Antelope Valley Astronomy Club -

This marks the last total lunar eclipse until Dec. 21st, 2010. Image is reversed left to right. (Taken at Two Goats Observatory)

The Great Nebula in Orion is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex which extends throughout the constellation of Orion and includes Barnard's Loop, the Horsehead Nebula, M43, M78 and the Flame Nebula. (Sixty four 15" exposures stacked. SBIG ST2000XCM, Stellarvue SV-105 taken Feb. 9th @ Two Goats Observatory)

M13 was discovered by Edmond Halley in 1714 and has an apparent magnitude of 5.8. Composed of several hundred thousand stars, its diameter is about 145 light-years, and is 25,100 light-years away from Earth. The Arecibo message of 1974 was transmitted toward this globular cluster. The reason was that with a higher star density the chances of a life harboring planet, with intelligent life forms, were higher. We should get a reply in about 50,160 years give or take... SBIG ST2000XCM, Stellarvue SV-105, Maui Coffee Co. "Kona Blend", 45 15" exposures taken May 29th to 30th at Two Goats Observatory (my driveway).

The Lagoon Nebula (NGC 6523), is a giant interstellar cloud & number eight in Charles Messier's famous faux-comet catalog. Classified as an emission nebula, M8 lies in the constellation Sagittarius. Sixty 10" images stacked. SBIG ST2000XCM, Stellarvue SV-105 taken Aug. 3, 2008 @ Two Goats Observatory.

M1, the Crab Nebula in Taurus. SV-105, ST-10XME, LRGB+Ha

Total lunar eclipse. The Moon does not completely disappear as it passes through the Earth's umbra because of the refraction of sunlight by the Earth's atmosphere into the shadow cone; if the Earth had no atmosphere, the Moon would be completely dark during an eclipse. The red colouring arises because sunlight reaching the Moon must pass through a long and dense layer of the Earth's atmosphere, where it is scattered. Shorter wavelengths are more likely to be scattered by the small particles, and so by the time the light has passed through the atmosphere, the longer wavelengths dominate. This resulting light we perceive as red. The next total lunar eclipse occurs on December 21, 2010. Olympus C8080 Widezoom piggybacked on a Celestron C9.25. Numerous random shots taken between Coronas on the 27th and coffee on the 28th of August at Two Goats Observatory (my driveway).

The Dumbbell Nebula (M27, NGC 6853), also known as the Apple Core Nebula (by Terry Pedroza), is a planetary nebula (PN) in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1360 light years. This object was the first planetary nebula to be discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. At its brightness of visual magnitude 7.5 and its diameter of about 8 arcminutes, it is easily visible in binoculars. Taken 9/27/2008 @ Pedroza Flats. SBIG ST2000XCM, Ha, Hb, RGB (40'), OIII (20').

Taken 9/27/2008 with a Nikon D300 for twenty minutes, ISO 800, F4.5 @ Pedroza Flats, the home observatory of the AVAC president Terry Pedroza. Note the striking resemblance to Edwin Hubble...

Venus & the Crescent Moon, Leona Valley. Nikon D300, Nikkor 17-55 zoom @ 55mm,1/25", f/2.8, ISO 640

The Omega Nebula (also known as the Swan Nebula or NGC 6618) is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. (see wiki) (star chart) Taken at Mt. Piños, July 6, 2008. Forty five 15" exposures on a SBIG ST2000XCM & Stellarvue SV-105 refractor.

The famously named "Ring Nebula" is located in the northern constellation of Lyra (star chart), and also catalogued as Messier 57, M57 or NGC 6720. It is one of the most prominent examples of the deep-sky objects called planetary nebulae. (see wiki) Sixty five 15" stacked exposures take June 9th at Two Goats Observatory. Celestron C9.25 SCT & SBIG ST2000XCM.

The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a star-forming region that includes the famous Horsehead Nebula. The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 in bright nebula IC 434) is a dark nebula in the Orion constellation. The nebula is located just below Alnitak, the star furthest left on Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. It is approximately 1500 light years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because it is so bright and hot in the sky. It is part of a swirling cloud of dark dust and gases, shaped like a horse's head. (see wiki)) (star chart) SBIG ST2000XCM, Stellarvue SV-105, 64 45" images stacked, taken May 10th to 11th at Two Goats Observatory (my driveway).

The Whirlpool Galaxy (NGC 5194, star chart) is an interacting, grand-design, spiral galaxy located at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years in the constellation Canes Venatici. (see wiki) Taken at Two Goats Observatory, April 7th, 2008. Sixty 25" stacked exposures with a SBIG ST2000XCM and a Stellarvur SV-105.

The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum (star chart). It is the third largest galaxy in the Local Group, a group of galaxies that also contains the Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy, and it may be a gravitationally bound companion of the Andromeda Galaxy. (see wiki) This image was taken at the Sierra Stars Observatory on Dec. 12th. The observatory's core instrument is a 0.61-meter (24-inch) F/10 Optical Mechanics Nighthawk CC06 telescope. The Nighthawk CC06 is a high-precision automated/robotic telescope with superb Classical Cassegrain optics fabricated by OMI's president James Mulherin. The camera is a Finger Lakes Instrumentation ProLine camera.

My Daughter Sophie & my C9.25 on a Bill Schaefer mount.