The Leo Trio - These three galaxies, designated as M65, M66, and NGC3628 are located in the constellation Leo. They form a wonderful aesthetic view. This image represented quite a challenge, as the moon was up during much of it.

NGC-2237 - The Rosette Nebula - A vast cloud of dust and gas in the constellation Monoceros, the Unicorn. In it’s entirety, this huge nebula is about 5 times the size of the full moon ! Froman imaging standpoint, it’s a challenging object as it’s features range from subtle to rich in density.

This image was a combination of filtered image data including 3 hours of hydrogen alpha, 2 hours of luminance, and 2 hours each color.

M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy. A magnificent spiral galaxy, a mere 1-1.2 Million light years distant from us. One of the very few galaxies so close, that actual star features such as globular clusters and open clusters in the galaxy can be imaged. This galaxy has a very large ‘dynamic range’, ranging from a very bright core, to very faint outer reaches of the spiral arms. This large dynamic range presents some unique challenge to astro-imagers capturing this galaxy !

M31 Core - This is a full resolution TIF image of the above - large file since not a compressed format.

Horsehead Nebula - Barnard 33 is the darker ‘Horsehead’ looking feature, with Nebula IC434 being the red glowing Hydrogen in the background. This image is a combination of Hydrogen Alpha filtered data, combined with straight Luminance and Red, Green, and Blue filtered data. Total Hydrogen Alpha was 75 Minutes, Luminance was 25 minutes, and 75 Minutes each color.

M45 -Often referred to as ‘The Pleiades’. A beautiful miniature dipper shaped constellation a mere 390 or so light years distant (it’s actual distance a topic of controversy). In Japan, the constellation is know as ‘Subaru’, which is also the namesake of the popular vehicle. Next time you see a Subaru brand car in a parking lot, be sure to check out the six stars in the vehicle’s logo. The Pleiades are also referred to as ‘The Seven Sisters’, as well as several bible references to observers of the small cluster. This image is a compilation of 90 minutes of luminance and 60 minutes each of red, green and blue filtered data.

IC-1318 known as the Gamma Cygni region. The area surrounding the star known as Sadr is rich in diffuse red nebula. Also in this region are the Butterfly Nebula and the Crescent Nebula. This image is one of the first ‘test images’ with my recently home built 12-1/2” F/3.8 Newtonian Astrograph. This image is a combination of 90 minutes oh Hydrogen Alpha filter and 30 minutes of Luminance filter. Also of unique nearby interest is this image of the Crescent Nebula, NGC6888, showing a faint planetary nebula (circled).

This beautiful double star is known as ‘Alberio’. It is a blue and gold colored pairing of stars in the constellation Cygnus. This particular image was a test image I took while attempting to fine tune the alignment and optical collimation of a 10” Newtonian Astrograph I had recently completed building. At the suggestion of a fellow imager, Jim Misti, I submitted the image to the NASA APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) site for consideration. I was pleasantly surprised when a few days later it was posted at their site. See http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050830.html

NGC3628 is a bright edge on galaxy in the constellation Leo, lying approximately 35 million light years away..Although it is within close proximity to the well known Messier objects M65 and M66, this galaxy was missed by Messieurs’ observations. The three galaxies M65, M66 and NGC 3628 are together known as the ‘Leo Trio’. This image was obtained using a 10” f/5 corrected Newtonian with an Sbig ST2000 camera.

NGC7380 is an open cluster in the constellation Cepheus. The bright stars in this image represent NGC7380 and the red emission nebula is designated as Sh2-142. It resides at a distance of only 7,200 light years from us. This image was obtained by combining 3 hours of Ha, 50 minutes Luminance, and about 1/2 hour each of R,G,B with a 10” f/5 corrected Newtonian / Sbig ST2000 camera.

M81 is a beautiful spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major (Big Bear), or the Big Dipper, at a distance of 12 million light years. This image was obtained by combining 70 minutes of Luminance and 5 minutes each of R,G,B binned 2x2 with a 10” f/5 corrected Newtonian / Sbig ST2000 camera.