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.

Leo Triplet from Tagaytay

We went to Tagaytay to check out my colleague's farm for any astro potential. Together with Irving, I set-up my gears as night fell. Well, I realized instantly that there's no way I can use the polar scope so I practiced drift alignment. Haze ruled the night as clouds threatened my desire to do imaging. Anyway, I shot some frames of he Leo Triplet between the clouds. I was able to get a total of 50-minute exposure before the DSLR battery went dead. Somehow, the thought of acquiring a long focal length RC scope for small objects entered my mind when I saw how small these galaxies were.

Rosette Nebula for Valentine's Day

I'm not sure if I will be able to add color to my Rosette. I previously imaged this flower in H-alpha and been wanting to blend it with RGB data. But since it already middle of February, Monoceros is already transiting the meridian which means my camera might hit the tripod legs. So, when the group arrived in Buso last Saturday, my yearning to image it was overpowering in spite of the erratic weather. Here I made 21 frames of 3 minutes each and combine it with previous H-alpha image.

Markarian's Chain of Galaxies

I was thinking of a good target when we went to Buso-boso last Saturday night. It is supposed to be a season for galaxy hunting but my gears are not appropriate for capturing small objects. The field of view of my scope is around two and a half degrees which is relatively large so a galaxy will appear puny if I shoot it. But I really wanted to capture galaxies so I chose to shoot a few of them in just one field. This a 22 - frame shot of 180 seconds each duration.

Cone Nebula - Widefield

Somehow, I feel I'm running out of targets for my H-alpha filter. The galaxy season is starting and a clear and moonless sky is what I need for these small and faint objects. At 8pm, Monoceros is almost overhead and I guess its not yet too late for the Cone nebula. Last Friday, I set up my gears at home and started targeting the Cone area. It took me almost an hour to find the cluster area by comparing the eyepiece view with the The Sky planetarium display. I made series of focusing shots then finally at around 8:30 pm I was ready to shoot. I made 30 frames of 4 minutes each until my scope was about to hit the tripod legs. I sleepily dismantled my gears and hurriedly went to sleep. It was not until Sunday afternoon that I started processing the images. I was happy and disappointed at same time. Happy in a way that I captured the Hubble's Variable Nebula in the same field but disappointed that the stars are irregularly shaped. Hmm, need some time for troubleshooting.