All posts featuring astronomical photos
Pinwheel Galaxy M101 imaged with an 8 inch SCT at 1140 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC astronomy camera with UV-IR filter, DIY reducer, and tracked with a restored Vixen Great Polaris mount. M101 has a very low surface brightness. Use the stars near Alcor and Mizar of the Big Dipper to find M101.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Eagle Nebula M16 imaged with an 8 inch SCT, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, and dual band H-alpha and O-III filter. I used a restored Vixen Great Polaris tracking mount and an off-axis guider with ASI 174MM guide camera. Use the bright stars of Sagittarius as pointers to find this target.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Sombrero Galaxy M104 imaged with a Celestron 8 inch SCT at 1140 mm, and an ASI 533MC astronomy camera. I used a restored Vixen Great Polaris mount and an off-axis guider with ASI 174MM guide camera. M104 is in the constellation Virgo, near the bright stars of Corvus. This galaxy is relatively bright and easy to find.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
M13 Globular Cluster in Hercules imaged with a Celestron 8 inch SCT at 1140 mm, and an ASI 533MC astronomy camera. I used a restored Vixen Great Polaris mount and an off-axis guider with ASI 174MM guide camera. This target is bright and easy to find with just a finder scope.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Trifid Nebula M20 imaged with a Celestron 8 inch SCT, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, with an ASI 174MM on an off-axis guider. The dark dust lanes that divide the nebula into three sections are visible in this photo. This photo was imaged and tracked using a restored Vixen Great Polaris mount.
Related link:
OnStep DIY Go-to Telescope Controller
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) imaged with a Celestron 8 inch SCT at 1140 mm, and an ASI 533MC astronomy camera. I used a restored Vixen Great Polaris mount and an off-axis guider with ASI 174MM guide camera. This target is bright, easy to find, and should be visible even in the finder scope.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Dumbbell Nebula M27 imaged with a Celestron 8 inch SCT at 1140 mm focal length, OIII and H-alpha dual band filter, and an ASI 533MC astronomy camera. I used a restored Vixen Great Polaris mount and an off-axis guider with ASI 174MM guide camera. To find M27, use the bright stars of Aquila and Cygnus as pointer stars. This target is bright, easy to find, and should be visible even with small telescopes.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Whirlpool Galaxy M51 imaged with an 8 inch SCT at 1140 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC astronomy camera with UV-IR filter, DIY reducer, and tracked with a restored Meade LXD75 mount. M51 is relatively bright and may be visible through a small telescope. Use the stars of the Big Dipper to find M51.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
To find the Crab Nebula, locate Auriga first and then scan the region south of Auriga, near the bright star in Taurus. A narrowband filter helps in increasing the contrast between the nebula and the sky (such as using a 12 nm OIII for visual use, or 6 nm dual-band OIII and H-alpha for photography). Due to the nebula’s small angular size, a telescope with 4 inch aperture or larger with relatively long focal length is recommended for this target.
Crab Nebula M1, unguided image with an 8 inch SCT at 1140 mm focal length on a DIY reducer, an ASI533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual-band H-alpha and O-III filter, and a Meade LXD75 mount.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
The moon imaged with an 8 in SCT with 0.75x DIY reducer and a Canon 50D camera. Registering and stacking done in SIRIL.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
This a test image of Jupiter using a Celestron 8 inch SCT on a Meade LXD75 tracking mount. This is a stack of 1500 frames imaged with an ASI 533 camera and a UV-IR filter through 4x Barlow lens. Sharpcap was used in recording RGB24 AVI file. Stacking done with AutoStakkert and wavelets adjustment in SIRIL.
Jupiter imaged with a Celestron C8, 1500 frames
Related link: Jupiter video with Celestron 8 inch SCT at 1440p
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Rosette Nebula imaged with a Sky-Watcher 100ED with a DIY focal reducer, ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter. Guided tracking using an ASI 174MM with 50 mm f/4 guide scope and a Meade LXD75 mount.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Earthshine can be best observed when the moon is in crescent phase. The moon’s darker surface becomes visible as it gets illuminated by sunlight reflected off the Earth. This photo is a stack of 25 images at 15 seconds each, imaged with a Sky-Watcher Equinox 100ED and an ASI 533MC astronomy camera on a Meade LXD75 tracking mount.
Related link: Moon imaged with a Celestron C8 SCT
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Flame and Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion imaged with a Sky-Watcher Equinox 100ED refractor at 608 mm focal length on DIY reducer, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, a dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, and an ASI 174MM guide camera. Tracking was done using a Meade LXD75 mount with DIY controller.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Pleiades M45 imaged with a Sky-Watcher Equinox 100ED, an ASI 533MC astronomy camera, and an Meade LXD75 mount.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Orion Nebula M42 imaged with a 4 in refractor at 608 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, with an ASI 174MM guide camera. This is a test image taken with a DIY focal length reducer.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Helix Nebula imaged with a modified Sky-Watcher Equinox 100ED, ZWO duo nebula filter, and an ASI 533 astronomy camera at 608 mm focal length using a 0.67x DIY focal reducer, guided with a 50 mm guide scope and an ASI 174MM guide camera.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Leo Triplet (M65, M66, NGC3628), three bright galaxies in the vicinity of Leo imaged with a 4 in refractor at 628 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, with an ASI 174MM guide camera. The trio galaxies are bright and visible with small telescopes in relatively dark skies. Two bright stars in Leo can be used to easily find this galaxy group. Imaged from a recreation site in Caliraya, Quezon, in March 2023.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Lagoon Nebula M8 imaged with a 4 in refractor at 628 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, with an ASI 174MM guide camera. This is a test image taken with a DIY focal length reducer.
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) imaged in January 24, 2023 from Bacoor, Cavite, using a Sky-Watcher 100ED with a DIY focal reducer, ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, a UV-IR filter, and a motorized Vixen Grand Polaris mount. I have observed this comet to be at about the same surface brightness and apparent angular size with the M51 galaxy. It is barely detectable visually using a 10 by 50 binoculars or 8 by 50 finder scope.
Related Link: Lovejoy C/2014 Q2
For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Night Sky in Focus 