Tuesday, April 18, 2017

April 17, 2017

 
Only two good nights so far this April. Still, I did manage to squeeze in some imaging.
 
M57 - The Ring Nebula
 
A preview of summer's attractions. The Ring is easily visible in small telescopes in the constellation Lyra. Formed as a dying star expelled gas, this planetary nebula is located about 2,300 light years away. Larger scopes can show the white dwarf star at its center.
 

This image comprises just 44 30-second subs taken with the T2i through the 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain for a total exposure time of 22 minutes.

M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy

Appearing close to the Big Dipper, but actually inside the boundary of the constellation of Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs), this was the first spiral galaxy to be so classed. It is actually two galaxies: a large spiral interacting with an Seyfert galaxy nucleus. M51 is estimated to be about 23 million light years distant.


This image comprises 196 30-second subs taken on April 8 and April 14 taken with the T2i through the 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain at f/10 for a total exposure time of 98 minutes.

M13 - Globular Cluster in Hercules

Considered the brightest globular cluster in the northern sky, M13 is easily seen in binoculars and small telescopes, though larger apertures are need to resolve its stars. Several hundred thousand stars are packed into a ball about 145 light years in diameter. M13 is estimated to be more than 25,000 light years distant.


 This image is comprised of 37 30-second subs taken with the T2i through the 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain at f/10 for a total exposure time of 18 minutes and 30 seconds.

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