Category Archives: Astrophotography

A Tale of Three Black Holes

astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, binary system, black hole, gaia, gaia bh1, ophiuchus, star, stars, stern, sterne
Gaia BH1 Starfield in Ophiuchus – LRGB v1
astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, binary system, black hole, centaurus, gaia, gaia bh2, star, stars, stern, sterne, zentaur
Gaia BH2 Starfield in Centaurus – LRGB v1
adler, aquila, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, binary system, black hole, gaia, gaia bh3, star, stars, stern, sterne
Gaia BH3 Starfield in Aquila – LRGB v1

With #3 recently discovered in the analysis during preparation of Gaia DR4 data, there are now 3 black holes in the Gaia catalog. Or more precise, 3 binary systems consisting of a companion star and a likely stellar-mass black hole.

So I took the opportunity to capture the corresponding starfields with the new IAS remote telescope “Dieter” at Hakos, Namibia. The images only show the companion stars, of course. ;-)

Regarding the BH3 image, at first I wasn’t sure whether I found the right object, as the catalog gives the coordinates RA=19h39m18.7115472s, DEC=+14d55m54.010992s and the read-out in Pixinsight showed ICRS RA=19h39m18.68s, DEC=+14d55m50.3s. But thanks to the discussion with Ulrich Bastian I found out that it is necessary to take into account the large proper motion of the object, which results in almost 4″ deviation in declination. Calculating the current position for 2024.5 with Astropy yields RA=19h39m18.66368537s DEC=+14d55m50.2085012s.

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10th Anniversary Galaxy

20-inch ak3, NA, ak3, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, galaxy, hakos, hakos guest farm, ias, ias observatory, ias observatory hakos, khomas, namibia, ngc, ngc6744, pavo, pavo galaxy, spiral galaxy, world
NGC 6744 – Pavo Galaxy – v1

Almost exactly 10 years ago, I photographed the magnificient Pavo Galaxy with the IAS 20 inch AK3, my first object with such a “big scope”. Here’s the result of June 2024, with much more exposure time on the very same telescope. I originally planned to use my QHY268M with the AK3, but this camera is now used at the new IAS remote telescope. So back to the roots with a ASI294MC Pro one-shot-color camera.

Image of the Day 2024-07-07 at Astrobin!

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Fluffy Globular Cluster

12-inch lacerta remote, NA, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, centaurus, globular cluster, hakos, hakos guest farm, ias, ias observatory, ias observatory hakos, khomas, kugelsternhaufen, namibia, ngc, ngc5139, remote observatories, remote sternwarten, star, star cluster, stars, stern, sterne, sternhaufen, world, zentaur
NGC 5139 – Omega Centauri Globular Cluster – LRGB v1

The first light of the new IAS remote telescope at Hakos, Namibia. NGC 5139 aka Omega Centauri, the most massive known globular cluster in the Milky Way.

More details at Astrobin.

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Prawn Nebula

12-inch lacerta remote, NA, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, emission nebula, emissionsnebel, hakos, hakos guest farm, ias, ias observatory, ias observatory hakos, ic, ic4628, khomas, namibia, scorpius, sho, sii-ha-oiii, world
IC 4628 – Emission Nebula in Scorpius – SHO w/RGB stars v1

“Second” light of the new IAS remote telescope at Hakos, Namibia, featuring IC 4628, the Prawn Nebula in Scorpius. (Actually taken while on-site in June. ;-)

Details at Astrobin.

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Solar Storm Aurora

astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, aurora
Solar Storm Aurora #1

You don’t get this often: colorful aurora at 51° latitude, north-east of Cologne, Germany. A strong solar storm is currently impacting Earth.

Das sieht man auch nicht alle Tage: Polarlichter in allen Farben über den ganzen Himmel bei heimischer 51° Breite, nordöstlich von Köln. Ein massiver Sonnensturm trifft gerade auf die Erde.

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Total Solar Eclipse 2024 – Inverted Corona

2024, MO, US, USA, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, corona, eclipse, ereignisse, events, finsternis, korona, missouri, pocahontas, solar eclipse, sonnenfinsternis, total, total solar eclipse 08 apr 2024, totality, totalität, united states, united states of america, vereinigte staaten, world
Total Solar Eclipse 08 Apr 2024 – Corona Composite Inverted v2

Different processing of the corona exposure series, using PixInsight’s FFTRegistration script to align the images, which worked rather well.

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Total Solar Eclipse 2024 – Corona Composite

2024, MO, US, USA, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, corona, eclipse, ereignisse, events, finsternis, korona, missouri, pocahontas, solar eclipse, sonnenfinsternis, total, total solar eclipse 08 apr 2024, totality, totalität, united states, united states of america, vereinigte staaten, world
Total Solar Eclipse 08 Apr 2024 – Corona Composite v1

Another image from the total solar eclipse of 08 Apr 2024, a highly processed HDR composite of the corona, using 13 x 2 exposures from 1/1000 to 4 s.

There was a bit of a focus problem which I noticed only when reviewing the telephoto frames. Thus, my TSE 2024 shots aren’t as sharp as they could be.

Location:
Pocahontas, Missouri, USA
Longitude 37° 29′ 56.412″ N, latitude 89° 38′ 34.074″ W, altitude 183 m (Xavier’s Google Maps tool)
Longitude 37° 29.9295′, latitude -89° 38.5659′, altitude 189 m (GPS reading Eclipse Orchestrator Pro)
Timezone CDT = UT – 5h

Again many, many thanks to the great local communicty, in particular Doris and Jim.

Circumstances (Eclipse Orchestrator Pro):
Duration 4m 08s
C1 – 17:42:01 UT – 12:42:01 CDT
C2 – 18:58:22 UT – 13:58:22 CDT – 13:58:22 camera time
C3 – 19:02:30 UT – 14:02:30 CDT – 14:02:29 camera time
C4 – 20:17:29 UT – 15:17:29 CDT – 15:17:29 camera time

Barnard 35

10-inch remote, NA, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, b35, barnard, dark nebula, deep sky, hakos, hakos guest farm, ias, ias observatory, ias observatory hakos, khomas, namibia, orion, world
Barnard 35 – Dark Nebula in Orion – IAS Remote Telescope, Hakos, Namibia – Jan 2024 – LHaRGB v1

Another astro image with data from the IAS remote telescope, Barnard 35, a dark nebula in Orion. Nothern hemisphere form southern skies, or the other way round? ;-)

More details at Astrobin.

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Shai-Hulud Nebula ;-)

10-inch remote, NA, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, cg4, cometary globule, deep sky, gods hand, hakos, hakos guest farm, ias, ias observatory, ias observatory hakos, khomas, namibia, puppis, world
Shai-Hulud Nebula ;-) – CG 4 – Cometary Globule in Puppis – IAS Remote Telescope, Hakos, Namibia – Jan 2024 – LHaRGB v1

Another CG in Puppis, also called “God’s Hand” trying to snatch PGC21338, but for me it looks more like a sandworm.

More details at Astrobin.

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