Deep Sky Objects

Satellite trail near Cassiopeia during Perseid Meteor Shower

The satellite trail on the left is broken due to a 3 second interval between frame 42 and 43. The trail points to one of the

radiant areas but the motion is toward the radiant area! Darn. Beta, Alpha and Gamma Cassiopeia form a triangle above

the text. The elongated feature near the right corner is M31. Good seeing, Jim Melka

January 22, 2009

M31 Andromeda galaxy with Canon 20d(modified) Camera & Sky90 at f/4.5 on 1950 GEM

M31 galaxy with Canon 20d(modified) Camera & Sky90 at f/4.5 on 1950 German Equatorial Mount

150-30-sec RAW frames 2009-01-22UT from 01:54 to 03:25; FOV 3.5º ; ISO 400 Temp 32F

Jim Melka Chesterfield, MO; Images Plus 2.8, GradXterm, PS Elements 2.0 and Neat

M33 galaxy with Canon 20d(modified) Camera & Sky90 at f/4.5 on 1950 GEM 320-10-sec RAW frames 2009-01-01UT from 03:00 to 04:17; FOV 3.5º ; ISO 800

4-day old Moon and M33 in the West nearly over head, temperature mid-30s F

Jim Melka Chesterfield, MO; Images Plus 2.8, GradXterm, PS Elements 2.0 and DigPro 1.6

December 30, 2008

A Wide Field View of 3 parts of the Veil Nebulae

Three parts of Veil Nebulae with Canon 20d(modified) Camera & Sky90 at f/4.5 on 1950 GEM

300-10-sec RAW frames 2008-12-31UT from 00:39 to 01:53; FOV 3.5º ; ISO 800

3-day old Moon and 52 Cygni in the West at altitude between 35º and 20º, temperature upper 20s F

Jim Melka Chesterfield, MO; Images Plus 2.8, GradXterm, Photoshop Elements 2.0 and Pic Win 2.5

December 29, 2008

A Magnified View of the Western part of the Veil Nebulae

52 Cygni FOV with Canon 20d(modified) camera & 30cm Newt with Paracorr EFL f/4.2

280-10-sec RAW frames 2008-12-30UT from 00:46 to 01:54; FOV 1º ; ISO 800

No Moon, transparent skies and 52 Cygni at altitude between 50º and 35º, seasonal temperatures

Jim Melka Chesterfield, using Images Plus 2.8, GradXterm, Neat and Pic Win 2.5

October 29 and November 07, 2008

M57 and nearby stars imaged with Sky 90 and DBK21AF04.AS Camera

Arrow points to where a variable star RX Lyra should be but instead shows what looks like two stars overlapping each other. Note 8 days later on Nov 7th, all that remains is a red star.

Arrow points to probably variable star RX Lyra on November 7th, 2008. One of the two stars has vanished. Thanks. Jim Melka

Pleiades Star Cluster

Pleiades Imaged with 12-inch Newt and Canon 20d camera body on 2007-11-27 at the paracorr focus. Fifty-one 30-sec frames at ISO 800 were combined and processed Images Plus 2.80. This method provides a larger FOV and a sharper image than with the AFOCAL image taken a week earlier. Good seeing. Jim Melka

Galaxies M81/82 Field-of-View on May 29, 2008

M101 with Canon 20d with Parcorr lens and 12-inch f/4.2 Newtonian reflector. 2008-06-11 at 05:28 to 06:39UT; Sigma Clip Avg 107 30-sec_RAW frames. Only 2 rejected for trailing.

Images recorded and processed with Images Plus 2.8, GradientXterminator, NEAT

Jim Melka in Chesterfield, MO; Moon at first quarter in Virgo.

Orion Nebulae Complex on Jan 21, 2008

Flame nebula, Horsehead nebula, M43 & M42 – Jan 27, 2008 at Moscow Mills, MO by Jim Melka. Canon 20d ISO 800 & 85mm f/1.8 Canon lens & 2X Tamron teleconverter on EQ1 mount. A 108 min exposure 162 40-sec RAW frms began at 02: 05 UT ;S3/10 T6/6, translated & combined - Images Plus 2.80, processed with Pic Windows 2.5, Neat and Gradient Xterminator .

Two colliding galaxies Imaged on May 4, 2008 with transparent skies and no moon. High resolution details visible in the main arms of M51 and a number of small faint galaxies are discernible in the field of view! Jim Melka

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