Astrophotography

Orion and the upside down horse

Bottom left: Orion Nebula. Top right: Horse Head Nebula (yes, I know it's upside down, but I like this composition better - and in space there's no up!) Shot on my 5D III and 70-200mm lens. Edited in Pixinsight and Photoshop.

Antares

Antares - the 15th brightest star in the sky, and the brightest in the constellation of scorpius. -- Equipment: Canon 5D MkIII Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 Skywatcher Star Adventurer mount Processed in Pixinsight and photoshop: 52 lights 27 darks Total integration time: 39 min

Cat in the rift

When I think about rural Australia, immediately rolling hills, farming, and dark skies come to mind. I wanted a photo that encompassed my vision of rural Australia, and I found that vision on the edge of a small town called Clunes (in NSW). Although it was too dark to see the rolling hills, the tractor under a blazing milky way was enough to portray that scene. The shot is a stacked composite of 15 x 30s images (f/2.8, ISO 1600). I’m actually a little disappointed in the movement of the stars, and will probably opt for a 20s or 25s shot next time. :)

Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (M83)

Messier 83 (NGC 5236) taken on July 27th, 2014. 35 x 45s lights = 26min 15sec Stacked with darks, bias, and flats. Pre/post processed in PI. I'm quite happy how it turned out, as these were taken during a night with lots of high cloud cover (hence the not quite perfect focus). I tried to get shots in-between clouds, but half these subs were washed out with light pollution. On top of that, the dew hit hard..and without any dew heaters it was fun times! :) Equipment: 8" f/5 Newtonian HEQ5 Pro Mount Unguided Nikon d90 MPCC Coma Corrector Mac running BackyardNikon beta 2c

Tifid Nebula (M20)

The Tifid Nebula (M20) is located in Sagittarius, 5200 light years away. This was taken a few weeks ago, at the same time as M83. 36 x 45sec subs, 27minutes altogether. Stacked with bias, darks and flats in PI. Post-processing in PI. Equipment: 8” f/4 Newtonian HEQ5 Mount unguided Nikon D90 running on BackyardNikon MPCC Mark III

Eta Carinae (NGC 3372)

First shot of my new set-up. A single 30sec exposure. Clouds rolled in after only three shots. No point of stacking as two weren't quite focused. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back out there.

Lagoon Nebula (M8)

This is a stacked image of the Lagoon Nebula (M8 or NGC 6523), taken on June 25th, 2014. 52 x 30sec exposures at ISO 1000. Stacked + processed with darks, flats and bias frames using Pixinsight and LR5. Equipment: 8" f/4 Newtonian HEQ5 Pro Unguided Nikon D90

Miaplacidus