Starship Asterisk*

Southern winter solstice

The galactic core within a few hours of the southern winter solstice on 22 June 2014. Antares is in
the centre of the field of view. The bright horizon is light pollution from Melbourne, 90 km to the west.

Image taken with Canon 60Da, Samyang 14mm lens at f2.8 from Noojee, Victoria, Australia.

Cheers, Steve

Turbulent heart of the scorpio
Copyright: Amit Ashok Kamble

This is the area around the heart of scorpio (Antares) the seventeenth brightest star in the nighttime sky and the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, and is often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion". Antares is surrounded by the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is a dark nebula of gas and dust that is located 1° south of the star ρ Ophiuchi of the constellation Ophiuchus which is one of the closest star-forming regions to the Solar System. Not to forget the blue Horsehead nebula which is a reflection nebula in the Scorpius constellation that is lit by Nu Scorpii.

This image is a stack of images shot with and with astronomik CLS filter. Total 15 x 122sec (Without filter) + 10 x 122sec (With Filter) was hoping to get same amount with filter but the lens dewed up so had to drop those images. The filter leaves a blue/green tint to the images and it does take a while to get them fixed, spent around 2 + hours to process the image, love the outcome. Just not happy with the 50mm lens as it has a Spherical Abbr more than i expected, had the crop the image to get rid of the abbr corners. For some reason my intervalometer was set to 122sec, have to make sire it is 120sec next time.

The images were shot using 50mm f1.8 on Canon 6D and tracked using iOptron ZEQ25. After a long time auckland skies were clear and cloud not miss the opportunity but had to pay for that at night as all motorways were closed and had to take a 55km detour, was just hoping the night was worth it and now i can say it was.

Total Exposure data = 51.23min = 3050 sec

Colour corrected in Lightroom 5 and Median stacked in Photoshop CC

Exif for each frame: 122 sec, f2.8 with Canon 50mm f1.8 on Canon 6D
(With Filter) : ISO 3200
(Without Filter) : ISO 800

Better Resolution here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/amyth91/1 ... ed-public/

https://www.facebook.com/amitkamblephotography
https://www.flickr.com/photos/amyth91/
https://500px.com/amyth91

Scorpius rising

The milky way centered on Scorpius rising. Saturn also visible in image left. Trestle bridge in foreground is a former steam train bridge, rebuilt in 1939 after it was destroyed by fire in the same year.
Moonrise followed a short time later.

Image taken with Canon 5DMkII and 14mm Samyang lens at f/2.8, ISO 3200, 23s from Noojee, Victoria, Australia on 5 June 2015.

Cheers, Steve

March/April 2015
Location: San Romualdo - Ravenna (Italy)
LX200 12"GPS with Starizona reducer/coma corrector F/7.1
CCD QSI 520wsi cooled -20 and RGB and Narrowband Baader filters
Autoguide with ASI120MM and PHDguiding2 on ETX105
RGB-HA-OIII: H-alpha Baader 7nm 35x5', OIII Baader 8,5nm 34x5', R 38x3', G 31x3', B 25x3'
Acquired with: MaximDL5 - Calibrated with Dark, Bias and Flat
Processed with: MaximDL5, Astroart4, StarTools1.3, Photoshop CS2, Paint Shop ProX7 e Topaz Plug-in

Cristina Cellini

The Milky Way with the Memory
Copyright: Petr Horálek
More: http://www.astronom.cz/horalek/?p=1612
When I was younger, I had a „walkman“ and headphones and I used to listen to one song over and over again, while I was walking by the shore of Sec reservoir close to my cottage. It was song „We can leave the world behind“ from Sasha. This such emotional song has awesome moment just with the first serious tone in the chorus, which was usually the moment I just had to lean my head into the starry sky and the Milky way (if I listened to the song in the night). I just felt free, like I could fly there. Times change, I am a bit older. But even today, so many years after, I hear the voice of the singer and the chorus in my head just in the moment I look up again. Such beautiful irony, that the art of someone can affect point of view and bring another art of someone else…
Hi-res

The Cat's Paw nebula in Hubble color mapping.

A larger view:
http://www.pbase.com/tango33/image/160473871/original

Thanks for looking!

Kfir Simon

NGC 6914 HaRGB - CCD/DSLR by Andre van der Hoeven and Tim Schuurman, on Flickr

This image was taken on several clear nights between 03/06 - 11/06/2015.

Images were taken by myself with my TMB92 and by Tim Schuurman (a fellow astrophotographer) with his 20cm Newton telescope.

At the center of the image two blue reflection nebulae are visible. The one on the upper right is called VdB131, the central one VdB132, together with the surrounding clouds forming NGC 6914. They are located in the large hydrogen cloud, which is part of the large cloud complex in the constellation of Cygnus. This large cloud ca be found at a distance of about 6000 lightyears from Earth.

Just to the upper right of VdB131 three stars in a row can be found. The upper right of these stars is V1515 Cyg, which is surrounded by a disk of gas/dust, that can be just seen in the image.

In the lower right corner of VdB131 the protoplanetary nebula GN 20.22.7 is visible in the image.

Telescopes: TMB92 / 20cm f/5 Newton
Camera: QSI583ws / Canon 350Da

Exposures:

QSI583:
30x600s Red
30x600s Green
27x600s Blue
25x1200s Ha

Canon 350Da (cooled):
145 x 5 min ISO 800

Total: 35 hours

Credits: André van der Hoeven (astro-photo.nl) / Tim Schuurman (astrovirus.nl)

Title: Planet Conjunction
This photo shows Jupiter Venus and Moon on the western sky. I took this photo today (June 20, 2015) from Lamphun ,Thailand.
Credit: Thanakrit Santikunaporn

for better quality of image : https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/11257032 ... 8964a4af80

Object/Date:
Moon-Venus-Jupiter-ISS @ Jun.19,2015

Tech data:
Canon EOS 350D camera & Canon 18-135 lens at 18mm. f/3,5 (1×20 sec. at ISO 100)

Description:
Image of the conjunction on June 19, 2015; from bottom to top: the Moon, Venus, Jupiter and the trail of the International Space Station (ISS) produced during the shot of 20 seconds.

Location:
Hoya Redonda, Valencia (Spain)

Post and image link:
http://cometografia.es/luna-venus-jupiter-iss/

Author:
José J. Chambó

Jupiter Venus and Moon
Copyrights: Dani Caxete Fireflies and Star Trails
Copyrights: Brad Hoehne Moon-Venus-Jupiter conjunction with artwork
Copyrights: Sally J Smith VdB131, VdB132 and NGC 6914
Copyrights: Andre van der Hoeven and Tim Schuurman Star cluster Messier 71
Copyrights: Denis Priou Jupiter, Venus and Moon
Copyrights: Stu Sharp Centaurus A
Copyrights: Harel Boren The Celestial Trio with 22° Halo
Copyrights: Nikunj M Rawal

moon, jupiter (top) and venus on the roman bridge, 1st century B.C.

M27 by Onejoshsmith, on Flickr

Data Acquisition: narrow band by Josh Smith and RGB by Madratter

Image Processing: Josh Smith

Copyright: Josh Smith

M27 starless v2 by Onejoshsmith, on Flickr

Copyright: Josh Smith

ISS, FIREFLIES by Greg Hogan, on Flickr

June 20 2015 Sun

Canon 5d mkii on CGEM-DX C-11 F/7 -White Light

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92681330@ ... otostream/

Copyright: Daniel Pasternak

Beta-Gamma classified Active Region 2371

IS.618 MONO on CGEM-DX C-11 F/7

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92681330@ ... otostream/

Copyright: Daniel Pasternak

Moon

Canon 5d mkii on CGEM-DX C-11 F/10

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92681330@ ... otostream/

Copyright: Daniel Pasternak

Moon, Jupiter and Venus
Corral de Almaguer, Toledo, Spain

Venus, Júpiter y Luna by Roberto Ferrero, on Flickr

triángulo y arcos moon, jupiter (top) and venus on roman bridge happy june solstice!!

Moov Venus Jupiter Meteor alignment 2015
dariogiannobile.com
Copyright: Dario Giannobile

Moov Venus Jupiter alignment 2015
dariogiannobile.com
Copyright: Dario Giannobile

Moov Venus Jupiter alignment 2015 2
dariogiannobile.com
Copyright: Dario Giannobile

Solsticio de Junio. Última puesta de Sol de Primavera en el Norte.
June solstice. Last Sunset Spring in the North.

Última puesta de Sol (de esta Primavera) by Juan A. Bafalliu, en Flickr

Solsticio de Junio.
El Sol ha llegado a su punto más septentrional, justo perpendicular al Trópico de Cáncer.
Comienza el Verano en el Norte y el Invierno en el Sur.
En la foto, Última Puesta de Sol de Primavera tras la población de Espejo, en plena campiña cordobesa, Andalucía, España.
El Sol desapareció tras las nubes más arriba, pero volvió a aparecer por debajo de ellas, justo antes de desaparecer por completo tras las montañas de Sierra Morena.
Al estar tan bajo en el horizonte, junto la bruma-calima, los filtros naturales de la atmósfera dejaron ver dos manchas solares. Cada una de ellas más grande que nuestro planeta Tierra.

June solstice.
The Sun has reached its northernmost point, just perpendicular to the Tropic of Cancer.
Summer begins in the north and winter in the South.
In the photo, Last Sunset Spring after the town of Espejo, in Córdoba's countryside, Andalusia, Spain.
The sun disappeared behind the clouds above, but reappeared under them, just before disappearing completely after the Sierra Morena.
Being so low on the horizon, along the mist-haze, natural filter of the atmosphere left to see two sunspots. Each larger than our planet Earth.

©Juan A. Bafalliu-Spain-2015

Moon-Venus-Jupiter @ Jun.20,2015
Canon EOS 350D camera & Canon 18-135 lens at 85mm. f/5,6 (1×5 sec. at ISO 200)

Image of the conjunction on June 20, 2015 above the village of Torrella, Valencia (Spain); from left to right: the Moon, Jupiter and Venus.

Location:
Vallés, Valencia (Spain)

Author:
José J. Chambó

Vela SNR widefield Higher resolution: http://s6.postimg.org/77wwtnbgx/Vela_mosaic_1600px.jpg
Equipment: Zeiss Sonnar 85/2.8 lens, ATIK 460, Baader filters, Vixen GP mount
2 field mosaic - the first field taken at Tenerife 2014, the second one in South Africa 2015
Copyright : Evzen Brunner