DSO – AstroFotoBlog

Leo triplet

April 25, 2023 JakubK

Galaxy

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Leo triplet is a group of galaxies in the constellation Leo. It contains galaxies NGC 3628 (upper left), Messier 65 (upper right), and Messier 66 (middle down). These galaxies are visible nicely in spring when the constellation Leo rises in the southern part of the sky.

I captured the picture shown here last year, but I haven’t had time to process it so far. It is interesting to compare the progress I made in astrophotography in the last few years. I made the very first picture of this group of galaxies in 2015 and for the first time, I used Pixinsight software for post-processing. The improvement over the freeware Deep Space Stacker was enormous. Similar boost I got recently when I installed BlurXterminator (Pixinsight plugin), which significantly improved the sharpness, but without any unrealistic artifacts.

Telescope	Newton 254/1000 mm
Aperture	254 mm
Focal length	950 mm
Mount	Gemini G53f
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, TS 60/240 mm
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	MaxField coma corrector
Filters	Antlia V-Pro LRGB
Exposure	L26x RGB15x 180s, Gain 100, bin 1×1,
Date	2022-03-05

M63 Sunflower galaxy

March 21, 2023 JakubK

Galaxy

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Antlia V-Pro RGB Canes Venatici DSO Galaxy Gemini gf53 M63 Messier63 Newton 254/1000 Sunflower galaxy Tele Vue Parakorr ZWO ASI 2600MM

Messier 63 is a stunning spiral galaxy located about 37 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. The galaxy gets its name from the striking pattern of dust and gas that resembles the petals of a sunflower surrounding its bright yellow core.

The Sunflower Galaxy was first discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1779 and later added to the Messier catalog by Charles Messier in 1781. With an apparent magnitude of 8.6, it is easily visible with a small telescope or binoculars.

Spring is a great time to observe galaxies like Messier 63 because, during this season, the Earth is oriented in such a way that we are looking out towards the outer regions of our Milky Way galaxy. This means that the sky is darker and clearer, providing ideal conditions for observing distant galaxies.

Telescope	Newton 254/1000 mm
Aperture	254 mm
Focal length	1150 mm
Mount	Gemini G53f
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, TS 60/240 mm
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	Tele Vue Paracorr Type-2
Filters	Antlia Ha, 3 nm, V-Pro RGB
Exposure	4x24x180s, Gain 100, bin 1×1,
Date	2023-03-21

SH 2-240 Spaghetti nebula IC 405 Flaming star nebula

February 16, 2023 JakubK

H II nebula Supernova remnant

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Antlia Dualband High speed filter Auriga DSO Elnath Flaming star nebula HII region iOptron Skyguider Pro Nebula Samyang 135 f2 SH 2-229 SH 2-240 Spaghetti nebula Supernova remnant Taurus ZWO ASI6200MC

The Spaghetti nebula (upper left corner) is a supernova remnant. This means, roughly 40’000 years ago, there was a massive star in the middle of the spherical conglomerate of filaments. The star ended its life in a spectacular explosion and turned into a new form – a pulsar. I knew from the beginning, that I would be chasing the ghost. Cosmic Spaghetti are a very dim nebula and to capture them one needs a wide-angle telescope, fast optics, narrow band filter, and a lot of patience. I didn’t use a telescope, but a lens Samyang 135 mm f 2.0 slowed down to f 2.8, combined with a brand new dual-narrow band Antlia filter, optimized for high-speed optics, and in total, I collected the photons for nearly 10 hours.

The much brighter nebula in the bottom right corner is called Flaming Star Nebula, cataloged under IC 405. Compared to the Spaghetti Nebula, which represents the death of the star, the Flaming Star Nebula represents the vital part of the life of the star AE Aurigae. This star radiates so strongly, that it excites surrounding hydrogen gas. Therefore it is called an emission nebula.

Visually not far away, the comet C/2022 E3 ZTF was passing around Mars, but I was not distracted by that, because I was concentrating to capture as many pictures of the Spaghetti as possible. Besides, I already captured this comet recently.

Telescope	Samyang 135 mm f2.0 @ f2.8
Aperture	48 mm
Focal length	135 mm
Mount	iOptron Skyguider Pro
Autoguiding	ZWO 178MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope 30/130 mm
Camera	ZWO ASI 6200 MC @-10 °C
Filters	Antlia Dualband High speed
Exposure	113x300s, gain 100
Date	2023-02-12

IC1396 Elephant Trunk Nebula

October 5, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

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Cepheus DSO Elephant trunk nebula IC1396 Narrow band Nebula Rainbow Astro RST135 Sharpstar 94EDPH ZWO ASI 2600MM

Elephant Trunk Nebula is my favorite nebula in the constellation Cepheus. I photographed it many times using many different telescopes. The focal length was either too short or too long. Now I tried a focal length of 414 mm and an APS-C sensor, to frame it. I photographed this nebula for two nights, the total integration time is nearly 11 hours.

And here are the stars processed out:

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	129x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-10-05

NGC 6888 Crescent nebula

September 6, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

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Antlia 3 nm Crescent nebula Cygnus DSO HII region HOO Narrow band Nebula NGC 6888 NGC6888 Rainbow Astro RST135 Sharpstar 94EDPH SHO ZWO ASI 2600MM

The Crescent nebula is an HII region in the constellation Cygnus. I photographed this deep-space object before with a relatively long focal length. The Crescent nebula is not the only nebula in the constellation Cygnus. In fact, this constellation is overpopulated with either emission or planetary nebulae. This is the reason why I picked a shorter focal length than before (wider field of view), positioned the Crescent nebula in the corner of the CMOS chip, and let the photos be collected for 3 subsequent nights. In total, I exposed 153 photos, each 5 minutes long. This means nearly 13 hours of integration time, which makes it one of the longest total exposure I spent on a single deep-space image.

Hubble palette image (SHO):

Bi-color image (HOO):

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	153x300s, Gain 100, bin 1×1,
Date	2022-09-06

NGC7000 North America Nebula

August 26, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

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Cygnus DSO Emission nebula HII region Nebula NGC7000 North America Nebula Rainbow Astro RST135 Sharpstar 94EDPH ZWO ASI 2600MM

I am back from a very intensive trip to Namibia. The report is still pending because I post-processed the data the whole summer. Please stay tuned. Anyway, a few days in August was nice weather, so I took the SharpStar 94 EPDH telescope and pointed into the constellation Cygnus. There are many deep-space objects in this constellation because it is on the galactic plane. Probably the brightest and the most spectacular is North Americal Nebula, sometimes called the Cygnus wall. Since I live in a light-polluted area, I used narrow-band filters to create this image, which is a combination of Hydrogen-alpha (Ha) in the green channel, oxygen III (OIII) in the blue channel, and sulfur II (SII) in the red channel.

And here is a simplified bi-color variant (red – Ha, green OIII, blue OIII):

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	96x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-08-26

M16 Eagle nebula

July 3, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

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DSO Eagle nebula Gemini gf53 HII region M16 Messier16 Nebula Newton 254/1000 Pillars of Creation Serpens TS MaxField coma corrector ZWO ASI 2600MM

I am back home from Namibia, so I took the opportunity of a cloudless, moonless night to take my big Newtonian for a spin. The most prominent summer deep space object is obviously the Eagle nebula, so I pointed the telescope in the constellation Serpens and photographed this DSO whole night long. In total, I captured 64 images, each 5 minutes long.

Here is the “fake” Hubble color palette (SII, Ha, OIII):

And here is bi-color version (Ha, OIII, OIII):

Telescope	Newton 254/1000 mm
Aperture	254 mm
Focal length	950 mm
Mount	Gemini G53f
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, TS 60/240 mm
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	MaxField coma corrector
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	64x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-07-03

NGC 6188 Rim Nebula

June 1, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

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Ara DSO iOptron Skyguider Pro Kiripotib Namibia Nebula NGC6188 Rainbow Astro RST135 Rim Nebula Sharpstar 94EDPH The Fighting Dragons of Ara William Optics RedCat 51 ZWO ASI 2600MM ZWO ASI071MC Pro

NGC 6188 is sometimes called The Fighting Dragons of Ara. As a fan of Game of Thrones or Hobit, I simply had to capture this beauty. Two dragons are clearly visible in the middle. Their heads are illuminated by the open cluster NGC 6193. I knew that this nebula is dim, so I dedicated a lot of time to it. Specifically, I stacked 86 narrow band pictures, each 5 minutes long.

Update 9.2.2023. I am happy to announce that this photo won Czech astrophotography of the month. I submitted several pictures already and finally, I managed. I am very happy.

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	86x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-05-30

And here is a photo of the same object, just with a shorter focal length.

Telescope	William Optics RedCat 51/250 f4.9
Aperture	51 mm
Focal length	250 mm
Mount	iOptron Skyguider Pro
Autoguiding	ZWO 178MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope 30/130 mm
Camera	ZWO ASI071 MC Pro @-10 °C
Filters	Antlia Dual Band 5 nm
Exposure	72x300s, ISO 1600
Date	2022-06-01

NGC 6357 Lobster Nebula NGC 6334 Cat’s Paw Nebula

June 1, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

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Cat's Paw nebula DSO HII region Kiripotib Lobster nebula Namibia Nebula NGC 6357 NGC6334 Rainbow Astro RST135 Scorpius Sharpstar 94EDPH ZWO ASI 2600MM

Both Lobster and Cat’s Pas nebulae are located in the constellation Scorpius, both are approximately 5’500 light-years from us. I tried to photograph the Lobster Nebula before, but it wasn’t an easy target due to very low southern declination. From the southern hemisphere, it is much easier. So I took the opportunity when I was in Namibia and tried to capture both nebulae in one shot.

The composition of this picture was not correctly selected, but in the end, both are in the field of view. Here is the picture processed in the “fake” Hubble palette:

And here is the bi-color version (R-Ha, G-OIII, B-OIII)

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	62x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-06-01

Vela Supernova Remnant

June 1, 2022 JakubK

Supernova remnant

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DSO iOptron Skyguider Pro Nebula NGC 2736 Pencil Nebula Supernova remnant Vela Vela Supernova Remnant William Optics RedCat 51 ZWO ASI071MC Pro

Supernova Remnant in the southern constellation Vela is the closest remnant to Earth. It is “only” 800 light years away from us and it has a diameter of 100 light years. This is the reason why this deep space object didn’t fit in the field of view of my portable 250 mm focal length RedCat.

The initial plan was to make a panorama of two pictures, but the pictures are not perfectly aligned. At least I have one more reason to come back to Namibia ,’-)

Telescope	William Optics RedCat 51/250 f4.9
Aperture	51 mm
Focal length	250 mm
Mount	iOptron Skyguider Pro
Autoguiding	ZWO 178MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope 30/130 mm
Camera	ZWO ASI071 MC Pro @-10 °C
Filters	Antlia Dual Band 5 nm
Exposure	36x300s, gain 95
Date	2022-06-01

IC 2602 Southern Pleiades

June 1, 2022 JakubK

Open cluster

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Cluster DSO IC2602 Kiripotib Namibia Open cluster Rainbow Astro RST135 Sharpstar 94EDPH Southern Pleiades ZWO ASI 2600MM

Southern Pleiades, just like the northern Pleiades is an open cluster, located in the constellation Carina. Unlike the northern sibling, this cluster is not associated with nebulosity. However, some dark nebulae can be found around. This is because the cluster is located just a few degrees from the galactical equator.

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia LRGB
Exposure	43x180s RGB, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-06-01

IC 4628 Prawn Nebula

May 31, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

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DSO HII region IC4628 Kiripotib Namibia Nebula Prawn Nebula Rainbow Astro RST135 Scorpius Sharpstar 94EDPH ZWO ASI 2600MM

IC 4628, also called Prawn Nebula is an HII region in the constellation Scorpius. Due to very low southern declination, it is poorly visible even from southern Europe. The southern hemisphere is obviously a better place to observe/photograph this deep-space object for example in Namibia, where this beautiful nebula rises very high in the sky. The open cluster on the left side is called the Northern Juwel box cluster.

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	39x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-05-31

NGC 5139 Omega Centauri

May 30, 2022 JakubK

Globular cluster

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Centaurus Cluster DSO Globular cluster NGC5139 Omega Centauri Rainbow Astro RST135 Sharpstar 94EDPH ZWO ASI 2600MM

NGC 5139 Omega Centauri is the biggest globular cluster in Milky Way. Even though this cluster is approximately 17 thousand light-years away from Earth, it can be seen even by unaided eyes. This is because it contains roughly 10 million stars. I managed to see this cluster in a very dark place in Namibia and I must say, it’s brighter than any other object in the sky.

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia LRGB
Exposure	38x180s L, 12x180s RGB, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-05-30

IC 2944 Running Chicken Nebula

May 29, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

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Centaurus DSO HII region IC 2944 IC 2944 Running Chicken Nebula IC2944 Kiripotib Namibia Nebula Rainbow Astro RST135 Running Chicken Nebula Sharpstar 94EDPH ZWO ASI 2600MM

IC 2944 Running Chicken Nebula is an H II region located in the constellation Centaurus. It’s a galactic neighbor of the Carina Nebula because they both belong to the Sagittarius spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. I must admit that this was my secondary nebula target for my trip to Namibia. Therefore, I didn’t dedicate much time – only 3 hours. However, the details popped out, so overall, I am happy with this “fake” Hubble palette picture.

And here is an even more “fake” picture, where the stars are completely removed. However, the nebulosity gained a 3D-like look.

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	36x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-05-29

NGC 6752 Globular Cluster

May 29, 2022 JakubK

Galaxy Globular cluster

1 Comment

DSO Globular cluster Kiripotib Namibia NGC 6752 NGC6752 Pavo Rainbow Astro RST135 Sharpstar 94EDPH ZWO ASI 2600MM

NCG 6752 is a globular cluster located in the constellation Pavo. It contains approximately 100’000 stars and it is 13’000 light-years from Earth. Like most recently captured deep space objects, this cluster is visible only from the southern hemisphere.

My intention was to capture the cluster with the galaxies surrounding it, but since this part of the sky is full of stars, the galaxies are almost hidden.

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia LRGB
Exposure	36x180s L, 10x180s RGB, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-05-29

M83 Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

May 28, 2022 JakubK

Galaxy

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DSO Galaxy Kiripotib M83 Meade Messier83 MK 100 Namibia Southern Pinwheel galaxy TS 0.67 reducer ZWO ASI071MC Pro

Messier 83, sometimes called Southern Pinwheel Galaxy is one of the most difficult deep space objects in the whole of Messier’s catalog. It is located between the constellations Hydra and Centaurus. This galaxy has a very low southern declination (close to the horizon) and this makes it difficult to photograph in Central Europe. I tried a few years ago in La Palma, but my attempt was ruined by clouds and bad weather in general. This time I was better prepared: traveled south and hired a telescope with a much longer focal length. However, after the acquisition in the post-processing stage, I noticed that the final image is not that sharp and it was not really publishable. I was quite disappointed and put the picture in the archive. Recently I came back to this image because a new tool for sharpening was released – BlurXTerminator. I must say, this plugin for Pixinsight makes magical things. It reduces the stars and simultaneously makes the non-stellar object significantly sharper. I managed to turn an unfocused picture into this:

Telescope	Meade 10″
Aperture	254 mm
Focal length	2097 mm
Mount	MK 100K
Autoguiding	MGEN 240 mm
Camera	ZWO 071 @-10°C
Corrector	TS 0.67 reducer
Filters	non
Exposure	52x180s, Gain 95, bin 1×1,
Date	2022-05-28

NGC 3372 Eta Carina Nebula

May 28, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

2 Comments

Carina Carina nebula DSO Eta Carinae Great Carina Nebula Kiripotib Namibia Narrow band Nebula NGC 3372 NGC3372 Rainbow Astro RST135 Sharpstar 94EDPH ZWO ASI 2600MM

Eta Carina Nebula is the southern hemisphere’s most prominent deep space object. In fact, this nebula is the reason why I packed all my portable astro-gear and flew to Namibia. Carina is approximately 4x brighter than the Orion nebula, which could be considered a highlight of the northern hemisphere. Moreover, it’s much larger. The nebula is a combination of emission and dark nebulae, located in the constellation Carina and it’s roughly 8500 light-years away from us.

It was a struggle to get the rig working in Namibia, but after two nights I managed and the next day, when I processed the pictures, a big smile appeared on my face. Well done, mission accomplished.

During our stay at Kiripotib Namibia, the other guest rented a 14.5-inch Dobsonian telescope and allowed us to have a look at the Carina (thank you so much, Peter). It was a simply spectacular view. Such a huge aperture combined with TeleVue eyepieces – WOW effect was there. Moreover, the Dobsonian had a filter wheel with OIII, UHC, and H-beta filters. Just by turning it, one could see a completely different nebulosity. I was really happy to see this beautiful deep space object with my own eyes.

Here is the processed picture in the Hubble color palette.

And here is bi-color version (R-Ha, G-OIII, B-OIII)

Telescope	Sharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture	94 mm
Focal length	414 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	F4.4 Quad Reducer
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	87x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-05-27

NGC 5128 Centaurus A Galaxy

May 27, 2022 JakubK

Galaxy

3 Comments

Centaurus Centaurus A Centaurus A Galaxy DSO Galaxy Kiripotib Meade 10"Namibia NGC 5128 NGC5128 TS reducer 0.67 ZWO ASI071MC Pro

NGC 5128 Centaurus A is a galaxy, which can be found in cancellation, you can guess which one, Centarus. This galaxy is not visible from Europe or from the northern hemisphere. If anyone wants to observe or photograph it, he has to go south. And this is precisely what I did. I went to Namibia, specifically to an Astrofarm Kiripotib. I went there with a plan and this Galaxy was my first and primary target. As for most galaxies, one needs a long focal length. Therefore, I rented a telescope there. Specifically, it was Meade 10″. I brought my own focal reducer TS 0.67 and attached my old ASI071. I made in a total of 133 pictures, each 3 minutes long, and stacked them together. This means nearly 7 hours of exposure time. The dust cloud blocking the light from the galaxy really popped out with the little help of deconvolution.

Telescope	Meade 10"
Aperture	254 mm
Focal length	2097 mm
Mount	MK 100K
Autoguiding	MGEN 240 mm
Camera	ZWO 071 @-10°C
Corrector	TS 0.67 reducer
Filters	non
Exposure	133x180s, Gain 95, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-05-27

NGC2264 Cone nebula

March 10, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

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Cone nebula DSO Emission nebula HII region MaxField coma corrector Monoceros Narrow band Nebula Newton 150/600 NGC2264 Rainbow Astro RST135 ZWO ASI 2600MM

The Cone Nebula is a molecular cloud of excited hydrogen gas, located in the constellation Monoceros. It belongs to the group of nebulae, which can be observed/photographed during the winter in the northern hemisphere. I tried to capture this object a long time ago without success. I must say, it’s a very difficult one, so I attempted this time with new equipment. Specifically new extra, super, mega narrowband filters, having a bandwidth of only 3 nm. Combined with a small 6″ Newtonian telescope I was able to generate a pretty decent picture.

Here is a fake Hubble palette edit:

And here is a more natural-looking bi-color edit:

Telescope	Newton 150/600 mm
Aperture	150 mm
Focal length	570 mm
Mount	Rainbow Astro RST 135
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	MaxField coma corrector
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	142x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-03-09

NGC2174 Monkey Head Nebula

March 7, 2022 JakubK

H II nebula

2 Comments

DSO Gemini gf53 HII region Monkey Head Nebula Narrow band Nebula Newton 254/1000 NGC2174 Orion ZWO ASI 2600MM

Another nebula, which resembles a head of an animal is designated NGC 2174, sometimes called Monkey Head Nebula. After capturing the Horse Head Nebula in the constellation Orion, I waited for a few days for good weather and pointed my telescope again into the Orion, this time to its northern part. Monkey Head Nebula is an HII region, which is approximately 6400 light-years away from Earth. To find a monkey is not that difficult. There is a baboon’s head on the upper left side, which is looking into the constellation Taurus.

The best way to capture this nebula is by using narrowband filters. For this purpose, I ordered a new monochrome camera ZWO 2600MM with a 2″ filter wheel. The filters are equally important as a camera, so I decided on Antlia 3 nm. As a first light, I must say that this combination works really well. I made in total 90 exposures, 5 minutes each, which means over 7 hours of integration time.

Telescope	Newton 254/1000 mm
Aperture	254 mm
Focal length	950 mm
Mount	Gemini G53f
Autoguiding	ZWO 174MM, TS 60/240 mm
Camera	ZWO 2600MM @-10°C
Corrector	MaxField coma corrector
Filters	Antlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure	90x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date	2022-03-06

AstroFotoBlog

Tag: DSO

Leo triplet

M63 Sunflower galaxy

SH 2-240 Spaghetti nebula IC 405 Flaming star nebula

IC1396 Elephant Trunk Nebula

NGC 6888 Crescent nebula

NGC7000 North America Nebula

M16 Eagle nebula

NGC 6188 Rim Nebula

NGC 6357 Lobster Nebula NGC 6334 Cat’s Paw Nebula

Vela Supernova Remnant

IC 2602 Southern Pleiades

IC 4628 Prawn Nebula

NGC 5139 Omega Centauri

IC 2944 Running Chicken Nebula

NGC 6752 Globular Cluster

M83 Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

NGC 3372 Eta Carina Nebula

NGC 5128 Centaurus A Galaxy

NGC2264 Cone nebula

NGC2174 Monkey Head Nebula

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