Our Latest Images

Images From our latest trip to Spain
This is a selection of our best images from recent trips to the observatory.
	M1 in Taurus. The famous "Crab Nebula" created in the supernova explosion of 1054AD. This latest image, taken in Spain on 28th November, 2011 is an LRGB of 50:40:40:40 minutes. Full Resolution Image (2.3Mb)
	M77 in Cetus. An active, Seyfert galaxy with small spiral arms and a very bright nucleus. This is an LRGB of 50:40:40:40 minutes taken in Spain on 27th November, 2011. Full Resolution Image (2.6Mb)
	M33 in Triangulum. Just a 10 minute luminance image of this large member of the local group of galaxies. The galaxy is too large for the C14 scope but I used a brief period while clouds were rolling in from the west to catch this image. Full Resolution Image (2.0Mb)
	M76 in Perseus. This is a surprisingly difficult planetary to image, but this effort is rather better than our previous attempts. It is an LRGB of 50:30:30:30 minutes using the C14 scope and ST10-XME camera. Full Resolution Image (2.4Mb)
	NGC 7331 in Pegasus. This is one of my favourite galaxies, but I have never been able to get a really good image of it. This attempt, on 20th September, 2011 is an LRGB of 70:40:40:40 minutes using the ST10 XME camera and C14 scope. Full Resolution Image (2.9Mb)
	Holmberg 9 - a satellite galaxy of Messier 81, imaged on 27th April, 2011 using the ST10 XME camera and C14. This is an LRGB of 40:30:30:30 minutes. Full Resolution Image (1.7Mb)
Some of our Favourite Images
	NGC 6781 in the constellation of Aquila is a faint (magnitude 11.8) planetary nebula. This image was taken on 12th August, 2010 in Spain. The nebula is 109 arc seconds in diameter is 2,600 light years distant and is expanding at the rate of 12 Km per second. This is an LRGB of 50:40:40:40 minutes using the C14 and ST10 camera. Full Resolution Image (2.4Mb)
	NGC 246 in Cetus. This large and very blue planetary was imaged using the C14 and ST10 camera, and is an LRGB of 20:10:10:10 minutes. Full Resolution Image (3.5Mb)
	NGC 253 in Fornax - a fascinating image of this large galaxy using the C14 and ST10 camera. This is an LRGB of 20:10:10:10 minutes. We need a bigger chip!! Full Resolution Image (2.3Mb)
	Arp 77 also in Fornax. We have waiting a long time to get a good quality colour image of this lovely Arp. The galaxy is at a large negative declination and a certain amount of work was required to balance it and clean it up. This is an LRGB of 50:30:30:30 mins in the C14 using the ST10 camera. Full Resolution Image (2.6Mb)
	NGC 1514 in Taurus is an interesting and very blue planetary nebula. It has a 9.4 magnitude central star and an interesting shape, not unlike the dumbbell. Full Resolution Image (2.4Mb).
	M17 in Sagittarius. Imaged with the C14 and ST10 camera. This is an LRGB image of 30:20:20:20 minutes. Full Resolution Image (2.4Mb)
	Messier 27 in Vulpecula. This new image of the "Dumbbell" is an LRGB of 40:25:25:25 minutes using the C14 and ST10 camera. Full resolution image (1.8Mb)
	Messier 74. A nice new colour image of this superb galaxy in Pisces. This is an LRGB of 50:40:40:40 minutes using the C14 scope at f/7 and the SBIG ST10XME camera. Full resolution image (3Mb)
	NGC 5907 in Draco. A little sliver of a galaxy which we first imaged in 2001 and simply never had the time to get back to. This is an LRGB of 60:40:40:40 minutes with the C14 and ST10, imaged in poor skies, but it shows the galaxy quite well, as well as the interesting and very blue galaxy KUG1513+566, which at first I thought might be a comet. Full resolution image (3.5Mb)
	M63 in Canes Venatici - the "Sunflower Galaxy". This image was taken on 15th July and is an LRGB of 60:20:20:20 minutes using the C14 and ST10 - XME camera. We were beset with guide star difficulties throughout the evening but have managed to salvage quite a nice image. Full resolution image (3.5Mb)
	M57 - the famous "Ring Nebula" in Lyra. This image shows the faint outer ring of expelled material and the lovely little barred spiral galaxy, IC 1296. Note also the hotter (blue) interior and cooler (red) exterior of the nebula and the matter streams running across the core. This is an LRGB of 50:30:30:30 minutes with the C14 and ST10 camera. Full resolution image (2.9Mb)
	NGC 4565 in Coma Berenices. This splendid edge on galaxy was imaged between 19th and 23rd June. It is an LRGB of 55:45:45:50 minutes. Full Resolution Image (3Mb)
	M20 in Sagittarius - the famous "Trifid" nebula. This image was taken using the C14 telescope and ST10-XME camera on 23rd May. It is an LRGB of 10 minutes for each component. Full Resolution Image (2Mb)
	NGC 4536 in Virgo. We were inspired to shoot this galaxy by Al Kelly's recent work and we thank Al for pointing us in this direction. This is an LRGB of 50:40:40:40 minutes with the C14 and ST10 camera. The galaxy is very similar to NGC 1365, except it is at an angle to us. Full Resolution Image (2Mb)
	M97 in Ursa Major - the famous "Owl" nebula. This new LRGB of 30:25:25:25 minutes was taken with the C14 and ST10 camera. Full resolution image (3.2Mb)
	NGC 3628 - the edge on member of the Leo Triplet. This image, which is an LRGB of 40mins for each component, was taken with the C14 scope and ST10 camera on 13th April. Full resolution image (2Mb)
	M104 in Virgo. Our latest colour image of the "Sombrero" galaxy. We promised to shoot colours if the skies allowed. They did. This is an L:R:G:B of 25 minutes for each component with the ST10 camera and C14. Full resolution image (2.1Mb)
	Arp 105 in Ursa Major. Ambartsumian's Knot can be clearly seen to the right of NGC 3651A. Full resolution image (1.6Mb)
	NGC 7027 is an interesting little planetary nebula in Cygnus. It almost seems in our image to have three components and this image is an LRGB of 5 minutes for each component. The cropped image is slightly pixellated as we had to zoom nearly 400x to show the structure. Full resolution image (1.3Mb)
	NGC 6726 in Corona Australis. This is an interesting area of the sky, with lots of absorbing gas clouds. The bright object in the centre is reflection nebulae NGC 6726 and 6727. The little reddish chappie up and to the left is the reflection and emission variable nebula NGC 6729. This is an LRGB of 10 minutes for each component using the C14 and ST10 camera. Full resolution image (4Mb)
	NGC 6369 (the Little Ghost nebula) in Ophiuchus. Note the little FLIERS at either end of the ring. Full resolution image (3.8Mb)
	NGC 6826 in Cygnus is also known as the "Blinking Planetary" because of the way the central star is visible, but only with averted vision. It is 25 arc seconds in diameter and is therefore quite a challenge for our equipment, especially to reproduce the inner shells. Full resolution image (1.5Mb)
	NGC 6894 in Cygnus is a very red planetary with a faint star superimposed on part of the ring. Visually it is described as "smoky grey" but as you can see in this image it is definitely quite red. Full resolution image (4.1Mb)
	NGC 7026 in Cygnus is a fascinating object and has been dubbed by some "The Cheeseburger Nebula". This image shows perhaps how it got its name. Full resolution image (3.4Mb)
	Messier 13 in Hercules. We imaged this at f/5 in the Takahashi FSQ and using the ST8-XE camera in response to a request from the British Astronomical Association for an image of M13 (the great Northern sky globular) and Omega Centauri (the great Southern sky globular) at the same image scale. Full resolution image (1Mb)
	NGC 2903 in Leo. To prove that the scope is now working well we imaged this fine galaxy up near the question mark of Leo. This is an LRGB of 50:40:40:40 minutes using the C14 and ST10-XME camera. Full resolution image (3.3Mb)
	Messier 82 in Ursa Major. We had quite a battle with the skies this trip and this image of M82 was gradually accumulated over several imaging sessions. This is an LRGB of 60:45:45:45 minutes with the C14 and ST10 camera. Full resolution image (1.1Mb)
	NGC 7293 in Aquarius, also known as the Helix nebula. This LRGB of 60:30:30:30 minutes was taken using the Takahashi FSQ-106 scope and ST8-XE CCD camera. Full resolution image (1.4Mb)
	NGC 253 in Sculptor, better known as the "Sculptor Galaxy". This image was taken with the FSQ-106 scope at f/5 and the ST8-XE camera. It is an LRGB of 60:30:30:30 minutes. Full resolution image (1.4Mb)
	NGC 2392 in Gemini, known as the "Eskimo" or "Clown Face" nebula. This is a good example of a planetary nebula and is an LRGB of 12:5:5:5 minutes with the C14 and ST10-XME camera. Full resolution image (1.9Mb)
	Messier 83 in Hydra. We now have the colour component of this wonderful galaxy and it was well worth the wait. This LRGB image is 50:30:30:30 minutes using the C14 and ST10-XME camera. Full resolution image (2.3Mb)
	NGC 7009 the "Saturn Nebula" a planetary nebula in Aquarius. Note the lobes and ring structure and the striking blue colour, which is clearly visible in a telescope. Full Resolution Image
	NGC 6543 in Draco - the famous "Cat's Eye" planetary nebula. This is an LRGB of 10:10:10:10 minutes with the C14 and the object is very small, so the image has been cropped. Full Resolution Image
	Messier 51 in Canes Venatici. We have wanted a good image of this beautiful galaxy for a long time, and our new ST10 CCD camera created the opportunity to finally get one. This is an LRGB of 60:40:40:40 minutes through the C14. The full resolution image is here (2.3Mb)
Images of the 3rd March, 2007 Lunar Eclipse
These super images of the eclipse were taken by David McKinlay of Casa Montserrat Holiday Lets in southern Spain using a Canon EOS 20D camera fitted with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM lens and a Canon 2X teleconverter. The images were shot at 400mm focal length. This is David's first excursion into astro-photography, but I think you will agree he has done a pretty fine job. The images and montage are ©2007 David McKinlay.