Tag: nebula

Astrophotography on La Palma – Messier 78

/ Carsten / Leave a comment
Messier 78 - 2016/12/05

Last night I took my first astro picture with my own equipment from La Palma. My object of desire was reflection nebula Messier 78 in the constellation Orion.

After quite some unsuccessful attempts in the past days and nights (because of some technical problems, strong wind and clouds) this was a very big moment for me, and I am proud to show my first result here 🙂

Date2016/12/05
LocationLa Palma / Spain
ObjectMessier 78 (reflection nebula)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, QHY5-II Mono via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance9x, 600s, bin: 1x1
Red10x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Green10x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Blue10x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Dark2x
Flat10x
Total exposure~1h55m

The image is also available in full resolution here. I decided to put this image into my “Top Astro-Pics Gallery”.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 16, 2022 at 13:25 pm

Imaging the Cocoon Nebula (IC5146)

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Cocoon Nebula (IC5146) - 2015/07/21

Tonight I imaged the Cocoon Nebula (IC5146) – a reflection / emission nebula in constellation Cygnus. The cluster is about 4,000 ly away. The seeing was great and the guiding with PHD worked perfectly well. I was a fantastic summer night.

For stacking I used DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 with Kappa-Sigma Clipping. The picture is also available in full resolution here.

Date2015/07/21
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectIC5146 (Cocoon Nebula)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, QHY5-II Mono via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance8x, 600s, bin: 1x1
Red11x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Green11x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Blue11x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Dark10x
Flat10x
Total exposure~2h42min.
Cocoon Nebula (IC5146) - 2015/07/21

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 16, 2022 at 23:20 pm

NGC6914 – The dark monster of Cygnus

/ Carsten / Leave a comment
Emission nebula NGC6941 - 2015/07/15

Behind the unspectacular name NGC6914 a nice emission nebula in constellation Cygnus is hiding. To me the nebula looks a little like a dark monster with two deep blue eyes in the center of the picture 😀

The picture is also available in full resolution here.

Date2015/07/15
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectNGC6914 (Emission Nebula)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, QHY5-II Mono via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance7x, 600s, bin: 1x1
Red5x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Green5x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Blue5x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Dark10x
Flat10x
Total exposure~1h50min.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 16, 2022 at 23:19 pm

Astrophotography Oberstdorf – Imaging the Witch’s Broom Nebula

/ Carsten / Leave a comment
small.DSCF4851-2

This article is about Astrophotography in Oberstdorf. Last year I put all my equipment into the car and drove to Lake Garda. Unfortunately, in contrast to the forecast I had lots of clouds and no chance to take a good astro-picture. Last weekend I decided to give it another try and took all my equipment to Oberstdorf – a small village at the foot of the German Alps. Beside hiking I think this place is well suited for astrophotography.

I found a good place not far from the center of Oberstdorf, with free view to Polaris and almost no traffic:

GPS coordinates: 47°24’17.5″N 10°17’28.9″E

Important update: The described location can only be reached by car when driving into a “no entry” road. Of course you do this on your own risk.

(Oh, and btw. a good Italian restaurant is also not too far: Ai Quattro Canti…)

Continue reading →

Astrohotography of Sh2-88 without H-alpha filter from Böblingen / Germany

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Sh2-88 Nebula

The evening of 24th June 2015 was a warm and nice summer evening. All the clouds vanished and the forecast predicted a clear night 🙂 Since I didn’t image a nebula for quite some time I decided to image one this night. Recently I came across Sh2-88 which is an HII emission nebula in constellation Vulpecula. So this should have been the target for tonight!

I saw some great pictures of Sh2-88 before which have been taken using an H-alpha filter. Since I am not yet having an H-alpha filter I just decided to give it a try without H-alpha. Of course the nebula structures don’t come out as good as when using a such a filter. But I am still satisfied for a picture with just 5 IR frames. The seeing with my f/5 GSO Newton (F=1000mm) was around 2.1″ – so quite good for this region.

Date2015/06/24
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectSh2-88 (Emission nebula)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, QHY5-II Mono via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance5x, 600s, bin: 1x1
Red5x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Green5x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Blue5x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Dark3x
Flat10x
Total exposure~1h27min.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 17, 2022 at 6:58 am