Starship Asterisk*

PierandreaFolle wrote: ↑Wed Jul 05, 2023 3:44 pm 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞

Finally I was able to realize this photo, planned and in my mind since years. Every time the bales were moved some days before my planned shot. This year I've done this amazing 4 hours long startrail while I stargazing.
I try to relate thee circles shapes of the srars caused by Earth moving and the same shape of bale. A game of shape in the frame, completed by the vertical Foreground lines, leading our eye to Polar, the startrail's center.
If circles and lines seems to dance together, times aspect is the opposite. The Universe and sky are in continuous movement and expansion while the bales are synonym of a static object, stopped here waiting patiently to be used by the farmers.
When I realize this kind of image, like many people noticed, I inspire to Van Gogh. The starry sky, the use of colors and composition attention recall alway his works.
"I like the night very much, I feel much better at night than during the day, just like the madmen and artists who prefer the night." (Letter to Theo van Gogh, October 23, 1889)

#Nikon Z6IIa
#Sigma ART 14mm f/1.8
tripod #Sunwayfoto T3240CM
backpack #Lowepro Protactic450
3x30sec | f/2.8 | ISO 3200
240x60sec | f/3.5 | ISO 640
15sec | f/2.8 | ISO 6400
Otranto

Copyright: Pierandrea Folle

The Circle Of Life by Pierandrea Folle, su Flickr

This is indeed a great picture. I love the "timeless" feeling of the "Earth part" of the picture, where a man is resting on a field and contemplating the sky, leaning against a bale of hay. This could indeed have been a scene from the days of Vincent van Gogh.

The sky, by contrast, looks "hyper modern", as people in the past could never have photographed the apparent rotation of the sky this way. Obviously the Earth is not stationary, as it is the rotation of the Earth that causes the illusion of the wheeling of the sky.

Anyway, it is indeed a very striking and beautiful picture! Thank you!

Ann

LDN-1527 by Talal Mansoor Anwar, on Flickr

LDN-1527 captured by James Webb.

Processed in Siril And Affinity Photo.

Its the usual Histogram Stretch in Siril and Color Input using Narrowband palette in Affinity Photo.

However the highlight of the discussion here, is this star itself. This star is a protostar, meaning its still gathering its mass from the cloud engulfed around it. The cloud is of dust and gas that is being pulled by the star itself.

For the moment this star has no energy to cause nuclear fusion, rather it will keep on taking in the dust clouds till its mass increases enough to have a denser core and then have a stable nuclear fusion. To reach that stage though, there is still many years to come.

Also, that very thin band seen right at the center, is actually the size of our entire solar system. What you are seeing here, is basically what our solar system was, before any sort of planet came into existence.

This view in actual, can be called, looking back in time.

The Crescent Nebula (HOO) - APOD submission

The Crescent Nebula (HOO) by Ali Alobaidly, on Flickr

Title: Fortune favours the bold.

Description:
So here's the thing, perfection doesn't exist, and neither do perfect astrophotography conditions (not here on earth at least). It was the third hottest day in recorded history and we were feeling every bit of it here in the middle east, with some thin clouds looming in the north, fine dust lacing the wind and a moon promising to breach the sky at around 11pm. Far from ideal. But to me, a free weekend seldom presents itself and a chance to break the worklife routine can never be missed. I called my friend and told him that I'm heading to the desert with an icebox full of cold cold beverages. To my surprise, he was as game as i was (Though he advised me not to bring the big guns, I didn't listen.).

Despite the dismal conditions I was blessed with a great session, something I wasn't expecting and deep down knew won't happen. My guiding never went above beyond 0.6 and was stable at 0.4 most of the night. My automated meridian flip went smoothly for the first time since I switched mounts and all my frames were usable. Fortune truly favours the bold, eh?

I managed to gather 5 hours of narrowband data and despite my flats being unusable due to some issue I'm yet to address, both stacked frames turned out well with just Darks and I came up with this!

Equipment:
Imaging Telescopes: Celestron EdgeHD 9.25"
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
Mounts: Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro
Filters: Chroma H-alpha 3nm Bandpass 36 mm and Chroma OIII 3nm Bandpass 36 mm

Acquisition details:
Dates: July 7, 2023
Frames:
H-alpha 3nm : 30×300″(2h 30′)
OIII 3nm: 30×300″(2h 30′)
Integration: 5h
Avg. Moon age: 19.37 days
Avg. Moon phase: 77.89%

Pelican, North America & Cygnus Wall
Click on above to enlarge

Higher resolution and full info @ https://www.kinchastro.com/pelican--cyg ... -2023.html

MINERAL MOON

The Moon is usually seen in subtle shades of gray or yellow.

The different colors are recognized as corresponding to real differences in the chemical composition of the lunar surface.

The blue tones reveal areas rich in ilmenite, which contain iron, titanium and oxygen, mainly titanium, while the orange and purple colors show regions relatively poor in titanium and iron. The white/gray tones refer to areas with greater sun exposure.

BEST DETAILS
https://www.astrobin.com/full/7bi30o/0/


EQUIPMENT:
ZWO ASI 6200MC COLED
Esprit triplet 150mm
Baader Lunar Filter

Two images were taken, one in high exposure to capture the background at the time of the full moon, and the other in video form, of the moon.
The moon was processed, then the color was added, then the background was placed in the two images, after that, the two images were superimposed

Location: Munhoz - MG - Brazil
Date: 06/04/2023


Author: Fernando Oliveira de Menezes
Email: Barretosmed@hotmail.com
(Organizing author of the book Amateur Astrophotography in Brazil)
https://clubedeautores.com.br/livro/ast ... -no-brasil

Earth's surface curvature

Curvature of Earth's surface by Agostinho Gomes da Silva, no Flickr

Copyrigth: Agostinho Gomes da Silva

Milkyway over the Egyptian Desert in RGBHa

Milkyway over the Egyptian Desert in RGBHa by Ahmed Waddah, on Flickr

Image is a composite where sky was taken by a dual camera setup where one Z6II took RGB OSC and second Z6II modified took Ha using a 12nm Ha Clip-in filter. Foreground was taken the following month to complement the sky.

Sky: Nikon Z6II (Stock) - Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S
30x180" - f/2.8 - @24mm - ISO 1000
Sky Ha: Nikon Z6II (Ha Modified) - Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S - 12nm Ha Astronomik Clip-in filter
20x180" - f/2.8 - @24mm - ISO 3200
15th of May

Fornax Lightrack II

Foreground: Nikon Z6II (Stock) - Nikkor AF-S 20mm f/1.8G ED
1x10s - f/8 - 20mm - ISO 100
15th of June

https://www.astrobin.com/4nrg4i/


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waddah.photography
Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/WolfHeart/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/waddahphotography/

Hello,

My name is Ali Alobaidly, from Kuwait.

This is my submission for APOD (Instagram: AstraPharma_Q8).

NGC 6729 - A battle with the horizon by Ali Alobaidly, on Flickr

Title: NGC 6729 - A battle with the horizon
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/530 ... e67e_k.jpg

Description:
A target that peaks at 24°? No problem, nothing f2.8 won't handle. At least that's what I thought when I Imaged this target. So much noise! SO much gradient! I definitely need more data, a lot more, but I'm happy with this initial shot, especially given the conditions I shot it in. Moon, extreme heat (40°C or 104°F) and all the dust you can imagine. Add it to the list, another product of the great Salmy desert in Kuwait.

Acquisition details:

Gain 0 - Sensor temperature (0°C)
Date: 07/07/2023

Frames: 30×300″
Total Integration: 2h 30′
Avg. Moon age: 19.37 days
Avg. Moon phase: 77.89%

Equipment:
Lens: Rokinon 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Mount: ZWO AM5
Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus · ZWO EAF

The Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory - GTC

The island of La Palma offers exceptional natural conditions that make it a surprising island. The island landscape is an important indicator of the quality of life of the territory and represents one of its most emblematic attractions for visitors. If we add the native flora and fauna to this, together with the spectacular landscapes, clean skies and one of the best facilities of modern astrophysics in the mountains – The island of La Palma offers exceptional natural conditions that make it a surprising island. The island landscape is an important indicator of the quality of life of the territory and represents one of its most emblematic attractions for visitors. If we add the native flora and fauna to this, together with the spectacular landscapes, clean skies and one of the best facilities of modern astrophysics in the mountains – the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory –, La Palma becomes one of the best places for night sky-related tourist activities.

We hope you enjoy with this image capture in our tour to visit the GTC. We spent unforgettable day and awesome night. –, La Palma becomes one of the best places for night sky-related tourist activities.
Lluís Romero & Núria Vidal
http://www.astrotolva.com/
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/530 ... 7159_o.jpg

Messier 22

Messier 22 is an elliptical globular cluster in the constellation of Sagittarius. Because the cluster is located near the galactic plane the background is packed of stars. It is one of the brightest globular visible in the night sky. The brightest stars are 11th magnitude, with hundreds of stars bright enough to resolve with an 8 inches telescope.

Messier 22 was one of the first globular to be discovered. In 1665 German amateur astronomer Abraham Ihle spotted a hazy patch of stars while looking to planet Saturn which was passing by. In 1764 it was included in Charles Messier catalogue of "comet - like" objects. The cluster spans over 99 +/- 9 light years in its diameter.

More info at
www.baskies.com.ar

Best Regards
Sergio

I spent some time setting up both visible and thermal instruments to capture Venus this afternoon during the daytime.
The comparison between both images is very interesting and hope you like them!

full resolution
https://www.astrobin.com/full/b4nb81/0/

full resolution
https://www.astrobin.com/x8wakh/

Jupiter by Talal Mansoor Anwar, on Flickr

A picture that steals some legacy from Saturn itself. From this view we come to the conclusion that Saturn is not the only gas giant having rings, we have a bigger one in our very own solar system that has rings(albeit one ring only).

Apart from the contrary where F212N and F335M are being used mostly for the image process. I rather used F356W, F322W-F323W along with F212N. These all gave a complete combination of Auroras at the poles, Ring of Jupiter and the storms of the planet. However, I didn't use the color of the filters, just used data hidden in them and added a sepia effect to see the details of Jupiter.

It was a very difficult start as the data of Jupiter by JWST is not very clean specially the ones mentioned on various posts related to it. However, the ones I mentioned( F356W, F322W-F323W, F212N) require very slight retouching.

What had enlightened me to actually work on this image was just an exploration in the game Space Engine, where I found rings on Jupiter. And after seeing a few posts coming up by JWST, I thought of working on them by myself rather than accepting someone else's work. As I wanted to see for myself, how well am I able to reveal the details. So quite happy with it. Hope you like it. Cheers.

The Planet Venus on July 7th. As Venus approaches closer to Earth we see more of the night side and the lighted region phasing into a thin crescent.

Hello everyone,
Here is my latest processed image, NGC 1491, also known as the Fossil footprint. I captured it over 5 nights in late 2022 and early 2023.
The image is in false-color using the Hubble palette (SHO) and the stars are represented in RGB.

Wishing you a clear and beautiful night sky.

𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭:
Name : NGC 1491 / Fossil footprint
Type : Emission nebula
Constellation : Perseus
Distance : 10 700 ly
Angular size : 25’ x 25’
------------------------------------------------------
𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆:
Date : 12/28/2022 to 01/21/2023 (5 nights)
Hour : 7:30 pm to 5:30 am
Place : Center Var (France)
Bortle : 5
------------------------------------------------------
𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍:
Instrument : Telescope Newton 200/1000 PDS retrofit
Mount : EQ6-R Pro GoTo Sky-Watcher
Camera : ASI 1600mm Pro ZWO
Filter : LRVB ZWO - SHO ZWO 7nm with filter wheel EFW ZWO
Focus : EAF ZWO
Corrector : MPCC Mark III Baader
Guiding device : Artesky UltraGuide MKII 60mm
Guiding camera : ASI 120mm Mini ZWO
Management : ASIAIR Plus ZWO
------------------------------------------------------
𝑬𝑿𝑰𝑭 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂:
Focal length : 1000mm
Aperture : F5
Gain : 139
Camera temperature : -20°C
Number of images :
R : 60x30s
G : 60x30s
B : 60x30s
SII: 60x180s (20 retained)
Ha : 194x180s
OIII : 46x180s (16 retained)
Acquisition time : 16 hours
DOF : 64-100-30(10 per filter)
------------------------------------------------------
𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞:
Acquisition : ASiair 2.0 iPhone
Pre-processing : Pixinsight 1.8.9-1
Processing : Pixinsight 1.8.9-1 / Photoshop 24.6.0

THE ROSETTE NEBULA
- aka THE ROSE/Sh2-275
- Deepsky 750mm LRGBSHO
- Constellation Monoceros



This time I combined an acquired imageset from Insight Observatory with self taken images of similar focal length.
To be exact I added RGB and luminance for stars as well as the narrow band images of the Atik16200 with the images from Insight Observatory.
This worked very well An elaboration as LRGB-SHO (luminance / RGB for stars / narrowband Hubble palette)

The Rosette Nebula is a diffuse emission nebula with an embedded open star cluster in the constellation Unicorn. The nebula, also known as the "Harp Cluster", is about 9100 light years away from us - it can be found in the night sky a good bit above left of the Orion Nebula in the Milky Way band. The nebula got its name by its appearance, which reminds of the calyx of a rose. In the center of the object is the open star cluster NGC 2244, a collection of luminous O and B type stars spread over an area of about 40' diameter.

Telescope: Takahashi FSQ-106 ED, f/5, 530mm refractor Apochromat
Camera: Moravian C3 61000, Astrodon Red/Green/Blue/hA
Lights: 18xLuminance Bin1 /24xRed/24xGreen/24xBlue Bin2 300s each.
Location: Hakos, Namibia, South Africa
Acquired imageset, taken by Insight Telescope, Image Processing - Thomas ArtOfPix Großschmidt

combined with

Telescope: Skywatcher 150/750PDS Newtonian
Camera: Atik16200Mono, Astronomik Red/Green/Blue/hA/SII/OIII
Lights RGB: 72xLuminance/17xRed/17xGreen/34xBlue Bin1 180s each
Lights NB: 9xhA/8xSII/10xOIII Bin1 each 1200s
Location: Tulln an der Donau, Lower Austria (Bortle 7)

Image processing:
Mainly Pixinsight, Photoshop, Lightroom, GraXpert, BTX Blur Terminator, Noise Terminator, Star X Terminator.

#rosettenebula #rose #ngc2239 #messier4 #universe #artofpixastro #astrophotography #insightobservatory

Messier 76 ~ The Little Dumbbell
URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/planetaries/M76.htm

This image contains TWO white dwarf or neutron stars with material they sluffed off as they aged
and began to die. The two central stars are still visible in the enlarged inset. Click on URL above for
many more details, zoomable image, and animation.

Full screen URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/planet ... RGB_4K.jpg
Integration time: 19 hours but with many rejected images due to turbulance.
Copyright Kent E. Biggs

Clear skies,
www.kentbiggs.com
Houston, Texas

Milky Way over New South Wales Australia
Photographed in mid June about 2 hours north of Newcastle, NSW Australia

EXIF: 9 photos with Sigma 14mm f/1.8 lens and Sony a7iii @ f/2.5 ISO8000 15s

My 2nd ever attempt at a Milky Way pano. I have plenty of astrophotography experience, but doing panoramas is something I don't typically do. However, with this being my first time in the southern hemisphere, I had to make sure I got a glimpse and photos of the beautiful scene here in northern parts of New South Wales Australia. For us northern hemisphere folks, this part of the Milky Way (everything to the right of the core) is something we never get to see so after getting a few other perspectives of our beautiful Milky Way galaxy, the last thing on my list was a panorama! Here is the final result from my only night of astrophotography in June.
Copyright/Credit: Wright Dobbs (@wrightdobbs)

https://twitter.com/WrightDobbs
https://www.facebook.com/wrightdobbsphotography
https://instagram.com/wrightdobbs
https://wrightdobbs.darkroom.com

15 hours on M16. This shows the Messier 16 Eagle Nebula region of the sky in true color, without the use of any filter. This region is most often captured in narrowband, but I like the true color feel for this particular part of the sky. You can see the wings of the eagle spanning in rich hydrogen alpha gas, and the bright stars lighting up the famous Pillars of Creation.


The Eagle Nebula in True Color

Credit:
Antoine and Dalia Grelin
https://www.galactic-hunter.com/

M101 SUPERNOVA SN2023IXF by David Duarte, sur Flickr

Jupiter 3D by Talal Mansoor Anwar, on Flickr

We have seen multiple images of Jupiter i.e. short wavelength cam photos, long wavelength cam photos, colour etc. They were indeed incredible but one could not visibly make out the intertwining of different features, as obviously an image is flat.

However, by using the light portion and the dark portions, i thought of generating a bump map, as this is how generally bump map is created. But, what happened next was incredibly to the eyes. Everything popped to life and it was incredible to look at.

Since its not an overbearing bump, just a slight touch. Hence, some features couldn’t come out well, but I’m still on it to get a way to do that.

However, with this sort of a 3d bump, the planet seems to come to life and most of the features shine in full glory.

Just wanted a different way to see things that might maybe help others in getting something crucial out of it.

Data acquired from www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing.

Hope you all like it

Super Mineral Moon of 2023
Celestron C8 SCT
Zwo ASI294mm pro
Software: SharpCap, Pixinsight
Dates: April 6, 2023
London United Kingdom

Copyright: Hamza Ilyas

imranbadr wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 12:09 am The Magnificent Sombrero Galaxy - M104
Celestron 9.25edgehd, Skywatcher EQ6rpro, 0.7x reducer, Celestron OAG, ASI174mm mini, ASI533mcpro, SVBony UVIR cut
Mar 28, 2023, 80x180s
Apr 2, 2023, 39x180s
Apr 9, 2023, 80x180s
Apr 13, 2023, 121x180s
Apr 14, 2023, 50x180s
Apr 15, 2023, 74x180s
Total Integration: 22h10m
PixInsight
Bortle 8
Higher resolution: https://astrob.in/txa6ve/B/
TheSombreroJpeg.jpg

What an awesome image. I would love to have a shot at this galaxy though it peaks at 15 degrees from my location. Well done!

AstraPharmaQ8 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:30 pm Hello,

My name is Ali Alobaidly, from Kuwait.

This is my submission for APOD (Instagram: AstraPharma_Q8).

NGC 6729 - A battle with the horizon by Ali Alobaidly, on Flickr

Title: NGC 6729 - A battle with the horizon
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/530 ... e67e_k.jpg

Description:
A target that peaks at 24°? No problem, nothing f2.8 won't handle. At least that's what I thought when I Imaged this target. So much noise! SO much gradient! I definitely need more data, a lot more, but I'm happy with this initial shot, especially given the conditions I shot it in. Moon, extreme heat (40°C or 104°F) and all the dust you can imagine. Add it to the list, another product of the great Salmy desert in Kuwait.

Acquisition details:

Gain 0 - Sensor temperature (0°C)
Date: 07/07/2023

Frames: 30×300″
Total Integration: 2h 30′
Avg. Moon age: 19.37 days
Avg. Moon phase: 77.89%

Equipment:
Lens: Rokinon 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Mount: ZWO AM5
Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus · ZWO EAF

Excellent shot Ali - what mag skies were you under? Thx!