The Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635)

Here's a "sub-starved" (only 7x3 minutes) composite of the often photographed Bubble Nebula in Cassiopeia. Why only 21 minutes total? I started collecting the subs "too late" for a full run: the camera and scope were about to "run into" the mount. So it goes. In any case, there are dozens if not hundreds of superlative images of the Bubble Nebula online.

The image is still "under construction," as more subs are required. The slight red cast to the image is apparently due to the extensive nebulosity in the region. Aesthetically considered, I don't like the red cast, and have tried to mute it. However, the red cast may be inevitable. This link connects with a close-up of the Bubble Nebula made with a 20" RC and an SBIG ST-11000. The detail is wonderful. Notice the pervasive red nebulosity, which is especially evident in the 11 o'clock direction.

This link connects with an early shot by Jerry Lodriguss (a most accomplished astroimager and author), using gas-hypersensitized Fujicolor Super G 800 film. The shot offers an interesting comparison between what was (film) and what is (digital photon collection). Jerry offers a few astrophysical details concerning NGC 7635, including the fact that it's one of only two such objects.

Astrophysical data

The bright star (at 12 o'clock) is SAO 20562 with an integrated visual magnitude of 6.94. The Bubble Nebula itself (15'x15') surrounds SAO 20575, an 8.53 VM star about 20x as massive as Sol. The complex is estimated to be 11300 LY distant.

Equipment

SV 115 + TV .8 focal reducer + CGE + SBIG ST-2000XCM

Processing

ImagesPlus v3.0 beta 7 primarily + resized and saved for the Web in PS CS2

Max

Driveway Observatory

Here are four quick jpgs of the "Driveway Observatory" setup, taken on September 14, shortly before dark.

Top photo: Mission Control Center

Given all the various pieces of equipment and software, I've found that three laptops makes life a lot simpler...basically one laptop to control each of the three imaging setups.
Photo two:

The StellarVue (908mm focal length at f/7) with eyepiece, ready for aligning the mount, and the Borg (300mm focal length at f/4) with a Hap Griffin modified Canon XT (350) in place.

Photo three:

The Takahashi Epsilon 180 (500mm focal length at f/2.8) with the SBIG ST2000XCM. The Celestron 102 is used for aligning the mount and/or as a guide scope when using the XT with the Tak for an extra-large field of view.

Photo four:
The entire suite of equipment for the driveway observatory. Obviously, a "real" observatory with piers and such would be ideal. Unfortunately, there is no site on my property suited to the placement of such a structure. Thus the Driveway Observatory. The ScopeBuggies make wheeling the mounts into place a snap....about one minute each, setting over permanent "true north" markers. Placing the vibration pads and levelling the mounts takes about two minutes each. The CGE 2 star alignment + 4 star calibration plus polar align (followed by repeating the 2 + 4 routine) requires about 10 minutes per mount. The payoff is spot on go to and virtually perfect polar alignment.

Max

M-39 from September 13

Another image from September 13 -- M-39. This is a young and "loose" (open) cluster with about 30 members total, roughly 800 LY distant. The lucida is mag 6.83 -- clearly not an eye-ball popper, especially given it's location in the summer-time MW.

More information at: http://seds.org/messier/m/m039.html and http://seds.org/messier/more/m039_more.html.

Technical details: 4 subs at 180 seconds, SBIG ST200XCM, SV115 at f/5.6, processing in IP plus AstroTools increase star color and diffraction spikes.

Max

re: ImagesPlus 3.0 beta 7 curves image

This screen shot is possibly interesting to those who are familiar with ImagesPlus v3.0, PhotoShop CS2, and Scott Ireland's fine book, PhotoShop Astronomy. On page 60 he presents the "ultimate PS curves tweak," the "S" curve, which looks nothing at all like the curve that I've found useful so far in the newest version of IP.

Max

Hi-Rez version of M-33, the Pinwheel Galaxy

Here's a slightly higher resolution image of the one posted immediately below.

Max

Finally, Photons Are Collected!

After nearly three months of unrelenting cloudy nights, interrupted only by a clear night on the eve of a full moon, the new moon came with a clear night time sky. I collected several sets of subs, while also running into some unexpected snafus. Digital astrophotography always presents its challenges.

The image above is M-33, the famous galaxy in Triangulum, visible naked-eye from my high mountain site (at least for young folks). While M-33 comes alive for telescopic obsevers only through large apertures (due to its low surface brightness), its face-on appearance makes it an astrophoto show stopper. M-33 is a member of the local group, the third largest after M-31 (tilted at a fifteen degree angle from our perspective) and our own Milky Way (a barred spiral, not nearly as asthetically pleasing, in my opinion, as M-33).

The technical details, briefly, are 15 total subs at 180 seconds, acquired through the StellarVue 115 at f/5.6 using the SBIG ST2000XCM. Initial processing, alignment, combining plus digital development, standard smoothing, star size reduction, sharpening, and curves adjustment in ImagesPlus v7Beta with image size reduction and saving for Web in PhotoShop CS2.

This image is likely the best of the evening, although I collected the subs 1 by 1 with CCDOPs while I fiddled around with CCDSOFT. By about three a.m. I figured out the arcane nuances of CCDSOFT, and finally collected an automated set of subs for M76 using that program.

Max