Elephant's Trunk Nebula

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/5.2
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro
Guiding: SBIG ST2000XM ST4
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: Astronomik LRGB
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Cepheus
Date: Oct 27, 2019
Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory I
Exposure:
L:R:G:B:Ha - 6 hours bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story, the Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396, in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus. Of course, this cosmic elephant's trunk is over 20 light-years long. The resulting image highlights the bright swept-back ridges that outline pockets of cool interstellar dust and gas. Such embedded, dark, tendril-shaped clouds contain the raw material for star formation and hide protostars within the obscuring cosmic dust. Nearly 3,000 light-years distant, the relatively faint IC 1396 complex covers a large region on the sky, spanning over 5 degrees. This dramatic close-up covers a 2 degree wide field, about the size of 4 Full Moons.

NGC 7331

Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 7331 is often touted as an analog to our own Milky Way. About 50 million light-years distant in the northern constellation Pegasus, NGC 7331 was recognized early on as a spiral nebula and is actually one of the brighter galaxies not included in Charles Messier's famous 18th century catalog. Since the galaxy's disk is inclined to our line-of-sight, long telescopic exposures often result in an image that evokes a strong sense of depth. The effect is further enhanced in this sharp image by galaxies that lie beyond the gorgeous island universe. The background galaxies are about one tenth the apparent size of NGC 7331 and so lie roughly ten times farther away. Their close alignment on the sky with NGC 7331 occurs just by chance. Seen here through faint foreground dust clouds lingering above the plane of Milky Way, this visual grouping of galaxies is also known as the Deer Lick Group.

Optics: Vixen VC200L @ f/6.4
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro
Guiding: SBIG ST2000XM ST4
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: Astronomik LRGB
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Pegasus
Date: Aug 31, 2019
Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory I
Exposure:
Lum: 22x5 min bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

LBN 270

LBN 270 is a dim nebula located in Cygnus. This image is centered on the nebula but the exact location is elusive. LBN 273, 274 and 292 comprise the brightest nebula in the image. Most of the nebulosity in this image has also been cataloged by Dickel, Wendker and Boeritz (DWB). The catalog of various Ha regions located in the Cygnus X Region was published in 1969. The two blue reflection nebulae are cataloged as NGC 6194 as well as vdB 131 and 132.

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/5.2
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro
Guiding: SBIG ST2000XM ST4
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: Astronomik LRGB
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Cygnus
Date: Aug 25, 2019
Location: Sekoulas - Ileia - Greece - Albireo Observatory 2
Exposure
L: 10x10 min bin 1x1
R:G:B: 10x5 min bin 1x1

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

NGC 6946 The 'Fireworks' Galaxy LRGB

NGC 6946 is a spiral galaxy separated by less than 1 degree from the beautiful open cluster NGC 6939. Often referred to as the "firecracker" galaxy because of the large number of supernova (9) that have occurred in this galaxy since 1917. 

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/5.2
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 synscan Pro
Guiding: SBIG ST2000XM ST4
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: Astronomik LRGB
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Cygnus
Date: Aug 24, 2019
Location: Sekoulas - Ileia - Greece - Albireo Observatory 2
Exposure
L: 10x10 min bin 1x1
R:G:B: 10x5 min bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

NGC 6946 The 'Fireworks' Galaxy

NGC 6946 is a spiral galaxy separated by less than 1 degree from the beautiful open cluster NGC 6939. Often referred to as the "firecracker" galaxy because of the large number of supernova (9) that have occurred in this galaxy since 1917. 

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/5.2
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro
Guiding: SBIG ST2000XM ST4
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: L
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Cygnus
Date: Aug 4, 2019
Location: Albireo Observatory I - Korinthos, Greece
Exposure: L=24x5 min bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

NGC 6910

NGC 6910 is an open cluster in the constellation Cygnus. It was discovered by William Herschel on October 17, 1786. The cluster was also observed by John Herschel on September 18, 1828. NGC 6910 is located half a degree east-north east of Gamma Cygni, also known as Sadr. It may be physically related with the nebula IC 1318, which is also known as the Gamma Cygni nebula complex and lies at a similar distance, behind the galactic Great Rift.

Optics: Vixen VC200L @ f/6.4
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro
Guiding: 9x50 finderscope, DMK21AU04, PHD2 guiding
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: L,R,G,B,Ha
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Cygnus
Date: July 26/27, 2019
Location: Albireo Observatory I - Korinthos, Greece
Exposure: L:R:G:B:Ha=60:60:60:60:60 min bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

The Cygnus Wall Complex

Sometimes, stars form in walls -- bright walls of interstellar gas. In this vivid skyscape, stars are forming in the W-shaped ridge of emission known as the Cygnus Wall. Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive outline popularly called The North America Nebula, the cosmic ridge spans about 20 light-years. 

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/5.2
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro
Guiding: 9x50 finderscope, DMK21AU04, PHD2 guiding
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: L,R,G,B,Ha
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Cygnus
Date: July 19/20, 2019
Location: Albireo Observatory I - Korinthos, Greece
Exposure: L:R:G:B:Ha=60:40:40:40:175 min bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

M29

M29 is a small packet of 80 stars contained in a tiny 10' sphere of sky. It lies in a dense region of Milky Way that runs the length of the celestial Swan (Cygnus) - a region laced with dark lanes of interstellar dust. It would be no doubt be a more striking sight were it not for the dense obscuring matter that veils the region.

Optics: VixenVC200L @ f/6.4

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro

Guiding: 9x50 finderscope, DMK21AU04, PHD2 guiding

Camera: SBIG ST2000XM

Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9

Filters: L,R,G,B,Ha

CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius

Constellation: Cygnus

Date: July 5/6, 2019

Location: Albireo Observatory I - Korinthos, Greece

Exposure: L:R:G:B:Ha=30:30:30:30:150 min bin 1x1

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

M16 the Eagle Nebula

A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, M16 is also known as The Eagle Nebula. This beautifully detailed image of the region includes cosmic sculptures made famous in Hubble Space Telescope close-ups of the starforming complex. Described as elephant trunks or Pillars of Creation, dense, dusty columns rising near the center are light-years in length but are gravitationally contracting to form stars. Energetic radiation from the cluster stars erodes material near the tips, eventually exposing the embedded new stars. Extending from the ridge of bright emission left of center is another dusty starforming column known as the Fairy of Eagle Nebula. M16 and the Eagle Nebula lie about 7,000 light-years away, an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes in a nebula rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake).

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/7.7
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 synscan Pro
Guiding: 9x50 finderscope, DMK21AU04, PHD guiding
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: Ha
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Serpens
Date: June 29, 2019
Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory
Exposure
Ha=4x30min bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

M8 - Lagoon Nebula

Very conspicuous to the naked eye, M8 appears as a large curdle of galactic vapor off the western edge of the Milky Way that rises from the teapot's spout. The emission nebula, powered by the radiative energy of the very hot 6th-magnitude star 9 Sagittarii, 9th-magnitude Herschel 36, and possibly some obscured stars, is complemented on its eastern side by NGC 6530 - a loose spritz of 113 very young suns, all of which are probably intimately associated with the M8 nebulosity that enshrouds them in loops and swirls.

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/7.7
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 synscan Pro
Guiding: 9x50 finderscope, DMK21AU04, PHD guiding
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: L,R,G,B,Ha
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Sagittarius
Date: June 28, 2019
Location: Parnonas mountain - Greece
Exposure
L:R:G:B:Ha=120:30:30:30:15 min bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

M92 Globular Cluster

Located 27,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Hercules, this globular cluster — a ball of stars that orbits our galaxy’s core like a satellite — was first discovered by the German astronomer Johann Elert Bode in 1777. With an apparent magnitude of 6.3, M92 is one of the brightest globular clusters in the Milky Way and is visible to the naked eye under good observing conditions. It can be most easily spotted during the month of July. The cluster is very tightly packed with stars, containing roughly 330,000 stars in total.

Optics: Vixen VC200L @ f/6.4
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 synscan Pro
Guiding: SBIG ST2000XM ST4
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: L,R,G,B
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Hercules
Date: June 23, 2019
Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory
Exposure
L:R:G:B=50:20:20:20 min bin 1x1

Moon with 22% phase

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f7/7

Mount: Vixen SPHINX

Camera: Canon EOS 450D

Constellation: Cancer

Date: June 7, 2019

Location: Kifisia - Greece

Exposure: 15 sec, ISO 100

M109 Galaxy

Messier 109 (M109, NGC 3992) is a magnitude 9.8 barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Ursa Major, and is located at a distance of about 55 million light years. It has an apparent size of 7x4 arc minutes. The galaxy disk is fairly large but pretty faint and it was a challenge to bring out detail. In telescopic views, its striking central bar gives the galaxy the appearance of the Greek letter "theta", θ, a common mathematical symbol representing an angle. M109 is joined by three spiky foreground stars strung out across this frame.

Optics: Vixen VC200L @ f/6.4

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 synscan Pro

Guiding: SBIG ST2000XM ST4

Camera: SBIG ST2000XM

Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9

Filters: Astronomik L,R,G,B

CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius

Constellation: Ursa Major

Date: Mar 22, 2019

Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory

Exposure

L:R:G:B: 50:30:30:30 min bin 1x1

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias