Forthimage: 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. I also contribute data to the HOYS citizen science project, ExoClock and the BAA Mars section.
Mark
Recent posts
M95, M96
| Object ID | M95, M96 Leo |
| Details | 2021-02-14 Mag. 11.4 // 10.1 Size 3.1’x2.9′ // 7.6’x5.2′ |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C IDAS P2 |
| Exposure(s) | 15x240ss 2/20 gain/offset darks, flats, bias |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | APP, Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI |
KELT-2Ab
First results using CMOS camera. Was an ExoClock ALERT.
A difficult and very large dataset (33 Gb). Results are inconclusive and need verification.
Helped debug HOPS v3.0 during the process.
| Object ID | KELT-2Ab |
| Details | Predicted: Rp/Rs 0.0722 ± 0.0018 DepthR 6.86 mmag Duration 5.18 hours |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian, MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C Clear |
| Exposure(s) | 1176 x 17s |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | HOPS 3.0 |
Cone Nebula, Chrsitmas Tree Cluster NGC2264
| Object ID | NGC 2264 Monoceros |
| Details | 2021-02-16 Mag. 3.9 Size 20′ |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C Tri-band |
| Exposure(s) | 13x300s 2/20 gain/offset darks, flats, bias |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | APP, Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI |
M1 Crab Nebula tri-band
| Object ID | M1 Taurus |
| Details | 2021-02-16 Mag. 8.4 Size 420″x290″ |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C Tri-band |
| Exposure(s) | 15x300s 2/20 gain/offset darks, flats, bias |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | APP, Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI |
M42 Ha with Telescope Live in Chile CHI-1
Free trial of Telescope Live using one-click imaging (basically piggybacking onto other observations). It’s really not the same as doing it yourself, with your own equipment, from you own garden, with all the challenges. But when the weather is dire – it’s fun! Advanced, full control of the telescopes costs A LOT more. though!
| Object ID | M42 Orion Nebula |
| Details | 2021-02-08 |
| Telescope | Planewave CDK24 https://help.telescope.live/hc/en-us/articles/360002557197-CHI-1-60cm-F6-5-Reflector Aperture: 610 mm (24 inches) Focal Length: 3962 mm F-ratio: 6.5 Mount: Mathis MI-1000/1250 |
| Camera | Model: FLI PL 9000 Pixel Size: 12 μm Pixel Array: 3056 x 3056 Pixel Resolution: 0.62 arcsec/pixel Cooling: -25 degrees |
| Exposure(s) | 6x30s Ha Calibrated |
| Capture | TelescopeLive |
| Processing | SiriL, Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI |
Cave Nebula Sh2-155
Strong moonlight
| Object ID | Cave Nebula Sh2-155 Cepheus |
| Details | 2021-01-23 Mag. 10.7 Size 50’x30′ |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C Tri-band |
| Exposure(s) | 15x300s 2/20 gain/offset darks, flats, bias |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | APP, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI |
M52 & Bubble Nebula
Strong moonlight
| Object ID | M52 and NGC 7635 Cassiopeia |
| Details | 2021-01-23 Mag. 6.9, 10.0 Size 13′, 15’x8′ |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C Tri-band |
| Exposure(s) | 20x300s 2/20 gain/offset darks, flats, bias |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | APP, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI |
Moon features 2021-01-22
Several areas taken during daytime.
| Object ID | Moon Clavius sunrise Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, Arzachel, Albategnius Copernicus, Eratosthenes Plato, Alpine Valley |
| Details | 2020-01-22 14:00+UT 65.9% illuminated, 9.38 days |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian |
| Camera | ZWO ASI290MC |
| Exposure(s) | 120fps 90s .ser videos |
| Capture | FireCapture |
| Processing | AutoStakkert 3, Registax, Photoshop |
Sun 2021-01-22
Getting higher, still not totally over the dome lip yet.
| Object ID | Sun AR2797, AR2798 |
| Details | 2020-01-22 10:31 UT |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian, MPCC Baader solar film |
| Camera | QHY168C |
| Exposure(s) | 0.5 ms single shot 60s 45fps avi |
| Capture | SharpCap |
| Processing | AutoStakkert 3, Registax, Photoshop |
NGC 1579 Northern Triffid
Too few frames. Noisy background
| Object ID | NGC 1579 Perseus |
| Details | Mag. 5.9 Size 12′ x 8′ |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C IDAS P2 |
| Exposure(s) | 17x240s 10/50 gain/offset darks, flats, bias |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | APP, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI |
Ghosts of Cassiopeia IC 59 & IC 63
Very poor transparency with high, thin cloud.
| Object ID | Ghosts of Cassiopeia IC 59 & IC 63 |
| Details | 2021-01-08 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C AA Tri-band filter |
| Exposure(s) | 20x600s darks, flats, bias |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | APP, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI |
NGC1893 Tadpoles Nebula
Very poor transparency with high, thin cloud.
| Object ID | NGC1893 Tadpoles Nebula Auriga |
| Details | 2021-01-08 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C IDAS P2 |
| Exposure(s) | 20x240s darks, flats, bias |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | APP, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI |
10 years of M42
I’ve been imaging M42 for a long time and this is my set of images from 2010 to 2020.
Telescopes used were:
- 80mm refractor
- 180mm Mak-Cass
- 200mm Newtonian
- 200mm RC8
- 250mm Newtonian.
Cameras were:
- Canon 350D
- 350D astro-modified
- 600D
- ATIK 460EX mono CCD
- QHY168C CMOS
Filters include:
- Lumicon Deep Sky
- Skywatcher LP
- Astronomik EOS CLS
- IDAS P2
- LRGB, Ha, OII, SII
M50 (NGC 2323)
Just caught it by the way…
| Object ID | M50, NGC 2323 Monoceros |
| Details | Mag. 5.9 Size 16′ |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian MPCC |
| Camera | QHY168C @-15°C IDAS P2 |
| Exposure(s) | 10x90s 10/50 gain/offset darks, flats, bias |
| Capture | NINA |
| Processing | APP, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI |