These earthly godfathers of Heaven's lights, that give a name to every fixed star, have no more profit of their shining nights than those that walk and know not what they are.

— William Shakespeare

Ha

Eagle Nebula aka NGC6611

Eagle Nebula aka NGC6611

The Eagle Nebula is a 33 minute combined image taken Sunday night, processed in Photoshop.  Another great shot on a sharp clear night low on the horizon.  Also taken using the Orion Ha filter.

Lagoon Nebula

Lagoon Nebula

Sagittarius has many open clusters and a few nebula of which this is one, the Lagoon Nebula.  Sunday night was a 10 out of 10 for seeing, especially for imaging.  This image is only 23 minutes long.  I have a 66 mm scope mounted on top of the Orion 80ed and was viewing the Lagoon Nebula while taking images.  I could not believe my eyes as to the clarity and beauty this nebula shows in a dark sight.  The dark areas could not be illuminated by the stars and appear darker than the background.  Approximately 5,000 light years away and 50 light y

M17 in Sagittarius

M17 in Sagittarius

Taken Friday evening 7-25-08 M17Ha 13 min exposure.  Skies hazy but had not stopped the camera from imaging .

Trifid Nebula

Trifid Nebula

This is a 13 min combined image of the Trifid Nebula taken from Whiting on Thursday evening 7/24 at11:30 pm, located in Sagattarius which happens to be low in the South.  Orion 80ED, Starlight Xp camera, Orion Ha Filter on Vixen mount.

The Heart of The Heart

 The Heart of The Heart

The Heart Nebula, IC 1805, an emission nebula, lies some 7500 light years away from Earth. It is located in the Perseus arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. This nebula is formed by plasma of ionized hydrogen (HII) and free electrons.

Dumbbell Nebula

 Dumbbell Nebula

The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27 (M27), is a bright, large planetary planetary nebula located in Vulpecula constellation, at a distance of 1,360 light years from Earth. It is sometimes also called the Apple Core Nebula or Diablo Nebula. The nebula has the designation NGC 6853 in the New General Catalogue. It was the first planetary nebula to be discovered. Charles Messier included it as M27 in his catalogue in 1764.
Source: http://www.constellation-guide.com/dumbbell-nebula-messier-27/
Ha -12hr as R OIII -06hr as G and B

NGC6888

NGC6888

Ha image

Still in the Dark

 Still in the Dark

Oh, brighter than a thousand suns,
the march towards the stars
on the wheel, on the car,
off the plane, off the planet
and on in the search.
Yes, we pray in the dark in the Sciences' church.

Upon the tree of knowledge
the fruit is bitter-sweet;
to the man in the street
all its myriad benefits Science confers
but we're still in the dark, much as we always were.

Run your mind down the Sciences;
none of them lay claim to show more than a part
but still we shout out what we know
the silence is enough to break the mortal heart.