Dave's Astrophotography

This isn’t the greatest of images, but it does show a conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune. Neptune is the dot near the top of the frame. The moon below Jupiter is Europa, the one close in above Jupiter is Io, and the one above and somewhat more distant is Calisto.

Jupiter is way overexposed in order to show its moons and Neptune, so there is no surface detail. This wasn’t a planned shot; at the end of the night I just snapped away in hopes I might get something.

Shot 27 June 2009; Fremont Peak State Park, California; ISO 800, 7 images of various exposures—each less than a second, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

Emission nebula in Serpens Cauda: M16 (NGC 6611). Distance is approximately 7,000 light-years.

Shot 26-27 June 2009; Fremont Peak State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 2 hrs, 25 min (58x2.5m), f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

M16 is, perhaps, the most famous deep-sky object, thanks to this image, which is one of the most famous photos ever taken:

Of course this was taken by NASA/ESA using the Hubble Space Telescope. Their equipment is a bit better than mine.

Three galaxies in the constellation Leo: M66 (NGC 3627, left top), M65 (NGC 3623, left bottom), and NGC 3628 (right). Distance is approximately 35 million light-years (approx. 22 million lyr for M65).

Shot 20 June 2009; Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 18x2.5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

The M81 galaxy (NGC 3031, Bode’s Galaxy) and its companion M82 (NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy) in Ursa Major. Distance is 12 million light-years.

Shot 30 May 2009; Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 22x2.5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

The M51 Whirlpool Galaxy (NGC 5194) and its companion galaxy NGC 5195 in the constellation Canes Venatici. Distance is 23 million light-years.

Shot 24 May 2009; Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 23x2.5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

Click here for a wider field of view (1 MB).