C/2017 T2 Panstarrs

 When we think of comets we instinctively think of Halley's Comet that swings by once every 75 and a bit years. Halley's comet sweeps in from an orbit that takes it out to the planet Neptune and back. This little one  C/2017 T2 Panstarrs has a little longer journey to make of nearly half a million years. So truly a once In a lifetime look at this cosmic interloper.

 

Pelican Nebula/ North American Nebula

A favourite summer target has always been the Pelican Nebula IC5070. A wonderful target for us astrophotographers. As technology improves it forces us back for longer exposure, improved guiding building mosaics. But the one thing we always seek is a better image smoother, sharper better contrast. Looking at back at my early images through the DSLR's it's hard to believe we were happy with them. Always seeking those small improvements to create the perfect image.

New and old

Old and new

A mosaic of just 3 images has created this image. My first real attempt at bringing multiple long exposures into one. A total of approx 12 hours in total captured over a couple of weeks.

M27 The Dumbell Nebula

I never get bored of the Dumbell Nebula. I love the way it just floats there in the cosmic abyss. It was the first planetary Nebula discovered by Charles Messier in 1764 so not a lot has changed in the last 250 years or so. In 1970, its velocity was estimated at 31 km per second giving an expansion of about  2.3" per century. 

My equipment is still quite new to me so getting used to things more each session. However guiding tonight was erratic at just over 1' RMS.  I am hoping to start on the new observatory soon still though deciding on the design.

A night of two targets

The California Nebula 

The California Nebula  NGC1499 is an emission nebula located in the constellation of Perseus located along the Orion arm of our galaxy roughly 1000 light years away. Energetic particles exciting gas are creating a huge nebula, all created by that little blue fellow just below the centre of the image. I say little Menkib is actually about 20 times more massive than our sun and burns hotter than 25,000 degrees.  Captured with the Optolong L-Enhance 2" filter perfect for those faint Ha regions.

The Iris Nebula 

The Iris Nebula NGC7023 a faint reflection nebula. Dust & gas illuminated by the bright star in the middle of the nebula. Filter removed for this one and refocussed m anually via the ASIAIR pro and my Bhatinov mask. Just a couple of hours of 3 minutes sub frames for this one.

M13

A beautifully clear night on Saturday in Saham.  M13, a globular cluster composed of several hundred thousand stars tightly bound by gravity and at a ripe old age of 11.66 billion years old some of the oldest stars in the galaxy. I am getting used to the new set up now, better balance and thus better guiding numbers. RMS 0.4 for 30 1 minute exposures.