Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos

[pinball1970]

There is a comet tonight, 'Devils comet' visible in some US states. You may be able to get an image? @collinsmark @neilparker62 @Andy Resnick and @Tom.G Not sure if @Devin-M is in the US. @bruha and @DennisN are Euro.

Info here. https://www.space.com/devil-comet-pons-brooks-reaches-perihelion

 

[Tom.G]

Just saw this post 10 minutes before it sets.
I tried a week or two ago with no joy; cold wind and a cloud bank to the West, over the ocean.
Just maybe I'll remember tomorrow night.

 

[Tom.G]

Whole sky, whole day, thick grey high-altitude clouds... and now a marine layer coming in.
Oh well.

 

[collinsmark]

Whole sky, whole day, thick grey high-altitude clouds... and now a marine layer coming in.
Oh well.

Tell me about it. It's been this way for awhile now. (We might have a clear night next week though. Maybe. But the comet will be too close to the horizon for my setup though.)

Regarding 12P/Pons-Brooks (the "Devil's Comet"), Over a month ago I did attempt to plan out (using Stellarium) a good night for imaging. But if it wasn't weather or personal travel, the comet would have been obstructed by buildings right next to my patio. So at least for this one, no comet for me.

 

[Andy Resnick]

There is a comet tonight, 'Devils comet' visible in some US states. You may be able to get an image? @collinsmark @neilparker62 @Andy Resnick and @Tom.G Not sure if @Devin-M is in the US. @bruha and @DennisN are Euro.

Info here. https://www.space.com/devil-comet-pons-brooks-reaches-perihelion

Unfortunately, the comet is too close to the horizon line (here).

 

[collinsmark]

The Blowdryer Galaxy (a.k.a., M100, NGC 4321, Mirror Galaxy), imaged from my back patio, March-April 2024. The galaxy is about 56 million light-years away and can be found in the constellation Coma Berenices.

Figure 1. M100.

I understand the "Mirror Galaxy," nickname, due to its symmetry I presume, but I take issue with that name because it's the wrong type of symmetry. Or maybe it's called that due to possible similarity with our Milky Way Galaxy? I'm not sure.

The "Blowdryer Galaxy" nickname has me scratching my head, but that's what the Stellarium software application calls it (I actually like that name better). Try as I might, I can't find an original source. I guess maybe it resembles the vortex or the fan within a blowdryer. So maybe that's it, but still, I have a different hypothesis.

I speculate that there was an amateur astronomer out one night observing M100, perhaps with a group of guests, and the poor sap's corrector plate fogged up from dew. Naturally, the observer scrambled inside to grab a hairdryer and extension cord to warm up the sky-facing optics. I mean, we've all done it. Everyone present thereafter started calling M100 "The Blowdryer Galaxy." This time though, the name stuck and slowly spread to others. That's just my speculation: I have no solid evidence or source as to how this object got its nickname, but that's my guess. If anybody can find a credible reference as to how this galaxy got its "Blowdryer" nickname, let me know.

This is the "first light" target for my new telescope (and first light for some of the filters). I am pleased with the results. More information about the new telescope along with preliminary results for this target can be found in this PF thread:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/documenting-the-setup-of-my-new-telescope.1059921/
I'll update that thread with this new image presently, along with some bonus information on dew mitigation.

Equipment:
Celestron C14 EdgeHD telescope*
SkyWatcher EQ8-R Pro mount*
Celestron 0.7x Focal reducer* (for C14 EdgeHD)
Off-axis guider (OAG) with guide camera
Baader LRGB filter set*
Antila 3nm Hα filter*
ZWO ASI6200MM-Pro Main Camera

*first light

Software:
N.I.N.A.
PHD2 Guiding
PixInsight with
o RC-Astro Plugins
o SkyPixels "GAME" plugin

Acquisition/Integration:
Location: San Diego, USA
Bortle Class 7 (maybe 8 ) skies
All subframes binned 2×2
Stacked using drizzle algorithm
L: 532×60 sec = 8.67 hrs
R: 439×60 sec = 7.27 hrs
G: 426×60 sec = 7.10 hrs
B: 472×60 sec = 7.87 hrs
Hα: 16×300 sec + 30×600 sec = 6.33 hours
Total integration time: 37.43 hours

 

[neilparker62]

There is a comet tonight, 'Devils comet' visible in some US states. You may be able to get an image? @collinsmark @neilparker62 @Andy Resnick and @Tom.G Not sure if @Devin-M is in the US. @bruha and @DennisN are Euro.

Info here. https://www.space.com/devil-comet-pons-brooks-reaches-perihelion

Thanks for the heads up - was a bit late seeing it unfortunately. You snooze, you lose!

 

[neilparker62]

Canis Major 2024-04-21 19:24:04.

 

[neilparker62]

Just to the left of Wezen in my pic of Canis Major above, there's a corona like grouping of stars. Thought I'd share a couple of pics of other 'coronas' namely Corona Australis close to the tail of Scorpius and Corona Borealis just below the Bootes constellation. Corona Borealis - I understand - is the site where one can expect to see a nova (if it hasn't already happened (?).

Am just wondering if the corona 'pattern' is just a random pattern or if there's perhaps some physics behind why we seem to find a few instances of similarly grouped stars ?

Corona Australis 2024-05-01 04:42:10.

Corona Borealis 2024-05-02 22:34:04

 

[Andy Resnick]

The rain is moving in for a few days, so I am likely finished imaging M51 this year:

(Nikon D810+800mm f/8 on Losmandy GM-8, 13s subs, 14h integration time; stacking, background subtraction and color correction in AstroPixel Processor)]

Here's at 100%:

As I mentioned previously, I am in many-galaxies-in-one-image season; here's a few that are identified from either Astrometry.net (circles) or Aladin Lite (squares):

I wonder if there's anyone out there looking back this way.....