This semester, we had the new 12" Meade Observatory ready for Astro 9 use, and some of our photos (like Fred's NGC 891 image) were best shot with this high-magnification system. Here's me, with Ann and alumni Chris Angelos at the computers controlling the imaging of the Orion Nebula...

The southern half of the Veil Nebula 9/8/09, with a bit of final polish from the instructor.

Trifid Nebula 9/8/09 - 3x5 min taken with the Megrez and ST2000xcm from Cabrillo Observatory

Waxing Crescent Moon 10/24/09 Bonny Doon Airport - five 1/100 second prime focus exposures were taken with a Canon 5D MK II at ISO 100 on Orion 190mm diameter 1000mm fl Mak-Newt Reflector. RAW images converted to DNG then normalized, data-rejected using min/max clip and registered in CCDStack. Mean combined image then colorized, saved as 16 bit TIFF. Photoshop CS2 was used for final editing using levels & curves highpass filtering and sharpening.

The Eagle Nebula, M16

6x5min on NGC 891, using the 12" Meade at Cabrillo Observatory and ST2000xcm, using CCDstack and photoshop, and Noise Ninja. Note the strong interstellar reddening of a normall bluish galaxy at these low galactic latitudes in Andromda.

The Eagle Nebula (M16). Details to follow.

Eta Carinae, a supermassive star about to go Supernova, and it surrounding gas clouds, in the upper right. This star is not visible from the northern hemisphere and Marko used a remote telescope in Australia for the raw images.

The Dumbell Nebula - M27

The Horsehead Nebula

The Plieades, rendered with a very black sky

Marko's rendition of my Jupiter impact .avi file

Jupiter w/ Comet Impact Scar. AVI file taken July 25 '09 by Rick. Stacked in Registax: Wavelets, Photoshop CS2: Gaussian Blur Mask layer, levels, curves, hue/saturation, sharpen edges x2. Actions: Enhance DSO/Reduce stars

Comet Lulin Ron, Fred, Annie
March ‘09 Big Sur Field Trip
8” Meade LDX-75 f/4 GM-8 Polar Mount SBIG ST-2000xcm @ -25c Exp = 1 x 10 min DDP Photoshop
Levels Space Noise Reduction Deep Space Noise Reduction Background Copy Layer - Layers Palette - Multiply (Opacity 50%) Curves Layer Opacity 40%

M11 Star Cluster: Ron, Mary, Duncan, Annie 9/30/09 @ Cabrillo Observatory 8” Meade LDX-75 f/4 GM-8 SBIG ST-4000xcm @ - 23C 4 x 5 min. DDP color processing in CCDOPS5, Stretched/Stacked in Registax, Photoshop CS2 9.0 Gaussian Blur Mask Layer for leveling background sky levels Levels Layer Despeckle Sharpen Edges Hue Saturation - Saturation +5 Color Balance

M20 Trifid Nebula
Ron, Fred, Mary, Annie, Duncan
9/9/09 @ Cabrillo Observatory Megrez 80mm APO GM-8 Polar Mount SBIG ST-2000xcm @ -20c Dec. -23 Exp = 5 x 5 min. Color processing = DDP Stretched/Stacked in Registax Seeing was average Photoshop CS2 9.0 Levels Curves Space Noise Reduction Deep Space noise Reduction Layer mask - Multiply Selective Color Hue/Saturation Curves

NGC 7331 "Deer Lick Group". Ron, Aaron, Duncan, 21 Sep 09
8” Meade LDX-75 f/4 GM-8
SBIG ST-2000xcm @ -25C.
Exp = 3x5 min, DDP color processing in CCDOPS5, Stretched/Stacked in Registax Seeing was average to good.
Photoshop CS2 9.0 Cropped Levels Space Noise Reduction Deep Space Noise Reduction Enhance DSO and Reduce Stars Sharpen Edges (x2) Background Copy Layer
- Layers Palette - Multiply (Opacity 100%) Touched up Artifacts and hot pixels with Clone Stamp

The Orion nebula. 8" f/4 ST4000.

M45 Pleiades Ron, Marko. 11/25/09 at Cabrillo Observatory 8” Meade LDX-75 f/4 GM-8 SBIG ST-4000xcm @ -23c. 3x10 min. DDP color processed in CCDOPS5, Stretched/Stacked in Registax 5

IC 5146 Aaron, Duncan, Mary, Ron
Date Taken: 9/17/09 Location: Cabrillo College, CA Telescope: 8” Meade LDX-75 f/4 Mount: GM-8 Polar Mount Camera: SBIG ST2000XCM CCD Exposure: Color, 4x5 min CCD temp: -20 C Digital Processing: CCDOPS v5.49
-Dark subtract, single shot color sRGB with Gamma DeepSkyStacker
- Image stack, average/auto align Photoshop CS3 - Curves, gamma, space noise reduction (astro tools), saturation, blur tool, burn tool, crop.

M16 the Eagle Nebula. Aaron, Fred, Ann, Mary, Ron Date Taken: 9/10/09 Location: Cabrillo College, CA Telescope: 8” Meade LDX-75 f/4 Mount: GM-8 Polar Mount
Camera: SBIG ST2000XCM CCD
Exposure: Color, 4x5 min CCD temp: -25 C Digital Processing:
CCDOPS v5.49 Dark subtract, single shot color sRGB with Gamma DeepSkyStacker - Image stack, average/auto align Photoshop CS3
- Curves, replace color to remove green noise pollution, gamma, make stars smaller (astro tools), space noise reduction (astro tools), crop.

NGC 7331 + Stephen's Quintet: Aaron, Ron, Mary, Duncan, Ann
Date: 9/19/09 @ Cabrillo, 8” Meade LDX-75 f/4, SBIG ST2000XCM, 5x5min CCD temp -25 C, CCDOPS v5.49, single shot color sRGB with Gamma. DeepSky Stacker to stack and Mosaic,
Photoshop CS3-Curves, exposure, unsharp mask, color burn on dark details of NGC7331 to enhance core and arm detail, semi-transparent hue layer overlay on NGC7331 to enhance color, rubber stamping to remove lines due to mosaic stacking, crop.

47 Tucane Globular Cluster
11/25/09 Lightbuckets.com LB-0004, Pingelly, Australia Telescope: RC Optical Systems 14.5-inch f/9 Carbon Truss Camera: Apogee U16M
Exposure: Monochrome, 5x5 min
CCD temp: -30 C Dark subtract, flats applied by lightbuckets.com DeepSkyStacker - Image stack, average/auto align. Photoshop CS3
- Curves, gamma. Layer masks gradient mask to the core, and layered different color curve adjustments. This allows one to see much more detail in the fainter, peripheral stars while keeping the core from being completely overexposed. Rotate, Crop.

Horsehead Nebula-Constellation Orion 11.14.09 @ 12:00 pm, Bonny Doon Airport, Meade LXD75/Losmandy GM-8,
SBIG st4k, 4 x 5 min.
• Registax 5, single point, box size 64 • Color noise/lines-blotches removed with healing brush
• Levels-rgb & green
• Curves-rgb • Actions-Make Stars Smaller 2x, Deep Space Noise Reduction 1x, Local Contrast Enhancement 1x • Filter/Sharpen/Unsharp Mask-amount 58% • Image-crop 135 p.p.i.

M20-The Trifid Nebula-Constellation Sagittarius
9.9.09 @ 9:26 pm, Cabrillo Observatory, Megrez 80 mm/Losmandy GM-8, SBIG
st2k, 5 x 5 min.
• Registax 5, single point, box size 64 • Color noise/blotches removed with healing brush • Curves-rgb
• Levels-rgb & green • Actions-Make stars smaller 2x, Deep Space Noise Reduction 1x, Local Contrast Enhancement 1x •Hue/Saturation/Hue 0/Saturation +5 • Filter/Sharpen/Unsharp Mask-amount 99% • Image-crop 135 p.p.i.

M42/M43/”Running Man” Nebula-Constellation Orion 11.15/09 @ 12:15 am, Bonny Doon Airport, Meade LXD75/Losmandy GM-8,
SBIG st4k, 5 x 5 min.
• Color noise/removed with healing brush • Levels/rgb & green
• Curves/rgb • Actions-Make Stars Smaller 2x, Deep Space Noise Reduction 1x, Local Contrast Enhancement 1x • Filter/Sharpen/Unsharp Mask amount-125% • Image-crop 135 p.p.i.

NGC253-Sculptor Galaxy-Constellation Sculptor
11.15/09 @ 12:30 am, Bonny Doon Airport, Meade LXD75/Losmandy GM-8, SBIG st4k, 3 x 5 min.
• Registax 5, single point, box size 64 • Color noise/removed with healing brush • Curves-rgb, green , red • Levels-rgb, green
• Actions-Make Stars Smaller 2x, Deep Space Noise Reduction 1x, Local Contrast Enhancement 1x
• Filter/Sharpen/Unsharp Mask-amount 125% • Image-crop 135 p.p.i.

NGC 891- spiral galaxy-Constellation Andromeda
11.8.09 @10:21 pm, Cabrillo College Observatory, Meade LX200 12” sct/Losmandy GM-11, SBIG st2k, 6 x 5 min. • Registax 5, single point, box size 64
• Color noise/removed with healing brush • Curves/rgb
• Levels/rgb & green
• Actions-Make Stars Smaller 2x, Deep Space Noise Reduction 1x, Local Contrast Enhancement 2x
• Filter/Sharpen/Unsharp Mask-amount 125% • Image-crop 135 p.p.i.

IC443, Jellyfish Nebula, in Gemini, Dec. +22, Waning moon, moving toward new, dark sky. Image made 3/21/2009 at mountians above Big Sur, Ponderosa Camp ground, 8 inch Meade LDX-75 f/4 GM-8 Polar Mount SBIG ST-2000xcm,-25 degrees, 4 x 5 minute exposures. Image made with major overseeing by Fred Miles.
Exposure, curves, blacks, & noise in CS4 Bridge, Camera Raw. Second short image added on separate layer to add large star. This image was made on the same night, but the composition was corrected. Twicked with filters (noise reduction), color balance, levels, & Carboni's Astromony Tools (make stars smaller, less crunchy, deep space noise.

NGC 7023, Iris Nebula, in Cepheus, Dec. 68, Waxing moon, but moon no longer in sky, late night, dark sky. Image made 9/27/2009 at Quaking Aspen Meadow Campground, Giant Sequoia National Monument, Meade scope, ST4000 camera, -25 degrees, 4 x 5 minute exposures. Image made with Fred Miles camera and major, major overseeing by Fred Miles. Exposure, curves, blacks, & noise in CS4 Bridge, Camera Raw. Second short image added on separate layer to add large star. This image was made on the same night, but the composition was corrected. Twicked with filters (noise reduction), color balance, levels, & Carboni's Astromony Tools (make stars smaller, less crunchy, deep space noise.

M16, Eagle Nebula, in Serpens, Dec. -13, cresent moon, average Cabrillo seeing, shot not long after dark. Image made 9/9/2009 at Cabrillo observatory with Megrez 80mm and ST2000 camera, -25, 5 x 5 minute. Aaron, Fred, Mary, Ron, and Annie making exposures and working in colaboration.
Exposure, curves, blacks, & noise in CS4 Bridge, Camera Raw. Second short image added on separate layer to add large star. This image was made on the same night, but the composition was corrected. Twicked with filters (noise reduction), color balance, levels, & Carboni's Astromony Tools (make stars smaller, less crunchy, deep space noise.

M20, Trifid Nebula, Sagittarius, Dec -23, cresent moon, average Cabrillo seeing. Image made 9/9/2009 at Cabrillo observatory with Megrez 80mm and ST2000 camera, -20, 5 x 5 minute. Duncan, Fred, Mary, Ron, and Annie making exposures and working in colaboration. Exposure, curves, blacks, & noise in CS4 Bridge, Camera Raw. Second short image added on separate layer to add large star. This image was made on the same night, but the composition was corrected. Twicked with filters (noise reduction), color balance, levels, & Carboni's Astromony Tools (make stars smaller, less crunchy, deep space noise.

The Horsehead Nebula, from Bonny Doon

Star trails, from home. 30min

NGC 253, from Bonny Doon