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!

First Light on the AP155 Platform: M81, M82, and NGC 3077 - 4.6 Hours of HaLRGB!
Patrick A. Cosgrove Patrick A. Cosgrove

First Light on the AP155 Platform: M81, M82, and NGC 3077 - 4.6 Hours of HaLRGB!

First light on my Astro-Physics 155mm Starfire EDFS platform captured a classic interacting galaxy field in Ursa Major: M81, M82, and NGC 3077. This image combines LRGB and H-alpha data to highlight the contrast between the grand-design spiral structure of M81, the starburst-driven outflow in M82, and the disturbed companion galaxy NGC 3077.

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NGC 2174 - The Monkey Head Nebula - 5.1 hours SHO
Patrick A. Cosgrove Patrick A. Cosgrove

NGC 2174 - The Monkey Head Nebula - 5.1 hours SHO

NGC 2174 — the Monkey Head Nebula — is a luminous star-forming cloud in Orion, roughly 6,400 light-years away. In this project I captured the nebula in narrowband (Hα, OIII, SII), revealing glowing hydrogen arcs, oxygen-rich structure, and dark dust lanes sculpted by intense radiation from young, massive stars. The result is a high-contrast look at an active H II region where stellar feedback is actively reshaping its birth cloud.

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