Category Archives: Galaxies

The Comet From Last Night – Feb 18, 2023, 1:09 – 2:30 UT

C/2022 E3 (ZTF on Feb 18, 2023, 01:09 to 03:36 UT. 12×300 sec plus 40×120 sec, QHY294C-Pro at -10C, Unity gain, Offset 30, UV/IR filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.
C/2022 E3 (ZTF on Feb 18, 2023, 01:09 to 02:30 UT. 40×120 sec, QHY294C-Pro at -10C, Unity gain, Offset 30, UV/IR filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.
C/2022 E3 Comet-Only after stacking in IRIS.

Another comet image to add to my collection.  This is perhaps the last image from me of C/2022 E3 ZTF for perhaps the next 2 weeks.   Weather forecast is nothing but clouds next 10 days or more.    By that time, the moon will getting full and the comet is rapidly shrinking in size and fading in brightness.   It will still be around, just not as photogenic as it is now.

Also on this night, I tried out a new filter – the Antlia Triband RGB Ultra Filter.  Boy, that’s a weird one, let me tell you.  Blue as blue can get.  lol.   But, a stack from SharpCap color balances out in IRIS when setting the blackpoint, so I don’t know?  SharpCap refuses to color balance it and leaves it too blue, however.     lol    So, I just stack and then process first in IRIS for initial color.

This object(s) below was the second or third test subject.  Perfect, since this is in strong LP on the north to northwest side.  If it can block that, great!  And it seems to have blocked it:

M81 and M82 galaxies. 42 x 3 minutes, QHY294C-Pro at -10C, unity gain, offset 60, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6. New filter test: Antlia Triband RGB Ultra Filter.

Yes, it has funky colors, but they’re mostly there, instead of that dull pasty look from duo-band filters.  I don’t know?  I’ll have to do more testing.

Thor’s Helmet was the first object I used it on.  I shot it with a UV/IR then with the Antlia Triband with roughly the same framing.   This is just the subs-images using the Antlia.  It is about 33 minutes of combined exposure:

Thor’s Helmet. 11 x 180 sec, QHY294C-Pro at -10C, Antlia Triband filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.

Finally, after experimenting with Thor’s Helmet, I went to one of the tougher targets – the Virgo Cluster.  Its always either not enough exposure or the wrong colors with duo-band and UHC filters for this cluster.  But, does this filter have the blue and enough other colors to give it what it needs?   Well, here it is:

Virgo Cluster 29 x 5 minutes, QHY294C-Pro at -10C, Antlia Triband RGB Ultra filter, unity gain, offset 60, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.

First Light – New QHY294C-Pro Camera

With a very nice comet in the sky, I decided it was time to break down and get the camera I’ve wanted since the advent of the CMOS cooled-camera revolution.  It’s the QHY294C-Pro, an 11MP camera with low noise, 14bit output and a larger chip than the QHY183c.

I immediately noticed how much less noise it has than the old CMOS camera and how sensitive it is.   I should have got this one in the beginning.

A quick test was done on the Orion Nebula region for 30 minutes of exposure.   It came out better than some of my hours long attempts with the old camera or my DSLR.  Plus, the nearly full moon was out and produced a very harsh gradient and strong vignetting.   The flat I used was for a different orientation of the camera, so it did not fully remove the vignetting, but it got all the dust motes that were on my UV/IR filter and sensor cover.   (I should have blew off the dust on both before starting out, I guess.  lol)

I cropped the image above down a bit.   Here’s another version with different color balance and it is the full field, uncropped original:

First light image – The Orion Nebula and Running Man Nebula. 60×30 sec, Unity Gain (1600,) Offset 60, QHY294C-Pro, UV/IR filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6 (480 mm.)

BTW, no dark calibration in the above image.   It was a straight raw stack.   I covered the scope after the above test and shot darks in prep for what I was really after.

This was my main target, Comet C/2023 E3 ZTF.   It was highest in the sky at 8:30 PM local time and I started imaging it right before that.   I spent several hours on it, but this image is just the first 1.5 hours of that time.

BTW, my friends at Televue Optics, Inc., liked the above comet image enough to use it on their blog.  The post is about comet imagers using Televue equipment for their shots.  It is linked here: Televue Optics Blog – Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Imagers

Here’s another version with a less red background color from the moon’s interference:

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) on Feb 4th, 2023, 2:30-4:00 UT. 107 x 60 sec at unity gain, offset 60, QHY294C-Pro, UV/IR filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.

A nearly full moon was out and in the same quadrant of the sky as the comet.  Moonlight this bright is tough to deal with and creates some very harsh gradients.   Luckily I took some flats the next morning and was able to use them to help minimize that issue.

NGC 4565 Edge-On Galaxy. 222 x 60 sec at unity gain, offset 60, QHY294C-Pro at -10C, UV/IR filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.
M83 Southern Pinwheel Galaxy. 95 x 60 sec at unity gain, offset 60, QHY294C-Pro at -10C, UV/IR filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.

Last but not least, were two galaxies I imaged to test the resolution and sensitivity of the new camera.  The image scale lacks for galaxies, but the color and low noise were outstanding.

Remember, all of these were taken on a bright moonlit night a day or so before full moon.   I would say the first light test was a major success!

M31 Lens Test – TPO (Askar) 180mm F/4.5 Astrograph

M31 – 10×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 30, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR filter, TPO 40mm, F/4.5.

Only 30 minutes of exposure for this test image of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with  a TPO 180mm F/4.5 Ultrawide Astrophotography Lens.   Askar is the OEM and the lens is a small APO triplet with 40mm objective that has 2 elements of FPL-53 glass and includes a triplet reducer/flattener, making it a sextuplet full-frame astrograph.    The spot diagram for this lens shows that it doesn’t quite produce perfectly round star images, however, even at the center.  But, some of that is correctable during post-processing and the lens produces a pretty flat image regardless.

I also did 70×3 min subs for the Veil Complex that I took before the M31 set.  That turned out like this:

Veil Complex. 70 x 180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 100, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR filter, Askar 40mm, F/4.5.

Here is a lighter version:

Veil Complex, lighter version. 70 x 180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 100, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR filter, Askar 40mm, F/4.5.

Imaging Session – Oct 19/20, 2022

The middle of a work week and I go and pull an all-nighter imaging session.   Weather was too good to pass up  the chance.   I must be insane or obsessed – or both.   lol

It was worth it.  I got some good data and was able generate these 3 images so far. They’re still in the preliminary stages, though.  Each were essentially saved as seen from SharpCap v4’s LiveStack module.   I just did some basic adjustments in PS to make them pretty but are not the final product.  I’ve been so busy with work and also recuperating from a bout of some kind of a stomach bug that I haven’t had time to devote to make final renditions.

I got 3 hrs for M31 and about an hour each for the Orion and Horse Head Nebulae.    I used 5 minute sub-images for most of this session.  I little too long for my mount’s sometimes iffy guiding, perhaps, but mostly correctable in final post-processing, which I will eventually get to.

Update:  Finished the Orion Nebula / Running Man post-processing job and also work on the very first image taken during this session, the Eagle Nebula.  I actually got the Eagle going first and then put it on the back burner, since I did not have very much time on it.

Eagle Nebula (Pillars of Creation.)  11×240 sec, Gain 11, Offset 100, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR filter, Astro-Teech AT60ED at F/4.8.
Orion and Running Man Nebulae – 12×300 sec, Gain 11, Offset 17, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR Filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.

Update 10/31/22: Finished the Horse Head and Andromeda Galaxy post-processing:

Horse Head Nebula on Oct 20, 2022. 10 x 5 min, Gain 10, Offset 0, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
Andromeda Galaxy on Oct 20, 2022. 36 x 5 min, Gain 11, Offset 17, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.

NGC 300 Galaxy in Sculptor

NGC 300 on Dec 23, 2021, 01:30 UT. 21×60 sec, Gain 20, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8

Another galaxy with short exposure time.  This one was only 22 degrees above the southern horizon at the Bortle 4 site south of Perry, LA.   I had to boost the saturation quite a bit to get it this colorful, since the sub count was low.  But, at least it was buried in there and not all zapped out like when I have to remove lots of LP.

NGC 253 Sculptor Galaxy in 9 Minutes!

NGC 253. 3×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
NGC 253. 3×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UV/IR filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8. Full field.

It surprised me how well this came out with only 3 sub-images.  I was at the observing site south of Perry, LA where it is a Bortle 4/4.5 zone, which helped quite a bit.   It was the first time I have used my QHY183c astro camera with just a clear UV/IR filter, which showed me how sensitive and noise-free this camera really is.

Imaging Session on Nov 13/14, 2021

The Moon on Nov 13, 2021. QHY183c, AT60ED at F/4.8.
The Pleiades. 35×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
The Andromeda Galaxy. 50×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Star Streaks Version. 40×180 sec (comet, 20×180 sec background), Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Star Freeze Version. 40×180 sec (comet, 20×180 sec background), Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
C/2021-A1 (Leonard). 24×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
C/2021-A1 (Leonard). 24×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8. Star Freeze version.

Great weather and very transparent skies for this session.  I started out with the goal of getting two comets, but since they didn’t get into position until later, I started off with the Moon, then M45 and M31.  I also shot Pickering’s Triangle, part of the Veil Nebula complex, but didn’t get enough subs to do it any justice.

The comets were small, but interesting with long tails instead of being just puff balls.    67P has a really long tail in images taken by others.  I was glad to get as much as I got shooting from the middle of town with all the LP.

NGC 4244 Edge-On Galaxy in Canes Venatici

NGC 4244 on Jan 17, 2021. 61 x 180 sec, QHY183c at -20C, Gain 11 (Unity,) Offset 100, Baader UHC-S filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.

3hrs of exposure for this nice edge-on galaxy.  It got cloudy towards the end of the run and there was a serious guiding error on the full 61×180 sec stack.  But, I managed to salvage the stack by copying the background and galaxy and pasting that in as a lightened blend on top of a 47×180 sec saved stack for the stars that did not have a guiding error.   Lucky I saved it before it got ruined.

Here is a closer crop with a saturation boost:

NGC 4244 on Jan 17, 2021. 61 x 180 sec, QHY183c at -20C, Gain 11 (Unity,) Offset 100, Baader UHC-S filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6. Close crop.

Black Eye Galaxy M64

M64 Galaxy – 25×180 sec @ Gain 11, Offset 100, QHY183c at -20C, Baader UHC-S filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6.

Another Black Eye galaxy shot to add to my collection.  Not quite the guiding I was getting earlier in the evening, but it is not too bad, either.  Minimal processing done to this one.