Seven Years Old!
This blog is seven years old today. Amazing how quickly time flies, and how its content has evolved. Thanks if you have been following.
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Thursday 30 June 2011
Sunday 26 June 2011
Pelican Nebula
Pelican Nebula, originally uploaded by ThinkingCamera.
This cloud of gas and dust is about 1,800 light years away in the direction of the constellation Cygnus. This is not a great image, but our sky does not ever become completely dark at this time of year, so I was pleased to image something.
It was very nice to sit out in shirt sleeves on a very warm and pleasant evening enjoying the twilight (even if it was not the best conditions for imaging). Cloud rolled in almost exactly at midnight so I turned in.
Atik 320e camera. Celestron CPC800 telescope. Alt-Az. 50 x 30s exposures
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Sunday 19 June 2011
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-06-19
- was at #romeo2 kids performance this afternoon – stunning & epic. Really worked in the huge space #
- was at #rome02 kids performance this afternoon – stunning & epic. Really worked in the huge space #
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Saturday 11 June 2011
M13 HDR (again)
M13 HDR (again), originally uploaded by ThinkingCamera.Despite being bright and easy to find in a telescope, this object is hard to image. There is a huge brightness range from the faint outer stars and the very bright core.
This was HDR combined in PixInsight from 100 exposures each at 5 seconds, 10 seconds and 30 seconds, then processed in PixInsight and PS.
Atik 320e camera. CPC800 Hyperstar (f2) telescope.
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Tuesday 7 June 2011
Lagoon Nebula
Lagoon Nebula, originally uploaded by ThinkingCamera.
M8 in Sagittarius. My first, quick image of this object, which is low in the sky from here.
This is a star forming region in the direction of the centre of our galaxy.
20 x 30sec exposures. Atik 320e camera on CPC 800 Hyperstar telescope. Process in Maxim, PixInsight and PS.
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Wednesday 1 June 2011
M27 – The dumbbell nebula
M27 – The dumbbell nebula, originally uploaded by ThinkingCamera.
This is a planetary nebula – nothing to do with planets, but a shell of dust and gas pushed out by a dying star.
I am very pleased with this image: taken around local midnight in the short period of true darkness at this time of year. 30 x 30s exposures. Atik 320e colour camera. Baader Neodymium filter. CPC800 telescope with f2 Hyperstar. Stacked in maxim. HDR layered and background extraction in PixInsight. No colour adjustment or noise reduction. No photoshop. It was a lovely clear night and with recent upgrades the local street lights dim after 11:30pm as well as being much less light polluting.
I really think this is the best astrophoto I have made to date. I was astonished when I saw the first frame and delighted when I first saw the processed result.
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