INTERSTELLAR
CLOUDS
Andromeda Galaxy First Attempt
By Seeta Persaud | October 22, 2021
I captured my first successful image of the Andromeda Galaxy from my Bortle 6 backyard sky on October 19 (likely the last warmish night we’ll have for a few months) under a very full moon in the eastern sky.
Andromeda is the largest spiral galaxy closest to ours. At 2.5 million light years, it’s the most distant thing humans can see with the unaided eye. Andromeda is about 10 billion years old compared to our Milky Way which is about 13 billion years old. Andromeda and the Milky Way will collide in about 4 billion years. 😉
This image reflects a total integration time of 60 minutes with 24 frames of 2.5 minute subexposures and 12 dark calibration frames using a cooled camera and Optolong L-Pro filter. Gain was set at 100. Photos stacked in Deep Sky Stacker and processed in Photoshop.
I’m very happy with this first attempt considering my previous woes with fine-tuning manual focusing. It took considerable time to finally get the focus right, but the end result was worth it. Patience is not my forte, but this hobby humbles you into accepting the importance of taking small steps steadily and focusing on the journey — not rushing your way to the end-result or destination.
I’m looking forward to more imaging of Andromeda this fall/early winter with more integration time and longer sub-exposures under a moonless sky.
My fall/winter targets will be Andromeda, Orion and Horsehead Nebula.
“The cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us—there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, or falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.”
– Carl Sagan
Monochrome LRGB and Narrowband (SHO)
Last year I had the chance to enter the world of monochrome imaging with LRGB for broadband targets and SHO (Sulfur II, Hydrogen-alpha, and Oxygen III) filters for narrowband targets. I also finally dove right into the world of Pixinsight in order to process my astro-images.
Galaxy Season 2023
Integration time of 52 minutes comprised of 2 min subexposures with calibration frames. Data captured on 4/13/2022. Second attempt, this time with an autofocuser and processed in Pixinsight.
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
The last time comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) approached the Earth was 50,000 years ago – back then, the Neanderthals were still walking our planet. Unfortunately, the comet was very difficult to spot in binoculars in light-polluted skies. I was able to view the comet with the Skywatcher 80ED and a cooled ASI 533MC camera.
Eye of God, Orion, Horsehead, Pleiades
Between the end of October 2022 and mid-January 2023, I captured six winter targets that have eluded me due to cloudy skies and other winter weather since 2021: the Eye of God or Helix nebula, the Orion nebula, Horsehead nebula, the Pleiades star cluster, Triangulum galaxy, and Stephan’s Quintet.
M16 Eagle Nebula – Pillars of Creation
I finally captured a successful image of the Eagle Nebula from my Bortle 6 backyard. This image reflects a total integration time of 54 minutes with 3 minute subexposures, dark frames, flat frames and dark flat frames. Gain was set at 100. Photos stacked in Deep Sky Stacker and processed in Photoshop.
Eagle Nebula First Attempt
While I am excited by my first capture of the Eagle Nebula and the very visible Pillars of Creation, the image is soft-focused and needs far more focusing fine tuning. I am currently still focusing manually.
Bodes and Cigar Galaxies
First attempt at Bodes and Cigar galaxies during the Spring while configuring the telescope. Total integration time of 40 minutes with 2 min subexposures and calibration frames.
Welcome
My love of astronomy began over 25 years ago when the first images from the Hubble Space Telescope were released. I’ll never forget the first time I saw Pillars of Creation. It still haunts and captivates the imagination. I bought my first telescope 6 years ago, learned the night sky, and began dabbling in wide-angle and planetary DSLR astrophotography only last year.
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