The Andromeda Galaxy -
M31 (top) with the bright starb
(beta)Andromeda shown at the bottom of
the image. This was a guided image using a small portable guiding platform
that attaches to a camera tripod. It is an enlargement of the original image
which showed the whole of Andromeda and was guided for approx. 5 min on 100
ISO slide film with a 50 mm lens set at F2. Careful examination of the image
will show that the two companion galaxies M32 & M110 are also visible.
Messier 27 commonly known
as the Dumbbell Nebula in the constellation of Vulpecula photographed by
me with help from Bev Ewan-Smith from COAA using the 20" Reflector,
prime focus, approx 6 minutes on Kodak 1600 ISO slide film. I have enhanced
the image to better show the nebula as it was quite faint on the original
slide but I am very pleased with the results!
I was also pleased with
this image (left) of NGC 2024 or the 'Flame Nebula' located just north of
Zeta Orionis and crossed by dark lanes of dust. Same basic details as the
Dumbbell Nebula shown above. Similarly the next image (right) is of an object
I have always had difficulty in seeing visually but managed to capture on
film on images taken with 135mm lenses and, as this example shows, also using
the COAA 20" Telescope. The image here also shows NGC 2023 (the blue reflection
nebula around a brightish star) as well as the emmission nebula IC434 in
which lies the HorseHead Neb (also known as B33) which allows us to see the
dark nebula.
Whilst at COAA I have imaged a few of the more
well known Galaxies and I particularly like this view of Messier 65, Messier
66 and the nearby NGC 3628. This is approx. 10 minutes on 1600 ISO slide
film using the 12" F6 Reflector at prime focus.
This is a wonderful and fairly large surface
area Galaxy called NGC 253 which lies in the constellation of Sculptor and
was photographed by me using the 12" Reflector at COAA a couple of years
back. Prime Focus image on 1600 ISO slide film and about 6 minutes tracked,
althought there is some trailing of the stars I am very pleased with it -
especially the amount of mottling in the disk and the small stellar like
nucleus visible near the centre. The image has been scanned and heavily computer
processed to try to get as much detail visible as possible.
Here we see the wonderful pair of galaxies M81
and M82 which can just be glimpsed using a pair of 10 X 50 Binoculars up
in the Constellation of Ursa Major - the Great Bear. This view was taken
using the COAA 20" Reflector with 100 ISO slide film and a 10 minute exposure.
It is, I believe, my best effort yet :-)
Similarly this view of Messier 51, the Whirlpool
Galaxy, and its companion NGC 5195 to its upper right was taken using the
same equipment and exposures as the previous image.
This is the region of space known as the 'Sword of Orion' as it appears to hang down from near the belt of the constellation of Orion. It contains the wonderful Orion Nebula seen here as the pinkish glowing cloud where new stars are being born. I took this originally with a 500 mm lens at F8 and 100 ISO slide film and about 10 minutes exposure whilst I used the 10" Reflector as a guiding platform. The slide was then added to my kodak photo cd and for a while sat there doing nothing as it originally looked quite faint. However I experimented with Paint Shop Pro and adjusted the gamma contrast and suddenly the nebula leapt out of the image! Shows what can be done with a little practise and good software.