Starship Asterisk*

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Please post your images here for December 28-31.

If you need instructions on posting images, please see this thread.

Thank you!
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NGC 2683: Spiral Galaxy in Lynx
http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/NGC2 ... ndler.html
Credit and copyright: Mosaic data from the Hubble Legacy
Archive; mosaic assembly and processing by Robert Gendler Slipping into Shadow
http://www.jwestlake.com
Copyright: Jimmy Westlake
[attachment=0]TLE-840-889-944(sm).jpg[/attachment][/i]

<- Previous submissions

Alas, no pictures of the eclipse on the night of December 20 to 21, totally cloudy in Saint-Félicien, at Saint-Jean Lake (Québec, Canada),
but on the evening of December 21 we had still a beautiful moon halo.
The original is a blend of 4 photos from 8 sec and a fifth for the moon at 1/250 sec.

Eclipsed Moon at Dawn
Copyright: Christoph Rollwagen
[attachment=0]20101221@075610_stack6_crop_enhanced_2.jpg[/attachment][/i]

LDN-1622-VDB-62: The Boogie Man Nebula
Copyright: Harel Boren
[attachment=0]ldn-1622-vdb-62-800-pixels.jpg[/attachment][/i]

The return of the Dragon by Cassini
http://astrophotography.fr/
Copyright: NASA/JPL/SSI/JL Dauvergne Image obtained by processing the last raw files from Cassini. Filters are IR-G-B

Great Solar Prominence, Christmas Day, 2010
http://www.astroeduca.com
Copyright: Francisco A. Rodriguez
[attachment=0]25122010_1p.jpg[/attachment][/i]




(Owl note: I might have been tempted to call this "He leaps! He scores!!")

NGC 1977: Running Man Nebula
http://www.starshadows.com/gallery/disp ... ?imgID=392
Credit and copyright: Steve Mazlin, Jack Harvey, Daniel Verschatse, Rick Gilbert, and SSRO/PROMPT/CTIO

NGC 457: The Owl Cluster
http://www.schursastrophotography.com/astromain.html
Copyright: Chris Schur
Known also as the "Owl Cluster" because of the two bright stars appear as eyes, and the rest of the cluster seems to resemble a bird with outstretched wings. The two brilliant super giant suns that dominate this object form a spectacular color contrast with the surrounding field. the brightest ruddy star is 5th magnitude and spectral type FOla, a very rare type with a B-V of .6 or so. The owls other eye is 7th magnitude and type B6 spectral class. Many fine K and M class stars can also be seen as orange objects in this field as well. The Owl cluster is 6.4th magnitude total and 13 arcminutes in size, with 80 known cluster members. Optics: 8" f/4 Newtonian Astrograph w/Baader MPCC Coma Corrector. Platform: Astrophysics AP1200. Camera: Hutech Modified Canon XTi @ ISO800. Exposure: 6 x 5m = 30 mins total. Location: Payson, Arizona

[/url]

Open Cluster IC1590 is Sharpless2-184
http://www.schursastrophotography.com/astromain.html
Copyright: Chris Schur
Surrounding the dim but moderately rich open cluster IC1590 is Sharpless2-184, also known as NGC281. The nebula is quite large, spanning over half a degree in size, filled with dark Bok globules, the birthplace of stars. The cluster on the other hand is a respectable 7.4 magnitude, but only 4 minutes in size. Seen here clearly is the unique color differentiation from bright core to outer nebulosity. While the core has more blues which yield a bluish pink tint the outer most nebulosity is deep red and represents a much lower level of hydrogen excitation. The beautiful dark nebula superimposed are called Bok Globules, and represent areas of a higher density of dust becoming gravitationally bound. Optics: 8" f/4 Newtonian Astrograph w/Baader MPCC Coma Corrector, Platform: Astrophysics AP1200, Camera: Hutech Modified Canon XTi @ ISO800, Exposure: 24 x 5m = 2 hours, Location: Payson, Arizona

Thor's Helmet and The Seagull Nebula
http://www.astropix.com
Copyright 2010 Jerry Lodriguss


Click on the image above to see a higher resolution version with more information.

Iridescence near Sunset from the Top of the World Highway, Yukon Territory
Copyright and credit: Charles Stankievech and Sophie Springer
[attachment=0]nebula-yukon2.jpg[/attachment][/i]

Hidden Moon, Visible Jupiter
Copyright: Marius Sollerud The picture is taken from the Solar Observatory (40 miles north of Oslo), at Harestua, Norway. It’s the largest astronomical facility in Norway. We were a group of people from the Norwegian Astronomical Society, visiting the facility for a weekend.

The image shows the Moon just behind a small observatory building, containing a Coude-refractor, lighting up the clouds and the condensation trail from a jet airliner. Some of my fellow observers can be seen at the bottom right. Jupiter and Uranus (second lightpoint, approx. eleven o’clock from Jupiter) can be seen on the left. The main Solar Tower can be seen just to the right of the Coude-refractor observatory building.
~ Marius Sollerud

M42: Orion Nebula
Copyright: John Ebersole
[attachment=0]m42-ebersole-800.jpg[/attachment][/i]

December Total Lunar Eclipse
http://www.rddnj.com
Copyright: Russell King
[attachment=0]Russells12102010LunarEclipseA.jpg[/attachment][/i]

owlice wrote:M42: Orion Nebula
Copyright: John Ebersole
[attachment=0]m42-ebersole-800.jpg[/attachment][/i]

Hey owlice, it looks like John Ebersole got a picture of a Cosmic Egg that went bad and split open. I wonder what it would have produced if it had hatched??
((second picture up))

Hello !!
I posted some 3D images of jupiter and moon..., you need Red/Green glasses to see....
Those images are taken with a Meade 12", and a PL1M camera. For jupiter, 15 minutes separates the two images; for the moom, 30 minutes.

Merry christmas.

http://astrosurf.com/lacote/

Melotte 15 in IC1805
http://www.starkeeper.it/Melotte15.htm
Copyright: Leonardo Orazi

I took these two images last night above a sea of fog in the Swiss Alps:

World above the clouds #1
http://www.kplan.ch
Copyright: David Kaplan World above the clouds #2
http://www.kplan.ch
Copyright: David Kaplan Feedback appreciated.

Booking my flight to Switzerland now; those are gorgeous!

owlice wrote:Booking my flight to Switzerland now; those are gorgeous!

Thank you . You are always welcome in our little country

Stunning pictures, David! My favorite kind.
"world.. #1" gives me the feeling of being on Earth and in space simultaneously.

Congratulations David for your incredible images.

Laurent (France).

HAPPY 2011 !
ofpink.wordpress.com
Copyright: Stefano De Rosa

dmkdmkdmk wrote:You are always welcome in our little country

Thanks! I went to school in Valais, and years later, went back to the village the school was in, just to see it as an adult. The second I got out of the car, it started to rain; the further I got from the car, the harder it rained. By the time I reached my old dormitory, it was pouring buckets, and thunder and lightning had started. I walked around a bit, then, thoroughly soaked, got back into the car. As I drove away, not only did the rain stop, but the sun broke through the clouds and the village was brilliantly sunlit.... in my rear view mirror. I took that as a sign that I was not welcome there, and I haven't returned to the scene of my schoolgirl crimes since!! (I have visited elsewhere in Switzerland, however, without difficulty!)

Stefano, thank you very much for the video!

Astrophotographers all, thank you very much for sharing your images, and may 2011 bring you clear skies and good seeing whenever you want it!

M33, the Triangulum Galaxy


2.4 million light-years from Earth, the Triangulum Galaxy (M33) resides in the constellation Triangulum and spans some 50,000 light-years. This galaxy contains roughly 40 billion stars and is the third largest galaxy of the Local Group.

Copyright: Ryan M. Hannahoe
Exposure time: 60 hours
Equipment Used: 16″ RC Optical Systems Telescope, Bisque Paramount ME, STX16803 CCD
Location: Perez Observatory at New Mexico Skies, Mayhill – New Mexico

http://www.astronomicalimaging.com/