December 2017

A Cosmic Christmas from Orion.

A merry Christmas to all!

Hope you enjoy this Christmas tree with its running angle perched above a bejeweled nebular tree.

The Orion Nebula is the brightest nebula visible from the northern hemisphere . It’s located in the sword of Orion, just below the belt and lies 1,344 light-years from Earth.

This image was photographed under northern skies, at my home in Valencia.
Integration 4 nights
Chroma Filter RGBL filters
AG14 Newtonian astrograph.
camera: Starlight Xpress Trius SX-814

#Astrophotography #Space #narrowband

Details from the Carina.

I spent a winter week end sifting through  the Hubble archives, exploring  and processing data from the  Carina Nebular system.  As a northern hemisphere astophotographer this was a rare treat but thanks to  ESA was made posible via the archives.

These are the images that materialized.  I hope you find them interesting.

Image credits : Processing Paul C Swift

Data: NASA, ESA, Hubble;

Details from the Carina Nebula

“Thou Shalt Not”
Somewhere lost in the billows of Carina Nebula lies a foreboding warning.
Image credits : Processing Paul C Swift
Data: NASA, ESA, Hubble;A kind of Tardigrade nebula! A close up from the previous image of Carina.

A kind of Tardigrade nebula!

The Carina Nebula

Thank you for looking at the amazing Carina Nebula.

The nebula is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, and is located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm.

Image credits : Processing Paul C Swift
Data: NASA, ESA, Hubble;

I was looking for a composition and framing that would eliminate the usual brain recognition of this well known object. In my case recognition is not always a good filter for observing. I was also seeking compelling and fresh aesthetic presentation.

#fineart #Astrophotography #Space

The Rossette Nebula a Blending of the Telescopes.

The Rossette Nebula in RGBL Ha OIII with a blending of telescopes.

This Hybrid broadband- Narrow-band image of the rossette nebula ( part of the giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros) was brought to you through the collaborative efforts of European astrophotographers Maurizio Cabibbo and Paul C. Swift.

Swift:

So what goes into making of one of our collaborative images? Well usually several years of back-yard data collected in Italy and Spain from multiple telescope setups, combined to produce a more powerful multi-band  image. The image below illustrates some of the elements involved.