Although this region is part of a larger structure known as the “Question Mark Nebula” (this being part of the semi-circle in the question mark), this fascinating region itself does not have a common name. I’ve decided to call it the “Lamb’s Head Nebula” because of the obvious (to me, anyway) shape near the top center. Scope: AT111EDT at f/5.6 Mount: AP Mach1 Camera: QSI 583 at –15C
(Updated Dec. 2017) As is often the case, the name of this nebula is more sensible when seen with the eye through a telescope than in a photograph that includes colors we can’t see when this faint. But if you imagine the shape of the famous video game character I think you might see how this object got its name. The previous version of this target used only H-a and O-3 data. Adding S-2 (and quite a bit more exposure time) really added a lot of detail and color. Scope: AT111EDT at f/5.7 Mount: AP Mach1 Camera: QSI 683 at […]
Very near the Heart Nebula is this interesting structure, captured here in H-alpha and OIII. It is sometimes called the Baby Nebula because of its shape, but the proximity to the Heart makes it irresistible to pair them as “Heart and Soul”. Like the Heart, it is about 7,500 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Cassiopeia. Scope: AT111EDT at f/5.6 Mount: AP Mach1 Camera: QSI 583 at –20C
This was one of the first of my astro-photos that I was happy with – about 3 years after I started – and it is still my favorite target. It was captured in late September of 2008, very late at night. The problem with Orion (for those of us living in the northern parts of Earth) is that it is never visible in the summer nights. In late summer it comes up in the east just before sunrise and by spring it sets in the west shortly after sunset. So it’s a great sight in the winter night sky and […]
The Rosette is a large area of hydrogen in the Monoceros region. This is a 2×1 mosaic of H-alpha (red) and O-3 (green & blue) exposures because the target is so big that it doesn’t fit in one frame – even with my fairly short telescope. I had intended to add some RGB data to this image, but that will have to wait until I can get to a dark sky site. Or at least until near the new moon! This version is just H-alpha for red and O-3 for green and blue. Scope: AT111EDT at f/5.6 Mount: AP Mach1 […]