My friend made his 14" Celestron available to me. I've been working on my planetary and lunar skills.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
April 29, 2026 at 3:34 AM
My friend made his 14" Celestron available to me. I've been working on my planetary and lunar skills.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Better take on the Iris. Two nights' data this time -- one with 30" subframes due to wind gusts, the other 60". From Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska.
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#redwolfastro #astrophotography
June 15, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Better take on the Iris. Two nights' data this time -- one with 30" subframes due to wind gusts, the other 60". From Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
And another first look -- this one is M104, the wonderfully-named "Sombrero Galaxy". Again the issue with the walking noise, gotta solve that. 70' of integration time from my back yard. This one will definitely improve as I add more data.
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#redwolfastro #astrophotography
March 25, 2025 at 8:21 PM
And another first look -- this one is M104, the wonderfully-named "Sombrero Galaxy". Again the issue with the walking noise, gotta solve that. 70' of integration time from my back yard. This one will definitely improve as I add more data.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Took the new 130mm APO refractor out for a good trot over several nights. The Eagle Nebula, H𝛼=R, SII=G, OIII=B. About 5 hours total. Really quite taken with how sharp this scope is.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
July 10, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Took the new 130mm APO refractor out for a good trot over several nights. The Eagle Nebula, H𝛼=R, SII=G, OIII=B. About 5 hours total. Really quite taken with how sharp this scope is.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
At last! The Thor's Helmet image is in the bag -- not perfect, could always use more data and tweaks, but after working on nothing else since mid-January...I think it's done! Supernova remnant in hydrogen and oxygen, RGB stars. 8" RC telescope.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
March 20, 2025 at 10:54 PM
At last! The Thor's Helmet image is in the bag -- not perfect, could always use more data and tweaks, but after working on nothing else since mid-January...I think it's done! Supernova remnant in hydrogen and oxygen, RGB stars. 8" RC telescope.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Couple of NEOWISE shots up next. I have several of this comet but I think two will suffice. This is with a 50mm f/1.4 lens that's at least 35 years old. July 2020.
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#redwolfastro #astrophotography
January 13, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Couple of NEOWISE shots up next. I have several of this comet but I think two will suffice. This is with a 50mm f/1.4 lens that's at least 35 years old. July 2020.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
And some Moon shots! I find that selecting a field of view is a real challenge, there's always some cool crater or rill or mountain that I want to jam in. Gotta remember to be selective!
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#redwolfastro #astrophotography
April 29, 2026 at 3:37 AM
And some Moon shots! I find that selecting a field of view is a real challenge, there's always some cool crater or rill or mountain that I want to jam in. Gotta remember to be selective!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Another lucky imaging attempt, this one (obviously) Saturn. I thought I had experimented with a 12" scope at some point but my notes say this too was with the 8" RC. September 2022. I have another Jupiter and Saturn in the gallery but ehh, not as good.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
February 10, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Another lucky imaging attempt, this one (obviously) Saturn. I thought I had experimented with a 12" scope at some point but my notes say this too was with the 8" RC. September 2022. I have another Jupiter and Saturn in the gallery but ehh, not as good.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
My first shot at the Bubble. Too short a focal length for the target, but still a wonderful target. Hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III
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#redwolfastro #astrophotography
January 6, 2025 at 5:40 PM
My first shot at the Bubble. Too short a focal length for the target, but still a wonderful target. Hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Madison Astro Society members did a campout at Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska (site of the famous Star Party).
I took some pictures! :-)
This one is practically unedited -- much brighter than was to the eye, of course, but colors are straight out of the camera.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
I took some pictures! :-)
This one is practically unedited -- much brighter than was to the eye, of course, but colors are straight out of the camera.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
June 4, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Madison Astro Society members did a campout at Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska (site of the famous Star Party).
I took some pictures! :-)
This one is practically unedited -- much brighter than was to the eye, of course, but colors are straight out of the camera.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
I took some pictures! :-)
This one is practically unedited -- much brighter than was to the eye, of course, but colors are straight out of the camera.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Dunno if you remember the Andromeda posted earlier, but my wife wanted one for the wall and knew the flaws in that one bothered me a LOT. So she commissioned one that I liked too. This is a mosaic, M31 is HUGE. About 10 hours of integration total. August 2020.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
January 19, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Dunno if you remember the Andromeda posted earlier, but my wife wanted one for the wall and knew the flaws in that one bothered me a LOT. So she commissioned one that I liked too. This is a mosaic, M31 is HUGE. About 10 hours of integration total. August 2020.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
The Big Guy himself. Processed from 3 sets of video frames (R, G, and B, 90" each). Shot with the RC when Jupiter was in opposition (closest to Earth). No moons visible, but the Great Red Spot is obvious. September 2022.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
February 8, 2025 at 4:56 PM
The Big Guy himself. Processed from 3 sets of video frames (R, G, and B, 90" each). Shot with the RC when Jupiter was in opposition (closest to Earth). No moons visible, but the Great Red Spot is obvious. September 2022.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Stars in a deep sky image are invariably in our own galaxy and just happen to be in the line of sight. But Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagak, whose avocation is supernovae, found one (SN 2023ixf) in M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy. ONE STAR visible from 21M light years!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
February 11, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Stars in a deep sky image are invariably in our own galaxy and just happen to be in the line of sight. But Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagak, whose avocation is supernovae, found one (SN 2023ixf) in M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy. ONE STAR visible from 21M light years!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Now caught up in time to my current rig: 8" Richey-Chétien scope, cooled mono cam with filter wheel, big-prism off-axis guider with a super-sensitive guide camera on a chonker of a mount. NGC 4565, the Needle Galaxy. About five hours of integration time, 3/2023.
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#redwolfastro #astrophotography
February 10, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Now caught up in time to my current rig: 8" Richey-Chétien scope, cooled mono cam with filter wheel, big-prism off-axis guider with a super-sensitive guide camera on a chonker of a mount. NGC 4565, the Needle Galaxy. About five hours of integration time, 3/2023.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
I originally got the 8" scope for Galaxy Season, the spring when the nebula-rich part of the Milky Way has moved into the daytime sky and so distant galaxies are The Thing. But it also has enough reach for tiny planetary nebulae. Here is M27, the Dumbbell Nebula.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
February 15, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I originally got the 8" scope for Galaxy Season, the spring when the nebula-rich part of the Milky Way has moved into the daytime sky and so distant galaxies are The Thing. But it also has enough reach for tiny planetary nebulae. Here is M27, the Dumbbell Nebula.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
After joining madisonastro.org, I started using the Yanna Research Station dark site. Electricity, concrete pads, dark skies, a building with a couch to sleep on -- ahhh!
LRGB image shot with the 8" Richey-Chrétien in July 2022: M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy.
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LRGB image shot with the 8" Richey-Chrétien in July 2022: M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
February 7, 2025 at 6:54 PM
After joining madisonastro.org, I started using the Yanna Research Station dark site. Electricity, concrete pads, dark skies, a building with a couch to sleep on -- ahhh!
LRGB image shot with the 8" Richey-Chrétien in July 2022: M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
LRGB image shot with the 8" Richey-Chrétien in July 2022: M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Newport Park is still my favorite astro place. Frequently I'll set a camera up to do some Milky Way imaging while the scope looks at some deep sky target. This is from May 2023, while I was imaging M94, the Croc's Eye. The lakeshore is really wonderful to work from.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
February 12, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Newport Park is still my favorite astro place. Frequently I'll set a camera up to do some Milky Way imaging while the scope looks at some deep sky target. This is from May 2023, while I was imaging M94, the Croc's Eye. The lakeshore is really wonderful to work from.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Elephant's Trunk in H-alpha, 90x60" unguided, 12/2019. Let the Magic Smoke out of my mount on 2nd imaging night, so 1:30 was *it*. Wrote a letter to iOptron about human factors (make labels readable; use different connectors for different things; supply dummy plugs).
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
January 6, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Elephant's Trunk in H-alpha, 90x60" unguided, 12/2019. Let the Magic Smoke out of my mount on 2nd imaging night, so 1:30 was *it*. Wrote a letter to iOptron about human factors (make labels readable; use different connectors for different things; supply dummy plugs).
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
The H-alpha journey continues with bits of the North America and Pelican Nebulae. 2-minute exposures through an f/4.5 scope.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
January 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The H-alpha journey continues with bits of the North America and Pelican Nebulae. 2-minute exposures through an f/4.5 scope.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
An all-time favorite target: the Veil Nebula supernova remnant. This is the West Veil, aka the Witch's Broom. Hydrogen (R)/oxygen (G) bicolor, 180x3' each. I'm proud of bringing out the nebula while keeping bright 52 Cyg under control! From my back yard, June 2020.
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#redwolfastro #astrophotography
January 10, 2025 at 8:27 PM
An all-time favorite target: the Veil Nebula supernova remnant. This is the West Veil, aka the Witch's Broom. Hydrogen (R)/oxygen (G) bicolor, 180x3' each. I'm proud of bringing out the nebula while keeping bright 52 Cyg under control! From my back yard, June 2020.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Heart and Fish Head Nebulae in HOO. Blurred the OIII frames a bit since they had less exposure and higher noise, letting the luminance channel drive the detail.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
January 7, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Heart and Fish Head Nebulae in HOO. Blurred the OIII frames a bit since they had less exposure and higher noise, letting the luminance channel drive the detail.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Up next: Titan, with its shadow transiting Saturn. There are a handful of these transits, visible for a few weeks only every 15 years.
12" Richey-Chrétien with 2X Televue compressor, color planetary camera, couple hundred frames from several minutes of video.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
12" Richey-Chrétien with 2X Televue compressor, color planetary camera, couple hundred frames from several minutes of video.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
September 2, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Up next: Titan, with its shadow transiting Saturn. There are a handful of these transits, visible for a few weeks only every 15 years.
12" Richey-Chrétien with 2X Televue compressor, color planetary camera, couple hundred frames from several minutes of video.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
12" Richey-Chrétien with 2X Televue compressor, color planetary camera, couple hundred frames from several minutes of video.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Some more data on this field -- it's really shaping up! I like this orientation better. Also, I just noticed the "hobbit door" toroid in the lower left. What's up with that? Star Rucba, reflection neb VDB 134, and "bubble" planetary PK86+5.1.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
October 8, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Some more data on this field -- it's really shaping up! I like this orientation better. Also, I just noticed the "hobbit door" toroid in the lower left. What's up with that? Star Rucba, reflection neb VDB 134, and "bubble" planetary PK86+5.1.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Still marching through my back catalog -- I hope you astronomy folks don't mind! Was SO EXCITED to get an oxygen filter and try a bicolor image after all my monochrome Ha fiddling. Veil Nebula, 60" unguided exposures, *terrible* light pollution from a parking lot!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
January 5, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Still marching through my back catalog -- I hope you astronomy folks don't mind! Was SO EXCITED to get an oxygen filter and try a bicolor image after all my monochrome Ha fiddling. Veil Nebula, 60" unguided exposures, *terrible* light pollution from a parking lot!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Oh noes! I lied to you, sorry! Yesterday's Rho/Antares pic is actually just out of frame in this one. My bad. So, Milky Way from the extremely dark skies of Newport State Park, looking over Lake Michigan. Actually took this while I was shooting the Rho image. 6/2021.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
January 23, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Oh noes! I lied to you, sorry! Yesterday's Rho/Antares pic is actually just out of frame in this one. My bad. So, Milky Way from the extremely dark skies of Newport State Park, looking over Lake Michigan. Actually took this while I was shooting the Rho image. 6/2021.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography