Jul 22, 2024

Starless images, StarNet2 and StarXTerminator

In my last image of M16, I decided to present it in a version without stars to focus attention on the "Pillars of Creation". To arrive to the starless version I used in this image, StarXTerminator from Russell Croman.

Two years ago, I made some kind of comparison between StarNet2 and StarXTerminator Read more,



Jul 14, 2024

M16 the Eagle Nebula and the Pillars...

It is a bit unclear for me why, in so many years of imaging, never tried M16 the Eagle Nebula. Maybe the only reason is that there are so many interesting targets and the limitation of time...

Anyway, this season I decided to image it and I devoted three nights to gather dataRead more,




Jun 30, 2024

Van den Bergh 152: Halpha added

Widefield image of a region of Cepheus with special interest in van den Bergh 152 (vdB 152, also known as Cederblad 201, or the Wolf's Cave Nebula), the blue reflection nebula on the right-center and Dengel-Hartl 5 (DeHt5, PK 111 +11.1) the planetary nebula on the bottom (a bit on the left), but including also many other interesting objects: LDN1217, LDN1219, B175…Read more,



Jun 12, 2024

Van den Bergh 141: The Ghost Nebula

Van den Bergh 141 (VdB141, also designated as Sh2-136) The Ghost Nebula, is a reflection nebula located in the constellation Cepheus. I really like this region of Cepheus and the image I took of it in 2010 has been my desktop wallpaper all these years ... Read more,



May 28, 2024

NGC 4449 revisited

I first imaged NGC 4449 in 2010 as part of one of my first collaborations with Dr. David Martinez Delgado. You can see my image from then in a post on my old blog with information about the scientific work on the “stellar tidal stream around NGC 4449” by clicking here (I recommend taking a look to the close up view (0.202"/pixel scale) of image taken by 8.2 meter Subaru telescope... Read more,




May 27, 2024

Dwarfs gobbling dwarfs: a stellar tidal stream around NGC 4449 (Copy of original December 2011 publication)

This is just a copy of the original 2011 post on my old blog about research led by Dr. David Martínez Delgado, for easier access from my upcoming post of a new image of NGC 4449... Read more,



May 15, 2024

New ANNKE NCPT500 camera and ... Aurora Borealis!!

For a while, I have been looking to incorporate a second camera inside my observatory in order to be able to see the movement of the mount/telescope assembly from another angle and also to be able to do so without supporting LEDs (to avoid interfering with the imaging).

The camera I have installed is an ANNKE NCPT500... Read more,