COAA 2005 visit images

COAA 2005 Images

The images on this page were taken using the CCD equipment, half metre, 12"and 8" Reflectors as well as simple images taken using the Minolta Dimage Z1 and tripod with no guiding involved. The images were taken during our recent visit to COAA (Centre for Observational Astronomy in the Algarve), Portugal run by Bev & Jan Ewen-Smith. I would like to thank them and fellow COAA visitor and long time friend Nick Norman for help and the loan of equipment used for producing some of these images. All images are copyright Paul Money unless otherwise noted.

Click on the link or thumbnail for the image you wish to explore.

General night view of us observing

View of the 'Half Metre' Reflectors Dome taken at night with moonlight

Observers busy with the 8 inch Reflector

L-R: Paul, Nick, Bev and Stephen with the 8 inch Reflector

Images taken using the 0.5 Metre Reflector and a Canon 300D Digital SLR and 3 minute exposures
Messier 97 the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major, a Planetary Nebula - note the 'eyes' of the owl which are bestseen with largish telescopes	NGC 4361 - a Planetary Nebula in Corvus
Messier 101 - face on Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major	NGC 2903 a bright galaxy in Leo - brighter in fact than any of the Messier objects in the constellation
Messier 81 - probably the best galaxy for observers - visible as a small smudge of light in 10X50 binoculars and a rewarding sight in any telescope	Messier 82 - the nearby companion of M81 both of which can be seen in a low power view with a telescope and binoculars
Messiers' 65 and 66 in Leo - another nice pairing of Galaxies	Messier 66 - enlargement of original image showing detail in the spiral arms
Messier 104 - the Sombrero Galaxy - a stunning sight with it's dark lane cutting across the galactic disk	The best image (OK in my opinion!). Messier 51 - the Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici. A wonderful interacting pair of Galaxies

Images taken using the 12" Reflector and a Canon 300D Digital SLR and 5 minute exposures
Messier 5 a Globular Cluster in Serpens
Messier 95 is a Barred Spiral Galaxy in Leo	Messier 96 lies just west of M65 and is a Spiral Galaxy
Messier 100 is a face on Spiral Galaxy in Coma and this view also shows two fainter and smaller galaxies NGC4322 above left and NGC 4328 at left of M100	Messier 61 lies in the lower part of the 'Bowl of Virgo' and has a very bright stellar like core which often fools observers into thinking they've discovered a supernova in this galaxy! This view also shows two other fainter/smaller galaxies NGC4292 at right and NGC4303 at upper left
NGC 3628 lies above Messiers' 65 and 66 in Leo and is an edge on Spiral Galaxy to us	A stunning example of an edge on galaxy NGC 4565 lies in Coma
Messier 105 (top) an Elliptical Galaxy and two companion galaxies of NGC3384 (directly below M105) a Spiral Galaxy nearly edge on and NGC3389 at right. Note the detail in the disk of the latter	Messier's 84 (right) and 86 (left) form the main core of the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. There are at least 8 galaxies in the picture so see if you can spot all of them by clicking on the link to see the main picture
Messier 64, commonly known as the 'Black Eye Galaxy' and is my favourite image taken with the COAA 12" Reflector. The 'Black Eye' refers to the dark patch of dust that lies just below the nucleus and is a very prominent feature of this wonderful galaxy in Coma

Webmaster ã Paul L Money 2005