ebfaulkner6a

One hundred and fifty five minute image Pelican Nebula in Cygnus, taken thru Astro-tech 111EDT with SX-694C Starlight Xpress guided with SE X2 guider. combined 31x5 min images in MaximDl

 adding previous Luminance to 2 hour RGB (40 min exp each) in Photoshop.  Note Blue star cloud IC 143, and IC 604 and other emission nebula

Last night I was out in the first COOL night that was absolutely clear. No wind at 7:30. This image taken thru Astro-Tech 111EDT 2 hour 5min exposures combined in MaximDL, DD processing, slightly adjusted in Photoshop6.  Initially I wanted to do color imaging, but having camera connection problems early on cancelled that out.   Magitude 5.5 galaxy in Triangulum, some 5 million Ly away. There is a video on the net located at Deepskyvideos.com which shows images and a video of M33, and an explanation about it. Very interesting. 

This image appears in the October issue of Astronomy Magazine, and seemed to be a challenge for me to image, so that I did, while always trying to get the star that is located inside the ring of this 12.5 magnitude 42 second diameter nebula.

This is an image of the Pacman Nebula taken with LCMY FILTERS, Luminance, Cyan, Majenta and Yellow photographic filters, color adjusted in PS6.  2 HOURS total exposure

170 minutes combined LRGB image thru Astro-Tech 111EDT L-3, R-5, G-4, B-5 10 minute exposures combined in MaximDL6 color adjusted in PS6; 881 light years from Earth in Cassiopeia. Astro-Tech 111edt cf, guided with Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2, imaged with SXVR-H9, Starlight Xpress Mini Wheel. Manchester, New Jersey

 First image in over a year since my open heart surgery.  First successful setup with new mount, iOptron 45 with 48" pier.  Thursday was an exceptional night, no wind, great seeing the Milky Way overhead.   This is a 121 min LRGB image taken thru Astro-Tech 111EDT from Whiting, NJ. between 9:30 pm - 12 am, guided with Starlight Lodestar X2 imaged with SXVR-H9 ccd.  Combined in MaximDL6, color adjusted in Photoshop CS6

T his Hummingbird was visiting one of our feeders today (Aug. 22, 2013. There are many who have been feeding off our feeders since we installed them 30 days ago. This male is very possessive and does not allow other hummingbirds to use the feeder, at least while he is around. The nectar solution is prepared by adding 1/4 cup of sugar to one cup of boiled water, cooled before filling feeder. Looks like the Hummingbird has a sweet tooth. The nectar is not food, rather it is "fuel" and provides energy for them to hover, or fly and catch insects.

Experimenting with PANSTARR L4 located near the dipper of Ursa Minor, 6x5min exposures with 30 sec delay between images, negative (inverted) image taken with Explore Scientific 127mm EDT carbon fiber telescope on CGEM DX mount "star" guided with Starlight Xpress Lodestar. 6-19-2013 10 pm

This edge on galaxy is very small in my 4" refractor, this image is a cropped section which allows for a better view, especially since the galaxy is only 10.10 magnitude.  It is a combined 25 x 5 min exposures.   Next week I will try my newer refractor, 127mm and compare the images. And we can look foreward to seeing and imaging SATURN which will rise at sunset and be up all night.