Objects Revisited

 Long Exposures

I've been revisiting previously imaged objects. Now I'm devoting an entire night to just one object using longer exposures and Seestar's AI Denoise feature. On December 16th I used mosaic mode and light pollution filter to capture the entire Rosette Nebula in the constellation Monoceros. The following image is a 150-minute (2.5-hour) exposure, the longest exposure I've ever done with Seestar up to this point.

The dark central cavity contains open star cluster 2244 whose energetic stars clear the cavity and cause surrounding gases to glow. Strings of dark obscuring dust are nicely silhouetted along the upper cavity edge. I probably went overboard using AI Denoise to darken the background. Too many faint details may have been lost. (Click to enlarge all images.)

A few days later on December 21-22 I attempted another filtered mosaic mode capture of NGC2264, (the Cone Nebula, and Christmas Tree Cluster), also in Monoceros. The next image is only a 100-minute exposure, but it turned out much better than a previous attempt made last year.

The Cone Nebula is in the upper right. This dark column of gas and dust is outlined by excited gases. The Christmas Tree star cluster is horizontal in the image above. The triangular shape is more apparent in the next rotated image.

The upper tip of the Christmas Tree is a bright star just below the Cone Nebula. The triangular Tree's base is just above the brightest star near image center. I allowed more red nebular background to remain in the final image this time.

Nearly a month of cloudy sky and bright moonlight passed until January 11th when I captured a 112-minute exposure of NGC2359, Thor's Helmet, in Canis Major. Enlarge the next image to full size for the best view. Notice the dense distribution of background Milky Way stars, including some colorful ones! The "wings" of Thor's Helmet show up reasonably well. The central spherical bubble of glowing gas is created by strong stellar winds emitted by the hot, energetic central Wolf-Rayet star.

Clear sky continued on January 12th. Galaxies M81 and M82 are a popular astrophotography target in Ursa Major. The next image is a 143-minute exposure of this pair using mosaic mode. M81 is on the right, M82 on the left. Unfortunately, the pair is slightly off center. After a few minutes of an initial well centered exposure I noticed an airplane's bright lights had streaked directly over M82. I terminated this first exposure and immediately started a new exposure. In the brief interval between exposures Seestar's slight movement had shifted the image slightly off center.

A few nights later on January 15th conditions were good again. Moonlight was absent, and all my neighbors' lights were miraculously off. I used mosaic mode and the light pollution filter to capture a 155-minute exposure of IC2177, the Sea Gull Nebula. This expanse of glowing gas spreads across the boundary of constellations Monoceros and Canis Major. It seems that the bright, roughly circular patch of nebulosity with intruding dark lane located in top center is called IC2177. This is the Sea Gull's "head". The "wings" are spread out horizontally across the image. A rich distribution of Milky Way stars, including some obvious clusters, add to the scene.

I'm pretty happy with the previous image! The two-hour 35-minute exposure is now the longest I've ever done with Seestar. Actual telescope time is usually about twice the exposure time because Seestar continuously rejects sub exposures with tracking errors. I might be able to get a 3-hour exposure at some point, but this will challenge my ability to stay awake for hours after midnight.

The Christmas House

 Neighborhood Attraction

One family in my neighborhood puts a great effort into Christmas decoration. Their house draws many spectators not only from neighborhood residents but also from many others who cruise around to see Christmas lights. The front lawn is densely packed with displays. The next picture captures most of them but doesn't include others beyond the driveway on the right.

The open garage on the right is the highpoint of the show. As seen below, it is transformed into a Christmas wonderland that rivals any department store or mall display.

An animatronic reindeer and Santa greet those who enter. Kids and families can sit for pictures on Santa's chair while Santa moves and recites Santa talk. All this is quite popular with visitors. I was particularly impressed by the miniature villages on the left.

This is truly a magical creation! Below are three closer views. As always, click on images to enlarge for the best view.

Someone spends a lot of time to carefully arrange all this detail. We are all grateful!

Odds and Ends

 Enduring Clouds

Skies have been very cloudy this November and December. Rare periods of clear sky last only a few hours before clouds return. Over the past months I've had only three opportunities for astrophotography.

On November 17th I took advantage of one clear stretch to attempt a long mosaic exposure of the Orion Nebula, M42. The next image is a 37-minute exposure with light pollution filter engaged. I wanted the exposure to last 60 minutes or more, but I couldn't stay awake long enough after midnight to accomplish this. 

Located above the brighter M42 Orion Nebula is a group of white reflection nebulae. NGC1977 is the lower one with a dark bulge invading from below. NGC1975 is a bright patch above NGC1977 with two stars in its midst. NGC1973 is nebulosity to the left of NGC1975. Dark lanes running through this nebulous group form the Running Man Nebula. (Enlarge the image above by clicking on it to see full detail.)

Daytime sky was temporarily clear on December 3rd when an unusually huge sunspot group was present on the Sun. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to set up my solar telescope, so I used Seestar to produce the following image. The sunspot group's length was about 28 percent of the solar diameter on this day!

Clear transparent sky didn't last into the evening of December 3rd. Hazy thin clouds made night imaging impossible. While emptying trash I looked almost straight up at the nearly full Moon and saw the following moon halo. The picture below is a quick shot with my handheld phone. Nearby Pleiades stars are not visible, although one bright spot on the Moon's lower left might possibly belong to the Pleiades.

Eleven nights later on December 14th conditions were finally absolutely clear. Unfortunately, it was a frigid 18 degrees (minus 8 degrees C), and howling wind was gusting at 15 to 20 mph. Wind was shaking and rattling my house, so Seestar would certainly suffer the same effects. With luck the next two months will offer better opportunities for celestial imaging. 

 

Avoiding Lights

 Colorful November Sky Pictures

Clear sky on November 12th presented a good opportunity to create a Seestar portrait of the Perseus double cluster. Unfortunately, two neighbors had turned on multiple bright lights which glared directly into Seestar's lens when pointed north toward Perseus. Imaging the double cluster was initially impossible.

I hoped these lights would eventually turn off. While waiting I pointed Seestar directly south away from the lights toward the constellation Aquarius where I made an attempt to capture the colorful Helix Nebula (NGC7293). The following 60-minute exposure is an improvement over a previous attempt last year. (Click on all images below to see the best detail.) The Helix Nebula is the closest planetary nebula to Earth. Gases previously emitted by the central white dwarf star are excited by that star's ultraviolet radiation and glow with characteristic colors.

Troublesome neighbor lights were finally extinguished! This allowed me to move to the original target in Perseus - the double cluster (NGC869,884). In the following 31-minute exposure NGC 869 is the upper cluster, and NGC884 is the lower one. I particularly like the colorful orange stars sprinkled about. This image looks great when enlarged to full size!

Dark moonless sky continued, so I next pointed to Cygnus to capture the eastern segment of the Veil Nebula. The entire Veil Nebula is a supernova remnant too large to fit in one Seestar field of view. NGC6992 is one segment of this nebula called the Eastern Veil Nebula. I used the light pollution filter and mosaic mode for the following 23-minute exposure. A longer exposure would have been better, but, unfortunately, the exposure ended too soon when the Veil Nebula began setting behind the roof of my house.

The constellation Auriga had risen in good position, so I next targeted the Flaming Star Nebula (IC405). I used the light pollution filter and mosaic mode for the following 90-minute exposure. The nebula is excited by bright star AE Aurigae, the brightest star right of center.

Well after midnight I could no longer keep my eyes open. It was time to quit.

October Clear Spell

Long Exposures

October usually brings periods of clear sky. This year the clear spell happened near new Moon, so bright moonlight did not interfere with attempts to try long exposures of nebulae with Seestar. On October 15th, using mosaic mode and light pollution filter, I made a 111-minute exposure of IC1848 - the Soul Nebula in Cassiopeia. The next image shows the result. The nebula's brighter parts are visible, but, compared with online photos made with better equipment, much of the dimmer portions are missing. (Enlarge the image by clicking on it to get the best view.) 

A few days later on October 20th I made a 110-minute unfiltered mosaic exposure of the Pleiades. Fine detail in the wispy blue reflection nebulae can be seen in the next picture. This year's Pleiades image is much better than last year's result made without mosaic mode and without Seestar's AI Denoise feature.

Two nights later on October 22nd clear moonless sky presented another imaging opportunity. This night I began with a 130-minute filtered exposure of the California Nebula (NGC1499) in Perseus. This is the longest Seestar exposure I've ever made. Mosaic mode was necessary to capture the nearly two-degree length of this nebula. The next image shows the bright outline of "California", but the dimmer central part of the nebula is missing.

I think dim nebulae portions don't show up in these long mosaic exposures for two reasons. First, each constituent part of the final mosaic is not exposed for the full time as Seestar moves from one position to another to cover the entire area. Second, my relatively bright light polluted sky makes it difficult for dim features to rise above background glow. 

Past midnight on October 22nd I saw Orion rising above trees. Troublesome neighbor lights were all turned off at this time, and dark conditions were too good to pass up. So, I set Seestar to make a filtered mosaic image of the Horse Head Nebula (IC434), the Flame Nebula (NGC2024), and the bright star Alnitak in Orion's belt. The next 71-minute exposure shows more detail than my previous attempt last year. It would have been nice to expose for more than 71 minutes, but at 3am my sleep deprived brain shut down, and I went to bed.

After gaining experience using long exposure mosaic mode, I've discovered that subsequent processing with AI Denoise seems to eliminate artifacts caused by field rotation. As usual, Seestar's reported exposure time is much less than the actual exposure time because so many frames are dropped due to tracking errors. This means I need to plug Seestar into external power to prevent the battery from running out while it runs nearly all evening to make one image. 

 

  

Comet Lemmon

Not Very Spectacular

Comet Lemmon was discovered in January 2025 by the Mount Lemmon Survey using a telescope on Mount Lemmon in Arizona. The comet had been featured in astronomical news in October, and I wondered if I could see it. On October 15th, a few days before the comet's closest approach to Earth, clear sky after sunset beckoned me onto my front porch to check the western horizon for signs of the comet. It certainly wasn't visible to the naked eye in my light polluted sky. A tripod mounted Nikon Z6II eventually managed to reveal the modest head and tail.

The first image below is a good approximation of my naked eye view. (You need to enlarge the image to full size by clicking on it to see stars and constellations.) The comet is under the Big Dipper's handle and near the double star, Cor Caroli. These are labeled in the second image below which should also be enlarged to full size.

I set my Nikon zoom lens to 70mm for more magnification and took a 4-second exposure at ISO 3200 and f/2.8. When viewed at full size the next two images reveal the comet near center. The tail is definitely there, but barely visible. Three colorful airplane trails also appear.

The next evening, October 16th, I tried using Seestar to magnify the comet. The next image is a one-minute exposure. It shows the cometary head and coma, but not much tail. Longer exposures revealed a bit more tail but also smeared out the head because the comet moves relative to the stars. The one-minute exposure is disappointing. I need some way to track on the comet head itself instead of stars. That would make longer exposures possible, although stars would then show trails. I wonder if Seestar will someday include a comet tracking option.

On October 20th, one day before the comet's closest approach to Earth, I made one more attempt with the Nikon Z6II. The next image is a 5-second exposure at ISO3200, with lens set at 70mm and f/2.8. I cropped the image to show only the comet. The head and tail are again visible, but not very impressive. 

I'm glad I saw this comet but wondered if my efforts were worthwhile. 

Halloween Displays

Neighborhood Fun

Near Halloween my energetic neighbors erect amazing holiday decorations. They seem to get more elaborate and entertaining every year. I took a stroll one early evening and took some pictures. This enormous inflated black cat looks impressive at night.

A happy group of tike friendly inflatables occupy the lawn next door.

This modest display looks quite nice at night.

Further up the street is a nice backlit window display.

A colorful graveyard sits below the previous window display.

Next door to the previous display a large spooky figure greets trick or treaters approaching the door.

New neighbors contributed the following two colorful additions to the street's entertainment.

The biggest, most complicated Halloween showplace is an amazing collection of spooky figures.

Let's take a closer look at some individual creatures. First, we have the skeleton and his werewolf pal. Notice the chain hanging from the werewolf's arm as if he just broke restraints. The werewolf produces a scary recorded monologue and a howl. His glowing eyes are wonderfully effective!

Next, the flying witch seems to be suspended in midair near the scarecrow reaper and foreground mummy.

An illuminated arch of skulls and bones, an animatronic clown, and a huge animatronic rising scarecrow greet anyone approaching the front door. I honestly wonder if very small children would be quite frightened by all this.

This cleaver wielding pig man was recently added to the previous lawn display. I find his white "butcher cap" hilarious.

I viewed other nice displays in daylight. I particularly enjoy the ghostlike figure suspended above the gravestone below. The animatronic Frankenstein nearby makes a nearly unintelligible speech when activated.

I also have to smile at the skeleton walking his skeleton dog. He even carries a poop bag!

Finally, my son-in-law always makes creative use of small skeletons and various household items to create a skeleton lawn party.

The central "fire" with red light under the pot is really effective! The squeezable chicken in the pot emits a hilarious squawk when activated.

It's a treat to enjoy these displays every year!