# 249 | M31
Observers who stay up late can now begin to view constellations that haven't been seen in a few months. Perseus, Cassiopeia and Pegasus all can be seen after midnight.
One of the highlights of this portion of the sky is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. At 1.4 times the size of our own galaxy and 2.3 million light-years distant, it is the most remote object visible to the unaided eye. Binoculars will show a distinct hazy patch while an 8-inch or larger telescope will reveal its spiral arms.
Stuart Heggie recently imaged M31 from his home in Flesherton, Ontario. Stuart used a Takahashi FSQ106 refractor and a ST10MXE CCD camera equipped with an Astrodon filter set. LRGB=30, 20, 20 20.
Processing was done using CCDSoft5, Maxim and Photoshop CS2.
# 248 | Simply Splendid
Many readers may have aspirations to try their hand at astrophotography. Unfortunately equipment or monetary constraints can be discouraging.
It is highly recommended that beginners begin with on-tripod astrophotography—simply placing a camera on a tripod and taking images of constellations, conjunctions, auroras, sunrises or sunsets.
This image, taken by Gary Boyle of Ottawa, Ontario on July 31, 2006, shows the crescent Moon setting over White Lake.
Composition is a key element of on-tripod astrophotography and can make the difference between a good and excellent image.
For more astrophotography tips, please see the SkyNews astrophotography webpage.
Gary took a 1-second exposure at f/3.6 using a Nikon Coolpix 4500 set to ISO 200.
# 247 | Summer Auroras
With the Sun being at solar minimum, auroras have been few and far between the past 18 months. If an aurora has been occurring, the extra daylight during the summer makes it difficult to observe them.
Laurence Harry of Nanaimo, B.C. noticed auroral activity was strong during the early morning hours of July 28th and took this image from his backyard. Laurence notes that the aurora lasted for only 20 minutes before fading away. He used a Canon EOS 20D digital camera and took a 39-second exposure at ISO 1600 using a 28mm lens at f/5.6.
To find out if an aurora is currently visible, see the SkyNews Aurora Watch page.
# 246 | The July 20 Occultation of the Pleiades
In the early morning night sky of July 20, the waning crescent Moon passed in front of (occulted) the Pleiades star cluster. Because the night side portion of the 25-day-old Moon was illuminated by Earthshine (sunlight reflecting off of the Earth), the entire disc of the Moon was visible during the Pleiades occultation, even though only a thin crescent was lit directly by the Sun.
Steve Irvine of Big Bay Point, Ontario rose early that morning and snapped this photo at 2:53 a.m. EDT using a Canon 350D digital camera. A 2.5 second exposure was taken using ISO 100 and a 100mm lens at f/2.2.
# 245 | M17
Summer star parties are now taking place across Canada and amateur astronomers are gathering together to observe and photograph the night sky. Click here for a listing of star parties in Canada.
While at the Stargazing Manitoulin star party in northern Ontario from June 30 to July 3, Les Marczi of Welland, Ontario took this image of M17, also known as the Swan Nebula.
Located 6,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius, the nebula can be seen as a faint hazy patch with binoculars and is quite bright when observed with a telescope.
Les used an Astro-Physics 130 EDF apochromatic refractor mounted atop a Losmandy G-11 and a Hutech 300D digital camera. Nine 275-second images were taken at ISO 1600. The images were processed and combined using Images Plus and Adobe Photoshop.
# 244 | The Southern Milky Way
A mid-summer night presents the best opportunity for viewing our own galaxy, the Milky Way. An observing location well away from city lights and a moonless night are required to see it.
Directly above at the zenith, the Milky Way appears as a hazy patch running in a line from north to south. Approaching the southern horizon, the Milky Way becomes more obvious as the star density increases. At this point, an observer is looking directly into the centre of our galaxy, located 26,000 light-years away.
Each spring the Texas Star Party attracts amateur astronomers from across the world and astrophotographers spend entire nights photographing the night sky.
This year Jon Gunning of St. Thomas, Ontario travelled to the Texas Star Party and imaged the Milky Way. This photo is a mosaic of two frames taken with a Canon 20Da digital camera and a Nikon 28 mm f/2.8 lens (set to f/4). Each frame of the mosaic was created with three 4-minute exposures taken at ISO 800. The camera was piggybacked on an Astro-Physics 130mm refractor and mounted on an Astro-Physics 1200 GTO mount. An SBIG ST-4 autoguider was also used. Processing was completed with MaximDSLR and Adobe Photoshop.
# 243 | M22 and M28
The southern Milky Way is a treasure-trove of observable objects. While some can be viewed from areas with modest light pollution, observing from a dark sky site can be very memorable.
M22 and M28 are two globular clusters located near the top of the teapot of Sagittarius. M22, located 10,000 light-years away, is a beautiful globular cluster which can be seen using binoculars. M28 is a smaller, 7th magnitude globular cluster approximately 15,000 light years away.
On June 24, 2006, John Mirtle of Calgary, Alberta used his 8-inch f/1.5 Schmidt camera and, using Kodak Ektachrome E200 slide film, took two four-minute images, digitally combining them afterwards to create this splendid shot. John's image clearly shows that film can still be used for astrophotography.
# 242 | The June 17, 2006 Conjunction of Mars and Saturn
On June 17, 2006, Mars and Saturn were within half a degree of each other. The motion of the two planets can be observed for the next few weeks. Mars will appear to move higher into the sky, relative to the background stars, while Saturn will soon disappear into the glow off the sunset.
Steve Irvine of Big Bay, Ontario, took this image of the conjunction which also shows the open cluster M44, the Beehive Cluster.
Steve used a Canon EOS 350D digital camera set to ISO 400 and took a 3.2 second exposure with a 100mm lens at f/2.
# 241 | M13
M13 is a spectacular globular cluster in the constellation Hercules. Those with keen eyes and a dark observing site may be able to glimpse M13 with the naked eye. At a distance of 21,000 light-years from Earth, the cluster contains more than one million stars.
From his backyard in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Brady Johnson recently used an 80mm Sky-Watcher ED refractor to image M13. Using a Starlight Xpress SXV-M8C CCD camera and a Hutech LPS filter, ten 180-second images were taken and combined afterwards.
# 240 | Spring Auroras
Although we are currently at solar minimum, occasionally the Sun still expels solar material towards the Earth and auroras light up our night sky.
On April 20, 2006, Chuck Webb imaged an aurora from near Fort McMurray, Alberta. Using his Canon 20DA digital camera at ISO 200 and a 19-35mm lens at f/2, Chuck took multiple photos, with this image being a 30-second exposure.
Those who are thinking about trying astrophotography should consider on-tripod photography first. Using a tripod, simply mount the camera, use a wide-angle lens and take a 25 or 30-second exposure at ISO 400 or 800.
For more tips, see the SkyNews "Starting Out in Astrophotography" page.