The Images -- Black & White Page 1

If you came to this Web site seeking images, this is the place for them.

Enjoy the views and please observe the copyright restriction on the homepage. If you wish to read a rather long-winded description about my observatory and photographic work, continue past the images in the Table of Contents.

*** To see these images at their best, adjust your monitor to distinctly show all the gray steps in this step wedge. ***
Step wedge courtesy of Chuck Vaughn

(Click each image for a full screen version.)

617 X 768 pixel 126 K .jpg

NGC 7000 and IC 5070, the North America and Pelican Nebulae in Cygnus.
Location: NGC 7000 = 20h 58m +44d 20m, IC 5070 = 20h 51m +44d 00m
Size: NGC 7000 = 120 arc/min, IC 5070 = 60 X 50 arc/min
Magnitude: ---
33 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

942 X 768 pixel 190 K .jpg

IC 1318 and NGC 6888, the Butterfly and Crescent Nebulae in Cygnus.
Location: IC 1318 = 20h 26m +40d 20m, NGC 6888 = 20h 12m +38d 23m
Size: IC 1318 = 210 X 140 arc/min, NGC 6888 = 18 X 8 arc/min
Magnitude: ---
33 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

616 X 768 pixel 148 K .jpg

The nebula IC 1396 in Cepheus.
Location: 21h 39m +57d 30m
Size: 135 X 165 arc/min
Magnitude: (Embedded cluster CR 439) 3.5
33 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

960 X 768 pixel 136 K .jpg

NGC 2237, the Rossette Nebula in Monoceros.
Location: 6h 31 m +5d 40m
Size: 80 X 60 arc/min
Magnitude: (Embedded cluster NGC 2244) 4.8
33 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

616 X 768 pixel 101 K .jpg

IC 4604 and the Rho-Ophiuchi complex on the Scorpius/Ophiuchus border.
Location: IC 4604 = 16h 25m -23d 8m
Size: IC 4604 = 80 X 72 arc/min
Magnitude: ---
20 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

518 X 768 pixel 88 K .jpg

B 33, the Horsehead Nebula embedded in IC 434 and M 42 the Great Nebula in Orion.
Location: IC 434 = 5h 41m -2d 27m, M 42 = 5h 35m -5d 25m
Size: IC 434 = 90 X 14 arc/min, M 42 = 60 arc/min
Magnitude: M 42 = 5.0
33 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

614 X 768 pixel 139 K .jpg

IC 2177, the Seagull Nebula in Monoceros.
Location: 7h 06m -10d 55m
Size: 150 X 60 arc/min
Magnitude: ---
33 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

960 X 768 pixel 192 K .jpg

IC 1805, the Valentine Nebula in Cassiopeia.
Location: 2h 32m +61d 30m
Size: 98 X 80 arc/min
Magnitude: ---
33 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

964 X 768 pixel 125 K .jpg

M 31, the Andromeda Galaxy in Andromeda.
Location: 0h 43m +41d 16m
Size: 192 X 62 arc/min
Magnitude: 4.4
33 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

612 X 768 pixel 86 K .jpg

NGC 1499, the California Nebula in Perseus.
Location: 4h 00m +36d 30m
Size: 160 X 42 arc/min
Magnitude: ---
33 minute exposure on hypered TP-2415, #92 filter, developed in D-19.

Many thanks to Emil Bonanno and his wonderful MEGASTAR star charting program for the techical data about the size, magnitude, and coordinates of the objects in these images.
Also see what Apogee Instruments has to say about MEGASTAR.

More About the Images

Oddly enough, I am not showing my "latest and best" pictures. All of the black and white images shown here were taken more than 12 years ago and the color images were taken 14 years ago. I have taken no more color photos with the Schmidt camera since then. There is a reason for this. After my Schmidt camera was moved to the Von Braun Photographic Station in 1986, its observing program has consisted entirely of producing photographs for a massive mosaic of the Milky Way. This project envisions the use of almost 350 separate 40-minute exposures to cover the entire Milky Way visible from 30 degrees latitude. As a consequence, the photography done in the past 10 years has been targeted to R.A. and Dec. points dictated by a mosaic grid. This often leads to prominent deep sky objects being split between adjacent mosaic frames. To showcase the large deep sky objects centered on their own negative, I have selected a series of images that were actually taken between 1982 and 1984 when the Schmidt camera was housed at the D. Nelson Limber Observatory north of San Antonio.

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