Amateur Astronomy from Edinburgh
This website is a place where I can post my images purely for the fun of it. You can find more information about the equipment I use on the About/Equipment page.
To give me something to aim for, I have set up pages to get as many Messier and Lunar 100 objects as I can. The Deep Sky page is for objects not in Messier’s catalogue and includes some more recent lists such as the Caldwell and Finest NGC catalogues.
Light pollution is a serious problem for amateur astronomy here on the edge of Edinburgh, Scotland, so this is a battle of photons vs sodium! Please come back and visit as the site develops, I make lots of mistakes, the weather gets worse and the skies get brighter.
I am a member and webmaster of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh and some of my pictures are displayed on their Flickr page.
Mark
Recent posts
2MASS J21383981+5708470 in IC1396A
Been gathering HOYS-CAPS data on 2MASS J21383981+5708470 in IC1396A recently because of a possible increase in brightness. This has been stretched and processed to show details. Normal submitted data wouldn’t be.
| Object ID | 2MASS J21383981+5708470 |
| Details | In IC1396A 21 38 39.8 +57 08 47.1 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian |
| Camera | Atik 460EX IDAS P1 LP filter Baader tri-colour red filter |
| Exposure(s) | 3x180s, darks, bias, flats -16C |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
Summer Solstice Noctilucent Clouds
23:15 UT 21 June 2019
Samsung S8 mobile camera
Jupiter colour / infrared
Jupiter is so low that only half of the telescope could see over the lip of the dome, so effectively only a 125mm telescope – not 250mm! Surprised I got anything at all at this altitude.
Not much detail visible but the infrared version is much sharper, cutting through the atmospheric turbulence better, and shows the Great Red Spot as white. The SEB is clearly changing and shows white in the colour image. Is this part of the unravelling of the GRS that is reportedly happening?
Diameter=45.89″
Magnitude=-2.61
| Object ID | Jupiter |
| Details | Diameter=45.89″ Magnitude=-2.61 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian |
| Camera | ZWO ASI290MC |
| Exposure(s) | 120s videos each |
| Capture | FireCapture |
| Processing | PIPP, Autostakkert, Registax 6 |
Sunspot groups 2019-05 14/15/16/17
Sunspot groups over 4 days
| Object ID | Sunspot 2741 |
| Details | 2019-05-14/15/16/17 |
| Telescope | 80mm f7.5 refractor, Meade glass solar filter |
| Camera | ZWO ASI290MC |
| Exposure(s) | 120s AVIs @60-80 fps, 10% frames |
| Capture | Firecapture |
| Processing | PIPP, AutoStakkert, Registax, Photoshop |
Sunspot groups 2019-05-06
Done as live stream on the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh Facebook page
| Object ID | Sunspot AR2740 |
| Details | 2019-05-06 |
| Telescope | 80mm f7.5 refractor, Meade glass solar filter |
| Camera | ZWO ASI290MC |
| Exposure(s) | 120s AVIs @45 fps, 10% frames |
| Capture | Firecapture |
| Processing | AutoStakkert, Photoshop |
Sunspot group
Sunspot developing over several days
| Object ID | Sunspot AR2738 |
| Details | 2019-04-13, 2019-04-18, 2019-04-20 |
| Telescope | 203mm [email protected], Baader solar film filter |
| Camera | ZWO ASI290MC |
| Exposure(s) | 120s AVIs, 20% frames |
| Capture | Firecapture |
| Processing | AutoStakkert, Photoshop |
NGC4565 / Caldwell 38 Spindle Galaxy
Processed 3 different ways – give different results, not sure which I like best. Still too noisy – need many more exposures.
Interesting edge-on spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices, surprisingly large (14.9′ x 2′) but faint (9.60 but surface brightness 13.3). It is actually intrinsically more luminous than the Andromeda Galaxy. First seen by William Herschel in 1785. Also visible lower right is NGC 4562.
| Object ID | NGC 4565, Caldwell 38 Spindle Galaxy |
| Details | 2019-03-31 |
| Telescope | 203mm RC8 f8 |
| Camera | Atik 460Ex @-20C Badder RGB filters IDAS P1 LP filter |
| Exposure(s) | 10x240s 2×2 RGB Darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
M37 in Auriga
Only 2 subs of each colour before clouds rolled in.
| Object ID | M37 Auriga |
| Details | 2019-03-27 |
| Telescope | 203mm RC8 f8 |
| Camera | Atik 460Ex @-20C Badder RGB filters IDAS P1 LP filter |
| Exposure(s) | 2x120s 1×1 RGB Darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
M63 Sunflower Galaxy
Pretty noisy, bad gradients and difficult to process.
RGB combined with L channel from 2015-04-20
| Object ID | M63 Sunflower Galaxy |
| Details | 2019-03-24 |
| Telescope | 203mm RC8 f8 |
| Camera | Atik 460Ex @-20C Badder RGB filters IDAS P1 LP filter |
| Exposure(s) | 10x180s 2×2 RGB Darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
18 panel 85% Moon mosaic
18 panels were just enough. This is 3000 pixels reduce from the original 5000.
| Object ID | 18 panel Moon mosaic |
| Details | 2019-03-17 Seeing III/V |
| Telescope | 203mm RC8 @f8 |
| Camera | ZWO ASI290MC, Infrared pass filter |
| Exposure(s) | 30s AVI for each image 17 fps at full resoltion |
| Capture | FireCapture |
| Processing | AutoStakkert 2, Photoshop, MS ICE |
4 Lunar features in infrared
Using the wrong telescope but pretty steady and sharp.
| Object ID | Copernicus, Clavius, Gassendi and Mare Humorum, Plato and J Herschel 85% illumination |
| Details | 2019-03-17 Seeing III/V |
| Telescope | 203mm RC8 @f8 |
| Camera | ZWO ASI290MC, Infrared pass filter |
| Exposure(s) | 90s AVI for each image |
| Capture | FireCapture |
| Processing | AutoStakkert 2, Photoshop |
My pic made it onto the BBC Sky at Night gallery front page
Noticed my picture of the Rat’s Head Nebula – normally known as the Christmas Tree Cluster – made it as the gallery image on the February programme page.
M3 (NGC 5272) RGB just a few exposures
Just a few exposures between gaps in the clouds. L not used because of dust on the filter.
| Object ID | M3 (NGC 5272) |
| Details | Canes Venatici Mag. 6.2, Size 18′ |
| Telescope | 203mm RC8 at f8 |
| Camera | Atik 460Ex @-20C Badder RGB filters IDAS P1 LP filter |
| Exposure(s) | R,G 2x120s, B1x120s, 2×2 |
| Capture | APT, PHD2 |
| Processing | Nebulosity 4, Photoshop |
Medusa Nebula PK205+14.1 / Abell 21 / Sharpless 2-274 Medusa nebula
A new find for me. Just red channel
| Object ID | PK205+14.1 / Abell 21 / Sharpless 2-274 Medusa nebula Gemini |
| Details | 2019-02-26 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian IDAS P1 filter |
| Camera | Atik 460EX, Baader RGB |
| Exposure(s) | 10 x 180s Red filter darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
M106 (NGC 4258)
Poor transparency and gradients from passing headlamps. NGC 4248 also in view.
| Object ID | M106 (NGC 4258) Ursa Major |
| Details | 2019-03-04 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian IDAS P1 filter |
| Camera | Atik 460EX, Baader RGB |
| Exposure(s) | 10 x 120s each filter darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
M65 M66 RGB
Pretty poor transparency – lots of thin cloud.
| Object ID | M65, M66 Leo |
| Details | 2019-02-26 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian IDAS P1 filter |
| Camera | Atik 460EX, Baader RGB |
| Exposure(s) | 4 x 180s each filter darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
M82 RGB
Just a few frames before clouds so a bit grainy.
| Object ID | M82 Cigar galaxy Ursa Major |
| Details | 2019-02-09 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian IDAS P1 filter |
| Camera | Atik 460EX, Baader RGB |
| Exposure(s) | 4 x 180s each filter darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
NGC 2174 Monkey Head nebula narrowband
Some guiding problems so couldn’t use all subs.
| Object ID | NGC 2174 Monkey Head nebula Mag. 6.8, Size 40′ Orion |
| Details | 2019-01-31 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian, MPCC |
| Camera | Atik 460EX @-20C Baader Ha, OIII, SII filters |
| Exposure(s) | 8x300s 2×2 each Darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop SHO colour mapping |
NGC 2264 Christmas Tree Cluster narrowband
After a HOYS-CAPS session added narrowband. Rat’s head in there?
No more MPCC and stars are much sharper at the edges.
| Object ID | NGC 2264, Christmas Tree Cluster |
| Details | 2019-01-29 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian, MPCC |
| Camera | Atik 460EX @-20C Baader Ha, OIII, SII filters |
| Exposure(s) | 10x300s 2×2 each Darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop SHO colour mapping |