Astrophotography From Upper Pottsgrove Pennsylvania
Messier 37 (also known as M37, NGC 2099, or the Salt and Pepper Cluster) is the brightest and richest open cluster in the constellation Auriga I processed the images using Pixinsight, Object Designation: Messier 37, NGC 2099Also known as: Salt and Pepper ClusterConstellation: Auriga constellationObject Type: Open Star ClusterDistance: 4.5 million light-years awayMagnitude: 6.2Discovery: Giovanni … Read More “M37 – Salt and Pepper Cluster” »
Messier 38 or M38, also known as NGC 1912 or Starfish Cluster, is an open cluster of stars in the northern Auriga constellation. I processed the images using Pixinsight, Object Designation: Messier 38, NGC 1912Also known as: Starfish ClusterConstellation: Auriga constellationObject Type: Open Star ClusterDistance: 3.4 million light-years awayMagnitude: 7.4Discovery: Giovanni Batista Hodierna 1654 This … Read More “M38 – Starfish Cluster” »
Messier 36 or M36, also known as NGC 1960 or the Pinwheel Cluster, is an open cluster of stars in the northern Auriga constellation. This is a total of 14 hours of imaging. 3/22/2025, 4/9/2025, 4/13/2025 and 4/14/2025. All taken with my Celestron 9.25 telescope on my CGEM II mount with M101 as my goal. … Read More “M36 – Pinwheel Cluster” »
The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101, M101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on, counterclockwise Intermediate spiral galaxy located 25 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. This is a total of 14 hours of imaging. 3/22/2025, 4/9/2025, 4/13/2025 and 4/14/2025. All taken with my Celestron 9.25 telescope on my CGEM II … Read More “M101 – Pinwheel Galaxy” »
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word Σείριος (Latin script: Seirios), meaning lit. ‘glowing’ or ‘scorching’. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated α CMa or Alpha CMa. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, Sirius is almost … Read More “Sirius” »
NGC 2903 is an isolated barred spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Leo, positioned about 1.5° due south of Lambda Leonis. This field galaxy is located about 30 million light-years away from the Milky Way, and is a member of the Virgo Supercluster. On March 18, 2025 I set up my Celestron 9.25 telescope … Read More “NGC 2903” »
NGC 3718 is a small but beautiful galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It is not far from other deep sky objects that are much easier to image. On March 14, 2025 I set up my Celestron 9.25 telescope on my CGEM II mount with no particular goal. It was a full moon and the … Read More “NGC3718 & NGC3729” »
I left both my scopes out on March 4, 2025 because March 5th was also going to be a clear night. With a temperature of 18 degrees Fahrenheit was pretty cold. On the 5th, I went out to make sure I was still polar aligned. When I turned the scope on, the hand controller stated … Read More “CGEM II Error 17?” »
NGC 2287 (M41) cluster covers an area about the size of the full moon. It contains about 100 stars, including several red giants the brightest of which has spectral type K3, apparent magnitude 6.3 and is near the center, and some white dwarfs. The cluster is estimated to be moving away from us at 23.3 … Read More “M41 – Little Beehive Cluster” »
It took me a couple tries to get this one. You know this hobby, something always goes wrong. I took this image on February 4, 2025. It is 70 3 minute long exposures with a total integration time of 3.5 hours. As normal my ZWO ASI2600 MC pro was set to 100 gain. 15 of … Read More “M1 – The Crab Nebula” »
