Tag: Rainbow Astro RST135

Sun 2023-03-18

The sun is not shining on my terrace the whole winter. There is a small hill in the south direction, which blocks the sunshine. The situation gets better during the spring. The first rays show up in April when the sun gets higher in the sky. This weekend I managed to capture a few of them.

Quick description of the processing: Image acquisition in FireCapture. In total 4000 frames were recorded. Selection of 12% best pictures and stacking was done in AutoStalkert. The histogram of the picture was modified into an A-curve in ImPPG. The color was added in Pixinsight and the final adjustment in Adobe Lightroom.

TelescopeLunt 60mm
Aperture60 mm
Focal length420 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
CameraZWO ASI 178MM
FiltersDouble stack
Exposure4000x25ms, Gain 0, bin 1×1, 12% selected
Date2023-03-18

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

This comet is all over the internet right now. Even mainstream media are reporting about the “Neandertal” comet with the poetic name C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which visited us last time 50’000 years ago. I was somehow losing hope to see or take a picture of this comet because the weather was constantly cloudy since October. However, on Sunday 30.1.2023 the sky cleared and I had a time window till 2 o’clock when the clouds rolled in. Unfortunately, the whole event was partially ruined by the Moon in the first quarter, so the best conditions occurred after midnight when the Moon was setting. Anyway, if you want to know why it has such a name, which resembles the password of the wifi at a hotel lobby? In fact, the comet’s naming follows the conventions. The letter C stands for a non-periodic comet, 2022 is the year of discovery, E refers to the month of discovery (first half of March), number 3 means a third comet discovered in this part of the month and ZTF stands for who or what discovered the comet. This specific comet was discovered by Zwicky Transient Facility. And why the nucleus of the comet glows green? Because most of the comets contain dicarbone (C2) molecules, which break apart by solar radiation, and during this process, the energy in form of light is released at carbon specific wavelength of 518 nm, which is a green visible light.

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 178MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 6200MC @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
Filtersno
Exposure51x120s, Gain 100, bin 1×1,
Date2023-01-30

And here is an animation, which goes back and forth. For half of the animation (forward movement) I used 38 frames, each 2 minutes long, which means 76 minutes in total. This gives you an idea of how quickly the comet moves with respect to the background.


Solar eclipse

October 2022 offered several spectacular astronomical events in the Solar system. Recently I captured the transit of the moon Io across Jupiter and on the 25th a partial solar eclipse occurred. I was ready, the forecast was optimistic, but the clouds were still blocking the sun. Fortunately, a small gap between the clouds occurred and the sun for visible for a short moment. I didn’t hesitate a bit and focused my solar telescope, adjusted the tilter, and the pressure tuner. As soon as the picture acquisition started, the clouds rolled in again. In total, I managed to store only 876 pictures, so I selected 35% best ones and stacked them together.

Later on, the clouds cleared completely, so I got the opportunity to capture the sun properly.

TelescopeLunt 60mm
Aperture60 mm
Focal length420 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
CameraZWO ASI 178MM
FiltersDouble stack
Exposure4000x17ms, Gain 36, bin 1x1, 33% selected
Date2022-10-25

IC1396 Elephant Trunk Nebula

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:

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure129x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-10-05

NGC 6888 Crescent nebula

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):

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure153x300s, Gain 100, bin 1×1,
Date2022-09-06

NGC7000 North America Nebula

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):

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure96x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-08-26

Sun transit of ISS 2022-08-21

On 21st of August 2022 was a special day. Around noon the international space station made the transit across the Sun. I was ready and managed to capture it. The transit itself took only 0.4 seconds and the frame rate of my camera was only 20 FPS, so I captured only 8 frames. In total, I captured 2000 frames, out of which I selected the best 75% and stacked them together. The ISS was added from the transit frames as separated layers.

And here is just the stack without ISS:

TelescopeLunt 60mm
Aperture60 mm
Focal length420 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
CameraZWO ASI 178MM
FiltersDouble stack
Exposure2000x3.5ms, Gain 149, bin 1x1, 75% selected
Date2022-08-21

NGC 6188 Rim Nebula

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.

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure86x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-05-30

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

TelescopeWilliam Optics RedCat 51/250 f4.9
Aperture51 mm
Focal length250 mm
MountiOptron Skyguider Pro
AutoguidingZWO 178MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope 30/130 mm
CameraZWO ASI071 MC Pro @-10 °C
FiltersAntlia Dual Band 5 nm
Exposure72x300s, ISO 1600
Date2022-06-01

NGC 6357 Lobster Nebula NGC 6334 Cat’s Paw Nebula

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)

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure62x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-06-01

IC 2602 Southern Pleiades

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.

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia LRGB
Exposure43x180s RGB, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-06-01

NGC 2060 Tarantula Nebula

Our galaxy Milky Way is surrounded by two dwarf galaxies. Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). SMC I captured recently by the relatively short focal length of 250 mm. LMC is much larger, so it wouldn’t fit into the field of view of my 94 mm refractor. However, LMC is full of very interesting objects, just like the Tarantula Nebula. I used the HaLRGB technique to make the nebulosity pop.

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia HaLRGB
Exposure16x180s HaL, 10x180s RGB, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-05-31

IC 4628 Prawn Nebula

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.

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure39x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-05-31

NGC 5139 Omega Centauri

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.

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia LRGB
Exposure38x180s L, 12x180s RGB, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-05-30

IC 2944 Running Chicken Nebula

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.

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure36x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-05-29

NGC 6752 Globular Cluster

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.

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia LRGB
Exposure36x180s L, 10x180s RGB, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-05-29

NGC 3372 Eta Carina Nebula

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)

TelescopeSharpstar 94EDPH
Aperture94 mm
Focal length414 mm
MountRainbow Astro RST 135
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope
CameraZWO 2600MM @-10°C
CorrectorF4.4 Quad Reducer
FiltersAntlia Ha, OIII, SII 3 nm
Exposure87x300s, Gain 100, bin 1x1,
Date2022-05-27

NGC2264 Cone nebula

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

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

NGC1499 California Nebula

California Nebula is a cloud of ionized hydrogen gas (HII region), which can be found in the constellation Perseus. The nebula is 1320 light-years away from Earth and it is 100 light-years long. Visual observation is very difficult, due to very low brightness. The first person who spotted this nebula was Edward Emerson Barnard in 1885. Since it is an emission nebula, it can be relatively easily photographed even under the light-polluted sky, with help of a narrowband filter.

I always wanted to capture this nebula, but the focal length must be relatively short. This is a perfect opportunity to test the William Optics RedCat. This time not with Canon EOS 6Da, but I attached a cooled astro camera ZWO ASI071 and placed the Optolong L-eXtreme dual-band filter.

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"
Exposure105x180s, gain 95
Date2022-01-23

NGC 2237 Rosette Nebula

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