Pictoris ab Lumen

M16, Eagle Nebula

2008-08-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

(Click image to enlarge)

7000 light years away from our own Milky Way Galaxy, in the constellation Serpens Cauda, lies the familiar Eagle Nebula. It is comprised of M16, an open star cluster, and IC 4703, a large, diffuse emission Nebula. The iconic “Pillars of Creation” is a familiar sight to many due to the 1995 Hubble Telescope image, and can be seen at the center of this image. The “Spire” can also be seen to the left of the “Pillars”. These areas have been thought to be active star forming regions, but recent evidence from the Chandra X-Ray Telescope, show that the most active star forming areas do not coincide with the Pillars. There is evidence that star formation in the pillars peaked over 1 million years ago. There are still many protostars in the region.

In January of 2007, a team using the Spitzer Infrared Telescope, discovered that a Supernova in the vicinity of M16 most likely has already blown away the pillars. (“Famous Space Pillars Feel the Heat of Star's Explosion”, NASA Press Release, January 7, 2007) A large dust cloud, that appears to be powered by a Supernova, can be seen moving toward the pillars in the infrared spectrum. Since we are 7000 light years away, and the reported supernova is estimated to have taken place 6000 years ago, we will not be able to visually confirm the pillars destruction for another 1000 years…still plenty of time to enjoy them!

Location: Starlodge Observatory
Date: June, 2008
Camera: SBIG STL 11000
Telescope: CDK 12.5
Ha:L:R:G:B 180:180:90:90:90

An Iris Rising from the Dust

2008-07-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

(Click on images to enlarge)

NGC7023, Iris Nebula

We usually think of space as a place filled with island universes that we know as galaxies. Each galaxy being comprised of literally hundreds of billions of stars. We may assume that between all of these stars and galaxies lies empty space. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Space is home to a sea of molecular clouds and interstellar dust, interspersed only occasionally by a nuclear furnace we call a star. It is estimated that 1000 tons of dust rains down on the earth every year. This dust has its origins in broken up asteroids, comet tails and spent stars whose wake our earth is passing through on its journey through space. Larger stars end their life cycle in a cataclysmic explosion that accelerates dust and elements throughout the cosmos. The shock waves from such explosions also act as the catalyst to begin new star formation in already existing dust filled molecular clouds. Such clouds represent the more dense areas of the interstellar medium. Those with a core size of approximately 10,000 AU, (AU= Astronomical Unit= distance between the Sun and the Earth= 93 million miles) are relatively unstable, and only a small increase in density can lead to “Jeans Instability”. When this density level occurs, a blast wave as described above will initiate a collapse event where the cloud will begin to fall into itself as gravity has it’s way…and a stars creation has begun.

In the image above, such a process has occurred. A radiant and reflective dust filled molecular cloud, NGC7023 surrounds a relatively young, pre-main sequence host star, HD 200775. HD200775 is a 10 solar mass Herbig Be star. The strong solar winds emitted by this star form the unique Iris pattern, for which this nebula is named. The winds work to push back the dusty, molecular cloud from which the star was formed. Most of the color near the star is blue, as the light reflects off innumerable particles of dust. Hues of red and purple are also seen as hydrogen and other elements are ionized by the radiation from the star. Some areas of dust surrounding the star are completely black and opaque to the naked eye. Infrared surveys however reveal similar star formation occurring inside the body of these black Iris petals as well.

Image Acquisition info:

Location: Star Lodge Observatory
Date: May, 2008
Scope: Planewave, CDK 12.5
Camera: SBIG STL 11000
LRGB 310:120:120:120 (11 hrs of data)

A Flower Full of Suns

2008-06-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

The Sunflower Galaxy (M63)

Some 35 million light years away, tucked away in the constellation Canes Venatica, lies the beautiful Sunflower Galaxy. It is close to the size of the Milky Way, with light taking about 70,000 years to travel from one side of the galaxy to the other. M63 belongs to a group of galaxies with M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy being the largest of the group. Note the cloud of dust and molecular gas that surrounds M63. The stars on the outskirts of the galaxy are traveling so fast that if it were not for the gravitational interaction of this cloud upon the stars, they would most likely fly off into space. M51 and some smaller surrounding galaxies do have a significant gravitational impact on M63. One can see the result of at least one element of this interaction as a piece of M63 has broken due to the tidal forces of it’s neighbors. A close up view of the galaxy can be seen on my other website at http://www.pbase.com/kvwood/image/98454120

In the full frame image of this galaxy, http://www.pbase.com/kvwood/image/98454171 , 19 other galaxies can easily be seen in the background, much further away. The furthest, SDSS J131347.35+420458.5, lies approximately 4.2 billion light years away. A light year is approximately 6 trillion miles, which places this galaxy about 4.2 billion trillion miles or 4.2 times ten to the 21st power.

Cluster of Lights

2008-06-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

"I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is not God"

Abraham Lincoln

The image above is that of M13, “The Great globular cluster in Hercules”. This gravitationally bound cluster lies about 25,000 light-years away from us within the Milky Way Galaxy, and is comprised of several hundred thousand stars. These are older, Population II stars, many of which have left the main sequence and are now red giants. Globular clusters, such as M13 are most common in the Halo of our galaxy that surrounds the core. The varying colors present in this image are reflective of the differing temperatures and sizes of stars comprising the cluster. Another, smaller galaxy, IC 4617, can be seen above and to the right of M13. It is a 16th magnitude galaxy

Image details:
Location: Star Lodge Observatory
Date: May, 2008
Telescope: Planewave CDK 12.5
Camera: SBIG STL 11000
LRGB 35:20:20:20

The Heart of Orion

2008-01-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

(Click to enlarge)

“Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads off from this world to another”
Plato (c.428-348 BC), The Republic

M42, Orion's Nebula and the Running Man

As Astronomers have labored to understand the workings of the Great Designer and Creator of the Universe, they have come to believe that our Solar System was formed some 4.5 Billion years ago from a protoplanetary disk that surrounded our Sun when it was in it’s infancy. This disk was comprised of gas and dust, most likely remnant material from a earlier nova or supernova. The gas and dust eventually coalesced into planetesimals, protoplanets, and eventually into the 8 planets of our solar system. The rest of the gas was blown away into interstellar space. Today, to see a model of what may have occurred 4.5 billion years ago, we need only take a look at the heart of the Orion Nebula, M42. This greatest of all stellar nurseries within our view, has about 700 stars at differing levels of maturity, and about 120 “Proplyds” (Protoplanetary disks). The Hubble telescope has identified these “Proplyds”, which suggests that the formation of solar systems like our own is a fairly common phenomenon.

In the image above, M42, the Great Orion Nebula takes center stage. It is one of the most photographed and studied objects in the Heavens. It lies about 1200 light years from us, is 24 light years across, and is visible to the naked eye, making up the center object of Orion’s Sword, which hangs southeast of the well known Belt. It is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that stretches northward enveloping the Horsehead and Flame Nebulae as well as Barnards loop. M43 is the small HII region separated from M42 by a strong dust lane. NGC1977 can be seen north (to the left in this image) of M42/43 and is also called the “Running Man Nebula”. At the heart of M42 lies the Trapezium, a collection of 4 (6 actually, if you count the 2 binary stars of this asterism) extremely young hot O class stars that generate a lot of ionizing energy and turbulent stellar winds.

If one looks carefully, a green hue can be seen surrounding the Nebula. This puzzled astronomers for years. In fact, in the early part of the 20th century, scientists believed that a mysterious new element called “Nebulium” was the source of this eerie green hue. It is now know to be caused by a low-probability electron transition in doubly ionized oxygen. O-class stars within the region create ionizing radiation and the red hue that is visible. The blue is reflected radiation from the same stars.

Image Acquisition information:

Date: December 2007
Location: Starlodge Observatory
Telescope: FSQ 106
Camera: STL 11000
LRGB: 50:60:60:60 (600 second sub-exposures). All color data was added to luminance as well. 5:5:5:5 (30 second sub-exposures for trapezium area). 70 minutes of Ha data was also added to the Luminance.

Gamma Cassiopeia

2007-12-31T23:53:00.000-08:00

(Click to enlarge)

Floating in a sea of stars that is our own Milky Way Galaxy lies the Gamma Cassiopeia Nebula (IC 59/63). This is an object that is not imaged very often and is very dim. A narrow band Hydrogen Alpha filter allows us to see more of this emission/reflection nebula due to the energized Hydrogen gas from the radiation emitted from the nearby star, Gamma Cassiopeia. The front edge of the nebula takes the brunt of the stars radiation and glows red, while the blue area behind the front, is simply reflected and refracted light.

Gamma Cassiopeia is the middle star of the well-known “W” asterism of Cassiopeia in the autumn sky. This hot, blue, Class B star is an eruptive variable, which means it will vary in brightness from about 1.6 magnitude to about 3.0. Gamma Cas is about 40,000 times more luminous than our sun (including the ultraviolet radiation from the 25,000 Kelvin surface) and about 15 times more massive. One of the very peculiar aspects of this Be class star is that it rotates at about 300 kilometers per hour at its equator. This is 150 times faster than our suns rotation. This rotation, along with the size of the star, is believed to cause a “decretion” disk. Mass is lost from the rapidly spinning star and forms a disk around the star. It is believed that this disk contributes to the variation in luminosity.

Image Acquisition information:

Date: December 2007
Location: Star-lodge Observatory
Scope: FSQ 106
Camera: STL 11000
L(Ha)R(Ha)GB 100:40:60:60:60

Cosmic Christmas Wreath

2007-12-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

(Click to enlarge)

At this Christmas season, our thoughts turn to the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem, our Savior Jesus Christ. One wonders what the Shepherds must have felt as they looked into the sky and saw the new star...and then received further witness of his arrival from an Angel and Heavenly Choirs. The witness of his arrival some 2000 years ago came from above. Today, the Heavens continue to witness to us that He lives and loves us; that he has magnificent power, and is concerned for our welfare. Speaking of the Heavenly signs that are made available to us as a continuing witness, the prophet Moses declared, “Behold, . . . all things are created and made to bear record of [God], . . . things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth . . . : all things bear record of [God]” (Moses 6:63; emphasis added). Enoch (in an apocryphal record) said that ... "I blessed the Lord of glory, who had made those great and splendid signs, that they might display the magnificence of his works to angels and to the souls of men; and that these might glorify all his works and operations; might see the effect of his power; might glorify the great labor of his hands; and bless him forever." Enoch 35:3 (Apocryphal)

The above image serves as a reminder of the magnificence of His works and the great labor extended on our behalf. My inclination is like that of Enoch's...to strive to "bless Him forever"

IC 1396
Located in the constellation Cepheus, IC 1396 is one of the largest emission nebulae in our galaxy, spanning 3 degrees across the sky, which is equivalent to 6 full moons. It lies almost 3000 light years away from earth. This image is taken with an Ha or Hydrogen Alpha filter. Energetic ultraviolet light radiating from the central star in this image, strips electrons away from the hydrogen gas that is the main component of this nebula. Then, as the electrons recombine with the hydrogen gas, photons are emitted. The strongest visible emission band is in the red part of the spectrum and is the Hydrogen Alpha Band, which is what we are seeing in this image.

The Elephant Trunk Nebula is a famous object seen in the upper left quadrant. The bright rim on this extended cloud is indicative of the active stellar formation that is occurring within the cloud. Strong radiation from nascent stars makes this area glow. Eventually the dark clouds will be blown away by this radiation, leaving the stars to our view. This process is seen clearly in the more widely viewed “Pillars of Creation” shot taken of the Eagle Nebula by the Hubble telescope. Also visible are multiple black, dense, clouds of dust called Bok Globules. These are also areas of new star formation. (Image was chosen as APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) on NASA's website on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2007)

Image Acquisition information:

Date: November, 2007

Location: Starlodge Observatory, Ione CA

Telescope: FSQ 106

Camera: STL 11000

L(Ha)RGB : 80:30:30:30

The Wandering Sisters

2007-11-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

(Click image to enlarge)

The Wandering Sisters (Pleiades, The Seven Sisters)

As we look up into the cosmos, the stars appear to be floating motionless in a sea of black…docile and fixed. Nothing could be further from the truth. An example of the dramatic motion of the stars is seen here in this image of Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters. This familiar grouping found in the constellation Taurus, lies about 450 light years away from us. The seven major stars are actually just seven of an estimated 1000 stars that are part of this open cluster of stars that is moving through space as a gravitationally bound group. The open cluster spans about 80 light years.

For many years astronomers believed the nebulosity surrounding these stars to be the remnants of the molecular clouds that gave birth to the stars. More recently, it has become clear that these clouds are not related to the star field at all. In fact, the star cluster, which is traveling at about 45 kilometers per second (162,000 km/hr), has crashed into this preexisting interstellar cloud. The chaos of the collision is reflected in the many diverse tendrils of nebulosity moving in a variety of directions. Most of the stars are young, hot A,B stars, which are probably less than 100 million years old.

As a side note, Astronomers using the Gemini and Spitzer telescopes, recently identified what appears to be the remnants of 2 planets or planetesimals that collided which were orbiting the star HD 23514. This star is in the Pleiades cluster, and slightly out of the Field of view of the image shown above.

Image acquisition info:

Date: November 2007
Locations: Starlodge observatory, Ione, CA
Telescope: FSQ 106
Camera: STL 11000LRGB 90:60:60:60

Surprise Guest Appearance

2007-11-08T14:07:00.000-08:00

(Click image to enlarge)

Comet Holmes

Comets are balls of ice, dust and rock that orbit the Sun. Most have their origin in the extremely cold Oort cloud that surrounds our Solar System. The Nucleus or core is usually less than 50 kilometers in diameter. As they near the sun in their orbit, their core heats and the ice begins to sublimate and outgassing occurs, releasing dust and gas that forms a huge Coma. This Coma can be as large as the sun. A tail of gas usually extends behind, sometimes millions of miles in length.

Comet 17/P Holmes is the subject of this image and was first discovered by Edwin Holmes in 1892. Within the last 2 weeks, it has put on quite a show, brightening from magnitude 17 to magnitude 2.8. Almost a million times brighter in just a few days! Astronomers are not sure of the reason for this sudden change. It is actually moving away from the sun right now in its orbit, and is almost 2 AU’s away. (180,000,000 miles)
Holmes does not have much of a tail and appears as a large sphere. The size of the nucleus is about 3.4 kilometers. However in the last week, the coma has expanded to a diameter of 700,000 kilometers. This is about 70% of the diameter of the Sun. It will be interesting to see if Comet Holmes has any other surprises for us in the next few weeks.

Aquisition Details:

Location- Starlodge Observatory

Date- November 6, 2007

Telescope- FSQ 106

Camera- STL 11000

RGB- (3) 1 minute subframes taken for each color

"Island Universe"

2007-10-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

(Close up- click on image to enlarge)

Andromeda Galaxy, M 31

For many years, philosophers and early astronomers looked into the heavens and believed that what they were seeing was the sum total of the universe… that our Galaxy defined the extent of the cosmos. Faint “fuzzies” that were observed in small aperture telescopes were thought to be large gas clouds, or Nebulae, within our own Galaxy. In 1917, astronomer Heber Curtis observed a Nova event within M31. He noticed that it was 10 times fainter than he would have expected it to be, had it taken place in our galaxy. This led him to hypothesize that M31 was not a nebula, but an “Island Universe”, a distinct galaxy separate from our own, 500,000 light years away. It wasn’t until 1925 that Edwin Hubble discovered Cepheid variable stars within M31 (which are used to determine distances in space) and was able to confirm that M31 was indeed a galaxy some 2.5 million light years from our own! This discovery by Hubble opened our understanding as well as the doors to further galactic observations. With it came the realization that our Universe is made of billions of these “Island Universes” or galaxies. Each one containing billions of stars and each galaxy moving away from each other at incredible speeds (about 71 kilometers per second per mega parsec, or 256,000 kilometers per hour for every 3 million light years of space). In other words, the further the galaxy is away from our own, the faster it is moving away from us. One exception to this rule is the relationship of our own Galaxy with Andromeda. We are actually moving towards each other at 140 kilometers per second! Before you decide to look for another galaxy to live in, you can relax. It will be another 3 billion years before the galaxies collide.

The Andromeda Galaxy, along with our own Galaxy, the Milky Way, are the 2 largest Spiral Galaxies in our region of the Universe. They, along with about 30 other smaller galaxies, comprise a small cluster of galaxies known as the Local Group. M31 contains about 1 trillion stars, whereas the Milky Way is estimated to contain about 200 billion. There is a slight warp observed in M31, which is believed to be caused by tidal or gravitational forces from nearby galaxies. The outer spiral arms contain many HII, or star forming Nebulae, which can be seen as small red areas in the image. The blue areas are concentrations of young hot blue stars that have had their embryonic gas coverings blown off by Supernova shock waves or interstellar winds. Dust lanes can be easily observed throughout the galaxy, winding their way toward the Galactic Nucleus. Recent observations with the WFPC camera on Hubble show stars orbiting the center of M31 at tremendous speeds… 2.2 million miles per hour!! The only thing massive enough to cause such speeds would be a black hole with a mass of about 140 million suns. It is currently believed that similar black holes lie at the center of most galaxies in the universe. The galaxy M110 can be seen above M31 (note the faint dust lanes near core), and M32, a dwarf elliptical companion galaxy, is observed on the lower right edge of Andromeda. A close up is included in order to see the core with more detail. The many stars seen surrounding M31 are in the foreground, and are part of our Milky Way Galaxy.

Stephen Hawking had this to say regarding the immensity of the cosmos:
"[Our] earth is a medium-sized planet orbiting around an average star in the outer suburbs of an ordinary spiral galaxy, which is itself only one of about a million million galaxies in the observable universe" (A Brief History of Time [988],26; emphasis added).

This is an image of one of those million million galaxies. I hope you can feel something of the awe I feel as I reflect upon the grandeur of these creations and the incalculable love and concern of their Creator.

Image Information:
Date: September 2007
Location: Star Lodge Observatory
Telescope: Takahashi FSQ 106
Camera: SBIG STL 11000
LRGB 140:140:140:140 (Astrodon Filters)

Ripples in the Pond

2007-09-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

(Click image to enlarge)

NGC 6960

This image is NGC 6960 and is part of the Cygnus Loop. It is also known as the “Veil Nebula” or sometimes, “The witches broom”. About 15,000 years ago, there was a cataclysmic explosion in the area of our Galaxy that we call Cygnus, or the Swan. A large star of at least 8 solar masses exploded in what is known as a Supernova. This single event released 100 times more energy than our sun has produced over its 4.5 Billion year lifetime. Gas and debris were sent flying into interstellar space at tremendous speeds. Since that time, the remnant gases have been spreading across space, like expanding ripples in a pond, and have created a ring of gas that is about 80 light years across and is known as the Cygnus Loop. The area lies about 1,500 light years away from us in the Milky Way Galaxy and is about 300 light years above the galactic plane. Another exploding star in the vicinity, which is estimated to have exploded about 5,000 years ago, sent a shock wave that has collided with the remnants of the first Supernova. This turbulent interface has energized the gases and allows us to detect them in the visible spectrum. Thin filaments can be seen in the image that are reflective of the shock fronts impact on the surrounding gases. These shock waves are believed to be triggering events for the genesis of new stars, as it precipitates the accretion and condensation of interstellar gas. (Published in October issue of Astrophotography Insights Magazine as well as February issue of "Sky and Telescope" magazine)

Image acquisition information:

Location: Starlodge Observatory, Ione, CA
Date: August, 2007
Scope: Takahashi FSQ 106
Mount: Paramount ME
Camera: STL 11000
Ha:R:G:B 170:130:130:130
Ha was used for luminance, and blended into Red channel.

Out Of The Shadow, Into The Light

2007-08-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

Total Eclipse

Edge of Umbra

More Light

Out of the Shadow

(Click on images above to enlarge)

Early Tuesday morning, on August 28th, I woke up at 2:45 am to see the total Lunar eclipse that was visible for the first time in many years on the west coast. I had heard about them, and seen pictures of them, but never witnessed a full eclipse. I was at the StarLodge and when I went to bed, the landscape was bathed in moon glow due the full moon that was rising into the celestial canopy. Hardly any constelations could be seen because of the radiant glow of the moon. At 2:45 my alarm went off and I wearily stepped outside and looked up. I felt like I was in a dream. All the stars had returned, the milky way was bright, and the moon looked like it had been dipped in red paint. I quickly setup my Canon 10D on my FSQ 106 refractor and took some images. For the next 90 minutes I watched the moon pass through the main shadow of earth (The Umbra).

Even though the moon was in the earth's shadow, there was still enough remnant light that was passing next to the moon to cause it to glow a crimson red. This light had passed through the earth's atmosphere before it reached the moon. The blue part of the spectrum being diffracted more readily in earth's atmosphere, leaving the red light. This is similar to the effect we see at sunset, when the suns rays are more oblique and pass through more of the earth's atmosphere, filtering out the blue due to diffraction and leaving a red hue.

For me, the most inspiring part of the experience was watching the light return, as the moon slowly moved out from beneath the earths shadow and became once again bathed in light.

The Creator's Pallete

2007-08-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

(Click image for larger view)
Due to the limited amount of light that reaches our eyes from the stars, most of the color that exists in the cosmos remains hidden from our observation. Only when we look into the heavens with the lense of a camera, and allow it to gather photons for an extended period of time, do we begin to appreciate the artistic eye of the Creator of our Universe.

Some 500 light years away, in the constellation Scorpio, lies one of the most colorful areas of the Milky Way Galaxy, the Rho Ophiuchus Molecular Cloud complex. It surrounds the triple star Rho Ophiuchi, which is located in the right side of this image. Antares, a giant red star, on the left side of the image, aggresively blows solar winds through the cloud, forming the ionized yellow nebulae that are seen surrounding the star. Antares is 40,000 times more luminous than our sun, and if placed where our sun is located, would extend out to Jupiter. M4, a large globular cluster, can be seen in the lower left hand corner of the image. The dark nebula in the middle of the image is L1688 and is a site of intense star formation.

This image is my first attempt at a mosaic. It represents about 15 hours of data aquisition.

Details:
Date: July 2007
Location: Starlodge Observatory
Scope: FSQ 106
Camera: STL 11000
LRGB 120:60:60:60 for all quadrants of Mosaic

Brightest Pearl

2007-02-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

(Click image for larger view)
One of the first constellations I memorized as a child was Orion’s Belt. Those 3 stars were easily discernable in the winter sky. I used to take my Dad’s binoculars and let my view fall below the belt to the sword. In time I would locate a visual treasure, Orion's nebula. Little did I realize at that time, but a magnificent pearl was right before my eyes at the end of Orion’s Belt. Alnitak, or Zeta Orionis, is the left hand star of the 3 stars of the belt. The ancient Arabs called these stars the “belt of al jauza’ or the “string of pearls”. Alnitak is the brightest class O star in the sky, a hot blue supergiant. The region around Alnitak is remarkable as well, containing several dusty clouds of interstellar gas, including the famed "Horsehead Nebula" to the south. The nose of the horse can just be seen in the lower left corner of the image. Also of interest is the Flame Nebula, or NGC 2024, to the right of Alnitak. Seven molecular dust clouds work their way like tendrils into the Flame Nebula. The red glow of the Nebula would indicate that Hygrogen gas has been ionized and is recombining with it’s lost electrons. But from what star? Recent infrared studies confirm what scientists have assumed for some years, that several young hot stars are hidden beneath the dust clouds, and are the source of energy for ionizing the gas.

Alnitak is the central theme of this image and rightfully so. It approaches first magnitude even though at a distance of 800 light years. It is 10,000 times more luminous than the Sun. However, its 31,000 Kelvin surface radiates mostly in the ultraviolet where the eye cannot see, and when that it taken into account, Alnitak's luminosity climbs to 100,000 times solar. A planet like Earth would have to be 300 times farther from Alnitak than Earth is from the Sun (8 times Pluto's distance) for life like ours to survive. Such brilliance can only come from a star of great mass, Alnitak's estimated to be about 20 times larger than our sun. Like all O stars, Alnitak is a source of X-rays. These seem to come from a wind that blows from its surface at nearly 2000 kilometers per second. X-rays are produced when blobs of gas in the wind crash violently into one another.

Image acquisition info-

Location: Starlodge Observatory
Date: Jan 2007
Camera: ST-10XME
Scope: Takahashi FSQ 106
Mount: Paramount ME
LRGB data: 200:130:100:145 all binned 1x1

A look in the Mirror

2006-10-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Have you even wondered what our own Milky Way Galaxy looks like from our galaxtic neighbors? NGC 7331 of the Deer Lick group is considered to be very analogous to our very own galaxy. It lies some 50 million light years away in the constellation Pegasus. 2 background galaxies can be seen above which are about 1/10th the size, which translates to being about 10 times further away. The galactic bulge, consisting of a higher concentration of stars, can be clearly seen above and below the galaxy. If this was our own galaxy that we were looking at, our sun and accompanying solar system would lie about 2/3 of the way out from the center, and we would be just 1 of over 200 billion stars.

Image information:

Taken at Star Lodge Observatory in October 2006
Camera: ST10-xme
Telescope: Takahashi Mewlon 300
LRGB 120:170:130:220

NGC 7023, Iris Nebula

2006-08-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

The Iris Nebula is one of my favorite celestial objects. Like delicate cosmic petals, clouds of interstellar dust and gas have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile star fields of the constellation Cepheus. Within the Iris, dusty nebular material surrounds a massive, hot, young star in its formative years. The dominant color of the nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. There are also some violet to red clouds directly above and below the star, reminding us of the ionized hydrogen present from this energized star. Dark, obscuring clouds of dust and cold molecular gas are also present and can lead the eye to see other convoluted and fantastic shapes. As shown here, the Iris Nebula is about 6 light-years across. This image represents about 6 hours of light gathering.

Imaging details:

Camera- st10-sme

Scope- Mewlon 300

LRGB 170:60:60:90

Location- Starlodge Observatory

Painting with Light

2006-05-01T23:13:00.000-07:00

At the request of some family members, I am creating this forum to share one of my passions with friends and family...the imaging of the heavens. Astronomy has always been a fascination with me, since I stayed up till the twilight hours of July 20, 1969 to watch Neil Armstrong step onto the moon. As a young boy I dreamed of making a space ship and flying to the far reaches of space. I wanted to try and satisfy the wonder and awe that filled my heart as I looked up at the cosmos and dreamed of other worlds and galaxies. It wasn't until I became an adult that I realized that even though I couldn't travel to the sources of light, I could still experience the thrill of discovery by allowing the light to come to me. By using very sensitive charged coupling devices, CCD's, one can gather light that has traveled for millions and millions of years and finally arrived at earth. By this means, one can open a window into the heavens and take a peak. We are also opening a window back into time as we view light that is millenniums old. So here are some of my attempts to paint a picture with light. It is a feeble attempt to capture what God has so artistically created for our enjoyment and blessing. For when all is said and done, my purpose is to demonstrate the majesty and glory of our loving Creator, as well as hopefully engender a greater sense of awe and wonder in the hearts of those who take time to look up.
(Other astrophotos I have taken can be seen at my Photobase website. The link is at right).

M81 and M82

2006-05-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here are two companion galaxies that I recently imaged from Astrohaven Observatory. They are M81 and M82. M81 is the large spiral galaxy in the upper left. It is also called Bode's Nebule, since it was once thought to be a large gas cloud or nebula. Edwin Hubble's landmark discovery in the 1920's revealed that many of these so called gas clouds, were actually galaxies like our own containing billions of stars. The other galaxy is M82, or the cigar galaxy. It has jets of hydrogen gas and dust that are spewing out of both sides. The gas appears red as it is being ionized by newly forming stars in the region. Stellar winds from the star fomation cause a galactic "superwind" that shoots the gas 10,000 light years into space. It is likely that the irregular shape of M82 occured from passing too close to it's companion M81. These two beauties lie about 12 million light years away from us. (A light year is about 6 trillion miles!) To put this in perspective, if you were traveling in the fastest space ship that we currently have, it would take you 34,000 years to travel 1 light year. Well, after refueling at the gas station after the 34,000 years, you would then have to make the pit stop 11,999,999 times again. It gives new meaning to the question, "Dad, are we almost there yet?"

Imaging info:

Location: Astrohaven Observatory
Scope: Takahashi FSQ 106
Mount: Paramount ME
Camera: ST10xme
LRGB 50:25:25:25
Date: April, 2006