Observing the Coma Galaxy Cluster at the Tacande Observatory on La Palma

Date2017/04/13
LocationLa Palma / Spain
ObjectComa galaxy cluster
CameraModified Canon EOS6D
Guidingyes
TelescopeR120S / 120mm
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-
Luminance6x RGB frame / 240s
Red-
Green-
Blue-
Dark5x
Flat-
Total exposure~24m

Tonight I again spent the night at the Tacande Observatory on La Palma. There we observed the Coma galaxy cluster. The result is this photo taken with a modified EOS6D camera.

For post-processing I used the free software DeepSkyStacker and GIMP. The full resolution images is available here.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 16, 2022 at 12:14 pm

Star cluster Messier 44

Tonight was the first time since mid of November with acceptable conditions for astropohotography… I don’t like this weather… However, this night it was good – at least until about 3am. For stacking I again used DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 with Kappa-Sigma Clipping. Happy Easter! 🙂

Date2016/03/09
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectMessier 44 (Star cluster)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, QHY5-II Mono via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance11x, 600s, bin: 1x1
Red10x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Green10x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Blue10x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Dark2x
Flat10x
Total exposure~2h15min.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 16, 2022 at 14:20 pm

Fireworks Galaxy (NGC6946) and open cluster (NGC6939) in constellation Cepheus

This is a photo taken from a less popular region in constellation Cepheus. On the bottom right is the spiral galaxy NGC6946 also known as Fireworks Galaxy. On the top left is an open cluster with the great name NGC6939. The seeing was ok but could have been better… like most of the time 🙂 For more details on the equipment take a look at the equipment page. For stacking the images I used DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 with Kappa-Sigma Clipping.

Date2012/10/17
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectM33 (Triangulum Galaxy‎)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, QHY5-II Mono via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance7x, 600s, bin: 1x1
Red4x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Green3x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Blue4x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Dark10x
Flat10x
Total exposure~1h37m

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 16, 2022 at 22:30 pm

Imaging the Cocoon Nebula (IC5146)

Tonight I imaged the Cocoon Nebula (IC5146) – a reflection / emission nebula in constellation Cygnus. The cluster is about 4,000 ly away. The seeing was great and the guiding with PHD worked perfectly well. I was a fantastic summer night.

For stacking I used DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 with Kappa-Sigma Clipping. The picture is also available in full resolution here.

Date2015/07/21
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectIC5146 (Cocoon Nebula)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, QHY5-II Mono via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance8x, 600s, bin: 1x1
Red11x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Green11x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Blue11x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Dark10x
Flat10x
Total exposure~2h42min.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 16, 2022 at 23:20 pm

NGC6914 – The dark monster of Cygnus

Behind the unspectacular name NGC6914 a nice emission nebula in constellation Cygnus is hiding. To me the nebula looks a little like a dark monster with two deep blue eyes in the center of the picture 😀

The picture is also available in full resolution here.

Date2015/07/15
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectNGC6914 (Emission Nebula)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, QHY5-II Mono via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance7x, 600s, bin: 1x1
Red5x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Green5x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Blue5x, 150s, bin: 2x2
Dark10x
Flat10x
Total exposure~1h50min.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 16, 2022 at 23:19 pm