Zodiac Astronomy

September/October 2011

2011-10-30T05:12:00.000-07:00

The North American and Pelican Nebulae. This is a stack of 15 x 3 minute exposures taken with a modified Canon 20d and 200mm lens, mounted on an Astrotrac, from dark skies in Yorkshire.

The Pelican Nebula. This is a stack of 15 x 5 minute exposures taken with a modified Canon 350d through a Skywatcher ED80 refractor mounted on top of an 8" Meade LX200, taken from the home observatory.

The Soul Nebula. This is a stack of 12 x 5 minute exposures, taken with a modified Canon 350d through a Skywatcher ED80 refractor mounted on top of an 8" Meade LX200, taken from the home observatory.

The North American and Pelican Nebulae. This is a stack of 12 x 4 minute exposures, taken with a modified Canon 350d and 200mm lens, mounted on an Astrotrac, from dark skies in Yorkshire.

The Milky Way taken from dark skies in Yorkshire. This is a stack of 6 x 4 minute exposures, taken using a modified Canon 350d with a 28mm wide-angle lens, mounted on an Astrotrac.

The Heart Nebula. This is a stack of 12 x 4 minute exposures, taken on an Astrotrac with a modified Canon 350d and 200mm lens at f2.8, from dark skies in Yorkshire.

IC 1396. This is a stack 20 x 3 minute exposures, taken on an Astrotrac with a modified Canon 20d and 200mm lens at f3.2, from dark skies in Yorkshire.

The California Nebula. This is a stack of 15 x 3 minute exposures, taken on an Astrotrac with a modified Canon 20d and 200mm lens at f3.2, from dark skies in Yorkshire.

2011-09-04T06:32:00.000-07:00

The Omega Nebula

This is a stack of 7 x 10 minute exposures, imaged with the Atik 314l ccd camera, through the Skywatcher ED80 refractor mounted on top of the 8" LX200.

The Gamma Cygni Nebula

This is a stack of 14 x 2 minute exposures, imaged with the modified Canon 350d camera and 200mm prime lens, using the Astrotrac, imaged and processed by Zoe.

The Veil Nebula

This is a stack of 10 x 5 minute exposures, using the modified Canon 350d camera, through the Skywatcher ED80 refractor, which is mounted on top of the 8" Meade LX200.

More Atik ccd images

2011-06-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

The Fireworks Galaxy

This image was taken by Dave from dark skies near Crewe, and is a stack of 6 x 10 minute exosures taken through an Orion 8" SPX Newtonian.

The Needle Galaxy

This was taken under dark skies in Devon, and is a stack of 12 x 5 minute exposures through an Intes Micro 7" Maksutov-Newtonian.

M82

This image was taken under dark skies in Devon, and is a stack of 12 x 5 minute exposures taken with an Intes Micro 7" Maksutov-Newtonian.

M106

This image was also taken by Dave under dark skies near Crewe, and is a stack of 9 x 10 minute exposures taken with an 8" Orion SPX Newtonian.

The Hercules Globular Cluster

This image was taken from dark skies in Devon, and was a single, 30 second exposure taken through the 7" Intes Micro Maksutov-Newtonian.

The Eagle Nebula

Another image taken by Dave under dark skies near Crewe, and is a stack of 6 x 10 minute exposures taken with an Orion 8" SPX Newtonian.

Bode's Nebula (really a galaxy)

This is a stack of 12 x 5 minute exposures taken with a 7" Intes Micro Maksutov-Newtonian from dark skies in Devon.

The Black Eye Galaxy

This image is a stack of 10 x 5 minute exposures taken from home with the 8" Meade LX200, reduced to f/6.8.

2011-02-27T06:20:00.000-08:00

After spending six months busking to raise enough money for a ccd camera, these are our first images. They are taken in monochrome, as we felt that this was the easiest way to begin imaging with such a sophisticated camera.

The Leo Triplet of galaxies. This image consists of ten 200 second subs taken with the Skywatcher ED80 achromatic refractor mounted on top of the Meade LX 200.

A revisited image of the Rosette Nebula. This image consists of 21 x 200 second subs using a hydrgen-alpha filter, combined with nine 3 minute luminance subs, which were used to take the image further down this page. All were taken with the Skywatcher ED80 apochromatic refractor, mounted on top of the Meade LX200.

The Flame Nebula. This is a stack of five 3 minute subs taken through the Skywatcher ED80 apochromatic refractor mounted on top of the Meade LX200.

The Horsehead Nebula. This is a stack of ten 150 second subs taken with a hydrogen-alpha filter, through the Skywatcher ED80 apochromatic refractor mounted on top of the Meade LX200.

The Whirlpool Galaxy. This is a stack of twelve 200 second subs taken with the Skywatcher ED80 apochromatic refractor mounted on top of the Meade LX200.

The Rosette Nebula. This is a stack of nine 3 minute subs taken with the Skywatcher ED80 apochromatic refractor mounted on top of the Meade LX200.

The Pinwheel Galaxy. This was taken under dark skies in Devon whilst on holiday. It is a stack of ten 5 minute subs taken through a 7-inch Intes-Micro Maksutov-Newtonian.

The Orion Nebula. This was taken with fifteen 3 minute subs through the Skywatcher ED80 apochromatic refractor mounted on top of the Meade LX200.

Dark sky images

2010-04-25T05:52:00.000-07:00

On our recent holiday to dark skies in Devon, we were fortunate enough to be blessed with 6 beautiful, clear nights out of our 7-night break. The following images are the results of our work and were taken in the on-site observatory where we stayed.

Whirlpool Galaxy

Sunflower Galaxy

Spindle Galaxy

Sombrero Galaxy

Ring Nebula

M92 Globular Cluster

M53 Globular Cluster

M13 Globular Cluster

M3 Globular Cluster

Dumbell Nebula

Bubble Nebula

Bode's Nebula

Black-Eye Galaxy

Images Taken From the Home Observatory

2010-02-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

The Hercules Globular Cluster

A large, dense cluster of stars in the constellation of Hercules. Taken from the home observatory.

The Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

Two faint nebulae in the constellation of Orion. Taken from the home observatory.

The Moon

Close-up shot of the Moon, taken from the home observatory.

The Andromeda Galaxy

A large, bright galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda. Taken from home observatory.

The Orion and Running Man Nebulae

Two large nebulae, located in the constellation of Orion. Taken from home observatory.

Jupiter

The planet Jupiter. Note the Great Red Spot on the lower half of the disk. Image taken from home observatory.

The Pleiades

Image taken from home observatory. The Pleiades is an open star cluster, also known as the seven sisters.

First-quarter Moon

Image taken from home observatory. Note the shadows in the craters along the terminator (the line between day and night on the Moon).

Zodiac Astronomy

2010-02-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

We are two amateur astronomers who have been studying and imaging the night sky for about five years. In our presentation, we have put together a basic introduction to astronomy. We have concentrated on some well-known constellations and the planets, as we feel that this is enough to take in at the moment. Our reason for doing this is that we have found there is very little help available for the novice stargazer. We hope that this presentation will give you some idea of what to look for in the night sky. Also, although we do recommend that you join an astronomical society to further your knowledge, we have found that a beginner can often find it quite frustrating to understand and navigate the night sky with no assistance to help them get started.

If you would like further information about our course or are interested in booking with us, please contact Dave on 01908 379961 or Zoe on 01908 372595. You can also email us at d.jward@btinternet.com or zoe311969@hotmail.co.uk