Around Gamma Cygni (HaLRGB)

Supergiant star Gamma Cygni lies at the center of the Northern Cross, famous asterism in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Known by its proper name, Sadr, the bright star lies at the bottom of this gorgeous skyscape, featuring a complex of stars, dust clouds, and glowing nebulae along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. The field of view spans almost 4 degrees (eight Full Moons) on the sky and includes emission nebula IC 1318 and open star cluster NGC 6910. Left of Gamma Cygni and shaped like two glowing cosmic wings divided by a long dark dust lane, IC 1318's popular name is understandably the Butterfly Nebula. Above and left of Gamma Cygni, are the young, still tightly grouped stars of NGC 6910. Some distance estimates for Gamma Cygni place it at around 1,800 light-years while estimates for IC 1318 and NGC 6910 range from 2,000 to 5,000 light-years.

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/5.2
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: July 06-07, 2020
Location: Sekoulas - Ileia - Greece - Albireo Observatory 2
Exposure: 
L=8x900 min bin 1x1
R=6x600 min bin 1x1
G=6x600 min bin 1x1
B=6x600 min bin 1x1
Ha=3x1200 min bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy

Optics: VixenVC200L @ 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: Canes Venatici
Date: June 12-14, 2020
Location: Albireo Observatory I - Korinthos, Greece
Exposure: L=200 min bin 1x1
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy. At only 30 million light years distant and fully 60 thousand light years across, M51, also known as NGC 5194, is one of the brightest and most picturesque galaxies on the sky. Its companion is an eliptical galaxy known as NGC 5195.

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse - 10 Jan 2020

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/7.7
Mount: Vixen Sphinx
Camera: Canon EOS 450D
Location: Kifisia-Greece
Date: 10 January 2020

A penumbral lunar eclipse took place on 10 January 2020. It was the first of four penumbral lunar eclipses in 2020. In a penumbral lunar eclipse, only the more diffuse outer shadow of Earth – the penumbra – falls on the moon’s face. This third kind of lunar eclipse is much more subtle, and much more difficult to observe, than either a total or partial eclipse of the moon. There is never a dark bite taken out of the moon, as in a partial eclipse. The eclipse never progresses to reach the dramatic minutes of totality. At best, at mid-eclipse, very observant people will notice a dark shading on the moon’s face. Others will look and notice nothing at all.

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