The Dark Side Observatory

This is the open cluster Messier 103 (M103) and is one of the most distant of the Messier open clusters at 9,000 light years away. Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro running at -10C, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, 16 x 60 second exposures (calibrated with darks from the library and flats taken the next morning), guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro running v1.5 Beta software, processed in PixInsight. Image date: November 9, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Stephan’s Quintet can be found in the constellation Pegasus, the apparent magnitude of these galaxies hovers around 14.0, making this a tough object to capture. This group of galaxies was discovered by Edouard Stephan in 1877 at Marseille Observatory. Although referred to as a quintet, only four of the five galaxies are interacting with each other at a distance of about 300 million light years! NGC 7320 is actually much closer at a distance of only 40 million light years. Tech Specs: Meade 12 LX-90, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro, 88x60 second exposures, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Captured using Sequence Generator Pro and processed using PixInsight. Image date: August 10, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Jupiter (the brighter object) and Saturn in my Western skies this evening, December 8, 2020 - getting closer to there closest approach on December 21, 2020. Tech Specs: Canon 6D, Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM lens, tripod mounted, ISO 1250, 6 seconds at 70mm and f/2.8. Halo and spikes added with StarSpikes Pro v4. Image date: December 8, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

This is the faint emission nebula designated as IC 1396 in the constellation Cepheus. This region is energized by the bright, bluish central multiple star HD 206267. You can see the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula, IC 1396A, on the lower edge of this image. From NASA APOD, Stars could still be forming inside the dark shapes by gravitational collapse. But as the denser clouds are eroded away by powerful stellar winds and radiation, any forming stars will ultimately be cutoff from the... reservoir of star stuff. Tech Specs: Williams Optics REDCAT51, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro running at 0C, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, Optolong L-eNhance filter (2), 32 x 300 seconds (2hr40min), guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro running v1.5 software, stacked in DSS and processed using PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom. Image date: September 19th and 20th, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

This is the double cluster in the constellation Perseus (between Perseus and Cassiopeia), they are also designate NGC 869 and NGC 884. Check out the red supergiants in this view! Did you know that the Perseus Double Cluster is surrounded by one of the largest concentrations of red supergiants stars in the sky? (Red supergiants, neutrinos and the Double Cluster, Tristram Brelstafff, 1996). Tech Specs: Williams Optics REDCAT51, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro running at -5C, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, 80 x 60 seconds, guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro running v1.5 Beta software. Image date: November 8, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Mars and the Pleiades Cluster rising over the trees in my backyard on October 13, 2020. The imaging rig in this photo is for wide field emission nebula imaging using Williams Optics REDCAT, ASI071, and ASIAir Pro. Tech Specs: Canon 6D, Samyang 14mm, ISO 3200, 20 second exposure, tripod mounted. Image date: October 13, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Here is an image of NGC 7331, the most prominent member of the Deer Lick Group of galaxies in the constellation Pegasus. The name of the group was reportedly given by Tomm Lorenzin, author of "1000+ The Amateur Astronomers' Field Guide to Deep Sky Observing". This name was given in honor of the Deer Lick Gap in the mountains of North Carolina where he observed and had an especially fine view of this group of galaxies. NGC 7331 is about 40 million light years away from Earth ...and has an apparent magnitude of 10.4. Tech Specs: Meade 12 LX-90 (at f/10), ZWO ASI071mc-Pro, 108 x 60 second exposures, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Captured using Sequence Generator Pro and processed using PixInsight. Image date: September 18, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

From Wikipedia: The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. It is catalogued as Messier 33 or NGC 598. The Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy and about 44 other smaller galaxies. It is one of the most distant permanent objects that can be viewed with the naked eye. Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED, ZWO A...SI071mc-Pro running at -10C, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, 129 x 60 second exposures (calibrated with darks from the library and flats taken the next morning), guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro running v1.5 Beta software, processed in PixInsight. Image date: November 13 and November 16, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA. See more

Here is a view of last evening’s moon setting in the west from Pennsylvania - hope you all had a chance to see it. Tech Specs: Canon 6D, Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM lens, tripod mounted, ISO 250, 1.3 seconds, f/2.8, 195mm. Image date: October 18, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Here is a view of a pair of interacting galaxies listed in the Arp Catalog of Unusual Galaxies as ARP 278, they are also designated as NGC 7253A and 7253B. These galaxies are currently merging and producing significant star formation, they are about 200 million light years away from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. Tech Specs: Meade 12 LX-90, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro, 86x60 second exposures, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Captured using Sequence Generator Pro and processed using PixInsight. Image date: August 14, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45, are an open star cluster located in the constellation Taurus. Robert Burnham states in his Celestial Handbook, "undoubtedly the most famous galactic star cluster in the heavens, known and regarded with reverence since remote antiquity." Did you know that J.R.R. Tolkien referred to the Pleiades as Remmirath, or "The Netted Stars" in The Fellowship of the Ring? Tech Specs: Williams Optics REDCAT51, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro running at -5C, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, 8 hours total including 4 hours using the Optolong L-eNhance filter, guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro running v1.5 Beta software. Image date: November 8, 2020 and September 21, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Mars imaged on October 13th, 2020, best 15% of 12k frames. Tech Specs: Meade 12 LX-90, ZWO ASI290MC, unguided. Captured using SharpCap v3.2 (64 bit), processed in Autostakkert and Registax. Image date: October 13, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Headed outside this morning to take down the wide field imaging rig and decided to snap a quick picture of the Moon and Venus rising in the Eastern sky. Tech Specs: Canon 6D, Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM lens, tripod mounted, ISO 800, 3.2 seconds, f/11, 95mm.

The California Nebula (NGC 1499) is an emission nebula in the constellation Perseus. This nebula is about 1,000 light years from the Earth. The nebula is being lit up by the star Menkib which is the brightest star in the center of my image. Tech Specs: Williams Optics REDCAT51, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro running at 0C, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, Optolong L-eNhance filter (2), 42 x 300 second exposures, guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro running v1.5 software, stacked in DSS and processed using PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom. Image date: September 19, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Mars imaged last evening, best 15% of 20k frames. Tech Specs: Meade 12 LX-90, ZWO ASI290MC, unguided. Captured using SharpCap v3.2 (64 bit), processed in Autostakkert and Registax. Image date: October 9, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

NGC 281 - NGC 281 is an H II region in the constellation of Cassiopeia and part of the Perseus Spiral Arm. It includes the open cluster IC 1590, the multiple star HD 5005, and several Bok globules. NGC 281 is also known as the Pacman Nebula for its resemblance to the video game character. ** An H II region is a large, low-density cloud of partially ionized gas in which star formation has recently taken place. Tech Specs: Williams Optics REDCAT51, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro running at 0C, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, Optolong L-eNhance filter (2), 30 x 300 second exposures, guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro running v1.5 software, stacked in DSS and processed using PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom. Image date: September 19, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.

Mars from last evening, quick process.

Here is a pair of interacting galaxies known as NGC 7753 and NGC 7752, collectively known as ARP 86 (as listed in Arp's ATLAS OF PECULIAR GALAXIES). The pair are located in the constellation Pegasus and are about 272 million light years away from Earth. Tech Specs: Meade 12 LX-90, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro, 81x60 second exposures, guided using a ZWO ASI290MC and Orion 60mm guide scope. Captured using Sequence Generator Pro and processed using PixInsight. Image date: August 14, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.