(My) Astronomy Picture(s) of the Day

NGC 7953, known as the "Helix Nebula" and also referred to as the "Eye of God", is located in Aquarius and is one of the closest planetary nebulae to Earth, a mere 700 light years away. Its apparent size is almost the size of the full moon! The hot bright central star is a sun-like star that after exhausting its hydrogen and helium, began to expel its atmosphere about 10000 years ago, and formed a white dwarf. Intense ultraviolet radiation from the white dwarf illuminates the nebula. I created this image Sept. 22, 2014 from two nights of images for a total of about 43 minutes of exposure time, using an unmodified Canon Rebel T3i. The nebula's low altitude in the sky makes it a difficult object to image, so extensive post-processing was applied to improve its overall visual appeal. See what this nebula looked like before I processed the image here. I don't usually like to over-process images like this, because it can create artifacts that detract from the reality. However, I made an exception for this one because it came out so damn nice:)

M20, also known as the Trifid Nebula, is a spectacular combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula (the red portion), a reflection nebula (the blue region), and a dark nebula all in one! In 2005, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope discovered 30 embryonic stars and 120 newborn stars invisible to the naked eye deep in the heart of emission nebula region. I grew up with a poster of this nebula in my room, taken by the 200 inch Hale telescope - it wasn't too much better than my image here:) This is an exposure on Aug. 25, 2014, of about 27 minutes consisting of about 80 20 second exposures @ ISO1600 with a Rebel T3i at prime focus. This is the first time that I saw a distinct improvement using dark frames, resulting in a noticeable enhancement in the extended darker rifts of the nebula. In the past, I would simply ignore the dark frames and enhance to get a comparable result. However, in this case, the extended nebulosity (with the frames) seemed to make the subtle dark rifts just jump out more readily.

NGC6207, also known as "Seyfert's Sextet", is a group of galaxies of which 4 out of 6 are truly interacting and about 190 million light years distant. The fifth (small, center) is a background galaxy almost 5 times further away, while the sixth (top, vertically elongated) is actually a "tidal tail" of stars torn from one of the galaxies. The four should coalesce billions of years from now into a single large elliptical galaxy. The galaxies range in magnitude from 14.7 to 16.8 and quite small, making them challenging to photograph. I combined about 170 images over two nights on July 21, 2014 using my unmodified Canon Rebel 3Ti and focal reducer. I've been using darks lately, which I find help to balance the color more than anything else. In addition, good focus here brought out some true color out of this beautiful but small cluster of colliding galaxies! How spectacular is that?

A beautiful pair of near interacting galaxies in an early phase of collision! NGC4567 and NGC4568, known as the "Siamese Twins" or "Butterfly" Galaxies, are roughly 120 million light years away. They are shown here in the same field of view as NGC4564 (top right) and a 14.4 mag galaxy named IC3578 (lower left). Accelerated star formation has been detected in areas where the pair of galaxies overlap, indicating the beginnings of a galactic merger. Our own galaxy is on a similar course to merge with the Andromeda galaxy in about 4 billion years! I think the color and focus came out really well for this pair. I shot this on May 31, 2014 at ISO1600 with raw frames using my Canon Rebel T3i and stacked almost 80 frames @ 20sec per frame. I've also started using dark frames (30 of them), although I have yet to see a major difference because of them. I anticipate the benefit will increase as the weather outside gets warmer.

This remote globular cluster, NGC2419, was first discovered by William Herschel on New Year's Eve in 1788. Known as the "Intergalactic Wanderer" it's the furthest globular cluster in our galaxy, at an approximate distance of 280,000 light years, and orbiting us once every 3 billion years! Debate however, continues as to whether the globular is an extra-galactic object, or a relic of a dwarf galaxy tidally disrupted by our own Milky Way. In either case, its small apparent size and faintness belies its true nature as one of the brightest and most massive globular clusters in the galaxy. I was able to get it into really nice focus using my Bahtinov mask. Normally, I select a fairly bright star to do my fine focus. However, this time I used a much smaller fainter star that seemed to enable me to improve the accuracy of the Bahtinov pattern - which I think paid off! I took this in March of 2014 stacking about 80 20sec frames at ISO1600 using a Canon Rebel T3i, along with 30 dark frames. Not bad for a (cold) near-full-moon night in downtown Concord MA!

Revisiting an old friend! M42 - the Great Orion Nebula - a huge stellar nursery right in our own backyard only about 1400 light years away. Well...two years later and two years smarter gets you better pictures! I'd say that's a pretty general rule of thumb. I shot this on Feb. 10, 2014 at ISO800 with raw frames using my Canon T3i and stacked almost 80 frames @ 20sec per frame. Compare this with my previous attempt using JPG images here. The secret sauce is in the post-processing though...I used GIMP to first apply an unsharp mask sharpening enhancement, followed by some color balancing and non-linear contrast enhancement. And here it is! Beautiful isn't it?

My first extra-galactic supernova! - Supernova 2014J in the galaxy M82 in Ursa Major shining at a near peak of approximately magnitude 10.5 on Jan. 29, 2014. The bottom right GIF image shows the supernova "blinking" by superimposing two images from different times. The pair of images on the first row shows M82 taken about 18 months earlier. I was able to reprocess my original attempt (top left) to get an image (top right) closer to my supernova image (bottom left). The original involved the use of JPG images, while my newest attempt made use of RAW as well as darks. Despite that difference, I was still able to reprocess the original to an image that comes very close to my newest attempt (bottom left). Clearly, my skills in image processing have improved:) but more importantly, it is interesting to note how much post-processing can accomplish. I think I am finally starting to reap some benefits from the use of RAW and dark images, but this does show that even *with* JPG images alone, it is still possible to get quite reasonable results.

My third attempt at the spectacular edge-on galaxy NGC891 in Andromeda, using almost an hour long exposure (157 frames @ 20 sec/frame and ISO3200). I took this a few nights ago on November 30, 2013 using a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR and my Lepus focal reducer. Focus looks dead-on, producing nice detail in the dust regions of the galaxy. You can clearly see numerous small tendrils in the central regions. The extra half hour compared to my previous attempt below definitely reduced the noise, but the benefits of the improved focus are also noticeable. Apparently this galaxy is very similar to what our galaxy would look like seen edge-on. You can see glimpses of that yourself on very dark summer nights looking into the center of the MilkyWay!

My first nova! This is a picture I took in the early morning on August 17th 2013 at around 1:00am. The nova was just after its (first?) peak at a magnitude of about 5 making it a naked eye object! I had to use at least binnoculars to see it here in Concord, MA, but I could swear I could also catch a glimpse of it with my own eyes!

Here are a few of my latest planetary nebulae...I've been trying to see how small I can get! All of these were taken without a focal reducer. Clockwise from the top left we have NGC6826 in Cygnus - 27"x24" in size, also known as the Blinking Planetary, next, NGC6818 in Sagittarius - 22"x15" in size and also known as the Green Mars or Little Gem Nebula , then NGC40, a 38"x35" planetary in Cepheus, called the Bow Tie Nebula, and finally, NGC7027 known as the Pink Pillow Nebula in Cygnus - a mere 18"x10" in size! Despite tracking issues due to a rather high altitude, NGC7027 still came out surprisingly well, revealing some intricate structure I was very happy to see. I used ISO1600 for all except NGC40 for which I accidentally used ISO6400, 20 second unguided exposures using a Canon Rebel T3i, stacking 80% of the best frames in DSS, followed by some unsharp masking enhancement and contrast stretching. All of these were taken Aug. 16, 2013, except for the Green Mars Nebula which was taken the night before.

Here are a few beautiful NGC galaxies...NGC4631, the "Whale Galaxy" in Canes Venatici worked out particularly well along with its companion galaxy NGC4627. It's part of group of galaxies that includes NGC4656, the "Hockey Stick Galaxy" shown below left, and the Mice Galaxies shown here. On the top right is NGC4565, a prototypical example of an edge-on spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices. Interesting note about this galaxy is that its relative location to us is analogous to that of Polaris (a marker for the approximate location of the north celestial pole), except that it is situated in the approximate location of our north galactic pole. Finally, on the bottom right is a beautiful spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices sometimes called the "Ring Galaxy" because of the circular ring around the galaxy core. Note the dust lane that (uncharacteristically for dust lanes) veers into the core somewhat. All of these images were taken late April/early May of 2013 using my OPTEC focal reducer and a Canon T3i at ISO3200, stacking approximately 75 frames at 20sec each.

A continuation of my mini-Messier marathon...Here are several galaxies with very distinctive dust lanes: On the first row, M102 or the "Spindle Galaxy" is a lenticular galaxy in Draco, NGC3628 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in Leo forming a triplet with M65-M66 below; on the last row, we have M64 (The Black Eye Galaxy) in Coma Berenices and M104 (The Sombrero Galaxy) in Virgo. All were taken end of April / early May of 2013, using a focal reducer and a Canon T3i with an ISO setting of 3200 and approximately 80 20sec exposures, stacked using DSS...a little bit better than my very early first attempts! I still have not been able to get dark frames to work for me, so these are all just processed using lights. I'm particularly proud of M64, coming out with some nice detail in dust lane itself! M64 is interesting in that its inner star regions rotate opposite to the outer instellar gas regions, suggesting a dramatic galactic collision in its distant past.

From the top, row by row, we have M87 and a closeup of its relativistic jet; on the next row: Hickson 61 - a structure known as "The Box" in Coma Berenices consisting of four galaxies arranged in a very precise looking quadralateral, NGC4676, known as "The Mice Galaxies" - a colliding pair of galaxies also in the same constellation; and on the last row, NGC4038/NGC4039 called the "Antennae Galaxies", for a reason unfortunately not apparent from my picture, and lastly, a slightly longer exposure of the center of the Coma Cluster - nearly all of objects shown are actually galaxies! I thought I would try my hand at some significantly smaller and fainter galaxies in and around the Coma Berenices cluster. I was pretty happy with the results, given my rather limited exposure time of 20sec per frame (except for the Coma Cluster which was done at 30sec per frame). The following comments probably apply only to short unguided exposures like the ones I use for all of my pictures. There doesn't seem to be much benefit in handpicking frames - it helps for planetary nebulae (see below) - but for galaxies, the overall exposure time seems to be the more important factor. I'm guessing that because planetaries tend to be generally bright, you can afford to be more selective with respect to quality - in other words, it pays to have fewer sharp frames, than more blurry frames. On the other hand, for galaxies, with such short exposures it pays to just have more of them. Any loss in detail can often be overlooked because the detail is difficult to see anyway! Nevertheless, I was able to pull out some interesting small scale features even so, using about 80 frames each at ISO 3200 for M87, but ISO6400 for all of the others. All of these were taken on the nights of May 4th and 5th, 2013.

NGC6543 (Cat's Eye Nebula in Draco) and NGC2392 (Eskimo Nebula in Gemini) - two small bright planetary nebula, both about 3000 light years away, looking like hazy blue planets in the sky. The Cat's Eye was the first planetary nebula to be analyzed by a spectroscope and is actually one of the most complex of such nebulae ever found - astronomers suspect the central star may actually be a binary star system. The Eskimo Nebula is one of the youngest known planetaries, a ghostly remnant of a nova only about 1700 years ago. I think this is a challenging pair of planetary nebulae for a 10 inch un-guided scope to image, given their relatively small size. Good focus is critical (near the limit of the Bahtinov mask I think). The high surface brightness of the nebulae allows a lower ISO setting (1600) for better noise suppression, and a shorter single exposure time (20sec), which translates to better tracking. Both were imaged without a focal reducer using a Canon T3i on March 30-31, 2013. I stacked 54 and 21 frames for the Cat's Eye Nebula and Eskimo Nebula respectively in DSS, using 2X drizzle for the Cat's Eye. If you click on the this link, a small movie will open up that superimposes a Hubble image on the image I took, showing the underlying structure of the nebula. (I actually got the idea for this from someone else's website, but lost the link to it, so I couldn't properly cite them. Thanks to whoever that was!).

M108 and M97 - This pair in Ursa Major, used to be one of my favorite telescopic views. My very first telescope - an 8-inch Edmund Scientific Newtonian, enabled me to see both of these ethereal objects in the same field of view, using a 28mm RKE eyepiece and a magnfication of only 38x. The first time I saw this pair I had been looking only for the Owl Nebula and magically "discovered" M108 just over 1 degree away! In the dark skies of Georgian Bay, they were a truly magnificent pair. Both of these were taken on March 17-18, 2013 with a Canon T3i and an f/6.3 focal reducer, using ISO3200 and 25 second exposures, stacking 74 and 56 frames for M108 and M97 respectively. Only a minor improvement for M97 over my last attempt.

Barnard 33 - The Horsehead Nebula in Orion! This is a beautiful dark nebula located just south of the leftmost star of Orion's belt - part of a stellar nursery located about 1500 light years away! I've wanted to photograph this object for over 30 years, ever since seeing it in Burhnam's Celestial Handbook oh so many years ago. I remember naively looking for it on cold winter nights with what was then my new 8 inch Edmund telescope - always defeated, but never daunted by this wondrous enigmatic object. So here it finally is. Only the Horsehead itself is visible here - even *with* a focal reducer this was the largest FOV I could get. This exposure consisted of 87 frames @ 30sec taken using ISO3200 with a Canon T3i and an f/6.3 focal reducer, for a grand total of 43.5 minutes exposure over 3 different nights (the last on Christmas night, 2012). Not nearly enough, but I was losing patience with the weather lately and decided to put them all together to get this! I am not done with it - not by a long shot. There is so much beauty here left to capture, and my meager talents as a photographer do not do it justice. FYI, the Horsehead is actually (barely) detectable in a single 30sec frame shown here using my configuration.

Jupiter and Europa - one of my best images of Jupiter yet, taken November 19-20, 2012 in Concord, MA using a modified Logitech 9000 web cam - 1006 frames stacked using Registax 5.1. The conditions that night were exceptionally clear and rock steady (for Concord) and I was able to get some nice crisp images. You can see the small red spot, the Great Red Spot and a swirling white storm just above it, as well as several dark disturbances on the upper belt. If you click on the image, a small WMV should pop up, consisting of six frames generated from over 5000 images. I wish I could have taken more images that night, but unfortunately I neglected to put my dew cap on and frosted over in only two hours! I've still seen better pictures from others, so I'm not done trying. Nevertheless, I'm pretty happy with these. My previous attempts (1, 2 and 3) were ok, but it does go to show you though, that atmospheric conditions play a huge role in the quality of your results, even with excellent collimation and optics.

M1 - The Crab Nebula in Taurus (again). On Nov. 9, 2012, I tried ISO3200 and added these images to my ISO6400 stack below. Using DSS, I managed to stack 59 additional ISO3200 frames for a total of 84 frames (or about 35 minutes total exposure). This is also the first time I used 2X drizzle processing. Part of the reason drizzle works well with a larger number of images is the reduced noise in the final drizzled image. I found that a low pass filter followed by a medium pass sharpening filter smooths the smaller detail noise but enhances larger scale texture. I also think the colors came out very nicely in this version!

M1 - The Crab Nebula in Taurus. This is my first serious attempt at M1, taken Oct. 25/26, 2012 using ISO6400 with a Canon T3i and an f/6.3 focal reducer. Using DSS, I managed to stack 25 sharp RAW frames @ 25 sec per exposure. The ISO setting was definitely too high (or the number of frames much too low), limiting the detail I could extract from this beautiful supernova remnant. My next attempt will incorporate both a lower ISO setting AND my first serious use of dark frames - can't wait to see the results! FYI, this famous nebula was the first "non-comet" object that Messier categorized, ultimately leading to his famous Messier list of deep sky objects. The colossal explosion resulting from this supernova left a fast spinning neutron star only 12 miles in diameter, rotating at a phenomenal speed of 30 times a second! I find it fascinating that "pulsars" like this one spin so consistently and precisely that they can be used as cosmic GPS-type markers for spacial navigation. In fact, plaques on the two Pioneer and Voyager spacecrafts show the position of our Sun relative to 14 pulsars in space so that aliens finding our spacecraft can precisely pinpoint our Sun in space and time. By comparing pulsar rates with what they were when we sent out the spacecrafts, aliens can potentially calculate how long ago the spacecrafts were sent from our planet!

NGC7009 - The Saturn Nebula. This is a very bright, blue-colored planetary nebula in Aquarius, whose name is derived from its similarity in size and shape to the planet Saturn. Roughly 3900 light years away, its central hot bluish dwarf radiates strong ultraviolet radiation that powers this nebula's bright fluorescent glow. Only about 1.4' x 0.4' in size, my attempt on Oct. 12, 2012 was really meant to explore the limits of my own DSLR prime focus imaging. I was curious to see how well such a small object could be imaged (unguided). Due to the brightness of the nebula, I could use a lower ISO speed of 1600. Despite my use of a Bahntinov mask, I still think my focus was a little soft, giving me problems during DSS registration. Stacking JPG images was difficult, requiring extensive manual filtering of images to get registration - finally registering 10 frames (@ 20sec per exposure). However, using RAW images I was able to stack 23 frames with no problems at all! I am as yet unclear why the difference, but I think I'll be using RAW images from now on. The final results were ok, but had I had better focus, I think I could have pulled out even more detail out of the center of the nebula. Overall not bad, but room for improvement. Beautiful rich color though!

Here's my first attempt at Neptune's twin planet Uranus!...Only about 1.4' from 44 Piscium on September 23, 2012! It looks like a beautiful multi-color double star. If you click on the image, a 30 second video clip should appear showing you what it looked like through my telescope. We showed this view at a public star night put on by the Skylight Astronomical Society of Stow, MA - it was a fantastic opportunity to challenge observers to actually see the difference between a planet and a star. Think of the yellow giant star being almost 500 light years distant, compared to the planet only one light day away!

M57 - the Ring Nebula in Lyra - my second attempt...taken September 15/16, 2012 using a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR at prime focus. This is the first time I used RAW images for DSS processing with the final result consisting of 34 light frames (@ISO 3200, 25 sec exposure each). Surprisingly (for me), not so surprisingly for veteran astrophotographers, there was a noticeable difference over using JPG images. I could especially see a possible benefit for low light level objects that need significant enhancement. For some reason, the color response was also a little different...not sure why. Anyway, you can definitely see more texture detail in the ring (compared to my first attempt below) - the arrogance of me to think I couldn't significantly improve on a previous try! It's fascinating to see how far technology has progressed...click here to see an image of M57 taken by the 200 inch Hale Telescope at Palomar back in 1959!

M31 - the Andromeda Galaxy - taken September 9/10, 2012 using a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR and 300mm telephoto lens. This image is my second attempt, consisting of 94 light frames (@ISO 1600, 30 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker. This galaxy contains about a trillion stars and is the farthest object in the Universe visible to our naked eye, about 2.5 million light years distant. It will collide with our galaxy about 4.5 billion years from now (about the time our Sun will run out of fuel). One of the oldest recorded sightings of this galaxy was by a Persian astronomer named Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi around 964, describing it as a "small cloud".

NGC891 - one of my favorite edge-on galaxies, located in the constellation of Andromeda - taken September 2 - 3, 2012 using an f/6.3 focal reducer and a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR. On the left is the result of approximately 60 frames (@ISO 3200, 20 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker. It was a near-full moon night, so it's not great, but as my second attempt it's getting better. On the right, I've annotated a faint companion galaxy to NGC891, which is just barely visible in the photo. I love this stuff:)

M82 - the Cigar Galaxy in Ursa Major - taken August 13/14, 2012 using a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR and an f/6.3 focal reducer. The final image consisted of 49 light frames (@ISO 3200, 30 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker. It's known as a "starburst" galaxy because of its huge number of young recently born stars, which are being born 10 times faster than in our own galaxy. There's also a recently discovered strange object near the center of it that appears to be traveling at a superluminal speed of 4 times the speed of light!

M92 - a beautiful globular cluster in Hercules, often overshadowed by its larger upstart M13 - taken on July 30/31, 2012 using a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR and an f/6.3 focal reducer. The final image consisted of 44 light frames (@ISO 3200, 20 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker. The stars in this image are somewhat sharper as compared to the stars in M13 (see below), which I took not yet using my Bahtinov mask for focus!

M101 - the Pinwheel Galaxy in Ursa Major - my first deep sky photo taken over two different nights July 8/9 and 9/10, 2012 using a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR and an f/6.3 focal reducer. The final image consisted of 57 light frames (@ISO 3200, 30 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker. This was also the first time I used a Bahtinov mask for fine tuning focus. I cannot tell you how much simpler and elegant it is to use this very simple device to improve imaging focus. It really *is* easy to use and DSS will never give you problems again!

Some jewels I collected while vacationing on Nantucket. Clockwise from the top left: M8 (Lagoon Nebula), M27 (Dumbbell Nebula), NGC6960 (the Veil Nebula) and M20 (Trifid Nebula). All of these are spectacular to look at with your own eyes. M8 and M20 were taken the night of June 14-15, 2012 while the others were taken the following night using a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR, @ISO 3200, and an f/6.3 focal reducer. It was rather windy, so I was only able to use an average of about 15 frames out of 80 for most of the stacking.

Clockwise from the top left corner: M64 (Black Eye Galaxy), M65, M84+M86+NGC4488, M105+NGC3384+NGC3389, M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) and M99 - taken April 19-20, 2012 from North Bridge in Concord, MA. Most of these are single frames (except for the Sombrero Galaxy which was 13@35sec stacked using DeepSkyStacker) using a Canon Rebel XS DSLR @ISO 1600. Note the spiral structure of M99 visible in a single frame!

M97 - the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major - taken May 18 - 19, 2012 using a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR, approximately 25 frames (@ISO 6400, 30 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker.

M51 - the Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici - taken May 18 - 19, 2012 using a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR, 16 frames (@ISO 6400, 30 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker.

M57 - the Ring Nebula in Lyra - taken April 19 - 20, 2012 using an f/6.3 focal reducer and a Canon Rebel XS DSLR, approximately 30 frames (@ISO 1600, 30 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker.

M13 - the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules - taken April 16 - 17, 2012 using an f/6.3 focal reducer and a Canon Rebel XS DSLR. On the left is the result of approximately 21 frames (@ISO 1600, 20 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker. On the right is the result of 28 stacked frames, with a slightly different enhancement, including a saturation stretch to bring out the differences in star color. Isn't it amazing what a difference a little post processing can make? Also, notice the stars are not as sharp as the ones in my more recent M92 image - the added value of using a Bahtinov mask!

Mars - near opposition, taken March 20-21, 2012 in Concord MA, using a modified Logitech 9000 web cam - approximately 1600 frames stacked using Registax 5.1.

M42 - the Great Orion Nebula - taken January 29 - 30, 2012 using an f/6.3 focal reducer and a Canon Rebel XS DSLR, approximately 30 frames (@ISO 1600, 20 sec exposure each) stacked using DeepSkyStacker.

M42 - the Great Orion Nebula - taken December 11 - 12, 2011 using an f/6.3 focal reducer and a Canon Rebel XS DSLR, single frame (@ISO 1600, 20 sec exposure). This was one of my very first deep sky photos taken with a DSLR. Amazing what you can get in a single frame exposure!

An (almost) Full Moon - taken December 11 - 12, 2011 using an f/6.3 focal reducer and a Canon Rebel XS DSLR, from a two image composite (@ISO 1600, 1/1000 sec exposure each).

A trio of Jupiter pictures - taken November 5 - 6, 2011 in Concord, using a modified Logitech 9000 web cam, showing the progress of an IO shadow transit right over top of the Great Red Spot! Also are shown a serious of small dark storms along the lower belt. For some reason, I couldn't get the colors exactly right for the series, but they look amazing nonetheless!

Clockwise from the top left, all pictures taken at prime focus using a modified Logitech 9000 web cam: 1. My very first picture of the space station, 12 hours after the last undocking of the space shuttle Endeavor, taken May 31, 2011. 2. The space station taken August 30, 2011. 3&4: Two frames of the space station on June 27, 2011, showing the space station rotating as it traverses the sky.

Saturn - taken April 21-22, 2011 in Mystic, CT using a modified Logitech 9000 web cam - 346 frames stacked using Registax 5.1.

Jupiter - taken October 9-10, 2010 in Orleans, MA using a modified Logitech 9000 web cam - 101 frames stacked using Registax 5.1. The conditions in Orleans that night were really good. You can see the four Galilean moons, a white spot and half of the Red Spot, including some beautiful band structure.

Jupiter - double-moon transit of Europa and Ganymede, taken October 23-24, 2010 at North Bridge in Concord, MA using a modified Logitech 9000 web cam - between 100-200 frames images stacked per movie frame using Registax 5.1. You can see both moon shadows clearly, along with Ganymede in the upper right. Europa is a little harder to see against the surface of Jupiter, but noticeable. Only 3 frames, but I love movies:)