Tag: Monoceros

IC 2177 Seagull Nebula

October 4, 2024
H II nebula
0 Comment

The Seagull Nebula, designated IC 2177, is a large emission nebula located on the border between the constellations Monoceros and Canis Major, about 3,650 light-years from Earth. Shaped somewhat like a bird in flight, this nebula spans approximately 100 light-years across and consists of a combination of glowing gas and dark dust clouds. The vibrant colors are produced as young, hot stars energize surrounding hydrogen gas, causing it to emit a reddish glow. IC 2177 is part of a larger complex of nebulae and star-forming regions, making it an active area for the birth of new stars and a popular subject for both amateur and professional astrophotographers.

TelescopeSkywatcher Esprit 100ED
Aperture100 mm
Focal length550 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST135
AutoguidingZWO 178MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO ASI2600MM @0°C
CorrectorSkywatcher flattener
FiltersAntlia Ha OIII SII
Exposure106x300s, Gain 100, bin 1×1,
Date2024-10-04

NGC2264 Cone nebula

March 10, 2022
H II nebula
0 Comment

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:

TelescopeNewton 150/600 mm
Aperture150 mm
Focal length570 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorMaxField coma corrector
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure142x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-03-09

IC2177 Seagull Nebula

January 23, 2022
H II nebula
0 Comment

I am not a huge fan of birding, but I captured this “Seagull” with pleasure. Initially, I noticed on my wide-angle photo, that there is a giant nebula north of Sirius. I checked in Stellarium what would be the optimal focal length and found out that this is a perfect target for William Optics RedCat combined with an APS-C sensor. Moreover, I was able to fit the M50 open cluster into the field of view (on the left side).

TelescopeWilliam Optics RedCat 51/250 f4.9
Aperture51 mm
Focal length250 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 178MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope 30/130 mm
CameraZWO 071 Pro @-10°C
Correctorno
FiltersOptolong L-eXtreme 2"
Exposure85x180s, gain 95
Date2022-01-23

NGC2237 Rosette Nebula

January 12, 2022
H II nebula
0 Comment

A second deep space object, on which I tested the combination of Canon 6Da with WO RedCat was the NGC 2237 Rosette Nebula (a short description can be found in my previous post). The field of view of this telescope, combined with a full-frame sensor of 6Da is huge. The Rosette on the left can be simultaneously captured with the Cone Nebula NGC 2264 (on the left). I simply love this scope and I cannot wait to test it under the dark sky in broadband.

TelescopeWilliam Optics RedCat 51/250 f4.9
Aperture51 mm
Focal length250 mm
MountiOptron SkyGuider Pro
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, TS 60/240 mm
CameraCanon EOS 6Da
Correctorno
FiltersOptolong L-eXtreme 2"
Exposure42x180s, Iso 1600
Date2022-01-12

NGC 2237 Rosette Nebula

January 12, 2022
H II nebula
0 Comment

I couldn’t imagine a better final object for the winter season. Rosette Nebula is my favorite H II region in the constellation Monoceros. At the same time, I used this deep-space object to test my portable Newtonian telescope with my new monochromatic camera ZWO ASI 2600MM. Well compared to the previous setup, this camera has much smaller pixels, which increases the requirements for the optics, specifically for the coma corrector. I am not happy with the star shape and for my planned trip to Namibia, I will try to find a portable refractor.

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

And here more realistic bi-color variant (Ha, OIII, OIII)

TelescopeNewton 150/600 mm
Aperture150 mm
Focal length570 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorMaxField coma corrector
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure94x300s, Gain 100, bin 1×1,
Date2022-01-12

M48 Open Cluster

March 18, 2020
Open cluster
0 Comment

Telescope is out after long time. My main targets for this night are some galaxies in constellation Leo, but I have to wait for these galaxies to cross the meridian (line splitting west and east). By browsing in planetarium software I found one object, which can fill the gap – it was the open cluster M48. Open cluster usually don’t need super dark skies, therefore I can capture them during the evening, when there is still strong light pollution. My previous picture was taken by much longer focal length, therefore the cluster covered nearly whole field of view. This time the background if filled by many stars, which are not members of this cluster.

Technical details:

TelescopeNewton 150/600 mm
Aperture150 mm
Focal length630 mm
MountAvalon M-Zero
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, Guidescope 30 mm
CameraZWO 071 Pro @-10°C
CorrectorExplore Scientific HR
FiltersAstronomik L-1 - UV IR Block Filter
Exposure76x180s, Gain 94, bin 1x1,
Date2020-03-18

NGC 2237 Rosette Nebula

March 30, 2019
H II nebula
1 Comment

Rosette Nebula is a giant cloud of hydrogen gas. The gas is ionized by the star cluster located in the middle and therefore emits the light. Circular shape and the color correspond to the name – the rose. The cluster in the middle can be observed even by using small telescope, but the nebulosity is very dim, therefore in order to see it, one would need perfectly dark sky and very large telescope with low magnification. It’s definitely easier to photograph the nebulosity. My previous photo was done through the narrow band filters, which suppress the light pollution and increases the contrast of the picture. Now I tried it with normal one shot color camera and I must conclude that it went quite well.

Technical details:

TelescopeNewton 150/600 mm
Aperture150 mm
Focal length630 mm
MountAvalon M-Zero
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, Guidescope 30 mm
CameraZWO 071 Pro @-10°C
CorrectorExplore Scientific HR
FiltersAstronomik L-1 - UV IR Block Filter
Exposure16x300s, Gain 94, bin 1x1,
Date2019-03-30