AstroMatt Latest Images

Early this year, Mike Sherick pitched the idea that all of us using JMSM Observatory dedicate our time to imaging a single target. With this effort, it should be possible to acquire an exceptionally deep image that we can all then process as we'd like. After some discussion, I choose our first target to be The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) and its neighbor NGC5474.

Mostly during the month of March, Mike, Dean Salman, Rick Wiggins, and I collected approximately 44 hours of data through Clear, Red, Green, Blue and Hydrogen-alpha filters. This is my version of the image. Click the above image to see larger versions and some of the technical details.

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The Owl Nebula (M97) and the galaxy M108 provide a very interesting pairing in the sky. Both objects appear very luminous and similar in size, but the two are separated by millions of light years. The Owl Nebula (M97) is a planetary nebula at about 2600 light years distant. M108 is a spiral galaxy approximately 45 million light years distant - or about 17000x further than M97.

This is taken with the TMB152 and STL-6303 out at JMSM Observatory through Clear, Red, Green, and Blue filters.

Click the image above to view larger images and some more of the technical details of the image.

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Seeing California as a "Red State" can be a dream or a disaster depending on your political affiliation. While we won't find out the latest political coloring of California for another year, this "California" has been glowing red for around a hundred thousand years.

This is a three panel mosaic using the TMB152 and STL-6303 at JMSM Observatory. Each panel is composed of images exposed through hydrogen-alpha (Ha), red, green, and blue filters. The Ha filtered data was used for the entire nebula in the red channel of the final image - while the red filtered data was used only for the stars. A fraction (15%) of the Ha data was also added to the blue filtered image to create the blue channel.

Click the image above to view larger versions of the California Nebula.

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This is two views of the Heart Nebula (IC1805). One is a pseudo-true color image using a Hydrogen-alpha filter for the red channel combined with standard green and blue filters. The second is a false-color image using the [SII], Hydrogen-alpha, and [OIII] narrow band filters.

These images were taken using the facilities of JMSM Observatory, owned by Mike Sherick.

Click the image above for larger versions of this image. Read the rest of this blog entry for some more details.

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This is a not-often imaged section of sky, probably due to it's more famous neighbors (IC1396 & vdB 142).

This image taken using the facilities of JMSM Observatory.

Click the image above for larger versions of this image. Read the rest of this blog entry for some more details.

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This is my first image using two different cameras and telescopes, separated by almost 1000 miles!

The Hydrogen-alpha data for this image was acquired using the facilities at JMSM Observatory. The rest of the data (LRGB) was acquired in my own backyard "observatory".

It was fun to work on this data with this in mind. Even though I didn't plan this composition when I took the Ha data, it seemed to work out well in the end.

Click the image above to see the details and larger versions of the image. Or keep reading...

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M16 (The Eagle Nebula) and M17 (The Swan Nebula) are quite often imaged alone. However, we sometimes forget how close these two are optically and they may be part of a larger complex of interstellar matter. Indeed in my image there appears to be a physical connection between these two nebula.

Personally I was a bit surprised by the brightness difference of these two objects - with the Swan being much brighter than the Eagle. (This is not as apparent in the final image due to the processing choices I made.)

Image taken using the facilities of JMSM Observatory.

Click the image above for larger versions of this image. Read the rest of this blog entry for some more details.

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As is so often the case, once I post an image and get some feed back I go back over it again. Compare this version with the previous. What do you think?

Click the image above for larger versions.

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Commonly a target for Southern Hemisphere astronomers, M83 is still available from the Northern Hemisphere in some locations. Good dark skies and a decent southern clearance are a necessity. Fortunately JMSM Observatory has both!

This is a total of almost 12 hours of exposure time though Clear, Red, Green, and Blue filters over the course of four nights. Click the image above for full details and larger images.

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M86 - a huge galaxy near the center of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. This is my first production image from the JMSM Observatory in New Mexico (owned by Mike Sherick). Click the image for the full image details and larger versions.

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