The Andromeda Galaxy M31 a truly magnificent sight. It is the sister of our own galaxy and the closest major galaxy. Our Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Triangulum Galaxy M33 are members of the Local Group. M31 contains about 1 trillion stars, twice as many as our home galaxy. It’s not only one of […]
On end of Markarians Chain with M84, M86 and NGC4438 (The Eyes) plus lot of smaller galaxies. Straight LRGB with data from the Astro-Physics RH-305 at Deep Sky West Observatory. Exposure: LRGB (24,24,24,24) x 600sec Date: 2018-04-10…2018-05-16 Setup: Astro-Physics RH-305 with FLI ML8300 Site: Deep Sky West Observatory, NM, USA
This is NGC 3718, a twisted spiral galaxy with dust lanes obscuring its yellowish central regions. Only 150000 light-years to the left is another large spiral galaxy, NGC 3729. The two are likely interacting gravitationally, accounting for the peculiar appearance of NGC 3718. While this galaxy pair lies about 52 million light-years away, the Hickson […]
The Triangulum Galaxy (M33, NGC598) the third largest member of the local group, with its larger sisters the Andromeda Galaxy and our Milky Way. It consists of 40 billion stars, really small compared to the 400 billion of the Milky Way and the 1 trillion of the Andromeda Galaxy. This image is an LRGB composite […]
My first shot of the Fireworks Galaxy, NGC6946, with the Supernova SN2017eaw (marked) that was discovered 13 days earlier, on May 14th. A list of photometric and photographic observation of the supernova can be found here. Data taken at the Sternenwelt Vogelsberg. My equipment was not running too well, guiding and auto-focussing were bumpy. I […]
This is the Sunflower Galaxy, M63, seen with the RH-305 setup at the Deep Sky West Observatory. I processed this image to bring out the halo surrounding the galaxy, particularly the arch extending below the galaxy. Exposure: LRGB, (34,14,16,19) x 600sec Date: 2017-04-16…2017-05-19 Setup: Astro-Physics RH-305 with FLI ML8300 Site: Deep Sky West Observatory, NM, […]
This is M81 as a second test target for the RH-305 setup at the Deep Sky West Observatory. I will reprocess this target as more data is coming in, but for now I am happy with it. Exposure: LRGB, (52,18,13,12) x 600sec Date: 2017-03-01…2017-04-16 Setup: Astro-Physics RH-305 with FLI ML8300 Site: Deep Sky West Observatory, […]
This is a first test image with a new setup at Deep Sky West – an Astro-Physics 305mm f3.8 Riccardi-Honders Astrograph. A nice galaxy machine.. here M106 as a test. Exposure: LRGB, (27,33,18,33) x 300sec Date: 2017-02-22…2017-03-15 Setup: Astro-Physics RH-305 with FLI ML8300 Site: Deep Sky West Observatory, NM, USA
Markarian’s Chain as seen from the dark skies of the Deep Sky West observatory. This LRGB image with a total exposure time of almost 17 hours shows lots and lots of tiny galaxies beyond the well known chain. Exposure: LRGB, (19,16,16,16) x 900sec Date: 2016-12-27…2017-01-09 Setup: Takahashi FSQ106 EDXIII with QSI 683WSG-8 Site: Deep Sky […]
The Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, in a wide-field setting. This is an LRGB composite with a little bit of Ha admixture from a total of 22 hours of exposures taken at the Deep Sky West Observatory. Exposure: L 32 x 900sec, RGB (16,16,16) x 600sec, Ha 16 x 1800sec Date: 2016-04-10…2016-05-04 Setup: Takahashi FSQ106 EDXIII with […]
The Leo Triplet, a well known trio of beautiful galaxies – M65, M66 and NGC3828. Actually, there are many more tiny galaxies in this image. All of them belong to the M66 galaxy group with the Leo Triplet at its heart. In this deep exposure you also see the tidal tail extending from the edge […]
The Whale and Crowbar Galaxies, NGC4632 and NGC4656, in an LRGB composite. A pair of interesting galaxies in Canes Venatici, which might have had a close encounter in the past. The Whale Galaxy is an edge-on spiral galaxy with a slightly distorted silhouette, its about the same size as our Milky Way. The Crowbar or […]