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!












  

Sun Near Equinox

Perfect Morning Conditions

I used my Seestar telescope during late evening on September 18th and continued into predawn hours of September 19th. Clear skies and very comfortable observing conditions persisted after sunrise on September 19th. The morning Sun presented a nice collection of sunspots! So, in spite of fatigue from the overnight session, I hauled out my Lunt 100mm solar telescope to take advantage of the only good solar observing opportunity for September. Not one cloud appeared in the blue sky while I worked, wind was calm, and temperature ranged from 68 to 74 degrees.

My efforts were rewarded! I was able to construct the following 13-panel mosaic of the entire solar disc, including prominences around the rim. Click on the image to enlarge and see best detail.

The previous image shows five major sunspots. The upper array across the disc has sunspot 4225 on the left, 4221 in the middle, and 4216 to the upper right. The lower two-spot array has sunspot 4217 in the middle, and 4220 on the right. A nice dark filament sits near the lower left rim, and a good number of attractive prominences are spread around the rim. 

I constructed a few different mosaics of varying quality. One particular 9-panel mosaic proved good for isolating interesting portions of the solar disc. The following cropped portion of this mosaic shows prominences and sunspots on the western solar face. 

Enlarge the image above to see the following features: Sunspot 4221 in the lower left has two small dark eruptive features rising from its left side. Complex sunspot 4220 near bottom has a major umbra on the right, a ring of tiny umbras on the left, and a bright active area joining the two. Sunspot 4216 in the center has two dark arching filaments to its left. A small white active area in the upper right near the limb produced modest magnetic arches rising slightly above the surface. Finally, three major prominences sit on the solar rim!  

Shown next below is a different cropped portion of the 9-panel mosaic which displays features in the southeastern solar region.

Once again, enlarge the above image to see the following features. A dark filament is near the limb on the bottom. Double umbra sunspot 4217 on the right sits below sunspot 4221 which also appeared in the previous image. On the left is the elongated, segmented umbra of sunspot 4225. I've never seen an elongated umbra quite like this one! It resembles fossilized remains of an extinct sea creature who might have shared the ancient seabed with trilobites! 

Finally, I cropped and colorized the next image to highlight prominences on the northeast limb. The enlarged image shows some fine detail in the upper prominence. 

I'm glad I made the effort to use the solar telescope this day. It was the last clear day in September.

Late Summer Skies

Galaxies and Nebulae

On the clear night of September 12th most of my neighbors' troublesome lights were turned off. The sky was slightly hazy, but cloud free conditions are so rare this time of year that I decided to try some Seestar imaging.

Galaxy NGC7331 in Pegasus and other nearby galaxies were good candidates for Seestar's mosaic mode. The following 25-minute exposure successfully captured nine galaxies, but all besides NGC7331 at top left were too small to show internal detail. These small galaxies only show up as fuzzy smudges in Seestar's wide field of view. View the next image at full size by clicking on it. In the enlarged image notice three small fuzzy spots to the left of NGC7331 at top left. Notice also the group of small fuzzies on the lower right. These are the five galaxies of Stephan's Quintet. (It's difficult to see any of these small galaxies unless the image is viewed at full size.)

The next labeled image identifies previously mentioned galaxies. In the Stephan's Quintet group on lower right the presence of two foreground stars is distracting. Only the small fuzzy things are galaxies. One of the galaxies has a double nucleus. Four of these galaxies are gravitationally interacting. 

Sky and Telescope magazine's October issue featured an article about visually observing a pair of dark nebulas called Barnard's E in the constellation Aquila. These clouds of gas and dust block starlight coming from behind and appear black against background stars. I usually have no hope of seeing these visually through an eyepiece, but Seestar reveals what my eye can't see. The next 15-minute exposure shows c-shaped dark nebula Barnard 143. The c-shape is the top of Barnard's E.

In order to capture the entire E, I used mosaic mode to widen the field. In the next 21-minute exposure dark nebula Barnard 142 now appears below Barnard 143 and completes the E.

The E-shape is more apparent in a reduced view below.

The September 12th observing session ended when a rising Moon brightened the hazy sky.

Six days later on September 18th the cloud free sky was once again hazy. Some temporary ground fog was also present. Two nebulae high above diminishing ground fog looked like good targets. I began with the Heart Nebula, IC1805, in Cassiopeia. With light pollution filter engaged and mosaic mode employed I was able to fit the entire heart shape within the field of view in the following 60-minute exposure. The heart-shaped outline is definitely visible, but somewhat dim. The heart shape's visibility varies depending on what screen the image is displayed upon. In the heart's center, accompanied by a bright nebular patch, is the star cluster that powers the heart's emission. In the upper right is another nebula, NGC896, sometimes called the Fish Head Nebula. 

My final target was the North America Nebula, NGC7000, in Cygnus. It was well after midnight when I began the following mosaic mode 66-minute exposure with light pollution filter engaged. I was able to catch some sleep while Seestar successfully kept running. "Mexico", the "Gulf of Mexico", and "Florida" are clearly visible, but the "Midwest" is missing.

I'm continually amazed at what little Seestar can produce!