Nebulae


Lagoon Nebula (M8)

The Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8) in Sagittarius is a popular target for visual observers because it has both bright nebulosity and a nice star cluster.  Unfortunately, for most people in North America it never gets very high in the sky, so views are often compromised by haze and light pollution. This RGB image was captured at Pine Mountain Observatory near Bend, Oregon.  Scope: AP Starfire 142 at f/7.5 Mount: AP Mach1 Camera: QSI 583wsg at –15C Exposure: LRGB, 1 hr 5 mins total


Propeller Nebula

This is a case where the name of a nebula is pretty obvious.  The propeller is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus.  It is one of the more mysterious objects of this type.  In particular, we don’t have a clue how it became this shape! This is a narrowband image, captured at Wa-chur-ed Observatory in Hydrogen-alpha, Oxygen-III, and Sulfur-II.  Such images are generally somewhat “false” in color and this one has been tweaked in non-traditional ways to bring out as much detail as possible. Scope: AP Starfire 142 at f/7.5 Mount: AP Mach1 Camera: QSI 583wsg at –15C


Tulip Nebula

The Tulip is a bit lost in the surrounding cloud of (mostly) hydrogen and dust, but I think you can see where the name comes from.  This is a narrowband image consisting of Hydrogen-alpha, Oxygen III, and Sulfur II emission lines. The Tulip Nebula is in the constellation Cygnus and about 6,000 lightyears from Earth.  The image was captured in May of 2013 at Wa-chur-ed Observatory. Scope: AP Starfire 142 at f/7.5 Mount: AP Mach1 Camera: QSI 583wsg at –15C


Antares Region

Antares is the bright star in the upper left.  This gorgeous region is unusual for its variety and richness of color, which is primarily star light reflected off dust.  The dark areas to the right of center and the complex area below it are known as the “Rho Ophiuchi” region, that being the name of the star that illuminates it.  The globular cluster just below Antares is M4. This is an LRGB image captured with a 200mm (FL) camera lens, so it is quite a large area. Antares is part of the constellation Scorpius, although many other parts of this […]


Flaming Star Nebula (IC405)

Most of my images, and especially those captured in RGB, like this one, are shown in more-or-less “real” color – as they would appear to the human eye if they were bright enough.  But I often experiment with different color representations to see how they look and in this case I decided that a near 180 degree shift in color (red becomes blue) makes the most appealing image.  In particular, the variations in hue and brightness are more obvious. Located in the constellation Auriga, IC405 is about 1,500 light years from Earth. The image was captured at Wa-chur-ed Observatory in […]


Eagle Nebula (M16)

The Eagle Nebula is the home of one of the best known of all astro images, the “Pillars of Creation” from the Hubble Space Telescope. The HST image is at much higher magnification than this and uses a color palette that shows the structure more clearly (although it is not color accurate). But you can make out at least 2 of the pillars near the bright center. Located in the constellation Serpens, M16 is about 7,000 light years from Earth. The image was captured at ITS in September of 2012 using a hydrogen-alpha filter.  Scope: AT111EDT at f/5.6 Mount: AP […]


Dumbbell Nebula (M27)

This image from August of 2013 replaces one from 2 years ealier, adding an S-2 plane and more exposure time. Although it is fairly small, the Dumbbell is bright and easily seen through a small telescope. Located in the constellation Vulpecula, it is about 1,400 light years from Earth. If you look at just the blue-green portion of the image you might see why it is called the “dumbbell”. That is how it appears through a telescope. Human vision shifts in color response with the brightness. Specifically, in dark conditions our eyes are much more sensitive to blue than red. […]


Veil Nebula

Like many nebulae, the Veil is the remnants of a supernova, the material ejected when a star exploded. It is in the constellation Cygnus, but its distance from Earth is not precisely known. The red portions are hydrogen and the blue-green is ionized oxygen. Captured at Wa-chur-ed Observatory in July of 2011 using hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-3 narrowband filters to reduce the effects of light pollution. This is a wide-field image using a Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 camera lens. See “Western Veil” and “Eastern Veil” for close-ups of the right and left portions. Right of center is an area known as “Pickering’s […]


Crescent Nebula (NGC6888)

(Updated Dec. 2017) The Crescent Nebula in Cygnus is an emission nebula with interesting surface patterns and wisps of oxygen (in blue) around the shell. This is a much longer exposure than I had previously done on this target, and that plus extensive processing reveals some details not often seen in this nebula, such as the white cylindrical structures seen in the upper left portion of the Crescent. Scope: AT111EDT at f/5.7 Mount: AP Mach1 Camera: QSI 683 at –20C Exposure: 12 x 1800s H-a, 6 X 1800s O-3, 6 x 1800s S-2 (12 hrs total)


IC 1318 (Sadr Region)

(Updated Dec. 2017) This is a large region of nebulosity (mostly hydrogen) around the star Sadr in the constellation Cygnus. From Wa-chur-ed Observatory in June of 2016. As is usual for this observatory, this is a narrowband image, processed to yield a false-color image in which the yellow represents S-2 and the blue represents O-3.  Both colors are then modulated by the brightness of the H-a channel. The bright star near the center is Sadr, which is the central star in the constellation Cygnus. Scope: AT111EDT at f/5.7 Mount: AP Mach1 Camera: QSI 683 at –20C Exposure: 13 x 900 […]