Starship Asterisk*

Mars on February 7th, 23:29ut. Meridiani Planum, Tisia Valles, Syrtis Major Planum regions.( LX200ACF 305mm OTA, CGE mount, ASI290mm Cmos, Astronomik RGB filters.)

https://cdn.astrobin.com/thumbs/tKRmwal ... TZ0INm.jpg I initially set out to capture IC 1805 and IC 1795 as a traditionally framed "Heart," but when reviewing the data I was struck by the strength of the Oiii and the notion of Melotte 15 as a cosmic bolt of lightning -- launching a fish swimming in this ocean of doubly ionized oxygen into space.

I kept this image in mind as I processed this data I captured over 10 nights this January, and I feel the starless version does a better job bringing this story to life. Perhaps planetary nebula WeBo 1 (to the left and slightly down from the center of the frame) looks a bit out of place in the starless version, but I think it belongs in the scene!

The image comprises 27.75 hours of integration (roughly equal parts of H-alpha and Sii, with a bit more of Oiii), and was taken from my backyard in Santa Monica, CA under Bortle 7 skies.

Processing was done entirely in PixInsight in the Hubble palette, and the gear used was as follows:

Camera: ZWO ASI6200MM-pro
Scope: William Optics Fluorostar 132mm Refractor
Mount: Astro-Physics Mach2GTO
Filters: Chroma 3nm Ha/Sii/Oiii 50mm
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI174MM-mini
Accessories: ZWO OAG-L, Pegasus Powerbox Advance

Additional detail is available at the image link referenced above.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Comet visiting Auriga

It hid under the clouds for a long time, and when it cleared up, she hid in the moonlight, finally managed to catch this one hour of the dark, cloudless sky - and is - in the beautiful company of hydrogen beauties from Auriga.

The frame was taken with Samyang 135m/2 lens and modded Nikon D610.
Acquisition Time: 8th Feb of 2023
Location: near Wrocław/ Poland
Astrobin location of the full size picture: https://www.astrobin.com/full/maf82d/
Author Astrobin link: https://www.astrobin.com/users/iro/

IC1805 The Heart Nebula and IC1848 The Soul Nebula 8 Panel Mosaic

Captured by David Wills at PixelSkies, Castillejar, Spain

Ha x 471 300 secs
OIII x 472 300 secs

78 hrs 35 mins hours in total.

Equipment used:

Telescope: Takahashi Baby Q FSQ-85ED F3.9

Camera: Xpress Trius SX-694 Pro Mono Cooled to -10C

Image Scale: 2.82
Astrobin full-size picture: https://www.astrobin.com/full/ej9zfv/0/
My Astrobin link: https://www.astrobin.com/users/DavidWills/
https://cdn.astrobin.com/thumbs/Jev1jy9 ... TZ0INm.jpg

M78 captured by David Wills at PixelSkies, Castillejar, Spain

FSQ-85ED details

Red 24 x 300s
Green 24 x 300s
Blue 24 x 300s

6 hours in total.

TEC140 details

Lum 18 x 600Secs

3 hours in total.
Astrobin full-size picture: https://www.astrobin.com/full/8h87ie/0/
My Astrobin link: https://www.astrobin.com/users/DavidWills/
https://cdn.astrobin.com/thumbs/ZHrmsFh ... dlMP5Y.jpg

The Cygnus Loop in the constellation Cygnus captured by David Wills at PixelSkies, Castillejar, Spain

6 panel mosaic

Ha 109 x 900s
OIII 102 x 900s

Ha 294 x 600s
OIII 162 x 600s

128 hours 45 mins in total.
Astrobin full-size picture: https://www.astrobin.com/full/i47ezi/0/
My Astrobin link: https://www.astrobin.com/users/DavidWills/
https://cdn.astrobin.com/thumbs/GF5-52F ... dlMP5Y.jpg

Andromeda Galaxy M31 and its small galaxy neighbor M110 is a favorite and often photographed target in the night sky. In the constellation of Andromeda, named for the princess who was the wife of Perseus in Greek mythology, it’s certainly the perceptually largest galaxy visible from our vantage point on Earth. M31 is approx. 152,000 light years across and 2.4 million lightyears away from Earth. It’s just visible with the naked eye as a fuzzy disc with a diverted gaze and clear night in dark skies. I had two nights of clear skies recently while awaiting comet c/2022 e3 (ZTF) to rise high enough to shoot. It’s pretty late in the season to shoot Andromeda in my neck of the woods but I had time to kill and I hadn’t photographed it for a couple of years. This photo represents a total of about 7.5 hrs of integration. I took these photos on Jan. 29th and 30th. I used a Williams Optics Redcat51 paired with a ZWO 294MM. It’s an LRGB photo processed in Pixinsight.

"The Heart of the Soul" IC 1871

SHO data, 29h35'. Taken with a Skywatcher Quattro 250p, ZWO ASI 294MM-Pro and Chroma 3nm filters.
Data collected with Starkeeper Voyager, processed in Pixinsight.
Full res and other data: https://astrob.in/xprybb/D/

Acquisition details
Dates:
Oct. 10, 2022 · Oct. 31, 2022 · Nov. 1, 2022 · Nov. 2, 2022

Frames:
Chroma H-alpha 3nm Bandpass 31 mm: 97×300″(8h 5′) bin 2×2
Chroma OIII 3nm Bandpass 31 mm: 99×300″(8h 15′) bin 2×2
Chroma SII 3nm Bandpass 31 mm: 159×300″(13h 15′) bin 2×2

Horsehead ic434 and Flame ngc2024 nebula

SkyWatcher Esprit 100ed
ZWO ASI2600MCPRO
ZWO AM5
ZWO OAGL
ZWO EAF
ZWO EFW
ZWO ASI290MM Mini Guide
RGB 500×30"
Optolong L-Ultimate 120×300
30 Darks, 60 flats, 60 dark flats each
Total Integration: 14hr10min
PixInsight
Bortle 8
https://astrob.in/6bdo6o/0/

Two Comets and a Flaming Star

The Comets C2022/E3 (ZTF) and U2 ATLAS in a rich starfield in Auriga with hte open clusters M36 and M38 as well as with the flaming star nebula.
Taken with Pentax K3 Mk III, Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 limited at f/3.5, 15x120sec @ISO400.
Stacking and processing in PixInsight.
(C) Markus Langlotz

Casper, the friendly Ghost (M78)
Copyright: Fermin Jimenez Najar Website image post
https://astro.najar.ca/en/gallery/deep- ... t-m78.html

Full resolution
https://astro.najar.ca/images/astrofoto ... 8final.jpg

The Wizard Nebula (NGC 7380)

SkyWatcher Esprit 100ed
ZWO ASI2600MCPRO
ZWO AM5
ZWO OAGL
ZWO EAF
ZWO EFW
ZWO ASI290MM Mini Guide
RGB 120×120"
Optolong L-Ultimate 288×300
30 Darks, 30 flats, 30 dark flats each
Total Integration: 28hr
PixInsight
Bortle 8
https://astrob.in/uzwqpn/0/

The Two Comets

On a cold night, documenting the conjunction between the weak comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and Mars. Thanks to a perspective effect with the dark dust of our galaxy, Mars also seems to have a dust tail like a comet. In the frame also the Pleiades. A beautiful memory of the passage of this curious comet, renamed the Neanderthal comet.

40x60’’ images with Sony α7 III and FE F2,8 Macro G OSS da 90 mm.
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer.

Montespecchio – Italy
10/02/2023

Developed with PixInsight and Photoshop 2023
Copyright: Luca Fornaciari
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucafornaciariphotography
IG : luca_fornaciari_photography
Website: www.lucafornaciarifotografia.com

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and the planet Mars (Top R) Just barely fitting in my frame of view (FOV) on February 11th, 02: 10ut.

Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF Passes by Mars from Grand Mesa Observatory 2/10/2023 by Transient Astronomer, on Flickr

Image Credit and Copyright Grand Mesa Observatory, Terry Hancock, Tom Masterson

"THE GREEN "NEANDERTHAL" COMET"
- Deep Sky 750mm LRGB
- Constellation Auriga



I was lucky when this current celestial highlight migrated south and met Mars, it was a nice cold clear night from February 08th to 09th, 2023. Encouraged by the many beautiful shots I have seen of it meanwhile, I have it made it my task to photograph him for more than 2 hours, with a mono and LRGB filter set - knowing full well that he is a speed junkie, and rushes through the solar system like Flash ^^
After a month-long break, I didn't even know if the equipment was still working properly - there were of course problems with NINA, who didn't want to change the filters in a rotating manner - so I came to the compromise solution that I recorded the individual color channels in one set one after the other - not rotating as recommended. But, as it turns out, I seem to have put enough effort into the editing, and you hardly notice it ^^

| Object : The Green Comet / Neanderthal Comet / C2022E3ZTF
| Stack RGB : 25 lights each R+G+B / 100 darks / 10 flats / 500 bias
| Stack LUM : 52 Lights Luminance / 100 Darks / 10 Flats / 500 Bias
| EBV Tools : Pixinsight / Adobe PS&LR / Adam Block Comet Tutorial
| Pixinsight: Blur X, Noise X, Star X Terminator
| Guiding : PHD2 & ZWO-ASI120 Mono / N.I.N.A.
| M&O : AZ-EQ6 GT Pro / Skywatcher150PDS / BW 750mm
| Filter : Astronomy L/R/G/B 2C
| Stuff : iKK GPU / OCTO+ 2"/ bezel ring / Lacerta MFOK
| Camera : Atik 16200 mono & filter wheel
| Exif RGB : BLZ each 25x 60s / UnityGain / f/5
| Exif LUM : BLZ 52x 60s / UnityGain / f/5
| Total BLZ: 2 hours 7 minutes

Conditions for registration:
Clear nights, taken directly from the small town at Bortle 7 sky, clear light pollution from city lights.

WR 134, a giant Hydrogen & Oxygen bubble.



High-resolution image and technical data: http://www.javierlaina.es/IMAGENES/WR134.html

Javier Gómez Laina (Spain)
http://www.javierlaina.es/indexeng.html

Link to full size: https://www.astrobin.com/34jon9/

The magnificent Rho Ophiuchi Cloud is large nebula located in the southwestern corner of the constellation Ophiuchus which surrounds the triple star Rho Ophiuchi. The intriguing and yet spectacular colors emanating from this dense region let us understand quite easily how intense processes are going on there.

I hope you will like it.

Clear skies,
Aygen

Acquisition details :
Data & copyright : @ae_astrophotography & telescope live
Scope : Takahashi FSQ 106ed
Camera : FLI PL 16803
LRGB combination
Total integration 20H

Mars, comet ZTF and a shooting star

Last night, during a 160 captures session, one of the last images gave me a good surprise :



After stack of 160 images (each was exposed 20"), the result was (cropped image):



Technical data :

Body : Sony A7s @ 2000 ISO
Optic : Canon L 70-200/2.8 @ 200 mm and f/4
Exposure : 20 seconds on February 11, 22h26 UTC.
Unguided setup on Star Adventurer mount

Location : 30 km North of Montpellier, France

Monoceros Neighbourhood by Andre Vilhena, no Flickr

Monoceros constellation is famous for its hydrogen rich emission nebulae, such as the Rosette and Cone Nebula, but it also features some beautiful dark and emission nebulae. The field of view in this photo shows an area where all these types of nebulae can be seen, from the hydrogen emission (here in red), emission nebulae like IC 2168, NGC 2245 and NGC 2246 (the blue areas) and also some scattered dark nebulae.

Despite being in my list for some time, this photo was a last minute decision, while I was waiting for comet C_2022 E3 (ZTF). The same happened to Ha frames, taken with almost Full Moon - I wasn’t expecting much of it but it ended up being enough to enrich the photo.

Photo shot at Santa Susana on 2023.01.28 (RGB) and Barcarena in 2023.02.06 and 2023.02.07 (Ha)

Technical details:

RGB: 132 x 180s (6h36)
Ha: 93 x 300s (7h45)
Total: 15h21

SW EQ6-R Pro | TS Optics Triplet APO 800/115 | TS Optics TSFLAT2 0.79x | QHYCCD 268M | QHYCCD 268C | Optolong LRGB | TS Optics IR/UV Cut 2’’ | RBFocus Gaius-S | RBFocus Myrrdin 2.3

Acquisition: N.I.N.A. | Processing: Pixinsight

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and the planet Mars. Insets of Comet and Mars are within minutes from the wide field, February 11, 12th, 23:54ut, 00:40ut. (LX200ACF 305mm, F10, F6.7, CGE mount, ASI183mm Pro, ASI290mm Cmos, PowerMate 2.5x barlows, EFW8, Astronomik LRGB filter sets.)

Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF rising behind Yosemite Falls
I carried my astronomy/photography gear down a treacherous icy/snowy path to the banks of the Merced river in the Yosemite Valley with an incidental and thankfully brief bear meet and greet on the walk down to take images for this picture of Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF as it rose behind the magnificent Yosemite Falls. Visually, I could barely make out the comet; it was a nondistinct fuzzy smudge. The camera with a single exposure also struggled. (https://flic.kr/p/2ogD9aZ)
For this picture, I used a stack of 15 two-minute exposures (tracked on the stars) to create a comet image. With stacking, I was able to bring out the faint details in the comet tail. The comet image was then blended into an exposure of the foreground. Yosemite Falls was lit by the 35% waxing crescent moon and looked freaking amazing in the moonlight. I did not change the size or scale of the comet, and if our eyes could see exponentially better than they can in the dark, this is technically what I would have "seen" instead of that fuzzy green smudge
I hope you enjoy it!
Canon EOS Ra Sigma 120-300mm @120mm, f/2.8, 27 Jan 2022 foreground 20:00, ZWO AM5 mount, APT, PHD2
Planned with Photopills and Stellarium. Processed with PixInsight and Photoshop

Testing the Soul
Click on above to enlarge

Full info and higher resolution available @ https://www.kinchastro.com/soul-nebula-2023.html
Or on AstroBin: https://www.astrobin.com/wpt1ko/B/

SH2 308 "Dolphin Head Nebula" by Harley Grady, on Flickr

SH2-308, commonly known as the "Dolphin Head Nebula" is a HII region located in the constellation Canis Major. It is approximately 4300light years away. he massive star that created the bubble, a Wolf-Rayet star, is the bright one near the center of the nebula. Wolf-Rayet stars have over 20 times the mass of the Sun and are thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova phase of massive star evolution. Fast winds from this Wolf-Rayet star create the bubble-shaped nebula as they sweep up slower moving material from an earlier phase of evolution.


This image was captured with a ASI 2600MC Pro OSC camera and a TS-Optics 90mm CF APO f.6 Refractor (543mm focal length). I used a optolong L-eXtreme filter to capture the narrowband data.

Image ©Harley Grady 2023 (NebulosityMedia)

Gum 15 (RCW32) in Vela Constellation, rgb osc

Gum 15, also known as RCW32, in the constellation Vela and about 3000 light years away.

🗓 January, 23th to 27th. 2023
Giruá, RS, Brazil. Bortle 4.
FotonAstro Astropipe 200MM F4 Newtonian Astrograph
asi2600mc
🕹 ZWO AM5.
🕶 No filters (UV/IR built in camera)
- 229 x 150s (9,54h)
pixinsight, photoshop