Astrophotography

I had to try some narrowband imaging with some newly acquired 1.25″ HSO filter set, despite not having a monochrome camera. The wizard nebula in Cepheus was the perfect test for the new setup. Image details: HOO colour palette with 2 hours of Ha (40 x 180 seconds) plus 5.5...

Being aflicted with a case of GAS for astro equipment, I splashed out on a new dedicated DSO cooled astro camera, the Touptek ATR 585c. With clear skies, I didn’t let the full ,moon put me off testing out the new setup. Using the trusty Optolong L-eNhance dual narrowband...

Finally a break in the clouds gave me the chance to capture comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) this evening. It was barely visible to the naked eye, but a nice sight in my 7×50 binoculars. Despite the low altitude and the glare from a full moon, the stack reveals the tail...

First light with the new SpaceCat / RedCat 51 telescope was a tough choice. The wide 250mm field of view is perfect for capturing complete views of so many deep-sky objects. But with the Milky Way setting earlier now, the Veil nebula in Cygnus was the perfect choice. After a few...

A couple of clear nights tempted me to improve upon my ‘first light‘ image for the ZenithStar 73 scope. Over 4x the integration helps to reveal much more definition in the familiar features of the North America Nebula. A bit of trailing can be seen in the stars, so...

My best effort on the Great Orion nebula to date. Taken with the Zenithstar 73 telescope at 430mm/f5.9. The image is a big improvement over my recently captured image with the Tamron 100-400mm/f6.3. The new Optolong L-eNhance filter helped a lot with cutting out local light...

Back in the late 1990’s I was a teenager in high school. Hung above the science department door was a big colour poster of the Horsehead Nebula. I have no doubt seeing this image every day inspired my lifelong passion for astronomy. Capturing the same image 25 years on...

A recent run of clear nights gave a rare opportunity to image the gems of the winter sky. The Great Orion Nebula, the Horsehead & Flame and the Rosette nebula were all bagged over the past week. With these targets moving behind a local tree each night, I moved to imaging a...

As every astrophotographer knows, the crystal clear nights you’ve been patiently waiting months for will always coincide with a big, bright full moon. Thankfully, this is one of the major bonuses of using a narrowband filter like the Optolong L-eNhance. It allows you to...