Many objects in the southern skies get no respect. Or at least fewer images are taken of them, as only about 11% of the world’s population lives south of the equator. RCW19 (Gum 10) is a prime example of an object that everyone would have on their checklist if it were further north. This is … More RCW19 gets no respect
No matter how you choose to spell “Boogeyman” (Boogyman? Boogieman?), LDN1622 is a stunning knot of dust to image. Part of Barnard’s Loop, this smaller feature is incredibly photogenic. LDN1622 is the main dark nebula in the image. The smaller one just below it is LDN1621 (no funny name here). You can see a slight … More The Boogeyman Nebula (LDN1622) is hard to spell
Due south of the Rosette Nebula sit several Sharpless objects that are not often imaged. And who can blame the astrophotographer, with so many top notch objects nearby (M42, Rosette, Horsehead, M78… you name it). The northernmost and brightest (relatively!) of these is Sh2-280, presented here. I think it’s underrated simply due to its proximity … More Sh2-280 doesn’t get enough respect
You don’t see a lot of images of Sh2-227. It’s really faint, and it is outshone by nearby IC405 and 410. I like an underdog, so I wanted to capture a solid image of it to see what structure I could reveal. I didn’t even try OIII, as my understanding is that it is not … More Sh2-227: faint and rarely imaged
I’d almost forgotten I took this image back in September, as I’d gotten so busy with other projects. Sh2-216 is the closest planetary nebula to us, at only about 400 light years away. It is very faint and a real challenge to image. This field of view is almost 5 degrees wide, so you can … More Sh2-216 and friends (Sh2-217, Sh2-219, Sh2-221, and LBN755)
It’s almost obligatory every fall to image the highlights of Cygnus: NGC7000, NGC6888, the Tulip Nebula, and of course, IC1318. I was a little late this year getting to IC1318, but while waiting for another object to rise the other night, I grabbed it before it passes out of view until next summer.
This image was particularly difficult to process, as it has an emission nebula and two major reflection nebulae. But I like the way it came out, as my idea was to show the contrast between IC2169 (Dreyer’s Nebula), a reflection nebula, and Sh2-273, the huge Cone/Foxfur nebula area.
Sh2-232 sits in a neglected region of Auriga, not far from the commonly imaged IC410 and IC405. In order from left to right, they are Sh2-232, 235, 231, and 233. I think they look like a giant eyeball and two kidneys, so maybe that’s why they are rarely imaged. (It could also be that they … More Sh2-232 and friends
Sh2-173 is a moderately faint HII region in Cassiopeia. I actually took this image while waiting for my main target for the night, Simeis 147, to rise. But I’m pleased with the way that it turned out. Shooting at f/3.7 helps. Most images show only the central area, but there is a lot of interesting … More Sh2-173, The Phantom of the Opera Nebula
Sh2-174 is a challenging object to image due to its faintness, but very pretty once you have captured it. This is a 17-hout HOO palette image. I took 3 hours of SII data, but because the SII signal is in the same places as the H-alpha (but fainter), the typical SHO palette isn’t as colorful. … More Sh2-174, Valentine’s Rose Nebula
Deep-sky Imaging 