Western Veil nebula

Sometimes called the witches broom, this nebula is on the opposite side of the previous post the eastern Veil.
It is made from 72 minutes of data and for the first time I have mixed two separate days  and 6 minute and 4 minute exposures.
As usual with nebula images I have used my modified 40d and ED 80 scope guided with an ST80 scope with ZWO camera and PHD2 guiding software.

The Eastern Veil Nebula NGC 6992/95

The Eastern Veil Nebula is part of the Cygnus Loop. The loop is a remnant of a Supernova which exploded between 3000 and 6000 years BC. Its estimated to be 1470 light years away and was discovered in 1784 by William Herschel.
Using my Skywatcher ED80 I managed to get only 11 x 240 second (44 minutes) exposures due to some inconsiderate clouds so I'm really pleased with the detail in the nebula. I wonder what this object would look like with over 2 hours worth of data?  There is only one way to find out!!

Mars take two

The previous post was a bit disappointing. Mars is currently only about 15 degrees above the horizon so the image is "wobbling" a lot due I think to the thick warm atmosphere. This image was taken a couple of hours later so the sky was darker and the atmosphere a little cooler. I used Registax to stak 65% of 2000 frames exposed at 0.0512 seconds each (about 20 fps) with my 105mm etx scope and my zwoasi120mc camera.

Mars at Perigee

Poor seeing conditions for this one. Mars through some thin cloud means a loss of detail but I'm pleased with the result. Taken using my old Meade 105 Etx pe and a ZWOasi120mc camera shooting a 1200 frame AVI shows how good this camera is. I only wish I had and 8" scope.

M92 Globular Cluster in Hercules

Situated in the constellation of Hercules, it is one of the oldest cluster and is often overlooked due to its more spectacular neighbour M13. Its 26,700 light years away and is positioned close to M13 high above the disc of our galaxy. Its diameter is 218 light years and is packed with 330,000 stars.

M13 revisited

M13 Globular Cluster in the constellation of Hercules taken early this morning. One of the 152 known clusters in our galaxy. A ball of 300,000 stars some 22,200 light years away 145 light years in diameter.
Stacking 5 minute exposures @ ISO1600 
If you can see the tiny galaxy just left and down from centre that's NGC 6207 which is 200 times more distant at 46 million light years away.
I have had some positive feedback (from twitter) on the white drop shadow frame and I like the way it can be used to add a title. A lot of time and effort goes into an astrophoto so I think it deserves a frame and a title.

Mare Crisium, Sea of Crisis

Stacked in Registax from an AVI shot with my Meade Etx on an HEQ5 pro mount using a ZWO120ASI120MC camera. A x2 barlow lens was used to achieve the magnification.

I can imagine the amazing view that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had all those years ago when I was 10 years old.

Messier 53 (NGC 5024) Globular Cluster

This cluster of over 500,000 stars is one of the more distant clusters known.
Imagine our galaxy as a flat disc and we are about a third of the way out from the centre.
M53 lies some 58,708 light years above (or to the north) of us and way above this disc.
Discovered in 1775 by Johann Elert Bode, its some 220 light years across and is about 12.67 million years old.
There are 158 know clusters in the milky way at present (I'm sure there are many more to be discovered that are currently hidden by are own galaxy) and at first glance they appear a bit boring, but when you look at them closely they are all different and are quite beautiful.

This image is made from 13 x 180 second exposures @ ISO 1600, stacked in Deepskystacker with 35 each of Darks, Lights and Bias frames.

White Mill Sturminster Marshall

This old 14th century water mill was used to grind corn and animal feed.
It was rebuilt n 1776 and is now owned by the national trust.
This image was taken at sunset but unfortunately the sky stayed dull so I will try again another day.

M82 Bodes galaxy & M81 The cigar galaxy

Both of these superb galaxies are nearly 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.

Messier 81 on the left (also known as Bode's Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy first discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774. Its 90,000 light years across and contains more than 250 billion stars.

Messier 82 on the right (also known as the cigar galaxy) is a starburst galaxy.
From our point of view the smaller cigar galaxy is almost side on. Its 38,000 light years across and contains more than 30 billion stars.

Our galaxy The Milky Way is 120,000 light years across and contains around 400 billion stars (one of which is the Sun).

Both galaxies cannot be seen with the naked eye as they are just too faint.
I think its such a shame that these wonders cannot be seen by just gazing at the sky.

Image details include 45 light frames @240 seconds (3 hours) plus 36 dark frames, 34 flat frames and 34 Bias frames. Camera was Canon 40d astromodified and scope was a field flattened skywatcher Evostar ED80 pro. Guided with a Skywatcher ST80 fitted with a ZWOASI120MC camera, software was PHD guiding. Stacked in Deepsky stacker and finished in Photoshop CC.