Starbase Subscription Rates Reduced!

Insight Observatory has significantly reduced its subscription rates for Starbase, Insight Observatory's image set repository. ALL image sets regardless of what imaging system was used are now ONLY $0.05 USD (cents) per imaging minute for Standard subscribers and $0.04 USD (cents) per imaging minute for Educational subscribers.

IC 434 - The Horsehead Nebula in Orion processed with free image data available for download on Insight Observatory's image set repository, Starbase. Imaged on ATEO-1 and processed by Daniel Nobre.

Starbase subscription proceeds go toward funding Insight Observatory's educational outreach efforts. Log into Starbase now with your ATEO Portal credentials and you will be able to download an image set of IC 434, The Horsehead Nebula imaged on Insight Observatory's Astronomical Telescope for Educational Outreach, ATEO-1.

ATEO-1 with processed image data of M81 and M2 Galaxies in Ursa Major processed by Daniel Nobre and M63 - The Sunflower Galaxy in Canes Venatici processed by Utkarsh Mishra.

ATEO-1 is Insight's 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector remote telescope hosted at SkyPi Remote Observatory in the dark skies of New Mexico, USA.

ATEO-2A with processed image data of M17 - The Omega Nebula in Sagittarius, and M33 - The Triangulum Galaxy in Triangulum. Image data processed by Utkarsh Mishra. 

Other image sets available in Starbase were imaged on our affiliate remote systems, ATEO-2A, a 5" f/5.8 Williams Optics APO refractor located in New Mexico along with image sets acquired from ATEO-3, our affiliate remote telescope hosted at Deep Sky Chile located in the Rio Hurtado Valley, Chile.

ATEO-3 with processed image data of NGC 2070 - The Tarantula Nebula in Dorado (Large Magellanic Cloud) processed by Daniel Nobre, and NGC 253 - The Sculptor Galaxy in Sculptor processed by Utkarsh Mishra.

Learn more about Starbase or access Starbase here with your ATEO Portal login credentials to download your free IC 434 - Horsehead Nebula image set. New image sets are added to Starbase monthly and include calibration files.

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Featured Deep-Sky Object - The Omega Nebula

Insight Observatory's featured deep-sky object for this post is M17, the Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula (cataloged as Messier 17 or M17 or NGC 6618). 

The Omega Nebula is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius and was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745. Charles Messier cataloged it in 1764. It is located in the rich starfields of the Sagittarius area of the Milky Way.

M17, the Omega Nebula imaged on Insight Observatory's ATEO-3 located in the dark skies of Chile. image data by Franck Jobard and processed by Utkarsh Mishra.

M17 is between 5,000 and 6,000 light-years from Earth and it spans some 15 light-years in diameter. The cloud of interstellar matter of which this nebula is a part is roughly 40 light-years in diameter and has a mass of 30,000 solar masses. The total mass of the Omega Nebula is an estimated 800 solar masses.

It is considered one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions of our galaxy. Its local geometry is similar to the Orion Nebula except that it is viewed edge-on rather than face-on.

The open cluster NGC 6618 lies embedded in the nebulosity and causes the gases of the nebula to shine due to radiation from these hot, young stars. However, the actual number of stars in the nebula is much higher. It is also one of the youngest clusters known, with an age of just 1 million years.

The Swan portion of M17, the Omega Nebula in the Sagittarius nebulosity is said to resemble a barber's pole.

Insight Observatory's 5" f/5.8 Williams Optics APO Refractor (ATEO-2A) located in the dark skies of New Mexico, US (left) and processed image data of M17, the Omega Nebula from 2.5 hours by Utkarsh Mishra (upper right) and Michael Petrasko (lower right). Image data acquired by John Evelan.

Insight Observatory has recently started an image set for Starbase of M17 that will be ready for download within the next few months. This image set is currently being created on the 5" f/5.8 Williams Optics APO refractor (ATEO-2A) located in New Mexico. So far there are 2.5 hours of data from the image set completed and the total is planned to be between 6 and 8 hours of data integration. The images of the Omega Nebula pictured with the ATEO-2A imaging system above were processed with the 2.5 hours of data taken so far on ATEO-2A.

M17, the Omega Nebula (pictured right) imaged and processed by Frank Jobard with the 12.5" f/9 Ritchey Chretien, ATEO-3 (pictured above left) housed in Deep Sky Chile's remote observatory located in the dark skies of the Hurtado Valley, Chile (pictured lower left).

Insight Observatory currently has image sets of M17, the Omega Nebula, available for download on Starbase that was imaged on the 12.5" f/9 Ritchey Chretien remote telescope, (ATEO-3) located in dark skies of Chile. These image sets contain 4.5 hours of Red, Blue, and Green data and 8 hours and 15 minutes of H-Alpha data.

You can subscribe to and download these M17 image sets and others by signing up for an ATEO Portal account or signing into your existing portal account to access Starbase.

Source: Wikipedia

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The Omega Nebula Imaged on ATEO-3

Insight Observatory is excited to announce its first deep-sky image set acquired by ATEO-3 that is now available on its Starbase image set repository. M17, the Omega Nebula in the constellation Sagittarius was the first target imaged from the Insight Observatory affiliate remote telescope. ATEO-3 is a 12.5" f/9 (2860mm focal length) Quasar Optics Ritchey Chretien owned and operated by Franck Jobard. This telescope is located at an elevation of over 5990 ft at Deep Sky Chile remote telescope hosted in the dark skies of the Rio Hurtado Valley in Chile.

M17, The Omega Nebula in Sagittarius imaged and processed on ATEO-3 by Franck Jobard at Deep Sky Chile.

The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula (cataloged as Messier 17 or M17 or NGC 6618) is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745. Charles Messier cataloged it in 1764. It is located in the rich starfields of the Sagittarius area of the Milky Way.

The Omega Nebula is between 5,000 and 6,000 light-years from Earth and it spans some 15 light-years in diameter. The cloud of interstellar matter of which this nebula is a part is roughly 40 light-years in diameter and has a mass of 30,000 solar masses. The total mass of the Omega Nebula is an estimated 800 solar masses.

M17 is considered one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions of our galaxy. Its local geometry is similar to the Orion Nebula except that it is viewed edge-on rather than face-on.

The open cluster NGC 6618 lies embedded in the nebulosity and causes the gases of the nebula to shine due to radiation from these hot, young stars. It is also one of the youngest clusters known, with an age of just 1 million years. The Swan portion of M17, the Omega Nebula in the Sagittarius nebulosity is said to resemble a barber's pole.

Source: Wikipedia

12.5" f/9 Quasar Ritchey Chretien, ATEO-3, affiliate remote telescope (pictured right) housed in a roll-off observatory at Deep Sky Chile remote telescope hosting facility. Photo by Franck Jobard.

ATEO-3 is available as an option on Insight Observatory's Educational Image Request (EIR) form for educational research and classroom use. This remote online telescope is also an option on the Public Image Request (PIR) as well. To make an image set request for ATEO-3, please visit Insight Observatory's "Starbase Image Sets on-Demand" form.

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