Tag Archives: stars

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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IC 2395 – Open Cluster in Vela

10-inch remote, NA, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, hakos, hakos guest farm, ias, ias observatory, ias observatory hakos, ic, ic2395, khomas, namibia, open cluster, star, star cluster, stars, stern, sterne, sternhaufen, vela, world
IC 2395 – Open Cluster in Vela – IAS Remote Telescope, Hakos, Namibia – Feb 2023 – RGB v1

Another open cluster of the southern skies … and a lot of cosmic “Schmodder” ;-)

All details at Astrobin, see also Herbert Walter’s Astrobin IOTD.

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NGC 2547 – Open Cluster in Vela

10-inch remote, NA, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, hakos, hakos guest farm, ias, ias observatory, ias observatory hakos, khomas, namibia, ngc, ngc2547, open cluster, star, star cluster, stars, stern, sterne, sternhaufen, vela, world
NGC 2547 – Open Cluster in Vela – IAS Remote Telescope, Hakos, Namibia – Feb 2023 – HaRGB v1

Quite a bit more colorful nebulosity in this image of NGC 2547, an open cluster in Vela. Took me while to finalize the image processing, the data is back from February 2023, using the IAS remote telescope at Hakos.

All details at Astrobin.

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Coathanger

asterism, asterismus, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, brocchis cluster, coathanger, collinder, cr399, fuchs, kleiderbügel, star, star cluster, stars, stern, sterne, sternhaufen, vulpecula
Cr 399 – Coathanger in Vulpecula – Jun 2023 – LRGB v1

Back to the roots. After all the data acquired under pristine Namibian skies, both locally and remotely, I managed to capture the Coathanger Asterism in my backyard. A few days after summer solstice, when astronomical dusk isn’t reached during the night.

All details at Astrobin.

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h and Chi Persei – NGC 869 / 884

astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, h and chi persei, ngc, ngc869, ngc884, open cluster, perseus, star, star cluster, stars, stern, sterne, sternhaufen

h and Chi Persei – NGC 869 and 884 – Nov 2018

[Update]

Daten vom November 2018. Vor allem ein Test, um herauszufinden, wie weit mit der Belichtungszeit herunter gegangen werden muss, um gute Sternfarben zu erhalten. 100s mit der ASI 294MC Pro bei Gain 120 und f/5.5 scheinen brauchbar, 200s waren schon zu lang. Details bei Astrobin.

Data from November 2018. Primarily a test for exposure time to get proper star colors. 100s with the ASI 294MC Pro at gain 120 and f/5.5 work well, 200s were already too long. Details at Astrobin.