NGC 6914

 

NGC 6914 lies 6,000 light-years away in Cygnus and is a very rare region in which one can see all three classes of nebulae, red emission, blue reflection, and dark obscuring, within a very small expanse of sky. The broad expanse of hydrogen gas is re-emitting red hydrogen alpha light as a result of ionization from the ultraviolet light from several hot stars of the Cygnus OB2 association. These stars also illuminate the blue reflection nebulae of residual dust from their formation. The entire tableau silhouettes numerous dark nebulae also being sculpted by the stellar winds emitted by these stars.

Technical details:

Optics: Vixen VC200L @ f/6.4
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro (belt mod)
Guiding: ST-237 guide chip of SBIG ST2000XM
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: Ha,L,R,G,B
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Cygnus
Date: Aug 22, 2020
Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory 1
Exposure:
L=10x600 sec bin 1x1
R=10x300 sec bin 1x1
G=10x300 sec bin 1x1
B=10x300 sec bin 1x1
Ha=4x900 sec bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias 

NGC 2276 & NGC 2300

 

An odd couple lives some 100 million light years away. Here we find a spiral galaxy, NGC 2276 on the top, and its neighbor NGC 2300 on the bottom. Space scientists conducting a study of ultraluminous x-ray sources (ULXs) looking for intermediate-mass black holes using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory believe they have found a candidate. An interesting object, called NGC 2276-3c, located in an arm of spiral galaxy NGC 2276, appears to have the right characteristics.

Technical details:

Optics: Vixen VC200L @ f/6.4

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro (belt mod)

Guiding: ST-237 guide chip of SBIG ST2000XM

Camera: SBIG ST2000XM

Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9

Filters: L,R,G,B

CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius

Constellation: Cepheus

Date: Aug 21, 2020

Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory 1

Exposure:

L=10x300 sec bin 1x1

R=10x300 sec bin 1x1

G=10x300 sec bin 1x1

B=10x300 sec bin 1x1

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias 

NGC 891

 

In long exposures made with great telescopes, the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891 looks like a flying saucer pitching sharply through a city of suns. The galaxy's supernatural appearance was naturally befitting for the television series The Outer Limits, which fathered the vast science-fiction genre we enjoy today. In size and mass NGC 891 is comparable to our own Milky Way. Its rotational velocities - the orbital speeds of stars, gas, and dust around the galaxy's core - are also very similar to those in our galaxy.

Optics: Vixen VC200L @ f/6.4
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro (belt mod)
Guiding: ST-237 guide chip of SBIG ST2000XM
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: L
CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Andromeda
Date: Aug 20, 2020
Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory 1
Exposure:
Lum=10x600 sec bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias