Three section members submitted their digital images of deep sky objects to the section this month, twenty in total:
Ian Papworth used a Skywatcher 150p reflector and an Altair Hypercam 183C pro colour camera to capture globular cluster M15 in the constellation of Pegasus, galaxies M81, M82 and NGC 3077 in Ursa Major, and IC 405, the Flaming Star emission/reflection nebula in Auriga:
IC 405 is also known as Caldwell 31, and surrounds the class O star AE Aurigae, an irregular variable whose proper motion led theorists to speculate that it was ejected from the Trapezium open cluster in Orion some two million years ago (although more recent research hasn’t confirmed this). It is passing through the nebulosity in the image at a high velocity.
Using the same telescope, but with a Nikon 500D DSLR, Ian imaged M45, the Pleiades open cluster in Taurus:
Mark Beveridge sent in six images. Below is open cluster IC 348, associated with an emission/reflection in the constellation of Perseus:
IC348 about two million years old and is part of the Perseus OB2 association. It is responsible for the reflection nebulosity, which is designated VdB 19. The Spitzer Space Telescope has scrutinised this cluster in the infra red, and found that about half of the four – hundred or so stars have circumstellar discs of dust and gas. Low mass brown dwarf stars have been discovered here also.
Mark’s other images are of galaxies and galaxy groups: the Perseus cluster of galaxies (2), NGC 7766 in Pegasus, NGC 1023 in Perseus and NGC 1058 also in Perseus:
Mark used a Celestron 200mm Edge f10.4 SCT and a SXR-H814 mono camera plus red, green and blue filters.
Steve Norrie imaged seven nebulae, the first four with Celestron C8 SCT and SX694 camera plus either narrow band filters or red, green and blue filters. They are emission nebulae IC 410 (part of) and IC 405 both in the constellation of Auriga, Sh-2-261 (Lower’s nebula) in Orion and Sh-2-101 the Tulip nebula in Cygnus:
The next three emission nebulae Steve captured with an EDR 72 refractor plus camera and filters as above. They are NGC 2174 the Monkey Head nebula in Orion, NGC 2244 the Rosette nebula in Monoceros and NGC 7822 in Cepheus:
Steve’s final three images below were taken using the C8. Open cluster Melotte 15 is in Cassiopeia, galaxy M82 in Ursa major and galaxy NGC 2403 in Camelopardalis:
Melotte 15 is an open cluster of massive, young (about 1.5 million years old), hot stars in the centre of NGC 1805, the Heart emission nebula. The stellar wind and powerful UV radiation from these stars ionises the predominantly hydrogen gas and sculpts the dust and gas clouds into complex shapes.
Dave Finnigan