Helix Nebula
Exposure Time: 6.5 hours | Ha/OIII Bicolor
I had my eyes set on this target since starting astrophotography in the fall, but had to wait nine months for it to rise in the northern hemisphere. The Helix nebula is the shockwave of a supernova expanding out from the central white dwarf star in two orthogonal ring-like features.
Exposure Time: 6.5 hours | Ha/OIII Bicolor
I had my eyes set on this target since starting astrophotography in the fall, but had to wait nine months for it to rise in the northern hemisphere. The Helix nebula is the shockwave of a supernova expanding out from the central white dwarf star in two orthogonal ring-like features.
M20 - Trifid Nebula
Exposure Time: 3 hours | RGB
Exposure Time: 3 hours | RGB
IC1396 - Elephant's Trunk
Can you guess why this is called the Elephant’s Trunk? (answer: it looks like an elephant’s trunk.) The curled feature at the top is a dense knot of gas, home to stars only 100,000 years old—the human equivalent of day or week-old babies. Stellar wind from these newborns creates the circular cavity in the center of this region, giving its curled shape |
M16 - Eagle Nebula and Pillars of Creation
At the heart of the Eagle Nebula lies on of the most iconic deep space formations. Inspiration in naming the Pillars of Creation traces back to a sermon by Charles Spurgeon, “And now wonder, ye angels, the Infinite has become an infant; he, upon whose shoulders the universe doth hang, hangs at his mother's breast. he who created all things, and bears up the pillars of creation.” Fun fact, an observed supernova is thought to have destroyed these features six thousand years ago. In one thousand years, the light from six thousand years ago will reach Earth and we’ll be able to confirm whether the prediction is correct. |
Both images above show light filtered for hydrogen-emission only, which is why they have brightness but no color. Hydrogen, like all elements, can be characterized by the unique frequencies or colors that it gives off. With addition of oxygen and sulfur emissions (two other common elements in nebulae), the three can be assigned colors (often green, blue, red), and stacked to produce a color image, a process similar to methods for creating color images using black and white film.
M42 - Orion Nebula
Exposure Time: 1 hour
Despite being my first serious attempt at astrophotography, this image of the Orion Nebula remains one of my favorites. This is partly because it is a big, bright, easy object to find and capture. Below Orion’s belt is Orion’s sword (what did you think), also made of three stars. Well, actually just two, since the middle “star” is actually this nebula. (nice visualization here)
Exposure Time: 1 hour
Despite being my first serious attempt at astrophotography, this image of the Orion Nebula remains one of my favorites. This is partly because it is a big, bright, easy object to find and capture. Below Orion’s belt is Orion’s sword (what did you think), also made of three stars. Well, actually just two, since the middle “star” is actually this nebula. (nice visualization here)
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M27 - Dumbbell Nebula
Exposure Time: 3 hours This is another result of a star exploding in a supernova, with its shockwave flying forever out into space. This is a bi-color image, with hydrogen emission mapped to red, and oxygen emission in blue and green (so you can actually see the concentration of elements in this nebula). The object itself is just under 3 lightyears wide. For reference, you could lay 10,000 copies of our solar system flat, side by side across M27’s width. On my macbook’s retina display, that’s something like 75 solar systems per pixel which is crazy because Apple says I can’t even see these pixels. |
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M57 - Ring Nebula
Exposure Time: 2.5 hours The Ring Nebula has roughly the same absolute size as the Dumbbell Nebula (above), but at nearly twice the distance from earth, it appears much smaller (equivalently: M57 has smaller angular dimensions). But patience prevails; at this very moment, the Ring is expanding at speeds in excess of 20mph around its entire perimeter so it’s only a matter of time before it will look as big as the Dumbbell Nebula does right now. The Ring Nebula became visible earlier in the year than the Helix Nebula, so I hoped it might make a good substitute. The distant, isolated feel of this composition has grown on me, which is good because it certainly didn’t deliver the punch of the Helix Nebula that I had initially expected. |
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Rosette Nebula
Exposure Time: 2.5 Hours
Another one of my early subjects, the Rosette nebula is a beautiful, expansive feature that I'd love to revisit with improved techniques and equipment.
Exposure Time: 2.5 Hours
Another one of my early subjects, the Rosette nebula is a beautiful, expansive feature that I'd love to revisit with improved techniques and equipment.
