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Thunderstorms last night in south-east of France. A bat was lit up by lightning, right in front of my camera.
The wind, the rain, the clouds… the mood that comes with it
July 2024
Clear and moonless sky for New Year’s Eve. I had to go out. The target was IC 443, a beautiful nebula in Gemini. A target I had already photographed in February 2023 but I didn’t remember it!
IC 443 is a supernova remnant that is believed to have exploded 30,000 – 35,000 years ago.
62 x 2 min
Camera : Nikon Z6 partially unfiltered
Telescope : Takahashi FSQ-106ED refractor.
Mount : ZWO AM5N.
Guiding : ZWO ASI290MM Mini on QHY OAG-M
Temperature : -3°C, -1°C
Humidity : 80%
SQM : 21.1
Software : acquisition with Astro Photography Tool, processing with PixInsight.
Location : Le Plan, Le Banchet
NGC 281 is a HII region, a cloud of ionized hydrogen, located in Cassiopeia. It is about 10,000 light-years from Earth with a diameter of 100 light-years. Its shape roughly resembles to Pac-Man, hence its name.
Acquired on December 28, 2024 for the production launch of my new ZWO AM5N equatorial mount which allows me to lighten the setup by 30 kg. A very appreciable weight saving in nomadic astrophotography!
54 x 2 min
Camera : Nikon Z6 partially unfiltered
Telescope : Takahashi FSQ-106ED refractor.
Mount : ZWO AM5N.
Guiding : ZWO ASI290MM Mini on QHY OAG-M
Temperature : 1°C
Humidity : 70%
SQM : 20.9
Software : acquisition with Astro Photography Tool, processing with PixInsight.
Location : Le Plan, Le Banchet
The Eagle Nebula is one of the classic summer observations near Sagittarius. It is located further north, in the constellation of the Serpens. M16 actually designates the open cluster in the center of the nebula which itself bears the designation IC 4703.
The central part became popular after the portrait made of it by the Hubble space telescope in 1995. It is a stars nursery, hence the somewhat high-sounding name as the Americans like Pillars of Creation
74 x 2 min
Camera : Nikon Z6 partially unfiltered
Telescope : Takahashi FSQ-106ED refractor.
Mount : Takahashi EM-200 homemade electronics.
Guiding : ZWO ASI290MM Mini on QHY OAG-M
Temperature : 13°C
Humidity : 70%
SQM : 21.6
Software : auto-guiding with PHD2, acquisition with Astro Photography Tool, processing with PixInsight.
Location : L’Epine
It’s a supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. I did not know her before making the photo.
27 x 2 min
Camera : Nikon Z6 partially unfiltered
Telescope : Takahashi FSQ-106ED refractor.
Mount : Takahashi EM-200 homemade electronics.
Guiding : ZWO ASI290MM Mini on QHY OAG-M
Temperature : 3 to 1°C
Humidity : 85% to 100%
SQM : 21.2
Software : auto-guiding with PHD2, acquisition with Astro Photography Tool, processing with PixInsight.
Location : L’Epine
Ordesa and Mont-Perdu National Park, Spanish Pyrenees
From left to right, or from smallest to largest:
– IC 417, the small Spider Nebula
– IC 410, the Tadpoles
– IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula
Shot on December 31, 2021, about an hour before we change the year. And that’s the only deep sky image of the year, a crappy weather year.
65 x 1 min
Camera : Nikon Z6 partially unfiltered
Telescope : Takahashi FSQ-106ED refractor.
Mount : Takahashi EM-200 homemade electronics.
Temperature : 7°C
Humidity : 65%
SQM : 21.0
Software : acquisition with Astro Photography Tool, processing with PixInsight.
Location : Le Plan, Col du Banchet