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The Fireworks Galaxy 15 viewsNGC6946 is named the Fireworks Galaxy because of the number of supernova it has produced in the last 100 years - namely 10. One every ten years might not sound a lot but actually that is exceptional. It is classed as a starburst galaxy so it is perhaps not surprising it produces so many supernova. David R.Dec 03, 2019
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Andromeda galaxy39 viewsAnother attempt without a filter as Andromeda was near the zenith. Taken with a 102 mm F7 refractor which left it a bit tight in the frame. Bill CNov 24, 2019
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The Blinking Nebula, NGC 682631 viewsThe distinctive green colour makes this nebula ideal for viewing with the rods in our eyes. As these predominate away from the centre of our vision then the nebula appears brighter with averted vision. This is of course why it seems to blink - look direct and it goes fainter, look away and it gets brighter. David R.Nov 17, 2019
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Transit of Mercury24 viewsLucky break in the cloudsNov 11, 2019
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NGC 6946 Fireworks galaxy28 viewsTaking a lead from Gerald & David I imaged this galaxy without a filter and as David pointed out at last week's meeting, yellow hasn't been suppressed. Less than half the size of our galaxy, it still produces 10 times more supernova. Hence the 'Firework' name. I discarded the 21 x 10 minute subs in order to retain the colour.
Bill CNov 08, 2019
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Caldwell 9. Cave nebula25 viewsCaldwell 9 in Patrick Moor's catalogue is an emission nebula 2400 LY distant in Cepheus, imaged with a canon 200D & pier mounted 8" reflector on a EQ6 Pro mount. Guided with the Gerald made off axis guider. 2 1/4 hours Ha filter and 5 hours UHC. Bill CNov 04, 2019
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Spiral Galaxy, NGC 524827 viewsThe constellation of Bootes is not noted for deep sky objects but there is one object worth searching out, the spiral galaxy NGC5248. It is brightish at mag 10.3 and relatively large (7 x 5 arc-minutes). It is generally classed as a Sc but more recently as a SABbc type. David R.Nov 03, 2019
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The Ghost of Jupiter49 viewsThe name Ghost of Jupiter was coined by the noted British observer, Admiral Smyth, in the 19th century and the name has stuck. It is similar in size and shape to Jupiter itself but has a ghostly glow. Nevertheless it is one of brighter planetary nebula at 8th mag and if you can see the Ring Nebula (M57) you should have no trouble with this one. David R.Oct 11, 2019
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55 viewsNGC 457 Imaged on 2nd Oct 2019 30 frames X 300 sec; useing a 98mm Williams Optic Apo and 40D Canon Camera,Oct 07, 2019
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M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy58 viewsFrom a field in Blackrod.
Modified Canon 60D at -14°C with an Astronomik CLS EOS clip through a Canon 100-400mm lens, on a Skywatcher Star Adventurer. Stack of 40 exposures, 30 seconds each.Oct 03, 2019
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NGC 869 (Double Clustster)82 viewsOpen cluster located in the constellation of Perseus.Sep 22, 2019
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Silver Needle Galaxy69 viewsNGC 4244 is one of the thinnest of galaxies with no central bulge. It is incredibly needle-like with a length of nearly one third of a degree yet with a width of less than 2 arc-minutes. It has a falling rotational curve so must have little dark matter. David RSep 22, 2019
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Sun 11519a75 viewsTaken on the 11th of May 2019.GBSep 11, 2019
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The Coma Galaxy Cluster75 viewsThe Coma Cluster (Abell 1656) is the largest in the local area with around 10,000 members. The central galaxy is NGC4889, which is the galaxy left of centre. This image covers just the central part of this huge cluster but over 100 galaxies are visible here - 109 I make it. David R.Sep 08, 2019
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Sun 1151976 viewsTaken on the 11th of May 2019. GBSep 04, 2019
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Spindle Galaxy, NGC 311589 viewsThis Spindle Galaxy (there are others), is a bright SO galaxy, i.e. a disc galaxy without significant spiral structure or dust lanes, located in the faint constellation of Sextans. It is seen almost exactly edge-on and is composed of mainly of old stars. David R.Aug 25, 2019
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M 109 NGC 399287 viewsM109 is a barred spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. Approx 84 Ly distant. Nearly 5 hours exposure with a UHC clip filter.
Usual set up. Pier mounted EQ6 Pro & 8" reflector scope guided with the essential off axis guider made by Gerald.
Bill CAug 21, 2019
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IC 5146 Cocoon nebula131 viewsCocoon nebula IC 5146 also Caldwell 19 lies in Cygnus at approx. 2500 LY distance and spanning 15 LY.
EOS 200D modded using 6nm Ha & UHC clip filters. Processed in Iris and Photoshop (Ha exposure amended 9th Aug)
BillCAug 08, 2019
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Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 4236132 viewsThis mostly blue barred spiral is not displayed at its best as it is almost exactly edge-on to our line of sight. Located in Draco it is part of the M81 group of galaxies. This group iwould have long ago dispersed if it wasn't for the presence on dark matter holding the cluster together. NGC 4236 is thought to be around 14.5 million light years away. David R.Aug 05, 2019
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The Cat's Eye Nebula141 viewsDiscovered by William Herschel on 15th Feb 1786 and was the first planetary nebula whose spectrum was investigated by the English amateur astronomer William Huggins. He showed it was gaseous and nothing to do with planets at all. It is an emitter of hard X-rays which is an ongoing puzzle that has still to be resolved. David R.Jul 21, 2019
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NGC 2403137 viewsThis spiral galaxy is an outlying member of the M81 group. Approx 50,000 LY in diameter & 8 MLY distant.
EQ5 mount off axis guided. A UHC clip filter used in a Canon EOS 1100D camera. BillC Jul 17, 2019
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Hubble's Variable Nebula127 viewsThe nebula not only varies but does so at the speed of light. How could that happen? The nebula emanates from the variable star R Mon and is illuminated by it. Dense clouds of dust orbit R Mon periodically blocking the illumination. This casts shadows onto the nebula and shadows have no problem in moving at the speed of light. David R.Jul 07, 2019
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Noctilucent Clouds137 views21.06.19 Looking North
11.06.19Jun 22, 2019
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Noctilucent Clouds131 views21.06.19 11.15pm
Mobile PhoneJun 22, 2019
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NGC 7822130 viewsThis is a star forming complex in Cepheus lying 2900 LY distant and spanning 75 LY.
five & half hours exposure with a UHC filter and four & half hours Ha
Bill CJun 18, 2019
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OU The Planets122 viewsFree planets publication to coincide with the 2019 BBC tv seriesJun 17, 2019
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OU The Planets118 viewsFree planets publication to coincide with the 2019 BBC tv seriesJun 17, 2019
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Below the Cone134 viewsBelow the famous Cone nebula is what looks like a small comet but it is in fact Hubble’s Variable Nebula. This nebula varies in brightness and was a puzzle for many years. Also visible is the very red and very old cluster Trumpler 5 (top right). David R.
Jun 12, 2019
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Caldwell 31/IC 405140 viewsFlaming Star Nebula is an emission/reflection nebula in Auriga spanning 5 LY at a distance of 1500 LY
Processed in Iris and Photoshop Bill CJun 03, 2019
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Messier 78 & NGC 2071155 viewsThese two largely reflection nebulae but with a bit of hydrogen alpha thrown in for good measure are located in eastern Orion and very close to Barnard's Loop. They both belong to the Orion B molecular cloud complex – a star forming region about 1,350 light-years distant from Earth. David R.May 25, 2019
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Hairy Sun147 viewsSome huge prominences this weekendMay 13, 2019
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Bodes galaxy134 viewsA near neighbour at 12 million LY. Bodes galaxy is estimated to be 90'000 LY diameter. 3 hours exposure using a UHC clip filter. Bill CMay 10, 2019
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Monkey Head nebula132 viewsNGC 2174 Monkey head nebula. An emission nebula in Orion. 6.5 Ly distant. Cloudy sky prevented longer exposures.
Bill C May 07, 2019
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AR2740 is busy143 viewsAt a rough guess, those sunspots are about 30,000km across. The diameter of the Earth is 12,742km.May 06, 2019
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How low can you go? 139 viewsTau Canis Major Cluster is a fabulous open cluster but really needs to be seen from further south than Britain. At an elevation of just 10 degrees I was pushing my luck. I had had a try in 2010 and decided it was time to try again. It is the lowest Caldwell object I have imaged. David R.May 06, 2019
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138 viewsNGC 3718 & NGC 3729 are part of the Ursa Major group of galaxies lying 52 million LY distant and above them is the Hickson 56 group of 5 galaxies 400 million LY away. 4.5 hours exposure over 2 evenings with a UHC filter.
Bill CMay 04, 2019
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A Galaxy points the Way137 viewsThe tiny planetary nebula Abell 4 is Located close to the open cluster M34 and a background galaxy (PGC 2201333) seemingly points towards it. Abell 4 is listed as mag 16.7 and its central star at 19.4 but in imaging terms it does not appear to be that faint. David R.Apr 24, 2019
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157 viewsNGC6888 Crescent nebula. An emission nebula in Cygnus about 5000 Ly distant. 7 3/4 hours in total with Ha (D1100) and UHC (D200) filters. Processed in Iris and Photoshop BillCApr 20, 2019
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Crescent Moon153 viewsA waxing crescent taken whilst waiting for the moon to set so I could get on with other imaging. Registered and stacked in Iris and slight sharpening in Photoshop. Bill CApr 14, 2019
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Polar Ring Galaxy157 viewsNGC 660 is located around 45 million light-years away and is one of a rare class of “polar ring" galaxies, i.e. it has a belt of gas and stars around its centre probably emanating from a collision with another galaxy about 1 billion years ago. The pair of galaxies at the bottom have a common redshift so are probably an associated pair at around 700 million light years. DR.Mar 31, 2019
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M51168 viewsM51 also catalogued as NGC 5194 is in Canes Venatici and is merging with NGC 5195. Four & half hours exposure with a UHC clip filter. Off axis guided on a EQ6 pro mount
Bill CMar 23, 2019
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Sun20319163 viewsSun taken 20th of March 2019 35x2000th sec, there was a lot of high cloud.GBMar 20, 2019
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Leo Triplet168 viewsThe Leo Triplet includes NGC 3628, Hamburger galaxy. About 35 mly distant. The light reaching my camera started out soon after the demise of the dinosaurs.
Just over four hours exposure using a UHC clip filter on a EOS 200D camera on a skywatcher 200p reflector.
Bill CMar 15, 2019
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Palomar 1 & Palomar 2169 viewsTwo very different globular clusters. Pal 1 has a very young age - around 4-6 billion years – and is much dispersed with extended tails. Pal 2 is a remote cluster and we view it through the plane of the Milky Way so is heavily reddened. It actually does look like a globular so must be relatively large given its huge distance. David R.Mar 10, 2019
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Kemble's Cascade 168 viewsKemble's Cascade in Camelopardalis near Cassiopeia,Taken on the 26th of February and no filter GB Mar 07, 2019
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Sun27219165 viewsTaken on the 27th of February 2019 GBMar 03, 2019
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Comet Iwamoto182 viewsA rarity these days – a comet discovered by a human being! Its closest approach to Earth on 12th Feb but I caught it 13 days later by which time it was fading. Still there is the suspicion of a tail on the comet's left (east) side. If you missed it this time it will return in 3390 AD. David R.Mar 03, 2019
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Comet 2018 y1 (Iwamoto)185 viewsComet among the clusters.GBMar 02, 2019
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M101 Pinwheel galaxy183 viewsA trillion stars occupy M101. 31 mly distant in Ursa Major. 5 and a half hours exposure with a UHC clip filter in a modded EOS 200D. EQ6 Pro mount on a fixed pier. Bill CMar 02, 2019
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Sun 22219196 viewsTaken on the 22nd of February 2019.GBFeb 22, 2019
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