M42 – The Orion Nebula:

• Captured February 10, 2023 from my back yard in Calgary.
• M42 is usually one of the first nebulae that a beginning deep space astrophotographer will tackle.  It is in the middle of the “sword” in the Orion constellation.  It is visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy patch.  It is easily seen with binoculars or a small telescope.
• 70 x 3 minute exposures (subs) calibrated with darks (subtract thermal noise from images), flats (subtract vignettes and dust spots), and dark-flats (subtract sensor read noise).
• Using an Optolong L-Ultimate filter (captures light at 656nm and 500nm (Ha and Oiii)).
• The image here was captured with a camera with an APS-C sensor size on a telescope with a 480mm focal length. 
• The telescope and camera were mounted on a mount that tracks star movement due to the earth’s rotation.  This is necessary because 3 minute exposures through a 480mm lens would cause excessive star trails.

M31 – The Andromeda Galaxy:

• Captured Aug 30, 2022 from the south shore of Pigeon Lake (Poplar Bay).  This is a Bortle 4 zone.
• 12 x 1 minute and 12 x 3 minute subs with flats, darkflats, and darks.
  • The two exposure times were to allow capture of the faint outer areas of the galaxy without blowing out the center core area.
• Using an Optolong L-Pro general light pollution filter.  Even in a Bortle 4 there is some light pollution.
• Interesting tidbit:  The Andromeda is 2.5 billion light years away and contains a trillion stars.  It is destined to collide with the Milky Way in about 5 billion years (about the time our sun turns into a red giant).  If you zoom in the image, you can see nebula (red patches) and star clusters in the galaxy.  This is the most distant object that we can see with the naked eye (you need good eyes, a dark sky and know where to look).

Lobster Claw, Bubble, and Northern Lagoon Nebula:

• Captured over two nights, September 2-3, 2022 from the south shore of Pigeon Lake. 
• 19 x 15 minute and 34 x 10 minute subs with flats, darkflats, and darks.
• This is a faint set of emission nebulas located in the constellation Cassiopeia (on the edge of it actually). 
• Using the STC duo narrowband filter.
• Interesting tidbit, that tiny bubble at the upper right is about 7 light years in diameter.  Our sun and our nearest stellar neighbor would fit comfortably inside that bubble.

Elephant Trunk Nebula: 

• Capture August 13, 2022 from my backyard in Calgary.  This is a Bortle 7 zone.
• 25 x 5 minute subs with additional flats, darkflats, and darks
• Using an STC duo narrowband filter allowing light at 656nm and 500nm (Ha and Oiii)

 Mossleigh, AB
Images by Sheila Jarvie