Starship Asterisk*

Category: Single Exposure Panorama
Social IG: victorlimaphoto
Story:
The Milky Way crosses the sky of Piedras Rojas while the Zodiacal Light and Air Glow complement the night sky spectacle of the Atacama Desert in Chile.
Situated in the Atacama Desert, the Piedras Rojas is specifically located near the Argentinian border, approximately 150 kilometers southeast of the town of San Pedro de Atacama. As the name suggests, the most prominent feature of this area is the reddish rocks and formations. Adjacent to the red rock formations are a few altiplanic lagoons. The high salt concentration of these lagoons gives the water a reflective quality, providing visitors with breathtaking views of the surrounding.
Dominating the upper third of the frame is the dense, cloudy stretch of the Milky Way. This band, filled with millions of stars, clusters, and interstellar dust, offers a rich tonal gradient, transitioning from a brighter core to fainter edges. The central bulge, with a higher concentration of stars, appears more pronounced and is the visual anchor of the Milky Way in this image.
Radiating from the horizon and stretching towards the Milky Way’s core is the Zodiacal Light. This is an elongated, faint, triangular glow, appearing opposite the setting or rising sun. It is a result of sunlight scattering off interplanetary dust particles that lie in the plane of the solar system. Its presence is indicative of the image being taken shortly after sunset or just before sunrise and serves to bridge the gap between the terrestrial and celestial components of the photo.
Providing a vivid color palette against the backdrop of space, the air glow appears as faint ripples of luminescence, manifesting in shades of red, green, and even purple. This phenomenon is caused by the recombination of atoms and molecules that were photoionized by the sun during the day, combined with chemiluminescence, where chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere produce light. Its patchy distribution lends an uneven, wavy texture to the night sky, juxtaposing the more uniform, granular spread of the Milky Way stars.
EXIF:
15/september/2023 9:43pm
Canon 6Da / Rokinon 12mm f:2.8 fisheye
8X 30 sec / f:2.8 / ISO 6400 (Panorama)

Piedras Rojas - Atacama Desert by Victor Lima, no Flickr

NGC 7023, Iris Nebula and LDN 1167 to LDN 1174
https://www.mauricetoet.nl/DeepSky/i-rPFMkJV/A
Copyright: Maurice Toet

The Tulip Nebula (Sh2-101). Found in the constellation Cygnus, right next to x-ray source X-1.

This is the combination of data sets from two different cameras (asi1600mm and QHY268m) imaged 2 years apart. The part of the image where the 2 data sets overlap is 50 hours of integration time in SII, Ha, and OIII with RGB stars.
combined: asi1600 = 5 hours each in S, H, and O; QHY268M = 10 hours each in S, H, and O plus 1.5 hours each in R, G, and B. (50 hours)

I was able to eliminate most of the artifacts caused by the microlensing issue that the asi1600mm has.

Cheers,

Jason


Full Size image: https://flic.kr/p/2p4ejtQ

A few new images from the last trip to Namibia.
For full resolution - press 'Original' under the image on my site:
https://pbase.com/tango33/namibia_202223

Thanks,

Kfir Simon

Fleming 1:
The Egg nebula: Ced 90 (Right wing of the Seagull nebula...) NGC 6559 and IC 4685: Sh-71 nebula: And also some from back home:

Full resolution:
https://pbase.com/tango33/new_images

Sh-240: Messier 82:

Solar corona from the Black Forest Star Party in PA

This image of the solar corona was taken from central Pennsylvania during the Black Forest Star Party on September 16, 2023 at 12:14pm. It was taken with a 50mm homemade coronagraph, a 5303 Angstrom filter, and an ASI1600MM Pro camera. Two 30-second videos were taken, one with the filter on band and one with it off band, and they were subtracted. This image shows the solar E-corona from Fe XIV light and a series of loops and streamers. It matches the Solar Dynamics Observatory image at 211A.

[img][/Users/anil/Desktop/Hubble Heritage in the Cygnus Loop.jpg/img]

Hubble Heritage in the Cygnus Loop:

Approximately ten millennia ago, well before the advent of recorded human history, a celestial spectacle graced the sky. An ephemeral event that would have manifested as a new light in the night sky and then gently waned within a matter of weeks. Today, through the lens of modern astronomy, we understand this captivating luminosity as the aftermath of a supernova event, a cataclysmic explosion of a star. Imaged with color filters featuring light emitted by sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen. This deep wide-angle view reveals the Veil Nebula, also known as the Cygnus Loop, which is nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). This image combines photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope as part of the Hubble Heritage project. Astronomers and image-processing experts at the Space Telescope Science Institute ran this project from 1998 to 2016. Their objective was to create visually striking and scientifically precise color images of the cosmos by utilizing the HST's existing image library along with new observations. While the team has dissolved, the program's legacy endures through a captivating collection of colorful cosmic views that have ignited a widespread passion for astronomy among the global public.

Time: Every clear night of August and September 2023

Location: Madrid, Spain

Bortle 8-9
Exposure time: 42h21
-148x420s in HA
-67x420s in OIII
-148x420s in SII

Gear:
Main Camera: ZWO 294 MM
Telescope: Radian Raptor 61
Mount: SkyWatcher NEQ6 Pro
Filter Set: ZWO HA, OIII, SII
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW
Guide camera: ASI 290 MM Mini

Software:
ASIAIR Pro, DSS, Photoshop

Image Credit: Anil Monnier, NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team, W. Blair

The Angler Fish Nebula Rising : LDN 1251

Copyright: Bogdan Borz 2023

Telescope: Teleskop Service ONTC Newtonian 250mm @ 3.8
Mount: Skywatcher AZEQ6 Pro
Camera: ZWO ASI 2600MM
Software: Sequence Generator Pro, Pixinsight, Photoshop
Filters : Baader LRGB x 300s gain 0 @ -10°C
Dates : 15-25 June 2023
Total exposure: 28h25min
Location: Personal remote observatory at e-EyE, Extremadura, Spain
Full resolution: https://www.astrobin.com/full/kmxwhz/0/?mod=&real=

https://i.ibb.co/D8mFRNS/Hubble-Heritag ... s-Loop.jpg

Hubble Heritage in the Cygnus Loop:

Approximately ten millennia ago, well before the advent of recorded human history, a celestial spectacle graced the sky. An ephemeral event that would have manifested as a new light in the night sky and then gently waned within a matter of weeks. Today, through the lens of modern astronomy, we understand this captivating luminosity as the aftermath of a supernova event, a cataclysmic explosion of a star. Imaged with color filters featuring light emitted by sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen. This deep wide-angle view reveals the Veil Nebula, also known as the Cygnus Loop, which is nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). This image combines photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope as part of the Hubble Heritage project. Astronomers and image-processing experts at the Space Telescope Science Institute ran this project from 1998 to 2016. Their objective was to create visually striking and scientifically precise color images of the cosmos by utilizing the HST's existing image library along with new observations. While the team has dissolved, the program's legacy endures through a captivating collection of colorful cosmic views that have ignited a widespread passion for astronomy among the global public.

Time: Every clear night of August and September 2023

Location: Madrid, Spain

Bortle 8-9
Exposure time: 42h21
-148x420s in HA
-67x420s in OIII
-148x420s in SII

Gear:
Main Camera: ZWO 294 MM
Telescope: Radian Raptor 61
Mount: SkyWatcher NEQ6 Pro
Filter Set: ZWO HA, OIII, SII
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW
Guide camera: ASI 290 MM Mini

Software:
ASIAIR Pro, DSS, Photoshop

Image Credit: Anil Monnier, NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team, W. Blair

Airglow bands in south of Chile.
Copyright: Marcelo Maturana Rodríguez (@matuutex)

Info: Spectacular view from the slopes of the Osorno Volcano (2006 mts) in the south of Chile, we can appreciate the milky way together with the bands of nocturnal luminescence or airglow, these generally manifest themselves in very dark skies and where the restructuring of atoms in the form of molecules are ionized by the sun during the day.

Generally, when there is airglow in the catches in the south of Chile, there is a storm that approaches and propagates previously in the form of gravitational waves.

We can see both volcanoes Calbuco and Osorno at both ends and the milky way as a link or connection between them.

Location: Osorno Volcano, South of Chile (41°06′00″S 72°29′35″O)
Date: 27 May 2023
Instagram: @matuutex
Nikon d5600, Tokina lens 14/20mm
Sky: 14mm f2 iso 2500 20 segs - Foreground: 14mm iso 1600 120 segs
Panorama

Airglow bands in south of Chile. by Marcelo Maturana, en Flickr

From the Bubble to the Wizard by Daniele Borsari, on Flickr

Aurora GeoManetic Storm G2

Kirkjufell Panorama ,Milky Way, Aurora Bow Kp4 , Geomagnetic storm G2 level,
Happy New Year of Aurora Season from Iceland Kirkjufell! were privileged to see an unusual natural phenomenon that occurs at best once every 11 years with the intensity of such a strong glow at the peak of the solar maximum, we were able to capture through the lens a powerful geomagnetic storm that presented a spectacular aurora light show

Date 11 of september
Location Kirkjufell Iceland
Credit Roi Levi
https://www.instagram.com/astroi_levi/

Sunday Sun
Copyright: Rafael Schmall
https://www.astrobin.com/users/Rafeee/

Our sun has been quite active lately, so it finally deserved a mosaic.
I inverted the inner part of the disc during processing.

Image Details:
Equipment: ZWO ASI 290MM, Lunt LS100, B1800H-alpha, Fornax 150/100
Exif data: exp: 1,7ms, gain: 25, 6x300frame
Processing: Firecapture, PIPP, Autostakkert3, Photoshop

Location: Hungary, Zselic Starry Sky Park, Zselic Park of Stars

NGC 1365 ~ The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy
URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxies/N1365.htm

NGC 1365 is so low in the skies from here in southeast Texas (24°max altitude)
that I had to throw away over half of the 200+ images acquired to get enough sharp
ones to process. Hover over image below to see it without stars!

Full screen URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxi ... RGB_4K.jpg
No stars URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxi ... B_4Kns.jpg
Zoomed in URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxi ... GB_4Kz.jpg
Integration time: 18 hours. Copyright Kent E. Biggs

Clear skies,
www.kentbiggs.com
Houston, Texas

The Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038 e NGC 4039 )


BEST DETAIL
https://www.astrobin.com/full/ang0dd/0/

EQUIPMENT:
Esprit 150mm triplet
Zwo asi 6200mc
Mount CEM120
Frames 156X300" (taken advantage of a total of 210)

LOCATION: Munhoz - MG - Brazil
DATES: From 03/18/2023 to 04/24/2023


PROCESSING AND CAPTURE:
Adobe Photoshop, ASTAP, SGP, PHD2 and PixInsight

Author: Fernando Oliveira de Menezes
Email: Barretosmed@hotmail.com
(Organizing author of the book Amateur Astrophotography in Brazil)
https://clubedeautores.com.br/livro/ast ... -no-brasil

6 Months of Sun by Wael Omar, on Flickr

Today the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a "nearly" equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. I have photographed the sun through 6 months from a fixed place to monitor the path of the sun along the horizon. My first image was in April 2023 and I continue to shoot the sunset on the 21th day of every month to show the drift of the sunset location. The image shows the summer solstice as the sun sets considerably north of due west. After the June solstice, the sun's path gradually drifts southward. By today September equinox, its path is again along the celestial equator and the sun sets directly west.
Settings:

Canon 200 D

18-55 mm canon lens
Each image is a 3-panel mosaic @18mm, each panel is HDR image with bracket shooting.

The settings of the images:

ISO 100, 1/20 seconds, F8. This may differ a little due to different lighting conditions along the 6 months.

Date : 21 th of each month from April 2023 to September 2023.

All images are taken from fixed place along the 6 months.

Note: On the far left side of each image you could see faint black triangles at the edge of the horizon, these are the Egyptian pyramids away from camera location by 14 km.

Choosing the location was so difficult in a very crowded city like Cairo as I wanted to have a wide view of the city and in same time a fixed location not altered by crowd or civil works so I spent too much time to search for this place. The place was above “Mokattam” hills so I have to climb a little up to be in the right spot and facing the sun along its journey during the last 6 months .
Location: Cairo, EGYPT.

Credit: Wael Omar WO
FB:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088680849617
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waelomar_astrophotography/

Coma Cluster (Abell 1656)

Full version : https://cdn.astrobin.com/images/2200/20 ... 18162f.gif

Here's an object I've never observed before, and have wanted to for a long time: the (dwarf) planet Pluto, smaller than our Moon, at just over 5 billion kilometers (mag. 14.4).

Acquisitions made over 9 consecutive nights, from August 8 to 16, 2023, from the same location in Corsica (France)

The wide-field version shows cluster M75, a few small galaxies, and 2 asteroids: 3106 - Morabito (mag. 16.4) and 4734 Rameau (mag. 17.8).

Higher-quality versions are available on Astrobin: https://astrob.in/full/n27e7g/0/

These kinds of images are certainly less spectacular than the beautiful nebulae and galaxies we're used to seeing, but I must admit I felt a very special emotion when I finally "observed" the last "planet" (at least of the heart...) of our solar system!

I hope this little animation will please those who have never observed it!

Takahashi TSA102 - AZEQ6 - Atik Cameras 16200 mono
L : 50 x 300s bin1
RGB : 36 x 180s bin1
08 - 16 august 2023 (Corsica - France)
Pixinsight & PS

Copyright: Jean-Baptiste Auroux
https://millenniumphoton.com/
https://www.astrobin.com/users/Jean-Baptiste_Paris/

kentbiggs wrote: ↑Fri Sep 22, 2023 8:35 pm NGC 1365 ~ The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy
URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxies/N1365.htm

NGC 1365 is so low in the skies from here in southeast Texas (24°max altitude)
that I had to throw away over half of the 200+ images acquired to get enough sharp
ones to process. Hover over image below to see it without stars!

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

Full screen URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxi ... RGB_4K.jpg
No stars URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxi ... B_4Kns.jpg
Zoomed in URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxi ... GB_4Kz.jpg
Integration time: 18 hours. Copyright Kent E. Biggs

Clear skies,
www.kentbiggs.com
Houston, Texas

That's an absolutely wonderful portrait of the great barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365!

Ann

The North America & Pelican nebulae - NGC 7000 IC 5070

a Wide field photo of the N America and pelican nebulae
————

Location:
Al Salmi desert, Kuwait (Bortle 5).

Acquisition details:
Ha 80 x 300” (6hr 40min)
Sii 67 x 300” (5hr 35min)
Oiii 90 x 300” (7hr 30min)
RGB 60 x 60” (1hr)

Total integration time: 20hr 45min

Gears:
C: ASI294MM Pro
M: AM5
T: RC51
F: ZWO

Instagram: www.instagram.com/astroaq
Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/aqalaf/

CONTEMPLING THE MILKY WAY AMIDST THE CLOUDS


This was my last day of the trip, even though I knew I was leaving very early, I decided to go out, alone, amidst the clouds (a rare thing in the desert) and the extreme cold, to thank God for this unique and rare moment in my life.


MELHORES DETALHES
https://www.astrobin.com/full/3yv4yt/0/


EQUIPAMENTO:
Cânon 6D
Lens Canon 24mm 1.4
Mount smarteq pro

Sky:
1X59" @ ISO3200 F3.5
Foreground:
1X30" @ ISO6400 F3.5


LOCATION: San Pedro de Atacama - Chile
DATE 04/22/2023

Autor: Fernando Oliveira de Menezes
E-mail: Barretosmed@hotmail.com

NGC 6914 (VdB 131 & VdB 132)
https://www.mauricetoet.nl/DeepSky/i-tJz6t8Z/A
Copyright: Maurice Toet

Blood, claws and fangs

Hi everyone,


Blood, claws and fangs by .zombi., on Flickr

Imaging telescopes: Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII
Imaging cameras: Moravian G3-16200EC
Accessories: Reducer-QE 0.73X
Mounts: Sky-Watcher NEQ6-Pro
Software: Adobe Photoshop · Aries Productions Astro Pixel Processor (APP) · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)

Frames:
Baader UV/IR Cut / Luminance 50 mm: 33×300″(2h 45′)
Baader Blue (B-CCD) 50 mm: 11×90″(16′ 30″)
Baader Green (G-CCD) 50 mm: 11×60″(11′)
Baader Red (R-CCD) 50 mm: 11×60″(11′)
SVBony H-alpha 7nm 2": 29×600″(4h 50′)

Photographic technique: LRGB+Ha

Integration: 8h 13′ 30″
Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 3/4

Location: Borchów/Poland
Dates: September 16, 2023

Description:
Picture taken in April during starparty.

Image Credit & Copyright: Przemysław Ząbczyk

Links:
<a href="http://www.astrobin.com/users/zombi/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.astrobin.com</a>
<a href="https://www.astropolis.pl/tags/zombi/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.astropolis.pl</a>

I had a little time to process...

For full resolution please visit:
https://pbase.com/tango33/namibia_202223
And choose 'Original' under the image...

Cheers,

Kfir Simon

The Cartwheel galaxy: The Southern Crab nebula: IC 349 - Merope nebula:

Nishimura comet from Faenza, Italy
https://flic.kr/p/2p57v14
Copyright: Paolo Girotti The alarm rings. 4:00 am. You get up, drive to the place, and set everything up.
The comet is barely visible with a pair of binoculars. Almost impossible to see with naked (and sleepy) eyes through the city haze.
The camera sensor picks something up! But time ticks fast, and you have only 20 minutes before the Sun washes everything up with his calm dawn. At home, you stack the photos, subtract the diffuse light, and wow: you discover that the visible comet tail is much longer than you ever expected! It is barely contained in the frame. Bye comet Nishimura, your visit was quick but you definitely left the mark, on me at least.

Photo taken by me on 9 September 2023 around 5:40 am GMT+2 from the hills of Faenza (RA), Italy. The small tower on the right in the foreground is the iconic tower of Oriolo dei Fichi, built in the 15th century.
I am Paolo Girotti, an Italian post-doc in particle physics, 28 years old. My instagram account is @astrogyres .

The photo is a composite of:
38x30" f5.3 70mm iso1600 for the sky and comet (tracked)
70" + 10" f7.1 70mm iso800 for an HDR of the foreground
All shots taken from the exact same spot with a Nikon D3300 + Nikkor 18-105 @70 mm. The foreground shot was taken 30 minutes before the comet shots (so that city lights were still on).

Sadr Region, Butterfly Nebula, and Crescent Nebula

This is the beautiful emission around Sadr (including the Butterfly and Crescent nebulae), that I captured from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies in narrowband.

Equipment:
ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Rokinon 135mm f/2 at f/2.8
Optolong L-Ultimate 2" filter
Star Adventurer GTi, ZWO 30mm f/4 guidescope, ASI120MM Mini guidecamera, ASIAIR Pro

Processing:
Astro Pixel Processor, PixInsight (incl. BlurXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, Bill Blanshan Narrowband Normalization scripts), StarNet v2, Adobe Photoshop

Night 1 (7/3/23): 12x300 sec; Night 2 (7/9/23): 6x300 sec; Night 3 (7/10/23): 4x300 sec; Night 4 (7/21/23): 4x300 sec
Location: Des Plaines, Illinois
Copyright: Imran Sultan

NGC 2685 ~ The Helix Galaxy
URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxies/N2685.htm

The Helix Galaxy with dark lanes exposed. I have never posted this image due to dissatisfaction with results but with some new processing techniques, I'm finally happy with it. Links to full size images and interactive versions below as well as more information on the processing.

NGC 2685 with and without Stars! NGC 2685 Full Size and Zoomed Image Full screen URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxi ... RGB_4K.jpg
Enlargement URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxi ... GB_4Kz.jpg
No Stars URL: https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/galaxi ... B_4Kns.jpg
Integration time: 18 hours. Copyright Kent E. Biggs

Clear skies,
www.kentbiggs.com
Houston, Texas