February 22, 2010

February brought a seemingly-endless series of heavy snowstorms to the East Coast, dropping more than two feet of snow on the New York area. This didn't leave much time for astronomy related activities. Still, I did manage to capture some of the more prominent clusters in the late winter/early spring sky.

M67

This open cluster in the constellation Cancer is noteworthy for being one of the oldest in the sky. It's stars have been estimated at between 3.2 and 5 billion years of age, making the cluster a little younger than our sun. The cluster is about 2,700 light years distant and contains about 100 stars.

This image is a 12 minute exposure.

M50

Located about 3,000 light years distant, this open cluster appears in the constellation Monoceros.

This image is a ten minute exposure.

M48

Located in the constellation Hydra, this open cluster is estimated to be about 300 million years old.


This image is a nine minute exposure.

January 22, 2010

IC 443

Nicknamed the Jellyfish Nebula by some astronomers for its seemingly dangling tentacles, this faint nebula in Gemini (appearing close to M35) is, in fact, the remnant of a supernova, the violent death of a massive star, which occurred sometime in the last 10,000-30,000 years. The nebula is about 5,000 light years distant.

This image combines subexposures of 300 and 400 seconds taken on January 10, 12, 20 & 22, for a total exposure time of 235 minutes, or just under four hours.

January 20, 2010

M63

Known as the Sunflower Galaxy, M63 is a strikingly beautiful example of a spiral galaxy visible in the constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs), due south of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). The galaxy is estimated to be 37 million light years distant and was first noted by the French astronomer Pierre Mechain in 1779.

This image includes more than four hours of exposure time.

January 10, 2010

NGC 4565

NGC 4565 is a spiral galaxy, seen edge-on in the constellation Coma Bernices (Bernice's Hair). The galaxy is estimated to be about 20 million light years distant.

This image is a stack of 10, 300-second images, for a total exposure time of 50 minutes.

January 6, 2010

NGC 2174

This is relatively large and bright emission nebula that appears near the border of Orion and Gemini, not far from the large open cluster M35. NGC 2174 is bright enough to be spotted with binoculars in darks skies far from city lights. In long exposures, the nebula stands out clearly against the background stars. NGC 2174 is thought to be about 6,400 light years distant.

This image comprises 14, 300-second images, for a total exposure time of 70 minutes.

January 4, 2010

NGC 2247

A number of patches of nebulosity - the largest being NGC 2247 - appear in the image of a starfield in Monoceros featured below.

This image is comprised of 14, 300-second subexposures, for a total exposure time of 70 minutes.