Observation Log - October 21, 2000

Observation Log - October 21, 2000 - Tinton Falls, NJ

NGC7662, The Blue Snowball Nebula, a planetary in Andromeda, magnitude 8.6, dimensions 17" x 14". This LRGB image used a luminance frame with 33 minutes exposure, red was 26 minutes, green was 24 minutes, and blue was 50 minutes. Images were all taken between 8:22 and 11:40 pm, the evening of October 20th, using the Meade 12" LX200, an f/3.3 focal reducer, and the Homeyer color filter wheel. The individual images were processed in Astro Art with dark frame removal, flats, and compositing. That image was moved into MaxIm for Digital Development (FFT, low-pass, mild), color compositing, color smoothing, and a contrast stretch. Here is the same image at two times original size. When I was working on this image, the individual color components turned out to be interesting, particularly the red channel. Here is a 2x blowup of just my red channel, along with an image of NGC7662 taken by the Hubble. Considering that this object is only 17" x 14", the detail in the red image, particularly around the rim of the planetary, is quite interesting. You can see the areas that correspond to the Hubble red areas, and you can even see that they extend outside the "edge" seen around the planetary.

NGC2261, Hubble's Variable Nebula, a bright reflection nebula in Monoceros. This nebula is about magnitude 10, with a variability of +/- 2 magnitudes. The dimensions are 2' x 1'. This image was made from 72 images for a total integration time of 75 minutes. Images were all taken between 3:37 and 5:38 am, the morning of October 21st, using the Meade 12" LX200 and an f/3.3 focal reducer. The individual images were processed in Astro Art with dark frame removal, flats, and compositing. That image was moved into MaxIm for Digital Development (Kernel, low-pass), and a contrast stretch. Here is another version of this image with increased contrast to show the extent of the nebulosity and a satellite that happened to pass through the field.

NGC7769/NGC7770/NGC7771, galaxies in Pegasus. NGC7769 is the bright galaxy on the right, magnitude 12.0, dimensions 1'.8 x 1'.8. On the left, the larger galaxy is NGC7771, magnitude 12.3, dimensions 2'.5 x 1'.2. The galaxy below and to the right is NGC7770, magnitude 13.8, dimensions 1'.0 x 0'.9. The other two fainter galaxies in the field are as yet unidentified, as they don't appear in my SkyMap Pro 6.0 software.This image was made from 29 2-minute images for a total integration time of 58 minutes. Images were all taken between 11:45 and 01:01 am, the morning of October 21st, using the Meade 12" LX200 and an f/3.3 focal reducer. The individual images were processed in Astro Art with dark frame removal, flats, and compositing. That image was moved into MaxIm for Digital Development (FFT, low-pass, high), and a contrast stretch.

IC239, a spiral galaxy in Andromeda, magnitude 11.1, dimensions 4'.6 x 4'.3. This image was made from 69 1-minute images for a total integration time of 69 minutes. Images were taken between 1:29 and 2:54 am, the morning of October 21st, using the Meade 12" LX200 and an f/3.3 focal reducer. The individual images were processed in Astro Art with dark frame removal, flats, and compositing. That image was moved into MaxIm for a contrast stretch. This is an interesting object, as it is difficult to observe due to its very low surface brightness of 15.1 mag/sq arcmin. The three bright stars surrounding the galaxy range in brightness from 8.27 to 9.59. The little pentagon of stars immediately surrounding the galaxy range in brightness between magnitude 14.17 and 14.94.