During the last full moon I decided to try to shoot Double Cluster in Perseus. I last shot this in 2018 so this image represents a little over two years worth of learning this hobby. I ended up with a slight light-leak gradient in the resulting data set, so took another hour of data last night before the moon came up and used it as a background reference using a multiscale gradient removal technique documented here.
8in f4.9 Newtonian Cooled Color Camera Bortle 4 skies 2hr 36min
The constellation Cepheus is home to many exciting dark and emission nebula. In this direction of the fall night sky we find ourselves looking perpendicular into the spiraling arm of the Milky Way galaxy where our sun resides. This is a photo of a bright star forming region designated Ced-214 (also known as NGC 7822.) Here one can see all of the hydrogen gases in red amongst dense rivers of molecular clouds.
Amongst the large dark shell of dust, a small reflection nebula can be found in the lower right corner (designation GN 23.56.1)
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This image is a broadband image taken with a cooled color camera and 8in telescope this summer. It’s color has been enhanced slightly using narrowband Hydrogen and Oxygen data that was taken with my 135mm camera lens earlier this summer, pronouncing the bright pink and blue tones.
8in f4.9 Newtonian Cooled Color Camera Bortle 4 skies 24x4min
This photo was taken this past new moon in October 2020, and comprises of four hours worth of exposures. The cocoon nebula is the red emissions nebula and contains a small star cluster that’s forming in the middle. Surrounding the nebula is a dense molecular cloud of dust some of which reflects the blue glowing light of a bright nearby star.
8in f4.9 Newtonian Cooled Color Camera Bortle 4 skies 60x4min
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In this crop one can get a closer look at the emission nebula, the young star cluster that has formed within as well as the blue reflection nebula to the left.
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Messier 109 is a Barred Spiral Galaxy that can be spotted next to Phecda, the sixth brightest star in Ursa Major. It’s most notable feature is the long bar going through it’s core that resembles Darth Vader’s Tie Advance star fighter from Star Wars. Nearby in this image are many other more distant galaxies and a few that are satellite galaxies in the M109 Group.
Phecda (outside of frame) is glowing quite brightly from the upper left corner but there can be seen diffraction spikes that just happened to be lined up in such a way that make this image also resemble the Bat Signal or some form of galactic spotlight. :)
