The Cheshire Astronomer

The skies on Thursday evening were for the second time. Very clear. This allowed me to use my Canon 1000D and 200mm telephoto lens, on the Heart Nebula. I shot 24 x 5-minute exposures for this nebula, through an Optilong UHC filter. The Heart Nebula (IC 1805) is an emission nebula located at an approximate distance of about 7,500 light years from Earth, in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is also known as Sharpless 2-190 (Sh2-190) or the Running Dog Nebula because, when seen through a telescope, it looks a bit like a running dog.  I have not seen or heard this name before. The nebula has an apparent magnitude of 18.3 and an absolute magnitude of 6.5. It is 150 arcminutes in size and known for its intensely red glowing gas and dark dust lanes forming a shape that resembles a heart symbol. The Heart Nebula forms a famous complex known as the Heart and Soul with its smaller neighbour Westerhout 5, also known as the Soul Nebula, which lies just 2.5 degrees to the southeast. Thes

We had a cold frosty, and very clear. Early Winter sky on 2017- 12 -11 It was very welcome too. I was itching to finally capture some more ancient light, from the Whirlpool control room here in   Cheshire. Because of the poor weather. I have not been outside since my last post. When I imaged the Cocoon nebula. How long ago was that! It seems the British Weather is not getting better. I well remember times when, as a kid. We had cold frosty day's that lasted all day and into the night. That was the 1970s and 1980s. How I long for a cold front to pass, with a lovely "High" that can bring frosty nights. For CCD imaging. Onto NGC 383 Here is a picture of a very unfamiliar (to me) chain of Galaxies. This is a chain of 12.5 magnitude galaxies in the constellation of the Northern Fish or "Pisces" I made a mental note to image this small group. After seeing other pictures, and finding reference to t