Deep-sky Index .

Techniques.

Imaging deep-sky objects requires a good equatorial mount and stable drive system. With film one will make longer exposures (30 minutes to 1 hour) than with CCD cameras where a number of shorter exposures are made and then later combined.

During the exposure, accurate guiding on a star is necessary. One can do this visually with a separate guidescope or with autoguiders such as the SBIG ST-4 or STV on a guidescope or off-axis guider. Some amateurs have adapted webcams for guiding. The SBIG ST-7 through 10 and the STL series incorporate a separate guiding chip which allows guiding using the same telescope as is used to image the object.  Some Starlight Xpress cameras can selfguide via the Star2000 module, the newer SXV range can be equipped with a secondary external guider.

For colour images on grayscale CCD sensors, an image has to be made trough Red, Green and Blue filters (RGB) or through Cyan, Magenta and Yellow filters (CMY). These images are later combined into a colour image. Sometimes a long exposure grayscale image is added as a Luminance layer, providing better resolution and signal.

Click here to see My Messier Album.

Other Deep-Sky objects:

22/11/1998 The Horse-head nebula.

NGC 891 : 11/10/1998 + 11/10/2001 + 15/08/2007

17/01/1999 NGC 1973.

13/02/1999 NGC 2359 (Thor's Helmet).

22/11/1998 and 29/03/2002 NGC 2392 (Eskimo nebula).

10/01/1999 Detail in the Rosette Nebula.

13/02/1999 NGC 2905.

02/05/1999 Supernova in NGC 2841.

20/08/1999 PN NGC 6543 (Cat's Eye Nebula).

28/2/2000 IC443.

05/04/2000 IC5067.

07/04/2000 NGC 4565.

25 - 27 September 2000 : A mosaic of NGC7000.

27 September 2000 : NGC 7479.

27 September 2000 : RGB image of NGC 6888, 27 November 2011 - H-alfa image of NGC 6888.

19 April 2001 : NGC2403.

13 August 2001 : image of NGC6802.

16 December 2001 : image of the Pegasus Cluster II.

9 February 2002 : image of NGC 3628.

19 Februari 2003: image of Orion's Belt

19 Februari 2003: "Alien Face" nebula

20 Februari 2003: IC405 region

23 August 2003: IC 1311, a region near Gamma Cygni

25-27 August 2003: NGC 7293 Helix Nebula

27 July 2004: part of the Cygnus Wall

29 August - 4 Sep 2005: NGC 7023 Iris Nebula

29 January 2006: part north of M42

31 January 2006: planetary nebula NGC2371-2372

01 March 2006: M95

August 2006 @ Grand Champ near Montlaux, S-France: NGC 891 - NGC1333 - NGC7380 - NGC1491 - Jones1

August 2007 @ Grand Champ near Montlaux, S-France: NGC6974 & 6979 (part of Cirrus Nebula).

August 2007 25-26, 26-27, 29-30: Simeis 57 (The propeller).

September 2008 14: IC410, nebula in Auriga.

September 2008 27-28: NGC7662, Blue Snowball.

September 2008 29: NGC7009, Saturn Nebula.

October 2008 18-19, NCG7094, planetary nebula in Pegasus.

August 2008 29-30 and September 2008 01: The Cocoon Nebula.

September 22-23-24 2009: The Heart Nebula IC1805 and NGC896

September 24-25 2009: IC1848.

13-14 May 2010: North America and Pelican nebula.

21 October 2011: planetary nebula NGC6894.

28 April 2013: NGC5866 (candidate for missing M102)

22 July 2012: IC1318 in Cygnus