Astrophotography at Pangue - part III

Detail of the Eagle Nebula (IC4703), in Serpens. Note the dark nebulas near the centre, wellknown as the "Pillars of Creation", a famous feature revealed in 1995 by the Hubble Space telescope.

Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - May, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of SCT Meade 403mm reduced at f/6.1, total exposure 32 minutes

The magnificent galaxy M83, in Hydra...

Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - April, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of SCT Meade 403mm reduced at f/6.1, total exposure 20 minutes

More due soon...

Astrophotography at Pangue - part II

Below: Swan nebula (M17), in Sagittarius. West is up
Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - April, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of SCT Meade 403mm reduced at f/6.1, total exposure 22 minutes

Below: Barnard dark nebula B86 and open cluster NGC6520, in Sagittarius. North is up
Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - April, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of SCT Meade 403mm reduced at f/6.1, total exposure 15 minutes

Below: detail in the Eta Carinae nebula (NGC3372), the view is centered at roughly 40' south to the proper Eta Carinae star. North is up
Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - April, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of SCT Meade 403mm reduced at f/6.1, total exposure 22 minutes

Below: detail in the central area of the Running Chicken nebula (IC2944), in Centaurus. The field is approximately 15' wide. North is up
Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - April, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of SCT Meade 403mm reduced at f/6.1, total exposure 22 minutes

More due soon...

Finally a bright comet !...

It has been a long time since we got a spectacular comet in our sky (yes, we said it before...) and SWAN (c/2020 F8) might be the next one.

Although being still a little bit more distant than the Sun, it already shines at magnitude 7.5, very promising indeed, with a peak in brightness expected at 3 or even 2.5 by late May, so it's well worth to keep an eye on it.

On the last nights the comet could be observed in the southern constellation of Sculptor, not far from Fomalhault, just one hour before the beginning of dawn, and we've been there !

Below, comet Swan on April, 20th, single exposure 9 minutes

On the closer view below, can you glimpse the subtle reddish tail (upward) emerging from the green coma?

Below, comet Swan on April, 22nd, total exposure 18 minutes

On the morning of May, 2nd, the comet reached a magnitude of 5.0, and offered stunning views at the eyepiece. The picture below has been overexposed on purpose as to capture the subtle structure of the straight tail (the coma is kept out of field). Note also a diminute faint fuzzy toward the upper end of the tail, this is not a fragment of the nucleus, instead it is a distant galaxy (PGC293, estimated at some 380 millions light-years away...) The position in sky of the comet at that particular moment was approximately R.A. 00h05m12sec, dec. -14°24'19'' (J2000.0)

Now that the long time awaited comet ATLAS (c/2029 Y4) is breaking badly, the sole expectation for a naked-eye spectacle comes on SWAN only, although it is running too far North to be appreciated from our southern skies, so we'll just keep very attentive to the news from northern observers...

Photos: Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of SCT Meade 403mm reduced at f/6.4

The Day the Earth Stood Still...

From early March we are living difficult times worldwide, but the stars are always here, waiting for us to look at them again...

Until further notice, the observatory no longer receives visitors, but astrophotography doesn't need to stop, and so we even take advantage of this extra time to capture some of the local wonders, as presented below...

NGC6188 nebula (far bottom) and rich starry fields in Ara
Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - March, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of 80mm Refractor f/4.9, 18 exposures totalling 4.5 minutes

NGC2024, the complex Flame nebula
Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - March, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of SCT Meade 403mm reduced at f/6.1, 10 minutes exposures

NGC3532 star cluster (left) and NGC3372 nebula (right)
Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - March, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of 80mm Refractor f/4.9, 48 exposures totalling 12 minutes

IC2944, the Running Chicken nebula (right). The field is approximately 1°15' wide and 2°15' height. West is up
Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - March, 2020 - Canon 60D at prime focus of 80mm Refractor f/4.9, 60 exposures totalling 15 minutes

Milky Way with Large Magellanic Cloud (upper left corner)
Cristian Valenzuela / Observatorio del Pangue - March, 2020 - Canon 60D with 100mm lens, single exposure 2 minutes

More due soon...