Needle Galaxy NGC4565

NGC 4565 or Needle Galaxy (C38) is an edge on spiral galaxy located in constellation Coma Berenices and about 40 million ly away from Earth.

Setting : TAL200K f/8.5 and ASI2600MC; ZWO 30/120 guidescope with ASI224MC

Lights : 12x300s, darks, bias, flats and darkflats

Software : N.I.N.A, Stellarium, PHD2, APP, CS4, DeNoise AI

Sunset Horizon

No clouds and an free view on the horizon. Pictures are taken from the VVV tower (18.75m) @Tessenderlo.

Pictures taken with Nikon D7500 and 10-24 lens

Dr Eugene Parker has passed away

On Tuesday March 15, Dr. Eugene N. Parker (94), visionary of heliophysics has passed away. In 2018, Dr. Parker became the first person to witness the launch of a spacecraft bearing his name, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe.

Moon Halo

In the evening of March 14, an 360° halo around the Moon could be observed. First the halo was visible with some faint clouds but later that evening the sky was covered with a plain faint fog.

Moon 5% Illuminated

Moon on March 4th, only 5% illuminated.

The effect of guiding calibration

Before guiding (PHD2) gets started it will be doing a calibration session. Pulses are giving to move the star out of center so the software knows what to do in case the star is not following anymore..

The effect of this calibration session was imaged and is seen below. Picture in H-Alpha with 180s exposure time.

Horsehead and Flame Nebula in H-Alpha ASI2600MC

The Horsehead Nebula (IC434 or Barnard 33) is located in constellation Orion and about 1375 light years away from Earth. The Flame Nebula (NGC2024) is also located in constellation Orion and about 1350 light years away from Earth.

The pictures are taken using a H-Alpha filter. 

Setting : ASI2600MC with TLAPO80/480

Guiding : ZWO Guidescope 30/120 with ASI224MC

Lights : 10x300s, 2x600s (total exposure 70min)

Software : N.I.N.A., Stellarium, PDD2, APP, CS4, DeNoise AI.

Artemis Boarding Pass

Receiving my Artemis 1 boarding pass :)

 

M46 M47 and NGC2438

Open star clusters M46 (NGC2437) with Planetary Nebula NGC2438 and M47 (NGC2422/2478) are located in constellation Puppis.

Setting : ASI2600MC with TLAPO80/480 f/6; ZWO Guidescope 30/120 and ASI224MC

Lights : 2x90s 5x300s

Software: N.I.N.A, Stellarium, PHD2, APP, CS4

Orion M42 - OIII and ASI2600MC

Past weekend I took the time to optimize my PHD2 guiding skills. The build-in "Guiding Assistance" was used and the camera exposure time was increased from 1s to 2s. The guide pulses in EQMOD are increased from 0.5 to 0.9.

I made sure the 2" flattener was set at exactly 105mm till the + 17mm ASI2600MC chip. 

Setting scope : ASI2600MC and TLAPO80/480 f/6

Guiding : ZWO Guiding scope 30/120 and ASI224MC

Software : N.I.N.A, Stellarium, PHD2, APP, CS4, DeNoise AI

Lights : 10x180s 5x300s

Light 2" OIII filter: 8x300s 3x600s

Globe at Night - Saving Private Orion

Globe at Night is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure & submit their night sky brightness observations. Past weekend I submitted my backyard data (ID #95057) after observing constellation Orion with a max magnitude of 5.5.

See also this link

Asteroid (16) Psyche

Last thursday (March 3) asteroid (or better planetoid) Psyche was in opposition. Psyche is a giant iron-nickel metal-rich M-Type asteroid, about three times farther away from the Sun than is the Earth. Its average diameter is about 226 km.

Psyche might be the partial core of a shattered planetesimal – a small world the size of a city or small country that is the first building block of a planet. If it is, asteroid Psyche can offer a close look at the interior of terrestrial planets like Earth that is normally hidden beneath layers of mantle and crust. Therefor NASA is planning for a mission, NASA's Psyche Mission which is foreseen to be launched with a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Milestones:

2022 – Launch of Psyche spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center, Florida

2023 – Mars Flyby of Psyche spacecraft

2026 – Psyche spacecraft arrives in asteroid’s orbit

2026-2027 – Psyche spacecraft orbits the Psyche asteroid

Psyche is currently visible in constellation Leo and about magnitude 10.4. I was able to take some pictures on both march 4 and 5. Psyche could be observed near galaxy NGC 3462. Below is a gif picture with a time interval of 50 minutes. 

Setting : ASI2600MC and TLAPO80/480 f/6, ZWO guidescope 30/120 with ASI224MC; 
Lights: 10x300s, 10x180s, darks, bias, flats and darkflats (gif 3x150s & 5x180s)

Software : N.I.N.A, Stellarium, PHD2, APP and CS4.

See for more information : NASA Psyche Mission

Lecture March 17, Dwarf Galaxies Small but Powerful

The University of Maastricht organises a lecture on Dwarf Galaxies. Prof. dr. Eline Tolstoy from the University of Groningen will discuss the importance of dwarf galaxies.

When : March 17 20h00-21h30

Where: Maastricht University or on line

For more information see this link.