/new_images

I hope you will like them!

All the best,

Kfir Simon



The Prawn nebula:


Messier 31:


The Cat's paw nebula:


Messier 110:


The Mask nebula with PLN 321+1.1:


The Mask nebula zoomed in:

February 2020/March 2022
Location: San Romualdo - Ravenna (Italy)
Tecnosky AG 70/350 - CCD QSI 583ws cooled -20
H-alpha with ASA DDM60PRO - no autoguide
Other filters Avalon M1 - Celestron OAG - QHY5III 174M
RGB Astrodon Gen2 E-series and Narrowband 3nm filters
HA-RGB: HA 32x15min, R 13x5min, G 30x5min, B 29x5min.
Acquired with: MaximDL5 - Calibrata with Dark, Bias and Flat
Processed with: MaximDL5, Astroart8, Paint Shop Pro2021, plug-in Topaz and Nik

Cristina Cellini

M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy - Deepfield gigapxiel*

34527x22387px 2x2 mosaic * 773 megapixel (240 megapixel sensor x4 by drizzling - joints)


I am very proud to present the result of 20 months of work, 18 imaging (2020-09 to 2022-03, from Lausanne, Switzerland - Bortle 6) and 2 months processing.
Great attention has been given to get the most accurate colors but also the best possible background allowing to pull thousands of faint galaxies.

I have been told two things: astronomy can give an immense sense of vertigo and don't ever, ever, attempt mosaics, they are FAR too painful.
I believed none of them. Well I was wrong on both

I never had vertigo but after finally gathering my nemesis properly, M31, I noticed things I never saw in the prior years trying to capture it:
The background is PACKED with galaxies, I had a sense of how big the universe is but didn't about its density! If you follow the viewer link and zoom at Max level minus 2, you will not find a single place without galaxies in it!
So yeah, I got REAL vertigo now.

The gathering and processing have been the most painful ever. I have coded javascript and now C++ helping me to tackle with over 8TB of data (excluding calibration files).
I believe I have encountered about any issue possible in this project (including but not limited to, filter missalignment, flat fielding issue, leak issue, light pollution issues, mechanical issues, human issues, many many processing issues, ....)
I have fought each and every one the hardest I could with no concessions.

I am sharing both full resolution and small under img2, in fear full might pose some issues considering the size...

For a much better experience I recommend following the viewer link (dynamically loaded tiles depending on where and how much you zoom, still requires a decent internet connection, but works on limited connections and mobile too), activating full screen and annotations!

M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy - Deepfield gigapxiel*
https://www.elveteek.ch/en/m31
Copyright: Elveteek Ltd
Full: https://elveteek.ch/assets/img/M31_LHaRGB_copywrite.png
Small (9% of original): https://elveteek.ch/assets/img/M31_LHaR ... ywrite.png
Viewer: https://www.elveteek.ch/en/m31

The planetary nebula "Headphone" (PK 164 + 31.1)
https://www.facebook.com/tommaso.m.stella
Copyright: Tommaso Stella
From: Taranto (Italy)

Lights: 53x300s Ha (sky Bortle 6) + 22x300s OIII (sky Bortle 4)
Total exposure: 6.25 h
Telescope: SkyWatcher 200/1000 PDS + GPU Coma Corrector
Guide: Takahashi FS60CB + PlayerOne Neptune C II + Astronomik Planet Pro 807nm
Camera: QHY 294 Pro Mono
Filters: Optolong Ha + OIII
Mount: Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 GT
Processing: DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight, Photoshop CC

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/520 ... 9f2e_k.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/136700672@N08/52060566078

Nebulosa Omega M17 en solo una hora de exposición.
Sharpstar 15028HNT
10x120 Ha
10x120 OIII
10x120 SII
ZWO ASI 6200MM-PRO
ZWO EAF
ZWO EFW
ZWO ASI AIR PRO
ZWO ASI 120 MM Mini
APP /Pixinsight
Montura Cgepro
Astropanel paleta LSHO ( Ha para la Luminancia)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/514 ... 106f_k.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/136700672@N08/51470500582

M16 Núcleo
ASA500
autor Astronomono

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/520 ... 4d25_o.jpg
venus&jupiter meet Pyramids by Wael Omar, on Flickr

As the planets journey goes on , there is every day chance to capture their alignment and conjugation . After i succeeded in capturing ( Venus - Jupiter and Mars) in my last photo with the iconic towers in new capital , EGYPT 4 days ago , I revisited the Great Egyptian pyramids and made a composite image with Both Venus and Jupiter.
The pyramids image i took last December with a view from a high terrain in east of Cairo to look at most of Cairo and Giza famous locations.
From this view ,it looks to the west but i thought if i could make a composite with my planets image and imagine that pyramids in this fantastic view meets Jupiter and Venus.

Pyramids image was taken over a Hill 240 Meters height east of Cairo ,
3 images using Canon 6D II with 100-400 mm canon lens @ iso 100, 30 seconds and F 10, 8 , 16.
Planets image taken on a Hill 550 M height in New Capital city : 61 stacked images at F8 , iso 6400 , 8 seconds.

The diffraction spikes around the planets are formed by making the aperture of the lens at F8, i intend to do so to make this beautiful spikes around Venus and Jupiter.

Image Credit: Wael Omar WO/ https://www.instagram.com/waelomar_astrophotography/

Location: Cairo, EGYPT.

The Snake and its Prey
http://www.rolfolsenastrophotography.com
Copyright: Rolf Wahl Olsen Link to full resolution version: https://www.rolfolsenastrophotography.c ... -TFJQbxQ/A

The Snake Nebula (Barnard 72) is a small dark cloud in the constellation Ophiuchus. It has a distinct S shape and meanders across the sky against the golden backdrop of a dense part of our Milky Way galaxy.
The darker and more compact Barnard 68 is at the bottom right, appearing as a prey within the grasp of the lurking celestial snake!
Both these nebulae are dark absorption clouds of molecular gas and dust. Barnard 68 is located 500 light years away and contains about two solar masses of material within half a light-year. It is on the verge of collapsing under its own gravity to become a star and may do so within the next 200,000 years.
These interstellar clouds are sufficiently dense to block the light from thousands of background stars in the direction towards our galactic centre.

There exist many dark patches such as this one and the most famous is without doubt the Horsehead Nebula in Orion. Another and much larger example, visible to the naked eye when away from city lights, is the large dark patch near the Southern Cross known as the Coalsack Nebula.
These clouds are full of tiny dust particles, each less than a micrometre in size. Optical wavelengths are easily absorbed by this dust and therefore the nebulae appear dark against any background light. However, radio and infrared wavelengths can penetrate the clouds and allow a peek inside where star formation often occurs.

In the early 1900's the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard complied a catalogue of dark nebulae by studying his many photographs of the Milky Way. Barnard was also an avid visual observer and discovered 15 comets, Jupiter's small moon Amalthea and Barnard's Star the second closest star to our solar system. He also made fleeting observations of so-called 'spokes' in Saturn's rings; a mysterious phenomenon only confirmed much later when the Voyager 1 space probe passed Saturn in 1980.

Image details:
Date: March-May 2022
Exposure: LRGB: 355:125:115:115 mins, total 11 hours 50 mins @ -25C
Telescope: Homebuilt 12.5" f/4 Serrurier Truss Newtonian
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand

Hi,

I finished a long CG4 shooting marathon that lasted 23 nights on a balcony in Brisbane (Australia) from December 29, 2021 to May 6, 2022. I shoot in heavy light pollution conditions of (Bortle-7) , which I struggle with with an exceptional pedantry in calibration processing and telescope optics tuning & tube baffling/shading. This is a sum of total 44 hours exposure time, L-(Ha+R)-GB composition.

Equipment and details:

ZWO ASI2600MM camera, on TAL-250K (10" Klevtsov-Cassegrain) with 0.7x reducer/flattner MkII (F/6). EQ6-R mount.

This is L(R+Ha)GB composition with total exposure time of 44 hours.
23 hours H-alpha
11 hours Light
10 hours R+G+B

Individual sub-exposures used: 3 min for RGB, 2 min for L, 10 and 20 min for H-alpha
(Short 2 and 3 minutes are enforced by heavy light pollution. For H-alpha I switched to 20-minute exposures when I installed an off-axis guider)
Starless version: Asrtobin link:
https://www.astrobin.com/340xzi/

Omega Centauri
8x600 L
4x600 R
4x600 G
4x600 B
Telescopio Planewave CDK24
Monster MOAG
Camara FLI PL9000
Adquisisción con Voyager.
APP / Pixinsight

Total Lunar Eclipse

16-05-2022

From Chivilcoy, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina



Eclipse Total Lunar 16-05-2022 by Maximiliano Falieres, en Flickr

Earth Shadow Lunar eclipse sequence,
multiple exposures
redcat william optics camera zwo asi 120MC-S
mount eqm35 sky watcher
Jalisco México
Emmanuel Astronomono Author
<a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/520 ... e277_k.jpg" rel="noreferrer nofollow">live.staticflickr.com/65535/52075900667_8ae8a2e277_k.jpg</a>

Penumbral Eclipse and Super Flower Moon over the Great Pyramid

The total Lunar Eclipse of on 16 May 2022 was not visible in Cairo, Egypt so my Plan was that we will try to shoot the beginning of the partial Lunar Eclipse at the time of Moon setting beside the Great Pyramid of Giza . But due to the bad weather Conditions at the western horizon it was cloudy minutes before the beginning of the partial lunar Eclipse so I changed my plan and made this time lapse of the Moon during the Penumbral Eclipse .

Not that the haze around the moon is a result of the effect of high clouds where the penumbral lunar Eclipse doesn't be seen by naked eye ,in this time lapse the moon totally disappeared behind the clouds before the time of the beginning of the partial eclipse .
the beginning of time laps photos on 16 May 2022 at 1:30 UTC till 2:10 UTC just 17 minutes before the partial lunar eclipse .

Pyramid-moon-laps-light by osama Fathi, on Flickr

The Giza pyramid complex also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of Giza.

in this photo the great pyramid is Infront and the Pyramid of Khafre is behind .


Settings :
Nikon Z6 (Mod)
RedCat 51 (250mm) , and Samyang 85 mm
Skywatcher Staradventurer tracker

Subs:
Moon : 13 Photos 1/80 Sec, Iso 640, f4.5 @250 mm
Foreground panorama : 6 photos 1/50secand 1/15 sec, Iso 2000 and 640 @85 mm

The Post processing as follow :
- Panorama of 6 photos for the pyramids by 85 mm Lens .
- Increase the details of the planets using an 85 mm lens and blend with the main background.
- Combine 13 photos of the moon's and make a path of the moon
- Using Adobe Photoshop for combining the background and foreground
- Using Astro tools V1.6 to enhance the noise reduction and contrast
- Enhance the colors and temperature using Adobe Photoshop


Credite: Osama Fathi
https://www.instagram.com/osama.fathi.nswatcher85/
https://www.facebook.com/osama.fathi

Egypt

Luna Total Eclipse ( Blood Moon) on May 15th-16th. ( ES80 APO, F6, QHY462 c Cmos )

Lunar Eclipse
www.mattdieterich.com
Copyright: Matt Dieterich Did you see the total lunar eclipse tonight? While watching the eclipse from our porch in Pittsburgh, I logged in to our telescope at ObsTech in Chile and luckily it was clear! Here's the image I captured.

Hi guys,
Night sky over the Major Sentinel, Atacama.




Click to view full size

Explanation:

"Monjes de la Pacana” or Pacana Monks are located in “La Pacana” a Miocene age super volcano/caldera which happens to be in a big uninhabited silicic ignimbrite volcanic field area relatively close to the Chilean-Argentinian border.
These gigantic stone pillars were formed after the giant Atana ignimbrite, the fifth larger eruption known, an intense volcanic activity between 3.8 and 4.2 million years ago and after additional million years of erosion, the pillars took the shape we can appreciate now.
In the image, we can see the "Centinela mayor" or Major Sentinel pointing directly to the NGC 5139 Omega Centauri globular star cluster, the Large Magellanic Cloud and Canopus to the right, Crux and NGC 3372 Carina Nebula above to the right, an intense green and reddish airglow lighting the horizon, and last, but not least, the Milky Way arc all over the scene just “touching” the pillar edge.


Place: "Monjes de la Pancana” or Pacana Monks
Location: Antofagasta Region, Chile.
Date 03/31/2022 between 03:56 to 04:11 UTC
Elevation: 4400 m / 14435 ft
Technique: Panorama 38 singles images (no tracking or stacking)

Exif data
ISO: 3200, F1.4, 13 sec
Camera: Sony A7III Full Spectrum using Visible + H-Alpha filter
Lens: Sony FE 24mm f1.4 GM

https://www.instagram.com/sergio_vindas/

Messier 109 and surroundings by Mathieu Guinot, sur Flickr

Messier 109 (also known as NGC 3992) is a barred spiral galaxy located approximately 83.5 ± 24 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.
This galaxy is by far the most distant object in the Messier Catalog and one of the faintest, and it is the brightest member of a group of roughly 80 galaxies known as the Ursa Major Galaxy Cluster.
M109 is exhibiting a weak inner ring structure around the central bar and astronomers believe its structure may be influenced by interactions with three satellite galaxies.

Newton 250mm f/3.8 on Ioptron CEM70 mount
Camera ZWO ASI2600mm + LRGB Antlia filters

12h40 exposures :
L : 290x120s
R : 30x120s
G : 30x120s
B : 30x120s

Processed with Pixinsight & Photoshop

Lunar eclipse sequence,
multiple exposures
redcat william optics camera zwo asi 120MCS
mount eqm35 sky watcher
Jalisco México
Emmanuel Astronomono Author