Imaging Projects
In this blog, I will share the results of all of my imaging projects. The newest will be at the top and the oldest will be further down the stack. Going back in time here is interesting - some of my early stuff was pretty rough - but I did not see it that way at the time - I was thrilled to get anything back that looked like an image! Hopefully, you will see how my work has progressed with time!
SH2-155 - The Cave Nebula 13.5 hours SHO (My 150th Project!)
After 5 years, I revisited SH2-155 - The Cave Nebula, this time gathering 13.5 hours narrowband data. This was shot with my new galaxy scope and the resulting colors really pop and dark dust is very mysterious looking!
This data was collected over three nights at the end of August 2025.
LDN 1251 - The Rotten Fish Nebula (18.9 hours LRGB)
My second dark nebula image ever!
This image results from 19 hours of LRGB exposure with my FRA400 scope.
This was a challenging image to process as the nebula was so tenuous. I also had to deal with microlensing effects on the bright stars due to the ASI1600MM-Pro sensor.
IC 5070 - The Pelican Nebula! 18.75 hours of SHO (my longest integration yet!)
My third attempt - and my finest - at IC 5070 - The Pelican Nebula.
This is the result of almost 19 hours of narrowband exposure on my Williams Optics 132 FLT APO platform with a 0.8 reducer and an ASI2600MM-Pro camera.
This was another image that was captured from my new observatory tht allowed capture on marginal nights.
NGC 7331 and the Deer Lick Group with Supernova SN2025rbs (4.7 hours in LRGB)
While on a multi-night streak of capturing subs on my Sharpstar SCA 260 Galaxy scope, I retasked one night of shooting to try and get an image of NGC 7331 while Supernova SN2025rbs was still visible.
SH2-124 - The Hidden Nebula (~14.2 hours in SHOrgb)
SH2-124 is a rich region of stars, dark dust, and emission nebulae located about 8,500 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus.
This image is the result of 14.2 hours of SHOrgb data collection with my small Akskar FRA400 telescope platform.
IC 5068 - The Forsaken Nebula and the “Black Waterfall”- (11.9 hours in SHOrgb)
Astrobin Top Pick Nominee!
IC 5068 is a very faint nebula that is part of the North American/Pelican Nebula region and is often passed over for these brighter nebulae. But this region is a beautiful piece of the sky in narrowband!
Shot with my AP130 Platform with ~12 hours of SHO and RGB-Stars capture.
NGC 6543 - The Cat’s Eye Nebula w/ NGC 6522 (14.6 hours in LRGB)
This image of NGC 6543 - The Cat’s Eye - is the result of 14.6 hours of LRGB data captured with my Sharpstar SCA260V2 Platform. It was a faint and challenging object that also had very bright portions. This made it one of the most challenging targets I have processed yet. I must have reprocessed that data 8 or 9 times before I ended where I did. Was this the best image I could get from that data? I don’t think so. In the end, the effort exhausted me and I was ready to move on!!
Messier 17 - The Omega Nebula - Victory After Heartbreak! (17 hours SHOrgb on M17!)
Messier 17, The Omega Nebula, is a bright and popular target in the summer constellation of Sagittarius.
This image is the result of 17 hours of SHOrgb exposure on my William Optics 132 LFT platform.
The narrowband view of this shows the target in a way that is not often seen.
Considering that this project started with three nights of exposure, where 2 of the nights had all of the frames out of focus, I am really happy with the final results.
LDN 1235 - The Shark Nebula - My 1st Attempt at a Dark Nebula (7.4 hours LRGB)
My first dark nebula image!
This image results from 7.4 hours of LRGB exposure with my FRA400 scope.
This was a challenging image to process as the nebula was so tenuous. I also had to deal with microlensing effects on the bright stars due to the ASI1600MM-Pro sensor.
Messier 16 - The Eagle Nebula/The Pillars of Creation, 4.75 hours in SHO (A Narrowband Test of the SCA260 Scope)
This was a quick test to see how the Sharpstar SCA260 V2 scope did with a narrowband target. Selected was Messier 16, centered on the Pilrs of Creation. This was the result of 4.75 hrs of data collected on a very hot night, with the camera only getting to -10C.
Processing was a challenge due to Star Removal blemishes and some optical artifacts on some bright stars.
See the full report for details.
Sh2-54 - The Serpent Nebula - 8.9 Hours of SHO
Sh2-54 is an interesting HII region with some dark dust located in the constellation Sperpens Cause (The Tail). Also seen is the open cluster NGC 6604. This image is a result of 8.9 hours of SHO Data.
The Coma Cluster of Galaxies (Abell 1566) - Zoom In! 1000 Galaxies, 320M Light-Years Away! (~8.2 Hours of LRGB)
This is not just some star cluster! This image shows an immense cluster of over 1000 galaxies that are on average 320 million light-years away!
This image was the result of 8.2 hours of LRGB exposure taken on my William Optics platform from data collection during the first light of my Whispering Skies Observatory!
The NGC 5364 Group in Virgo - 6.3 Hours of LRGB
The NGC 5364 Group is part of the vast Virgo Cluster of Galaxies and showcase a mix of galay morphologies in one frame.
This shot was the very first from my AP130 platform after it had been installed in my new observatory.
Markarian’s Chain - A Famous Galaxy Cluster with 4.6 hours LRGB
Markarian’s Chain is a group of galaxies 50M light-years away moving together through space.
This image results from 4.6 hours of LRGB exposure from my FRA400 scope. This is the first image from this scope since it was moved to the new observatory!
Messier 106 - First Light for The Sharpstar SCA260 V2! (10 hours in LHaRGB)
The first light for both my new Whispering Skies Observatory and my new Galaxy scope, the Sharpstar SCA260 V2!
This is M106 shot in HaLRGB with 10 hours and 7 minutes of integration!
Reprocessing Project: Messier 31 - The Andromeda Galaxy (6 hours in LHaRGB)
This version of M31, taken in November 2021, is my favorite. But it has been a few years since I first captured and processed this data. I have learned a lot since then, and I also have some excellent new processing tools at my disposal, so I wanted to see where I would end up if I were to start from scratch with the data, and this is the result!
Let me know what you think of this new image!
NGC 7822 - The Central Portion of the Question Mark Nebula (~14 hours in SHOrgb)
NGC 7822 is the Clamshell Nebula - located 2900 light years away in the constellation of Cepheus. This is a very large target, and with my smallest scope, I could still only fit the central portion of this complex area into the camera's field of view. This image results from just under 14 hours of integration and consists of a mix of narrowband data for the nebula and broadband RGB data for the stars.
SH2-119 The Clamshell Nebula (3.5 Hours in SHO) - An Unintended Image
My second image of the year started as a disaster and motivated me to move to NINA. I spent a few nights learning NINA during the bright Moon cycle, knowing the subs would be a waste. Lo and behold, there was an image there!
This is SH2-119—The Clamshell Nebula—3.5 hours in SHO. Read the story of my trials and tribulations that led to this image!
SH2-82 - The Little Cocoon Nebula - 7.3 Hours in LRGB
My first image of the year - and my first image from my new home after the move!
This is SH2-82—The Little Cocoon Nebula—7.3 hours in LRGB. Located ~4,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagitta, this emission/reflection nebula is in a rich region of the sky with a multitude of stars and dark dust lanes.
A Reprocess of SH2-157, The Lobster Claw Nebula - 4.25 hours in SHO.
SH2-157, The Lobster Claw Nebula, is located 11,000 light-years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia. This is a Reprocess Project - working with data in 2024 that was captured in 2021. I wanted to see if I could improve on this image. I think I did!