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9-hours total exposure with Planewave CDK12.5 at f/5, Astrodon filters, and ST11000 CCD.

NGC1512 by Martin Pugh with a CDK17.

NGC1398 by Martin Pugh with a CDK17.

NGC1055 by Martin Pugh with a CDK17.

NGC289 by Martin Pugh with a CDK17.

NGC 1977 by Martin Pugh with a CDK17.

M104 by Martin Pugh with a CDK17.

Gem Cluster by Martin Pugh with a CDK17.

NGC 7023 with a CDK500 by Jeff Lovelace.

Comet NEOWISE with a CDK600 by Kurious George

NGC 225 with a CDK350 by Kevin Morefield.

PK 136+05 with a CDK500 by Jeff Lovelace

M101 with a CDK600 by Kurious George.

Here is a view of an emission nebula in the constellation Centaurus known as the Running Chicken Nebula. The bright glowing red is hydrogen gas that is emitting red wavelengths of light after absorbing energy from nearby starlight. I used a CDK24 telescope and L-600 mount to capture 8 hours of images through LRGB filters from Observatorio El Sauce. I processed the images with PixInsight and Photoshop.

I imaged the Centaurus A Galaxy from the pristine dark skies of Observatorio El Sauce in Chile. The galaxy is an estimated 10 to 16 million light years away. Amazing to think that the galaxy is also 60,000 light years across! So that means the light takes 60,000 years to travel from one end of the galaxy to the other end! Considering 1 light year is 5.8 trillion miles I can’t even fathom that scale! Imaged in collaboration with Nick Dunckel and his CDK24 and L-600 mount. I used 10 x 5 minute exposures through LRGB filters

Pictured here is over 26-hours of exposure on a beautiful nebula visible in the Southern Hemisphere known as NGC3579. I used a CDK24 and L-600 mount to capture images with the FLI Proline 16803 CCD camera from the dark night skies of Observatorio El Sauce. The camera collected wavelengths of hydrogen gas (greenish color), sulfur (brownish red color), and oxygen (bluish color). When combined and mapped to RGB channels, the resulting Hubble Pallette colors are shown. Needless to say I was blown away while processing this nebula!

NGC 4565 with a CDK600 by Kurious George.

The Hercules Galaxies Cluster (Abell2151) taken with CDK17.

Abell 2151 – The Hercules Galaxy Cluster

by Bob and Janice Fera

Planewave CDK17 17″ f/6.8 Cassegrain

Apogee U16M CCD Camera

Astrodon Filters

LRGB Composite

L:460 R:100 G:100 B:100 minutes

Sub Exposures: L:23x20m R:5x20m G:5x20m B:5x20m
All exposures unbinned

Image acquired with CCDAutopilot

Processed in CCDstack and Adobe Photoshop

Taken June 4-7, 2016 from Sierra Remote Observatories, CA

Taken by Saran Poshyachinda and  Thanakrit Santikunaporn

CDK 700 from Thailand

Taken by Saran Poshyachinda and  Thanakrit Santikunaporn

CDK 700 from Thailand

Taken by Saran Poshyachinda and  Thanakrit Santikunaporn

CDK 700 from Thailand

CDK20″ @ F4.5. FLI camera. RGB: 45mins.

Possibly the finest globular cluster in the entire sky. Visible to the naked eye alongside the Small Magellanic Cloud, the massive ball of stars is 16,700 light years away from our solar system and is 120 light years in diameter. Unlike Omega Centauri (the skies bright cluster of this type) 47 Tucanae is much denser toward the core giving the cluster a “3D” appearance in the telescope. 

 CDK20″ with FLI-PL6303E camera. LRGB. L: 60mins. RGB: 5mins.

Located in the southern constellation Sculptor, this collisional ring galaxy was likely formed from a collision between two galaxies in the distant past. The blue ring of material is a region of active star formation dominated by hot blue stars. This ring of material is 150,000 light years in diameter which is larger than our own milky way galaxy. The Cartwheel Galaxy is 500 million light years away and glows at 15th magnitude.

Scope               Planewave CDK17

Camera           SBIG STXL 11002  with AO-X

Mount               Paramount

Filters               Astrodon  Ha3nm  OIII3nm  SII3nm

Exposures       Ha 10hrs    OIII 5.5hrs   SII 7.5hrs   30min subs   Total hrs 23 hrs

Location           SRO   Sierra remote Observatories CA.    2015

Scope               Planewave CDK17

Camera           SBIG STXL 11002  with AO-X

Mount               Paramount

Filters               Astrodon  Ha3nm  OIII3nm  SII3nm

Exposures       Ha 7hrs    OIII 6hrs   SII 6hrs   30min subs   Total hrs 19 hrs

Location           SRO   Sierra remote Observatories CA.    2014

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

CDK 14

SBIG STXL-11002

Paramount ME II

24 hours HaLRGB

M65/M66

Telescope: CDK14

Camera: SBIG STX-16803

3 hours 20 minutes LRGB

Telescope: CDK14

Camera: SBIG STX-16803

Telescope: CDK14

Camera: SBIG STX 16803

80 minutes LRGB

Telescope: CDK14

Camera: SBIG STX 16803

90 minutes H-alpha

Telescope: CDK14

Camera: SBIG STX-16803

9 hours 20 minutes LRGB

Object – M20

CDK24 with IRF90 and DeltaT (on an AP3600 mount)

Camera – FLI PL16803 and FLI 7 Position Filter Wheel Baader LRGB filters

8x400s L @ 1xbinning

6x400s RGB @ 2xbinning

Taken with CDK700 (0.7 meter) Telescope

FLI ProLine 16803 Camera

© Bradley, GregCDK17, Paramount ME, FLI Proline 16803, Astrodon Gen 11 LRGB filters

LRGB 90 50 50 50

© Snyder, BillCamera Apogee U16
Mount Paramount ME
Filters Astrodon Ha5nm OIII3nm SII5nm
Exposures Ha 4.3hrs OIII 4hrs
SII4hrs 20min subs
Location Sierra Nevada Mountains CA. Heavens Mirror Observatory SRO
billsnyderastrophotography.com

© Snyder, BillCamera Apogee U16
Mount Paramount ME
Filters Astrodon LRGB
Exposures RGB 2Hrs each L 8Hrs LRGB 15min subs Total time 14hrs
Location Sierra Nevada Mountains CA. Heavens Mirror Observatory SRO
billsnyderastrophotography.com

© Snyder, BillCamera Apogee U16
Mount Paramount ME
Filters Astrodon LRGB
Exposures RGB 1.5Hrs each L 7.5Hrs LRGB 15min subs Total time 12hrs
Location Sierra Nevada Mountains CA. Heavens Mirror Observatory SRO
billsnyderastrophotography.com

© Fera, Bob and Janice

M1- The Crab Nebula in Taurus

by Bob and Janice Fera

Planewave CDK17 17″ f6.8 Cassegrain

SBIG STL11000M CCD Camera

Astrodon Filters

LRGB Composite

L:180 R:75 G:75 B:75 minutes

Sub Exposures: L:9x20m R:5x15m G:5x15m B:5x15m
RGB exposures binned 2×2

Image acquired with CCDAutopilot

Processed in CCDstacK and Adobe Photoshop

Taken November 14, 15, 2009 from Eagle Ridge Observatory, Foresthill, CA

© Fera, Bob

© Fera, Bob and JaniceThe Horsehead Nebula in Orion

by Bob and Janice Fera

Planewave CDK17 17″ f6.8 Cassegrain
SBIG STL11000M CCD Camera
Astrodon Filters
LRGB Composite
L:100 R:60 G:60 B:60 minutes
Sub Exposures: L:5x20m R:6x10m G:6x10m B:6x10m RGB exposures binned 2×2
Image acquired with CCDAutopilot
Processed in CCDstacK, PIXInsight LE and Adobe Photoshop
Taken December 17, 18, 2009 from Eagle Ridge Observatory, Foresthill, CA

© Trottier, HowardObject: IC1396A, “Elephant’s Trunk Nebula”.
Instrument: PlaneWave CDK17.
Focal Ratio: f4.5 (with PlaneWave focal reducer).
Mount: Paramount ME.
Camera: SBIG STL-4020M.
Dates: August 6-15 2010 (3 nights).
Integrated exposure: L (300 minutes unbinned), RGB (100 minutes each, 2×2 binning).
Location: Cabin in the Sky Observatory, South Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada.
Image Capture: MaxIm DL, TheSky6, FocusMax.
Image Processing: MaxIm DL, CCDInspector2, CCDStack2, CCDSharp, Photoshop CS5.
Website: http:www.sfu.ca~trottierobservatory.html

© Paquette, Andre The Pelican Nebula in Hubble Palette
Taken 20090901

Exposures
S-II: 13x900s (binned 2×2)
HA: 14x900s (binned 2×2)
O-III: 13x900s (binned 2×2)

Telescope: Planewave Instruments CDK12.5
Camera: Apogee U16M
Mount: Celestron CGE Pro
Filters: Astrodon 3nm Narrowband
Guiding: Astrodon Monster MOAG, Lumenera Skynyx 2.0m, MetaGuide

© Paquette, AndreTelescope: PlaneWave CDK 12.5
Camera: Apogee U16M
Mount: Celestron CGE Pro
Guide method: Astrodon Monster MOAG
Guide camera: Lumenera Skynyx 2.0m
Guide software: MetaGuide

Image scale 0.73″pixel.

Subframes:
26x600s L
9x300s R,G,B
9x600s HA

Acquisition software: MaximDL
Processing software: custom, MaximDL, ImagesPlus, PhotoShop CS4

© Paquette, AndreM106, a spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, accompanied by several other galaxies including NGCs 4217, 4248, 4231, and 4232.

Telescope: PlaneWave CDK 12.5
Camera: Apogee U16M
Mount: Celestron CGE Pro
Guiding: OAG with Astrodon Monster MOAG, Lumenera Skynyx 2.0m, MetaGuide

Image consists of 150min L, 60min R,G,B (each) and 40min HA.

Data taken over two nights, starting March 16.

© Griffin, HapDateLocation: August 7-8, 2010 GriffinHunter Observatory Bethune, SC
Camera: QSI 583wsg Filters: Astrodon E Series Generation 2 LRGB
CCD Temperature: -10 C
Instrument: Planewave CDK 12.5″
Focal Ratio: f8
Mount: AP-1200
Guiding: Auto via the QSI camera’s built in Off-Axis Guider mirror and an SBIG ST-402 Guider
Conditions: Hot and humid, clear for summer in SC
Weather: 85-75 F, still
Exposure: 270 minutes total (12 x 10 minutes Luminance, 5 x 10 minutes each RGB binned 2×2)
Capture: CCDAutopilot 4 w Maxim DL Camera Control, focused automatically w FocusMax

Processing: Frame calibrations, alignment and stacking with ImagesPlus v3.80. Finishing in Photoshop CS4. Noise reduction with Noise Ninja.

This nebula gets its name from the fact that the main cloud is tri-sected by a dark nebula into three main sections. The beautiful red and blue colors come from the regions of the nebula where hydrogen is glowing (red) and reflecting starlight (blue). The red portion is excited to emission by the ultraviolet light coming from a triple star system embedded within. The distance to the Trifid is approximately 5200 light years, although there is a large disparity between various sources.

© Paquette, AndreTaken 20091111

Exposures
50 min L (unbinned)
25 min R, G, B (binned 2×2)

Telescope: Planewave Instruments CDK12.5
Camera: Apogee U16M
Mount: Celestron CGE Pro
Filters: Baader LRGB
Guiding: Astrodon Monster MOAG, Lumenera Skynyx 2.0m, MetaGuide

© Griffin, Hap
DateLocation: January 9, 2010
GriffinHunter Observatory Bethune, SC
Camera: QSI 583wsg
Filters: Astrodon E Series Generation 2 LRGB
CCD Temperature: -20 C
Instrument: Planewave CDK 12.5″
Focal Ratio: f8
Mount: AP-1200
Guiding: Auto via the QSI camera’s built in Off-Axis Guider mirror and a Starlight Express Lodestar Guider
Conditions: Clear and cold
Weather: 17 F, still
Exposure: 150 minutes total (5 x 10 minutes each in RGB)
Capture: CCDAutopilot 4 w Maxim DL Camera Control, focused automatically w FocusMax
Processing: Frame calibrations, alignment and stacking with ImagesPlus v3.80. Finishing in Photoshop CS4.

© Schnepel, Soenke

The Pinwheel Galaxy, M101

Planewave CDK 12.5
10 Micron GM2000 QCI
STL-11000M
LRGB (40:30:30:30 min., all 1 x 1 bin)
Total Exposure Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes

Image processed with: MaximDL 5, CCDAutoPilot 4, CCDStack 1.4, Adobe Photoshop CS3
Date: 04-22-2009
Location: Luetjensee, Germany
Seeing conditions: less good

© Geissinger, Rolf

M101 – Pinwheel Galaxy

Taken 23th May 2009 / Germany, Remseck

Exposures RGB: 10x1200sec
Telescope: Planewave Instruments CDK12.5
Camera: QHY8 (one-shot.camera)
Mount: 10micron GM2000
Guiding: Mitsuboshi OAG, SX Lodestar, MaximDL
Image processing: MaximDL, Photoshop CS3

© Wood, Kent

M104 Sombrero Galaxy
Date:  May 2009
Starlodge Observatory
Planewave CDK 12.5
SBIG STL 11000 Cropped
LRGB 110:90:90:90

© Geissinger, Rolf

M13 – Globular Cluster in Hercules
Taken 20th July 2009 / Germany, Remseck
Exposures RGB: 11x600sec
Telescope: Planewave Instruments CDK12.5
Camera: QHY8 (one-shot camera)
Mount: 10micron GM2000
Guiding: Mitsuboshi OAG, SX Lodestar, MaximDL Image processing: MaximDL, Photoshop CS3

© Geissinger, Rolf

Exposure time: 10 x 1200 sec

Camera: QHY8
Scope: CDK 12.5″
Mount: 10micron GM2000

© Schnepel, Soenke

The Orion Nebula, M42
Planewave CDK 12.5
10 Micron GM2000 QCI
STL-11000M
LRGB (2 x 180 sec each channel, all 1 x 1 bin) Total Exposure Time: 24 minutes

Image processed with: MaximDL 5, CCDAutoPilot 4, CCDStack 1.4, Adobe Photoshop CS3
Date: 01-07-2009
Location: Luetjensee, Germany
Seeing conditions: good

© Wood, Kent

The Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, NGC 5194, NGC 5195
Location: Starlodge Observatory
Camera: SBIG STL 11000
Scope: Planewave CDK 12.5
LRGB 45:90:90:90

© Geissinger, Rolf

M76
Exposure time: 13 x 1000 sec
Location: “balcony observatory ” Remseck / Germany
Date: 2008 / 12 / 30
Camera: QHY8
Scope: CDK 12.5″

© Murphy, Stephane

Object:  IC 5146, The Cocoon Nebula
Total exposure: HaRGB 300:60:60:60.
Location: Granville, Ohio
Date:  Sept 2008
Aquisition: CCDAutopilot 4.0 + CDK 12.5 + STL11002M + MOAG ST-402, Astrodon Gen2 Filter.
Processing: CCDstack, and CS3

© Wood, Kent

M33, The Pinwheel Galaxy
Date: August 2008
Location: Starlodge Observatory
Camera: STL 11000
Telescope: CDK 12.5
LRGB: 300:140:140:140 (12 hours)

© Wood, Kent

IC5146 Cocoon Nebula
Location: Starlodge Observatory
July 2008
Scope: CDK 12.5
Camera: SBIG STL 11000
LRGB 230:100:100:100

© Seavey, Richard

Object:  M1 – The Crab Nebula
Field Center:  RA 5h 34.5m  DEC +22d 01m
Field Size: ~  48 x 33 arcminutes
Exposure: LRGB = “coming” minutes
Instruments: CDK12.5 f/8 with STL-11000
Location: “info coming”
Date:  “info coming”
Conditions:   ~ 2.5-3 arcsecond seeing
Processing:  “info coming”

© Schnepel, Soenke

Object:  M13 – The Hercules Cluster

Exposure:  50 minutes, 5 x 10min Luminance

Equipment: CDK12.5 and GM2000 GEM by 10-Micron

1. PlaneWave 2.75″ Focuser with EFA (Electronics Focus Accessory).
2. PreciseParts custom Planewave to Optec Pyxis 3″ adapter
3. Optec Pyxis 3″ camera rotator
4. Optec 3″ to AP 2.7″ adapter (female)
5. Astrodon’s Monster Off-Axis Guider AP 2.7″
5.1. Attached remote STL guider
5.2. Astrodon’s STL-adapter
5.3. Attached STL-11000

© Wood, Kent

Object: M13 – The Hercules Cluster

Image details:
Location: Star Lodge Observatory
Date: May, 2008
Telescope: Planewave CDK 12.5
Camera: SBIG STL 11000
LRGB 35:20:20:20

© Wood, Kent

Object: M16 – The Eagle Nebula

H-alpha: 180 minutes
Lum: 180 minutes
Red: 90 minutes
Green: 90 minutes
Blue: 90 minutes

Equipment:  CDK12.5, STL11000

© Murphy, Stephane

Object:  M27, The Dumbbell Nebula

Image Information

Date: July 3rd, 2008
Location: Stonecreek Observatory
Telescope: PlaneWave CDK12.5
Equipment: SBIG STL11000, Software Bisque Paramount, Astrodon RGB Filters, Astrodon MOAG (off axis guider), Optec TCF-S3
LRGB: 0:60:60:60
Acquisition: CCDAutopilot4.0
Processing: CCDStack and Photoshop CS3

© Schnepel, Soenke

Object: M31- The Andromeda Galaxy, the Core Region

Red: 60 minutes (10 x 6min)
Green: 60 minutes (10 x 6min)
Blue: 60 minutes (10 x 6min)

Equipment:  CDK12.5, STL11000M, 10 Micron GM2000 QCI GEM, PlaneWave 2.75″ (EFA) Electonic Focuser

Processed with MaxIm DL, Focus Max, CCDStack, CCDAutoPilot 4, Photoshop

© Wood, Kent

Date: May, 2008
Location: Starlodge Observatory
Telescope: Planewave 12.5 CDK
Camera: SBIG STL 11000
LRGB 200:120:120:120 (9 hours total exposure time)

Scope               Planewave CDK17

Camera            Apogee U16

Mount               Paramount ME

Filters               Astrodon  LRGB   Ha5nm

Exposures       R2hrs  G1.5hrs  B1.5hrs   L 7.5Hrs    Ha 3hrs    Ha 20min subs   LRGB 10min subs

Location           Sierra Nevada Mountains CA.  Heavens Mirror Observatory  SRO