Tarantula Nebula, NGC 2070 and Surrounds, Nov 2026 Update, Canon 450D and Skywatcher ED80, Acuired by APT (Astrophotography Tool) and 49x2 Minute Light Frames Processed in Pixinsight.

 

I went 'old school' here with Astrophotography Tool and a PC to test out an older rig of mine that consists of a old modified for astrophotography Canon 450D DSLR and a olde gold coloured(these days they come out the box black) 80mm Skywatcher ED80 Pro Refractor with an Orion 0.80 Flattner Reducer.  With this rig I mainly intend to do Lunar photography with regardless so this deep sky test is just a bonus.

Here you can see the rig which includes an old Skywatcher HEQ5 mount which has been modified from cogs to belts to provide quieter and smoother operation.

Below for comparison is an image of the same area taken Friday October 31st 2014.   It was taken with the same camera and telescope and consists of just 7 x 180 second(3 minute) frames.

The difference in the first instance is 98 minutes of exposure above versus 21 minutes below.   The result here is much better signal to noise ratio allowing more lattitude to enhance the image in post processing

In the second instance, mainly due to the belt modifications in the mount, is a sub-arcsecond autoguiding variance above verses a 2 arcsecond below. The result here are much tighter stars and spatial detail in the nebula itself. As most telescope mounts are vaguely inaccuate in tracking the autoguiding locks onto individual stars to keep the image locked in the frame and send adjustments to the mount to keep the stars from trailing.

In the third instance, above the image has been post processed in Pixinsight which is this world's most advanced post processing tool for amateur astrophotographers.  Below I used a program, Nebulosity, and some tweeks in Photoshop which while great and inexpensive tool in it's day(at least Nebulosity was) there was limited ability to access and enhance the total data in the image.  

It's also taken some time over the years to enhance post processing, aquisition skills and equipment regardless so time is definitely a factor overall here.  The difference in the amount of colour and spatial contrast between the images is marked.   I will add that I was and am proud of my efforts in 2014 and this year regardless.

Font Hill Astrocamp Image Taken the Weekend of Friday to Saturday 16th to 17th of October. The Great Orion, Horsehead and Flame Nebulae, Imaged with a SVBony SV535 105mm Lense and SV405CC Camera. 26 x 2 Minute Frames Combined and Enhanced in Pixinsight.

It was clear skies mostly both nights but a persistent breeze saw many of us give up as the wind has a tendency to impact the fine adjustments involved in autoguiding during astrophotography acquisition.  In the great tradition of astronomy related 'fish stories' instead of brags about how small our guiding variances were, usually subarcsecond, the opposite became the theme of conversation with claims bigger and bigger variances as the night and early morning hours ensued.

Fortunately I was trying out a very widefield telescope/lense and camera combination which meant that my 2 to 4 arcsecond variance was absorbed and compensated for by the larger amount of sky that I was imaging. The rig you can see just sitting on top of the main gold coloured refractor, which I was also trying out to in combination with the blue coloured camera and electronic filterwheel.   It was a bit of a 'crowded mess' and subsequently I have split all this up for what I hope is a much 'saner' and organised approach in future.  I had a lot of fun putting it together and getting it all to work,

This version with HDR Multiscale Linear Transform Applied in Pixinsight giving a more even spread and therefore representation of the detail within the bright centre of the Orion Nebula, NGC346 bottom left.  However it could be said that it has a 'pasty' borderline posturized look to it compared to version below which I originally posted,  The Horsehead and Flame Nebulae are depicted top right.

This version is without HDR Multiscale Linear Transform where you can see a lot more saturated light coming from inside the Orion Nebula, NGC346, and consequently less detail, but perhaps a more accurate representation of amount of light visible from our perspective.

NGC346, Nebulosity in the SMC(Small Magellanic Cloud), Approx 200,000 Light Years Distant. 46x 5 Minute Frames taken with a ZWO ASI153 Cooled Camera and Celestron C8 Edge HD Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope and Combined and Enhanced in Pixinsight.

 

Small Magellanic Cloud's Main Nebula Complex Featuring NGC346, Middle Right, and NGC371, Middle. Approximately 200,000 LIGHT YEARS Distant. Shot in Combination HaOiii and OiiiSii Narrowband with a ZWO ASI183 Cooled Camera and Sharpstar 100qii Refractor Telescope..

 

The (SMC) Small Magellanic Cloud (Galaxy), NGC292, 200,000 Light Years Distant and 7000 Light Years Across in the Southern Hemisphere Sky Circumpolar to the South Celestial Pole

 The most striking features are the two blue reflection nebulae near the bottom left of the image, NGC346 and NGC371, 1149 and 444 light years across respectively.  Mid left and left bottom NGC361 and NGC416, seemingly smaller and insignificant visually in comparison but still with true scales of  91 and 71 light years across respectively.  Below also is an annotated image so you can know perhaps better what all that's about.

IC4628, Bright Nebula in Scorpius, 2700 Light Years Distant and 71 Light Years in Diameter. 36 x 5 Minute frames Integrated and Enhanced in Pixinsight.

 

IC4628 in Scorpius.  I really like the offset of the blue reflection nebula and much denser and spatially distinct red hydrogne alpha emission area.  

Antares Nebula(Red, Bottom Left), Rho Ophiuchi(Blue, Top Right)and Globular Cluster Messier 4 taken with Canon 550D and Vixen ED80 Refractor. 22x 5 Minute Exposures Combined and Enhanced in Pixinsight and Further Processing in Affinity.

This is my first, for a long time, and fairly limited attempt to image this area.  In years past I have been limited by my ability to post process and enhance the nebula around and near the red giant star, Antares.  With access to and now skills in  Pixinsight and about 1 hour of telscope time this is a belated first try.

 

Cloudy Night!? Messier 24 Sagittarius Star Cloud and NGC 292 Small Magellanic Cloud taken with DwarfLab 2 Smart Telescope 22nd August 2026

                                                             M24 Sagittarius Star Cloud

NGC 204 Small Magellanic Cloud

Random Star Field with Dark Lane(s) in Sagittarius 18th August 2026. Canon 550D and Vixen ED80. 41 x 5 Minute Frames combined and enhanced in Pixinsight.

 

NGC6559, The Chinese Dragon Nebula in Sagittarius, 5000 Light Years Distance(Approx),

Taken with Sharpster Qii 100mm Refractor and ZWO ASI183 Camera, 52x 5 Minute Frames, combined and enhanced in Pixinsight.

 

SH2-27 Cobold/Zeta Ophiuchi Nebula 440 Light Years in Distance. Imaged 15th August 2026 with Celectron C8 Edge SCT and ZWO ASI1533 Camera. 51 x 5 Minute Frames (just under 3 hours total) Integration