Starship Asterisk*

Pillars of Creation
https://www.facebook.com/tommaso.m.stella
Copyright: Tommaso Stella
Date: 2024 from 30-07 to 07-08
Site & Sky: Stigliano (MT-ITALY), SQM 21.2
Lights: 130x180s Ha + 127x180s OIII + 125x180s SII
Setup: Omegon CC Pro 203/1847mm + QHY 294M + Skywatcher AZEQ6 GT
Filters: Optolong SHO 3nm

M16 and The Eagle Nebula

M16 is a young star cluster located about 7,000 light-years away from us. It lies within the Eagle Nebula, a region surrounded by clouds of glowing dust and gas in the center of which are dense dark columns of dust and gas that were immortalized by the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s in the famous photo titled “Pillars of Creation,” because these dense columns can contract under the force of gravity to form stars.
While the object is easily visible from the Northern Hemisphere, the view from the dark skies of the Southern Hemisphere where it almost reaches the zenith is much better, allowing for great depth in the dust in just a few hours of exposure.

Technical data
System 1: ASA Newton 250mm, 900mm focal length, with ZWO ASI 6200 MM camera and 3 nm Chroma Ha filter from Rio Hurtado, Chile. 21x120s bin 2x2 Ha
System 2: Takahashi TOA 130mm apochromatic refractor, 780mm focal length, with SBIG STX-16803 and Astrodon E-Series RGB filters from Siding Spring, Australia. 5x300s bin 1x1 RGB

M16 and the Eagle Nebula by Alessandro Carrozzi, su Flickr

The man, the moon and the mountain under the Milkyway!

Location: Blood Mountain, Georgia.
Date: 08-Sept-2024; Time: 10:30 Pm
Copyright: Prashant Naik
Web: https://naikonpixels.com/

Blood mountain is the highest peak on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail. I trekked to the summit of Blood Mountain, located at the border of Chattahoochee National Forest and Blood Mountain Wilderness. The hike from Byron Reece along the Appalachian Trail to the peak spanned approximately 4.1 miles. I carried all my astro gear on this rugged terrain for nearly 3 hours, all for a magical evening under the stars. The moon was about to descend below the horizon around 11:00 pm, and the Milky way was blazing in the southeastern sky. And in that moment, I captured this image.

The all seeing eye - Sheltered under the Stars

Sheltered under the Stars by Ahmed Waddah, on Flickr

This image was taken back in July using the TTArtisian Fisheye which has been so much fun since I started using it this year. Image is a composite where the sky was taken during the night and fore ground at sunrise. The sky was shot from the higher ground behind that huge rock. As usual image was taken in Al Fayoum Desert in Egypt on a very very hot day!

Sky:
Nikon Z6II - Modified
TTArtisian 11mm f/2.8 - 60x13s - iso 3200 11mmm f/2.8

Foreground:
Nikon Z6II
TTArtisian 11mm f/2.8 - 1/8 -ISO100 - f/8

Date:7th of July, 2024
Place:AL Fayoum Desert, Egypt

Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/7775z5/

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

HELIX nebula SHO
https://www.flickr.com/photos/18661870 ... d-public/
Copyright: Jose Luis Bedmar https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/539 ... bc88_o.png

GSO 12" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Truss Tube ×
ZWO ASI294MM Pro
Sky-Watcher EQ8
Chroma H-alpha 5nm Bandpass 36 mm · Chroma OIII 3nm Bandpass 36 mm · Chroma SII 3nm Bandpass 36 mm
18 de Agosto de 2024
20 de Agosto de 2024
22 de Agosto de 2024
4 de Septiembre de 2024
Chroma H-alpha 5nm Bandpass 36 mm: 74×300,″(6h 10′)
Chroma OIII 3nm Bandpass 36 mm: 74×300,″(6h 10′)
Chroma SII 3nm Bandpass 36 mm: 74×300,″(6h 10′)
Astrometry.net job: 10700162
Huercal de Almeria, Almeria, España

NGC 1514 "Crystal Ball Nebula"
https://www.flickr.com/photos/18661870 ... d-public/
Copyright: Jose Luis Bedmar GSO 12" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Truss Tube ×
ZWO ASI294MM Pro
Sky-Watcher EQ8
Chroma H-alpha 5nm Bandpass 36 mm · Chroma OIII 3nm Bandpass 36 mm · Chroma SII 3nm Bandpass 36 mm
14 de Septiembre de 2024
Chroma Blue 36 mm: 30×60,″(30′)
Chroma Green 36 mm: 30×60,″(30′)
Chroma OIII 3nm Bandpass 36 mm: 30×300,″(2h 30′)
Chroma Red 36 mm: 30×60,″(30′)
Astrometry.net job: 10711545
Huercal de Almeria, Almeria, España

Twilight of the Gods
by Clément Brustel

Perseids and Eta-Eridanids, pieces of two distinct comets, crossing each other above an aurora borealis and a storm in the French Alps.
A total of 5h of exposure with single frames of 30s.

Sony a7s and samyang 24mm 1.4

I checked the Eta-Eridanids activity that night with this website and the trajectory matches well.
https://meteorshowers.seti.org/?lat=3.6 ... 2024-08-11

Arp 99 - Hickson 93_N by Lefteris Velissaratos, on Flickr

Abell 78_N by Lefteris Velissaratos, on Flickr

Dust and Light: The Unveiling of The Cocoon Nebula

Dust and Light: The Unveiling of The Cocoon Nebula by Jordi Cardús Port, on Flickr

Telescope: ZWO FF65 65mm f/6.4 Petzval Refractor
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
Mount: ZWO AM5
Filters: Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 2" · Antlia V-Pro Blue 2" · Antlia V-Pro Green 2" · Antlia V-Pro Luminance 2" · Antlia V-Pro Red 2"
Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus
Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight

Frames:
Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 2": 128×300″(10h 40′)
Antlia V-Pro Blue 2": 59×240″(3h 56′)
Antlia V-Pro Green 2": 60×240″(4h)
Antlia V-Pro Luminance 2": 134×120″(4h 28′)
Antlia V-Pro Luminance 2": 96×240″(6h 24′)
Antlia V-Pro Red 2": 43×240″(2h 52′)
Integration:
32h 20′
Avg. Moon age:
5.47 days
Avg. Moon phase:
30.18%

When I first saw an astrophotography of Barnard 168, its richness of contrasts deeply moved me: the dance between the darkness of the dust and the light of the nebula, immersed in a sea of hydrogen; the blues, pinks and browns, alternating and blending in endless patterns blew me away. Until then, I had only taken a few images with limited integration time, but that image made me decide to invest more time in a single object. I wanted to photograph the Cocoon Nebula, and I wanted to do it right. My main objective has been to create contrast between the object and the background. This is the result. I am very proud of my first image created with care, dedication and effort. I hope you find my version of the Cocoon compelling. Please, enjoy it as much as I endured to create it.

CS
Jordi

Partial Lunar Eclipse and Supermoon also named the Corn Moon, Harvest Moon on September 17-18th. ( ED80 APO, CGX-L Mount, ASI533mm Pro Cmos, EFW8, Astronomik Ha Filter.)

During a geomagnetic storm, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus aligned near Pleiades

Canon 5DIV 28-105@50mm

Iceland, 1th September 2024

Omega Centauri, NGC5139

I intended to shoot the September Harvest Moon from my backyard, however it was still quite low in the sky, so having 1/2hr to kill time, I decided to image Omega Centauri on the off chance that it would still look good, despite the full Moon. I'm glad I did, as it still looked amazing

Seestar S50
30min 10" subs
Bortle 8 & Full Moon!

Omega Centauri, NGC5139

Copyright: Simon Capone
Omega Centauri by Simon Capone, on Flickr

M16

SHORGB :
130 Hrs total frames
done with CDK 610, Moravian C4-16000 on PW L600 mount near Actacama Desert in Chile, El Sauce Observatory

Copyright: Team CielAustral
http://www.cielaustral.com

I am writing to propose my latest astronomical mosaic for consideration as the Astronomy Picture of the Day. This image, captured with meticulous detail, showcases the breathtaking beauty of the dark and reflection nebulas within the constellation of Cepheus.

The mosaic is composed of three panels, each meticulously crafted using 32 luminance exposures of 600 seconds, 64 RGB exposures of 300 seconds, and 40 H-alpha exposures of 600 seconds. This extensive effort ensures a depth and richness of detail that highlights the spectacular features of the nebulas.

The featured nebulas are LDN 1251, LDN 1235 (also known as the Shark Nebula), and VDB 152. LDN 1251, with its dense clouds of dark dust, appears to float ethereally against the cosmic backdrop. LDN 1235, resembling a shark navigating through the stars, offers a majestic and striking view. VDB 152, a reflection nebula, introduces a bluish tint as it reflects the light from nearby stars.

The mosaic was captured using a sophisticated setup of two RedCat 51 telescopes paired with two ZWO ASI 2600 cameras—one color and one monochrome. The integration of monochrome imaging and the use of Ha exposures to emphasize hydrogen emissions contribute to the mosaic's exceptional detail, with vivid color nuances and deeply outlined dark clouds.

I believe this image would make a compelling addition to your Astronomy Picture of the Day, offering viewers a captivating glimpse into the wonders of the universe.

Thank you for considering my submission. I look forward to the possibility of sharing this image with a broader audience through your esteemed platform.

Full resolution at: https://www.astrobin.com/full/kot7my/0/

Best regards,

Simone Curzi

My Instagram https://www.instagram.com/simone_curzi_skylover/

Equipment
Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses
William Optics RedCat 51 II
Imaging Cameras
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro · ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
Mounts
Sky-Watcher EQ6
Filters
Antlia EDGE H-alpha 4.5nm 2" · Antlia Luminance 2"
Software
Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight

Sept. 3 - 5, 2024
Sept. 11 - 13, 2024
Frames:
192×300″(16h)
Antlia EDGE H-alpha 4.5nm 2": 120×600″(20h)
Antlia Luminance 2": 96×600″(16h)
Integration:
52h
Avg. Moon age:
4.95 days
Avg. Moon phase:
32.61%

Locations: Mattinata, Puglia, Italy bortle 4

Data source: Backyard

I'm submitting my latest image for APOD consideration.

MWP1 and ALV1 - Loneliness in the night sky

We had a string of clear nights towards the end of August which allowed me to go deep on this target. This is my first time imaging it.

Center of the frame is MWP1, an ancient planetary nebula. Surrounding MWP1 you can see the Oiii ejection from the original collapse of the star. Just to the right is ALV1, only recently discovered in 2009.

Details:
Scope: RASA 8
Mount: iOptron GEM45
Camera: ASI2600MM Pro
Filters: Baader Ultra-Highspeed Ha, Oiii

Ha: 266 x 300", 44 x 600" (29.5 hours)
Oiii: 164 x 600" (27.5 hours)

Total of 57 hours integration time

Shot from my Bortle 7 backyard.

The image is an HOO combination, with some subtle hue adjustments to pull the blues into the image.

MWP1 and ALV1 - Loneliness in the night sky
https://www.astrobin.com/zvm7el/
Copyright: Ryan Génier https://cdn.astrobin.com/thumbs/UKKGWMh ... TZ0INm.png

Milkyway + Aurora + M31
Date -09.09.24
Location - Iceland
Roi Levi (USA)

i finally did it good planning worth while! i wanted to capture milky way and aurora and on the 4th day it happend!
Day 4 - Kirkjufell - in the 4th day i saw there is clear skies in kirk and even that we are 7 hours away thats what we do we chase aurora so we went inside the car and changed lodging to kirkjufell direction.
we only had one rule Aurora Before Sleep!

i managed to capture aurora and milkyway bow in iceland which is somthing rare and pohotographer have a short window of operunity to capture this celctial objects with the milkyway bow.
i just came back from a astrophotography workshop i was guiding in iceland and i choose this dates in specefic to have more celetial objects alligned with the aurora such as milkyway bow and orion during the the equinoxes are pivotal times for geomagnetic storms and auroral activity due to the unique alignment of the Earth's magnetic field with the solar wind and IMF. This makes the transition from summer to fall or winter to spring an optimal time for aurora observations, especially for photographers and researchers looking to capture or study these magnificent displays.
september is the perfect timig to do it

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of how i shot and the special timing :
To photograph the Milky Way core from Iceland, you'll want to focus on late August to early September, when the core is still visible and the nights are dark enough.]
Best Time: Late August to early September offers the best chance because the nights are long enough to see the Milky Way, but the core of the Milky Way is still above the horizon after sunset.Around August 20 to September 10 is the best window. After that, the core of the Milky Way starts to set earlier and may become harder to observe.Optimal Time: The Milky Way core is best seen in the southern sky between 10 PM and 2 AM. It will appear quite low on the horizon in Iceland, so you’ll need an unobstructed view toward the south.Moon Phase at new moon


The End Of The Summer is here and the best aurora year of the decade has arrived to iceland!
Shot in RGBHA with
Askar filter - color magic H alpha
Canon EOS Ra by Richard Gali
Silence Corner ATOLL
Sunwayfoto tripod
Fstop Gear Beg
Sigma Art 14mm F1.8 | Sigma Art 28mm F1.4
https://www.instagram.com/astroi_levi/

Barnard150 - LDN1082 - Squid - flying bat - fireworks

Wide angle shot of this beautiful area in constellation cepheus
Taken with 2600 MC and Nikon180mm @f4.0 - 20h without filter - 30h Antlia Duo NB
Taken in beautiful Astro Finca Olivar - Gaucin / Andalucia
https://finca-olivar-gaucin.com/en

Copyright: Martin Hochbruck / ASTRO FINCA OLIVAR - ANDALUCIA

Astrobin: https://astrob.in/rhyequ/0/

Comet 13P/Oblers, galaxies and the buron


Comet 13P/Oblers, galaxies and the buron by Martin Giraud

Hello! Here is a picture of comet 13P/Olbers that I took last month in Aubrac, France

Even though the comet looks big, in reality, it was quite small in the sky. To capture the picture, I used a 250mm telephoto lens. To make the foreground large enough, I was 780 meters away from it.

This kind of picture is not easy to take because it needs to be planned with precision. Since the comet is small and the foreground has to be far from the camera’s position, everything needs to be perfectly aligned. I used an equatorial mount to take long-exposure shots of the comet. The sky is composed of 90 images, each with 40-second exposures, stacked together. I took a separate picture of the foreground and then assembled the two together.

A "buron" is the name of the typical old stone house found in the Aubrac region.

In this image, you can also see a huge number of galaxies! Even though a bright point in the night sky can sometimes be a galaxy rather than a star, here, if you zoom in, you can distinctly see their shapes. Did you find them?

Settings: ISO-4000 - F/4.9 - 40 sec
Equipment: Canon 6D - SkyWatcher Star Adventurer - Redcat 51
Location: Aubrac, France


Martin GIRAUD
https://www.instagram.com/tinmar_g/

Total solar eclipse 2024
Here are two new HDR processing of data captured last 8 April from Arkansas.


HDR Corona with Pentax75+ASI2400MC
Copyright Gianni Galli and Lorenzo Comolli


HDR Corona with Canon 150mm + Canon 6D
Copyright Lorenzo Comolli, Emmanuele Sordini, Alessandro Gambaro

All tech data and info here: https://comolli.astrosurf.com/ecl24a.htm

A Day Spotting Sunspots
Solar maximum brings every different kind of sunspot one can imagine.
For example on September 20th, 2024, I was able to see a creepy crawly centipede, also known as AR 3837, a simple bipolar Beta-type sunspot region.
I also saw another “heart emoji” sunspot deep in the centre of active region 3828, a very complex Beta-Gamma region full of magnetic complexity and solar flare potential.
And finally the sparky snake-like region of AR 3825 the region that set off an X-Class flare a week ago launching a CME tied to the G4 magnetic storm of September 17th,2024. Keep an eye on that area of the sun as it rotates into the Earth strike zone…
Somedays you can just lose yourself in the Sun…. but still don’t forget your sunscreen



A Day Spotting Sunspots by Andrea Girones, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/540 ... 0460_k.jpg

VDB152 dark nebula in Cepheus....Imaged in RGB and H-alpha with the ASA12N f3.6 and the ASI2600mm pro remotely from Spain. Exposures times were 150x 120s each in RGB and 180x 180s in Ha.

Thanks for looking
Peter Shah

Saturn from 2021 to 2024
Hi!!, my name is Pau Montplet Sanz, I'm writing to you from Breda, Catalonia, Spain. I'm an astrophotographer and I share my progress and images on my Instagram (@astro_breda). It's a pleasure for me to be able to show you my images / composition of Saturn along time, from 2021 to 2024.
In the image you can see that the telescope used wasn't the same, the first two were using a 6" (150mm) Schmidt Cassegrain and for the last two an 11" (280mm) Schmidt Cassegrain was used.

You can also see the improvement in data processing and of course the obvious difference in inclination of the rings. In this composition are my best images from each year.

All the images were processed in Autostakkert, Astrosurface and Winjupos, and the composition was made in Photoshop.

Credits: Pau Montplet Sanz @astro_breda

Location of capture: Breda, Catalonia, Spain.
Date of capture: 2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024

Greetings!!!!
Pau Montplet Sanz
Saturn along Time --- 2021-2024 by Pau Montplet Sanz, en Flickr
Saturn along Time --- 2021-2024 by Pau Montplet Sanz, en Flickr

The Solar System (not to scale)

Hi!! My name is Pau Montplet Sanz, I'm writing to you from Breda, Catalonia, Spain. I'm an astrophotographer and I share my progress and images on my Instagram (@astro_breda). It's a pleasure for me to be able to show you my images / composition of the Solar System, the images are not to scale. Most of the images in the composition are from this year, 2024, but there are some, like the image of Jupiter or Venus, which are from 2023. We can see the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the ISS, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

For the images of the planets, ISS, and Moon an 11" (280mm) Schmidt Cassegrain was used, and for the Sun I used an 80/400 refractor with a Daystar Quark H-alpha filter.

All the images were processed in Autostakkert, Astrosurface and Winjupos, and the composition was made in Photoshop.


Credits: Pau Montplet Sanz @astro_breda

Location of capture: Breda, Catalonia, Spain.
Date of capture: 2023 - 2024

Greetings!!!!
Pau Montplet Sanz
The Solar System (not to scale) by Pau Montplet Sanz, en Flickr

Snaky Sun by Wael Omar, on Flickr

The inclination of the Earth's rotation axis causes the seasons and also the position of sunrise and sunset to change every day so the Sun rises due east and sets on due west only twice per year during the equinox but changes its position along the rest of the year.
I have photographed the sun for 12 months from a fixed place to monitor the path of the sun along the horizon. My first image was in April 2023 and I continue to shoot the sunset on the 21th day (± 2 days) of every month to show the drift of the sunset location. The image shows the summer solstice on 21st of June as the sun sets considerably north of due west. After the summer solstice, the sun's path gradually drifts southward. By 23rd of September, the sun is at equinox, its path is again along the celestial equator and the sun sets directly on due west. The southward drift then continues until the December solstice (22nd of December), when the sun sets considerably south of due west. After the December solstice, the sun's path drifts northward, returning to the celestial equator by the March equinox 20th of March 2024.
The maximum angular distance between two sunsets is the angle between the two solstices. This angle changes with the latitude of the place. It is minimum at the equator and after that increases according to the absolute value of the latitude until it causes the midnight Sun in the polar area. In my location at "Mokattam" hills at latitude 30º 00´ 05´´ N the Sun sets in :
• Summer solstice 21st June @297.9º in 19:59 pm
• Winter solstice 22nd December @243.2º in 17:00 pm
So the maximum drift distance is 54.7 degrees.
As I started from April and ended on March the sun drift looks like a snake in the sky
Settings and equipment:
Canon 200 D
18-55 mm canon lens
Each image is a 5-panel mosaic @18mm, each panel is HDR image with bracket shooting.
The settings of the images:
ISO 100, 1/20 seconds, F8. This may differ a little due to different lighting conditions along the 12 months.

Date : 21 th (±2) of each month from April 2023 to March 2024.
All images are taken from fixed place along the 12 months.
Choosing the location was so difficult in a very crowded city like Cairo as I wanted to have a wide view of the city and at the same time from a fixed location not altered by crowd or civil works so I spent too much time searching for this place.
Location: Mokattam Hills, Cairo, EGYPT.
Credit: Wael Omar WO/ https://www.instagram.com/waelomar_astrophotography/