July 2018 - Astrophography

Eagle Nebula M16 NGC 6611

Telescope / Lens	TEC 140mm APO F/7 Refractor
Mount Type	Astro-Physics AP1200
Camera	SBIG ST8XME NABG
Filters	Astrodon LRGB+HA Generation 1
Film	CCD
Exposure	Total exposure time 115 minutes
Processing	CCDSoft & Photoshop CS2
Date	June 20, 2007
Location	June Mountain, near Dexter, Oregon 122° 43.53 W 43° 48.41′ N
Conditions	3252′ magnitude 6.2+ Skies; Clear & Steady

The Eagle Nebula, M16 is an 8th magnitude Open Cluster in the constellation of Serpens next to Ophiuchus with this cluster lying near Sagittarius. Through a telescope the cluster of stars is visible but little or no nebulosity can be seen. This is because ours eyes are not sensitive enough to see the nebulosity. Therefore long images on film or CCD are needed to show the nebulosity. The three central pillars were imaged by The Hubble Space Telescope and are referred to as the” Pillars of Creation. Most importantly, you can see small stars that are emerging from these dust clouds. 55 stars make up this Open Stars Cluster lying 7,000 lights years from Earth.

Below is a cropped view that clearly resemble the famous “Pillars of Creation” taken by the Bubble Space Telescope in 1995 by Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen. Remember this image was taken trough a modest TEC 140mm Refractor telescope here on earth, near Dexter, Oregon.

Eagle Nebula M16 NGC 6611, Crop image highligthening the Pillars of Creation" — Eagle Nebula M16 NGC 6611_ Crop. “Pillars of Creation” from an amateur’s 5.5″ refractor.

Sad Note:

Evidence from the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) indicates that the “Pillars of Creation” have already been destroyed. A Super Nova explosion’s shock wave has destroyed these structures. Therefore the image we see no longer exists. Since we are thousands of light years away it will be a millennia before we see the damage caused by the shock waves. The light from this super nova would have been visible on Earth some 1000-2000 years ago.

Trifid Nebula M20 NGC 6514

Telescope / Lens	TEC 140mm f/7
Mount Type	Astrophysics 1200
Camera	SBIG ST10XME NAGB
Filters	Astrodon LRGB e-series filters (generation 1)
Film	CCD
Exposure	150 minutes (2 hours 30 minutes) LRGB (L=75 m (15×5) RGB=25 each, 5 min. subs
Processing	CCDSoft, CCDStack, AIP, Photoshop CS2
Date	07/19/2009
Location	Snow Peak, S/E of Cottage Grove, Oregon 122° 52′ 35″ W, 43° 31′ 21″N
Conditions	4658′ elevation, magnitude 6.5+ Skies; Clear ;

M 20 (NGC 6514) Trifid Nebula
The Trifid Nebula (Messier 20 or M20 & NGC 6514) reside within the constellation of Sagittarius. The name Trifid refers to the three lobe appearance of the red emission portion of the Nebula. Recent images show a blue reflection nebulosity and an open star cluster. The dark dust lanes, dark nebula, is designated Barnard’s 85. This object shows up well in amateur telescopes reviling lots of detail and visible to the naked eye (magnitude 6.3) at dark sky locations. The actual distance is estimated at 5200 light years. Some stars associated with M20 are 2700 to 5700 light years distant.

M20 itself is approximately 21 light years in diameter, roughly 15,000’xs larger than our solar system. Recent images that go deeper reveal a blue glow around the main red emission portion of the Trifid indicating that some of the reflected nebulosity runs behind and around the red portion. Earlier shots I’ve taken did not reveal this, but CCD images of a couple hours or more reveal this phenomenon. NASA’s Spitzer Space telescope discovered 30 embryonic & 120 newborn stars within the Trifid in 2005.

The image of the Trifid nebula was dominant on the view scenes of the Enterprise, Original Star Trek series.

Star Forming Area

M20 Cropped TEC 140 mm f/7 & ST10xme CCD

Horsehead Nebula & Flame Nebula

Telescope / Lens	Orion ED80 Tele-Vue TRV-2008, .8 Reducer f/6 480mm
Mount Type	G11 Gemini GoTo V3
Camera	ST8XME NABG
Filters	LRGB Custom Scientific
Film	CCD (Kodak)
Exposure	120 minutes LRGB
Processing	CCDSoft, AIP4Win, Photoshop CS2
Date	9-30-2006
Location	Eagles Rest, 15 miles South of Dexter, Oregon 122° 44′ 07″ 38″ W – 43° 50′ N
Conditions	2500′ magnitude 6+ Skies; Clear & Steady

The bright star is the left star in Orion’s belt, Alnitak, Magnitude 1.74 and 817.44 light years away. Just below Alnitak (ζ Ori) is the Flame Nebula HV 28 (NGC 2024) and to the right is the famous Horsehead nebula. The top bright star Alnilam, is the central belt star of the constellation Orion.The dark dust blocks out light and the resulting silhouette resembles a Horsehead. This nebula is not visible to the naked eye and it takes special filters and a large telescope to discern the Horsehead shape. This nebula was first detected on photographic plates by E. Pickering in 1889. The Horsehead is approximately 1 light year across at a distance of 1200 light years from Earth.

While the Flame Nebula NGC 2024 is 1,500 light years distant. This nebula is very energetic in ultraviolet light. It knocks away electrons from the great clouds hydrogen gas in the surrounding area

This image was taken through and Orion ED 80mm refractor. This is an inexpensive doublet near APO. One of the true values available to amateur astronomers today.

Crab Nebula M1 NGC 1952

Telescope / Lens	TEC 140mm f/7
Mount Type	Astro-Physics 1200
Camera	ST8XME NABG
Filters	Astro-Don LRGB
Film	CCD
Exposure	LRGB of 85 minuets
Processing	CCDSoft, AIP4Win, CCDStack & Photoshop CS2
Date	9-8-2007
Location	June Mountain, near Dexter, Oregon 122° 43.53 W 43° 48.41′ N
Conditions	3252′ magnitude 6.1 Skies; Clear & Steady

Crab Nebula M1 NGC 1952 resides in the constellation of Taurus the Bull. This nebula is the remnant of a supernova of a large star. This explosion was first viewed from Earth on July 4, 1054 by Asian Astronomers. Native American Indian tribes also observed and recorded this event. At magnitude 8.4 and a diameter of only 6 arc minutes (11 light years), it is visible in small telescopes as a fussy irregular object. It is approximately 6,500 light years from Earth, in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way.

Dumbbell Nebula M27 NGC6853

Telescope / Lens	Celestron 11″ SCT OTA
Mount Type	G11 Gemini V3
Camera	ST8XE
Filters	CFW8a Custom Scientific LRGB
Film	CCD
Exposure	LRGB 115 minutes; L: 60, R:15, G:15, B:25
Processing	CCDSoft, AIP4Win, Photoshop CS2
Date	8-16-2001
Location	Eagles Rest, 15 miles South of Dexter, Oregon 122° 44′ 07″ 38″ W – 43° 50′ N
Conditions	2500′ magnitude 6+ Skies; Clear & Steady

The Dumbbell Nebula M27 NGC6853 resides in the constellation Vulpecula. It lies just west of Cygnus the Swan, at a distance of 980 light years. The Dumbbell is a remnant of a nova, spotted by Charles Messier in 1764. The gases of which continue to spread outward from the cataclysmic event. M 27 shines at an overall magnitude of 8.1 and is 15.2′ arc minutes in size. It is about half the diameter of the moon. It derives its name from the sphere of gas surrounding the small remnant of the central star, forming a “dumbbell type” shape. This object is readily visible in small telescopes and can be seen with binoculars as well.

At a distance of 1,360 light years, the Dumbbell (also called” Apple Core”), because of its brightness and close proximity, it is a nice object to observe in modest sized telescopes. It is estimated to be 9,800-14,000 years old.

This image was capture using a Celestron C11 f/10 Schmidt Cassegrain (SCT) on a Losmandy C11 Equatorial Mount.