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,

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,

NGC 4038 & NGC 4039: The Antennae Galaxies

NGC 4038 & NGC 4039, the Antennae Galaxies (also known as Caldwell 60 & 61 and Arp 244) are two large galaxies in the southern constellation of Corvus that are colliding.

These galaxies are known as Antennae Galaxies because of the two long tails of stars, gas and dust that they eject as a result of their collision... Read more,

KELT-23 Ab: Exoplanet transit

KELT-23 Ab: My first exoplanet transit (confirmed and published).

KELT-23 Ab is a gas giant orbiting BD+66 911, a G-type star (some studies indicate it is G2V-type) with a size very close to that of our Sun (Mass=0.942 Msun, Radius=0.996 Rsun). 

It is 412 light-years away from us and takes only 2.3 days to complete one orbit around its star. Its discovery was announced in 2019. 

Its mass is 0.938 times that of Jupiter and the distance to its star is 0.03302 AU.

Transit taken remotely on 23/03/2024 (with Moon at 98%) with TOA-150 telescope and STL-11000M camera. 

More information about exoplanets and other transits here.

M 63 the Sunflower Galaxy

M63 (NGC 5055) also known as the Sunflower Galaxy, was first discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1779. The galaxy was later incorporated with the number 63 in the famous catalogue of the French astronomer Charles Messier, published in 1789... Read more,

NGC 2633, NGC 2634 and IFN

This is a wide field image of an interesting region in the constellation Camelopardalis with many galaxies and some Integrated Flux nebula (IFN).

The image is a pure RGB combination with almost 48 hours of accumulated exposure... Read more,

Sh2 - 224

Sharpless 2-224 (Sh2-224) is a supernova remnant in the constellation Auriga. Other designations for this object are SNR G166.0+4.3 and LBN 769 (The Sharpless and Lynds designations actually refer to the Ha regions within the remnant)... Read more,