Saturn and a few more Messier Objects

This week my I set up out at the Witte Observatory again with hopes of imaging some of the faint nebula in and near Cygnus.  Though that didn't work out so well (I need to figure out how to use my guide scope and / or the technique of stacking) ~ my video of Saturn looks pretty good AND I knocked off a few more Messier Objects off my list :-)

Iris Nebula; 30 seconds ISO 12800; A bit overexposed but at least it's something.....

Crescent Nebula ~ I think I see a hint of it.... a wispy red object

A quick shot of the hearts of the Double Cluster near Cassiopeia

I LOVE this open cluster.  It is often referred to as the E.T. Cluster.... Hah!

M11 ~ Wild Duck Cluster; I can't believe I haven't imaged this yet!

 Several globular clusters in Sagittarius

M22 ~ the "grand daddy" of them all

M26

M28

M54

M69

M70

Last but not least... here's a video of Saturn at several different exposures =)

Nebulae in Sagittarius

Still not using a guide scope or stacking images...... Here are a few photos I took earlier this month out at the Witte Observatory.  They are the major nebulae in Sagittarius =)

Eagle Nebula, M16

Lagood Nebula, M8

Omega Nebula, M17

Trifid Nebula, M20

M18 (Open Cluster)

Fireflies under a Waxing Gibbous Moon

This week I was out at the observatory helping with a group of youth.  The skies were relatively clear, but the Moon seemed too bright to do much with regard to photographing stars, DSO's or Milky Way.... so I turned my attention to trying to capture the beauty of the hundereds of fireflies lighting up the sky! :-)

Here are a few of my favorite photos.....

I stiched the photos together and tacked on a short video using Window's Movie Maker ;-)

Constellations Stars Planets Nebula and Startrails in Mississippi

Our family had a wonderful time recently in Mississippi.... back for a wedding <3  I took my Polarie and camera in hopes of taking a few photos =)

LOTS of FUN!!!!

I annotated photos to point out a few things

More Messier Objects =)

Feeling a little bit rusty but decided to get a few more Messier objects while the Moon is out of the way....  These were taken June 2 out at the Witte Observatory =)

M13

M14

M40

M49

M94

The Moon Mars Saturn and Antares in Diamond Configuration May 22 =)

While passing near Scorpius, the Full Moon could not entirely outshine Mars, Saturn, and Antares and made a cool looking square on its side.  These were taken at our new digs ;)  Still in town but relatively dark skies, especially to the south east.