SUNDAY, AUGUST 03, 2008
The Lagoon Nebula, M8 in the Messier Catalog, in Sagittarius. Just 1.5 degrees away from Trifid, this emission nebula is one of the brightest star-forming regions in the sky. It is a giant cloud surrounding a cluster of young stars. It contains several dark globules, which may eventually condense into stars. Over the central area, it also contains the Hourglass Nebula. Located 5,000 light-years from the Earth, it was discovered in the year 1747. This photography was taken on July 27th, 2008 from Las Gaviotas, with a 150/750 telescope EQ3 mount, DSLR Canon EOS 400D, 180 seconds exposure time, guiding with a 70/400 refractor and Philips SPC900 Webcam.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 03, 2008
The Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius. Also known as Messier 20 (M20), the name Trifid means "divided into three lobes" referring to the three dark lanes of dust that seem to divide the nebula in 3 parts. The red color -emission- is where the young star cluster lies. Surrounding the center are masses of dust particles reflecting the light from bright young stars -reflection-. Trifid is 5,200 light years from Earth. Astrophotography taken with a Sky-Watcher 150/750 reflector telescope EQ3 mount, Canon Rebel Xti, 180 seconds exposure time. Guiding: Galileo 70/400 refractor and Philips SPC900 webcam.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 03, 2008
Messier 4 (or NGC 6121) is a globular cluster in the constellation Scorpius. The cluster is located 1.3 degrees of Antares, about 7,200 light-years from the Earth. M4 is one of the nearest globular clusters in the sky. The cluster displays a central bar structure formed by 11th magnitude stars. Photography taken with a Newton 150/750 telescope EQ3 mount, DSLR Canon EOS 400D, 180 seconds exposure time.
SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2008
Omega Centauri is the king: the largest and, by far, the most massive globular cluster in our Galaxy. Located in the constellation Centaurus, lies about 15,000 light years from the Earth. With a magnitude of 3.7, can be seen without any visual aid. It contains several million stars, and the ones in its center are really close to each other. Thanks to the NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini Observatory in Chile, astronomers have found evidence for a black hole at the core of Omega Centauri, estimated to be 40,000 times the mass of the Sun. Photo taken with a Sky-Watcher 150750 EQ3 mounted reflector telescope, Canon Rebel XTi, 40 seconds exposure time without guiding.
SUNDAY, MAY 04, 2008
Another photo of the Eta Carinae Nebula -NGC 3372-, but this time take from Las Gaviotas, a small town nearby the sea in Buenos Aires, where the sky has almost no light pollution. The photo was taken with a Sky-Watcher 150750 reflector telescope, Canon Rebel XTi, 60 seconds exposure time without guiding.
SUNDAY, MAY 04, 2008
M83 is one of the brightest spiral galaxies on the sky, located 15 million light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Hydra. To date, six supernova explosions have been observed in this galaxy. Together with Centaurus A and NGC 5253, M83 is a prominent member of a group of galaxies in the constellations Hydra, Centaurus, and Virgo. The photo was taken with a Sky-Watcher 150750 reflector telescope, Canon Rebel XTi, 50 seconds exposure time without guiding.
SUNDAY, MAY 04, 2008
Centaurus A (aka NGC 5128 and sometimes called the "Hamburger Galaxy" for its dust dark band) is a lenticular galaxy located 14 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. This galaxy is a strong source of radio radiation, 1,000 times more radio energy than the Milky Way. It is only visible from low northern latitudes and the southern hemisphere. The photo was taken with a Sky-Watcher 150750 reflector telescope, Canon Rebel XTi, 50 seconds exposure time without guiding.
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2008
NGC 2477 is an intermediate-age Open Cluster in the Puppis Constellation. The brightest star of NGC 2477 is of mag 9.8; the apparent diameter of this object is 27 arc minutes. A very diffuse but definitely a beautiful object. Picture taken from Buenos Aires with a Canon Rebel XTi camera, reflector telescope 150750 EQ3 mounted.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 09, 2008
NGC 2438 is a planetary nebula in the constellation Puppis. The nebula is visually aligned with the NGC 2437 (or Messier 46) Open Cluster. Recent studies suggest that the nebula is actually related with the cluster. This object is the result of the layers of gasses ejected by the star at the end of it lifetime, and heated by strong UV radiation. The most massive stars will end as supernovas, but the medium and low mass stars, like our Sun, will become objects like this one. The apparent magnitude of NGC 2438 is 10.8, and 1.1 arc mins is the apparent dimension value. This photo was taken from Buenos Aires city with a Canon Rebel XTi and a reflector telescope 150750 EQ3 mount, a total of 12 30-second shots stacked, without guiding. The posted photography was cropped and zoomed to better visualize the nebula. The original size photo can be downloaded.
MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2008
NGC 4755 or The Jewel Box (aka Kappa Crucis) is an open cluster in the Crux constellation. One of the bright central stars is a red supergiant, and it is surrounded by many blue stars. This Jewel Box is about 7,500 light years away from our planet. It is only visible from southern latitudes. The picture was taken from Buenos Aires with a Canon Rebel XTi and a reflector telescope 150750 EQ3.