Planetary Nebula
Messier 27, the Dumbbell Nebula
by Vern on May.22, 2007, under Astronomy, Deep sky, Planetary Nebula
It was slightly after 4 am and the eastern horizon was brightening when I turned the scope and Stellacam II to take a look at the Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula. I’m always amazed by this incredible object. It looked great in Gary’s 30″ dob. Visually through the eyepeice we were able to trace the outer ring in the 30 which the below image doesn’t pick up very well.
Image taken Sunday May 20, 2007 at the Cactus Flats North site in the Pawnee National Grasslands, 8 miles east of Briggsdale, CO. Sky was clear, transparency was good, no wind, temperature around 46°F, and turbulence about 5/10. Telescope was Celestron Nexstar11, F3.3 focal reducer, and Stellacam II video camera. Registax used to dark subtract, flat field correct, align, and stack about 8 minutes of video. Stellacam II set 10/14 gain, medium gamma, and 256 integration (8 seconds).
The Owl Nebula, M97 NGC 3587
by Vern on May.18, 2007, under Astronomy, Deep sky, Planetary Nebula
Messier 97, the “Owl Nebula” is in constellation Ursa Major
A Stellacam II video camera used for capture at 128 integration (4 sec), medium gamma setting, and 9/14 gain. Sky was mostly cloudless, 0-5 mph wind, temperature 53°F, transparency was good though some haze was apparent, and turbulence 5/10. Location was light polluted Louisville, CO.
Messier 15 and Pease-1
by Vern on Sep.07, 2006, under Astronomy, Deep sky, Globular Cluster, Planetary Nebula
Messier 15 located in the constellation Pegasus is one of the densest planetaries known. Located northeast of the center of the globular is a challenging object to find, planetary nebula Pease-1. This was the first nebula discovered within a globular by Francis Pease in 1928.
Follow the directions by Doug Snyder to locate this planetary which very near the core of M15 — you’ll need a high power eyepiece, an O3 filter, dark skies, and large scope to observe it directly.
Image taken on Sept 5, 2006 around 07:25 UT with a Celestron Nexstar11, Meade F3.3 focal reducer, and Astrovid Stellacam II. Temperature was 51°F, 75% humidity, sky was clear, transparency was very good, and turbulence about 6/10, in bright moonlight. Stellacam II set at 9/14 gain, integrate 128 frames (4 sec exposure), medium gamma. The 15 minutes of video was dark subtracted; flat field and bias corrected with ImagePlus; aligned and stacked with with Registrax3; enhanced and cropped with Photoshop Elements2.
NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula
by Vern on Sep.06, 2006, under Astronomy, Deep sky, Planetary Nebula
NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula, in the constellation Cassiopeia is a bubble of gas that has been pushed outward from star BD+60 2522 (the bright star towards the north, ie top, of the bubble). The gas is ionized by the starlight and gives off a glow which may be seen in a large scope, though it is quite faint.
Celestron Nexstar11, Meade F3.3 focal reducer, and Astrovid Stellacam II was used to take the image from Louisville, CO on Sept 5, 2006 around 04:38 UT. Temperature was 57°F, 72% humidity, sky was clear, transparency was very good, and turbulence about 6/10, bright moonlight. Stellacam II set at 9/14 gain, integrate 128 frames (4 sec exposure), medium gamma. The 15 minutes of video was dark subtracted and aligned with Registrax3, enhanced with ImagePlus, and cropped with Photoshop Elements2.
