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Showing posts with label astrograph. Show all posts
Showing posts with label astrograph. Show all posts

Monday, March 1, 2021

APOD - The Pelican Nebula Imaged On ATEO-1

Insight Observatory is very proud and honored to announce its very first Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)! APOD is a well-known world wide web publication affiliated with NASA of a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe each day, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

The image that was selected for today's APOD is The Pelican Nebula (also known as IC 5070 and IC 5067). The final image processed was produced from an image set created between May and September of 2020 for Starbase, Insight Observatory's image set repository. The exposure time is close to 15 hours imaged with H-Alpha, Luminance, Red, Green, and Blue filters on Insight Observatory's 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector (ATEO-1) remote telescope hosted at SkyPi Remote Observatory located in New Mexico.

IC 5070 and IC 5067 - The Pelican Nebula imaged on ATEO-1 by Muir Evenden, pre-processed by Michael Petrasko, and post-processed by Utkarsh Mishra with nearly 15 hours of Ha, LRGB image data available for download on Starbase.
IC 5070 and IC 5067 - The Pelican Nebula imaged on ATEO-1 by Muir Evenden, pre-processed by Michael Petrasko, and post-processed by Utkarsh Mishra with nearly 15 hours of Ha, LRGB image data available for download on Starbase.

The Pelican Nebula is an emission nebula located near the bright star Deneb in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. The nebula is named for its resemblance to a pelican and is associated with the neighboring North America Nebula and is one of several notable nebulae found in the area of the Northern Cross. It is an active star-forming region with a particularly active mix of star formation and evolving gas clouds. The position and balance of the stars and gas will gradually change to leave the nebula looking completely different millions of years from now.

The Pelican Nebula is listed as IC 5070 and IC 5067 in the Index Catalogue. The nebula itself is cataloged as IC 5070, while IC 5067 is a prominent part of it, found along the curve of the celestial pelican’s head and neck. It is a ridge of emission spanning about 10 light-years, home to many newly formed stars.

The nebula’s appearance is defined by dark dust clouds, which outline the pelican’s long bill and eye, and bright clouds of ionized gas, which form the curved shape of the pelican’s head and neck.

Sources: Wikipedia and The Constellation Guide.

Search for IC 5070 in the "Name" field in Starbase to access the IC 5070-5067 - Ha (2020) and IC 5070-5067 - LRGB (2020) Pelican Nebula image sets.
Search for IC 5070 in the "Name" field in Starbase to access the IC 5070-5067 - Ha (2020) and IC 5070-5067 - LRGB (2020) Pelican Nebula image sets.



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Friday, February 19, 2021

Messier 78 Reflection Nebula

In this post, Insight Observatory features deep-sky object Messier 78. This target was requested to be added to Insight Observatory's image set repository, Starbase by one of its loyal Starbase subscribers.

The image set data was acquired on the 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector (ATEO-1) remote telescope located in New Mexico. There are nearly 10 hours of Luminance, Red, Blue, Green, and Ha image data of Messier 78 available for download on Starbase.


Messier 78 reflection nebula located in the constellation Orion imaged on ATEO-1 and processed by Utkarsh Mishra. Image set now available for download on Starbase.
Messier 78 reflection nebula located in the constellation Orion imaged on
ATEO-1 and processed by Utkarsh Mishra. The image set is now available
for download on Starbase.

Messier 78 or M78, also known as NGC 2068, is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects that same year.

M78 is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula of a group of nebulae that includes NGC 2064, NGC 2067, and NGC 2071. This group belongs to the Orion B molecular cloud complex and is about 1,350 light-years distant from Earth. Messier 78 is easily found in small telescopes as a hazy patch and involves two stars of 10th and 11th magnitude. These two B-type stars, HD 38563 A and HD 38563 B, are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light.

Source: Wikipedia

Search for M78 in the "Name" field in Starbase and access to the M78 LRGBHa (2021) Nebula image set will display.
Search for M78 in the "Name" field in Starbase and access to the M78 LRGBHa (2021) Nebula image set will display. 

Insight Observatory is currently taking deep-sky image requests for Starbase image sets on its new ATEO Portal dashboard. There is no charge for these requests. If the requests are approved by the Insight Observatory staff, they will be imaged and uploaded to Starbase for anyone to subscribe to for the low rate of $0.05 (cents) USD per imaging minute for standard subscribers and $0.04 (cents) USD for educational subscribers. We only ask that Starbase subscription requests are for at least 5 hours of integration time.


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Sunday, January 24, 2021

Complimentary Witch Head Nebula Image Data

In appreciation for all of the recent support, Insight Observatory has received from its users and patrons, nearly 5 hours of LRGB complimentary image data of NGC 1909 (IC 2118) - The Witch Head Nebula has been added free of charge to Starbase, Insight Observatory's image set repository. This image data was acquired on the 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector (ATEO-1) remote telescope hosted at SkyPi Remote Observatory located in the dark skies of New Mexico.

NGC 1909 (IC 2118) - The Witch Head Nebula imaged on Insight Observatory's 16" f/3.7 astrograph reflector and processed by Utkarsh Mishra. Complimentary image set available on Insight Observatory's image set repository, Starbase.
NGC 1909 (IC 2118) - The Witch Head Nebula imaged on Insight Observatory's 16" f/3.7 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector and processed by Utkarsh Mishra. Complimentary image set available on Insight Observatory's image set repository, Starbase.

Some facts about NGC 1909:

NGC 1909 (IC 2118 - also known as Witch Head Nebula due to its shape) is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be a supernova remnant or a gas cloud illuminated by the nearby supergiant star Rigel in the constellation of Orion. It lies in the Orion constellation, about 900 light-years from Earth. The nature of the dust particles, reflecting blue light better than red, is a factor in giving the Witch Head its blue color.

Radio observations show substantial carbon monoxide emission throughout parts of NGC 1909, an indicator of the presence of molecular clouds and star formation in the nebula. In fact, candidates for pre-main-sequence stars and some classic T-Tauri stars have been found deep within the nebula.


ATEO-1: 16" Dream astrograph reflector with an image of M63 - The Sunflower Galaxy imaged by Utkarsh Mishra and Gamma Observatory that houses ATEO-1 at SkyPi Remote Observatory.
ATEO-1: 16" Dream astrograph reflector with an image of M63 - The Sunflower Galaxy, imaged by Utkarsh Mishra and Gamma Observatory that houses ATEO-1 at SkyPi Remote Observatory.

The molecular clouds of NGC 1909 are probably placed closely together to the outer boundaries of the vast Orion-Eridanus bubble, a giant supershell of molecular hydrogen blown by the high-mass stars of the Orion OB1 association. As the supershell expands into the interstellar medium, favorable circumstances for star formation occur. NGC 1909 is located in one such area. The windblown appearance and cometary shape of the bright reflection nebula are highly suggestive of a strong association with the high-mass luminous stars of Orion OB1. The fact that the heads of the cometary clouds of NGC 1909 point northeast towards the association is strong support of that relationship.

Source: Wikipedia

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