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!

Patrick A. Cosgrove 7/8/25 Patrick A. Cosgrove 7/8/25

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.

Patrick A. Cosgrove 6/27/25 Patrick A. Cosgrove 6/27/25

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.

Patrick A. Cosgrove 7/17/21 Patrick A. Cosgrove 7/17/21

Messier 16 - The Eagle Nebula / Pillars of Creation in SHO

My third time shooting Messier 16 - The Eagle Nebula - this time with the ASI2600MM-Prop camera shooting in SHO. Difficult conditions required some new processing techniques.

Patrick A. Cosgrove 6/21/20 Patrick A. Cosgrove 6/21/20

Messier 16 - The Eagle Nebula / Pillars of Creation

My Second time shooting Messier 16 - The Eagle Nebula - this time with the ASI294MC-Pro OSC camera. A significant improvement in quality is shown.

Patrick A. Cosgrove 8/19/19 Patrick A. Cosgrove 8/19/19

Messier 16 - The Eagle Nebula / Pillars of Creation - 2019 Version

M16, known most commonly as the Eagle Nebula, is also known as the Star Queen Nebula and the Spire. This is a rich open cluster of about 8100 stars surrounded by a rich region of gas and dust. Located towards the south during the summer season, M16 can be seen in the constellation Serpens and is located about 5100 light-years away. This area has been made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope classic image: The Pillars of Creation in 1995.

First attempt on m16’