Bode's galaxy & Cigar galaxy

There was I waiting for Scorpious to rise from the eastern horizon of Boso-boso, Antipolo. I had planned to image the Blue Horsehead nebula in the horns of the Scorpion and I was expecting it to rise by around 1 a.m. So to keep myself busy and also to test my newly made camera power supply adapter, I started shooting the famous M81/M82 galaxy pair in Ursa Major. I let GuideMaster took the shots and made 32 subs at 3 minutes each. Not satisfied with the result as I was expecting to capture the reddish starburst filaments of M82. Anyway, there's still another time to capture it.

M95, M96, M105, NGC3384 Galaxies in Leo

These were my first targets last Saturday. However, these were unplanned targets as the sky was not cooperative to reveal the Monoceros region for me to capture the Seagull nebula-my primary target for the night. Leo was partly clear early that night so I took advantage to image some of the galaxy cluster there. The Leo triplet was beaming however I already took image of it in Tagaytay. Maybe it was better to try another cluster so I positioned my scope to the M95 group. Here I made 20 frames of 3 minutes each exposures. Framing was a bit off, I think.

M101 Galaxy in Ursa Major

While I was waiting for Scorpious to rise in the pre-dawn sky, I was scanning "The Sky" planetarium software for suitable targets. I found mostly galaxies which were too small for my scope. And since the clouds and perennial haze ruled that night, I had to watch which part of the sky was clear for longer time. Ursa Major was for a time clear so I slewed my scope towards M101 not because its relatively bigger but because I was curious to find the difference between my previous M101 image when I used a non-modified cam and now with a modded cam and with field flattener/focal reducer. I took 18 frames of 3 minutes each exposures for this. I think it still need some more exposures to lessen the noise and smoothen out the details.

Scorpious Rising / Rho Opiuchi Region

I have been waiting for Scorpious to rise in the pre-dawn sky last Sunday. I went to Buso together with a small group of avid amateur astronomers hoping for a clear sky. We were treated to a rather cloudy sky as the night fell but slowly clearing up as night progressed. Too late for the Seagull Nebula which I desired to shoot that night, as I watched the eastern side of Orion being eaten by thick clouds and as it slowly descended to the clutches of western skyglow. I looked up and Leo was the only part of the sky that was a clear. So as I wait for my primary target to rise, I used the intervening time to shoot some galaxies there. But I was not satisfied. My goal was to capture that colorful region of the sky called the Rho Opiuchi Nebula. And as I glimpsed the rising Scorpious, my eyes were transfixed at the supergiant Antares, hoping my gaze will somehow clear the haze and clouds. My gears were all set-I mounted the camera lens which I would like to test and oriented the mount towards that star. Then, by stroke of luck, the region cleared up. I promptly shot some frames until dawn. I was able to get 35 subs of 3 minutes each.