Observation Log - November 2, 2000

Observation Log - November 2, 2000 - Tinton Falls, NJ

[NOTE: The seeing was very good tonight. Cool, calm. Setup was focuser/f/3.3 reducer/camera. Temp about 37 degrees. Tonight the images were all taken WITHOUT the usual IR blocking filter. A special set of flats was taken, as the camera was not inserted all the way into the visual back. -GW]

IC 5146, the Cocoon Nebula, an open cluster associated with nebula in Cygnus, magnitude 10.0, diameter 9'. This effort used the f/3.3 focal reducer, but no IR blocking filter. The frames were shot between 7:43 and 8:57 p.m. the evening of the 1st. The composite was made from 33 exposures for a total integration time of 66 minutes. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing. The image was moved into MaxIm for a Digital Development filter (Kernel, low-pass), and finally a contrast stretch. The Cocoon Nebula is both a reflection and an emission type, and shows distinct dust lanes, and darker obscuring regions around the outside edges. Compare tonight's image from the 12", against my previous effort on the 10" (f/4, 30 min).

NGC1491, a bright nebula in Perseus, dimensions 3'.0 x 3'.0. This effort used the f/3.3 focal reducer, but no IR blocking filter. The frames were shot between 1:06 and 2:15 a.m. the morning of the 2nd. The composite was made from 32 exposures for a total integration time of 64 minutes. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing. The image was moved into MaxIm for a Digital Development filter (Kernel, low-pass), and finally a contrast stretch. Here is a higher-contrast version of this same object, showing a little more detail in the dimmer outer regions of the nebula.

Another Meteor!. This meteor was caught while passing near NGC 7331, a galaxy in Pegasus. After an entire year of astrophotography, I finally captured an image of a meteor on October 23rd. Now, nine days later I score my second meteor in the field of an image taken with the 12"! This is a single frame, IMG1794.FIT, taken at about 9:54 p.m. on 11/01/00, with a two-minute exposure. The image was taken using the f/3.3 focal reducer, and processed in MaxIm with dark frame removal and flat frame, then it was resampled to double its size, then a simple final contrast stretch. Notice that there is quite a bit of detail in the meteor trail. To the left of the burst is a bright spot. And down the right side of the trail it looks like there was some rotation of the meteor, with indications of spirals in the image.

NGC7331, a galaxy in Pegasus, magnitude 9.5, dimensions 11'.4 x 4'.0. For this image I used the f/3.3 focal reducer, and no IR blocking filter. This composite was created from 31 images with a total integration time of 62 minutes. All images were taken between 9:45 and 10:59 p.m. the evening of the 1st. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing. That image was moved into MaxIm for a Digital Development filter (Kernel, low-pass), and finally a contrast stretch. Here is a map of the galaxies that are found in this photo. Here are some stats on the companion galaxies: NGC7340, mag 13.7, 0'.9 x 0'.6; NGC7337, mag 14.4, 1'.2 x 1'.0; NGC7335, mag 13.4, 1'.4 x 0'.6. And here is a lower-contrast version of the same image. Compare these shots with the new 12" against with previous image using the 10" (f/4, 80 min.)

NGC708, a galaxy in Andromeda, with a cluster of friends. For this deep image I used the f/3.3 focal reducer, and no IR blocking filter. This composite was created from 47 images with a total integration time of 94 minutes. All images were taken between 11:16 and 1:01 a.m. the morning of the 2nd. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing. That image was moved into MaxIm for a Digital Development filter (Kernel, low-pass), and finally a contrast stretch. Here is a map of the galaxies that are found in this photo. Here are some stats on these galaxies:
NGC708, mag 12.7, 3'.0 x 2'.5, surface brightness 14.7 mag/sq arcmin
NGC714, mag 13.1, 1'.6 x 0'.3, surface brightness 14.9 mag/sq arcmin
NGC709, mag 14.3, 1'.1, surface brightness 12.6 mag/sq arcmin
NGC703, mag 13.3, 1'.2 x 0'.9, surface brightness 13.2 mag/sq arcmin
NGC705, mag 13.6, 1'.2 x 0'.3, surface brightness 14.6 mag/sq arcmin
NGC704, mag 14.0, 36" x 34", surface brightness 14.8 mag/sq arcmin
NGC710, mag 13.7, 1'.7 x 1'.7, surface brightness 13.7 mag/sq arcmin
PGC6945, mag 15.7, 48" x 27"
PGC6974, mag 17.5, 18" x 6"

NGC2340, a galaxy in Lynx, with a cluster of friends. For this image I used the f/3.3 focal reducer, and no IR blocking filter. This composite was created from 28 images with a total integration time of 56 minutes. All images were taken between 3:56 and 5:00 a.m. the morning of the 2nd. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing. That image was moved into MaxIm for a Digital Development filter (Kernel, low-pass), and finally a contrast stretch. Here is a map of the galaxies that are found in this photo. Here are some stats on these galaxies:
NGC2340, mag 11.7, 1'.8 x 1'.2, surface brightness 14.8 mag/sq arcmin
PGC20357, mag 14.7, 48" x 36"
PGC20318, mag 15.4
PGC20311, mag 15.5
PGC20334, mag 14.9, 48" x 26"
PGC20306, mag 14.5, 54" x 25"
PGC20319, mag 16.0, 36" x 21"
There are at least a half dozen other galaxies in this photo that are fainter yet. At the very top of the frame are four little galaxies that my AstroArt photometry feature measures as magnitudes 17 and 18. [NOTE: I believe the faint arc near the center is an optical reflection caused by the telescope optics. -GW]

NGC2371, a planetary nebula in Gemini. This image used the f/3.3 focal reducer, and no IR blocking filter. This composite was created from 22 images with a total exposure of 44 minutes. Images were taken between 3:03 and 3:50 a.m. the morning of the 2nd. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing. That image was moved into MaxIm for a Digital Development filter (FFT, low-pass, mild), and finally a contrast stretch. Here is a lower-contrast version that shows a little more detail near the core.

Yet Another Meteor!. This meteor was caught while passing near NGC 3379, a galaxy in Leo. This is my second meteor image captured tonight, and my third in nine days! This is a single frame, IMG1953.FIT, taken at about 5:20 a.m. on 11/02/00, with a two-minute exposure. The image was taken using the f/3.3 focal reducer, and processed in MaxIm with dark frame removal and flat frame, then a final contrast stretch. Notice again that there is quite a bit of detail in the meteor trail, with a brightening on the left, and a burst near the galaxy.

NGC3384/3379/3389. These three galaxies are in Leo. NGC3384 is magnitude 10.0, 5'.9 x 2'.6; NGC3379 is magnitude 9.3, 4'.5 x 4'.0; and NGC3389 is magnitude 11.8 and 2'.7 long. NGC3384 is at top left, NGC3379 is on the right, and NGC3389 at bottom left. This image is a combination of 12 images with a total integration of 24 minutes. Images were taken between 5:10 and 5:37 am on the morning of November 2nd, 2000. The images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction, flats, and a high-pass adaptive filter. The image was then moved to MaxIm for the final contrast stretch. Compare with my earlier image (10", f/4, 27 minutes.)