AstroMikeAZ

Whatever makes you happy is good with me!

Here is the location of the very small planetary nebula hidden in the Great Pumpkin. #astrophotography

Today we have Sh2-232, otherwise known as the Great Pumpkin Nebula. I suppose I should have waited until Halloween but here you go. If you look closely there is a small planetary nebula hidden in there. See if you can find it. #astrophotography

Today’s image is M 74 a beautiful face on spiral galaxy in Pisces. It is about 30 million light years away. #astrophtogrphy

Here is the annotated version of the NGC 772 image. Once again showing that our main object is not alone out there. Each green label is another galaxy from the Principal Galaxy Catalog. It’s also worth noting the image of NGC 772 is formed by photons that started our way when dinosaurs were around.

Today we have NGC 772 a galaxy in Aries. It looks small in the image at a distance of 106 million light years, but actually twice the size of the Milky Way! It is also receiving a gravitational pull from its companion galaxy NGC 770, a round fuzzy ball just below 772. #astrophotography

Yes it would be a little scary if you could see all of what was going on up there!?!

So glad you liked it! Thanks.

Hi folks - I have been remiss in not posting for a while. Here is a new image for today. The Pleiades, M 45. A two panel mosaic with a total exposure time of more than 15 hours. Lots of glowing gases up there! #astrophotography

Today’s image has two objects, IC 417 (left of center) and NGC 1931. Both stellar nurseries similar to the Orion Nebula (M42) but much farther away in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way. NGC 1931 even has a trapezium of stars similar to M42 if you zoom in on the lower light patch. #astrophotography

Today we have SH2-132 in Cepheus, otherwise known as the Lion Nebula. 155 five-minute sub-frames for a total integration time of about 16 hours. #astrophotography

3I/ATLAS from yesterday morning. I integrated three pairs of 1-minute exposures about 48 minutes apart to illustrate the movement of the comet in the sky. It is in Leo currently so there are a few galaxies around as well. #astrophotography

A barely visible crescent moon just before sunrise this morning. Taken with my new iPhone 17 and 8X optical zoom. I think I am going to like this new phone. #astrophotography

3I/ATLAS is flying by right now. Its closest approach to earth is in a couple of days. I have been collecting data every clear morning. Here are some results from this morning. 3 images. One is 5 one minute exposures stacked. Another is 3 exposures over about an hour. It is moving fast! #astrophoto

Today’s image is IC 410, the Tadpole Nebula. The tadpoles are the squiggly columns of gas with bright knots on the ends where stars are forming a little left of the center of the nebula. About nine hours of exposure time in this image. #astrophotography

Today we have NGC 1499, the California Nebula. This is a 4 panel mosaic with 70 sub-frames in each panel for a total integration time of over 23 hours. #astrophotography

Today we have two “groups” of galaxies, NGC7331 and Stephan’s Quintet to the lower right. The larger galaxies in each group are about 40 million light years away while the smaller galaxies are 300 to 350 million light years away. Those are pretty old photons! #astrophotography

Today we have a new image of our interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS. This is an integration of just three 5 minute sub-frames. The comet is moving quickly and the head shows movement in a single frame. I will try some shorter exposures to see if I can get better results. It’s a process. #astrophotography

Today’s image is NGC1491, the Fossil Footprint Nebula in Perseus. It is an emission nebula about 9800 light years away. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1790. #astrophotography

This is what I have to deal with, clouds. Sure, it’s a beautiful sunrise but they get in the way of my data collection!?! Good morning everyone!

Clouds got in the way last night. But here is a 4 panel mosaic of M31. 60 sub-frames in each panel for a total exposure time of 20 hours. I’m still working on the processing because of the huge dynamic range of the source. I may share another take down the road. #astrophotography

Here is the annotated version with three NGC galaxies to the right of the comet. #astrophotography #interstellarcomet

Today’s image of 3I/ATLAS our interstellar comet. This is an integration of 5 five-minute exposures. A little better than yesterday’s image. This is cropped from the original to eliminate some satellite trails. #astrophotography #interstellarcomet

Not one of my prettier images but it is my first ever image of an interstellar comet. 3I/ATALAS from the early morning hours today. A single 5 minute exposure. It should be better in the coming days. #astrophotography #interstellarcomet

Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the image.

Thanks!

That is a really challenging object!

Here is the center of IC1396 and its most famous element, the Elephant Trunk Nebula just right of center in this image. #astrophotography

Today’s image is VdB126 in Volpecula, a region of dense star fields and gas and dust clouds in the Milky Way. Specifically the named object is a pair of reflection nebulae in the center of the clouds. I have processed the 15 hours of data in two different ways. Let me know. #astrophotography

Here is SH2-114, the Flying Dragon Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. This image is composed from 180 five-minute sub-frames for a total exposure time of 15 hours. As I have noted before in reference to names of objects, some people have better imaginations than me. #astrophotography