Blog - Galactic Images

The Waning Crescent Moon with Earthshine on 01-10-2021

By John Chumack|2021-01-16T23:25:31+00:00January 16th, 2021|Tags: #ChumackObservatories, #crescentmoon, #GalacticImages, #JohnChumack, #natgeo, #QHYCCD, #skyatnight, #Universetoday, #waningcrescent, Astronomy, Earthshine, Moon, Space|

The Waning Crescent Moon with Earthshine on 01-10-2021 at 07:02 am EST. After pulling an all night deep space imaging run, i was about to close my dome up, when I seen this beautiful crescent with Earthshine rising above the tree line that morning, with thin clouds passing over it, so I had to take a quick shot before closing up that morning. Explore Scientific 102mm F7 (750mm) Triplet APO refractor & QHY183C Cooled color Cmos Camera, a single 2 second exposure to show the Earthshine.

Best Regards,

John Chumack

www.galacticimages.com

M110 (NGC-205) The Andromeda Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy

By John Chumack|2021-01-14T12:09:23+00:00January 14th, 2021|Tags: #ChumackObservatories, #dwarfGalaxy, #ellipticalgalaxy, #GalacticImages, #JohnChumack, #natgeo, #QHYCCD, #skyatnight, #Universetoday, Andromeda, Astronomy, M110, Space|

M110 (NGC-205) The Andromeda Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (Dwarf E5 class)

A satellite of the Great Andromeda Spiral Galaxy, it is gravitationally bound to M31 Andromeda Spiral.

The big glow in the upper right is the Great Andromeda Spiral galaxy’s core that is just off the field of view.

M110 The Dwarf Elliptical is located at 2.674 million light years from Earth. Put this up full screen and explore.

It Shines at Magnitude 8.92, and the length is 22 x 11 arc-minutes or approximately 17,000 light years across.

There are some little dust lanes features at the Center of M110, which are visible.

I am always pleasantly surprised every time I Image with this 4 inch APO scope, the combination of these megapixel/tiny pixels(2.4 micron) cooled Cameras with 4 inch this Triplet APO and

long exposure with excellent tracking/auto-guiding, and decent seeing when we get it, gives me very pleasing results.

I love that even with a 4 inch diameter scope that I can Zoom in and see these faint 16th to 18th magnitude background galaxies that were captured.

I included a higher res cropped view, to help you see these smaller fainter galaxies.

Lower left is a faint 16th magnitude Spiral known as PGC 2314, and lower right is an edge on spiral galaxies known as PGC90494 shining at 17.57 magnitude.

There are at least 6 tiny background galaxies as well., one of them is buried at the top of M110. See if you can find the others.

125 minute exposure(25 x 300sec subs) 2 hour and 5 minutes, taken with an Explore Scientific 102mm F7(FCD100) Triplet APO Refractor & QHY183C Cooled Cmos Camera, Bisque ME Mount, my usual Processing in DSS, Pixinsight & Adobe CC2021, I captured this from my Observatories in JBSPO, Yellow Springs, Ohio on 01-12-2021.

Gum 1 – The Head of the Seagull Nebula Complex

By John Chumack|2021-01-13T15:53:18+00:00January 13th, 2021|Tags: #ChumackObservatories, #GalacticImages, #Gum1, #IC2177, #JohnChumack, #Monoceros, #natgeo, #nebula, #QHYCCD, #Seagullnebula, #skyatnight, #Universetoday, Space|

Gum 1 Nebula, NGC2327, IC2177, Sh 2-292, & VDB 93 reflection nebula – Part of the Seagull Nebula Complex, this close up of the head of the Nebula(NGC2327) was captured in a 4 hours total exposure (12x300sec) 60 min RGB + 90 min(18×300) H-Alpha + 90 min(18×300)OIII filters.

C6 Newt Reflector Scope & QHY183C & QHY183M Cmos cameras from my backyard in Dayton, Ohio on 12-26-2020 and 01-04-2021. The small circular(PN looking) object just to the left of Gum 1 is a faint part of the Nebula as well.

Gum 1 or The Seagull Nebula Complex is located at 3,653 light years distance.

Also, below is a link to my wide angle shot in broadband visible light from back in 2008 of the entire Seagull Nebula Complex in the Constellation Monoceros which sits close to the border of Canis Major.

To see my wide angle shot of the entire Seagull nebula region taken back in 2008…. https://www.galacticimages.com/shop-prints/nebulae/ic2177-the-seagull-nebula-complex-photos/

Best Regards,

John Chumack

www.galacticimages.com

NGC-2112 Open Star Cluster

By John Chumack|2021-01-12T11:55:43+00:00January 12th, 2021|Tags: #barnardsloop, #ChumackObservatories, #GalacticImages, #JohnChumack, #natgeo, #NGC2112, #QHYCCD, #skyatnight, #starcluster, #Universetoday, Astronomy, Orion, Space|

NGC-2112 Open Star Cluster in the Constellation Orion, often overlooked and forgotten.

When you visually look at this cluster you only see the handful of brighter stars in the eyepiece, so it sort of looked a bit unimpressive in my 4 inch scope until I captured an image of it.

This 9th magnitude open star cluster contains about a hundred stars.

Don’t expect to see much visually, however, as this relatively loose cluster that lies in a fairly rich field with very faint red nebulosity and most of the Cluster stars are faint.

The majority of the stars in this cluster are fainter than 12^th mag. and the Red Nebula in the image is actually part of larger Barnard’s Loop Nebulae In Orion.

NGC-2112 is located at 3,064 light years distance from Earth.

I captured this with my Explore Scientific 102mm F7 Triplet APO Refractor, Astro-Tech Field Flattener, Bisque ME Robotic Mount, QHY183C (OSC) for a 60 minute total exposure (12 x 300 sec subs), from my observatories in JBSPO in Yellow Springs, Ohio on 12-23-2020.

Best Regards,

John Chumack

www.galacticimages.com

M42 & M43 The Colorful Orion Nebula Complex

By John Chumack|2021-01-08T15:05:00+00:00January 8th, 2021|Tags: #ChumackObservatories, #GalacticImages, #JohnChumack, #m42M43, #natgeo, #nebula, #QHYCCD, #skyatnight, #Universetoday, Astronomy, M42, Orion, Space|

Happy New Year to everyone, and thanks for your continued support over the year 2020,

Please blow this up full screen, It is my final image of 2020 with the 102MM scope…so lets go out with a bang!

Please comment if you like it. Stay Safe out there!

M42 & M43 The Great Orion Nebula Complex

Captured with my Explore Scientific (4″)102mm F7 Triplet APO (FCD100) Refractor telescope, Astro-Tech Field Flattener, Bisque ME Robotic Mount, & my QHY183C (OSC) Cooled Cmos Camera (-20C) Unity Gain for 72 minutes total exposure via 12 x 300 sec subs and 12 x 60sec subs. PHD2 & QHY5IIL, 60mm guide scope, Calibrated and Stacked in DSS, processed in Pixinsight, and Adobe CC 2021. It took me 8+ hours of careful image processing time to get all the detail and subtle colors out this final image. It was captured from my observatories at JBSPO, Yellow Springs, Ohio on 12-09-2020.

Jupiter and Saturn Planetary Conjunction 12-21-2020

By John Chumack|2020-12-24T15:07:13+00:00December 24th, 2020|Tags: #christmasstar, #ChumackObservatories, #GalacticImages, #JohnChumack, #jupiterSaturn, #JupiterSaturnConjunction, #planetaryConjunction, #skyatnight, #Universetoday, Astronomy, Planets, Space|

Jupiter and Saturn Conjunction 12-21-2020,

The Planet Jupiter & The Planet Saturn get closer together per our line of Site from Earth…last time was over 800 years ago, so this is a very rare event for us Astronomers! I’ve marked the moons positions to help you Identify them.

Just after the rain 2 hours earlier, the clouds started to break at JBSPO for about 15 -20 minutes, I had the dome open and the C8 scope tracking on Jupiter’s position waiting until the clearing line hit, I could see the clearing line on the visible radar, and sure enough the big sucker hole came over me long enough for me to nab a a few shots LRGB Jupiter & Saturn, with the ZWO 174MM cooled Cmos camera /EFW @ 108 FPS, ..and I also nabbed the Solstice Moon before the clouds got thick again.

Best Regards,

John Chumack

www.galacticimages.com

M31 – Looking into the Core of the Andromeda Galaxy

By John Chumack|2020-12-17T20:43:07+00:00December 17th, 2020|Tags: #blackhole, #ChumackObservatories, #Extragalacticglobs, #GalacticImages, #Hiiregions, #JohnChumack, #natgeo, #QHYCCD, #skyatnight, #Universetoday, Andromeda, Astronomy, M31, Space|

M31 The Andromeda Galaxy’s core region, where you can see dark dust clouds spiraling in toward the Central core…which is believed to harbor a massive black hole.

I love the fine details in this image..
The Andromeda galaxy is believed to have over one trillion stars in it, and toward the back edge of the galaxy in this image you can see many HII regions (faint red nebula) and a large numbers of young hot blue Star Cluster. There is plenty of star formation happening in the Great Andromeda Galaxy. There are numerous globular Star Cluster and many massive older stars that hover around the central core, thus giving that intense bright glow!!! The Great Andromeda Spiral Galaxy is located at 2.5 million light years away and is considered to closest Spiral to us and is the Largest in our local group.

I am always amazed at what my current Cameras and telescopes can produce these days, I captured this close-up image from my observatories in Yellow Springs, Ohio with my Explore Scientific 102mm (FCD100) F7 Triplet APO Refractor, Field Flattener, Bisque ME Mount, and QHY183 C cooled color Cmos Camera, (18 x 180sec subs) 90 minute exposure.

I wish you all a Happy & Safe Holiday!

Best Regards,
John Chumack
www.galacticimages.com

M1 The Crab Nebula SNR – Pulsar

By John Chumack|2020-12-16T12:24:34+00:00December 16th, 2020|Tags: #ChumackObservatories, #Crab, #GalacticImages, #JohnChumack, #M1, #natgeo, #pulsar, #QHYCCD, #skyatnight, #SNR, #supernova, #Universetoday, Space, Taurus|

M1 Crab Nebula SNR- Pulsar

A Supernova Remnant from the 1054 AD Supernova explosion. M1 is located at 6,523 light years away. it spans about 11 light years.

M1 The Crab Nebula in Taurus, a Pulsar and Supernova Remnant, the central star spins rapidly and sweep a pulse wave past the Earth 33 times per second, it was the first pulsar discovered.

The smaller of the two stars seen at the center is the Pulsar.

C8 SCT telescope & QHY183C cooled color cmos camera and (30 x 180sec subs) 90 minute exposure, from my backyard in Dayton, Ohio 11/07/2020.

Best Regards,

John Chumack

www.galacticimages.com

Jupiter and Saturn Planetary Conjunction, two Domes and two Planets 2020

By John Chumack|2020-12-11T20:09:26+00:00December 11th, 2020|Tags: #ChumackObservatories, #GalacticImages, #JohnChumack, #jupiterSaturn, #JupiterSaturnConjunction, #natgeo, #planetaryConjunction, #skyatnight, #Universetoday, Planets, Space|

Jupiter & Saturn Conjunction in the South west after Sunset!

Here Is something special you all can witness for the next two weeks right after sunset!!! Watch them grow closer! A very rare event is starting! The Last time this happened was over 800 years ago.

Here is a shot of them the last two evenings, taken from my observatories at JBSPO in Ohio. The closest approach of the two planets will occur on December 21^st, 2020.

Currently they are too far apart to shoot at high power through a telescope in one shot, but I did capture a shot wide field at very low power, and it barely fit on an APS-C sized camera chip,

Its shows the two planets and their moons, but as they draw closer I will get more higher power shots.

I texted several of my friends to watch it briefly for the last two nights, since I can’t hold an event due to Covid restrictions, I observed it via texting with my astronomy Buddies, Jenni Davis, & Greg Greison, who both observed it from North Dayton, Ohio. We are all members of the Miami Valley Astronomical Society, Dayton, Ohio.

So you can experience & share your observations with friends without getting together and you don’t need a telescope to enjoy this event.

The Images were taken from my Observatories at MVAS dark sky site at John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, Ohio on

12-09-2020 and 12-10-2020 taken shortly after sunset. I watched and captured images from shortly after sunset and into dusk/twilight, about 5pm until about 7pm local standard time, until they set below our tree line.

We can clearly see how much brighter Jupiter is compared to Saturn with the unaided eye, and they make a beautiful bright pair for anyone to see or notice in the southwestern sky.

The Shot that shows them together with moons was taken with an Explore Scientific 102mm APO Triplet refractors and Canon 6D DSLR (Full Frame Chip). They are still far apart, but when they get closer I will shoot them at higher magnification together.

I also did I-phone shot from in my Red lit Dome and scope looking out at the two planets.

Feel free to use my images to promote this event!!….BTW, it was a great idea to do this texting friends & family, as the general public and fellow AL members can get involved as well as see a once in a life time event.

I’ll have to wait for the weather to clear again to get more.. 🙁

Feel free to share my images to promote this event!!

Best Regards,

John Chumack

www.galacticimages.com

Copernicus Crater – An Extreme Inside View

By John Chumack|2020-12-09T12:41:37+00:00December 9th, 2020|Tags: #ChumackObservatories, #Copernicuscrater, #GalacticImages, #impactcrater, #JohnChumack, #natgeo, #QHYCCD, #skyatnight, #Universetoday, Astronomy, Astrophotography, Copernicus, Moon, Space|

Here is my Extreme Close-up photo, Looking inside the Impact Crater Copernicus and it is 12,467 feet deep(3.8km), and approximately 58 miles in diameter (93km). One of the larger impact craters on the Moon. It was named for Nicolaus Copernicus, who was a Renaissance-era mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic clergyman who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at the center of the universe.

I captured this with my C-11 SCT Telescope & QHY290M un-cooled Cmos camera, 2x Barlow, 15ms exposure, 765 frames stacked in Registax6.

Seeing wasn’t the best, but I took a shot anyway, and it does show a decent amount of detail,

I captured Copernicus crater from my backyard in Dayton Ohio, 09-10-2020.

Best Regards,

John Chumack

www.galacticimages.com