tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31034989775102309702024-03-20T04:39:11.724-04:00AstroBilly's Solid AngleAn Astrophysicist cornerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-49205306281479984022014-01-30T13:08:00.001-05:002014-01-30T13:08:45.426-05:00Cadwell 10 (NGC 663) and Open Cluster and Be stars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6UggreSfEOkZVzmjDTdzcaTMUD1IUCbXtI2KV3aaGYOS8PK1VP5VSuqoQaSbVwielE5Ps3v9c-YRAi0Pcj3eTOrO1RAHpiSFJ6xpFDKKAx1uh-uHcAwMExMy5cCxSQyxm5qkaB5qrgRx/s1600/C10-RGB_cc_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6UggreSfEOkZVzmjDTdzcaTMUD1IUCbXtI2KV3aaGYOS8PK1VP5VSuqoQaSbVwielE5Ps3v9c-YRAi0Pcj3eTOrO1RAHpiSFJ6xpFDKKAx1uh-uHcAwMExMy5cCxSQyxm5qkaB5qrgRx/s1600/C10-RGB_cc_4.png" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
The Open Cluster known as C10 or NGC 663 is about 2100 parsecs from us towards the constellation Cassiopeia. Its estimated age is around 20 million years. Therefore its main sequence B2 stars are coming to the end of their life cycle. It is of great interests to astronomers due to its large number of Be stars. These stars are interesting due to the strength of their emission lines and their typical infrared excess. Here I present an RGB image composite of this cluster as taken from my telescope at the Vazquez Astronomical Observatory. Just another wonder in the Universe at the reach of us here in Webster, NY.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-30810981484742763932014-01-02T11:40:00.001-05:002014-01-02T16:52:28.532-05:00M 81 Bode's Galaxy<div style="text-align: right;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qchDHuO4uZyQml74ufrSrAVzd7pmNXTzzvCOLpt328tSef25iif6o2SzWw7gS22ataRRfed5X94uo8jm87SKrlVwYVtnKTYMeCIB_1qxXeIqxJeJCejkfbwZs-euIqeHPdmM8Pj5L8Jt/s1600/m81.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qchDHuO4uZyQml74ufrSrAVzd7pmNXTzzvCOLpt328tSef25iif6o2SzWw7gS22ataRRfed5X94uo8jm87SKrlVwYVtnKTYMeCIB_1qxXeIqxJeJCejkfbwZs-euIqeHPdmM8Pj5L8Jt/s320/m81.png" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M 81 Bode's Galaxy as seen by VAO</td></tr>
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Messier 81 also known as Bode's Galaxy is 11.8 million light years away from Earth. On the night of December 29th, 2013 I took 5x3min exposures on RGB channels and combine them with 4x5min clear filter for the luminance channel for a total exposure time of 1 hour and 5 minutes. The galaxy hosts a bright AGN with a 70 million solar masses super massive black hole. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode on 1774 and included in Messier's catalog in 1779. It is a favorite target for amateur astronomers for its brightness as well as its accessibility to be seen from dark skies with binoculars. It is an interesting target for astrophotographers as it shows interesting dust bands easily with small aperture telescopes and relatively short exposures. Professionally it has been observed by many space telescopes in different wavelengths and due to its proximity it is an interesting target for study of AGN and its only known Supernova SN 1993J.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-57429968077486583332013-06-05T00:02:00.000-04:002013-06-06T09:23:07.205-04:00Observations of Active Galactic Nuclei - 06/03/2013<h2>
VAO (Vazquez Astronomical Observatory) - 06/03/13</h2>
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Sky conditions: CLEAR and DARK</div>
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Telescope: Meade 12"</div>
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Focal Reducer: f/6.3</div>
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Camera: QSI 632wsg - KAF3200ME</div>
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Guiding: Starlight Xpress Loadstar - ICX429AL</div>
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Twilight V Flats</div>
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Filter: Johnson/Cousins V<br />
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<i>* Note: All stellar profiles are in counts in the vertical and pixels in the horizontal axis. Images are cropped with the target at the center.</i></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b>NGC 6418</b> - 15x120s - median combined</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Sky background mean counts: 193 +/- 1.67</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Inst. magnitude: 5.430 +/- 0.031</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b>PGC 61965</b> - 10x300s - median combined</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Sky background mean counts: 834 +/- 4.83</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Inst. magnitude: 4.089 +/- 0.017</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr68Y9EPtPinqvPMXUQJ-cQYsrQtJdozdWVSmdEginxZPUPhpk-GDAlLLJSuwW9qJTgBGvDmAiKHuZ4USfmg88Uu2zMS0qOkhuzMfvR8OUmItcDnmYdEoSvfGzx-RB-ZXglpSYBGxN9CX1/s1600/pgc61965_060313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr68Y9EPtPinqvPMXUQJ-cQYsrQtJdozdWVSmdEginxZPUPhpk-GDAlLLJSuwW9qJTgBGvDmAiKHuZ4USfmg88Uu2zMS0qOkhuzMfvR8OUmItcDnmYdEoSvfGzx-RB-ZXglpSYBGxN9CX1/s400/pgc61965_060313.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b>MRK 876</b> - 5x300s - median combined</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Sky background mean counts: 463 +/- 6.22</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Inst. magnitude: 3.749 +/- 0.011</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b>MRK 885</b> - 17x120s - median combined</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Sky background mean counts: 119 +/- 1.33</span></div>
<span style="text-align: center;">Inst. magnitude: 5.621 +/- 0.032</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b>MRK 507</b> - 5x300s - median combined</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Sky background mean counts: 372 +/- 3.36</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Inst. magnitude: 4.214 +/- 0.014</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbFjdlsTnO_AGHSfdLP-y0JQtHYebE3jAB1WBBtv218YVK2sV7h-hqOeygVMbDDFPzs5jFzJZKn6S9LK3ly0IYM9CcNUEO5WX00RlyMRinFaXKkDNBPjw80SaXFj5G-keHofUNqyMxzSm/s1600/mrk507_noise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbFjdlsTnO_AGHSfdLP-y0JQtHYebE3jAB1WBBtv218YVK2sV7h-hqOeygVMbDDFPzs5jFzJZKn6S9LK3ly0IYM9CcNUEO5WX00RlyMRinFaXKkDNBPjw80SaXFj5G-keHofUNqyMxzSm/s400/mrk507_noise.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbFjdlsTnO_AGHSfdLP-y0JQtHYebE3jAB1WBBtv218YVK2sV7h-hqOeygVMbDDFPzs5jFzJZKn6S9LK3ly0IYM9CcNUEO5WX00RlyMRinFaXKkDNBPjw80SaXFj5G-keHofUNqyMxzSm/s1600/mrk507_noise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;">KAZ 163</b><span style="text-align: center;"> - 5x300s - median combined</span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="text-align: center;">Sky background mean counts: 244 +/- 2.18</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Inst. magnitude: 5.034 +/- 0.024</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRIDMGJUVQX3TaUxIe0T9f8KEXzMNxGNSi_S4qcHWU_tRbyzA_H1s1cSP9hzOlFCqyTaAtDag_u0_C-MyxzCE__zwSbprO3t0uU0jGxuHBEjOfliYXdnOhY9Qg3hr2ettwhU2XFEnWML-/s1600/kaz163_060313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRIDMGJUVQX3TaUxIe0T9f8KEXzMNxGNSi_S4qcHWU_tRbyzA_H1s1cSP9hzOlFCqyTaAtDag_u0_C-MyxzCE__zwSbprO3t0uU0jGxuHBEjOfliYXdnOhY9Qg3hr2ettwhU2XFEnWML-/s400/kaz163_060313.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmNmhYbbOM9PT4WOEeIlJY5Mb0QF8xRQtGAWhzBcLTGYFA0g9BYpEp65hwxck0kdnRvZWg-S-9ndbbhuweLGyg7ST9dEziE2hfTkWgelY6aev_ltvXgxt-7lu8-3MZYgmwl6aY-GD1n8l/s1600/kaz102_060313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmNmhYbbOM9PT4WOEeIlJY5Mb0QF8xRQtGAWhzBcLTGYFA0g9BYpEp65hwxck0kdnRvZWg-S-9ndbbhuweLGyg7ST9dEziE2hfTkWgelY6aev_ltvXgxt-7lu8-3MZYgmwl6aY-GD1n8l/s1600/kaz102_060313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmNmhYbbOM9PT4WOEeIlJY5Mb0QF8xRQtGAWhzBcLTGYFA0g9BYpEp65hwxck0kdnRvZWg-S-9ndbbhuweLGyg7ST9dEziE2hfTkWgelY6aev_ltvXgxt-7lu8-3MZYgmwl6aY-GD1n8l/s1600/kaz102_060313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmNmhYbbOM9PT4WOEeIlJY5Mb0QF8xRQtGAWhzBcLTGYFA0g9BYpEp65hwxck0kdnRvZWg-S-9ndbbhuweLGyg7ST9dEziE2hfTkWgelY6aev_ltvXgxt-7lu8-3MZYgmwl6aY-GD1n8l/s400/kaz102_060313.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b style="text-align: center;">KAZ 102</b><span style="text-align: center;"> - 5x300s - median combined</span><br />
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="text-align: center;">Sky background mean counts: 237 +/- 2.20</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Inst. magnitude: 5.724 +/- 0.043</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHqvjqJqq416M5xVTNRYCOB_gtBxq1pjWYKT-MrSvK0Aa66H0slmlIjHGkqcL5lrQuIa3HsBelPKEA9a1oDOsO-NQqV2adDUiSymtGsXnT8PJi-SzYDZr7pTiVYWTxO8NTT-Ffr3S5nmw/s1600/kaz102_noise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHqvjqJqq416M5xVTNRYCOB_gtBxq1pjWYKT-MrSvK0Aa66H0slmlIjHGkqcL5lrQuIa3HsBelPKEA9a1oDOsO-NQqV2adDUiSymtGsXnT8PJi-SzYDZr7pTiVYWTxO8NTT-Ffr3S5nmw/s400/kaz102_noise.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;">3c390.3</b><span style="text-align: center;"> - 5x300s - median combined</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Sky background mean counts: 189 +/- 1.38</span></div>
<span style="text-align: center;">Inst. magnitude: 4.884 +/- 0.020</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHp30A6xUMHMZYeW5NB-4wb1yhbFuK4_Vp2KOuri7E-d7arBbkcD4lLr51sAoynj5bFcxean5y9YYFvNDoNKDuu14JejXn92hsYb8r9_KMUGI9SVv86_tj54PeVxtlYdmCw312gmT_7SFJ/s1600/3c390_3_noise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHp30A6xUMHMZYeW5NB-4wb1yhbFuK4_Vp2KOuri7E-d7arBbkcD4lLr51sAoynj5bFcxean5y9YYFvNDoNKDuu14JejXn92hsYb8r9_KMUGI9SVv86_tj54PeVxtlYdmCw312gmT_7SFJ/s400/3c390_3_noise.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihH1UpTjuvpxMuFfZrL_Lk6vDiG2-lD6yiJ5srtreaLZKgO62PkXATM2BxglPC6n7aBv_yCoMwI5atEoIZp_zIE2qgXi-URbc291zRfTdjMM9D7simtAgcw4FEkKETXs0xHGVGPGbMfrwD/s1600/IRAS_17552_6209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><b style="text-align: center;">AKN 524</b><span style="text-align: center;"> - 5x300s - median combined</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"> Sky background mean counts: 112 +/- 1.08</span></div>
<span style="text-align: center;"> Inst. magnitude: 5.727 +/- 0.034</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9DhH__tHsTzG9u6DVSmj8pjR4Ly7qwDMZHun4SjKJk8cqiqtOzHthkO6_RWb8tW8DVfZsuB04i_i8rbPIkSHVvpojYhRD6gi9GrONiU4X1jODAvVRr3NzTnr3wdDk-nY1dDzlzXYgEoT/s1600/AKN524_060313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9DhH__tHsTzG9u6DVSmj8pjR4Ly7qwDMZHun4SjKJk8cqiqtOzHthkO6_RWb8tW8DVfZsuB04i_i8rbPIkSHVvpojYhRD6gi9GrONiU4X1jODAvVRr3NzTnr3wdDk-nY1dDzlzXYgEoT/s400/AKN524_060313.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<b style="text-align: center;">IRAS 17552+6209</b><span style="text-align: center;"> - 5x300s - median combined</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Sky background mean counts: 226 +/- 2.46</span></div>
<span style="text-align: center;">Inst. magnitude: 5.967 +/- 0.052</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3ZrM0nQZ8FmqLSOq_cum_vEPIrX2s3PrwSRnYolFHyJUiQEiSKu3lmoNzhMQWZJVdGEaiTyoUZSmHG8fkCZ3bXNbKaAMjlNlK9gSgdd49ZQsnl4GDhWTfe6EjtwvgTvCTtC_pnOvpqYf/s1600/profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3ZrM0nQZ8FmqLSOq_cum_vEPIrX2s3PrwSRnYolFHyJUiQEiSKu3lmoNzhMQWZJVdGEaiTyoUZSmHG8fkCZ3bXNbKaAMjlNlK9gSgdd49ZQsnl4GDhWTfe6EjtwvgTvCTtC_pnOvpqYf/s1600/profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3ZrM0nQZ8FmqLSOq_cum_vEPIrX2s3PrwSRnYolFHyJUiQEiSKu3lmoNzhMQWZJVdGEaiTyoUZSmHG8fkCZ3bXNbKaAMjlNlK9gSgdd49ZQsnl4GDhWTfe6EjtwvgTvCTtC_pnOvpqYf/s400/profile.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pmcCF0E8putpwibc8lpVeK-cnNcn0jkF1QWH61VgiK_sN2PCXJwLN15oMKhLF0WOwwE2MlHI6QrA-CHTqtlFZbm7MZJftX7SfYMgeIgFYY4LSvqu6CzIokQYrtDSox3Toinqcm88EK4u/s1600/iras_noise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pmcCF0E8putpwibc8lpVeK-cnNcn0jkF1QWH61VgiK_sN2PCXJwLN15oMKhLF0WOwwE2MlHI6QrA-CHTqtlFZbm7MZJftX7SfYMgeIgFYY4LSvqu6CzIokQYrtDSox3Toinqcm88EK4u/s400/iras_noise.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-84955868169834394412012-08-17T23:54:00.000-04:002012-08-18T00:01:54.036-04:00M74 a Grand Design Galaxy<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6r4k3xoeZITNXs1-ThuEA-cdol01GHSSxNwmFYkYL1b1b3HqD474gtBY8sfnIpMpDQmauRHiwwLSjs6j3-1OsD7daYIPUPbQsgenV_iI1hXvQkTsNzYRhUhku5_vjFuYl7sox-pONoF0P/s1600/m74-blue.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6r4k3xoeZITNXs1-ThuEA-cdol01GHSSxNwmFYkYL1b1b3HqD474gtBY8sfnIpMpDQmauRHiwwLSjs6j3-1OsD7daYIPUPbQsgenV_iI1hXvQkTsNzYRhUhku5_vjFuYl7sox-pONoF0P/s320/m74-blue.png" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M 74<br />
5x2 min expousres binned 2x2 @ f/10 12" SCT<br />
© <a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com" target="_blank">Billy Vazquez</a></td></tr>
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M74 is a beautiful galaxy on the constellation Pisces. The image presented here was taken at VAO in the morning of August 16th. They are 5x2 min exposures binned 2x2 on Johnson R filter at f/10 on the 12" SCT. FWHM for the night averaged 2.7". Bradon Doyle generated interest in this galaxy and we collaborated to obtain this image for scientific research. The image was colorized in GIMP but no streching or other post-processing effects were added. The image was callibrated with darks and flat fields. The image was taken on a cooled KAF8300 CCD cooled to -10 degrees Celsius.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-51438015718188560882012-08-13T12:03:00.003-04:002012-08-13T12:03:55.885-04:00Orion Parsec KAF8300 CCD Linearity Test<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLm9soqyXXrxrUGHxsgDltpZy56PiUee-aDFQBW8nQpXb2aUc-u9Y8NAUKmvJuZp81fGnn5l1u8TI9SLayJp4zZDMhptz_TP-3c4Fr3UPws4JsxMmezCj26YbW6yVlN_hba23hux8QtW3b/s1600/linearity_kaf8300.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLm9soqyXXrxrUGHxsgDltpZy56PiUee-aDFQBW8nQpXb2aUc-u9Y8NAUKmvJuZp81fGnn5l1u8TI9SLayJp4zZDMhptz_TP-3c4Fr3UPws4JsxMmezCj26YbW6yVlN_hba23hux8QtW3b/s400/linearity_kaf8300.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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The main camera of the VAO is an Orion Parsec that has a KAF8300 CCD. One of the issues with this camera is the possibility of non-linearity as it fills the pixel electron well. The KAF8300 uses Anti-Blooming circuitry to drain current as the pixels fill up. This has the desirable effect of eliminating blooming from bright stars in your image while increasing your dynamic range. The downside of this technology is that it lowers the quantum efficiency of the CCD since there is additional electronics in each pixel to drain the current out. More importantly, it adversely affects photometric measurements as the pixel fills up. The measurements at higher ADU counts will show non-linear response. Therefore, in an attempt to quantify these deviations from linearity for my camera, I have performed a linear test. The test is simple enough. Take flat exposures of increasing time steps and plot the counts vs time as you can see from the plot I present here. Notice that the asymptotic error of the linear fit is of the order of 0.39% or about +/- 12 ADU. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-40030552487949049402012-08-09T19:28:00.001-04:002012-08-09T19:34:02.785-04:00M 52 an open cluster but how far is it?<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5IMox7ZvysVtvHh6BtvxVVancTxqd4yDlICzx0DCPWG8ilmEn534-bF0RXTLeIiXY_Qr8GBM_umj7cU-cZxjyK9wGouJiQR_6P022wR1BSt6Hz4KCgkJnTraTt39kIv82kStwa4M80c1/s1600/m52.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5IMox7ZvysVtvHh6BtvxVVancTxqd4yDlICzx0DCPWG8ilmEn534-bF0RXTLeIiXY_Qr8GBM_umj7cU-cZxjyK9wGouJiQR_6P022wR1BSt6Hz4KCgkJnTraTt39kIv82kStwa4M80c1/s320/m52.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M 52<br />
3x5 minute exposure, Stromgren y<br />
© <a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com" target="_blank">Billy Vazquez</a></td></tr>
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M 52 discovered by Messier in 1774 is shown here in an unguided co-added 3x5 minutes Stromgren y filtered exposures. This image is part of a battery of tests I am excercising on the observatory in preparation for a a new science run that will use Stromgren filters for stellar and luminosity classification. I am glad to report that the Stromgren y filter which peaks exactly where the Johnson V filter does, is performing well in initial tests. It is also an opportuinity for you to glimpse at a cluster with a controversial history about its true distance. Reports vary considerably in the literature and mostly attributed to interstellar extinction. </div>
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<img height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5IMox7ZvysVtvHh6BtvxVVancTxqd4yDlICzx0DCPWG8ilmEn534-bF0RXTLeIiXY_Qr8GBM_umj7cU-cZxjyK9wGouJiQR_6P022wR1BSt6Hz4KCgkJnTraTt39kIv82kStwa4M80c1/s320/m52.png" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 544px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 162px;" width="96" /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-50245952748705630412012-08-03T12:41:00.001-04:002012-08-03T12:41:58.251-04:00Maia a Star in the Pleiades Cluster<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ag9cx3AuUULn2NQpfyiY35dLflMNfv8f6J7PkMymJHyunrl8CRLHryoW_ZxZAi2DYm8WL3XQPXcxOSkNobPQdNGqhJlXKhbsd_Nh1Vmi6gTXbVqWDt6OALbgQrw_qoWl_ZQbsfq7eLr3/s1600/MAIA.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ag9cx3AuUULn2NQpfyiY35dLflMNfv8f6J7PkMymJHyunrl8CRLHryoW_ZxZAi2DYm8WL3XQPXcxOSkNobPQdNGqhJlXKhbsd_Nh1Vmi6gTXbVqWDt6OALbgQrw_qoWl_ZQbsfq7eLr3/s320/MAIA.png" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maia in Pleiades<br />
5 min unguided exposure<br />
© <a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com" target="_blank">Billy Vazquez</a></td></tr>
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The Pleiades Cluster also known as the Seven Sisters will always make one of the favorite astronomers stops. Why you say? Well is bright, can be seen with the naked eye and it harbors these beautiful Blue B stars. More importantly, there is interstellar dust that reflects the light of this enormous stars, making it look nebula like. Well not everything is forever and astronomers have determined that in about 250 million years this cluster will be stripped away of its stars by gravitational forces. The image I show you today is one of the many tests I am performing on my renovated observatory. Maia one of the Pleiades stars is smacked in the middle ( more or less a bit southeast ). A 5 minute raw unguided exposure, on a full moon night, which is why you can barely see any nebulosity. Still a very nice image, with full width half maximum of 2.1 arc seconds.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-50831237679848758682012-07-30T19:36:00.002-04:002012-07-31T12:14:18.858-04:00M13 - Hercules Globular Cluster<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFhDKp1v7fx9ahRlbY5qqXo6GYLRVfEtyS1BiwgJ5ZuHRsXz1S2CbwvkCwKDf2SFg-hSau_wWrk2uvKW1gtrQxxSxf-CSORiYi197jrmLtTXXAo_WXlGbtktduLBQnfseCcX6geB8YfC1/s1600/m13-RGB_hres.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFhDKp1v7fx9ahRlbY5qqXo6GYLRVfEtyS1BiwgJ5ZuHRsXz1S2CbwvkCwKDf2SFg-hSau_wWrk2uvKW1gtrQxxSxf-CSORiYi197jrmLtTXXAo_WXlGbtktduLBQnfseCcX6geB8YfC1/s320/m13-RGB_hres.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M13 Hercules Globular Cluster<br />
VAO, Webster NY<br />
FWHM 2.2", 1x1 bin, 0.54 "/pix<br />
12" Meade SCT<br />
© Billy Vazquez</td></tr>
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M13, the Hercules Globular Cluster was discovered by Edmund Halley in 1714 and catalogued by Charles Messier on 1764. This cluster at an apparent magnitude of 6 contains about a million stars on an approximate sphere spanning 150 light years. The image is a composite of 5x1 minute exposures unguided at f/6 on the VAO's 12" Meade to test the new Paramount MX mount. Close inspection of the stars show a small drift of about 2 arc seconds per minute. This is likely due to a non accurate PEC correction. Still nothing to be sniffed at a plate scale of 0.54"/pixel. The seeing was transparent and steady on July 29th, 2012 the reported FWHM was 2.2"Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-76297684867622096022012-02-14T09:17:00.001-05:002012-02-14T09:20:46.033-05:00Opposition of Eros<div style="text-align: right;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPky0vQHjXANHTEHHc1cFmbwlhed3ZK-SqKh8LWb8eYuLlkiTnmxt6zPEMQ7GeUE8eSnm73WUtgf6G7pgBMCyGdmPHZqfWcmMIoqM5OETVt1_9I19yB8bvYFHNp6SIQku2nii-iXuYzpQz/s1600/eros_anim.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPky0vQHjXANHTEHHc1cFmbwlhed3ZK-SqKh8LWb8eYuLlkiTnmxt6zPEMQ7GeUE8eSnm73WUtgf6G7pgBMCyGdmPHZqfWcmMIoqM5OETVt1_9I19yB8bvYFHNp6SIQku2nii-iXuYzpQz/s1600/eros_anim.gif" /></a></div>
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Eros is an asteroid in a high elliptical orbit around the Sun. It was discovered in 1878 and it is 33 km wide. </div>
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Back in the late 1920's, astronomers around the world knew that Eros will be again close to the Earth in 1931. They made calculations of the star field where Eros will transit to attempt to calculate the distance to Eros. This was a large undertaking as precise measurements of the stars needed to be done as well as of Eros. </div>
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Simultaneous observations of Eros from different parts of the world provides the necessary data to calculate distances using parallax. </div>
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Three weeks ago, Eros was in opposition again at a distance of 0.2 AU from Earth. Astronomers around the world are attempting a re-enactment of the observations and calculations done back in 1931. Not only will we be able to determine the distance to Eros, but we could estimate with these measurements the size of our Solar system. The animated image was captured from VAO in Webster, NY and shows (roughly), Eros transiting at a speed on the plane of the sky of 7 arc seconds per minute. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-72220150501382712592011-12-03T07:53:00.001-05:002011-12-03T08:12:28.102-05:00Photometry for Astronomers<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbKTcdpw17H8423Q6bOuCF_Km93sUSeffXXdYSPL_DAeZ39q3KZjwkSp2Dnk0caUW0Dpf2KscCWJ4A9wN5-gNidDFN9G98GXkYLbjm3sKFJ7Bh1NaMO8W0bVuWYWSHzwHQKVvJOosrPLMf/s1600/star37.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbKTcdpw17H8423Q6bOuCF_Km93sUSeffXXdYSPL_DAeZ39q3KZjwkSp2Dnk0caUW0Dpf2KscCWJ4A9wN5-gNidDFN9G98GXkYLbjm3sKFJ7Bh1NaMO8W0bVuWYWSHzwHQKVvJOosrPLMf/s320/star37.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQ8Ij4MfV_yczIHE8GqJYNsNeefG-JURJFgBfLn_g0Q55p0Qw7FW2idsL1ZJ2fL_RqrSJAFnfnJ1qWM0fz0p7GFV_qItN-hkqRdrh1FVxDq2gIqqah8rw7gCx_9pduoQ_I02z3VZK2LYO/s1600/star107.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQ8Ij4MfV_yczIHE8GqJYNsNeefG-JURJFgBfLn_g0Q55p0Qw7FW2idsL1ZJ2fL_RqrSJAFnfnJ1qWM0fz0p7GFV_qItN-hkqRdrh1FVxDq2gIqqah8rw7gCx_9pduoQ_I02z3VZK2LYO/s320/star107.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photometric results of VAO Observations on 11/21/2011</td></tr>
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Astronomers interested in the variability of stars need a tool to understand how they vary in time. This tool is called photometry and it is widely used by astronomers to study not only intrinsic star variability but the more familiar exoplanet transit searches. It is also used to study galaxies and other extended objects. So why study changes in "brightness"?</div>
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Changes in brightness can lead to the discovery of eclipsing binaries, transiting exoplanets, exotrojans and exomoons. It can tell you about the morphology of Active Galactic Nuclei and about the properties of supernovae explosions. You can infer from the data when you collect it over time about the physical properties of the object you are studying.</div>
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The plots to the right are examples of light curves or in other words many measurements of the intensity of stars over a period of time. On the horizontal axis you have number of exposures. On this particular case each tick on the axis is roughly 80 seconds. On the vertical we have the instrumental magnitude of the star. As you can tell by the graphs there are stars on this ensemble that vary on time scales of hours. These measurements were taken on VAO in Webster NY and the graphs are the results of the photometric pipeline I setup for this particular field.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-38551494852022918742011-11-07T08:55:00.000-05:002011-11-07T08:55:41.150-05:00The WIYN 0.9m Observatory @ Kitt Peak<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggASwk9rB17H2igpGzqnDTeLN8jMieJFVr9mFVDa0lnl4pXVbg4Z0FIQu7cUA5XIamjvMO-DdE1WmvAMPaZGmQnLMzsjpEGv2mQkmy9L1Ml3TH5_XMdrYINON_JAt9oLTUS6N9JS2Icnmg/s1600/KittPeak1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggASwk9rB17H2igpGzqnDTeLN8jMieJFVr9mFVDa0lnl4pXVbg4Z0FIQu7cUA5XIamjvMO-DdE1WmvAMPaZGmQnLMzsjpEGv2mQkmy9L1Ml3TH5_XMdrYINON_JAt9oLTUS6N9JS2Icnmg/s320/KittPeak1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitt Peak National Observatory</td></tr>
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Today there are no pretty pictures of the wonders of the Universe from the VAO observatory in Webster, NY. Instead, I bring you images of where I will be for the next week, Kitt Peak National Observatory. Located 56 miles from Tucson, Arizona at an elevation of 6,875 feet above sea level. <a href="http://www.noao.edu/kpno/" target="_blank">KPNO</a> has the largest collection of telescopes in the world. 24 optical telescopes and 2 radio observatories. </div>
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So why KPNO?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikM_zL4VfGnUHAd7GQgwUa59BrarPakGL48w_pMRnj71F_solFXbBNGsBUom9UxJgNSmlJ8XoXKcMscEs-yrh5Qbm1NVwZD-3Cv4Q0x97cJ8PShgYQcedFcXZoTWxanzQ9X7Pwfj_7eOK/s1600/wiyns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikM_zL4VfGnUHAd7GQgwUa59BrarPakGL48w_pMRnj71F_solFXbBNGsBUom9UxJgNSmlJ8XoXKcMscEs-yrh5Qbm1NVwZD-3Cv4Q0x97cJ8PShgYQcedFcXZoTWxanzQ9X7Pwfj_7eOK/s320/wiyns.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the left, the WIYN 0.9 m Observatory</td></tr>
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KPNO houses the <a href="http://www.noao.edu/0.9m/" target="_blank">WIYN</a> consortium 0.9 meter telescope of which Rochester Institute of Technology is a partner among other educational institutions. As part of the partnership, faculty and students of RIT have the opportunity to conduct research and educational projects. </div>
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Why is this important to me, you say? Well to begin, the night sky at KPNO is one of the best in the nation and the opportunity to image with a telescope that is 3 times the aperture size of the one I have is compelling. Not to mention this will advance 2 of the projects I am currently working on. The first project is on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_galactic_nucleus" target="_blank">AGN</a> (Active Galactic Nuclei), galaxies where their central super massive blackhole is accreating mass. The second project is on the characterization of transiting exoplanets and their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apsidal_precession" target="_blank">apsidal precession</a> due to the effects predicted by Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity.<br />
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Stay tuned for the results of this trip!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-28240529467180481032011-11-03T23:06:00.000-04:002011-11-04T14:03:45.221-04:00M78, McNeil's Nebula, v1647Ori what do these things have in common?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdizGNvwyb83mGDfdPAnhDYkgISmzxhXrP6qTTjFZGwalvZJRh287L8LaIjvMc4nxQBczxI7xDX8g4Wz8VMHGesUOg7mPsWWop1UuDxPa93DXNmEs_U-RPB_zCerKNBkSqDDlh535Pmcf/s1600/V1647Ori-RGB.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdizGNvwyb83mGDfdPAnhDYkgISmzxhXrP6qTTjFZGwalvZJRh287L8LaIjvMc4nxQBczxI7xDX8g4Wz8VMHGesUOg7mPsWWop1UuDxPa93DXNmEs_U-RPB_zCerKNBkSqDDlh535Pmcf/s400/V1647Ori-RGB.png" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M78, McNeil's Nebula and v1647Ori<br />
©<a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com">Billy Vazquez</a>, 2011 @ VAO Webster, NY</td></tr>
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They are all part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. They are also part of these image taken from VAO a few nights ago. M78 on the upper left corner of these image is an HII region and it the brightest and most prominent object of this field but regardless there are several other nebula like objects, for example McNeil's Nebula. </div>
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McNeil's Nebula has a very interesting story behind it. Discovered by McNeil in 2003 after having done an exhaustive search on this field at different epochs. But was it really a new object in the sky? Apparently as close to the mid 1960s and by no other than an amateur astronomer(Evered Kramer). There is clear evidence that the nebula was visible then. So how come it disappeared just to reappear again for McNeil to find? This is still the topic of active research. The prevalent explanation is that the young star v1647Ori has episodic outburst whose light reflects and scatters by the dust in McNeil's Nebula.</div>
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These outbursts from young stars and their associated nebulosity are coined Herbig-Haro objects and they are like I said still the subject of astronomical research, so that we can understand the physics that powers this phenomena.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-68217557431573934702011-10-29T10:20:00.001-04:002011-10-29T10:20:51.826-04:00M103<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEXiFnMA6kpbG3fRoABlXJrUobUj10-dLyIhmOWZyzqdDgeYl4NvjJA7rn66lcWCNeA5eL_LQ_0tEHWBmjSCVTarYXkbDM5lhvLx8VtQTxrHdzFQDR9uNt36EC386WcJnJnig2Mih5gRI/s1600/Group1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEXiFnMA6kpbG3fRoABlXJrUobUj10-dLyIhmOWZyzqdDgeYl4NvjJA7rn66lcWCNeA5eL_LQ_0tEHWBmjSCVTarYXkbDM5lhvLx8VtQTxrHdzFQDR9uNt36EC386WcJnJnig2Mih5gRI/s320/Group1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M103 from VAO, Webster, NY<br />© Billy Vazquez 2011</td></tr>
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A young open cluster in the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">constellation</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Cassiopeia. But how young is young, that is the question? The age of this open cluster was estimated to be around 16 million years at a distance of 2900 parsec (Sanner et al., 1999). The Solar System is roughly 4.5 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">billion</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> years old. If we use the age of our solar system and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">compare it</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> to the stars in this cluster we come to the conclusion that the cluster is younger by 3 orders of magnitude.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjDBJI43z0yz0l33G9b5n8DpLBjMwUyHcK3Ak6-pK6xaDFeD8djLcnj22-avdmy6z91p5Ut4t5-4YUrBH_0X6fMa89shjEI-6BlCs1tA20vEQgjPIZQScu7ilYnLCLC9MlpfO6RoUlAhGe/s1600/Group1bw.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjDBJI43z0yz0l33G9b5n8DpLBjMwUyHcK3Ak6-pK6xaDFeD8djLcnj22-avdmy6z91p5Ut4t5-4YUrBH_0X6fMa89shjEI-6BlCs1tA20vEQgjPIZQScu7ilYnLCLC9MlpfO6RoUlAhGe/s320/Group1bw.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M103 from VAO, Webster, NY<br />© Billy Vazquez 2011</td></tr>
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How do we know which stars in the field of view are part of the cluster? For that, we study the proper motion of the stars, which is the angular displacement over time with respect to the barycenter of the solar system. All stars that belong to the cluster will have roughly the same proper motion. This indicates that the stars are gravitationally bound and traverse the Galaxy as a unit.<br />
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The images of M103 shown were taken using a Johnson V band filter with VAO's 12" SCT @ f/6.3. They are 36x60 sec exposures co-added in Maxim DL for a total exposure time of 36 minutes. The imgages were dark and flat subtracted but no further image processing performed other than the color inversion of the second image.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-20669400659576900662011-10-11T08:16:00.002-04:002011-10-11T18:42:18.071-04:00Horsehead Nebula<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX15Fvftx1t1Y5s0pEhyvNrcaM7dPQMWRuaAwev1T0X-kjw69gPGy4oCytrS5dNGlLYq8Zml9eAFCAe2uwYaGrqTyP5NKDFRmuCt4IBm82CxNEHQvXM-geT5AqHHBo-ZA5kEed6N2sTF4g/s1600/hh.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX15Fvftx1t1Y5s0pEhyvNrcaM7dPQMWRuaAwev1T0X-kjw69gPGy4oCytrS5dNGlLYq8Zml9eAFCAe2uwYaGrqTyP5NKDFRmuCt4IBm82CxNEHQvXM-geT5AqHHBo-ZA5kEed6N2sTF4g/s320/hh.png" width="247" /></a></div>
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The Horsehead Nebula also known as Barnard 33 is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion and it is located just south of Alnitak. This dark nebula is located about 1500 light years away from Earth. The red glow is imparted by ionized hydrogen from nearby star Sigma Orionis.</div>
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The image shown was taken at VAO with broadband Johnson BVR filters. Total exposure time is 55 minutes ( 4x300s on B and V, 3x300s on R filters). It was further processed in PixInsight for dark subtraction and flat field division. A median noise reduction algorithm was used with a 3x3 kernel to eliminate most of the chrominance noise. The telescope used was the 12" inch SCT at f/6.3. Guiding was done with Metaguide with an 80mm APO refractor and Lumenera Skynix. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj989FWlmiSnDDPBEkl3liL71CxnctqxK6LxxWqagysxywiCPCsFHkN38cekXQWWnh4mxFdTrCHj0gYqJvKTebj7hQdTGsvlZvG0u6kV3boLq7anOW3lmaWTaCNAApP1NCQ46W1WLv_95pP/s1600/hh_grey.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj989FWlmiSnDDPBEkl3liL71CxnctqxK6LxxWqagysxywiCPCsFHkN38cekXQWWnh4mxFdTrCHj0gYqJvKTebj7hQdTGsvlZvG0u6kV3boLq7anOW3lmaWTaCNAApP1NCQ46W1WLv_95pP/s320/hh_grey.png" width="240" /></a></div>
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In addition I present to you the unedited out of the telescope combined image of 55 minutes on a single grey channel. You can see the vignetting of the smaller filters over the larger CCD chip area. As you would imagine this nebula would look much better over narrowband filters to expose more of the filamentary structure at the edges of the dark nebula.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-56623812361423774572011-09-25T22:17:00.002-04:002011-09-26T11:09:05.987-04:00Double Cluster - NGC 869<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWhiGJ1knBe351dltPota2-igE8Pj7jF9V5GFS0UxDEcow_oYUXBzaOhmx-ZZxo9Jc9hVuC_i_LjCQicWf5d6SLwbQqdmtAzLyIzTwaOLYPGXsGgCMUA8D1_QrdM6XgXqDN3sHevDRVbi/s1600/color.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWhiGJ1knBe351dltPota2-igE8Pj7jF9V5GFS0UxDEcow_oYUXBzaOhmx-ZZxo9Jc9hVuC_i_LjCQicWf5d6SLwbQqdmtAzLyIzTwaOLYPGXsGgCMUA8D1_QrdM6XgXqDN3sHevDRVbi/s320/color.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NGC 869 in Perseus<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">©<a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Billy Vazquez</a> @ VAO Webster, NY 9/18/2011</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuu7maU-61IRHONzE8HtBMC-LCF0dhKZtCL5T-n08D-FujZqsToC7OYVo-G-zDDEcynLnl0zbx4A91aOqVwRw19h1-jhoI0cDvvIaBkocAv9QDzg50xaJSzxLdFaCzHrYtLd-BxpbuKrda/s1600/bw.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuu7maU-61IRHONzE8HtBMC-LCF0dhKZtCL5T-n08D-FujZqsToC7OYVo-G-zDDEcynLnl0zbx4A91aOqVwRw19h1-jhoI0cDvvIaBkocAv9QDzg50xaJSzxLdFaCzHrYtLd-BxpbuKrda/s320/bw.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NGC 869 in BW<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">©<a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Billy Vazquez</a> @ VAO Webster, NY 9/18/2011</span> </td></tr>
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The Double Cluster are two open clusters in the constellation Perseus. The one in the images is NGC 869 at a distance of 7600 light years. It is believed it is about 13 million years old and it is also known as Cadwell 14.</div>
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The images were taken with the 12" SCT at f/6.3 with Astrodon Johnson VBR filters. Total exposure time was 2.5 hours. I am still using the Orion Parsec camera. In this instance I binned the image 2x2.</div>
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The mass of NGC 869 is estimated at 3700 solar masses with a color excess B-V of 0.56. Both clusters are near identical in age, distance and redenning. Whether the double cluster is the core of the Per OB1 association is still in debate according to Slesnick et al. 2002. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-7787996797388379312011-09-15T19:52:00.001-04:002011-09-15T20:31:43.020-04:00M36 - An Open Cluster in Auriga<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHLueigYLYdXvMc2uuDMbrvSjtPHE1hMy54kNBpOuINkBx4rJukk2Yoip4Dk6tmAn5lSB0pkWfcdYO5rbAJy_s9c0Oy5IRAfLZqDHvhMZOSg2u9UUfOM0dJtzm1XfE0ZXGZfuvrIyPTSQ/s1600/pix.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHLueigYLYdXvMc2uuDMbrvSjtPHE1hMy54kNBpOuINkBx4rJukk2Yoip4Dk6tmAn5lSB0pkWfcdYO5rbAJy_s9c0Oy5IRAfLZqDHvhMZOSg2u9UUfOM0dJtzm1XfE0ZXGZfuvrIyPTSQ/s320/pix.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">©<a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com">Billy Vazquez</a> @ VAO Webster, NY 9/11/2011</td></tr>
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The open cluster M36 was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna, an Italian astronomer of the 17th century. Rediscovered by Charles Messier as entry number 36 in his catalog.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwlQ61mJBZMEt7IM2U9sjZCbAX4KPxwaaeDRTjfSJHfWk82PvMuHggp_J8g2-wdM7X_dLyOHZEZyZIa88_n7uaXxV1XGlWXkQLFQhykFV7Jjfs6MxDrqMleVnS6xzOdBoX727kk6Niwp_j/s1600/bwpix.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwlQ61mJBZMEt7IM2U9sjZCbAX4KPxwaaeDRTjfSJHfWk82PvMuHggp_J8g2-wdM7X_dLyOHZEZyZIa88_n7uaXxV1XGlWXkQLFQhykFV7Jjfs6MxDrqMleVnS6xzOdBoX727kk6Niwp_j/s320/bwpix.png" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">©<a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com">Billy Vazquez</a> @ VAO Webster, NY 9/11/2011</td></tr>
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The cluster is rather young with an approximate age of 25 million years and it is roughly at a distance at 4,000 light years. The brightest stars on the image are of spectral type B. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This means these stars have temperatures that reach up to 33,000 K. These stars are also very fast spinners. You might ask how do we know they are fast rotators? The key is on a technique called spectroscopy which breaks the light of the stars into its different emission and absorption lines and from the width of these lines we can tell the rotation speed. <br /><br />The image was taken from my observatory and it is a LRGB color combined image. 3 x 5 minutes exposures over each Johnson filter and 15 minutes exposure over a luminance (IR Blocking) filter. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-31184743902040634622011-09-04T11:46:00.000-04:002011-09-04T11:46:11.339-04:00Orion's Nebula - M42<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUdFzzVWXX5l_sfJnwWi6PWY6smZg7kzggJ-wagSb8pl3ZhUFMw8he1PVS0IHm__P8O1RGvRH8tCQZRw-PoAeSnR7EpY_5vGUIWX-VDIUHom49aNXhjW2ST97zBd3ZamCF1fD_wmnOO0F/s1600/M42.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUdFzzVWXX5l_sfJnwWi6PWY6smZg7kzggJ-wagSb8pl3ZhUFMw8he1PVS0IHm__P8O1RGvRH8tCQZRw-PoAeSnR7EpY_5vGUIWX-VDIUHom49aNXhjW2ST97zBd3ZamCF1fD_wmnOO0F/s320/M42.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M42 - Orion's Nebula<br />©<a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com">Billy Vazquez</a> @ VAO (Webster, NY) 9/4/2011</td></tr>
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I remember when I did my first "Big Upgrade" to a Dobsonian 10" reflector and I took the "Little Monster", that is how I playfully called it, outside for a first light. It was a cold winter night but that is no deter for an avid astronomer. Orion's Belt was clearly visible to the naked eye and I remember the beautiful images of Orion Nebula's from my old dusty books. Not to mention all the beautiful Hubble images on the Internet.</div>
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Well, some years have gone by since that day outside where Orion's Nebula was a fuzzy blob on the eye piece. Both technology and my equipment have advanced quite a bit since then. I present to you last night's Orion's Nebula. An RGB composite of 7x20 sec exposures over each filter (Bessel V, Bessel B and H-Alpha). Post processed with MaximDL. The scope is my 12" LX200 ACF SCT at f/6.3.<br /><br />Orion's Nebula is a stellar nursery 1,344 light years away. It is the closest star formation region to our Sun. And its span is about 24 light years across. The 4 stars at the center that are barely resolved are part of the Trapezium open cluster. M42 is an astrophotogpaher challenging target as its stars are much brighter than the surrounding nebulosity. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-45471717139511847002011-08-27T10:37:00.000-04:002011-09-05T08:27:50.772-04:00SN 2011fe at M101 aka PTF11kly<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbV2DaXZyv_6hlYV6Qh32u-1Z4cmd1L6V8bce9b6s3_UiOluWEJ2PttbsqJVgKRz2KOpTx3ZJpIf5RqkBOjWo6B5srfhPLyDH5_zFP3Y_ZLIvF5r88l6A39J6N9waUC0g97BJfb58GsQ69/s1600/m101-sn2011fe-arrow.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbV2DaXZyv_6hlYV6Qh32u-1Z4cmd1L6V8bce9b6s3_UiOluWEJ2PttbsqJVgKRz2KOpTx3ZJpIf5RqkBOjWo6B5srfhPLyDH5_zFP3Y_ZLIvF5r88l6A39J6N9waUC0g97BJfb58GsQ69/s320/m101-sn2011fe-arrow.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SN 2011fe in M101<br />
08/26/2011 2 10:26 PM EST<br />
©<a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com">Billy Vazquez</a> from Webster,NY @ VAO</td></tr>
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Supernova 2011fe in M101 on August 26th, 2011 from Webster, NY at the Vazquez Astronomical Observatory. Using the 12" SCT at f/10. 10 stacked exposures of 150 seconds, dark subtracted and flat fielded. No other processing done on the image other than the big black arrow pointing to the Supernova Type 1a, 2011fe. From Webster, NY M101 starts at around 40 degrees of elevation from the horizon on the West at this time of the year. Unlucky for me my West view of the sky is limited to about 37 degrees of altitude and above so I had a small window of opportunity to image the galaxy.</div>
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Nevertheless, it is a rare opportunity for an astronomer to be able to image a supernova event with his own observatory. So this is a first for me and I feel pretty good about the results. Next to do some photo metric analysis of the data and confirm its apparent magnitude.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-38444645179641562172011-08-21T21:12:00.001-04:002011-08-22T20:06:30.941-04:00Dragonfly Cluster - NGC 457<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6ftynMuZzuUMgGejAqmadFYOcz1gwxKss33ZMTk8vZk5YlTLwo5lJKHYW5AcLDSgnDHEL0w9TXoviNzvBWYJfSLlUe54xw1VpGMlBoGkzTVX9j23tOXs-LrdGLJBf5oVZOZxXZo3et6i/s1600/RGB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6ftynMuZzuUMgGejAqmadFYOcz1gwxKss33ZMTk8vZk5YlTLwo5lJKHYW5AcLDSgnDHEL0w9TXoviNzvBWYJfSLlUe54xw1VpGMlBoGkzTVX9j23tOXs-LrdGLJBf5oVZOZxXZo3et6i/s320/RGB.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NGC 487 - 2 minute exposure over RGB filters<br />
12" SCT, Orion Parsec, f/6.3<br />
©<a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com">Billy Vazquez</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Dragonfly Cluster also known as the Owl Cluster is about 1,790 light years away from the Sun in the constellation Cassiopeia. The cluster is fairly young at an approximate age of 21 million years. The image to your right is the RGB composition of images taken at the Vazquez Astronomical Observatory (VAO). 2x2 binned, 2 x 2 min exposures stacked on red, green, blue filters. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 minutes of exposure doesn't do justice to this beautiful star cluster. So therefore, I should come back to it someday and extend my exposure time to get some of the faintest stars. But for now enjoy the view.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-10144885729572814352011-08-14T12:28:00.001-04:002011-08-14T12:29:36.956-04:00NGC 281 - Pacman Nebula<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBaXE7B3wUHnIYDcouFvRm3uXSO1eJzuprhlJcJv7DLBK97uCdVgHfYlPoQjNvpKKlz5E1eVoE94SoU_1X5heCf8_K7KXTVYv8X7mDiYlJZ79-mCV1M5Wo__CObyt79qaWRp3UndhBS93m/s1600/pacman-out.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBaXE7B3wUHnIYDcouFvRm3uXSO1eJzuprhlJcJv7DLBK97uCdVgHfYlPoQjNvpKKlz5E1eVoE94SoU_1X5heCf8_K7KXTVYv8X7mDiYlJZ79-mCV1M5Wo__CObyt79qaWRp3UndhBS93m/s320/pacman-out.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NGC 281 - The Pacman Nebula<br />
©<a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com"> Billy Vazquez</a> 2011<br />
VAO @ Webster, NY</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">As I was growing up, I remember my first refractor telescope that my grandmother bought for me at the Hayden Planetarium in NYC. I was 8 years old and I felt like a million bucks. I remember the first light of my 2 inch refractor as I attempted to look at the night sky from my parents suburban residence in Puerto Rico. I could see the stars but it made me wonder where were all those galaxies and nebulas I have seen in books? Why can't I find them?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It took me some years but finally, I found them. The image shown here its the PacMan Nebula, NGC 281. I took this image from VAO using the 30cm LX200 ACF, 5 minute exposure in LRGB filters, post processed by MaximDL and Photoshop. The nebula is a HII region, where you can see dark patches where no light is coming from. These dark patches are called Bok Globules and it is where the magic happens. Stars are born within the Bok Globules but the material around this new born stars is so dense that we cannot see them in optical light.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-27116791159945674052011-08-07T20:31:00.000-04:002011-09-05T08:27:10.858-04:00M11 - NGC 6705 - The Wild Duck Cluster<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxsM99-Urp7cdgh-RXqzTXM8Gqsb2aZN-ornDxj04t92EtJjE-T87x1CGUy5cB8B0jUBl29l_hm4SRmmT1iLXiQE_XMM1dqMkanSL2MGnoUHmvRxwZ1C2keqqug7z7z6pNjbEVqKHNCNg/s1600/PS-LRGB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxsM99-Urp7cdgh-RXqzTXM8Gqsb2aZN-ornDxj04t92EtJjE-T87x1CGUy5cB8B0jUBl29l_hm4SRmmT1iLXiQE_XMM1dqMkanSL2MGnoUHmvRxwZ1C2keqqug7z7z6pNjbEVqKHNCNg/s320/PS-LRGB.jpg" width="320" /></a>M11, also known as the Wild Duck Cluster is an open cluster in our own Milky Way that contains about 2900 stars. It has an estimated age of 220 million years. <br />
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A few nights ago, just before the clouds rolled in Webster NY. I decided to capture this magnificent cluster and see, how does it look like in color. To my surprise this cluster has many stars of different colors. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzF9t17hV9QVWTiBtAAhn-S8XzbCrR5-vK2ytH7lPPr1OMb0feEU5A9mRx8Pb2qhgnScP2rGYbX3v9IE0ZKw_zFGOCM0rWieK8NCHJQfPzfBEV1PoBmbQycwz8Km0kPk1g8xP0Z3LMuLZ/s1600/Median-LRGB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzF9t17hV9QVWTiBtAAhn-S8XzbCrR5-vK2ytH7lPPr1OMb0feEU5A9mRx8Pb2qhgnScP2rGYbX3v9IE0ZKw_zFGOCM0rWieK8NCHJQfPzfBEV1PoBmbQycwz8Km0kPk1g8xP0Z3LMuLZ/s320/Median-LRGB.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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I used 4 x 60 second exposures stacked on each channel, LRGB. The top image its a powered up Photoshop enhanced version of M11. I like to call this stars in steroids. I felt a bit compelled to play the artist and see what I could do with it.<br />
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The middle image is just the LRGB color combine. This image only has flat and dark subtraction processing. So it should give you a clear indication of the colors of the stars.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba7Rt5-jJEsxhN_WC0V2NkqfWFr-zVo3Onx_Gi6XXqBh-_wIxPK8_HqlQRf0mR1L0L4Tx_Ukyv8ORzbbbLnaS067y3iXiCfTCs5d52h-RJP1f_Z_8vB-k3n2s67WtocV59ddZP4H7YDKy/s1600/LumOnly-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba7Rt5-jJEsxhN_WC0V2NkqfWFr-zVo3Onx_Gi6XXqBh-_wIxPK8_HqlQRf0mR1L0L4Tx_Ukyv8ORzbbbLnaS067y3iXiCfTCs5d52h-RJP1f_Z_8vB-k3n2s67WtocV59ddZP4H7YDKy/s320/LumOnly-L.jpg" width="320" /></a>The image at the bottom is just the stacked images on the luminance filter. The only processing done on that image is dark substraction. So it should give you an idea of how the cluster look like before any additional processing.<br />
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I can't help but to think what if we lived inside an open cluster like M11. How would the night sky look like? I can imagine hundreds of magnitude 1 stars all over the night sky. It would be awesome!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-26782332578803472112011-08-03T14:36:00.001-04:002011-09-05T08:28:56.072-04:00M15 - NGC 7078<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKFNH4YZjj7oeMf25dVyhLG9MwFzKM9ZrB4E5czqXcxKSoBryTdcG4AnkAczL4qdUEv6lq0bMqNnpy2dZBuILsmgpw1WufBmvlt-hmZ8JJzNPhca0NqnpkNa_VP5N1pKLM-C1l8KgyCzy/s1600/photo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKFNH4YZjj7oeMf25dVyhLG9MwFzKM9ZrB4E5czqXcxKSoBryTdcG4AnkAczL4qdUEv6lq0bMqNnpy2dZBuILsmgpw1WufBmvlt-hmZ8JJzNPhca0NqnpkNa_VP5N1pKLM-C1l8KgyCzy/s320/photo.png" width="320" /></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_15">M15</a> is a Globular Cluster in the constellation Pegasus. It is is one of the oldest globular clusters known. It is about 33,600 light years away and its total luminosity makes it 360,000 times more luminous than our Sun. It is believed that at the center of M15 there is a blackhole that has pulled together a large concentration of stars orbiting it.<br />
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For the amateur astronomer this globular cluster looks like the image to your right. The image was taken last night form VAO and it is a RGB color composite. The exposure time was 20 seconds on each filter. I post process the final image in photo shop for the artistic spikes on the foreground stars.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpe2tljDBQpOPGlZEFd1NpEMM_dtQC9VS4GZj5I_XFlh_Rf5j1-kZXcJc-0-nn6YSMMsJvpaVW5TEk-nGxYFQXa6Hhyl4yITCnVCCggHs-3Ket4yJnQERFZhqX4nWzJoUIBr5HaFWZ6Yb/s1600/greyscale.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpe2tljDBQpOPGlZEFd1NpEMM_dtQC9VS4GZj5I_XFlh_Rf5j1-kZXcJc-0-nn6YSMMsJvpaVW5TEk-nGxYFQXa6Hhyl4yITCnVCCggHs-3Ket4yJnQERFZhqX4nWzJoUIBr5HaFWZ6Yb/s320/greyscale.png" width="320" /></a>Now, I prefer grey scale images myself so here is a rendition of M15 in just the V band filter same exposure length and no processing. You can see how cleaning up the image and stacking the 3 color filter images make for a more pleasant look. But sometimes you really just want to see what comes right out of the telescope. So I will give you both so you can enjoy the view.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-31147238183610734512011-07-30T16:40:00.001-04:002011-07-30T16:42:14.955-04:00M27 - NGC 6853 - The Dumbbell Nebula<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGe65ZcxTYhAOSBu1Uri3NA1nGEiHybqwpZaTCtlSr8SeTMyJwaIOmbphRr0CHZa6lHha-Gw0cDE3Qobc3H_65RgtnYIRTpbGICY1GnXas0J1YlEZDdKelCupYYIVeTbg_5Cklq2JnnDJt/s1600/Group1-L-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGe65ZcxTYhAOSBu1Uri3NA1nGEiHybqwpZaTCtlSr8SeTMyJwaIOmbphRr0CHZa6lHha-Gw0cDE3Qobc3H_65RgtnYIRTpbGICY1GnXas0J1YlEZDdKelCupYYIVeTbg_5Cklq2JnnDJt/s320/Group1-L-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M27 - Dumbbell Nebula</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">It started all with a cloudy night, where I was taken glimpses of stars between cloud and cloud, to determine the quality of my new optical setup. I was not planning on an observing night but sometime after 12:30 AM, the clouds stopped going by and the night sky opened up. Like a good astronomer, I decided to work on some imaging for a science project, I am currently working on. As the morning hours went by and I was about done with my imaging for the night, I looked at my planetarium software and see the label, M27 not far from my current position. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinv3Zf-GeZTs2EyCVPgIc5X1TGeILzQ4_EvL8e9mMHwUmGtqNfmNE-6cYCob4pUmKkfV7O10TV5TigC68s9ez4Y6dDlNjkVGZbwwCQt_3sp3whwOgzURnVwLQ3SbT-_gn32J9yTpioQqAj/s1600/Group1-L-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinv3Zf-GeZTs2EyCVPgIc5X1TGeILzQ4_EvL8e9mMHwUmGtqNfmNE-6cYCob4pUmKkfV7O10TV5TigC68s9ez4Y6dDlNjkVGZbwwCQt_3sp3whwOgzURnVwLQ3SbT-_gn32J9yTpioQqAj/s320/Group1-L-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M27 in false colors</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Well it happens that M27, also known as the Dumbbell Nebula is a beautiful planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpelcula. It signals the end of the life of a star. In its center there is a star remnant called a white dwarf. The expanding material that we see spans about 3 ligth years across. The nebula itself is 1,360 light years away. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The images were taken last night from VAO, 3x60 second exposures on the luminance filter, binned 2x2 with an Orion Parsec Monochromatic camera with my LX200 ACF 12" telescope at aprrox. f/6.3</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-20508503266535790292011-07-25T18:44:00.037-04:002011-07-28T21:03:34.904-04:00Distances in Astronomy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcO6kOMvbFitYKqJ_mLCAOTISnF0vLu1XqNTvskPyisoIheB_MS9SHv2m9bcMd1qyylYz_boWd9pewcMPU1Z9S4mSVLspKUjst7ZgeGHl_NPJK0COgpPn6ROMsIIc5EFgXIcJKiWjL_MK/s1600/mrk876.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcO6kOMvbFitYKqJ_mLCAOTISnF0vLu1XqNTvskPyisoIheB_MS9SHv2m9bcMd1qyylYz_boWd9pewcMPU1Z9S4mSVLspKUjst7ZgeGHl_NPJK0COgpPn6ROMsIIc5EFgXIcJKiWjL_MK/s200/mrk876.png" width="197" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">© <a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com">Billy Vazquez</a> 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We look at the night sky and everything seems equally distant from our point of view. The reality is quite different. Astronomers study celestial objects and can determine their distance from Earth. To the right an image taken from VAO(Vazquez Astronomical Observatory). The first one to the right is of a distant galaxy named Mark876. But where is the galaxy in that image? Well is very small and point like. Just like any other star in that image. That is because this galaxy is so far away from us that it looks as just another star in the sky. What we see, is its bright nucleus at a distance of 476.5 Mpc. A parsec is 30,857 billion kilometers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzbqG28r0LkQdr_ubZ6CCYraGLXuEwKJG0u-LJKV1uep4FhsL4c2F5cb2Lb_hPGD4jwhNOIYFkftf0Bi2_aC5A0taCYt6AumU1rBqZj8OahRjfpx0R8BVpCtdEg3TdKVtHPcTbY9SFqiH/s1600/test1x1-300s-Lum.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzbqG28r0LkQdr_ubZ6CCYraGLXuEwKJG0u-LJKV1uep4FhsL4c2F5cb2Lb_hPGD4jwhNOIYFkftf0Bi2_aC5A0taCYt6AumU1rBqZj8OahRjfpx0R8BVpCtdEg3TdKVtHPcTbY9SFqiH/s200/test1x1-300s-Lum.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">© <a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com">Billy Vazquez</a> 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The second image reveals M101 also known as the Pinwheel galaxy. It is a spiral galaxy and there is no mistake, we can tell by the look of it that it is indeed a galaxy. How far is it? It is merely 3.4 Mpc away. That is just 104,739,957,746,478,873,239 km away from Earth. Definitely closer than Mrk 876. How do we know the galaxy is so far away? Lucky for us there are stars in the universe called Cepheids, which change brightness periodically. Using their change of brightness we can determine their distance to Earth. Galaxies like M101 are beautiful sights for astrophotographers.</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwElidtXUBZZ8tHxi96jDauuKAh_670sSM77JVKhWQl_-tJK9fazZaflZtem39G6Af0yQWoeJdBOPO0bSaOGFKH16ZzIGsP-rAIS7j_tTQd7C6KWfwv_P-bpUX-fzvatgDXLQdpK7M6eEk/s1600/m13.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwElidtXUBZZ8tHxi96jDauuKAh_670sSM77JVKhWQl_-tJK9fazZaflZtem39G6Af0yQWoeJdBOPO0bSaOGFKH16ZzIGsP-rAIS7j_tTQd7C6KWfwv_P-bpUX-fzvatgDXLQdpK7M6eEk/s200/m13.png" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">© <a href="mailto:astrobilly@facebook.com">Billy Vazquez</a> 2011</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">Last but not least, I present M13 the globular cluster in our own Mily Way Galaxy. How far is it? It is just shy of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">236,513,210,000,000</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> km from Earth. The light from the stars of M13 as seen today is about 25,000 years old. Therefore as we look into the night sky we look into the distant past of the Universe. It makes you wonder how so many stars got all clumped together and they still navigate through our Galaxy as a single unit.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103498977510230970.post-37576305684679751072011-07-18T19:23:00.001-04:002011-07-20T00:24:21.742-04:00Green Bank Radio Astronomy at NRAO<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7Glm1RThI4CWvsCqgaJUMyx-ygkPrBtMd5derK2xqGPcNYBdKwr1MmE101hSAmrVwEIeXR6BeEX-qOq7dgYZRKsULcRAjSUijQ0TVCy_F3ioF2negCeyriqF58NCAcpKrFOlLQTtha-o/s1600/ngc5668.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7Glm1RThI4CWvsCqgaJUMyx-ygkPrBtMd5derK2xqGPcNYBdKwr1MmE101hSAmrVwEIeXR6BeEX-qOq7dgYZRKsULcRAjSUijQ0TVCy_F3ioF2negCeyriqF58NCAcpKrFOlLQTtha-o/s320/ngc5668.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credits: 2011 Billy Vazquez, GBT @ West Virginia , NRAO</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Radio Astronomy refers to the study of the electromagnetic spectrum between wavelengths of 0.3 mm to 30 m. This covers frequencies between 1 THz to 10 MHz. The largest Single Dish Radio Telescope on the continental US is the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. It is only surpassed in dish area by the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Arecibo has greater sensitivity, but operates only between 50 Mhz to 10 Ghz. It is also restricted to plus/minus 20 degrees from its current latitude of 18 degrees, as the dish is non-steerable. Green Bank can operate at higher frequencies above 100 Ghz and it can fully track any object in the sky above 5 degrees above the horizon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWTlnmfXjqSFlBpu3ZNh4vdqc0sJ4u3ugxRosjP3LZ4ceHkMrWyJtiYGExBejQVvO9vzzeivki0VnsMXDKIFNSkdDaxVA_l7m7sLBTwtYco5cEbXD4Vk4-hLZgLOOFu7w1ZB9lPcEBUQa/s1600/NGC_5668-I-gri-lbf2004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWTlnmfXjqSFlBpu3ZNh4vdqc0sJ4u3ugxRosjP3LZ4ceHkMrWyJtiYGExBejQVvO9vzzeivki0VnsMXDKIFNSkdDaxVA_l7m7sLBTwtYco5cEbXD4Vk4-hLZgLOOFu7w1ZB9lPcEBUQa/s320/NGC_5668-I-gri-lbf2004.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credits: 2006 M. Blanton , D. Hogg and the SDSS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>To the right two images of the same galaxy, NGC 5668. It is a spiral galaxy as you can see from the optical image to the right with a clear bright core. Also to the right the radio spectral image of the same galaxy at 1.4 Ghz. This particular frequency is very useful for astronomers as it gives us lots of information about the observed celestial object. This line, also known as the 21 cm line, tells us the radial velocity at which this galaxy is receding away from us. In this case roughly about 1575 km/s away from us. The graph also tells us that there is rotation of hydrogen gas as can be shown from the double horn feature. Some of the gas is blue-shifted towards us , while some is red-shifted towards us at about a rate of 50 km/s. <br />
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The power of radio astronomy lets us determine many properties of celestial objects and it will only get more interesting in the future as new and improved facilities like the EVLA and ALMA start producing new science.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14235243574426776132noreply@blogger.com0