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Hi all,
Finally, the image of M 78 has been uploaded. It is an LRGB image (yes, no narrowband this time…) with a total exposure time of over 23 hours. This image contains several nebulae, as NGC 2071, the McNeil’s Nebula, some Dark Nebulae and a Herbig Haro object (HH24).
You can find it at:
Enjoy!
Josep
Hi all,
A new image, this time an emission nebula, IC 2177, has been uploaded. Usually known as the Seagull Nebula, this image shows a detailed crop of its head. It was taken with the CDK 20″ in narrowband and mapped to natural colors.
You will find it at:
IC 2177. Gum 1. The seagull’s Head
Enjoy!
Josep
PS: Stay tuned, soon another nebula, this time it will be a classic… M78…
Hi all,
A new image, NGC 1360, a Planetary Nebula, has been uploaded. This image is the result of a collaboration with Don Goldman (we are telescope partners at his telescopes located at the SSO, Australia). He had imaged this nebula more than four years ago and provided his data to be added to my data into a deeper image.
I would like to stress the use, in this new image, of a NII filter to highlight the upper, deep red, jet. You can find this image at:
Enjoy!
Josep
Hi all,
A new image has been uploaded. This is the last one of the images taken, in this season, with the wonderful TOA 130 (wide field). Now, we have connected back the (also wonderful) CDK 20″ and the new images will be taken with it. Meanwhile, please enjoy this often overlooked nebula: the Prawn Nebula, IC 4628. The image was taken through narrowband filters and mapped to natural color. You can find it here:
IC 4628. The Prawn Nebula. Wide Field
Enjoy!
Josep
Hi all,
Just after I uploaded the wide field image including NGC 6188 (the Fighting Dragons of Ara), I saw that the original image, higher resolution, taken with the CDK 20″, needed a reprocessing, because it was clear that the OIII emission had not received enough attention from me.
You can find the new version here:
I am not very fond of reprocessing images, but this one deserved it.
Enjoy!
Josep
Hi all,
A new image, NGC 6188, also known as the Fighting Dragons of Ara, has been uploaded. It is a wide field (3 degrees on a side) that has been enhanced, as usual, with a higher resolution image taken previously (2016) with a 20 inch telescope. This image also contains NGC 6164, a beautiful nebula that will be taken in higher resolution and, maybe, incorporated to this image next year…
You will find the link at:
Enjoy!
Josep
Hi all,
Today, I have uploaded a very special image (at least for me). It is a new image of the Eagle Nebula (M16). This image has been the result of a wide cross-institutional collaboration. The “Luminance” was taken in Halpha with the Liverpool Telescope (2 meters), as well as the “Luminance” of the stars (taken with a Red filter). The “color” images, taken in Ha, OIII and SII and combined to match the natural color of the nebula and RGB for the stars were taken with the CDK 20″ located at the SSO, Australia. This project was initiated last Spring 2017 by 54 students (6th Grade, 11 years old) of an innovative school in Catalonia (Mataró). These students, led by their teacher, Aleix Roig, searched, chose and planned the images that were provided by the Liverpool Telescope in the context of the PETeR Project (IAC, Canary Islands, Spain). Then, I took my previously images and blended them in with the images from the Liverpool and processed them together from scratch.
The image shows a closer look at M16, with the impressive Pillars of Creation as main view. You can see it at:
M16. The Eagle Nebula. A closer view
Enjoy!
Josep
Hi all,
Two new images have been uploaded. On one side, NGC 6357, an emission nebula in the constellation Scorpius. This image was taken with the 20″, but it had not yet been processed, because it had to be part of the high resolution enhancement of a wide field image that had to be taken later on with the TOA 130. As an exception, I like better the version with the filters mapped to the Hubble Color Palette. I have also included the natural color version.
The second image is the wide field including this NGC 6357 as well as NGC 6334 (that has also been enhanced with a high resolution image taken a year ago also with the CDK 20″). This image has been mapped to natural color and shows how the two nebulas seem like two beauties turning away from each other, as if the other one was prettier… I find both fabulous…
The links to both are:
NGC 6357 and NGC 6334. Two beauties looking away…
Enjoy!
Josep
Hi all,
A new image has been uploaded. This time, it is a mosaic of the Small Magellanic Cloud (NGC 292, a well known star birth place). The novelty in this image has been the thorough use of narrowband filters (complementing the LRGB), in order to better stress the huge amount of HII clouds (signaling also the presence of neutral Hydrogen, HI) as well as the extraordinary contribution of OIII to the panorama. The result is a real, but unusual, view of the SMC.
You can find it at:
NGC 292 and NGC 104. The SMC Landscape
Enjoy!
Josep
Hi all,
I have just uploaded a new image. This time is a 2×2 mosaic of the LMC. This image has meant a huge work and has been the result of a very close collaboration with Don Goldman (I am his telescope partner at the iTelescope-SSO site). It is an image taken in narrowband with the stars and the galaxy’s central band taken in RGB. The processing has been quite difficult due to the fact that only a 10% overlap was decided between panels, in order to grab a wider field, without the need to go for a 3×3 mosaic…
The resolution of the image has been enhanced by blending high resolution images of several nebulae taken previously with the 20″ CDK. This increases the 44hour exposure of the four panels to 145.5 hours (taking into account the higher resolution superluminances…). The image (and additional explanations and an annotated copy) can be found at:
Large Magellanic Cloud. Nebulous Systems
The additional help of Tony Hallas (suggesting an excellent method for registering the panels) and Sakib Rasool (for the annotations) are highly appreciated.
Enjoy!
Josep