https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto Sat, 08 Aug 2026 04:42:55 -0300 Sat, 08 Aug 2026 04:42:55 -0300 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Zenphoto RSS Generator https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=drizzle_integration_ADBE_GHS_IC+443_sub.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

IC 443, nicknamed the Jellyfish Nebula, is a supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini, located near the star Eta Geminorum at the foot of the Twins. Estimates place it roughly 5,000 light-years away (with some studies suggesting closer to 6,000), giving it a true diameter on the order of 70 light-years; the explosion that created it likely occurred tens of thousands of years ago, though age estimates vary widely. The remnant is associated with a neutron star, and its shock front is seen colliding with adjacent molecular clouds, producing the tangled, tentacle-like filaments that give the nebula its name. Both Hα and O III narrowband filters are effective here, revealing the delicate...

Moon Phase	Last Quarter
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Date	2026-04-08
PixInsight Processing	Fast Integration Drizzle Integration BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) Background Neutralization Automatic Background Extraction Dynamic Background Extraction Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) StarXTerminator (star removal) Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch (x5) PixelMath Multiscale Median Transform Curves Transformation TGV Denoise

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=drizzle_integration_ADBE_GHS_IC+443_sub.jpg Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0300 https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=drizzle_integration_ADBE_MAS_IC+443_sub.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

IC 443, nicknamed the Jellyfish Nebula, is a supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini, located near the star Eta Geminorum at the foot of the Twins. Estimates place it roughly 5,000 light-years away (with some studies suggesting closer to 6,000), giving it a true diameter on the order of 70 light-years; the explosion that created it likely occurred tens of thousands of years ago, though age estimates vary widely. The remnant is associated with a neutron star, and its shock front is seen colliding with adjacent molecular clouds, producing the tangled, tentacle-like filaments that give the nebula its name. Both Hα and O III narrowband filters are effective here, revealing the delicate shock-excited filaments against the surrounding star field, with the brighter western arc offering the most photogenic detail for amateur imagers.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_443; constellation-guide.com]

Moon Phase	Last Quarter
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Date	2026-04-08
PixInsight Processing	Fast Integration Drizzle Integration BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) Background Neutralization Automatic Background Extraction Dynamic Background Extraction Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) Multiscale Adaptive Stretch

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=drizzle_integration_ADBE_MAS_IC+443_sub.jpg Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0300 https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=masterLight_BIN-1_1080x1920_EXPOSURE-30.00s_FILTER-IRCUT_RGB_drizzle_2x_MAS.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

Messier 101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, is a large, face-on “grand design” spiral galaxy in Ursa Major, cataloged as NGC 5457. Distance estimates generally cluster around 21-25 million light-years, and at that distance its roughly 170,000-light-year diameter makes it noticeably larger than the Milky Way. Gravitational interactions with several smaller companion galaxies have given its spiral arms an asymmetric, slightly lopsided structure, and its arms are richly dotted with star-forming HII regions. M101 has hosted several observed supernovae, including the well-studied SN 2011fe. For astrophotographers it is a favorite luminance/RGB target, rewarding long integration time to resolve the delicate spiral structure and pink-tinged star-forming knots strung along its arms against a relatively faint overall surface brightness.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinwheel_Galaxy]

Total image time was 20 minutes.

Moon Phase	First Quarter
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Filter	IRCUT
Binning	1x1
Date	2026-03-24
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration Drizzle Integration BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) Dynamic Crop GraXpert (gradient removal) Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) Multiscale Adaptive Stretch Multiscale Median Transform Curves Transformation Fast Rotation

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=masterLight_BIN-1_1080x1920_EXPOSURE-30.00s_FILTER-IRCUT_RGB_drizzle_2x_MAS.jpg Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0300 https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=masterLight_BIN-1_1080x1920_EXPOSURE-10.00s_FILTER-IRCUT_RGB_drizzle_2x_a.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

Messier 81, also known as Bode's Galaxy, is a classic grand-design spiral galaxy in Ursa Major lying about 12 million light-years away, with a disk spanning roughly 90,000 light-years. It forms a gravitationally bound pair with the nearby starburst galaxy M82, the two separated by only about 130,000-150,000 light-years, close enough that their mutual gravitational interaction has visibly disturbed M82's structure and triggered intense star formation there. M81's own spiral arms are well-defined and rich in star-forming regions, wound tightly around a bright, dust-free central bulge. Because the pair fits comfortably within a single wide-field frame, M81 and M82 are frequently imaged together, offering a striking visual contrast between M81's calm, orderly spiral and M82's turbulent, edge-on starburst disk.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_81]

Moon Phase	Full Moon
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Date	2025-12-05
PixInsight Processing	Fast Integration Drizzle Integration BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) (x2) GraXpert (gradient removal) Dynamic Crop NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) StarXTerminator (star removal) Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch (x5) PixelMath Curves Transformation HDR Multiscale Transform

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=masterLight_BIN-1_1080x1920_EXPOSURE-10.00s_FILTER-IRCUT_RGB_drizzle_2x_a.jpg Fri, 05 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=M+13-S30.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

Messier 3 (NGC 5272) is a large, bright globular cluster in the constellation Canes Venatici, located approximately 33,900 light-years from Earth. It is among the largest and most populous globular clusters known, containing roughly half a million stars bound together by gravity, and is especially notable for hosting one of the largest known populations of variable stars, particularly RR Lyrae-type pulsators. Like most globulars, M3 is an ancient object, with stars dating back many billions of years to the early history of the Milky Way's halo. For imagers, it is a striking target for resolving a dense, sparkling core of individual stars against a smooth, symmetric glow, and benefits from good seeing and moderate focal length to render the tightly packed core without excessive star bloat.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_3]

Moon Phase	First Quarter
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Date	2026-05-23
PixInsight Processing	Fast Integration Drizzle Integration Dynamic Crop BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) (x2) Background Neutralization Dynamic Background Extraction Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) Multiscale Adaptive Stretch Multiscale Median Transform

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=M+13-S30.jpg Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 -0300 https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=M+13-S30+copy.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

Messier 3 (NGC 5272) is a large, bright globular cluster in the constellation Canes Venatici, located approximately 33,900 light-years from Earth. It is among the largest and most populous globular clusters known, containing roughly half a million stars bound together by gravity, and is especially notable for hosting one of the largest known populations of variable stars, particularly RR Lyrae-type pulsators. Like most globulars, M3 is an ancient object, with stars dating back many billions of years to the early history of the Milky Way's halo. For imagers, it is a striking target for resolving a dense, sparkling core of individual stars against a smooth, symmetric glow, and benefits from good seeing and moderate focal length to render the tightly packed core without excessive star bloat.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_3]

Moon Phase	First Quarter
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Date	2026-05-23
PixInsight Processing	Fast Integration Drizzle Integration Dynamic Crop BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) (x2) Background Neutralization Dynamic Background Extraction Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) Multiscale Adaptive Stretch Multiscale Median Transform

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=M+13-S30+copy.jpg Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 -0300 https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=masterLight_BIN-1_1080x1920_EXPOSURE-10.00s_FILTER-IRCUT_RGB_drizzle_2x_GHS.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula, is a mixed emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga, surrounding the bright, irregular variable star AE Aurigae. AE Aurigae is a runaway star, thought to have been ejected from the Orion Nebula around two million years ago via a close encounter with other massive stars, and it is now passing through and illuminating this unrelated cloud of gas and dust. The nebula lies roughly 1,300-1,800 light-years away and spans about 5 light-years. Its name comes from the flame-like tendrils of glowing gas and dust visible in long exposures. Both emission (red, Hα-rich) and reflection (blue) components are present, making it a good target for combined broadband/narrowband processing. It sits near the similarly colorful IC 410 (Tadpoles Nebula), making the two a popular wide-field pairing.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_405]

Moon Phase	First Quarter
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Filter	IRCUT
Date	2026-01-24
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration Fast Integration Drizzle Integration Dynamic Crop BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) GraXpert (gradient removal) Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) StarXTerminator (star removal) Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch (x7) PixelMath

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=masterLight_BIN-1_1080x1920_EXPOSURE-10.00s_FILTER-IRCUT_RGB_drizzle_2x_GHS.jpg Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=masterLight_BIN-1_1080x1920_EXPOSURE-10.00s_FILTER-IRCUT_RGB_drizzle_2x_MAS.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula, is a mixed emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga, surrounding the bright, irregular variable star AE Aurigae. AE Aurigae is a runaway star, thought to have been ejected from the Orion Nebula around two million years ago via a close encounter with other massive stars, and it is now passing through and illuminating this unrelated cloud of gas and dust. The nebula lies roughly 1,300-1,800 light-years away and spans about 5 light-years. Its name comes from the flame-like tendrils of glowing gas and dust visible in long exposures. Both emission (red, Hα-rich) and reflection (blue) components are present, making it a good target for combined broadband/narrowband processing. It sits near the similarly colorful IC 410 (Tadpoles Nebula), making the two a popular wide-field pairing.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_405]

Moon Phase	First Quarter
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Filter	IRCUT
Date	2026-01-24
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration Fast Integration Drizzle Integration Dynamic Crop BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) GraXpert (gradient removal) Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) Multiscale Adaptive Stretch

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=masterLight_BIN-1_1080x1920_EXPOSURE-10.00s_FILTER-IRCUT_RGB_drizzle_2x_MAS.jpg Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=M104+MasterLight_IRCUT_ADBE_clone.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

Messier 104, the Sombrero Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy of somewhat ambiguous classification straddling the Virgo/Corvus border, often described as intermediate between a spiral and a lenticular galaxy. It lies at a distance of roughly 30 million light-years (estimates commonly range from 28-31 million). Its defining features are an unusually large central bulge, a very bright nucleus (host to a supermassive black hole of roughly a billion solar masses), and a prominent, sharply defined dust lane crossing in front of the disk, which together give it its hat-like silhouette when viewed nearly edge-on. Its high surface brightness makes it a rewarding target even in shorter broadband exposures, though its relatively small apparent size calls for higher magnification/longer focal lengths to resolve the dust lane and bulge structure clearly.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombrero_Galaxy]

Moon Phase	Last Quarter
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Date	2026-04-09
PixInsight Processing	Drizzle Integration (x3) Image Integration Background Neutralization Dynamic Background Extraction Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) Multiscale Adaptive Stretch BlurXTerminator (AI deconvolution) Curves Transformation

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=M104+MasterLight_IRCUT_ADBE_clone.jpg Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0300 https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=M_27_MasterLight_LP_ADBE_MAS.jpg Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

Messier 27, the Dumbbell Nebula (NGC 6853), is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, and holds the distinction of being the first planetary nebula ever discovered, found by Charles Messier in 1764. It lies at a distance of roughly 1,200-1,360 light-years and represents the glowing, ejected outer envelope of a dying, Sun-like star, now being lit up by the hot white dwarf remnant at its center. The nebula's two-lobed, hourglass shape gives it its common name. As one of the brightest and largest planetary nebulae in the sky, it is a rewarding target for both broadband and narrowband imaging: Hα and O III filters bring out the layered inner and outer shells and faint extended halo that surround the brighter central “dumbbell” structure.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbbell_Nebula]

Moon Phase	Waning Crescent
Camera	Seestar S30
Optics	150 mm focal length, f/5, 30 mm aperture (APO triplet)
Date	2026-07-09
PixInsight Processing	Image Integration (x2) Drizzle Integration Background Neutralization Dynamic Background Extraction Spectrophotometric Color Calibration NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) Multiscale Adaptive Stretch Multiscale Linear Transform

Date: July 28, 2026 ]]> https://www.sciencedowneast.com/zenphoto/index.php?album=S30.alb&image=M_27_MasterLight_LP_ADBE_MAS.jpg Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0300