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The Pearl Cluster from Sydney

The Pearl Cluster (NGC 3766, Caldwell 97), in Centaurus, from my backyard, 15 km North from Sydney’s city center, on 4th June 2020.

This image compiles 30 x 180s images (1.5 hours total integration time) obtained with my Skywatcher Black Diamond 80, an Orion X0.8 focal reducer (f/6), the ZWO ASI178MC camera and an OPTOLONG L-Pro filter.

I used the ZWO ASIAir to control the camera, the mount (Skywatcher AZ-EQ6) and the guiding system (ASI120MM + Orion 50mm finderscope).

Flats and darks included. Data processed with Siril software. Color / saturation / levels / contrast / smart sharpen with Photoshop.

Full resolution image in my Flickr.

Credit: Ángel R. López-Sánchez (AAO-MQ).

The Trifid Nebula from Sydney

The Trifid Nebula, M 20, from my backyard, 15 km North from Sydney’s city center, on 15th June 2020.

This image compiles 40 x 300s images (3.3 hours total integration time) obtained with my Skywatcher Black Diamond 80, an Orion X0.8 focal reducer (f/6), the ZWO ASI178MC camera and an OPTOLONG L-Pro filter.

I used the ZWO ASIAir to control the camera, the mount (Skywatcher AZ-EQ6) and the guiding system (ASI120MM + Orion 50mm finderscope).

Flats and darks included. Data processed with Siril software. Color / saturation / levels / contrast / smart sharpen with Photoshop.

Full resolution image in my Flickr.

Credit: Ángel R. López-Sánchez (AAO-MQ).

2 Comments

Posted on June 17, 2020 in Amateur, Astrophotography, Emission Nebula, Nebulae, Observation

Tagged 2020, astronomy, astrophotography, Nebula, Trifid Nebula

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Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) over Sydney

Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN), Sydney, May the 4th, 2020, 5:15am

Image combining 10 x 2min exposures using an Optolong L-Pro filter, Skywatcher BD80, focal reducer Orion x0.8, ZWO ASI178MC. Mount Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 Pro mount, camera ZWO ASI120MM for guiding and ASIair for controlling everything.

Individual frames dark subtracted with Siril software, then I did the alignment on the comet manually in Photoshop (that is why stars are moved and blurry, as stacked with median), where I also played with the color/brightness/contrast.

The top image is the resulting color image, the bottom image is the greyscale image increasing the contrast to increase the visibility of the tail and the faintest features.

Full resolution image in my Flickr.

A Twitter thread compiling some extra information about the imaging process in here.

Credit: Ángel R. López-Sánchez (AAO-MQ).

2 Comments

Posted on May 4, 2020 in Amateur, Astrophotography, Comets

Tagged 2020, astronomy, astrophotography, Comet

Image

The Heart of the Carina Nebula in H-alpha

The center of the Carina Nebula, with the bright star Eta Carinae and the Keyhole feature, in H-alpha.

Data taken from the backyard at home, ~15 km from Sydney’s city centre, on Monday 19th and Tuesday 21st April 2020.

Equipment: Skywatcher Black Diamond 80 (F=600mm, f/7.5), Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 (mount), ZWO ASI178MC (main camera), ZWO ASI120MM + Orion 50mm guidescope (guiding), 2″ Baader ultra-narrow (3.5 nm) H-alpha filter, and ASIair controlling everything (using my son’s iPad).

This image combines 35 x 600s light frames, and 30 x 600s dark frames. Aligned and stacked with SiriL, stretching, colour contrast, saturation, levels, and luminosity with Photoshop.

Full resolution image in my Flickr.

Credit: Ángel R. López-Sánchez (AAO-MQ).

M42 from Sydney

Image of M 42 (The Orion Nebula) from my backyard, 15 km North from Sydney’s city center, on 10th Mar 2020.

Equipment: Skywatcher Black Diamond 80 (F=600mm, f/7.5), Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 (mount), ZWO ASI178MC (main camera), ZWO ASI120MM + Orion 50mm guidescope (guiding), 2″ UHD Optolong filter, and ASIair controlling everythin (using my son’s iPad).

This image combines 60 x 20s light frames, and 21 x 20s dark frames. Aligned and stacked with SiriL, stretching, colour contrast, saturation, levels, and luminosity with Photoshop.

Full resolution image in my Flickr.

Credit: Ángel R. López-Sánchez (AAO-MQ).