tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77037992024-03-08T20:11:14.168-05:00Rick's Astronomy JournalSeveral years ago I renewed my interest in astronomy by purchasing a Meade LX90 telescope. I enjoy imaging deep sky objects and maintaining an ongoing journal about them and my processing methods. I hope my enthusiam for my hobby comes through to viewers of this blogsite.<br>
Rick MurrayRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.comBlogger136125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-1140302963609169382019-01-01T12:26:00.016-05:002009-01-11T14:14:31.593-05:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;">Grayscale Deep Space Image Processing [<a href="http://ricksastropics.blogspot.com/2005_02_13_ricksastropics_archive.html"><a href="http://ricksastropics.blogspot.com/2004_08_08_ricksastropics_archive.html">Here</a></a>]</span></strong></div><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;">Plain Box Atari [<a href="http://ricksastropics.blogspot.com/2005_02_13_ricksastropics_archive.html"><a href="http://ricksastropics.blogspot.com/2004_07_18_ricksastropics_archive.html">Here</a></a>]</span></strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/DeepskyBestoftheBest.htm"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/deepskybutton2.png"></a></div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/DeepskyBestoftheBest.htm"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08aLRsGBblog7.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-74023335629533621192010-08-08T08:51:00.002-04:002010-08-08T09:03:17.402-04:00Someday Real Soon<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/spacemcdonalds2.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/spacemcdonalds2.jpg" /></a><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/spacemcdonalds2.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;"></span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-10539743582306653002009-11-14T12:11:00.006-05:002009-11-14T12:58:29.699-05:00NGC2070 Tarantula Nebula Southern Hemisphere<img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc2070blog.jpg"><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2009 Richard Murray</span><br /><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> The Tarantula is a giant emission nebula within our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is so bright that if it were the same distance as the Orion Nebula it would cast shadows! <br /><br />The image above is a stack of five 10 minute H-Alpha filtered exposures.<br /><br />I also took red, green and blue exposures which I will process later.<br /><br />Date(s): 11/12/09<br />Object(s): NGC 2070 Tarantula Nebula<br />Telescope: RCOS 16" - FL 3360mm @ f/8.4<br />Mount: Paramount ME<br />Camera: SBIG STL-1001E - NABG<br />Guiding: On Camera<br />Filters: Ha<br />Exposure(s): 5 x 600 sec Ha, Binning 2x2<br />Processing: CCDStack and Photoshop<br />Location: Moorook, South AustraliaRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-77715415314407479502009-10-29T13:03:00.006-04:002009-10-29T13:25:48.172-04:00M104 Sombero Galxaxy How It Was DoneI can't give you all of the particulars of how I processed this image because my methods vary with each one but I certainly can give you an overview so here it goes: <br /><br />CCD Stack - <br /><br />The luminance images were loaded into CCDStack and calibrated with darks, flats and bias applied. Then an std sigma reject was applied to all images and the rejected pixels were imputed. Then a positive constraint deconvolution was applied with 100 iterations. The images were then registered, normalized and stacked using a sum combine. A DDP adjustment was then applied on the summed image with auto scale and adjustments were made to background, maximum and gamma settings. The image was then saved as a 16 bit .tif file. All of the same functions were applied to the red and blue frames with the exception of deconvolution and the fact that a maximum combine instead of a sum was used for stacking. <br /><br />Photoshop CS2 - <br /><br />On the luminance image, I used space noise reduction from Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools and star trail elimination from Peter's Actions for Astrophotographers. <br /><br />I applied a median filter to process out some black artifacts that resulted from a poor dark subtraction. <br /><br />I switched to lab color and deselected all but the lightness channel and saved the image (this brings about an overall brightening of the image). <br /><br />I applied a coarse high pass sharpening to the galaxy core and rim. <br /><br />There was some grainyness to the image background so I did a gaussian blur subtraction using Apply Image with blending set to subtract and an offset of 25. <br /><br />LRsGB processing was done by following a combination of Steve Cannistra's 'Modified Bicolor Technique' and R. Scott Ireland's LRGB procedures from his book 'Photoshop Astronomy'. A synthetic green channel was created prior to color processing. A couple of action steps applied to the color image were soft color gradient removal and increase star color. <br /><br />There were many other steps applied in Photoshop in the .tif and .jpg formats too numerous to mention (or remember for that matter). <br /><br />Registax 3 - <br /><br />Wavelet filters were applied here. That's all. <br /><br />PixInsight 1.0- <br /><br />A dynamic background extraction was applied and prior to image sharpening an SGBNR smoothing routine was applied. <br />________ <br /><br />Here is the absolutely final widefield full resolution image (honest) of M104. There were two minor corrections done in Photoshop. First, three large stars in the image were damaged because they weren't protected during processing, so I replaced them with the stars as they were before processing. Second, the top star halo of M104 was too blotchy and unnatural so I lassoed the area and went to the filter menu and selected Pixelate and applied the fragment function to the area which took care of most of the blotchies. <br /><br />Be sure to click on the image for the full widefield view: <br /><br /><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08aLRsGBweb7.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08aLRsGBblog7.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08aLRsGBweb7.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-28654045977324356092009-08-31T14:30:00.007-04:002009-08-31T15:05:14.044-04:00Next Imaging Target CED214 Emission Nebula<img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ced214-8-30-09ha.jpg"><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This large emmision nebula in the constellation Cepheus (also known as the Calf Nebula) will be my next narrowband imaging target. I'll start the project as soon as the moon goes away around mid September. This one will be a minimum of 18 hours imaging with 6 hours for each narrowband filter (Ha, OIII, SII).<br /><br />I think this one holds a lot of promise with a large amount of nebulosity and structure.<br /><br />The image above is a single shot 240 second Ha exposure.<br /><br />Date(s): 8-30-09<br />Object(s): Emission Nebula in Cepheus<br />Telescope: Megrez 66mm SD Doublet APO, WO 0.8 FR/FF<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Guiding: Lx90 8" SCT, DSI Pro, Phd Guiding<br />Filters: Ha<br />Exposure: 240 sec Ha, Binning 2x2<br />Processing: CCDStack and Photoshop<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, MichiganRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-40439300937912380972009-08-21T12:22:00.002-04:002009-08-21T12:50:15.239-04:00Two New Images With Widefield Scope<img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1396-m31.jpg"><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> Here's a couple of unprocessed test images I took last night with my new 66mm Doublet APO. I was having trouble achieving focus until I put a 20mm extender in the optical chain which finally did the job.<br /><br />What I like about these images is the wider field of view, but most important the stars are nice and round right to the edges of the image. So there's no dreaded vignetting going on. Also because of the short focal length (about F4.7 with the 0.8focal reducer) the ccd exposure times can be shorter. The left image was taken with an Ha filter for 4 minutes and the right image with a red filter for 3 minutes.<br /><br />More images soon . . . .<br /><br />Date(s): 8-20-09<br />Object(s): IC1396 Elephant Trunk Nebula in Cepheus and M31 the Andromeda Galaxy in Andromeda<br />Telescope: Megrez 66mm SD Doublet APO, WO 0.8 FR/FF<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Guiding: Lx90 8" SCT, DSI Pro, Phd Guiding<br />Filters: Ha 6nm, Red<br />Exposure: 240 sec Ha, 180 sec Red, Binning 2x2<br />Processing: CCDStack - Quick DDP<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, MichiganRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-34725884084194441382009-08-20T14:12:00.002-04:002009-08-20T14:17:52.489-04:00US vs THEM (It's a geek thing)<img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/usvsthem.jpg">Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-75335190531797640372009-07-24T15:47:00.001-04:002009-07-24T15:49:30.361-04:00Earth Beside a Terraformed Mars<img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/earthmars.jpg">Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-17631431324480785722009-05-28T13:36:00.004-04:002009-05-28T14:30:11.046-04:00Springtime At Burke Avenue Observatory<img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/observcrabblog.jpg"><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><br />For the past six months, I've been taking a hiatus from imaging. I'll eventually get back into astronomy but I'm trying to decide if I should continue with imaging and image processing or maybe focus on a more 'scientific' area of amatuer astronomy. A couple of areas I've been considering are supernova or comet hunting and possilby exoplanet hunting. All of these endeavors are possible even with the modest equipment I have available.<br /><br />A great article on amatuer supernova hunting 'Searching for Supernovae on a Shoestring' appeared in the July 2009 issue of Sky & Telescope. I have the same ccd imager that the author uses.<br /><br />So I'll continue to ponder for awhile what part of the universe I want to explore. Until then keep looking up.<br /><br />Rick MurrayRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-49540098968274837512008-11-16T16:27:00.000-05:002008-11-16T16:55:24.160-05:00IC1848 Soul Nebula Stero PairBelow are stereo pairs of my recent Soul Nebula image.<br /><br />The first image is the parallel version. Just stare at the middle of the two images and another image should appear in 3D.<br /><br />The second image is the cross version. Just stare at the center of the image while crossing your eyes and another image should appear in 3D.<br /><br />Parallel Vision Image Pair<br /><br /><img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1848stparallelblog.jpg"><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><br />Cross Vision Image Pair<br /><br /><img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1848stcrossblog.jpg"><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><br />These were created using J-P Metsavainio's Stero Pair Action for Photoshop which can be found here: <a href="http://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/">Stero Pair Action</a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-41585037641423323242008-10-20T17:49:00.001-04:002008-10-21T18:18:30.521-04:00NGC1491 Emission Nebula in Perseus<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc1491-10-9-08web2.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc1491-10-9-08blog2.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc1491-10-9-08web2.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This is an emission nebula in the constellation Perseus. The nebulas glow is caused by hot gas plasma that is excited by embedded energetic young stars including the central star, BD+50 886 (mag 11.2) which is responsible for the brightest area with it's own blister nebula and glowing columns of gas.<br /><br />The color palette used for this image was: OIII Red, SII Green, Ha Blue. This gives the image some unusual colors but helps to show how dynamic and active this region really is.<br /><br />Imaging with narrowband is sometimes like looking at an object from an aliens perspecive whose eyes don't perceive colors the way we do but whose vision may in some ways be superior to our own. <br /><br />Date(s): 10-8, and 10-12-08<br />Object: NGC 1491 Emission Nebula in Perseus<br />Telescope: Megrez 80mm APO, WO 0.8 FR/FF<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Guiding: Lx90 8" SCT, DSI Pro, Phd Guiding<br />Filters: Ha 6nm, OIII 15nm, SII 14nm<br />Exposure: 9 hrs total, Ha 10x30 mins, OIII 6x20 mins, SII 6x20 mins, Binning 1x1 <br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2, PixInsight<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, Michigan<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/n1491.html"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-51863049970417569272008-10-07T14:57:00.001-04:002008-10-22T14:51:48.575-04:00IC1848 Soul NebulaAn Angel in the Soul<br /><br /><img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1848-10-4-08angelblog.jpg"><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><br />Full Soul<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1848-10-4-08web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1848-10-4-08blog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1848-10-4-08web.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br />Minimal Stars Soul<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1848-10-4-08starsweb.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1848-10-4-08starsblog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1848-10-4-08starsweb.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This is my second narrowband project which is the Soul Nebula right next door to the Heart Nebula. The weather wasn't as cooperative this time but I did manage to get most of the image exposures I needed. I got a full six hours of Ha but only managed half that for the OIII and SII filters. Still, it turned out pretty well.<br /><br />Be sure to click on the image for a full size view and also at the bottom, the Read More link will take you to a great article in Universe today about this colorful nebula. <br /><br />Date(s): 10-3, and 10-4-08<br />Object: IC1848 Soul Nebula in Cassiopeia<br />Telescope: Megrez 80mm APO, WO 0.8 FR/FF<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Guiding: Lx90 8" SCT, DSI Pro, Phd Guiding<br />Filters: Ha 6nm, OIII 15nm, SII 14nm<br />Exposure: 11 hrs 20 mins Ha 12x30 mins, OIII 10x20 mins, SII 6x20 mins, Binning 1x1 <br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2, PixInsight, Hubble Palette: SII=Red,Ha=Green,OIII=Blue<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, Michigan<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/2008/10/01/reflections-of-the-soul-ic-1848-by-ken-crawford/"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-31565730830481501982008-09-28T00:28:00.004-04:002008-10-02T17:27:05.482-04:00IC1805 Heart Nebula in NarrowbandSecond version with less stars.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1805-9-26-08webcn6.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1805-9-26-08blogcn6.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br />Click on image for 80% size.<br /><br />Zoomed in to image center.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1805-9-26-08closeup2.jpg"><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1805-9-26-08web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1805-9-26-08blog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic1805-9-26-08web.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This was an imaging run that took three nights to complete with 6 hours per filter and 30 minute subs for a total of 18 hours imaging. I've never imaged that long on one object before but I think the effort was worth it. I used the Hubble Palatte with SII as Red, Ha as Green and OIII as blue.<br /><br />Be sure to click on the image for a full size view. <br /><br />Date(s): 9-21, 9-22 and 9-25-08<br />Object: IC1805 Heart Nebula in Cassiopeia<br />Telescope: Megrez 80mm APO, WO 0.8 FR/FF<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Guiding: Lx90 8" SCT, DSI Pro, Phd Guiding<br />Filters: Ha, OIII, SII<br />Exposure: 18 Hours Ha 12x30 mins, OIII 12x30 mins, SII 12x30 mins, All Bin 1x1 <br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, Michigan<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC1805"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-18668674201744283372008-09-04T19:52:00.003-04:002008-09-05T12:49:37.869-04:00CTB-1 Supernova Remnant in Narrowband<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ctb-1-8-31-08web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ctb-1-8-31-08blog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ctb-1-8-31-08web.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This is a supernova remnant sometimes referred to as Abell 85 located near the star Caph in the constellation Cassiopeia. <br /><br />This reminds me of Simeis 147 I made an attempt at imaging a while back which is also an extremely faint remnant: <a href="http://ricksastropics.blogspot.com/2006/10/sh2-240-simeis-147-supernova-remnant.html"> here</a><br /><br />I decided to image this using narrowband (Ha mapped to red, OIII to green, and SII to blue) filters to try to get as much detail as possible during the short amount of time I had.<br /><br />CTB-1 is rarely imaged by amatuer astronomers and currently I could find only two examples on the internet. The second link refers to Dean Rowe's image which he took just recently in HaRGB and was my inspiration to give this challenging object a try:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/ctb1.htm">Image of Bottom Half of CTB-1</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/1,2,3,4,5,8,9,10/Number/2613403/page/1/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1">Dean Rowe's Image</a><br /><br />To me this object looks like a cell wall which has just burst open with its contents flowing out towards the upper left.<br /><br />Coordinates: RA 23:59:13 DEC +62:26:12<br /><br />Be sure to click on the image for a full size view. <br /><br />Date: 8/31/08<br />Object: CTB-1 Supernova Remnant <br />Telescope: Megrez 80mm APO, WO 0.8 FR/FF<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Guiding: Lx90 8" SCT, DSI Pro, Phd Guiding<br />Filters: Ha, OIII, SII<br />Exposure: 200 Minutes Ha 1x10,2x20,3x30 min subs, OIII 1x20 min sub, SII 2x20 min subs <br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, Michigan<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/ultimate.htm"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-29642295890140137372008-08-21T18:10:00.006-04:002008-08-26T11:39:04.940-04:00NGC4565 Edge On Galaxy<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc4565-4-27-08web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc4565-4-27-08blog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc4565-4-27-08web.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc4565-4-27-08web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc4565-4-27-08webcrop.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc4565-4-27-08web.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This is a good specimen of an edge on galaxy located in the Coma Berenices constellation which is not too far from the grandaddy of all galaxy clusters, Abell 1656. The galaxy in the upper left is NGC4562.<br /><br />Although I didn't get quite the resolution I'd hoped for (considering the number of images I took) I think it's a well balanced image overall.<br /><br />Be sure to click on the image for a full size view. <br /><br />Date: 4/27/08<br />Object: NGC4565 Edge On Galazy <br />Telescope: Megrez 80mm APO, WO 0.8 FR/FF<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Guiding: Lx90 8" SCT, DSI Pro, Phd Guiding<br />Filters: IR RGB<br />Exposure: IR 21x5min 1x1 bin, R 10x4min G 10x4min B 13x4min all 2x2 bin<br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2, PixInsight<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, Michigan<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_4565"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-25931981495093950202008-08-08T21:35:00.001-04:002008-08-08T21:50:52.097-04:00M45 The Seven Sisters Open Cluster<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/M45-8-8-08web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/M45-8-8-08blog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/M45-8-8-08web.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This is the Pleiades Open Cluster nicknamed the Seven Sisters which is a reflection nebula that gets its light from the surrounding stars. <br /><br />I had just completed a long imaging session of the Crescent Nebula and decided to just take a test shot of M45 to see how many of the main stars I could fit in my field of view. So I just took one short 5 minute shot using a blue filter and this is the result. It turned out pretty good for just one short exposure and no stacking.<br /><br /><br />Date: 8/8/08<br />Object: M45 Pleiades Open Cluster<br />Telescope: Megrez 80mm APO 0.8 Focal Reducer<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Filters: Blue Filter<br />Exposure: Blue 1 x 5min binning 2 x 2<br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, Michigan<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades_(star_cluster)"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-65286717659186913172008-07-14T19:23:00.001-04:002008-07-14T19:41:11.026-04:00NGC7380 With Star Colors<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc7380-7-5-08Ha-OIII-OIII-web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc7380-7-5-08Ha-OIII-OIII-blog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc7380-7-5-08Ha-OIII-OIII-web.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This is a reprocessed image from 7/5/08 with star color added from RsGB images taken on 7/9/08. For the nebula the Ha and OIII images were mapped to the RGB channels as Ha for red, OIII as green and OIII as blue.<br /><br />To me it's quite an improvement in the image. Look at the old image below.<br /><br />Date: 7/9/08<br />Object: NGC7380<br />Telescope: Megrez 80mm APO with 0.8 Focal Reducer<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Filters: Red and Blue<br />Exposure: Red-25 min (5 min subs), Blue-25 min (5 min subs) bining 2x2<br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, Michigan<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.skyfactory.org/ngc7380/ngc7380.htm"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-66305035960110493002008-07-06T17:28:00.002-04:002008-07-06T18:20:32.568-04:00NGC7380 Open Cluster with Nebula<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc7380-7-5-08ha-sg-o3web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc7380-7-5-08ha-sg-o3blog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ngc7380-7-5-08ha-sg-o3web.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This is open cluster NGC7380 with emission nebula SH2-142 taken from my home observatory. This is a narrowband image taken with an Ha and an OIII filter with Ha as Red, OIII as blue and a synthetic green channel created from the Ha and OIII data using Steve Cannistra's Bicolor Technique.<br /><br />A drawback of narrowband imaging is that you don't get any color information in the stars. So weather permitting, I may take some RGB images just to give the stars back some of their color.<br /><br />Date: 7/5/08<br />Object: NGC7380<br />Telescope: Megrez 80mm APO<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Filters: Ha6nm and OIII14nm<br />Exposure: Ha-100 min (10 min subs), OIII-50 min (10 min subs bin2x2)<br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, Michigan<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.skyfactory.org/ngc7380/ngc7380.htm"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-60441009456920556132008-05-24T20:43:00.002-04:002008-07-01T19:18:39.582-04:00M81-M82 Companion Galaxies LRsGB<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m81m82-lrsgb-webnewstars.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m81m82-lrsgb-finalnewstarsblog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m81m82-lrsgb-webnewstars.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> After about four months off without processing any images (I was taking them, just not processing them) I'm back with an image of M82(on top) and M81 (below).<br /><br />This was taken at my home observatory and is an LRsGB with a synthetic green channel and Ha blended into the red channel. The Ha (hydrogen alpha filter) helped to bring out some of the active star forming regions (the red areas) particularly in M82 which is being severely distorted due to the huge gravitational pull of it's companion galaxy.<br /><br />These two galaxies will eventually merge which is what will also happen to our own Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy.<br /><br /><br />Date: 4/2/08(Images taken on three separate nights concluding on 4/2/08)<br />Object: M81-M82 Companion Galaxies<br />Telescope: Megrez 80mm APO<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Filters: Luminance, Red, Blue, Ha14nm, Ha6nm<br />Exposure: Luminance-115 min (5 min subs), Red and Blue-20 min (4 min subs bin2x2), Ha 6nm 45min total, Ha 14nm 50min total <br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2, Maxim DL <br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, Michigan<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M81"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-3185982709823914252008-01-24T19:05:00.004-05:002008-03-24T14:05:17.829-04:00M104 Sombrero Galaxy LRsGB Image<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08aLRsGBweb7.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08aLRsGBblog7.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08aLRsGBweb7.jpg"><span style="color:#ffff66;">Full Size Image</span></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><br /></span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This is a reprocessed image of M104 taken on 1/20/08. This time I used wavelet filters in a program called Registax and a few other processing tricks to bring out much more detail in the galaxy core and surrounding area. This is the color version which is an LRsGB image (sG = synthetic green).A lot of processsing work but well worth it.<br /><br /><br />Date: 1-20-08<br />Object: M104 Sombrero Galaxy<br />Telescope: RCOS 10" - FL 1510mm @ F/6 (GRAS-15)<br />Mount: Paramount ME<br />Camera: SBIG ST-8XME NABG<br />Filters: Luminance, Red, Blue<br />Exposure: Luminance-20 min (5 min subs), Red-10 min (3.3 min subs)bin2x2, Blue-10 min (3.3 min subs)bin2x2<br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2, PixInsight, Registax<br />Location: Moorook, South Australia<br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Forum Threads Regarding This Image:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/1,2,3,4,5,8,9,10/Number/2177247/page/12/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1">Cloudy Nights</a><br /><a href="http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=28381">IceInSpace</a><br /><a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/MelbMeadeScopes/message/18414">MelbMeadeScopes</a><br /><a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ccd-newastro/message/61378">CCD-NewAstro</a><br /><br /><a><b><u></a></u></b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M104"><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Read More</span></a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-39028760334913609492008-01-20T22:11:00.000-05:002008-01-23T11:36:59.744-05:00M104 Sombrero Galaxy<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08lum-web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08lum-blog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2007 Richard Murray</span><br /><a><b><span style="color:royalblue;"><u></a></u></span></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08lum-web.jpg">Full Size Image</a><br /><br /><img src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m104-1-20-08lum-blog2.jpg"><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> This is a luminance image taken with a robotic telescope in southern Australia. The color image will follow soon. The second image is a crop of the full size image.<br /><br />Each time I image this I get just a little more detail in the galaxy's dark lanes. Be sure and take a look at the full size image.<br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Imaging Details:</u></span></b><br /><br />Date: 1-20-08<br />Object: M104 Sombrero Galaxy<br />Telescope: RCOS 10" - FL 1510mm @ F/6 (GRAS-15)<br />Mount: Paramount ME<br />Camera: SBIG ST-8XME NABG<br />Filter: Luminance<br />Exposure: Luminance-20 min (5 min subs) <br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2, PixInsight<br />Location: Moorook, South AustraliaRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-61044427661887415642008-01-15T18:19:00.000-05:002008-01-15T18:28:29.163-05:00M81 Spiral Galaxy<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m81-1-11-08LRsGBweb.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m81-1-11-08LRsGBblog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2007 Richard Murray</span><br /><br /><a><b><span style="color:royalblue;"><u></a></u></span></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m81-1-11-08LRsGBweb.jpg">Full Size Image</a><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> Ok, here is the color version of the image posted several days ago. This is an LRsGB image with the sG meaning 'synthetic green' as no green filter was actually used during imaging.<br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Imaging Details:</u></span></b><br /><br />Date: 1-11-08<br />Object: M81 Spiral Galaxy<br />Telescope: Takahashi TOA 150 (GRAS3)<br />Mount: Paramount ME<br />Camera: SBIG ST-10 XME ABG<br />Filter: Clear<br />Exposure: Luminance-25 min [5 min subs], Red-9 min (3 min subs), <br /> Blue-9 min. (3 min subs) <br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2, PixInsight<br />Location: GRAS Observatory, Mayhill, NMRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-72891770780352159732008-01-12T19:45:00.000-05:002008-01-12T20:07:45.370-05:00M81 Bode's Spiral Galaxy<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m81-1-11-08web.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m81-1-11-08blog.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2007 Richard Murray</span><br /><br /><a><b><span style="color:royalblue;"><u></a></u></span></b><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/m81-1-11-08web.jpg">Full Size Image</a><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> With Michigan's clouds still not going away I used one of the GRAS robotic telescopes in New Mexico to image this beautiful galaxy which is part of our local group. You can see M81's faint satellite galaxy off to center left.<br /><br />I also took some color images which I'll upload later when processing is done.<br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Imaging Details:</u></span></b><br /><br />Date: 1-11-08<br />Object: M81 Spiral Galaxy<br />Telescope: Takahashi TOA 150 (GRAS3)<br />Mount: Paramount ME<br />Camera: SBIG ST-10 XME ABG<br />Filter: Clear<br />Exposure: 25 min [5 min subs]<br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2, PixInsight<br />Location: GRAS Observatory, Mayhill, NMRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-38864835000347500842007-12-31T17:31:00.000-05:002008-01-06T13:00:00.275-05:00Horsehead and Flame Nebula Narrowband Color<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic434narrowweb2.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic434narrowblog2.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic434narrowweb3.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic434narrowblog3.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2008 Richard Murray</span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> Here's the color version of the image that was taken on Christmas night (see Ha black and white image below). This is lower resolution than I'd like because of the 2x2 binning and the moon being out but the colors did turn out better than I expected.<br /><br />I used Ken Crawford's tutorial on combing Ha, OIII and SII filtered images using levels and cliping masks. <br /><br />Click image for full size.<br /><br />The second image was created using Peter's Photoshop Actions. I just took the top image and used the new action step 'Increase Dynamic Range'. That's all. I think it improved the image quite a bit. Clicking on the two images for full size will show the difference better.<br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Imaging Details:</u></span></b><br /><br />Date: 12-26-07<br />Object: Horsehead Nebula (IC434) and Flame Nebula (NGC2024)<br />Telescope: W.O. 80mm Super APO<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Filter(s): Astronomik Ha 6nm, OIII 14nm, SII 14nm<br />Exposure: Ha 4x10 min subs, OIII 3x10, SII 3x10, Binning 2x2<br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2, PixInsight<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, MichiganRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703799.post-75875744124775240572007-12-27T19:44:00.000-05:002007-12-27T20:36:00.249-05:00Horsehead and Flame Nebula<a href="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic434-12-26-07-2.jpg"><img alt="click here" src="http://www.amarmur.com/rick/ic434-12-26-07.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:10;">©2007 Richard Murray</span><br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Notes:</u></span></b> I started imaging this on Christmas night. Clear nights have been so rare lately I have to go out whenever the skies open up. This was taken on a very bright night with the sixteen day old moon very high in the night sky. Only use of a narrowband filter could result in any kind of useful image so I used an Ha 6nm filter for the above image. <br /><br />I also got some OIII and SII filtered images so in a few days I'll show the color version which should be fairly colorful despite that pesky moon.<br /><br /><b><span style="color:green;"><u>Imaging Details:</u></span></b><br /><br />Date: 12-26-07<br />Object: Horsehead Nebula (IC434) and Flame Nebula (NGC2024)<br />Telescope: W.O. 80mm Super APO<br />Mount: LX90<br />Camera: Atik 16hr<br />Filter(s): Astronomik Ha 6nm<br />Exposure: Ha - 4x10 min subs, Binning 2x2<br />Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CS2<br />Location: Burke Ave. Observatory, Three Rivers, MichiganRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07595345970997227235noreply@blogger.com3