# 229 | Open Cluster M35
From a dark observing site, M35, an open star cluster 2800 light-years away in the constellation Gemini, can just barely be glimpsed with the naked eye. With binoculars, the star cluster becomes a bright hazy patch roughly the same size as the Moon. The cluster becomes alive with stars when viewed through a small telescope. A 4-inch or larger telescope will reveal NGC2158, an 11th magnitude star cluster located just to the west of M35.
On January 17, 2006, Bill Marsh imaged M35 from Calgary, Alberta using a Tele Vue Genesis SDF 4-inch refractor and a Canon 20Da digital camera. An 8-minute exposure at ISO 800 was taken.
# 228 | Saturn
For many amateur astronomers, the showpiece of the night sky is the planet Saturn. Many may remember the very first time they held their eye to a telescope and viewed the Ringed Planet, even if it was years earlier.
Small telescopes operating at low power will reveal the rings and the view through a 4-inch or larger telescope using a magnification of 100x or greater will illicite delight from observers of all ages.
This image of Saturn was taken in Pickering, Ontario, on March 7, 2006 by Ed Hitchcock. Ed used a 8-inch Celestron SCT operating at f/20 and took 1400 frames using a Celestron Neximage. To produce the final result, the frames were combined using Registax.
For more information on observing Saturn, including how to identify features, see the SkyNews Saturn Guide.
# 227 | The Moon
Our closest celestial neighbour may be the bane of those who like to image deep sky objects, but on March 7, when the Moon was slightly past first quarter, Bob Anderson of Mississauga, Ontario decided to look on the bright side and use his equipment to create this high resolution mosaic.
After imaging through his 7-inch TMB apochromatic refractor with a Starlight SXV-H9 CCD camera, Bob combined four of the images using Maxim DL and Adobe Photoshop.
Note that detail that can be seen in Bob's image, especially in the Apennine Mountain vicinity (near the top, along the terminator), a mountain range that extends roughly 600 kilometres with an elevation of approximately 6000 metres.
# 226 | The Rosette Nebula
Found in the constellation Monoceros and often overlooked due to sharing the same general area of the sky as M42, the Rosette Nebula is a large emission nebula that can be seen from moderately dark skies using only binoculars.
Within the nebula is NGC2244, an open cluster containing a wealth of young stars. Covering an area four times larger than the full Moon, the Rosette Nebula is a deep sky object that amateur astronomers should add to their list of regularly observed targets.
From his backyard observatory in Quebec City, Pierre Tremblay created this mosaic using six different images taken on January 3, 4 and 26th. A Takahashi Sky 90 apochromatic refractor, mounted atop a Losmandy Gemini G-11 mount, was used along with a Starlight Express SHV-H9 CCD camera, a CFW8A filter wheel and Astrodon RGB and H-alpha filters.
The final result is a Ha-HaGB composition.
Exposures : 7 X 8.5 minutes in H-alpha for each frame, 6 X 30 seconds binned 2 X 2 for G and B, 6 X 39 seconds binned 2 X 2 for each R frame.
# 225 | Mercury
On February 24th, Mercury was at its greatest elongation east of the Sun, allowing the best opportunity to view Mercury low on the western horizon shortly after sunset.
Mercury and the thin crescent Moon will make for a striking scene on February 28th. A location with an unobstructed view to the southwest will allow the best opportunity to glimpse the approximately one-day old Moon, which will be located roughly 4° below Mercury.
From near Keene, Ontario, Rick Stankiewicz took this image of Mercury on February 25 using a tripod-mounted Nikon Coolpix 995 digital camera. A 4-second exposure was taken at ISO 200.
# 224 | Saturn and The Beehive Cluster
Saturn may be one of the most beautiful objects to observe through a telescope, but for the past few weeks both binoculars and naked eye views have provided a celestial treat.
From late January until mid-February, Saturn has slid just south of M44, the Beehive Cluster in Cancer. Low power viewing through a telescope, binoculars and naked eye observations each allow for a different perspective.
To find Saturn, look for a bright yellow "star" rising in the east shortly after sunset. Observers under moderately dark skies should be able to glimpse the Beehive Cluster, appearing as a hazy patch of sky, with the naked eye.
From St. Thomas, Ontario, Jon Gunning used a Takahashi FSQ106 refractor and a Canon 20Da digital camera to take this 5-minute exposure at ISO 400.
# 223 | The Leo Trio
Anxious galaxy observers awaiting the arrival of the constellations Leo and Virgo in order to observe their high concentration of galaxies need not wait much longer—both constellations have risen high enough to observe shortly after midnight.
Viewing from an area that is free of light pollution allows an observer to observe many more galaxies than from urban areas. If you have never done so, a trip to a dark sky location is highly recommended if you plan on observing this galaxy-rich area of the night sky.
From his observatory in Flesherton, Ontario, Stuart Heggie imaged the Leo triplet, galaxies M65, M66 and NGC 3628 (top centre, left and bottom, respectively) on the nights of January 21st and 22nd.
Stuart used a Takahashi FS102 apochromatic refractor mounted on an Astro-Physics 900QMD equatorial mount, imaging with an SBIG ST10XME CCD camera and a Astrodon filter set (LRGB=90,30,30,30 minutes).
Sharp-eyed observers may notice some faint galaxies in the background along with three very small red, green and blue dots near the centre. As Stuart was imaging, an asteroid was crossing the field of view.
# 222 | The Flame and Horsehead Nebulas
The constellation Orion is a treasure trove for nebula aficionados. While Messier objects 42, 43 and 78 are the easiest to view, NGC 2024, the aptly named Flame Nebula, is usually only observed under dark skies. Widely known by amateurs because of its photogenic appearance, the Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33, is a very difficult visual object and requires a large aperture telescope, dark skies and a specialized hydrogen-beta filter in order to be seen.
From his observatory in Caledon, Ontario, Dan Doolan imaged the Flame and Horsehead Nebulas using an Orion 80mm ED refractor. With the refractor riding piggyback atop a 12-inch Meade RCX, Dan took twelve 5-minute exposures using a Canon 350XT digital camera. The images were stacked and processed using Images Plus, Neat Image and Adobe Photoshop.
# 221 | Saturn
The observing season for Saturn has officially arrived. Saturn was at opposition on January 27, 2006 and now rises at a more convenient time for observers. Although the ringed planet may rise shortly after sunset, observations shouldn't begin until the planet is at least 30° from the horizon in order to avoid viewing through a sizable portion of our atmosphere.
Saturn is one the showpiece objects of the night sky. Many people, upon viewing it for the first time, are shocked to discover how easily the rings can be seen. If you've never shown Saturn through a telescope to anyone before, take the opportunity to do so and enjoy the moment.
Chris Gardner of Toronto, Ontario took advantage of a rare clear night on January 26, 2006 and imaged Saturn with his 7-inch refractor. Chris took a number of images with a Phillips ToUcam Pro attached to a 4x Barlow and then combined and processed them using Registax and Adobe Photoshop.
# 220 | M33—The Pinwheel Galaxy
Observing galaxies can often be more difficult than what a beginner expects. Finding an observing location devoid of light pollution, although near impossible for some, is necessary to observe very faint deep sky objects. Some galaxies are more easily viewed than others. Those that are angled edge-on are usually easier to observe than those, like M33, that are face-on.
Robert Anderson of Mississauga, Ontario took this image of M33, which also shows a wealth of nebulosity within the galaxy, in November, 2005. Robert used a 7-inch refractor and a Starlight SXV-H9 CCD camera with a total exposure time of 5 hours and 40 minutes (LRGB=120:70:60:90 minutes).