Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos

[Andy Resnick]

Here's a montage showing Bailey's beads, taken near "3rd contact":

And a "Diamond Ring", it's a bit of a hack job but you can clearly see the difference in color between photosphere and corona:

 

[DennisN]

Feeling pretty good today- I had a goal to image the chromosphere during the solar eclipse, and this is what I was able to capture:

View attachment 343030

and some 1:1 crops-

View attachment 343031

View attachment 343032

Incredibly nice! Congratulations!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Timelapse of the event: original is 4k x 4k pixels.

 

[DennisN]

Timelapse of the event: original is 4k x 4k pixels.

Gorgeous!

 

[Andy Resnick]

This is my favorite shot of totality:

Whenever I look at it, all I can hear is the monolith scene in Kubrick's '2001'

 

[DennisN]

Haha, I just saw a funny (and informative) video about very unusual lenses, and just had to share two real monsters here... (I'm notifying @Andy Resnick but anyone who likes crazy optics may enjoy it )

"The Sigmonster", Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 : described in the video at 9m 30s.

Photo by Sven Teschke


"The Canon Cannon", Canon 5200mm f/14 : described in the video at 10m 46s.

Source: https://petapixel.com/2010/01/06/ginormous-5200mm-canon-lens-on-ebay/

Source video: The World wasn't ready for these Crazy Lenses (Cong Thanh)
- interesting in general if you are like me and like weird/vintage optics

 

[Andy Resnick]

Haha, I just saw a funny (and informative) video about very unusual lenses, and just had to share two real monsters here... (I'm notifying @Andy Resnick but anyone who likes crazy optics may enjoy it )

Heh... nice! Don't forget these:

https://petapixel.com/2017/04/27/canon-300mm-f1-8-yes-monster-lens-exists/
https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/reflex/2000mm.htm

 

[DennisN]

https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/reflex/2000mm.htm

Mir is a site I've visited before when researching lenses.
Another one is Radojuva where there is a lot of info about both common and uncommon lenses (of various brands & mounts).

 

[bruha]

Hello, here is sunimage from saturday on Bohmerwald with 3 sunspots (enhanced in Gimp) (with green filter Baader Planetarium solar continuum 7.5nm)
Lot of succes

 

[collinsmark]

Heh... nice! Don't forget these:

https://petapixel.com/2017/04/27/canon-300mm-f1-8-yes-monster-lens-exists/
https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/reflex/2000mm.htm

I think I've got the Nikon beat (2nd link). Both it and my new scope are catadioptric (probably both corrected Schmidt Cassegrains). Although I haven't tested my scope to find what its minimum focus distance is. All as I know for certain that it's less than 384,000 km, and probably a lot less than that.

The Nikon is f/11 with f = 2000 mm
My new scope is f/11* with f = 3857 mm

*(f/10.846, according to Celestron's EdgeHD whitepaper)

 

[Tom.G]

Although I haven't tested my scope to find what its minimum focus distance is.

My new scope is f/11* with f = 3857 mm

IIRC, close focus is at 3.857m, but your camera has to be at infinity.

 

[Andy Resnick]

I think I've got the Nikon beat (2nd link). Both it and my new scope are catadioptric (probably both corrected Schmidt Cassegrains). Although I haven't tested my scope to find what its minimum focus distance is. All as I know for certain that it's less than 384,000 km, and probably a lot less than that.

The Nikon is f/11 with f = 2000 mm
My new scope is f/11* with f = 3857 mm

Interesting... do you know the image circle size of your scope? Does it support a 35mm full frame format image?

 

[Andy Resnick]

IIRC, close focus is at 3.857m, but your camera has to be at infinity.

Although I haven't tested my scope to find what its minimum focus distance is. All as I know for certain that it's less than 384,000 km, and probably a lot less than that.

Now I'm motivated to try putting my M2 extension tube on the 800mm lens and turn it into a bizarro macro lens... :)

 

[collinsmark]

Interesting... do you know the image circle size of your scope? Does it support a 35mm full frame format image?

I found it specified in the EdgeHD whitepaper. Here's a link to the paper below (PDF format):
https://s3.amazonaws.com/celestron-site-support-files/support_files/edgehd_whitepaper_final.pdf

The image circle spec is 42 mm diameter.

For reference, a 35 mm full frame format is 24×36 mm, giving it a diagonal length of \sqrt{{24}^2 + {36}^2 } = 43.27 mm. That's a tad bit longer than the scope's specified image circle.

But there's still image to be had outside the 42 mm image circle; it just means that there's some vignetting toward the corners of the frame. Most of that can be mitigated with flat field calibration (I'm a stickler for flats, by the way), and it just means that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is a bit lower at the frame's corners, after calibration.

My camera for this scope has a 35 mm full frame sensor and it works fine. (Again, there's a little vignetting, but I calibrate that out with flats.)

Now I'm motivated to try putting my M2 extension tube on the 800mm lens and turn it into a bizarro macro lens... :)

'Couldn't hurt to try!

Seriously though, all humor aside, most photography lenses have lens elements that function as a field flattener (here, "flattener" refers to optical aberrations, not intensity corrections). My EdgeHD telescope also has two lens elements in the baffle tube that function as a field flattener. I'm sure there are similar lens elements are within your 800 mm lens.

And the thing about that is the distance from those flattening lens elements to the sensor plane is pretty critical. Changing this distance can cause the image to become out-of-focus at the frame's edges (compared to the image center) due to field curvature (and possibly coma). But this might not be a problem depending on your subject, so long as you don't overdo it.

 

[Devin-M]

I think the Nikon 105mm could get more detail than the 3857mm on account of its close focus abilities (by putting subject much closer to the lens)

https://www.keh.com/nikon-105mm-f-2...vQEC58Kbp_JF0vKHpydCsY8YaG9bPBgRoC3ycQAvD_BwE

 

[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.....

 

[neilparker62]

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

View attachment 344457

(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%:

View attachment 344459

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):

View attachment 344460

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

Don't know exactly how many squares there are in your pic but multiply by 100 billion or so (average no of stars per galaxy) and you have to believe that "someone else" out there is a distinct possibility!

Same question - or similar - posed here.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Clouds moving in for the next week, not going to get much additional time imaging M101:

The usual setup, 20 hrs integration time. Again, lots of galaxies in the field of view- I only used astrometry.net this time, there's many more in the frame....

...for example, a 1:1 of the peculiar-looking galaxy NGC 5474:

NGC 5474 appears to be staring at a trio of galaxies: J140458.21+534358.3, J140458.79+534406.8 (an Active Galaxy Nucleus candidate), and Gaia DR3 1609195779046805376.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Last night (May 10) the night sky was clear, and the large Aurora Borealis was visible. I didn't try to intentionally image it, because I wasn't sure it would be visible due to the extensive treeline around me. Also, I have never seen it IRL and so had no idea what to look for. Also, I didn't want to waste a night imaging deep sky objects.

IRL, I could barely see the occasional smudge of grey brightness- definitely could not identify any color at any time. However, my camera managed to capture a few images that are pretty wild:

Deets: Nikon D810 + 400/4 lens on Losmandy GM-8, 15s integration time. 14-bit RAW to 8-bit/ch JPG conversion using APP, then ++ color saturation.

 

[Devin-M]

Looks very nice.

 

[bruha]

Hi, I also noticed it at night May 10 -Bohmerwald and made some images by mobile (I saw it first time and was it beatiful experience, although by naked eyes not so colourfull like on images)