The 100 Best Astrophotography Targets (eBook)

The 100 Best Targets for Astrophotography 3
Preface 6
Acknowledgements 8
Contents 10
Introduction 15
How This Book Differs from Observing Lists 15
How the Targets Were Chosen 16
What Are We Looking at? 17
Best 100 Astrophotography Targets 20
January: Mostly Nebulae 21
January 1: Spiral Galaxy IC 342 22
January 2: Pleiades Open Cluster 25
January 6: California Nebula 28
January 21: Witch Head Nebula 31
January 24: Flaming Star Nebula 34
January 26: Tadpole Emission Nebula 37
January 27: Open Cluster M38 with Open Cluster NGC 1907 40
January 29: Crab Nebula Supernova Remnant 43
January 29: Orion Nebula and Running Man Nebula 46
January 31: Horsehead and Flame Nebulae 49
February: Clusters and Nebulae 52
February 1: Reflection Nebula M78 53
February 2: Open Cluster M37 56
February 6: Angel Nebula 59
February 6: Open Clusters M35 and NGC 2158 62
February 9: Jellyfish Nebula 65
February 12: Rosette Nebula and Cluster 68
February 14: Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster 71
February 24: Thor’s Helmet 74
February 27: Medusa Nebula 77
February 27: Eskimo Nebula 80
March: Clusters and Galaxies 83
March 1: Open Clusters M46 and M47 84
March 2: Spiral Galaxy NGC 2403 87
March 20: Ancient Open Cluster M67 90
March 30: Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 2903 93
April: Galaxy Pairs and Groups 96
April 5: Galaxies M81 and M82 97
April 10: Little Pinwheel Galaxy 102
April 11: Hickson 44 Galaxy Group 105
April 17: Galaxy Pair M95 and M96 108
April 24: Owl Nebula M97 with Galaxy M108 111
April 26: Galaxy Trio in Leo 114
April 26: Hamburger Galaxy NGC 3628 117
April 30: Galaxy Pair NGC 3718 and NGC 3729 120
May: Diversity of Galaxy Shapes 123
May 6: Galaxy M109 124
May 11: Silver Needle Galaxy 127
May 11: Galaxy M106 130
May 12: Galaxies M100 and NGC 4312 133
May 13: Markarian’s Chain 136
May 16: Needle Galaxy 139
May 17: Sombrero Galaxy 142
May 17: Whale Galaxy and Hockey Stick Galaxy 145
May 19: Ringed Galaxy NGC 4725 148
May 19: Spiral Galaxy M94 151
May 21: Black Eye Galaxy M64 154
May 24: Sunflower Galaxy M63 156
May 29: Whirlpool Galaxy M51 159
June: Globular Clusters and More Galaxies 162
June 1: Globular Cluster M3 163
June 6: Pinwheel Galaxy M101 166
June 25: Splinter Galaxy 169
June 26: Globular Cluster M5 172
July: Just Globular Clusters 175
July 17: Great Hercules Cluster 176
July 18: Globular Cluster M12 179
August: Planetary and Emission Nebulae 182
August 5: Cat’s Eye Nebula 183
August 6–7: Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae 186
August 7: Lagoon Nebula 189
August 10: Eagle Nebula 192
August 11: Swan Nebula 195
August 15: Globular Cluster M22 198
August 18: Wild Duck Cluster 201
August 19: Ring Nebula 204
September: Autumn Assortment 207
September 1: Barnard’s Galaxy 208
September 5: Dumbbell Nebula 211
September 8: Crescent Nebula 214
September 14: Fireworks Galaxy and Cluster NGC 6939 217
September 17: Veil Nebula, “Witch’s Broom” of Veil 219
September 19: Eastern Loop of Veil: The Network Nebula 221
September 18: Pelican Nebula 224
September 20: North American Nebula 227
September 20: Fetus Nebula 230
September 21: Iris Nebula 233
September 28 and 29: Globular Clusters M15 and M2 236
September 30: Nebula IC 1396 and the Elephant’s Trunk 239
October: Halloween Treats 242
October 4: Cocoon Nebula 243
October 9: Wolf’s Cave and the Cepheus Flare 246
October 13: Helix Nebula 249
October 14: Stephan’s Quintet 252
October 15: Deer Lick Galaxy Group 255
October 19: Flying Horse Nebula 258
October 20: Cave Nebula 261
October 26: Bubble Nebula and M52 Cluster 264
October 27: Blue Snowball Nebula 267
November: The Great Galaxies 270
November 1: Andromeda Galaxy and Companions 271
November 2: Skull Nebula and Galaxy NGC 255 274
November 17: Sculptor Galaxy 277
November 18: Pacman Nebula 280
November 25: ET Cluster 283
November 29: Triangulum Galaxy 286
November 30: Spiral Galaxy M74 289
December: Celestial Potpourri 292
December 1: Little Dumbbell Nebula 293
December 5: Nautilus Galaxy NGC 772 296
December 10: Double Cluster 299
December 11: Outer Limits Galaxy 301
December 11: Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 925 304
December 14: Heart Nebula and December 18: Soul Nebula 307
December 18: Spiral Galaxy M77 310
Getting Started in CCD Imaging 313
Equipment for Astrophotography 314
First and Foremost, the Mount 315
Beginner Scopes for Imaging 316
Choosing a Camera 318
Autoguiders 320
Investing Wisely in Software 322
Acquiring the Image 323
Siting the Telescope 324
Polar Alignment 326
Choosing the Target 328
Calculating Your Fields of View and Scale 330
Finding, Centering, and Framing the Target 332
Focusing 334
Autoguiding 336
Exposing 338
Dark Frames 340
Flat Fields 342
The Order of Image Processing 344
Image Reduction/Calibration 345
Optional Steps 346
Aligning Images 347
Combining Images 348
Deconvolution 349
Color Combining 350
Histograms and Curves 351
Luminance Layering 353
Color Enrichment 355
Image Sharpening and Blurring 356
Dealing out Gradients 358
Final Cleanup 359
About the Author 360
Index 362