We observed the annular solar eclipse from Trinity Lake KOA on May 20th 2012. The time lapse sequence is taken through AT111, AstroZap filter with Canon 60d mounted on Atlas EQ-G. Sun was also active with 3 big sunspot groups. We also observed the sun through Coronado in h-alpha with few prominence seen clearly during the […]
Pleiades, M45, Seven Sisters, Kṛttikā (Sanskrit) are the names of this magnificent and largest open cluster visible in the night sky. It does so in the night sky as it is the nearest to us(~400 light years). The cluster contains almost 1000 stars consisting of many “blue” stars. Normally, through small-medium telescopes, it is not […]
This is a composite photo of the Venus transit that occurred on June 5 2012. It was taken from our front yard with an Astrotech 111m with an Astrozap mylar solar filter. We were plagued with clouds quite often, but managed to capture few good shots at regular interval. We was also viewed the transit […]
This image of M42, the Great Orion Nebula was taken from Death Valley (Amargosa Opera House, Death Valley Junction.) Also seen is the bluish Running Man nebula. Camera: Canon T2i modified Telescope: Astro-tech AT111 Mount: Atlas EQ-G guided with Orion Starshoot Autoguider Exposure: 10×300 sec @ 1600 ISO Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Pixinsight Are […]
About the Crescent Nebula Popular Name Crescent Nebula Catalogue Name NGC 6888 Constellation Cygnus Distance (Light Years) 5000 Also Seen Background nebulosity of the Sadr (Gamma Cygni) region. Additional Information Crescent Nebula is an emission nebula. It is formed by a Wolf-Rayet star WR136 (HD192163) and its stellar winds of different speeds when it […]
About the Witches Head Nebula Popular Name Witch Head Nebula Catalogue Name IC 2118 Constellation Orion Distance (Light Years) 1000 Additional Information The Witch Head Nebula is a supernova remnant cloud in the constellation of Orion. It, by coincidence, has the unmistakable look of a witch’s head. The nebula glows blueish because it reflects […]
About the Cocoon Nebula Popular NameCocoon NebulaCatalogue NameIC 5146Also SeenDark Nebula Bernard 168ConstellationCygnusAdditional InformationThe core cocoon nebula is a reflection nebula. The hot young stars in the region are responsible for making the surrounding gas cloud glow in colors.The dark dusty nebula (B168) looks like a tail coming out of the cocoon nebula. The dark region […]
This is our second attempt of Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula constellation near Cygnus the swan. Planetary nebules are formed when a star in its dying stage expands. The expanded star has cooler outer layers. These outer layers are puffed away into space which leaves the core white dwarf star. Fate of our sun is going […]
This image was taken as a test for our Raspberry Pi project (see here). It was taken from horribly light polluted skies of Santa Clara hence image quality is not optimal and nor the exposure times. Camera: Canon T2i modified Telescope: Astro-tech AT111 Mount: Atlas EQ-G guided with Orion Starshoot Autoguider Exposure: 5×600 sec […]
