Astrophotography – Night Sky in Focus

How to Image the Milky Way

In the Philippines, the Milky Way is most prominent in the sky during months of March to May each year, visible to the unaided eye in the southeastern horizon at around 1 to 3 am.

Any DSLR camera or smartphone with good camera may be used to photograph the Milky Way. To capture the Milky Way:

Set the lens’ focal length to wide-field (18 mm). Milky way is a large target.
Set the exposure time to 30 seconds.
Set the aperture to widest opening (f/1.8).
Set the ISO value to maximum (ISO 3200).
Turn off the camera’s flash.
Attach the camera to a tripod.
Set the focus to manual mode.
Focus on a distant target such as a star.
Use the app Stellarium to find the Milky Way.
Turn on the camera’s time-delay feature.
When ready, press the shutter to take a photo.

Eagle Nebula M16 captured with a Vixen R114 reflector, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, with an ASI 174MM guide camera on a 60 mm guide scope. This is one of the bright deep-sky objects in the Milky Way region, in the part of the sky where you can also find the Trifid Nebula and Lagoon Nebula. You may 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 | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Omega Nebula M17

Omega Nebula M17 captured with a Vixen R114 reflector, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, with an ASI 174MM guide camera on a 60 mm guide scope. This is one of the brightest deep-sky objects in the Milky Way region, in the part of the sky where you can also find the Eagle Nebula. M17 is visible even with binoculars or small telescopes. You may use the bright stars of Sagittarius to find this target.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Trifid Nebula M20

Trifid Nebula M20 captured with a Vixen R114 reflector, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, with an ASI 174MM guide camera on a 60 mm f/5 guide scope. The dark dust lanes that divide the nebula into three sections are visible in this photo. This photo was imaged and tracked using a DIY go-to telescope controller.

Related links:
OnStep DIY Go-to Telescope Controller
Vixen R114 Reflector on Great Polaris Moun t

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

M57 Ring Nebula

M57 Ring Nebula imaged with a Vixen R114 reflector at 1800 mm focal length (using a 2X Barlow), OIII and H-alpha dual band filter, and an ASI 533MC astronomy camera. The planetary nebula looks like a small faint circle but relatively easy to find by scanning the region between the two bright stars in Lyra.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Omega Centauri

Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) imaged with a Vixen R114 reflector at 900 mm focal length and an ASI 533MC astronomy camera. This target is bright, visible to the unaided eye in relatively dark skies. Use the bright stars of Crux to find this target.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

M27 Dumbbell Nebula

M27 Dumbbell Nebula captured with a Vixen R114 reflector at 900 mm focal length, OIII and H-alpha dual band filter, and an ASI 533MC astronomy 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 | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

M104 Sombrero Galaxy

M104 Sombrero Galaxy captured with a Vixen R114 reflector at 900 mm focal length and an ASI 533MC astronomy 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 | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

M51 Whirlpool Galaxy

Whirlpool Galaxy M51 captured with a Vixen R114 reflector at 900 mm focal length and an ASI 533MC astronomy camera. This galaxy is found in Ursa Major, in the part of the sky in the vicinity of other galaxies such as M101, M81 and M82. This target 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 | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Pinwheel Galaxy M101

Pinwheel Galaxy M101 imaged with a 4 in refractor, ASI 533MC astronomy camera, and an ASI 174MM guide camera. This galaxy is found in Ursa Major, in the part of the sky in the vicinity of other galaxies such as M51, M81 and M82. This target has a very low surface brightness and requires a lot of exposure times to reveal the spiral arms. Use the stars of the Big Dipper to find M101.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Lagoon Nebula M8

Lagoon Nebula M8 captured with a 4 in refractor at 565 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 the brightest deep-sky object in the Milky Way region, in the part of the sky where you can also find the Trifid Nebula. M8 is visible even with binoculars or small telescopes. You may use the bright stars of Sagittarius to find this target.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Bode’s (M81) and Cigar (M82) Galaxies

Bode’s Galaxy (M81) and Cigar Galaxy (M82) imaged with a 4 in refractor, ASI 533MC astronomy camera, and an ASI 174MM guide camera. This galaxy pair is found in the vicinity of the Big Dipper in Ursa Major, along with the M51 Whirlpool Galaxy. Bode’s and Cigar Galaxies are relatively bright and should be visible even with a small telescope, in relatively dark skies. There are no bright stars near the galaxy pair, making it a bit difficult to find these targets. Use the bright stars of the Big Dipper as pointer stars.

Bode’s Galaxy (left) and Cigar Galaxy (right), 2.5 hours exposure

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

M92 Globular Cluster

M92 Globular Cluster captured with a 4 in refractor at 565 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, with an ASI 174MM guide camera. M92 is one of the two bright globular clusters in Hercules, together with M13. To find M92, use the bright stars of Hercules that form a rectangle. This target is relatively bright and can be seen easily with a small telescope.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Markarian’s Chain

The Markarian’s Chain imaged under city skies captured with a 4 in refractor at 565 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, and an ASI 174MM guide camera. More than 10 galaxies are visible in this photo. Use the stars Denebola and Vindemiatrix to locate the galaxy chain.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Leo Triplet (M65, M66, NGC3628)

Leo Triplet, three bright galaxies in the vicinity of Leo captured with a 4 in refractor at 565 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.

Leo Triplet consisting of the Hamburger Galaxy (left), M65 galaxy (top right), and M66 galaxy (bottom right), 1.5 hours exposure

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Carina Nebula

Eta Carinae Nebula (Carina Nebula) captured with a 4 in refractor at 565 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, with an ASI 174MM guide camera. This target is particularly difficult to image since it is very low in my local horizon, only about 15 degrees elevation. It is relatively bright and easy to find due to the presence of nearby bright stars. Due to its low elevation, however, this target needs very clear skies to allow good contrast in the captured photo.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Flame and Horsehead Nebula

Flame and Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion captured with a 4 in refractor at 565 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, with an ASI 174MM guide camera. One limitation of the DIY focal reducer used in this image is the internal reflection, most visible in bright stars. Also noticeable is the effect of stacking more images in reducing noise, as revealed in the stacking artifact on the right side of this image.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Hercules Globular Cluster (M13)

Hercules Globular Cluster (M13) captured with a 4 in refractor at 565 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, with an ASI 174MM guide camera. Tracking is done using a DIY tracker built using an Arduino and a stepper motor controller. Imaging done in NINA, guiding in PHD2, and processing in SIRIL. This is a bright and relatively easy to find target.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

M42 Orion Nebula | Sky-Watcher 100ED

Here’s an image of Orion Nebula (M42) captured with a 4 in refractor at 565 mm focal length, an ASI 533MC cooled astronomy camera, dual band H-alpha and O-III filter, with an ASI 174MM guide camera. Tracking is done using a DIY tracker built using an Arduino and a stepper motor controller. Imaging done in NINA, guiding in PHD2, and processing in SIRIL.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Related link: M42 Orion Nebula with Vixen R114

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

Andromeda Galaxy M31

Andromeda Galaxy M31 imaged in September 2021 with a Celestron Travel Scope 70, UV-IR cut filter, and an ASI 533 astronomy camera, guided with a DIY off-axis guider (OAG) and an ASI 174MM guide camera. A total of 25 minutes exposure stacked and processed in SIRIL without calibration frames.

For a complete list of astrophoto images, click here.

Night Sky in Focus | Astronomy and Amateur Radio
© Anthony Urbano | Manila, Philippines

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