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Astrophoto: Comet Lovejoy from Canberra by Barry Armstead

Astrophoto: Comet Lovejoy from Canberra by Barry Armstead

Comet Lovejoy from Canberra. Image Credit: Barry Armstead

Barry Armstead was among the lucky people who were able to capture the amazing show made by Comet Lovejoy in the skies of the Southern hemisphere the past few days.

“I got up on Thursday night/Friday morning at 3am, checked the sky and it was a black blanket of cloud. I observed for around 20 minutes while simultaneously checking the Bureau of Meteorology to confirm that the clouds weren’t going anywhere. Back to bed to grind my teeth and grumble something about Murphy’s law.

This morning, I stayed up until 1:30am, had a little snooze on the couch and checked the night sky every half hour. At 2:30am the sky turned crystal clear! I loaded everything in the ute and took off like a bull at a gate for the mountains south-west of Canberra and away from the city light.

And there it was! Comet Lovejoy in all it’s glory, lighting up the heavens like a searchlight, signalling passing spacecraft.”

More images from Barry Armstead below!(…)
Read the rest of Astrophoto: Comet Lovejoy from Canberra by Barry Armstead (118 words)


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Astrophoto: Say Hello to Albireo!

Double star Albireo by RickJ

Double star Albireo. Image Credit: RickJ

RickJ submitted this amazing image of the double star Albireo through the Bad Astronomy and Universe Today forum.

“I only had about 20 minutes before the target I wanted would be getting too close the the meridian to get much on the east side before it went into the “Meridian Tree”. It would be too low when it came out the west side. So twiddle my thumbs for 20 minutes or find something to image. I chose the latter. I took 15 minutes (5, one minute shots in each color) of Alberio. I actually ended up processing them.”

Albireo is located 380 light-years away from the Earth in the constellation Cygnus. It is composed of two stars that have different temperatures, an orange-red giant star Albireo A and a blue Be star Albireo B. It was discovered in 1976 that Albireo A is a binary star system.

Albireo is an amazing target for the viewing public because it easily resolves into a double star when observed through a telescope.

Here are some additional specs provided by RickJ:

14″ L200R @ f/10, RGB=5×1′, STL-11000XM, Paramount ME

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Tadpoles in Auriga by John R. Taylor

Astrophoto: Tadpoles in Auriga by John R. Taylor

Tadpole Nebula and the constellation Auriga by John R. Taylor

This image of the Tadpole nebula, also known as IC 410, and the constellation Auriga was generated from 3 days of imaging by John R. Taylor on November 1, 17 and 18, 2011.

“Took some time to capture enough data for an image – really grey, damp, misty & miserable for most of November so far. Still, shouldn’t complain too much as this time last year we were 10 days away from the coldest spell since the last ice age.”

IC 410 is an emission nebula located 12,000 light-years away in the northern part of constellation Auriga. It was called the Tadpole nebula because of the notable tadpole shapes which were said to potentially host star formation.

Here are a few more details provided by John:
18 x 10 minutes Ha
18 x 10 minutes OIII
12 x 10 minutes SII (cut short by cloud)

Orion ED80T CF & Atik 314l+, processed in Pixinsight and Photoshop CS5.

You can check out more of John’s astrophotos from his Flickr page.

This image was dedicated to John’s old & good friend Martin Croskell (1976 – 2011).

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: The Heart Nebula by Tony Cellini

Astrophoto: The Heart Nebula by Tony Cellini

IC1805, also known as the Heart Nebula. Image Credit: Tony Cellini

This image of the Heart nebula was captured by Toni Cellini on November 10, 2011.

The Heart Nebula, also called IC1805, is an emission nebula located 7500 light years away from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula spans 200 light years across.

“This image is presented in the CFHT (Canada France Hawaii Telescope) palette. Here the RGB colors are mapped to Ha, OIII, SII, respectively. This gives a bit more of a “natural” color appearance, although all the images here are false color images.”

Tony obtained this image using an Apogee U16M CCD camera attached to a Takahashi CCA-250 Astrograph. Each channel consists of four 15-minute exposures through Hydrogen Alpha, Sulphur II and Oxygen III filters.

Visit Tony’s website for more astrophotos.

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Astrophoto: Mars-Regulus Conjunction by Brendan Alexander

Astrophoto: Mars-Regulus Conjunction by Brendan Alexander

Mars-Regulus Conjunction. Credit: Brendan Alexander

Recently, on November 10, 2011, Mars and Regulus were observed together in the night sky. This event, also known as conjunction, was captured by Brendan Alexander at Killygordon, Co. Donegal, Ireland when the two objects were 1 degree apart.

Regulus is a multiple star system located in the constellation Leo, 77.5 light years from the Earth. The system is composed of four stars which are organized into two pairs. It is among the brightest stars visible at night.

Brendan also provided us with the technical specs of the image.
Camera: Self-modded 1000D
Lens: Sigma 70-300mm APO, Set at 300mm.
Mount: CG5 unguided
Exposure: 1 x 60 sec
Processed: Photoshop CS 5

Check out Brendan’s website for more astrophotos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Iridium 12 Flare by Riad Hamamieh

Astrophoto: Iridium 12 Flare by Riad Hamamieh

Iridium 12 Flare. Credit: Riad Hamamieh

This photo of the Iridium 12 flare was captured by Riad Hamamieh on October 15, 2011 at at 7:42 PM in Beirut, Lebanon.

Iridium 12 is one of the 66 active Iridium communication satellites orbiting the Earth. It was launched on June 18, 1997.

Riad used a Canon Powershot SX210 IS camera with CHDK. Camera is set at 32 sec exposure, f3.5 and ISO 400. It was cropped and adjusted using Photoshop CS3.

For more photos from Riad, here’s a link to his Flickr page.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: IC 1396 by John R. Taylor

Astrophoto: IC 1396 by John R. Taylor

IC 1396. Credit: John R. Taylor

John R. Taylor was able to pull off a nice image of the IC 1396 despite the not so good viewing conditions in his area. He captured this photo on October 16, 2011 from his back garden in semi-rural Kent in the UK.

“My northern view is very restricted by trees making this available for just a couple of hours either side of the meridian. I had to wait a good while but I finally managed a decent run at it.”

IC 1396 is an emission nebula which contains glowing cosmic gas and dark dust clouds. About 3,000 light-years from Earth, this nebula hosts the formation of new stars. The Elephant’s Trunk nebula can be found in this region.

The image was taken with an Atik 314l+ through an Orion ED80 carbon fibre triplet on a Skywatcher HEQ5. Four guiding, he used a QHY5 camera, Skywatcher ST80 and Maxim DL5. Here are some of the technical details provided by John:
x6 10 minute Ha
x8 10 minute OIII
x12 10 minute SII
Total exposure time 4 hours 20 minutes
Processed in Pixinsight & Photoshop CS5

Check out John’s Flickr page for more photos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: A Trace From Maranjab Desert by Hesam Nazari

Astrophoto: A Trace From Maranjab Desert by Hesam Nazari

A Trace From Maranjab Desert. Credit: Hesam Nazari

Hesam Nazari captured this photo on September 23, 2011 from 4:39 AM to 6:16 AM from Maranjab Desert in Iran. He built this trace photo from 341 single shots using Startrails software.

Hesam used a Canon 550D camera with Canon lens EFS 18_55 mm 1:3.6_5.6 IS set at ISO 800, f/4.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: -8 Iridium Flare by Kevin Jung

Astrophoto: -8 Iridium Flare by Kevin Jung

-8 Iridium Flare. Credit: Kevin Jung

A satellite flare is an event caused by the reflective panels on satellites reflecting sunlight directly onto the Earth. A perfect example would be the flares caused by Iridium satellite constellation. The constellation operates 66 active satellites in orbit.

This amazing photo of a -8 Iridium satellite flare flashing in the night sky over the James C. Veen Observatory was captured by Kevin Jung in West Michigan.

“I always want to observe the International Space Station flying over when I can, so I am always checking for flyovers of the station and other satellites (usually from Heavens-Above.com). This time I noted not only a nice pass by the ISS, but also a -8 Iridium Flare about 45 minutes later.

So on the evening of May 10, 2009, a fellow member of our astronomy club went out to our observatory with me to see both events, and so I could photograph them.

Because I knew the coordinates of the flare predictions (altitude and azimuth) I was able to calculate where it would appear in the sky. I was able to position the camera so as to get part of our observatory in the shot, along with the sky where the flare was predicted to appear.

We had been using our club’s 17-inch dob, so it was out of it’s enclosure, and I arranged some red lights around it to light the area. My friend then stood near the telescope when it was getting close to the time for the flare. When we noticed the flare I tripped the shutter on my camera, and he pointed up to it and held still during the entire shot. I waited until the flare faded out before closing the shutter. Fortunately my calculations were correct, and the flare appeared just where I thought it would, making a dramatic appearance in the image.”

Check out Kevin’s Flickr page for more photos.

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Astrophoto: The Prawn Nebula

Astrophoto: The Prawn Nebula

The Prawn Nebula. Credit: Graham

This beautiful photo of the Prawn Nebula was submitted to us by Graham through the Bad Astronomy and Universe Today Forum.

The Prawn Nebula, also known as IC 4628, is an emission nebula located south of Antares at an estimated distance of 6,000 light-years. The nebula is also cataloged as Gum 56 for Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum.

Graham also provided us with some technical details about the image.

“Total time is about 4.5 hours in SII, OII and Ha captured through a Megrez 110 scope with a QHY9 mono camera and QHY filter wheel. Mounted on an EQ6 mount running PEC and guided over 15 mins for each exposure. Calibrated and stacked in CCDStack, post processing in Photoshop CS3 and PixInsight. Traditional Hubble palette used for base image.”

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Andromeda Galaxy by Fabio Bortoli

Astrophoto: Andromeda Galaxy by Fabio Bortoli

Andromeda Galaxy. Credit: Fabio Bortoli

This amazing image of the Andromeda Galaxy was captured by Fabio Bortoli of Italy. He also provided some technical details about the photo:

Televue NP101is (main scope)
Hayford 80mm aporefractor (guide scope)
Skywatcher EQ6 mount
Orion Starshoot Autoguider camera with PHD
Canon 350D Badeer ACF II mod
12x5min light + 12x1min @ ISO1600

Check out Fabio’s Flickr page for more photos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Milky Way by Paul Andrew

Astrophoto: Milky Way by Paul Andrew

Milky Way. Credit: Paul Andrew

Paul Andrew captured this image of the Milky Way on September 28, 2011.

This image is composed of six 6-minute exposures (36 mins in total) taken using a modded Canon 500D camera with the following specs: CLS, 800 ISO, Canon 16-35mm F2.8 L @16mm, f/3.5 and AstroTrac.

Check out Paul’s Flickr page for more astrophotos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: The Moon, Jupiter and Galilean Moons by Mauro Quercia

Astrophoto: The Moon, Jupiter and Galilean Moons by Mauro Quercia

The Moon, Jupiter and Galilean Moons. Credit: Mauro Quercia

Inspired by Abe Megahed’s photo of the Moon and the Jupiter system, Mauro Quercia obtained his own composite image of our very own Moon, Jupiter and its 4 largest moons.

“This is not a single photo. Unfortunately, the weather conditions were (not) excellent, and it was impossible to have the right exposure for both the Moon and Jupiter. I was on the balcony of my home in Varese (Italy) the 16th September, and the Moon had just risen.”

Mauro took two shots and merged the two images maintaining the position of the two bodies. He used a Sony Alpha 700 camera on a tripod with a Minolta zoom 100-300. The exposure settings were 1/50 sec, f/7.1 and ISO200 for the Moon and 1 sec, f/5.6 and ISO200 for Jupiter.

Check out Mauro’s website and Flickr page for more photos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Starry Night by Lon Seidman

Astrophoto: Starry Night by Lon Seidman

Starry Night. Credit: Lon Seidman

Lon Seidman shot this stunning star trail picture in Ivoryton, Connecticut just after Hurricane Irene. That pretty much explains the very little light pollution.

“It was shot with a Nikon D7000 and a 50mm 1.4 lens, I think these were probably 25 second exposures that were shot ‘back to back’ for approximately two hours or so. I then dropped the individual jpegs into a free piece of software called StarStax that merged them together to produce the star streaks. This is a preferable method for digital photography given that noise tends to build up with long exposures.”

Lon also did a video showing the stars in motion. If run in 1080p, it also shows some of Jupiter’s moons as well as its movement across the sky. The video can be found here.

Check out Lon’s Flickr page for more photos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Partial Solar Eclipse Mosaic by Tapani Isomaki

Astrophoto: Partial Solar Eclipse Mosaic by Tapani Isomaki

Partial Solar Eclipse Mosaic. Credit: Tapani Isomaki

This mosaic of the partial eclipse of the Sun (85%) seen on January 4 2011 was submitted to us by Tapani Isomaki.

“Clouds where in front of the Sun and we didn’t have to use Sun filters (H-filters). All these pictures are without filters.
Very cold morning and lots of snow on the top of the hill where we were in the middle of the town. Many people gathered around to witness this event, it was fantastic.”

Tapani also provided some technical details about the photos.

Sky Watcher 200 PDS/ HEQ5 GO TO mount/ Canon 1000D/ 2″ COMA CORRECTOR/ ISO 100/ exp. 1/4000 sec.
4.01.2011 (time on the pictures)
(No Sun filter)

Check out Tapani’s Flickr page for more photos.

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Astrophoto: The Triangulum Galaxy by Anna Morris

Astrophoto: The Triangulum Galaxy by Anna Morris

The Triangulum Galaxy. Credit: Anna Morris

Anna Morris captured this image of the Triangulum Galaxy on October 3, 2011.

The Triangulum Galaxy, also known as Messier 33 or NGC 598, is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light years from the Earth. It is one of the most distant permanent objects that is visible to the naked eye.

Anna also provided us with the technical details of the photo:
Camera: Atik 314L+
Scope: Orion EON80ED
Filters: Astronomik L,R,G,B,Ha
Integration Time (EON80ED):
Luminance – 13x1200s, 2x1800s
R,G,B – 6x600s, binned 2×2 each
Ha – 4x600s, binned 2×2
(CPC800)
Luminance: 3x1200s
Total: 10hrs

Check out Anna’s website for more amazing astrophotography.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Partial Solar Eclipse by Marcin Wieczorek

Astrophoto: Partial Solar Eclipse by Marcin Wieczorek

Partial Solar Eclipse. Credit: Marcin Wieczorek

This photo of a partial solar eclipse was captured by Marcin Wieczorek in Lodz, Poland on January 4. Marcin used a Nikon D5000 camera with 105mm lens.

A partial solar eclipse is an event wherein the Moon partially blocks the Sun as observed from the Earth. This, as well as a total solar eclipse, is only possible on a new moon when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth.

Check out Marcin’s website here.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Bristlecone Startrails by Dustin Kukuk

Astrophoto: Bristlecone Startrails by Dustin Kukuk

Bristlecone Startrails. Credit: Dustin Kukuk

This amazing startrail image was shot by Dustin Kukuk in Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, White Mountains, California during the Kessler “TimeFest 2011″ Timelapse meet up.

“This photo is from a 400 frame astro timelapse that I merged together into 1 single frame, creating this amazing image of our night sky.

Connect with Dustin through:
Twitter
Vimeo
Google+
Facebook

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Astrophoto: Milky Way Over the Sea by Jerónimo Jesús Losada

Astrophoto: Milky Way Over the Sea by Jerónimo Jesús Losada

Milky Way Over the Sea. Credit: Jerónimo Jesús Losada

This stunning view of the Milky Way over a sea in Cadiz, Spain was captured by Jerónimo Jesús Losada last August.

Jerónimo took the photo using a Canon 1000D camera with the following settings: 8-minute exposure at ISO 800. Monitoring is manual and processing is done in Photoshop.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Solar Halo over the Eiffel Tower by Jonathan Shock

Astrophoto: Solar Halo over the Eiffel Tower by Jonathan Shock

Solar Halo over the Eiffel Tower. Credit: Jonathan Shock

Jonathan Shock is a photographer who likes to see astronomical events in a different way. Just like what he did with this amazing photo of the solar halo over the Eiffel Tower.

“As I was at the Louvre in the morning I’d seen a sundog and so headed to the Eiffel tower hoping to see a halo there. When it appeared it was hugely exciting. I always point out halos to people when I see them and get a lot of strange looks from the general public as I stare up, apparently at the sun, taking photos. It’s always a pity that people don’t know about these amazing phenomena which can be seen very frequently if you only know to look.”

Jonathan used a Canon 400D camera with 17-85mm Canon lens. This image is a panorama of 2-3 photos that he stitched together.

Check out Jonathan’s blog at www.jonstraveladventures.blogspot.com.

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Astrophoto: Saturn by Stuart Ward

Astrophoto: Saturn by Stuart Ward

Saturn. Credit: Stuart Ward

It was the first time Stuart Ward pointed his 8″ Dobsonian telescope to the sky and to his surprise, it was the view of planet Saturn that welcomed him up.

Stuart Ward captured this photo on August 30, 2011 in New South Wales, Australia. He used a Philips Webcam attached to his telescope.

Check out Stuart’s Flickr page for more photos.

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Astrophoto: Partial Lunar Eclipse by Erika Valdueza

Astrophoto: Partial Lunar Eclipse by Erika Valdueza

Partial Lunar Eclipse. Credit: Erika Valdueza

Erika Valdueza of the Philippines captured this photo of the partial lunar eclipse on December 21, 2010. The eclipse occurred at moonrise and appeared above the Sierra Madre Mountain Range in the northeastern part of Luzon island, Philippines.

“I wasn’t really expecting to see this eclipse because of poor weather and it was predicted to be visible 5 degrees above the horizon. Without losing hope, I tried my luck and went to one of the highest buildings in Mandaluyong City that has a good view of the east.”

The image was taken using Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi camera with Canon EFS 55-250mm telephoto lens at f/6.3, ISO 400, 1/10 sec.

Check out Erika’s website for more photos.

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Astrophoto: Moon Halo by Earl Matenga

Astrophoto: Moon Halo by Earl Matenga

Moon Halo. Credit: Earl Matenga

After Niki Giada’s photo of the Sun’s halo, here we are again with another impressive astrophoto. This time, it’s the Moon’s halo.

Earl Matenga captured this photo of the Moon and its halo on March 25, 2010 using a Pentax K-7.

Moon halos are brought about by the same phenomenon as Sun halos are. It’s caused by the refraction of light from tiny hexagonal ice crystals in the atmosphere.

This photo was shot through a Pentax fish eye lens mounted on tripod, bulb setting 2-3 sec exposure remotely fired. The red star on the left is Betelgeuse which is located in the constellation of Orion.

Check out Earl’s photos here.

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Astrophoto: The Great Orion Nebula by Arturo Montesinos

Astrophoto: The Great Orion Nebula by Arturo Montesinos

The Great Orion Nebula. Credit: Arturo Montesinos

Arturo Montesinos captured this photo of the Great Orion Nebula using 100 30-second exposures shot under computer control with a Nikon D40 camera at the prime focus of a Celestron NexStar 102 SLT 4-inch refractor.

“I used the astrometry.net software to solve each of the 100 photos, then the Swarp program to reproject and co-add the 100 red images, 100 green images, and 100 blue images in “SUM” mode.

The resulting three 32-bit FITS files (one per channel) were converted to a single 16-bit RGB TIFF file using ImageMagick convert, and then loaded into qtpfsgui to tone map as an HDR, using the Mantiuk algorithm with contrast 0.01, saturation 1.5, detail 4.0, and gamma 0.8. Some minor post-processing with The Gimp.”

Check out Arturo’s Flickr page for more interesting astrophotos.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Aurora Borealis above Norway by Orvill Aakra

Astrophoto: Aurora Borealis above Norway by Orvill Aakra

Aurora Borealis above Norway. Credit: Orvill Aakra

Orvill Aakra captured this photo of the Aurora Borealis, also known Northern Lights, on February 14, 2011 from one of the best spots to view the Northern Lights, Norway.

The Hyades star cluster and Pleiades (M45) is visible along with the Aurora Borealis over the fjord.

Orvill used a Canon 500D/Digital Rebel T1i camera at ISO 400, 20sec exposure at 10mm and f4.5.

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Astrophoto: UARS Before Re-entry Animation by Efrain Morales

Astrophoto: UARS Before Re-entry Animation by Efrain Morales

UARS Re-entry Animation. Credit: Efrain Morales

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, had reportedly re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean last Saturday, September 24, 2011. Approximately thirty hours before the decommissioned NASA observatory fell back to Earth, Efrain Morales was able to capture some final shots of the satellite over Puerto Rico which he was able to compile into an animation.

“UARS over Puerto Rico Sept. 22nd 22:56 UT. It was manually tracked. The satellite was traveling about 2 to 2.5x faster (112 miles Alt.) than the ISS when it transits and very bright for approximately 10 seconds.

This animation is composed of 32 images at 60 fps and over 80 captured frames taken total.”

Check out Efrain’s website for more photos.

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Astrophoto: Crepuscular Rays by Stefano De Rosa

Astrophoto: Crepuscular Rays by Stefano De Rosa

Crepuscular Rays. Credit: Stefano De Rosa

Stefano De Rosa did not waste any time and immediately grabbed his camera to take a shot of this stunning view of crepuscular rays on August 17, 2009.

Crepuscular rays are defined as rays of sunlight which radiate from a certain point in the sky. They usually happen when mountains or clouds partially cover the Sun’s rays.

“I captured these crepuscular rays during my summer holidays in Isola d’ Elba, the island in front of Tuscany, Italy. The scene I attended was stunning, as huge blue beams were spreading all over the sky.”

Stefano used the a Canon EOS 1000D camera at ISO 100, exp. 1/10 second and F/3.5.

To see more photos from Stefano, check out his website at http://stefanoderosa.com/

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Astrophoto: Harvest Moon by 13-year old Jacob Marchio

Astrophoto: Harvest Moon by 13-year old Jacob Marchio

Harvest Moon. Credit: Jacob Marchio

Jacob Marchio, our 13-year old featured astrophotographer of the day, captured this photo of the Moon at 8:45 PM on September 9, 2011 in Opelika, Alabama.

The Harvest Moon is the full moon that takes place closest to the autumnal equinox. During autumnal equinox, the time difference between moonrise and sunset is shorter than usual. Thus, shortly after the Sun sets and darkness begins to fall, the Moon has already risen to provide light. It’s called Harvest Moon because during this event, farmers can continue to work by moonlight even after the Sun had set.

Jacob also provided us with some information on how he came up with this photo:

“This was taken with the humble Edmund Scientific Astroscan, and the camera was a Canon PwerShot SD1300 IS, which I simply put up to the Astroscan’s eyepiece. Both instruments are not professional astrophotographer’s equipment, but, it works.”

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Astrophoto: The Milky Way by Hugh Carrick-Allan

Astrophoto: The Milky Way by Hugh Carrick-Allan

The Milky Way. Credit: Hugh Carrick-Allan

Hugh Carrick-Allan took this photo of the Milky Way on a very cold, clear night in August last year at Vaucluse in Sydney, Australia which is around 4 miles from the city centre.

Hugh also provided us with the camera specs he used in capturing this photo.

“Taken on a Canon 5D mkII with a 16-35mm f2.8L II lens, 30 second exposure at ISO 800. Lots of post processing to bring the Milky Way out and reduce noise.”

Check out Hugh’s blog for more photos.

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Astrophoto: Sadr Region by Matthew Dieterich

Astrophoto: Sadr Region by Matthew Dieterich

Sadr Region. Credit: Matthew Dieterich

Poor sky condition is just one of the challenges astrophotographers encounter when taking a shot of astronomical bodies and events. But this did not stop Matthew Dieterich from coming up with nice photos, such as this image of the Sadr Region.

“Sky conditions were very poor, high humidity and poor transparency mixed with severe light pollution caused difficult color, which is still present in this final image.”

The Sadr region, also known as IC 1318, is the diffuse emission nebula surrounding Sadr or Gamma Cygni.

Matthew provided us with the camera and equipment specs he used:

Image details: 30 x 2 minutes unguided ISO 800
Mount: Astrotroniks performance tuned Atlas EQ-G
Optics: 8″ Powernewt Astrograph at F/2.8
Camera: Modified Canon Xsi
Calibration: Dark and flat frames applied in ImagesPlus
Aligned and combined in ImagesPlus with final processing in Photoshop

Check out Matthew’s astrophotos here.

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Astrophoto: Diana’s Bow by Curt Renz

Astrophoto: Diana's Bow by Curt Renz

Diana's Bow. Credit: Curt Renz

Diana’s Bow is the term given to the 3-day old Moon. It was traditionally called Diana’s Bow in reference to the archery equipment of the ancient Roman goddess of hunting and the Moon.

Curt Renz captured this photo of Diana’s Bow using a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 camera with its telescopic lens at 5x magnification from the top level of a village parking garage in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

“(This photo) was shot on 2011 AUG 31 at 19:55:17 CDT (UT-5). That was 27 minutes after sunset and 39 minutes before moonset. The camera was set at ISO 100, 1/6 sec, f/2.4 and focal length 48.5 mm. The original 2560×1920-pixel photo was cropped and further reduced to 1024×768 with the use of Serif’s PhotoPlus X4. No other doctoring was done.”

Check out Curt’s photos at his website: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical

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Astrophoto: Cygnus Constellation by Marco T.

Astrophoto: Cygnus Constellation by Marco T.

Cygnus Constellation. Credit: Marco T.

Marco T. took this photo of Cygnus on August 24, 2011 in Italy using a Canon 500d camera set at ISO 800 for around 10 seconds.

“Camera was at direct focus on a telescope skywatcher ED80 pro black diamond without autoguide. Photo was elaborated individually only with photoshop (no stacking, no calibration, no combine).”

Cygnus is a northern constellation which lies on the plane of the Milky Way.

Check out Marco’s photos at his Flickr page.

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Astrophoto: Maria by Nathan Mantia

Astrophoto: Maria by Nathan Mantia

Maria. Credit: Nathan Mantia

This close-up view of the moon was captured by Nathan Mantia using a very amateur method. Nathan used a nice handy 8 megapixel cell phone camera attached to a 16″ Newtonian Reflector put together by members of the Cincinnati Astronomical Society where he currently belongs to.

Here are some of the equipment specs he implemented:
Focal Length – 88 inches (2235 mm)
Focal Ratio – f/5.5

Check out Nathan’s Flickr page.

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Astrophoto: Comet Garradd by Oleg Mazurenko

Astrophoto: Comet Garradd by Oleg Mazurenko

Comet Garradd. Credit: Oleg Mazurenko

Comet Garradd has become the talk of the town being the brightest comet in the sky during the past few weeks. Comet Garradd, also known by its nomenclature C/2009 P1, was discovered 2 years ago by Gordon Garradd in Australia.

Oleg Mazurenko captured this photo of Comet Garradd on September 4, 2011 at Manning Park, BC, Canada. He used a Canon 350D camera with Equinox – 80, ISO 1600 and exposure of 2 minutes.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.



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Astrophoto: Sun’s Active Region by Paul Andrew

Astrophoto: Sun's Active Region by Paul Andrew

Sun's Active Region. Credit: Paul Andrew

Paul Andrew captured this photo of the Sun’s active region on September 3rd, 2011.

The Sun’s active region is an area on the Sun where there is intense magnetic field. Sunspots usually form in active regions where it also host related phenomena such as solar flare and solar prominence which can also be seen in the photo above.

Taken in Ha light with a DMK41AU02.AS camera and a single stacked Lunt LS60T, it comprises of two separate exposures (one for the prominence and one for the detail of the solar surface).

Check out Paul’s website here.

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Astrophoto: Luna by Laurentiu Draghici

Astrophoto: Luna by Laurentiu Draghici

Luna. Credit: Laurentiu Draghici

No matter how frequent I see the Moon in the sky, I still get amazed by the photos of the Moon submitted to us by astrophotographers, just like this photo of the Moon captured by Laurentiu Draghici of Italy.

“I took this photo on 12/08/2011, at Ranco, a small village in Italy, on the shore of Lake Maggiore. I was out with a friend to test another lens, and right when we we`re about to go home, I noticed the moon rising so I took a couple of photos with my 70-200mm plus an 1.4x extender before it got hidden behind the trees.”

Laurentiu used a Canon EOS 50D camera with the following specs: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM + Canon EF 1.4x II Extender, handheld.

Check out Laurentiu’s photos at his Flickr photostream.

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Astrophoto: Solar Eclipse by Tapani Isomaki

Astrophoto: Solar Eclipse by Tapani Isomaki

Solar Eclipse. Credit: Tapani Isomaki

This is how a solar eclipse looks like when shot without a solar filter. Tapani Isomaki captured this stunning scene on January 4, 2011 at 8:41AM UT in Turku, Western Finland.

Tapani used the following camera and equipments specs: SKY WATCHER 200 PDS telescope, HEQ5 GO TO mount, Canon 1000D camera, 2″ COMA CORRECTOR, ISO 100, exp. 1/4000 sec.

“The clouds where giving the eclipse nice linear stripes. It was amazing to look at it without a Sun filter (H-filter),” Tapani mentioned.

Check out Tapani’s Flickr photostream for more great astrophotos.

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Astrophoto: Strangers In the Night by Nick Howes

Astrophoto: Strangers In the Night by Nick Howes

Strangers In the Night. Credit: Nick Howes

It took several weeks for Nick Howes of Cherhill, Wiltshire, UK to come up with this amazing image of Comet Hartley 2 and NGC281. But I’m sure you’ll agree with me – the wait is definitely worth it!

Nick Howes explained how he obtained this stunning photo.

“Initial run using an Atik 314L camera and narrowband CCD filters (Astronomik HA/OIII/SII and CLS) imaged the comet in the field of NGC281, using a multi pane wireframe approach (taking just a few subs for each of the 4 areas including the starfield/NGC281).

Then the comet was imaged in full on the night of closest approach to NGC281, with 30-60s sub frames in HA/OIII/SII narrowband augmented by a CLS filter. where the OIII channel really lit up quite well.

…gradually over several weeks, data was gathered to get enough sub frame time on the nebula in narrowband, mapping to a combination pallette of HST mapping and HA/OIII/SII, (total integration time around 12 hours in 300s sub frames), and the surrounding starfields. As the comet was moving very quickly, this was the only way it could be done to achieve this level of detail and complexity in the final image.”

Nick also provided us with the camera specs and imaging techniques he used.

Atik 314L and Atik 4000CCD
Manually composited, along with use of Registar/MAxim DL/Photoshop CS5
TMB105 F6.2 refractor
Autoguided by PHD guide/ST102
EQ6 mount using EQ MOD and EQ Mosaic for the initial wireframe
Processed in Maxim DL/Registar and Photoshop CS5 using Noels Actions and Focus Magic plug in/DDP processing in MAxim DL for Nebula, Deconvolution FT process on star fields and nebula in Maxim DL.

Check out Nick’s photos at his Flickr photostream.

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Astrophoto: Laser Lightning!

Lightning strikes during a test of a new laser guide star at the Allgäu Public Observatory in Ottobeuren, Germany. Credit: Martin Kornmesser, ESO

Yikes! This science-fiction-like scene was captured by Martin Kornmesser, a visual artist for the European Southern Observatory. Just as the ESO was testing a new laser guide star unit at the Allgäu Public Observatory in Ottobeuren, Germany, a thunderstorm erupted, throwing down bolts of lightning. The folks at ESO say this is a “very visual demonstration of why ESO’s telescopes are in Chile, and not in Germany.” Although the storm was still far from the observatory, the lightning appears to clash with the laser beam in the sky.

Laser guide stars are one type of adaptive optics astronomers use to correct for the blurring effect of the atmosphere in astronomical observations. The laser creates an artificial guide star 90 kilometers up in the Earth’s atmosphere. The laser in this photograph is a powerful one, with a 20-watt beam, but the power in a bolt of lightning peaks at a trillion watts — although it lasts for just a fraction of a second. Shortly after this picture was taken the storm reached the observatory, forcing operations to close for the night.

See more info at the ESO website.


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Astrophoto: “Hanging On To A Comet” by Mike Romine

For those of us who had the opportunity to chase Comet Garradd this weekend, half the joy was catching it crossing the “Coathanger” cluster! In this great shot by Mike Romine, the comet appears along the curve of the upside down 2 of the asterism. Mike took this shot without a telescope, using a Canon EOS 50D, 135mm lens, F/5.6, ISO 1600, 90 seconds, mounted on a Celestron SCT on a CG5-GT mount at 12:45 AM. Nice catch!

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Astrophoto: Andromeda Galaxy by Brandon Powers

Astrophoto: Andromeda Galaxy by Brandon Powers

Andromeda Galaxy. Credit: Brandon Powers

Brandon Powers of Moultrie, Georgia captured this photo of M31, also known as the Andromeda galaxy. You can also see NGC 221 at the top and NGC 205 at the bottom.

The Andromeda galaxy is the nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way at approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth. According to the 2006 observations of the Spitzer Space Telescope, Andromeda galaxy contains around one trillion stars which is approximately twice the number of stars in the Milky Way.

Brandon used a Nikon D90 camera attached to 12” LX200 telescope.

Check out Brandon’s photo on his Flickr page.

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Astrophoto: Cocoon Nebula by Gordon Haynes

Astrophoto: Cocoon Nebula by Gordon Haynes

Cocoon Nebula. Credit: Gordon Haynes

This photo of the Cocoon Nebula was submitted to us by Gordon Haynes through the Bad Astronomy/Universe Today forum.

The Cocoon Nebula is a star forming region located 4,000 light years away toward the northern constellation Cygnus. Also known as IC 5146, the Cocoon nebula spans 15 light years.

Gordon provided us with the details of his photo.

“It is a total of 4 hours of data per channel in 10 minute sub frames taken with an FSQ106ED at f5, Starlight Xpress SXVF H9 on a Paramount ME with auto guiding taken care of by a Lodestar and OAG. All raw frames were fully calibrated and stacked, then colour combined in Maxim DL with G2V star calibration. Processing was two iterations of levels followed by multiple contrast curves, this was followed by two iterations of shadows/highlights to bring out some of the fainter dusty areas. Final colour balancing was done and gradients were taken care of with gradient xterminator.”

Check out Gordon’s works at his website: http://www.imagingtheheavens.co.uk/

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Astrophoto: Diamond Ring by Narayan Mukkavilli

Astrophoto: Diamond Ring by Narayan Mukkavilli

Diamond Ring. Credit: Narayan Mukkavilli

Narayan Mukkavilli captured this stunning photo of the Diamond Ring Effect during a total solar eclipse which took place on July 22, 2009.

Narayan was near Hanzhou, China when he took this photo using a Canon 450D with EF 75-300mm zoom lens.

The Diamond Ring effect occurs when the topography of the body in front of the Sun – in this case, the Moon – isn’t perfect. Sunlight shines through the gaps, producing the bead of light we see in the photo above.

This photo was taken by Narayan the moment before the totality.

To view more photos from Narayan Mukkavilli, you can visit his Flickr page.

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Astrophoto: Milky Way by Barry Armstead

Astrophoto: Milky Way by Barry Armstead

Milky Way. Credit: Barry Armstead

Barry Armstead stayed up late and took advantage of the moonless, clear sky to capture this stunning photo of the Milky Way galaxy. The photo was taken on a dark site in Canberra’s mountain range on August 25, 2011.

Barry tracked the stars for around 4 minutes using an EQ6 pro mount under his camera. He provided us with the camera specs he used to take this photo: Canon5DMKII SLR camera, Canon 16-35 f/2.8L Zoom lens @ 16mm, ISO 800, F2.8. He then processed the photo using Photoshop Elements 6.

Check out Barry’s photos in his website: http://barryarmsteadphotography.webs.com/

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Astrophoto: Moon, Jupiter with the Galilean Moons by Abe Megahed

Astrophoto: Moon, Jupiter with the Galilean Moons by Abe Megahed

Moon, Jupiter with the Galilean Moons. Credit: Abe Megahed

We’ve featured several astrophotos showing the largest planet in the Solar System – we’ve also seen a lot of the Moon. But these two together in one photo? I don’t think so.

Abe Megahed captured this amazing view of the Moon, Jupiter and Jupiter’s Galilean moons all in one frame on August 20, 2011 at 1:01 AM CST. The moons shown from left to right are Ganymade, Europa, and Callisto with Io lost in the glare of Jupiter.

“Normally, it’s difficult to photograph our moon and Jupiter’s moons together because our moon is so bright that a camera can’t capture the relatively dim moons of Jupiter without our moon appearing overexposed and washed out. However, this time I was lucky since a bank of faint clouds passed in front of our moon, dimming it just enough for a pleasing photograph.”

Abe took this photo using a normal SLR camera and 105mm telephoto. He did not use a telescope or super telephoto lens.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.


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Astrophoto: Last Goodbye to Discovery by Ken Lord

Astrophoto: Last Goodbye to Discovery by Ken Lord

Last Goodbye to Discovery. Credit: Ken Lord

The entire Space Shuttle program became a part of history with the landing of Atlantis on July 21, 2011. It was sad to watch the missions come to an end. But for Ken Lord of Canada, it came as such a sweet goodbye. Here’s a photograph he took of the space shuttle Discovery as it passed in front of the Moon, with the International Space Station trailing behind. This was during Discovery’s last mission.

“I soon saw the ISS coming from the north-west, and realized much to my surprise that it would pass in front of the moon! So I took a couple of shots to try and get the camera settings close.”

Ken used a Canon EOS REBEL T1i set to 2.5 second exposure, ISO800, F5.6, 80mm.

“This shot was actually a test shot. By eye, I could not actually see Discovery. It was pure luck that I caught it in front of the moon with the ISS following. As they continued across the sky, the lighting conditions improved, getting away from the twilight and Vancouver’s light pollution, Discovery then became visible by eye.”

Check out more photos from Ken at his Flickr page.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.


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Astrophoto: Aurora Borealis by Tony Cellini

Astrophoto: Aurora Borealis by Tony Cellini

Aurora Borealis. Credit: Tony Cellini

Who wouldn’t love to see this showcase of colors on a night sky? Definitely worth a click!

It was during a solar maximum in the mid-1990s when Tony Cellini took this nice photo of the Aurora Borelis in Bloomington, Illinois.

“This was one of most intense aurorae I’ve ever seen this far south and the image doesn’t beging to capture its extent. Even during a 1st quarter moon, the green tendrils were visible straight overhead, and the red coloring was very obvious to the naked eye which is unusual from this location.”

If you would like to know how he came up with this photo, Tony also mentioned the camera and settings he used.

“The camera used was a fully manual Pentax K-1000. The lens was a standard 50mm lens to which I threaded a fisheye “converter” that gave an almost 180 degree field of view. The cheap converter is what caused the concentric rings artifact in the center of the photo.”

See more of Tony’s photos at: http://www.dwfoto.com/blogs

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.


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Astrophoto: Moon Occults Triple Star System Pi Sagitaurii by Efrain Morales Rivera

Moon Occults Triple star Pi Sagitarii. Credit: Efrain Morales Rivera, Jaicoa Observatory

On August 10, the Moon passed in front of the triple star system, Pi Sagitaurii star system. The even was captured by Efrain Morales Rivera from the Jaicoa Observatory in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. “An interesting event, capturing this triple star system being occulted by the Moon and 1 hour and 26 minutes later re-appearing on the bright side of the moon,” Rivera wrote to tell us.

He even created an animation of the stars “winking out,” as seen below.

(…)
Read the rest of Astrophoto: Moon Occults Triple Star System Pi Sagitaurii by Efrain Morales Rivera (74 words)


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Astrophoto: The Milky Way and Venus over Andes

Astrophoto: The Milky Way and Venus over Andes

The Milky Way and Venus over Andes. Credit: Guillermon Abramson

Guillermo Abramson of Bariloche, Argentina captured this stunning photo of the central region of the Milky Way and Venus over the Andes Mountains on October 24, 2008. Guillermo used a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi camera mounted on a Meade LX10 telescope and took this photo with the following settings: 18 mm, F/3.5, 120 sec, ISO 400.

Can’t get enough of Guillermo Abramson’s photos? You can check out his blog here.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.


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Astrophoto: Jupiter Rising by Mindi Meeks

Astrophoto: Jupiter Rising by Mindi Meeks

Jupiter Rising. Credit: Mindi Meeks

Here’s a photograph of Jupiter taken by Mindi Meeks from Navarre, Florida on July 3, 2011 at around 3 in the morning CST.

“My husband and I were enjoying a quiet evening on our screened-in porch when I noticed a bright star rising in the east. We determined that it was Jupiter, and it was such a lovely sight that I wanted to try to photograph it.”

Mindi captured this photo with a Nikon D5000 camera mounted on a standard tripod with the following settings: 55mm, 15.0s exposure, f/4.5, ISO 1000.

To see more of Mindi’s photos, you can check out her photo blog.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Universe Today Flickr group; we select photographs from this group and post them every day. If you don’t want to join Flickr, you can send your images in by email. If you do contribute to the group, or send us photos by email, you’re giving us permission to post them here on Universe Today. To help us out, please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, and/or a little story about it — that would enable us to write a better article about your picture! Make sure you tell us your name, and give us a place we can link to if people want to see more of your work.


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Astrophoto: A Mexican Orion

The Orion Nebula from Paredón, Coah, Mexico. Credit: César Cantú

This stunning new image of the Orion Nebula has a bit of salsa to it! César Cantú of the Chiledog Observatory in Monterrey, Mexico took this image earlier this month. But he had to travel to Paredón, Coah in Mexico to escape the fog to get this great image. Here are the specs: Orion Atlas mount, 90mm Astrotech APO telescope camera; LRGB QSI540, 3 hours with 600 seconds subs. But the fog tried to follow, César told us. “The intention was 4 hours, but the fog did not allow it,” he said. See more of his great images at this website, Astronomía Y Astrofotografía.


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Astrophoto: Deep, Deep Look at NGC 891

35 hours of exposure time by R. Jay GaBany resulted in this deep, detailed view of NGC 891. Credit: R. Jay Gabany. Click for larger version.

This image is a “first light” for noted amateur astronomer R. Jay GaBany’s new observatory, and it might be the deepest, most detailed view of the iconic edge-on spiral galaxy NCG 891. This first photograph from his new observatory in California includes almost 35 hours of exposure time! “As a result, hundreds of small, much more distant galaxies can be seen in the image as well as very small scale structures across the galaxy’s edge,” Jay wrote us. If you go to Jay’s website, Cosmotography.com, you can see larger versions where you can see very faint dust clouds, called cirrus, that have never been imaged within NGC 891 at this scale.
(…)
Read the rest of Astrophoto: Deep, Deep Look at NGC 891 (300 words)


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