Return to astronomy

Half of the Perseus Double Cluster (NGC 869). September 19, 2019. Photo by James Guilford.

I suppose one cannot return to something one hasn't left. Some storm chasing kept me busy for much of the summer. Late twilight and heat kept me indoors most nights. Still, with weather settling down, cooler evenings, and sunset coming earlier I've been looking to further explore the night sky.

We live in a small city with big light pollution. The light dome over our area has grown steadily over the past decade and from our backyard most northern stars lower than Polaris are completely obliterated by artificial light. To the south, the view is probably similar to "suburban" light pollution levels which is to say, bad but not impossible.

Lately I've been using my new telescope in imaging experiments. This week, unlike earlier recent efforts, I was able to get the telescope mount aligned well which allowed its computer to find dim objects in our bright sky. I was able to visually observe Jupiter (with Great Red Spot front and center), Saturn, the M15 star cluster, the Perseus Double Cluster, the Ring Nebula in Lyra, and the Andromeda Galaxy.

Vixen VC200L on Meade LXD75 Computerized Mount - Waiting for Dark.

Attaching my Canon EOS 7D Mark 2 to the new Cassegrain reflector, I shot images of several deep sky objects. Vibration and tracking were issues, as was achieving camera focus. Working around those challenges as best I could, I made multiple images of the Ring Nebula (M57) and one of the clusters in the Perseus Double (NGC 869).

Looking at the camera's built-in LCD panel that night, I was astonished... I could see color in the Ring Nebula! Visual observers, using smallish telescopes, usually see no color in the Ring; film and electronic sensors readily collect enough photons to register color. Still, a very happy surprise to me! So I shot a series of prime focus images of the nebula. The Perseus Double was also visually attractive so I shot that as well. About 10 seconds for each of those. Efforts at shooting M15 failed: the telescope didn't track well enough to produce round stars in the exposure time set -- possibly too long an exposure. Efforts at the Andromeda Galaxy were okay with hints of the extensive star clouds showing in my images but much more photon collection will be needed to build an image.

The Ring Nebula (M57) in Lyra. Photo by James Guilford.

Astrophotography of deep space objects can be extremely technical. The learning curve on an excellent product like PixInsight is more like a cliff than a curve. I searched and found a software that is excellent for me at my relative beginner level -- Starry Sky Stacker (SSS). The SSS has the important basics for good astrophotography, and has an easy-to-learn image processing process with little frustration. So, to get started producing and learning, I used SSS to align, stack, and integrate the images for both NGC869 and M57 with results pleasing to me.

Over the coming weeks and longer, I'll be assembling more equipment and skills and with luck, by spring, will be producing decent space pictures beyond the Sun and Moon.

Images Recorded: September 19, 2019