Memories...

Remembering that incredible day...

Comet ... and ANTI-TAIL !!

Comet ... and ANTI-TAIL !! 🥰💪

So, had to get out there as the moon is getting "bigger" each night and interferes as you can imagine.

We all saw the comet and its tail with the naked eye, though it was very dim. Extra special as it was the FIRST TIME for my wife and daughter to ever see a comet! ❤️

Well, I shot this from my backyard here in Las Cruces two nights ago (15 Oct 2024) using my DSLR and a single 15sec exposure. If you look (very) carefully, you can make out the "anti-tail" ... a hint of something going in the opposite direction as the tail (in "front" of the comet).

What is the anti-tail? Well I'll copy in a description from Space.com:

"New photos of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS appear to show a faint "anti-tail" pointing away in the wrong direction. The puzzling extra limb is the result of a rare illusion that is only possible when our planet is in a certain position."

#astronomy #comet

Milky Way --- zoomed in!!!

On the same (earlier - aka, June) shot of the MW from my backyard, I mentioned I also captured a "zoomed in" version - extending the lens to a relatively longer focal length (70mm vs 18mm or 24mm, for example).

Again, with my T3i and on the SkyWatcher tracking mount. I'll include an extra image here to help orient the view together with the (labeled - I think I have them correct 🙂 ) result of the shot.

You will see some familiar objects in here - some (such as the Eagle Nebula) I captured from Cruces with my TOA-130 at much longer focal length (1000mm) back in 2017.

Back to the present: This was 26x1min exposures --- no darks/flats.

#astronomy #milkyway

M81 - Bode's Galaxy!

M81 - Bode's Galaxy (from my backyard in Las Cruces)
Distance: 12 million light years

Bouncing back to a LONG focal length (about 2000mm), here is my latest result using my largest scope, the 12" RC Truss-tube! Easily my best ever result imaging this object over the past decade...aperture and mount are everything.

http://jeffjastro.com/dso/M81_30Apr24.htm

More details at the link.

#galaxy #LasCruces #deepSky

Milky Way - Saturday night (Las Cruces, New Mexico)

Here is the Milky Way over our house LAST NIGHT (10 Aug 2024)...
#milkyway #galaxy #lastnight

California - Disneyland and Beach

After my girls returned from China, I flew to Los Angeles, California to meet them at LAX. Re-uniting at the airport was like out of a wonderful movie. The next two days, my wife and I took our "little princess" to Disneyland as well as the California seaside. What a beautiful trip with two beautiful girls. I'm a lucky guy...
THIS is what life is all about.

M82 - Cigar Galaxy (a starburst galaxy)

Hi all, here is:
M82 - Cigar Galaxy (a starburst galaxy)
Distance: 12 million light years

Captured from my backyard in Las Cruces, New Mexico USA
Details here: http://jeffjastro.com/dso/M82_13Feb24.htm

Milky Way - from Las Cruces

Here are two results from one night in my backyard ... I have more info/details on my Facebook Science page for both of these. They are not yet on my main astro site, tho :)

https://www.facebook.com/jeffjastrocom

Widefield work...

These are to get me sorta caught up here - I used a new SkyWatcher mount and tripod with my Canon T3i DSLR. Here are just the results. More details on my main site :)

https://jeffjastro.com/dso/

NGC 3953 - Barred spiral galaxy

My most recent result: NGC 3953 - Barred spiral galaxy in Ursa Major Distance: 55 million light years Shot with my *big* RC scope in LRGB.
Jeffrey O. Johnson (Las Cruces, NM USA)

My Total Solar Eclipse progression: Featured by Sky & Telescope Magazine!!!

Hi all,

I am HONORED. The Editor of #SkyAndTelescope Magazine has featured my Total Eclipse Progression as one of the "Editor's Picks" on their main page!!!

I'm attaching a screengrab from their site.

Total Solar Eclipse!!!

Yes, I made it (with my family)!!

Clouds cleared just in time! (Killeen, TX) And...
Here are my results from my Canon T3i, 250mm Canon lens @ f/5.6, ISO200, and 1/40s (and re-doing focus continuously throughout --- super difficult as had to WAIT for it to come out of the clouds in most instances). All shot at 250mm, just cropped differently in these .jpgs (for size consideration here).
However... the clouds did magic actually in varying the results. I think my favorite is the "10 carat" diamond ring effect...looking like an explosion. And, you can STILL see the prominences as it comes out of Totality.
Summary: It was incredible... indescribable...but I will try: Unlike anything I have ever seen in my life...and I have seen and captured many, many, MANY eclipses that were *near* total... including full annular...
But nothing, NOTHING comes even close to a Total Eclipse. Nothing.
Yes... THAT incredible! 🙂
Jeff

Featured in BBC Sky at Night MAGAZINE!!!

Super Honored!!!

My image has been published in BBC Sky at Night MAGAZINE!!!

They let me know today that indeed they featured my galaxy NGC 7331 image in their January 2024 issue (PRINTED MAGAZINE)!!!

My original image is here: http://jeffjastro.com/dso/NGC7331_5Sep23.htm
Screengrab from the magazine, attached.

PREVIEW: NGC 3953 --- a close look

I took the "giant" RC scope out back for the second time --- another 3hr setup with the RC and the AP, but fun in a weird way, haha.
I went out on Valentine's Eve 🥰 ...and this was one of a couple of targets I got that night.

This is just a preview.

The seeing conditions were not great, but I still had fun to finally get out again! AND...this target is one that is near and dear to my heart:
NGC 3953 @ 55 million light years away ❤️
This is LUM only, and I collected all LRGB so will process as I go 🙂
#galaxy #astronomy #farfaraway

NGC 7662 - Blue Snowball planetary nebula

Hi all,
Not yet on my website:
The last object I imaged with the new RC scope and AP mount was this (attached - one is center crop, other is uncropped). It was the same night as my previous two results (5 Sep) and this was was the last for the night. Bright, but tiny object (from here), and the moon really wreaked havoc on the contrast, as the moon was high in the sky and 65% illuminated, so only a hint of the outer areas for this object.
So, this was *still* my "first light" night with the RC and was to the west (Las Cruces light dome).
NGC 7662 - Blue Snowball planetary nebula from Las Cruces in LRGB. Distance: ~5730 LY This nebula was discovered October 6, 1784 by the German-born English astronomer William Herschel.
Setup: TPO RC 12" Truss-tube @f/8 (2432mm focal length) AP1100GTO mount QSI690wsg 19x5min L, 4x5min ea RGB (and then the sun rose)

Galaxy NGC 772 --- 130 million light years away...

This was the most distant *primary target* for me to date. Very small and very dim. I captured this the same night as my NGC 7331 result with the same RC scope, QSI camera, and AP mount. The Moon had risen and was at 65% illumination - and it was also close to my FOV, which made this very difficult (and bad decision by me to go after this one on this night!). So it goes 🙂