Tag: Nebula

The Cygnus Loop in Hydrogen-Alpha and O3

My first proper imaging attempt with my new QHY268M. I am loving having a 7 position filter wheel and being able to have all my filters on a single carrousel. It has allowed me to experiment more with my Baader narrowband filters, and the results have been really cool.

This was also my first attempt at the Veil Nebula region, and I tried to get as much of the Cygnus Loop as I could fit in at f/3.6 with the FSQ. The image is a bi-color composition using images taken with a hydrogen-alpha filter and an O3 filter combined into an RGB image.

I used PixInsight’s Pixel Math function to combine the Ha and O3 channels as follows:

Red channel: (0.6 * ha) + (0.4 * o3)
Green channel: o3
Blue channel: o3

Taken from a Bortle 5 suburban backyard.
Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 at f/3.6 with the Reducer CR 0.73x.
QHY268M, Photographic DSO Mode-2CMS, gain 56, offset 25, 1×1 binning.
QHYCFW5 7 position 36mm filter wheel.
Baader 36mm mounted 7nm Hydrogen-Alpha, and 8.5nm O3 filters
Losmady G11 Gemini 2, guided with a piggybacked AstroTech 65EDQ and an Orion StarShoot autoguider.
Software included PHD2 for guiding, Sequence Generator Pro for acquisition, and PixInsight for image processing.

120 x 300s integrations Baader 7nm Hydrogen-Alpha
120 x 300s integrations Baader 8.5nm O3

20 hours total exposure time

2025-07-06No Comments

Astronomy Astrophotography

M42 The Orion Nebula

I’m pretty amazed how nice this one came out. I started the image really late in the season so by 9pm I would already be doing a meridian flip. Plus weather and mount issues (tracking on the west side), made this one a challenge.

I have a post that shows the internals and disassembly of this camera and filter wheel here:
https://www.astroturtle.com/2025/12/sbig-st-8300m/

Taken from a Bortle 5 suburban back yard.
Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 at f/3.6 with the CR Reducer 0.73x.
SBIG ST-8300M at 1×1 binning, with the FW5-8300 5 position filter wheel. (The halos around brighter stars are due to the camera)
IDAS LPS-D3 36mm unmounted filter for luminance and Astronomik Deep-Sky 36mm unmounted RGB filters.
Losmady G11 Gemini 2, guided with a piggybacked AstroTech 65EDQ and an Orion StarShoot autoguider.
Software included PHD2 for guiding, Sequence Generator Pro for acquisition, and PixInsight for image processing.
70 x 300s luminance integrations (IDAS LPS-D3)
70 x 300s each red, green and blue filters

Total exposure time of just over 23 hours

2025-02-23No Comments

Astronomy Astrophotography

IC434 Horsehead and Flame Nebulas in Hydrogen Alpha

I revisited an old favorite for my first quick test with my new Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4.

23 x 600 second integrations, Baader Hydrogen-Alpha filter, FSQ-106EDX4 @ f/5, SBIG ST-8300 with FW5 filter wheel, processed with PixInsight.

I have a post that shows the internals and disassembly of this camera and filter wheel here:
https://www.astroturtle.com/2025/12/sbig-st-8300m/

2016-12-23No Comments

Astronomy Astrophotography

Rosette Nebula with Narrowband filters

My first shot of the Rosette Nebula with my new set of Baader narrowband filters.

The image was combined using SII (ionized sulphur) for the red channel, Ha (hydrogen alpha) for the green channel and OIII (ionized oxygen) for the blue channel. This combination is known as the “Hubble Palette” and is the same method used by NASA for the famous Pillars of Creation image.

I have a post that shows the internals and disassembly of this camera and filter wheel here:
https://www.astroturtle.com/2025/12/sbig-st-8300m/

The exposure breakdown is:

Ha 25 x 10 min
OIII 34 X 10 min
SII 33 x 10 min

For a total exposure time of about 15 hours.

AstroTech AT65EDQ telescope, Losmandy G11 mount, SBIG ST-8300M camera + FW5 filter wheel, Baader Narrowband filter set.

2016-02-11No Comments

Astronomy Astrophotography

The Horsehead and Flame Nebulas in Orion

I got a second amazing night for imaging and despite it being a Tuesday I couldn’t resist having a go at some RGB data and eating the lack of sleep. I combined the RGB images with the hydrogen alpha data I collected on Saturday to get this image.

SBIG ST-8300m camera, AstroTech AT65EDQ 65mm f/6.5 refractor, Astronomik 1.25″ RGB and Ha filters, Orion Nautilus 7×1.25″ motorized filter wheel, Losmandy G11 Gemini-2 mount.

I have a post that shows the internals and disassembly of this camera and filter wheel here:
https://www.astroturtle.com/2025/12/sbig-st-8300m/

30 x 5 minute Hydrogen Alpha sub-frames for luminance
20 x 5 minute sub-frames for each red, green, and blue filter
30 averaged darks
30 averaged bias frames

Total of 7.5 hours of exposure time.

2015-10-13No Comments