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The London ASTRONOMER

Astrophotography by Roger Hutchinson
  • Astrophotography
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Latest Images

This gallery contains my latest images, after a few weeks I'll move them to the relevant gallery but this is a handy way to see what I've been up to recently!

Partial Eclipse of the Sun - 29th March 2025
Partial Eclipse of the Sun - 29th March 2025

Partial eclipse of the Sun imaged through thin cloud from London on the 29th March 2025, just after 11am when at maximum extent. Lunt LS60 THa scope and ZWO ASI174MM camera. False colour.

Partial Eclipse Composite - 29th March 2025
Partial Eclipse Composite - 29th March 2025

Composite from start to finish of the partial solar eclipse visible from London on the 29th March. Lunt LS60 THa scope and ZWO ASI174MM camera, all images false colour.

Active Region 4048 - 5th April 2025
Active Region 4048 - 5th April 2025

Solar active region 4048 shot in white light from London on the 5th April 2025 using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera and Baader solar filter.

Mars September 2024 until March 2025
Mars September 2024 until March 2025

The changing apparent size of Mars as it approached and then receded from Earth during the period September 2024 until March 2025.

All imaged taken using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera with ADC

Mars - 8th March 2025
Mars - 8th March 2025

Planet Mars imaged from London on the 8th March 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera

Mars - 22nd February 2025
Mars - 22nd February 2025

Mars - Syrtis Major Planum is the main feature visible here along with the northern polar cap.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI224MC camera with ADC

Mars - 2nd March 2025
Mars - 2nd March 2025

Mars, 2nd March 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI224MC camera with ADC

Jupiter - 2nd March 2025
Jupiter - 2nd March 2025

Planet Jupiter imaged from London on the 2nd March 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera with ADC

Jupiter, Io and Callisto - 5th March 2025
Jupiter, Io and Callisto - 5th March 2025

Planet Jupiter with Moons Io to the left and Callisto above the planet. Imaged from London under poor conditions using a Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera and ADC.

Jupiter - 8th March 2025
Jupiter - 8th March 2025

Planet Jupiter imaged from London shortly after sunset on the 8th March 2025.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

Moon - 2nd March 2025
Moon - 2nd March 2025

HDR Moon shot on the 2nd March 2025

The Moon & Pleiades - 1st April 2025
The Moon & Pleiades - 1st April 2025

The Moon prior to occulting the Pleiades cluster on the 1st April 2025. HDR view comprising a composite of two images, one exposed for the lit portion of the Moon, the other for the unlit portion and the stars.

Canon EOS 6D with 300mm telephoto and 2x converter.

The Moon - 8th March 2025
The Moon - 8th March 2025
Sunrise over Clavius Crater - 8th March 2025
Sunrise over Clavius Crater - 8th March 2025

Sunrise over Clavius imaged from London on the 8th March 2025.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera

Tycho Crater - 8th March 2025
Tycho Crater - 8th March 2025

Lunar crater Tycho imaged from London on the 8th March 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera

Eratosthenes Crater - 8th March 2025
Eratosthenes Crater - 8th March 2025

Lunar crater Eratosthenes imaged from London on the 8th March 2025.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM Camera.

Plato & Vallis Alpes - 8th March 2025
Plato & Vallis Alpes - 8th March 2025

Lunar crater Plato on the left and Vallis Alpes (the scar on the right), imaged from London on the 8th March 2025.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera

Craters Albetegnius & Klein - 5th April 2025
Craters Albetegnius & Klein - 5th April 2025

Lunar craters Albetegnius & Klein shot from London on the 5th April 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera

Aristoteles, Eudoxus, Cassini, Aristillus, Autolycus & Montes Caucasus 5th April 2025
Aristoteles, Eudoxus, Cassini, Aristillus, Autolycus & Montes Caucasus 5th April 2025

Lunar craters Aristoteles, Eudoxus, Cassini, Aristillus & Autolycus along with the Montes Caucasus shot from London on the 5th April 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera

Phases of the Moon

The Moon is probably the easiest target for astrophotography, especially from a light polluted location like London but this doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve beautiful and varied results when photographing it.

This gallery showcases the changing face of the Moon as it progresses through it’s monthly change in phase from a slender crescent, through the beautiful quarter Moons and spectacular full Moon.

The Moon 3rd December 2016
The Moon 3rd December 2016

The Moon imaged from London on 3rd December 2016

6 panel mosaic shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 and ASI174MM camera

20220204 Moon
20220204 Moon

The crescent Moon imaged from London on the 4th February 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS 6D camera

The Moon - 10th March 2019
The Moon - 10th March 2019

The Moon shot from London on the 10th March 2019.

Mosaic comprising 6 stacked images shot using an ASI174MM camera, Celestron Edge HD11 scope & 685nm IR pass filter

Moon - London, 10th October 2022
Moon - London, 10th October 2022

A seven panel mosaic of the Moon shot from London on the afternoon of the 10th October. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Earthshine Moon - London 17th December 2020
Earthshine Moon - London 17th December 2020

The Moon showing Earthshine, imaged from London on the 17th December 2020. Canon EOS 6D, 300mm Telephoto with 2x Teleconverter

Earthshine Moon - 16th April 2021
Earthshine Moon - 16th April 2021

The Moon shot from London on the 16th April 2021. Blend of two images shot using a Canon EOS 6D camera and 300mm lens with 2x tele-converter

20220204 Earthshine Moon
20220204 Earthshine Moon

The Earthshine Moon imaged from London on 4th February 2022.

Canon EOS 6D camera, 300mm telephoto with 2x extender. Blend of two images, one for earthshine second for lit crescent.

Earthshine Moon - 17th March 2021
Earthshine Moon - 17th March 2021

The Moon imaged from London on the 17th March 2021.

This is a blended image comprising of one image exposed for the lit portion of the Moon and the other for 'Earthshine'

Canon EOS 6D with 300mm telephoto lens & 2x Tele-extender.

Earthshine - London 26th April 2020
Earthshine - London 26th April 2020
HDR Moon 26th December 2022
HDR Moon 26th December 2022

HDR composite of the Moon imaged from London on the 26th December 2022.

The Moon through cloud - 17th January 2021
The Moon through cloud - 17th January 2021

The Moon imaged through cloud from London on the 17th January 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera.

20250202 Moon
20250202 Moon

The Moon imaged from London on the 2nd February 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS6D camera.

Cloudy Earthshine - March 2nd 2017
Cloudy Earthshine - March 2nd 2017

The Moon over London on 2nd March 2017. Exposed to reveal Earthshine through thin cloud.
Canon EOS Rebel T3i Tamron 300mm zoom lens

20180420 Moon mosaic
20180420 Moon mosaic

10 panel mosaic of the Moon, shot from London on 20th April 2018

Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, ASI174MM camera & 685nm IR pass filter

Each panel processed in AS!2 & Registax 6. Mosaic created in Photoshop CC

Valentine Moon
Valentine Moon

Moon imaged 14th February 2016 from London

Celestron Edge HD11, Canon EOS Rebel T3i

The Moon, London 22nd February 2018
The Moon, London 22nd February 2018

The Moon imaged from London on 22nd February 2018.

Celestron Edge HD 11, Canon EOS 6D

The Moon - London 18th February 2021
The Moon - London 18th February 2021

The Moon imaged from London on the 18th February 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Canon EOS 6D camera.

HDR Moon - London 18th February 2021
HDR Moon - London 18th February 2021

The Moon imaged from London on the 18th February 2021. Se my blog post for more information on creating HDR lunar images.

The Moon - London 11th May 2019
The Moon - London 11th May 2019

The Moon imaged from London on the 11th May 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS 6D camera - single shot. Lunar 'V' and 'X' are visible on the terminator.

Moon with Lunar 'V' & 'X', London 4th November 2019
Moon with Lunar 'V' & 'X', London 4th November 2019

The Moon imaged from London on the 4th November 2019. Lunar 'V' and 'X' are visible along the terminator.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera

The Moon - London 12th May 2019
The Moon - London 12th May 2019

The Moon imaged from London on the 12th May 2019

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera

St Patrick's Day Moon
St Patrick's Day Moon

Celestron Edge HD 11, Canon EOS Rebel T3i

London, 17th March 2016

The Moon - London 23rd November 2020
The Moon - London 23rd November 2020

The Moon imaged from London on the 23rd November 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D.

The Moon - London 27th October 2020
The Moon - London 27th October 2020

The Moon imaged from London on the 27th October 2020. Saturation boosted to add some much needed colour to our lives!

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS 6D

Moon 16th May 2016
Moon 16th May 2016

The Moon on the evening of 16th May 2016 imaged from London
3 panel mosaic using Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera

20180326 Mineral Moon
20180326 Mineral Moon

The Moon shot from London on 26th March 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera.

The colour saturation of the image has been increased, this technique showing the iron and mineral deposits on the lunar surface

Moon - London 2nd May 2020
Moon - London 2nd May 2020

The Moon imaged from London on the 2nd May 2020. Just to give you an idea of how good the seeing was this is a single shot - no stacking!

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS 6D camera.

The Moon - 23rd January 2021
The Moon - 23rd January 2021

The Moon imaged from London on the 23rd January 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D

Mineral Moon - 19th February 2024
Mineral Moon - 19th February 2024

The Moon imaged from London on the 19th February 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 telescope & Canon EOS 6D camera. Saturation increased to show mineral composition of the Moon.

Moon 2nd January 2023
Moon 2nd January 2023

The Moon imaged from London on the 2nd January 2023.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS6D camera.

The Moon, 6th March 2020
The Moon, 6th March 2020

The Moon shot from London on the 6th March 2020 Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera

Moon over London
Moon over London

The Moon over London on the 29th January 2018, 2 days from full.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Canon EOS 6D camera. 2 panel mosaic processed in Photoshop CC

The Moon - 27th December 2020
The Moon - 27th December 2020

The Moon, London 27th December 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS 6D camera

The Moon - London 16th January 2019
The Moon - London 16th January 2019

The Moon, London 16th January 2019.

Celestron EdgeHD 11 scope & Canon EOS 6D DSLR

Moon - 16th September 2021
Moon - 16th September 2021

The Moon as it set over London, 16th September 2021

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera

20180425 Moon
20180425 Moon

The Moon imaged from London on 25th April 2018

2 panel mosaic using a Canon EOS 6D and Celestron Edge HD11

Saturated Moon - March 2015
Saturated Moon - March 2015

The Moon imaged from London on 2nd March 2015. This is a high saturation image which brings out the differences in Lunar geology

 

The Moon - 22nd June 2021
The Moon - 22nd June 2021

The Moon imaged from London on the 22nd June 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Canon EOS 6D camera. Two panel mosaic.

The Moon, 29th September 2020
The Moon, 29th September 2020

The Moon imaged from London on the 29th September 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS 6D camera.

The Moon 14th September 2016
The Moon 14th September 2016

The Moon imaged from London on 16th September 2016

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS Rebel T3i

The Moon - 8th October 2022
The Moon - 8th October 2022

The Moon imaged from London on 8th October 2022, approximately one day from full.

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS 6D camera

The Harvest Moon, 5th October 2017
The Harvest Moon, 5th October 2017

The Harvest Moon imaged from London on the 5th October 2017

Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera 

6 panel mosaic stitched in Photoshop CC

Wolf Moon - 20th January 2019
Wolf Moon - 20th January 2019

The January full Moon or 'wolf moon' over London on the 20th January 2019. Eight hours before totality as the early hours of the 21st will see a total lunar eclipse.

Celestron EdgeHD 11, Canon EOS 6D

Full Moon, London 11th November 2019
Full Moon, London 11th November 2019

The full Moon shot from London on the 11th November 2019

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera

Perigee Moon - London 19th February 2019
Perigee Moon - London 19th February 2019

The full Moon of the 19th February 2019. Shot from London using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera.

Closest perigee moon of the year

The Harvest Moon - London, 20th September 2021
The Harvest Moon - London, 20th September 2021

The Harvest Moon imaged from London on the 20th September 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera.

Cold Moon - December 11th 2019
Cold Moon - December 11th 2019

The December full Moon, otherwise known as the Cold Moon’. Imaged from London on the night of the 11th December 2019. Saturation has been increased to show mineral variation of the lunar surface. Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera. Two panel mosaic.

20241115 Beaver Moon
20241115 Beaver Moon

The full 'Beaver Moon' imaged from London on 15th November 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera

Pink Moon - 26th April 2021
Pink Moon - 26th April 2021

The April full moon shot from London on the 26th April 2021. 600mm telephoto shot with Canon EOS 6D camera.

'Super Blue' Moon - 31st August 2023
'Super Blue' Moon - 31st August 2023

On 31st August 2023 there was a rare second full Moon in a calendar month along with it being a ‘Supermoon’ when it is at one of its closest points in its orbit to Earth. Canon EOS 6D with 300mm telephoto & 2x extender

Inverted Moon over London - 22nd October 2018
Inverted Moon over London - 22nd October 2018

The Moon over London on the 22nd October 2018. Image inverted to show off all those beautiful ray craters!

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS 6D. 2 panel mosaic

20190913 Apogee Moon
20190913 Apogee Moon

The Moon shot from London on the 13th September, just a few hours from full.

This was the full moon farthest placed from Earth (Apogee) in 2019. Also informally known as a micro-moon - though you'd not be able to distinguish between it and a 'super-moon' with the naked eye!

Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS 6D

Supermoon v Micromoon
Supermoon v Micromoon

‪2019 Super Moon & Micro Moon compared. The Perigee Moon appears ~15% larger than when it is farthest away. This difference is not discernible to the naked eye but overlaying the images shot using the same equipment makes it very apparent.‬ ‪Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera. Apogee Moon inverted.‬

Full Moon - London, 15th August 2019
Full Moon - London, 15th August 2019

The virtually full moon shot from London on the night of the 15th August 2019.

Too low to observe from the observatory so this is a cropped 600mm telephoto shot

20220117 Wolf Moon
20220117 Wolf Moon

The January full Moon or 'Wolf Moon' imaged from London on the 17th January. Standard & inverted.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera - 2 panel mosaic.

Moon - London 13th March 2017
Moon - London 13th March 2017

The Moon one day past full. Imaged from London on 13th March 2017
Celestron Edge HD11 & Canon EOS Rebel T3i
6 panel mosaic processed in Photoshop CC

The Moon, 5th November 2017
The Moon, 5th November 2017

The Moon imaged from London on the 5th November 2017 

Celestron Edge HD11, Canon EOS 6D

20221210 Moon
20221210 Moon

The Moon imaged from London on the night of 10th December 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera

The Moon - London 5th September 2020
The Moon - London 5th September 2020

The Moon imaged from London at around 03:00UT on the 5th September 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera. 2 panel stitch

Moon, 9th September 2017
Moon, 9th September 2017

The Moon imaged from London in the early hours of 9th September 2017

6 panel mosaic shot using a Canon EOS Rebel T3i and Celestron EdgeHD 11 scope

Moon - 28th January 2016
Moon - 28th January 2016

Celestron Edge HD11, Canon EOS Rebel T3i

London, 28th January 2016

20190920 Moon
20190920 Moon

The Moon shot from London just after 5am on the 20th September 2019

Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera

Moon, 18th December 2019
Moon, 18th December 2019

The Moon shot from London, pre-dawn on the 18th December 2019. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera.

20221113 Moon
20221113 Moon

The Moon imaged from London on the 13th November 2022. Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera.

Third Quarter Moon, London 3rd September 2018
Third Quarter Moon, London 3rd September 2018

The third quarter Moon shot from London in the early hours of the 3rd September 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera

Moon - February 2015
Moon - February 2015

Celestron Edge HD11, Canon EOS Rebel T3i

London, 4th February 2015

The Moon - 18th January 2020
The Moon - 18th January 2020

The Moon imaged from London on the 18th January 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera

The Moon - 18th October 2022
The Moon - 18th October 2022

The Moon imaged from London shortly after 5am on the 18th October 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera.

The Moon - 19th January 2020
The Moon - 19th January 2020

The Moon imaged from London on the 19th January 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera

Moon 25th November 2016
Moon 25th November 2016

The Moon imaged from London on 25th November 2016

7 panel mosaic imaged using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ASI174MM camera

Earthshine - 14th October 2020
Earthshine - 14th October 2020

The Moon illuminated by the glow of the Earth. London 14th October 2020.

Canon EOS 6D, 300mm Telephoto cropped.

Moon Phases
Moon Phases

The phases around the full Moon in February 2019

Seven nights in May
Seven nights in May

When you image the Moon over consecutive nights it gives you the opportunity to create an animation showing the passage of the Sun over the lunar landscape.

Here we have 7 nights worth of shots taken from the 10th May to the 16th May. All using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera. The GIF was created in Photoshop CC

Aphelion, Perihelion - Perigee, Apogee
Aphelion, Perihelion - Perigee, Apogee

Here we can see the fact that the orbit of the Earth around the Sun is not circular and neither is the orbit of the Moon around the Earth.

The Solar image on the left comprises an image of the Sun when farthest from the Earth (Aphelion), shot in July this year (2020) and closest (Perihelion) shot in January. The images of the Moon are of the closest full Moon (Perigee) of 2019 and the farthest (Apogee).

The Moon - Craters, Seas & Mountains

This gallery showcases more technical high resolution images of our nearest celestial neighbour, focussing on the rugged landscape of the Moon itself from iconic craters to jagged lunar mountains and vast lunar seas.

Boussingault crater terraces
Boussingault crater terraces

Boussingault Crater - two for the price of one. Imaged in June 2017 from London.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera, Televue Powermate 2.5x

Clavius and the South 7th February 2017
Clavius and the South 7th February 2017

Lunar crater Clavius and the region immediately south of it, imaged from London on the 7th February 2017
Celestron EdgeHD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x, ASI174MM camera

Clavius - 7th March 2017
Clavius - 7th March 2017

My favourite lunar subject - crater Clavius imaged from London on 7th March 2017
Celestron Edge Hd11, ASI174MM camera and Televue 2.5x Powermate

Clavius - London, 12th January 2022
Clavius - London, 12th January 2022

Clavius crater imaged from London on the 12th January 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera with Baader 685nm IR pass filter

Clavius and Blancanus - 23rd January 2021
Clavius and Blancanus - 23rd January 2021

Lunar craters Clavius and Blancanus imaged from London on the 23rd January 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate.

The Eyes of Clavius - 20th February 2021
The Eyes of Clavius - 20th February 2021

The 'Eyes of Clavius' imaged from London on the 20th February 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Clavius - London 21st April 2021
Clavius - London 21st April 2021

The region around lunar crater Clavius imaged from London on the 21st April 2021. Celestron Edge HD11, ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Tycho, Clavius & The South - 13th April 2019
Tycho, Clavius & The South - 13th April 2019

Tycho and Clavius region imaged from London on the 13th April 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera

Clavius and Tycho Region 16th January 2019 - London
Clavius and Tycho Region 16th January 2019 - London

Looking across the rich craters of the lunar south, craters Tycho, Maginus, Clavius, Blancanus, Klaproth, Gruenberger & Moretus are the most prominent.

Celestron EdgeHD 11, ASI174MM camera

Clavius, Moretus, Short - 6th January 2020
Clavius, Moretus, Short - 6th January 2020

Towards the edge, looking over craters Clavius, Moretus and Short towards the lunar southern limb. Shot from London on the 6th January 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174mm camera & Televue 2.5x Powermate

20190214 18-07UT Longomontanus & Clavius.jpg
Tycho 7th February 2017
Tycho 7th February 2017

Lunar crater Tycho imaged from London on 7th February 2017. Celestron Edge HD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x & ASI174MM camera

Longomontanus & Clavius - London May 13th 2019
Longomontanus & Clavius - London May 13th 2019

Craters Longomontanus (left) and Clavius (right) with the prominent craters Scheiner & Blancanus beow Clavius

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Tycho - London 14th February 2019
Tycho - London 14th February 2019

Lunar crater Tycho imaged from London on the 14th February 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, Baader 685nm IR filter & ASI174MM camera

Saturated and Inverted Tycho - May 27th 2018
Saturated and Inverted Tycho - May 27th 2018

Super saturated and inverted IRDSLR image of lunar crater Tycho.

Luminance layer shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM planetary camera with 685nm IR pass filter. Colour provided using a single image shot using a Canon EOS 6D camera

Instructions can be found on a tutorial I have written for Photographingspace.com

Clavius Region - September 2016
Clavius Region - September 2016

Clavius and the surrounding region imaged from London 11th September 2016

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI120MM camera

Towards the Lunar South - London May 1st 2020
Towards the Lunar South - London May 1st 2020

Looking towards the lunar south over craters Tycho, Clavius and on to Moretus. Shot from London on 1st May 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, colour from single shot using Canon EOS 6D. 3 pane mosaic.

The Lunar South - Maginus, Moretus, Short - 19th May 2021
The Lunar South - Maginus, Moretus, Short - 19th May 2021

Towards the Lunar South, imaged from London on the 19th May 2021 (first quarter). The main features (bottom to top) are craters Marginus, Moretus and Short.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

20180425 Tycho & Clavius IRDSLR
20180425 Tycho & Clavius IRDSLR

Tycho, Clavius and the surrounding region imaged from London on 25th April 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11

Luminance layer shot using an ASI174MM planetary camera and 685nm IR pass filter, stacked and sharpened in AS!2 and Registax 6.

Colour from image taken using a Canon EOS 6D DSLR

Combination in Photoshop CC with saturation increased for added 'punch'

Tycho Region High Saturation December 9th 2019
Tycho Region High Saturation December 9th 2019

Tycho region imaged from London on the 9th December 2019. This is a composite image the detailed luminance layer shot using a ZWO ASI174MM camera with a 685nm IR pass filter and the colour provided using a shot taken with a Canon EOS 6D camera, both through a Celestron Edge HD11 scope. Colour saturation has been increased.

Super Saturated Tycho - London 13th May 2019
Super Saturated Tycho - London 13th May 2019

The Tycho and Clavius region of the Moon imaged from London on the 14th May 2019.

IR (Luminance) DSLR (colour) image using a Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera & Canon EOS 6D

The saturation of the colour image has been increased to reveal the hidden colours of the Moon indicating changes in the mineral composition of the lunar surface.

Clavius Region - London 2nd May 2020
Clavius Region - London 2nd May 2020

Clavius region imaged from London on the 2nd May 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera and Canon EOS 6D for colour.

Maginus & Tycho - London 13th May 2019
Maginus & Tycho - London 13th May 2019

Craters Maginus (upper left) and Tycho (centre) imaged from London on the 13th May 2019

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera & Baader 685nm IR pass filter

Tycho, Clavius & The Lunar South - 6th January 2020
Tycho, Clavius & The Lunar South - 6th January 2020

Tycho, Clavius and towards the lunar south, imaged from London on the 6th January 2020. IRDSLR image shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera and colour provided by a shot using a Canon EOS 6D camera.

Tycho, London May 13th 2019
Tycho, London May 13th 2019

Crater Tycho under exceptional seeing conditions, shot from London on the 13th May 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

20180326 Copernicus
20180326 Copernicus

Copernicus crater, imaged from London on 26th March 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera and 685nm IR pass filter

Copernicus - London, 12th January 2022
Copernicus - London, 12th January 2022

Copernicus crater imaged from London on the 12th January 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera with Baader 685nm IR pass filter

Copernicus Triptych
Copernicus Triptych

Lunar crater Copernicus imaged from London under almost full illumination on 11th November 2016. Image 1 was shot through a 685nm IR pass filter, image 2 is an inverted version of image 1 and image 3 is an LRGB colour image.
Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera
Processed using AS!2, Registax6 & Photoshop CC

20180425 Copernicus IRDSLR
20180425 Copernicus IRDSLR

Copernicus imaged from London on 25th April 2018.

This image is a bit of an experiment as the luminance layer was taken using an ASI174MM mono planetary camera with 685nm IR pass filter and the colour from a shot of the same region taken using a Canon EOS 6D DSLR. Both images were taken through a Celestron Edge HD11 scope.

Saturation has been increased, I was surprised by how easy this technique is and will use it again!

Reinhold, Copernicus & Eratosthenes - London 21st April 2021
Reinhold, Copernicus & Eratosthenes - London 21st April 2021

Lunar craters Reinhold, Copernicus & Eratosthenes imaged from London on the 21st April 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ZWO ASI174MM camera

Sunrise Copernicus - 22nd March 2021
Sunrise Copernicus - 22nd March 2021

Sunrise over crater Copernicus. Imaged from London on the 22nd March 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ASI174MM camera

Kepler and Copernicus Rays - 1st November 2017
Kepler and Copernicus Rays - 1st November 2017

Craters Kepler and Copernicus inverted to best show the rays which emanate from them.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope
ASI174MM camera

Kepler & Copernicus - Inverted December 9th 2019
Kepler & Copernicus - Inverted December 9th 2019

Craters Kepler and Copernicus with Aristarchus top left. Imaged from London on the 9th December 2019. Inverted to best show the ray structures around the craters. Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ASI174MM camera.

High Saturation Kepler & Copernicus 9th December 2019
High Saturation Kepler & Copernicus 9th December 2019

Craters Kepler and Copernicus with Aristarchus top left. Imaged from London on the 9th December 2019. Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ASI174MM camera for luminance. Canon EOS 6D for colour also shot using Celestron Edge HD11.

Plato
Plato

Lunar crater Plato imaged from London on 9th January 2017

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera + 2.5x Televue Powermate

Montes Recti, Montes Teneriffe & Montes Pico, London January 2021
Montes Recti, Montes Teneriffe & Montes Pico, London January 2021

Some rather neglected lunar mountains imaged from London on January 2021. From left to right Montes Recti which rise to a height of 1800 metres, Montes Teneriffe (2400 metres) and the solitary Montes Pico (2,450 metres).

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera & Televue 2.5x Powermate

Plato - London, 12th January 2022
Plato - London, 12th January 2022

Plato crater imaged from London on the 12th January 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera with Baader 685nm IR pass filter

Plato Region, 4th June 2017
Plato Region, 4th June 2017

The region around crater Plato imaged from London on 4th June 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, CGE Pro Mount, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Plato & Vallis Alpes - London 1st May 2020
Plato & Vallis Alpes - London 1st May 2020

Plato crater and Vallis Alpes imaged from London on the 1st May 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

20200303 19-26UT Plato & Vallis Alpes
20200303 19-26UT Plato & Vallis Alpes

Plato crater and the Vallis Alpes imaged from London on the 3rd March 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate & 685nm IR Filter

Plato & Vallis Alpes - 30th May 2020
Plato & Vallis Alpes - 30th May 2020

Plato and the Vallis Alpes imaged from London on the 30th May 2020. The jagged edges of the rim of Plato crater can be seen on the crater's floor cast by the low Sun.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera.

Plato & Vallis Alpes - London 14th February 2019
Plato & Vallis Alpes - London 14th February 2019

Crater Plato and the Vallis Alpes. Imaged from London on the 14th February 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera. 2panel mosaic.

Plato Sunrise - 19th January 2024
Plato Sunrise - 19th January 2024

Sunrise over crater Plato & Vallis Alpes. imaged from London on the 19th January 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

Sunrise Montes Alpes, December 4th 2019
Sunrise Montes Alpes, December 4th 2019

Sunrise at the Montes Alpes, craters Aristoteles, Eudoxus are prominent as well as Vallis Alpes. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera.

Vallis Alpes 4th February 2017
Vallis Alpes 4th February 2017

Lunar Vallis Alpes imaged from London on 4th February 2017
Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera with Televue Powermate 2.5x

Aristoteles, Eudoxus, Vallis Alpes and Montes Alpes
Aristoteles, Eudoxus, Vallis Alpes and Montes Alpes

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI120MM

London, 14th May 2016

Aristoteles & Eudoxus, 1st June 2017
Aristoteles & Eudoxus, 1st June 2017

Craters Aristoteles and Eudoxus imaged from London on 1st June 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Archimedes 4th February 2017
Archimedes 4th February 2017

Lunar crater Archimedes, imaged from London on 4th February 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x & ASI174MM camera

Archimedes, Aristillis & Autolycus - 19th January 2024
Archimedes, Aristillis & Autolycus - 19th January 2024

Lunar craters Archimedes, Aristillis & Autolycus imaged from London on the 19th January 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

Sunrise Mare Imbrium & Archimedes - 19th May 2021
Sunrise Mare Imbrium & Archimedes - 19th May 2021

Sunrise over the Mare Imbrium and Archimedes crater.

Imaged from London on the 19th May 2021 with the Moon at first quarter. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Greumberger, Moretus & Short - 28th December 2017
Greumberger, Moretus & Short - 28th December 2017

Gruemberger, Moretus & Short craters imaged from London on 28th December 2017.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

The Lunar South - London, 12th January 2022
The Lunar South - London, 12th January 2022

The lunar south with Clavius the most prominent feature. Imaged from London on the 12th January 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera with Baader 685nm IR pass filter

Moretus to the South, London 13th May 2019
Moretus to the South, London 13th May 2019

From Moretus to the South. Imaged from London on the 13th May 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

Sinus Iridum and Plato - 16th January 2019
Sinus Iridum and Plato - 16th January 2019

Crater Plato, the Sinus Iridum and Montes Jura. The Jewelled Handle lighting effect is evident.

Imaged from London on 16th January 2019. Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera

Sinus Iridium & Montes Jura
Sinus Iridium & Montes Jura

Lunar features Sinus Iridium and Montes Jura imaged from London, August 14th 2016

Montes Jura to Plato - 23rd January 2021
Montes Jura to Plato - 23rd January 2021

From the Montes Jura on the left to Plato crater and Vallis Alpes on the right. Imaged on the 23rd January 2021.

Two panel mosaic created using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

Sinus Iridum, 7th May 2017
Sinus Iridum, 7th May 2017

Sinus Iridum, The Bay of Rainbows imaged from London on 7th May 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, CGE Pro mount, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

The Jewelled Handle - 25th February 2018
The Jewelled Handle - 25th February 2018

Sinus Iridum showing the Jewelled Handle light effect. Imaged from London on 25th February 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate, 685nm IR pass filter

The Golden Handle & Cassini's Moon Maiden
The Golden Handle & Cassini's Moon Maiden

The Clair Obscur effects The Golden Handle and Cassini's Moon Maiden. These are caused as the sun rises over the Montes Jura bathing the cliffs in light.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

Montes Jura & Sinus Iridum - 6th January 2020
Montes Jura & Sinus Iridum - 6th January 2020

Crater J Herschel (at top) Montes Jura & Sinus Iridum imaged from London on the 6th January 2020. IRDSLR image shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera and colour provided by a shot using a Canon EOS 6D camera.

Sinus Iridum & Montes Jura - London, 13th January 2022
Sinus Iridum & Montes Jura - London, 13th January 2022

Sinus Iridum and Montes Jura. Imaged from London on 13th January 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina - London 20th December 2020
Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina - London 20th December 2020

Lunar craters Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina imaged from London on the 20th December 2020.

Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera with 685nm IR pass filter.

Ptolemaeus, Albategnius, Alphonsus & Arzachel 4th February 2017
Ptolemaeus, Albategnius, Alphonsus & Arzachel 4th February 2017

Craters Ptolemaeus, Albategnius, Alphonsus & Arzachel imaged from London on 4th February 2017
Celestron EdgeHD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x and ASI174MM camera

Deslandres, Pyrbach, Regiomontanus & Walther 4th February 2017
Deslandres, Pyrbach, Regiomontanus & Walther 4th February 2017

Craters Deslandres, Purbach, Regiomontanus & Walther imaged from London on 4th February 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x & ASI174MM camera

Aristarchus, Herodotus and Vallis Schroteri
Aristarchus, Herodotus and Vallis Schroteri

Aristarchus, Herodotus and Vallis Schroteri imaged from London on 14th September 2016

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI120MM camera

Across Aristarchus
Across Aristarchus

The region around the bright crater Aristarchus, imaged from London on the evening of 11th November 2016

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera

Aristarchus High Saturation, December 9th 2019
Aristarchus High Saturation, December 9th 2019

Aristarchus crater and Vallis Schroteri imaged from London on the 9th December 2019. Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ASI174MM camera with 685nm IR pass filter. Colour is from a high saturation DSLR image.

Aristarchus & Vallis Schroteri - 5th April 2020
Aristarchus & Vallis Schroteri - 5th April 2020

Aristarchus crater and Vallis Schroteri imaged from London on the 5th April 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera. Colour from image taken using Canon EOS 6D

J Herschel
J Herschel

Lunar crater J Herschel located in the north of the Moon and 165km in diameter.

Imaged from London on 9th January 2017

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera and Televue Powermate 2.5x

J Herschel - 6th January 2020
J Herschel - 6th January 2020

Lunar crater J Herschel imaged from London on the 6th January 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera & Televue 2.5x Powermate

Philolaus
Philolaus

70km wide Lunar impact crater Philolaus, located in the Moon's northern region.
Celestron EdgeHD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x, ASI174MM camera
Imaged from London on 9th January 2017

Goldschmidt & Barrow Sunrise
Goldschmidt & Barrow Sunrise

Sunrise over the high sides of craters Goldschmidt and Barrow. Imaged from London on 4th February 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x, ASI174MM camera

Anaxagoras & Goldschmidt - London 14th February 2019
Anaxagoras & Goldschmidt - London 14th February 2019

Craters Anaxagoras & Goldschmidt. Imaged from London on the 14th February 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera.

Flight over Moretus, 7th May 2017
Flight over Moretus, 7th May 2017

Craters Moretus (foreground), Short and Newton leading the way to the mountains lunar south.
London 7th May 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174mm camera, 685nm IR pass filter

Libration at Moretus
Libration at Moretus

Due to a slight north-south rocking and east-west wobbling of the moon known as lunar libration it’s possible to see as much as 59% of the moon’s surface. This is demonstrated here by two views of the crater Moretus (with the central peak), the crater appearing much closer to the Lunar limb in the second image.

Celestron EdgeHD 11, ASI174MM Powermate & ASI174MM

Anaxagoras, Goldschmidt and Scoresby
Anaxagoras, Goldschmidt and Scoresby

Craters Anaxagoras, Goldschmidt and Scoresby imaged from London on 11th November 2016
Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate

Gassendi and Rimae Mersenius
Gassendi and Rimae Mersenius

Crater Gassendi & Rimae Mersenius imaged from London on 9th January 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, Powermate 2.5x, ASI174MM camera & 685nm IR pass filter

Gassendi - London, 13th January 2022
Gassendi - London, 13th January 2022

Gassendi crater imaged from London on the 13th January 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Hercules and Atlas, 8th September 2017
Hercules and Atlas, 8th September 2017

Lunar craters Hercules and Atlas imaged from London

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

Gassendi Crater, 7th May 2017
Gassendi Crater, 7th May 2017

Gassendi crater imaged from London on 7th May 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, CGE Pro mount, Televue Powermate 2.5x & ASI174MM camera

Schiller, Schickard & Phocylides, 6th March 2020
Schiller, Schickard & Phocylides, 6th March 2020

Sunrise at craters Schiller, Schickard & Phocylides. Shot from London on the 6th March 2020. Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera. Colour from single shot DSLR image.

Schickard & Schiller High Saturation December 9th 2019
Schickard & Schiller High Saturation December 9th 2019

Two pane lunar panorama shot from London on the 9th December 2019. The main features are the Mare Humorum and craters Schickard & Schiller. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera. Colour from single DSLR shot.

Gassendi & Mare Humorum IRDSLR, March 6th 2020
Gassendi & Mare Humorum IRDSLR, March 6th 2020

Gassendi crater and the Mare Humorum imaged from London on the 6th March 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera. Colour from single shot DSLR image.

Gassendi & Mare Humorum - London 16th May 2019
Gassendi & Mare Humorum - London 16th May 2019

Gassendi crater (top left) and Mare Humorum in high colour saturation

Imaged from London on the 16th May 2019

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM & Canon EOS6D

Langrenus and Vendelinus
Langrenus and Vendelinus

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI120MM

London, 12th April 2016

Petavius Sunset
Petavius Sunset

Sunset over the Lunar crater Petavius, imaged from London on 17th October 2016

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI120MM camera

Langrenus, London - 20th December 2020
Langrenus, London - 20th December 2020

Lunar crater Langrenus imaged from London on the 20th December 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera with 685nm IR pass filter.

Petavius, London 20th December 2020
Petavius, London 20th December 2020

Lunar crater Petavius imaged from London on the 20th December 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera with 685nm IR pass filter.

Philolaus, Anaximenes, Carpenter Anaximander and J Herschel
Philolaus, Anaximenes, Carpenter Anaximander and J Herschel

Lunar craters Philolaus, Anaximenes, Carpenter, Anaximander and J Herschel imaged from London on 11th November 2016
Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera and Televue 2.5x Powermate

Crater J Herschel - London 26th November 2020
Crater J Herschel - London 26th November 2020

Lunar crater J Herschel imaged from London on the 26th November 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera. Baader 610nm LP filter

The 'Lunar X' - London 11th May 2019
The 'Lunar X' - London 11th May 2019

The 'Lunar X' imaged from London on the 11th May 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera

Arzachel, Purbach, Regiomontanus, Walther & Lunar X, December 4th 2019
Arzachel, Purbach, Regiomontanus, Walther & Lunar X, December 4th 2019

The ‘Lunar X’ amongst the craters Arzachel, Purbach, Regiomontanus & Walther. Imaged from London on the 4th December 2019. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera.

The 'Lunar V' - London 11th May 2019
The 'Lunar V' - London 11th May 2019

The 'Lunar V' imaged from London on the 11th May 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera

Pallas, Murchison, RimaHyginus & the ‘Lunar V’ ,December 4th 2019
Pallas, Murchison, RimaHyginus & the ‘Lunar V’ ,December 4th 2019

Craters Pallas, Murchison, RimaHyginus & the ‘Lunar V’ imaged from London on the 4th December 2019. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera.

Rupes Recta - 13th April 2019
Rupes Recta - 13th April 2019

Rupes Recta or 'The Straight Wall' imaged from London on the 13th April 2019. The most prominent craters are Arzachel (top), Purbach (midde) and Pitatus (bottom.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera

Rupes Recta - 30th May 2020
Rupes Recta - 30th May 2020

Rupes Recta - The straight Wall, imaged from London on the 30th May 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera.

Rupes Recta - 19th January 2024
Rupes Recta - 19th January 2024

Rupes Recta and lunar craters Thebit & Arzachel imaged from London on the 19th January 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

Rupes Recta - The Straight Wall, 7th March 2017
Rupes Recta - The Straight Wall, 7th March 2017

Rupes Recta imaged from London on 7th March 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera & Televue 2.5x Powermate

Rupes Recta or the Straight Wall is a linear fault on the Moon, in the southeastern part of the Mare Nubium. It is the most well-known escarpment on the Moon and when the sun illuminates the feature at an oblique angle at about day 8 of the Moon's orbit, the Rupes Recta casts a wide shadow that gives it the appearance of a steep cliff. The fault has a length of 110 km, a typical width of 2–3 km, and a height of 240–300 m. Thus although it appears to be a vertical cliff in the lunar surface, in actuality the grade of the slope is relatively shallow. (Wikipedia abridged)

Arzachel, Thebit, Purbach & Rupes Recta
Arzachel, Thebit, Purbach & Rupes Recta

Lunar craters Arzachel, Thebit, Purbach & the fault Rupes Recta imaged from London on 12th October 2017

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Posidonius
Posidonius

Posidonius and its Lunar 'Henge'

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI120MM

London, 12th April 2016

Walther, Regiomontanus, Purbach, Arzachel, Alphonsus, Ptolemaeus and Albategnius
Walther, Regiomontanus, Purbach, Arzachel, Alphonsus, Ptolemaeus and Albategnius

Craters (L-R) Walther, Regiomontanus, Purbach, Arzachel, Alphonsus, Ptolemaeus & Albategnius
Imaged from London on 7th November 2016, 2 panel mosaic
Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera

 

First Quarter Terminator - Shortlisted, Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017
First Quarter Terminator - Shortlisted, Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017

The terminator of the first quarter Moon imaged from London on 7th November 2016
8 panel mosaic shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 and ASI174MM camera

Lunar Terminator, 7 pane mosaic - London 21st April 2021
Lunar Terminator, 7 pane mosaic - London 21st April 2021

A seven pane mosaic of the lunar terminator shot from London on the 21st April 2021. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Lunar Terminator - 17th November 2018
Lunar Terminator - 17th November 2018

The Lunar Terminator imaged from London on the 17th November 2018. a four pane mosaic shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 telescope, ASI174MM camera and single shot using a Canon EOS 6D for colour.

The mosaic was blended with the DSLR image to produce the colour within the image - mosaic serving as the luminance layer.

First Quarter Terminator - 28th June 2020
First Quarter Terminator - 28th June 2020

Four panel mosaic of the lunar terminator imaged from London on the 28th June 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera & 685nm IR pass filter.

Langrenus, Vendelinus & Petavius - 10th March 2019
Langrenus, Vendelinus & Petavius - 10th March 2019

Craters Langrenus, Vendelinus & Petavius imaged from London on the 10th March 2019. 4 day old Moon.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera, 685nm IR pass filter

Langrenus, Vendelinus and Petavius
Langrenus, Vendelinus and Petavius

Lunar craters Langrenus, Vendelinus and Petavius imaged from London on 17th October 2016

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI120MM Camera

The Lunar South
The Lunar South

Lunar libration is favouring the South Pole at the moment so I took the opportunity to shoot some craters normally hidden from view.
The image has been flipped 180 degrees as I think this shows off the landscape to its best.
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x & ASI174MM camera
2 panel mosaic

The Lunar South, 9th September 2017
The Lunar South, 9th September 2017

The rugged Lunar south imaged from London on 9th September 2017

Composite of 3 images stitched in Photoshop CC

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

The Lunar South - 30th May 2020
The Lunar South - 30th May 2020

The Lunar South imaged from London on the 30th May 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ZWO ASI174MM camera

Northern Lunar Libration Zone
Northern Lunar Libration Zone

The Moon 'wobbles' as it orbits the Earth, this is called libration and offers the opportunity to view craters that are normally hidden beyond the Lunar horizon.

I marked the three most prominent craters in this image, Peary which sits virtually on the Moon's north pole, Hermite a large crater usually hidden from view and Sylvester which sits below it.

Imaged from London on 17th October 2016

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI120MM camera

Phocylides, Nasmyth & Schickard 29th January 2018
Phocylides, Nasmyth & Schickard 29th January 2018

Lunar craters (L-R) Phocylides, Nasmyth & Schickard imaged from London on 29th January 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

Goldschmidt & Philolaus Region, 7th February 2017
Goldschmidt & Philolaus Region, 7th February 2017

Goldscmidt and Philolaus region of the Moon imaged from London on 7th February 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera

Ptolemaeus Chain
Ptolemaeus Chain

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI120MM

London, 14th May 2016

Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, Arzachel, Albategnius, Purbach & Rupes Recta
Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, Arzachel, Albategnius, Purbach & Rupes Recta

Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, Arzachel, Albategnius, Purbach & Rupes Recta imaged from London on the 3rd March 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera. Colour provided by one shot DSLR image

 Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, Arzachel, Purbach, Regiomontanus,  Walther & Deslandres - 19th May 2021
Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, Arzachel, Purbach, Regiomontanus, Walther & Deslandres - 19th May 2021

The lunar terminator imaged from London on the 19th May 2021. The main craters on view are (L-R) Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, Arzachel, Purbach, Regiomontanus, Walther & Deslandres.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Hipparchus, Albategnius & The Lunar 'X'
Hipparchus, Albategnius & The Lunar 'X'

Lunar craters Hipparchus & Albategnius with the 'Lunar X' at the bottom left. Imaged from London on 22nd February 2018

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera

View from Aristoteles to Mare Humboldtianum, 22nd February 2018
View from Aristoteles to Mare Humboldtianum, 22nd February 2018

View from Aristoteles & Eudoxus across to Endymion & the Mare Humboldtianum.

Shot from London on 22nd February 2018

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera

Mare Humboldtianum & Endymion - 2nd April 2017
Mare Humboldtianum & Endymion - 2nd April 2017

Mare Humboldtianum & crater Endymion imaged from London on 2nd April 2017.
As this 'Sea' is located along the north eastern limb of the Moon it is subject to libration which means that, on occasion, it can be hidden when viewed from the Earth. It was particularly well placed on this evening so I thought why not image it. The large crater Endymion can be seen at the bottom of the image.
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x and ASI174MM camera fitted with 685nm IR pass filter

20180420 Hercules, Atlas & Endymion
20180420 Hercules, Atlas & Endymion

Lunar craters Hercules, Atlas and Endymion imaged from London on 21st April 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174mm camera, 685nm IR pass filter & Televue 2.5x Powermate

From Aristoteles to Posidonius - London 9th June 2019
From Aristoteles to Posidonius - London 9th June 2019

Craters (L-R) Aristoteles, Eudoxus, Burg, Hercules, Atlas & Posidonius. Imaged from London on the 9th June 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera

Hercules, Atlas & Endymion
Hercules, Atlas & Endymion

Craters Hercules, Atlas and Endymion 

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI120MM

London, 12th April 2016

Hercules, Atlas & Endymion 20th May 2018
Hercules, Atlas & Endymion 20th May 2018

Lunar craters (L-R) Hercules, Atlas and Endymion imaged in daylight from London on 20th May 2018 using a 685nm IR pass filter.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Theophilius, Cyrillus, Catharina and Fracastorius - 2nd April 2017
Theophilius, Cyrillus, Catharina and Fracastorius - 2nd April 2017

Craters Theophilius, Cyrillus & Catharina, with crater Fracastorius to the bottom right at the edge of the Mare Nectaris
Shot from London on 2nd April 2017 in daylight using Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera & 685nm IR pass filter

Vlacq, Janssen, Fabricius & Metius
Vlacq, Janssen, Fabricius & Metius

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI120MM

London 12th April 2016

Schiller Crater, 7th May 2017
Schiller Crater, 7th May 2017

Lunar crater Schiller imaged from London on 7th May 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, CGE Pro mount, Televue Powermate 2.5x, ASI174MM camera

Mare Crisium
Mare Crisium

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI120MM

London, 12th April 2016

Mare Crisium, 20th May 2018
Mare Crisium, 20th May 2018

The lunar sea Mare Crisium imaged from London on 20th May 2018. Two panel mosaic.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera & 685nm IR pass filter

Sunrise Mare Crisium - 10th March 2019
Sunrise Mare Crisium - 10th March 2019

Sunrise over the Mare Crisium, imaged from London on the 10th March 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera & 685nm IR pass filter

20190904 18-18UT Four Seas - Mare Marginis, Mare Smythii, Mare Crisium & Mare Fecunditatis
20190904 18-18UT Four Seas - Mare Marginis, Mare Smythii, Mare Crisium & Mare Fecunditatis

The south eastern limb of the Moon imaged from London on the 4th September 2019. The crescent Moon on that evening showed favourable libration bringing the libration seas Mare Marginis (top left) and Mare Smythii (top middle) into view. A portion of the Mare Crisium (left) and all of the Mare Fecunditatis are also visible.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera & 685nm IR Pass filter. Two panel mosaic

On the Edge - London 14th May 2019
On the Edge - London 14th May 2019

On the edge, seas on the lunar limb - Mare Marginis and Mare Smythii along with crater Neper

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera, 3 pane mosaic

Montes Apenninus - Eratosthenes to Archimedes
Montes Apenninus - Eratosthenes to Archimedes

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI120MM camera

London 19th January 2016

Plato to Eratosthenes - 13th April 2019
Plato to Eratosthenes - 13th April 2019

From Plato to Eratosthenes imaged from London on the 13th April 2019. Archimedes is the large central crater, the mountains from top are Montes Caucasus and Montes Apenninus.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera

IRDSLR Plato, Montes Alpes, Montes Caucasus, Montes Apenninus
IRDSLR Plato, Montes Alpes, Montes Caucasus, Montes Apenninus

From Plato crater to Eratosthenes, along the mountains of the Moon. Imaged from London on the 3rd March 2020. 3 panel mosaic Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera. Colour from single shot DSLR image

Montes Apenninus, 2nd July 2017
Montes Apenninus, 2nd July 2017

The full extent of the Lunar Apennines range imaged from London on 2nd July 2017

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ASI174MM camera.685nm IR pass filter
 

Rima Bradley & Hadley - 19th January 2024
Rima Bradley & Hadley - 19th January 2024

Rima Bradley & Rima Hadley imaged from London on the 19th January 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

Sunrise Montes Apenninus & Montes Caucasus - 28th June 2020
Sunrise Montes Apenninus & Montes Caucasus - 28th June 2020

The deep shadows of sunrise over the Montes Apenninus & Montes Caucasus. Shot early evening (28th June) from London.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera with 685nm IR filter.

Mountains of the Moon '3-D' - 6th January 2019
Mountains of the Moon '3-D' - 6th January 2019

From crater Eratosthenes on the left along the Montes Apenninus with crater Archimedes in the middle, the Montes Caucasus and ending in the Montes Alpes.

Shot from London on 6th January 2019 using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera and 685nm IR pass filter.

Image inverted and presented in '3D' using Photoshop CC

20180326 Rima Hadley & Apollo 15 Landing Site
20180326 Rima Hadley & Apollo 15 Landing Site

It's always fun to try to pick out Apollo landing sites from Lunar images. One of the easiest to spot is that of Apollo 15 which landed on the Moon in 1971. Its easy to pinpoint as they landed close to the feature Rima Hadley, or Hadley Rille. I've marked the landing site with an 'X'

Shot from London on 26th March 2018 using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera and Televue 2.5x Powermate

Processed in AS!2, Registax 6 & Photoshop CC

Plato to Eratosthenes - London 1st May 2020
Plato to Eratosthenes - London 1st May 2020

Plato to Eratosthenes, along the mountains of the Moon. Shot from London on the 1st May 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera for luminance layer, Canon EOS 6D for colour.

20180326 Copernicus, Eratosthenes & Montes Apenninus
20180326 Copernicus, Eratosthenes & Montes Apenninus

Panorama from the craters Copernicus & Eratosthenes (left) and along the Montes Apenninus

3 panel mosaic shot from London on 26th March 2018

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate & 685nm IR pass filter

Processed in AS!2, Registax6 & Photoshop CC

From Plato to Eratosthenes - London 13th May 2019
From Plato to Eratosthenes - London 13th May 2019

From Plato at the top along the Montes Alpes, Montes, Caucasus & Montes Apenninus, past Archimedes and finishing at Eratosthenes. Shot from London on the 13th May 2019

IR (Luminance) DSLR (colour) image using a Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera & Canon EOS 6D

Rima Hadley & Hadley Rille - London 14th February 2019
Rima Hadley & Hadley Rille - London 14th February 2019

Rima Hadley & Hadley Rille imaged from London on the 14th February 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, Baader 685nm IR filter & ASI174MM camera

Sunrise Montes Caucasus & Montes Apenninus - 31st March 2020
Sunrise Montes Caucasus & Montes Apenninus - 31st March 2020

Sunrise over the jagged peaks of the Montes Caucasus. Imaged from London on the 31st March 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ASI174MM camera.

Eratosthenes, London 13th May 2019
Eratosthenes, London 13th May 2019

Crater Eratosthenes imaged from London on the 13th May 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Jansen Crater, 1st May 2017
Jansen Crater, 1st May 2017

Janssen crater with Metius and Fabricius.
Imaged from London on 1st May 2017
Celestron Edge HD 11, ASI174mm camera and Televue 2.5x Powermate

Craters Janssen, Fabricius, Metius, Brenner & Rheita - London 2nd November 2020
Craters Janssen, Fabricius, Metius, Brenner & Rheita - London 2nd November 2020

Lunar craters Janssen, Fabricius, Metius, Brenner & Rheita imaged from London on the 2nd November 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM Camera. Mono Image

Rupes Altai, 1st June 2017
Rupes Altai, 1st June 2017

The 427km long escarpment of Rupes Altai imaged from London on 1st June 2017. Crater Catharine is on the left and Piccolomini is on the right. Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

Maurolycus, Stofler & Faraday, 1st June 2017
Maurolycus, Stofler & Faraday, 1st June 2017

The southern highlands of the Moon centred on craters Maurolycus, Stofler & Faraday. Celestronedgehd11, CGE Pro mount, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM

Sunrise Walther Crater, 31st March 2020
Sunrise Walther Crater, 31st March 2020

Sunrise in the Lunar South, centred on Walther crater. Imaged from London on the 31st March 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera.

Bullialdus - London 23rd January 2021
Bullialdus - London 23rd January 2021

Lunar crater Bullialdus imaged from London on the 23rd January 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

20220112 17-43UT Lunar South v2
20220112 17-43UT Lunar South v2

A close crop of the lunar south showing the rugged terrain and mountainous horizon. Imaged from London on the 12th January 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera with Baader 685nm IR pass filter

Lunar Terminator - 8th May 2022
Lunar Terminator - 8th May 2022

Sunrise over the Lunar terminator shot from London on the 8th May 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11, luminance ZWO ASI174MM camera, colour Canon EOS 6D camera.

The Moon - Eclipses, Conjunctions, Occultations and Moonscapes

The Moon can provide a beautiful spectacle as it interacts with other objects in the sky, this gallery contains images of lunar eclipses, occultations of stars and conjunctions with planets.

I’ve also included a few images of the Moon set against the wider sky where it can be seen shining through cloud or floating against the pink tinges of a sunset.

Lunar Eclipse - Circular Composite
Lunar Eclipse - Circular Composite

Composite of images taken of the September 28th Lunar Eclipse from Full through the partial phases to totality

127 Mak & Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Eclipsed Moon and The Stars
Eclipsed Moon and The Stars

Lunar Eclipse Totality

London, 28th September 2015

Lunar Eclipse - Linear Composite
Lunar Eclipse - Linear Composite

Composite of images taken of the September 28th Lunar Eclipse from Full through the partial phases to totality

127 Mak & Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Lunar Eclipse - London 21st January 2019
Lunar Eclipse - London 21st January 2019

The eclipsed 'Wolf' Moon shot from London in the early hours of the 21st January 2019.

Canon EOS 6D with 300mm telephoto & 2 tele-extender

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse - London 10th January 2020
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse - London 10th January 2020

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse where the outer edges of the shadow of the Earth is cast upon the Moon's surface. The deepest shadow can be seen to the bottom right of this image, taken at the point of maximum eclipse ~19:10UT in London. Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera. Two pane mosaic

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Animation - London 10th January 2020
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Animation - London 10th January 2020

A two frame animation of the penumbral lunar eclipse which took place on the 10th January 2020. The images were shot from London at the point of maximum eclipse and 40 minutes later using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera.

Eclipse Moon trail - London 21st January 2019
Eclipse Moon trail - London 21st January 2019

2 1/2 hours worth of 1 second exposures shot 2 minutes apart and stacked to show the progression of the total lunar eclipse of the 21st January 2019. From the full Moon lighting up the clouds to the red fully eclipsed Moon. 17mm ISO 200.

20221025 10-10UT Partial Eclipse
20221025 10-10UT Partial Eclipse

Partial Solar eclipse imaged from London on the 25th October 2022. This shot around 12 minutes after maximum.

Lunt LS60THa solar scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI174MM camera. False Colour.

Partial Solar Eclipse - 10th June 2021
Partial Solar Eclipse - 10th June 2021

The partial solar eclipse of the 10th June 2021 as viewed from London. There was pretty much unbroken cloud throughout the event so these images were snatched when the cloud thinned or there was a tiny break.

The top three images are from early in the eclipse when conditions were better, the middle is a few minutes before maximum and the bottom image towards the end.

Lunt LS60THa scope & ZWO ASI174MM camera. Solar disk false colour.

Partial Solar Eclipse - London 10th June 2021
Partial Solar Eclipse - London 10th June 2021

The partial eclipse shot from London 13 minutes after it began. Lunt LS60 THa scope and ZWO ASI174MM planetary camera.

20221207 Mars Occultation Composite
20221207 Mars Occultation Composite

A composite shot of the occultation of Mars by the Moon in the early hours of 8th December 2022. This image transposes shots of Moon and Mars taken with a Celestron Edge HD11 scope a few hours before the occultation. The images are placed on top of the actual shot to provide a more detailed luminance layer (I couldn't use the main scope for the occultation as a tree blocked the view from my observatory!)

20221207 Mars Occultation Composite Crop
20221207 Mars Occultation Composite Crop

A cropped composite shot of the occultation of Mars by the Moon in the early hours of 8th December 2022. This image transposes shots of Moon and Mars taken with a Celestron Edge HD11 scope a few hours before the occultation. The images are placed on top of the actual shot to provide a more detailed luminance layer (I couldn't use the main scope for the occultation as a tree blocked the view from my observatory!)

20221207 Mars Occultation Composite Crop
20221207 Mars Occultation Composite Crop

A cropped composite shot of the occultation of Mars by the Moon in the early hours of 8th December 2022. This image transposes shots of Moon and Mars taken with a Celestron Edge HD11 scope a few hours before the occultation. The images are placed on top of the actual shot to provide a more detailed luminance layer (I couldn't use the main scope for the occultation as a tree blocked the view from my observatory!)

20221207 Mars Occultation time-series
20221207 Mars Occultation time-series

A series of shots taken over 13 minutes showing the occultation of Mars by the Moon, the earlier shots taken one minute apart, a shorter period between the final shots.

Images captured from London just before 5am on the 8th December 2022. Canon EOS 6D, 200mm telephoto lens with 2X Teleconverter (effective fl 400mm)

Lunar Occultation of Saturn - 21st August 2024
Lunar Occultation of Saturn - 21st August 2024

Composite of the occultation of Saturn by the Moon, visible from London in the early hours of 21st August 2024. The images of Saturn are taken at 03-19, 22, 23, 25, 27 & 29 UT. The Moon and Saturn were combined as different exposures are required - blending against the lunar limb.

Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, ASI224MC camera

Saturn and the Moon - 21st August 2024
Saturn and the Moon - 21st August 2024

Composite of the occultation of Saturn by the Moon, visible from London in the early hours of 21st August 2024. This image was taken at 03-25UT. The Moon and Saturn were combined as different exposures are required - blending against the lunar limb.

Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, ASI224MC camera

Saturn and the Moon - 21st August 2024
Saturn and the Moon - 21st August 2024

Composite of the occultation of Saturn by the Moon, visible from London in the early hours of 21st August 2024. This image was taken at 03-27UT. The Moon and Saturn were combined as different exposures are required - blending against the lunar limb.

Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, ASI224MC camera

Saturn occultation by the Moon - 21st August 2024
Saturn occultation by the Moon - 21st August 2024

Composite of the occultation of Saturn by the Moon, visible from London in the early hours of 21st August 2024. This image was taken at 03-29UT. The Moon and Saturn were combined as different exposures are required - blending against the lunar limb.

Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, ASI224MC camera

Saturn occultation by the Moon - full disk 21st August 2024
Saturn occultation by the Moon - full disk 21st August 2024

Composite of the occultation of Saturn by the Moon, visible from London in the early hours of 21st August 2024. The images of Saturn are taken at 03-19, 22, 23, 25, 27 & 29 UT. The Moon and Saturn were combined as different exposures are required - blending against the lunar limb. The Moon image was taken using a Canon EOS 6D camera and composited using Photoshop

Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, ASI224MC camera, Canon EOS 6D camera.

Saturn Occultation animation - 21st August 2024
Saturn Occultation animation - 21st August 2024

7 minutes compressed in to 1 second. Composite animation made up of multiple images from the occultation of Saturn by the Moon on 21st August 2024. The little 'wiggle' is down to poor alignment of images - not a side step by the planet!

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI224MC camera

Occultation of Aldebaran
Occultation of Aldebaran

Occultation of the bright star Aldebaran by the Moon on December 23rd 2015 as seen from London
A sequence of images were taken 20 seconds apart before and after occultation. These were blended in lighten mode in Photoshop to create two composite images. The composite images were then added to a 6 panel mosaic image of the Moon taken just after the post occultation images had been acquired.
Celestron Edge HD 11 Telescope on CGE Pro Mount, Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera
Wimbledon SW London

Lunar Partial Eclipse, London 16th July 2019
Lunar Partial Eclipse, London 16th July 2019

Partial eclipse of the Moon, shot from London on the 16th July 2019.

Canon EOS 6D camera with Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L USM IS Telephoto lens @ 300mm with 2x tele-converter giving 600mm focal length.

This was shot from my bedroom window around half an hour after maximum eclipse as I had to wait for the Moon to clear a massive tree!

Dark Moon over London
Dark Moon over London

The Moon was shining through thin cloud on the evening of the 11th December 2016. I took two images with a 300mm telephoto lens, one exposed for the clouds and the other for the Moon. I then blended the images together in exclusion mode

Canon EOS Rebel T3i & 300mm zoom lens

Moonrise 14th May 2014
Moonrise 14th May 2014

Moon rising in a pink sky 

London, 14th May 2014

Cloudy Supermoon
Cloudy Supermoon

It had been cloudy here in London for what seems like an eternity so I felt quite lucky to be able to grab anything of the 'Supermoon' of 3rd December 2017.

This shot of the Moon shining through the clouds was taken with a 300mm telephoto lens and a Canon EOS 6D

HDR Moon through Cloud, London 21st November 2018
HDR Moon through Cloud, London 21st November 2018
Pink Moon HDR - 7th April 2020
Pink Moon HDR - 7th April 2020

High saturation HDR image of 7th April full Moon shot through clouds from London. Canon EOS 6D, 300mm. Image is blend of two shots, one exposed from the Moon and the other for the clouds surrounding it.

Moon Venus Conjunction 26th Feb 2014
Moon Venus Conjunction 26th Feb 2014

Close conjunction of the 26 day old moon and Venus on the morning of 26th February 2014

Moon Saturn Conjunction - March 2015
Moon Saturn Conjunction - March 2015

Conjunction between Moon and Saturn

Canon EOS Rebel T3i, 600mm Mirror lens

London, 12th March 2015

Moon Venus Conjunction September 2015
Moon Venus Conjunction September 2015

Conjunction between the Moon and Venus

London, 10th September 2015

Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter
Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter

Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter imaged from London on 25th November 2016. The Galilean satellites can also be seen.

TS65 Quad Astrograph and Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Moon & Venus - 28th March 2020
Moon & Venus - 28th March 2020

Venus & the Moon imaged from London on the 28th March 2020

Moon & Jupiter Conjunction, May 7th 2017
Moon & Jupiter Conjunction, May 7th 2017

Conjunction between the Moon and Jupiter, shot through thin clouds on 7th May 2017.

This is a composite of two exposures, one for the Moon and Jupiter and the other for the Galilean Moons.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Moon Jupiter Conjunction - London 16th June 2019
Moon Jupiter Conjunction - London 16th June 2019

HDR Moon, Jupiter conjunction shot from London on the 16th June 2019.

Canon EOS 6D camera with Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L USM IS Telephoto lens @ 300mm cropped.

Composite of two images, one exposed for Jupiter and the clouds the other for the Moon.

Conjunction of Moon & Venus, London 3rd December 2018
Conjunction of Moon & Venus, London 3rd December 2018

Conjunction of the Moon & Venus imaged from London on the morning of the 3rd December 2018. Comprising two exposures, one with the Moon correctly exposed and one showing bright Venus and Earthshine through a thin veil of cloud.

Conjunction of Moon and Mars - London 9th August 2020
Conjunction of Moon and Mars - London 9th August 2020

The Moon and Mars (top left), imaged from London on the 9th August 2020.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & Canon EOS 6D camera. Composite of two exposures, one for Mars and the other for the Moon.

Conjunction of Moon, Beehive Cluster & Venus - 14th September 2020
Conjunction of Moon, Beehive Cluster & Venus - 14th September 2020

Conjunction of the Moon, M44 - The Beehive Cluster (faint in the middle) and Venus (bottom right).

Image exposed to show Earthshine and M44.

Shot from London at around 4am on the 14th September 2020.

Conjunction of Moon & Mars - 6th September 2020
Conjunction of Moon & Mars - 6th September 2020

Conjunction of the Moon and Mars imaged through cloud from London on the 6th September 2020.

300mm telephoto with 2x teleconverter, Canon EOS 6D camera

Moon - Venus Conjunction, 14th October 2020
Moon - Venus Conjunction, 14th October 2020

Conjunction of the Moon and Venus shot from London just before 6am on the 14th October 2020, a beautiful sight pre-dawn.

Canon EOS 6D - 300mm Telephoto

Moon - Jupiter Conjunction, 22nd October 2020
Moon - Jupiter Conjunction, 22nd October 2020

Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter, 22nd October 2020. Jupiter is visible top right & if you zoom in you can see some of it's moons. The Moon itself is a gradient blend of two images, one exposed for earthshine, the other for the lit portion of the Moon.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & Canon EOS 6D camera.

Moon - Venus Comparison, 2nd March 2017
Moon - Venus Comparison, 2nd March 2017

As Venus and the Moon were showing a similar phase on the 2nd March 2017, and I'd imaged both of them on that day with the same setup, I thought it would be fun to compare their apparent sizes.
Here is a composite (not a conjunction I'm afraid) of Venus and the Moon both imaged using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ASI174MM camera. Moon is a 7 panel mosaic.
As seen from London Venus had an angular diameter of 48.01 arc seconds and the Moon 32 arc minutes 45.65 arc seconds. So Venus would have covered roughly 2.5% of the Lunar disk.

First and Last Quarter Moon - September 2018
First and Last Quarter Moon - September 2018

The first and last quarter Moon imaged from London in September 2018

Moon, Saturn & Jupiter Conjunction, 17th December 2020
Moon, Saturn & Jupiter Conjunction, 17th December 2020

The Moon with Saturn (top right) and Jupiter (bottom right) with Jovian moons also visible.

The Moon & Mars - London 18th February 2021
The Moon & Mars - London 18th February 2021

The Moon and Mars (top left) imaged from London on the 18th February 2021 and rendered in HDR.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & Canon EOS 6D camera. Two pane mosaic.

Moon and Jupiter HDR - 8th October 2022
Moon and Jupiter HDR - 8th October 2022

The Moon and Jupiter (top right). HDR view imaged from London on the 8th October 2022.

20250103 - Earthshine Moon and Venus
20250103 - Earthshine Moon and Venus

The earthshine Moon in conjunction with Venus. Imaged from London on the 3rd January 2025. Canon EOS 6D camera @ 600mm

The Sun

Imaging the Sun isn’t just something to do while you are waiting for it to get dark. Our nearest star is a dynamic and exciting place, especially when imaged with a Hydrogen Alpha scope which reveals the turbulent photosphere, with its prominences and filaments, as well as the more familiar sunspots or active regions.
 
This gallery largely consists of images taken using a Lunt LS60 Ha scope but the chromosphere (the layer we see in visible light) can also be spectacular, especially when a large sunspot is on view. Visible light imaging is more accessible in that it doesn’t require expensive equipment beyond a standard astronomical telescope and a certified solar filter, if there is a giant sunspot on view some fantastic images can be obtained with pretty modest equipment. For truly massive sunspots you can even achieve good results with a telephoto lens (and solar filter).

NEVER LOOK AT OR IMAGE THE SUN WITHOUT A CERTIFIED SOLAR FILTER – IF IN DOUBT SEEK ADVICE OR DON’T DO IT!

Prominences - 7th August 2022
Prominences - 7th August 2022

Solar prominences imaged from London on the 7th August. Active regions 3074 and 3071 are also visible. Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera. Blend of two images, one for prominences and one for solar disc, disc inverted false colour.

Prominence and Filament - 1st October 2022
Prominence and Filament - 1st October 2022

Solar prominence and filament imaged from London on the 1st October 2022.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera. Solar disc inverted & false colour.

Solar Active Regions 3107, 3105 & 3108 - 25th September 2022
Solar Active Regions 3107, 3105 & 3108 - 25th September 2022

Solar Active Regions 3107, 3105 & 3108. Shot from London on the 25th of September 2022. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, white light & false colour.

Sun Ha August 2nd 2015
Sun Ha August 2nd 2015

Sun in Ha - false colour
Lunt LS60, ASI120MM
AS!2, Registax 6, PS CS6

Solar Prominence animation - 13th June 2021
Solar Prominence animation - 13th June 2021

Large solar prominence imaged over 70 minutes, 2 minute interval between stacked images.

Lunt L60THa, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Solar disc inverted false colour.

Solar Prominence August 2016
Solar Prominence August 2016

Solar Prominence imaged in Ha

London 18th August 2016

AR2542 & Mercury during Transit 9th May 2016
AR2542 & Mercury during Transit 9th May 2016

Active region 2542 with the planet mercury transiting the face of the Sun. Imaged from London on 9th May 2016 at 12-24 UT
Captured using a Lunt LS60 scope, ASI120MM camera and Televue Powermate 2.5x
Processed using AS!2, Registax6 & PS CS6 - false colour image

Transit of Mercury 9th May 2016
Transit of Mercury 9th May 2016

Approximately 1 hour 11 mins into the transit of Mercury - Imaged from London
Lunt LS60, ASI120MM camera
AS!2, Registax6 & PS CS6

Mercury Transit, November 2019
Mercury Transit, November 2019

The dark shape of the planet Mercury a few minutes after it started transiting the face of the Sun.

Shot from London on the 11th November 2019.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ASI174MM camera

Transit of Mercury, November 2019
Transit of Mercury, November 2019

The planet Mercury transiting the face of the Sun.

Shot from London on the 11th November 2019.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ASI174MM camera

Transit of Mercury, November 2019
Transit of Mercury, November 2019

Transit of Mercury shot from London on the 11th November 2019. Mercury can be seen as a small dot in the 8 o’clock position.

Lunt LS60THa scope & ASI174MM camera. False colour image.

Transit of Mercury November 2019, 4 image composite
Transit of Mercury November 2019, 4 image composite

A composite of 4 images shot from London during the transit of Mercury on the 11th November 2019.

The position of Mercury (L-R) is shown at 13:11UT, 13:16UT, 13:19UT & 13:24UT

Lunt LS60THa scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate

False Colour image

Solar Prominence, London October 2019
Solar Prominence, London October 2019

Solar Prominence imaged from London on the 27th October 2019

Lunt LS60THa scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate

Solar disk inverted and rendered in false colour

Arched Prominence
Arched Prominence

Solar prominence

Lunt LS60, ASI120MM camera

16th May 2015

Solar Prominence - 13th June 2021
Solar Prominence - 13th June 2021

Large solar prominence imaged from London on the 13th June 2021.

Lunt L60THa, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Solar disc inverted false colour.

Detached prominence - 13th June 2021
Detached prominence - 13th June 2021

Detached prominence imaged from London on the 13th June 2021.

Lunt L60THa, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Solar disc inverted false colour.

Solar active region 2833 - 16th June 2021
Solar active region 2833 - 16th June 2021

Solar active region 2833 & prominences imaged from London on 16th June 2021. Solar disc false colour and inverted.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

20180421 AR2706 Inverted
20180421 AR2706 Inverted

Sunspot region AR2706 imaged in Ha from London on 21st April 2018, inverted and rendered in false colour.

Lunt LS60 Ha scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Processed in AS!2, Registax6 & Photoshop CC

AR2192 25th October 2014
AR2192 25th October 2014

The massive AR2192 on 25th October 2014
White light filter, TS65 Quad, Skyris 618C with 2.5x Powermate
As!2, Registax, PS CS6 - False colour

Inverted Sun - 15th March 2015
Inverted Sun - 15th March 2015

The Sun rendered in false colour and inverted

Lunt LS60, ASI120MM

 

Sun white light 25th Oct 2014
Sun white light 25th Oct 2014

Sun - four panel mosaic - white light (false colour)
TS65 Quad, Skyris 618C
AS!2 Registax PS CS6

The Sun - 7th August 2020
The Sun - 7th August 2020

The Sun imaged from London on the 7th August in Ha.

Lunt LS60 THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera. Four panel mosaic rendered in false colour & false colour inverted.

Solar Prominences 11th September 2016
Solar Prominences 11th September 2016

Beautiful set of solar prominences imaged from London on 11th Sep 2016

Lunt LS60, ASI120MM camera

2017-08-13 Prominence Inverted
2017-08-13 Prominence Inverted

Large prominence imaged from London on 13th August 2017

Solar surface detail has been inverted and the image is a composite of 2 - one exposed for the prominence, the other for the surface detail.

Lunt LS60 Ha scope & ASI174MM camera with Televue 2.5x Powermate

Solar Prominance - London 1st June 2019
Solar Prominance - London 1st June 2019

Solar Prominence imaged from London on the 1st June 2019.

Lunt LS60T Ha scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

Composite of two exposures, one for the prominence and another for the solar disc which has been inverted and rendered in false colour.

20190921 12-00UT Prominence
20190921 12-00UT Prominence

Solar Prominences imaged from London on the 21st September 2019

Lunt LS60THa scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate

Solar disk inverted and rendered in false colour

20190921 12-05UT Prominence
20190921 12-05UT Prominence

Solar Prominences imaged from London on the 21st September 2019

Lunt LS60THa scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate

Solar disk inverted and rendered in false colour

20190915 10-26UT Prominence
20190915 10-26UT Prominence

Solar Prominences imaged from London on the 15th September 2019

Lunt LS60THa scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate

Solar disk inverted and rendered in false colour

The Sun Ha - False Colour
The Sun Ha - False Colour

The Sun in Hydrogen Alpha. False Colour.

Imaged from London 18th August 2016

False colour inverted Sun
False colour inverted Sun

The Sun imaged from London on 24th September 2016 rendered in false colour and inverted

Lunt LS60 scope and ASI120MM camera

Prominence activity over 1 hour, London 24th April 2021
Prominence activity over 1 hour, London 24th April 2021

A solar prominence imaged on the 24th April over 1 hour. The video consists of 30 individual frames shot 2 minutes apart. Not a huge amount of activity with this one but I’ll do this again on some larger proms in the future.

The Sun - 31st May 2020
The Sun - 31st May 2020

Solar prominence imaged from London on 31st May 2020. Solar disk inverted and false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

Solar Prominence - London 25th May 2020
Solar Prominence - London 25th May 2020

Solar prominence imaged from London on 25th May 2020. Solar disk inverted and false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

The Sun - 31st May 2020
The Sun - 31st May 2020

Solar prominence imaged from London on 31st May 2020. Solar disk inverted and false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

The Sun - Aphelion v Perihelion
The Sun - Aphelion v Perihelion

The Sun imaged from London one day before Perihelion on January 4th 2020 (right hand side) and one day after Aphelion on July 5th 2020 (left hand side).

This image shows the difference in the apparent size of the Sun when Earth is closest and farthest in it's orbit.

Lunt LS60 THa scope and ASI174MM camera. False colour images.

Prominence - 7th August 2020
Prominence - 7th August 2020

Solar Prominence imaged from London on the 7th August 2020.

Lunt LS60THa scope, ASI174MM camera and Televue 2.5x Powermate. Solar disk rendered in false colour and inverted. Two image composite.

Prominence - 31st July 2020
Prominence - 31st July 2020

Solar prominence imaged from London on the 31st July 2020.

Lunt LS60 THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

Solar disc inverted false colour

Solar Prominance - London, 9th January 2022
Solar Prominance - London, 9th January 2022

Solar Prominence imaged from London on the 9th January 2022. Solar disc inverted and false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Solar Prominences - 1st September 2020
Solar Prominences - 1st September 2020

Solar prominences imaged from London on the 1st September 2020.

Lunt LS60Tha, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera. Solar disk false colour and inverted.

Solar Prominences - 13th September 2020
Solar Prominences - 13th September 2020

Solar Prominences imaged from London on the 13th September 2020.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera. Solar disk inverted and false colour.

Solar Prominence - 9th January 2021
Solar Prominence - 9th January 2021

Solar Prominence imaged in Ha from London on the 9th January 2021.

Lunt LS60THa Scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

AR2790 & Prominence in Ha, London 5th December 2020
AR2790 & Prominence in Ha, London 5th December 2020

Sunspot AR2790 and a large prominence imaged from London on the 5th December 2020.

Lunt LS60 THa, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

Solar disk inverted false colour.

Prominences, London 18th April 2021
Prominences, London 18th April 2021

Solar prominences imaged from London on the 18th April 2021.

Lunt LS60THa, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera. Blend of two exposures, one for the chromosphere and another for the prominences. Chromosphere inverted and false colour.

Prominence - 5th September 2021
Prominence - 5th September 2021

Solar Prominence imaged from London on the 5th September 2021. Solar disc inverted and false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Large Prominence - London 22nd April 2021
Large Prominence - London 22nd April 2021

Large solar prominence imaged from London on the 22nd April 2021.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera

Prominence - 5th September 2021
Prominence - 5th September 2021

Solar Prominence imaged from London on the 5th September 2021. Solar disc inverted and false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Prominence - 5th September 2021
Prominence - 5th September 2021

Solar Prominence imaged from London on the 5th September 2021. Solar disc inverted and false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

AR12817 & Flare, London 22nd April 2021
AR12817 & Flare, London 22nd April 2021

The Sun imaged from London on the 22nd April 2021. Active region 12817 can be seen on the limb sending flares out into space.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

False colour inverted Sun
False colour inverted Sun

The Sun imaged using a Lunt LS60 Ha scope and ASI120MM camera

False colour and inverted image

London 9th October 2016

Inverted Sun - 22nd January 2021
Inverted Sun - 22nd January 2021

The Sun imaged from London on the 22nd January 2021. This image is an inverted, false colour view shot using a Lunt LS60 THa solar scope and ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Sun White Light & Hydrogen Alpha - 5th September 2021
Sun White Light & Hydrogen Alpha - 5th September 2021

A side by side comparison of the Sun imaged in white light (left) and in Hydrogen Alpha. Both shot from London on the 5th September 2021.

The Sun, London 24th April 2021
The Sun, London 24th April 2021

The Sun imaged in Hydrogen Alpha. London 24th April 2021. Standard and inverted false colour image.

Lunt LS60THA, ZWO ASI174MM camera

Inverted Sun - London 4th April 2021
Inverted Sun - London 4th April 2021

The Sun imaged from London on the 4th April 2021. Image has been inverted and rendered in false colour.

Lunt LS60THA & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

20180326 Spotless Sun
20180326 Spotless Sun

As the Sun enters a quiet phase the sight of a spotless sun is an increasingly common sight. Not really a lot of interest when viewed in white light!

Image is 2 panel mosaic captured using a Canon EOS 6D camera & Celestron Edge HD11 scope

Processed in Photoshop and rendered in false colour

Solar Photobomb - London, 1st June 2019
Solar Photobomb - London, 1st June 2019

The Sun imaged from London in Hydrogen Alpha on the 1st June 2019. Sometimes you get a happy accident...

The Solar disk is a stack of the best 50% of 4000 frames, processed in Registax and Autostakkert. A single frame of the 4000 frame video containing the image of the bird crossing in front of the Sun was extracted and sharpened with the motion blur around the bird removed using Stabilise mode in Topaz AI Sharpen. This was then blended with the stacked image using a darken layer in Photoshop CC.

The whole image was then rendered in false colour.

Lunt LS60T Ha scope, ASI174MM camera

Sunspot AR2662, London 17th June 2017
Sunspot AR2662, London 17th June 2017

Sunspot AR2662 imaged from London on 17th June 2017.
White light image rendered in false colour. Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera, Baader solar film filter

AR2665 & Prominence, 9th July 2017
AR2665 & Prominence, 9th July 2017

Solar active region 2665 and prominence imaged in H-alpha
Composite of two images, one exposed for the huge prominence and the other for the sunspot group. Rendered in false colour.

Lunt LS60 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174M camera

Processed using AS!2, Registax6 and Photoshop CC

AR2665, 9th July 2017
AR2665, 9th July 2017

Sun spot group AR2665 imaged from London in white light.
9th July 2017. Thin cloud affected resolution unfortunately
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera
Baader solar film filter

AR2674 - London 2nd September 2017
AR2674 - London 2nd September 2017

Sunspot AR2674 imaged from London on 2nd September 2017

Celestron Edge HD11 with Astrozap full aperture Baader solar filter, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ASI174MM camera

Rendered in false colour

Sun spot AR2682, 30th September 2017
Sun spot AR2682, 30th September 2017

Sun spot AR2682 captured from London in white light and rendered in false colour.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

AR2738 - 11-14-17 April 2019
AR2738 - 11-14-17 April 2019

Sunspot AR2738 imaged on the 11th, 14th and 17th April 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, green filter and Astrozap solar filter

20180506 AR2708
20180506 AR2708

Solar active region 2708 imaged from London on 6th May 2018.

White light with green filter, rendered in false colour.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

AR2741 - London 11th May 2019
AR2741 - London 11th May 2019

Sunspot AR2741 imaged from London on the 11th May 2019. Some nice solar granulation can also be seen.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera, green filter false colour, Baader solar film

AR2741 & AR2740 - London 11th May 2019
AR2741 & AR2740 - London 11th May 2019

Sunspots AR2741 & AR2740 imaged from London on the 11th May 2019. Some nice solar granulation can also be seen.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera, green filter false colour, Baader solar film filter

AR2741 in Ha - London 12th May 2019
AR2741 in Ha - London 12th May 2019

Sunspot AR2741. Shot from London on the 12th May 2019.

Lunt LS60 THa scope & ASI174MM camera

AR2769 - London 31st July 2020
AR2769 - London 31st July 2020

Solar active region 2769 imaged in white light and rendered in false colour. London 31st July 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera and Baader solar filter.

Sunspot AR2767 - London 31st July 2020
Sunspot AR2767 - London 31st July 2020

Sunspot AR2767 imaged from London on the 31st July 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera & Baader solar filter & Green filter. Rendered in false colour

Sunspot Train - London, 13th January 2022
Sunspot Train - London, 13th January 2022

Sunspots scattered across the face of the Sun imaged from London on the 13th January 2022.

White light, false colour image using Baader solar film, Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Active region 2835 - 2nd July 2021
Active region 2835 - 2nd July 2021

Solar active region 2835 with much smaller 2836 (bottom right). Imaged from London on the 2nd July 2021.

Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, Baader solar film & ZWO ASI174MM camera. White light/false colour

Solar active region 2827 - 31st May 2021
Solar active region 2827 - 31st May 2021

Solar active region 2827 imaged from London on the 31st May 2021.

White light, false colour. Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, Baader solar filter, ZWO ASI174mm camera. (Green filter)

Sunspot AR2786 - London 24th November 2020
Sunspot AR2786 - London 24th November 2020

Huge sunspot AR2786, imaged from London on the 24th November 2020.

White light, false colour. Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera. Baader solar film.

AR2770 - London 7th August 2020
AR2770 - London 7th August 2020

Solar active region 2770 imaged from London on the 7th August 2020.

Lunt LS60THa scope, ASI174MM camera and Televue 2.5x Powermate. Rendered in false colour.

AR2786 - London 1st December 2020
AR2786 - London 1st December 2020

Solar active region 2786 imaged from London through thin cloud on the 1st December 2020.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera

AR2816 - London 23rd April 2021
AR2816 - London 23rd April 2021

Solar active region 2816 imaged in Hydrogen Alpha and rendered in false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Active Region 2673 - White Light inverted
Active Region 2673 - White Light inverted

Very active sunspot AR2673 imaged from London on 9th September 2017.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera, Astrozap Baader solar filter 

Image inverted using Photoshop CC

Westdown Solargraph - 23-07-17 to 24-12-17
Westdown Solargraph - 23-07-17 to 24-12-17

Solargraph taken using a Solarcan pin-hole 'camera'. The photographic paper was exposed over the period from 23rd July 2017 to 24th December 2017 and shows the passage of the Sun in the sky over that period.

Solar Flyby - London, 9th January 2022
Solar Flyby - London, 9th January 2022

Always a thrill when a plane crosses the field of view when imaging the Sun - this slowed down considerably as in actuality it flashes by!

Sun - 7th March 2022 with Earth to Scale
Sun - 7th March 2022 with Earth to Scale

The Sun imaged from London on 7th March 2022. A huge prominence is present at the 9 o'clock position with the Earth above it to give an idea of it's scale.

Lunt LS60 THa scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera. Solar disc is false colour.

Sun, Ha - 11th July 2022
Sun, Ha - 11th July 2022

The Sun imaged from London on the 11th July 2022.

Lunt LS60THa solar scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera

Sun - White Light, 24th April 2022
Sun - White Light, 24th April 2022

The Sun imaged from London on the 24th April 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Canon EOS 6D camera, Baader solar film. White light, false colour.

Sun 4th June 2023
Sun 4th June 2023

The Sun imaged from London on the 4th June 2023.

Lunt LS60THa and ZWO ASI174MM camera. Rendered in false colour

20220421 11-21UT AR2993, 2994, 2995, 2996
20220421 11-21UT AR2993, 2994, 2995, 2996

Sunspots (R-L) AR2993, 2994, 2995 & 2996 imaged from London on the 21st April 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera & Baader solar filter. False colour.

AR3055 - 11th July 2022
AR3055 - 11th July 2022

Solar active region 3055 imaged from London on the 11th July 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11, ZWO ASI174MM camera and Baader solar film. False colour image.

Sun spots , white light 4th June 2023
Sun spots , white light 4th June 2023

Sunspots AR3323 & 3321 imaged in white light and rendered in false colour, 4th June 2023, Celestron Edge HD11, ZWO ASI174MM camera and Baader solar film

AR30555 - July 11th 2022
AR30555 - July 11th 2022

Solar active region 3055 imaged from London in Ha on the 11th July 2022.

Lunt LS60THa, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera. Image inverted and false colour.

Sunspots & Filaments - 11th July 2022
Sunspots & Filaments - 11th July 2022

Sunspots and filaments, London 11th July 2022. Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera. False colour inverted image

Solar Prominences - 11th July 2022
Solar Prominences - 11th July 2022

Solar prominences imaged from London on the 11th July 2022. Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera. Blend of two images, one for prominences and one for solar disc, disc inverted false colour.

Solar prominence 4th June 2023
Solar prominence 4th June 2023

Solar Prominence imaged from London on the 4th June 2023. Solar disc inverted and false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

The Sun - 2nd June 2024
The Sun - 2nd June 2024

The Sun imaged from London on the 2nd June 2024.

Lunt LS60THa scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera

Sunspot AR36642 - 11th May 2024
Sunspot AR36642 - 11th May 2024

Huge sunspot AR36642 imaged in white light and rendered in false colour, 11th May 2024, Celestron Edge HD11, ZWO ASI174MM camera and Baader solar film & green filter

Sunspot AR3780 - 11th August 2024
Sunspot AR3780 - 11th August 2024

Sunspot AR3780 imaged in white light and rendered in false colour, 11th August 2024, Celestron Edge HD11, ZWO ASI174MM camera and Baader solar film & green filter

Sunspot AR3784 - 11th August 2024
Sunspot AR3784 - 11th August 2024

Sunspot AR3784 imaged in white light and rendered in false colour, 11th August 2024, Celestron Edge HD11, ZWO ASI174MM camera and Baader solar film & green filter

Turbulent Sun - 2nd June 2024
Turbulent Sun - 2nd June 2024

Solar Prominences and active regions 3697 & 3698 imaged from London on the 2nd June 2024. Solar disc inverted and false colour.

Lunt LS60THa scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

The Sun - Inside Out
The Sun - Inside Out

The Sun turned inside out to bring prominences to the fore. Processed according to Peter J Ward's method described in the May edition of Sky at Night Magazine.

Lunt LS60Tha scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera

Planetary Composites, Conjunctions, Mercury & Outer Planets

I’ve never lost the sense of wonder of looking at a ‘star’ through even a modest telescope and it resolving into another world, no-one forgets the first time they saw Saturn through a telescope. Seeing these worlds with your own eyes is magical and the next natural step for many is to want to capture the moment and share it through taking images.

Each planet provides it’s own unique set of challenges, from low image scale (Mercury, Uranus and Neptune), proximity to the Sun (Mercury and Venus) and poor positioning in the sky (Mars and Saturn – for the northern hemisphere). Only Jupiter presents a relatively easy target andis the best one to cut your imaging teeth on. The key to planetary imaging is not to get discouraged, if your results don’t match those of the best planetary imagers don’t worry, it took them years of practice to get that good!

To give yourself the best chance of producing a good image my advice would be to wait until seeing is good or at least better than average, cool your telescope before imaging, make sure it is properly collimated, really try to nail focus, and experiment with gain and exposure until you find what works best for your set up and target. Don’t over process your images as you will introduce artefacts and they will end up looking false – less is more.

Solar System Composite 20/21
Solar System Composite 20/21

A composite of solar system images all shot from London over the past few years (2020/21).

Left to right, The Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

Solar System (minus Earth) 2016/2017
Solar System (minus Earth) 2016/2017

Some of my solar system images, all shot from London over 2016 and 2017
Pretty obvious but L-R Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

20250202 Shining Bright
20250202 Shining Bright

Composite of the four brightest objects in the night sky of the 2nd February 2025

Mercury - London 24th May 2020
Mercury - London 24th May 2020

Tiny planet Mercury imaged from London on the 24th May 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ASI174MM camera, 685nm IR image. This image has been further processes using Topaz Gigapixel AI which has increased the image scale by 4 times.

Mercury, 24th September 2017
Mercury, 24th September 2017

Mercury imaged from London on 24th September 2017.

Planet is 5.4 arc seconds in diameter

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera and 685nm IR pass filter

Mercury - 18th July 2021
Mercury - 18th July 2021

The tiny innermost planet Mercury imaged from London on the 18th July 2021.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera with 685nm IR filter, Televue 2.5X powermate

Mercury, 10th June 2017
Mercury, 10th June 2017

The planet Mercury imaged from London on 10th June 2017 when separated from the Sun by only 13 degrees and displaying a phase of 86% with an apparent diameter of just 5.47 arc seconds.
The image was shot in daylight using a 685nm IR pass filter and some albedo features can se seen.
Celestron Edge HD11 scope, CGE Pro mount, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

It may not look impressive but Mercury is only slightly bigger than the Moon and obviously a lot further away. Also the fact that it never strays far from the Sun makes it a challenging target

 

Saturn and Jupiter Great Conjunction - 1 day, London 20th December 2020
Saturn and Jupiter Great Conjunction - 1 day, London 20th December 2020

This is a cropped image taken one day before the great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. At this point the planets were separated by 9 minutes of arc, the following day (21st) they would be just 6’ apart but we were clouded out in London for that one.

Saturn is top, Jupiter is bottom with the Galilean moons (left to right) Callisto, Ganymede and Europa also being visible. This was shot using a 600mm telephoto lens and Canon EOS 6D camera. The detail on the planetary disks has been provided from earlier images taken with a planetary camera and pasted and resized on the overexposed telephoto images, blur has been applied to remain true to the original 600mm image.

Great Conjunction of Saturn & Jupiter - 1 day, 20th December 2020
Great Conjunction of Saturn & Jupiter - 1 day, 20th December 2020

One day before the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. Imaged from Merton Cricket Club, London 20th December 2020.

Uranus and moons
Uranus and moons

Uranus with moons Umbriel, Ariel, Titania and Oberon. Composite of two images, one exposed for the planet and the other for the moons.

London 25th September 2016, Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI120MM camera

Planet Uranus - London 23rd November 2020
Planet Uranus - London 23rd November 2020

Planet Uranus imaged from London on the 23rd November 2020. 2.8 billion km distant.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera. Baader 610nm Longpass Filter.

Uranus - London, 12th December 2020
Uranus - London, 12th December 2020

Planet Uranus imaged from London on the 12th December 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera & Baader 610nm Long Pass filter

Uranus, 22nd October 2020
Uranus, 22nd October 2020

Planet Uranus imaged from London on the 22nd October 2020. The result of just 1 1/2 stacks as clouds rolled in during the imaging session.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Pluto & Starfield
Pluto & Starfield

Pluto imaged remotely using the Bradford Robotic Telescope on Tenerife

23rd April 2014

20180104 Mars, M22 Conjunction
20180104 Mars, M22 Conjunction

Mars in close conjunction with globular cluster M22. Shot remotely from Siding Spring observatory NSW at 04:06 local time on 2nd April 2018 (18:06 on 1st April UT)

Luminance 5 x 120 seconds R, G & B 3 x 120 seconds

Takahashi FSQ ED 106mm f/5.0
CCD:  FLI Microline 11002 - Grade 1

Venus & The Pleiades - 31st March 2020
Venus & The Pleiades - 31st March 2020

Venus edging towards the Pleiades cluster. Shot from London on the 31st March 2020. 30X20 seconds stacked in Maxim DL and processed in Photoshop CC. Canon EOS 6D 300mm

Conjunction of Mars & The Pleiades
Conjunction of Mars & The Pleiades

Mars meets the Pleiades. This is a composite image consisting of a stack of shots taken by me from a dark sky location last year and individual shots taken from London of Mars approaching the cluster on the 27th & 28th February and 2nd March 2021. These have been blended in Photoshop CC to produce a deeper image.

Venus

Venus Phase Evolution - Category Winner Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017
Venus Phase Evolution - Category Winner Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017

Venus through from 87% illuminated on the 25th September 2016 to 1% illuminated at inferior conjunction on 25th March 2017

All shot from London using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera

Venus in IR, 17th June 2017
Venus in IR, 17th June 2017

The planet Venus imaged from London on the morning of 17th June 2017
Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera
Imaged using a 685nm IR pass filter

Venus in IR - 27th August 2017
Venus in IR - 27th August 2017

Venus imaged from London on 27th August 2017
Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera
685nm IR pass filter

Venus - London 24th May 2020
Venus - London 24th May 2020

Venus imaged from London on the 24th May 2020. Displaying a 3.7% illuminated disk and apparent diameter of 54.88"

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera. Sky background from Canon EOS 6D shot.

Venus - London 22nd April 2020
Venus - London 22nd April 2020

Planet Venus shot from London on the 22nd April 2020. Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera. IR image mapped to red channel, UV mapped to blue channel and a synthetic green channel comprised of 50%blend of IR and UV. This combination of filters enables cloud structures to be seen.

Venus - London 14th May 2020
Venus - London 14th May 2020

Planet Venus shot from London on the 14th May 2020. Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera.

IR image mapped to red channel, UV mapped to blue channel and a synthetic green channel comprised of 50%blend of IR and UV. 12% Phase and 48.31" Diameter

Venus - London 19th May 2020
Venus - London 19th May 2020

Venus shot from London on the afternoon of 19th May 2020. Apparent diameter 51.76", illuminated fraction 7.6%

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera, 685nm IR pass filter

This has then been combined with an iPhone image of the sky to better reproduce the view through the eyepiece at the time.

Venus Montage - April - May 2020
Venus Montage - April - May 2020

Composite of Venus images shot from London on the 22nd April and 2nd, 14th, 24th & 26th May 2020

Venus - London 31st May 2020
Venus - London 31st May 2020

Planet Venus imaged from London on the 31st May 2020, just 3 days from inferior conjunction. with the Sun.

The planet is displaying only 0.4% illumination and an apparent diameter of 57.50". Only 5.35 degrees from the Sun (disk centre to disk centre). Don't try this unless you really know what you are doing! Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera (red filter), colour from Canon EOS 6D shot.

Venus 4th February 2017
Venus 4th February 2017

Venus imaged from London on 4th February 2017
IR mapped to red, UV mapped to Blue ad 50/50 blend IR & UV mapped to Green
Celestron Edge HD11 and ASI174mm camera

Venus - London, 4th December 2021
Venus - London, 4th December 2021

Planet Venus imaged in IR from London on the 4th December 2021. Low in the sky and in twilight.

Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera and 685nm IR filter

Venus, 17th February 2017
Venus, 17th February 2017

Venus imaged from London on 17th February 2017
IR mapped to red
50/50 IR/UV mapped to green
UV mapped to blue
Celestron Edge HD11
ASI174MM camera

Venus, London 8th December 2018
Venus, London 8th December 2018

Venus shot from London on the 9th December 2018.

Shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera.

Red channel uses a 685nm IR pass filter, Blue channel a 320 - 380 nm UV filter and the Green channel is a 50% blend of the two

Venus - 3 Ways, 27th March 2020
Venus - 3 Ways, 27th March 2020

Planet Venus imaged from London on the 27th March 2020. Details are on the image

Venus - 10th April 2020
Venus - 10th April 2020

Venus imaged from London on the 10th April 2010. Red filtered image using Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera

Venus - 17th November 2018
Venus - 17th November 2018

Planet Venus shot from London on 17th November 2018

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera & 685nm IR pass filter

Venus Nearing Inferior Conjunction - 15th March 2017
Venus Nearing Inferior Conjunction - 15th March 2017

Venus imaged from London on 15th March 2017. Only 4.5% illuminated but a massive 56.73 arc seconds.
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x and ASI174mm camera

Venus at Inferior Conjunction - 25th March 2017
Venus at Inferior Conjunction - 25th March 2017

Venus 1% illuminated, imaged from London on 25th March 2017 the day of inferior conjunction with the Sun when it transitions from being an evening to morning 'star'
Celestron Edge Hd11 scope ASI174MM camera with Televue 2.5x Powermate and 685nm IR pass filter

Venus - 13th June 2020
Venus - 13th June 2020

Venus shot from London on the 13th June 2020.

Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, ASI174MM camera with 685nm IR filter, Televue 2.5x Powermate

3.3% illuminated phase

Venus, Red Filter - 3rd July 2020
Venus, Red Filter - 3rd July 2020

Red filtered image of planet Venus, shot from London on the 3rd July 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera and Televue 2.5x Powermate.

Venus - 23rd June 2020
Venus - 23rd June 2020

Planet Venus imaged from London on the 23rd June 2020. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x powermate. 685nm IR filtered image with sky colour provided by single DSLR shot.

Venus IR(G)UV - London 21st July 2020
Venus IR(G)UV - London 21st July 2020

Venus shot in IR and UV light, London, 21st July 2020

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera

IR image mapped to red channel, UV mapped to blue channel and a synthetic green channel comprised of 50%blend of IR and UV

This combination of filters enables cloud structures to be seen

Venus IR - London 21st July 2020
Venus IR - London 21st July 2020

Planet Venus imaged from London on the 21st July 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera

Venus - London 31st July 2020
Venus - London 31st July 2020

Venus imaged from London on the 31st July 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x & ASI174MM camera. Red mapped to IR, Blue mapped to UV, Green 50/50 blend

Venus - Greatest Western Elongation, 12th August 2020
Venus - Greatest Western Elongation, 12th August 2020

Venus one day from greatest western elongation. Shot from London on the 12th August 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Venus - 16th April 2022
Venus - 16th April 2022

Planet Venus imaged from London on the 16th April 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera and 685nm IR pass filter.

20220211 09-59UT Venus IRSynGUV
20220211 09-59UT Venus IRSynGUV

Venus shot in IR and UV light, London, 11th February 2022. Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera

IR image mapped to red channel, UV mapped to blue channel and a synthetic green channel comprised of 50%blend of IR and UV

20220211 10-06UT Venus IR
20220211 10-06UT Venus IR

Venus imaged from London on the 11th February 2022. Shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI174MM camera with 685nm IR pass filter.

20220225 09-59UT Venus IRSynGUV
20220225 09-59UT Venus IRSynGUV

Venus shot in IR and UV light, London, 25th February 2022

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera

IR image mapped to red channel, UV mapped to blue channel and a synthetic green channel comprised of 50%blend of IR and UV

Venus 19th August 2023
Venus 19th August 2023

A slim crescent Venus shot in the daytime sky from London on 19th August 2023, a few days after inferior conjunction.

Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, ZWPO ASI174MM camera

Venus 10th June 2023
Venus 10th June 2023

Planet Venus imaged using a 685nm IR pass filter (left) and a false colour image comprising IR, UV and synthetic green images. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Venus 25th June 2023
Venus 25th June 2023

The planet Venus imaged from London on the 25th June 2023. This is an IRSynGUV image with Red channel mapped to IR, Blue to UV and green is a 50/50 blend.

Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera

Venus Phases - 16th, 30th September & 15th October
Venus Phases - 16th, 30th September & 15th October

Composite of images of planet Venus imaged with two week intervals between 16th September and 15th October 2023.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Teleview 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera

20250111 16-57UT Venus IRSynGUV
20250111 16-57UT Venus IRSynGUV

Planet Venus imaged from London on the 11th January 2025. False colour image with red mapped to IR, blue to UV and green to 50:50 blend of the two, this method enabling cloud detail to be seen.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

20250202 17-35UT Venus IRSynGUV
20250202 17-35UT Venus IRSynGUV

Planet Venus imaged from London on the 2nd February 2025. False colour image with red mapped to IR, blue to UV and green to 50:50 blend of the two, this method enabling cloud detail to be seen.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Mars

Mars 2020
Mars 2020

The planet Mars imaged from August to December 2020, the August image is in the centre of the spiral and the December image at the end. The image shows the change in apparent size and phase as the planet moved towards and then away from Earth around the 2020 opposition.

Mars - London 21st August 2020
Mars - London 21st August 2020

Mars imaged from London pre-dawn on the 21st August 2020. RGB image, Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate

Mars - London 9th August 2020
Mars - London 9th August 2020

Mars imaged from London pre-dawn on the 9th August 2020. 685nm IR mapped to red channel, Blue to blue and green is a synthetic blend of the two.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate

Mars - London 14th February 2019
Mars - London 14th February 2019

Mars imaged from London on the 14th February 2019. The planet presented a tiny 5.69 arc second 90.4% illuminated disk.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera. RRGB image.

Mars Sequence 8th August - 22nd September 2020
Mars Sequence 8th August - 22nd September 2020

Sequence of images of the planet Mars shot from the 8th August to the 22nd September 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Mars - 12th September 2020
Mars - 12th September 2020

Planet Mars imaged from London in the early hours of the 12th September 2020. Olympus Mons can be seen top centre, Ascraeus Mons & Pavonis Mons are also visible.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera. IRR(G)B image.

Mars Sequence - 8th August to 22nd September 2020
Mars Sequence - 8th August to 22nd September 2020

Sequence of images of the planet Mars shot from the 8th August to the 22nd September 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Mars at Opposition, 13th October 2020
Mars at Opposition, 13th October 2020

Mars at opposition, 13th October 2020. Olympus Mons , the largest volcano in the solar system is the bright circular feature at the 2 o'clock position.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera.

2020 Mars Rotation
2020 Mars Rotation

Mars rotation gif created using the images of Mars I’ve collected over the past two and a half months leading up to and including closest approach and opposition. A full surface map is created in WinJupos and then this is rendered onto a globe using the Ephemerides function.

Mars, 29th September 2020
Mars, 29th September 2020

Planet Mars imaged from London on the 29th September 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

Mars - Filter Set, September 2020
Mars - Filter Set, September 2020

Individual filtered images of Mars and resulting combined RGB & IRRGB images.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Four Months of Mars
Four Months of Mars

Planet Mars imaged from early August to late November 2020. This shows Mars getting closer to Earth as it approaches opposition and then pulling further away as the year went on.

All images with Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Mars - 5th November 2020
Mars - 5th November 2020

Mars imaged from London on the 5th November 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5 Powermate & ASI174MM camera.

Mars - 18th October 2022
Mars - 18th October 2022

Planet Mars imaged from London pre-dawn on the 18th October 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera and ADC

2020 - Mars Surface Map
2020 - Mars Surface Map

Mars surface map created in WinJupos using images I've shot over the past few months while Mars has been well placed.

Conjunction of Mars & Neptune, London 7th December 2018
Conjunction of Mars & Neptune, London 7th December 2018

This is a composite of two images one exposed for Mars and another for the much dimmer Neptune. An ASI174MM planetary camera fitted to a Celestron Edge HD11 scope was used to capture both Neptune and Mars. Mars is comprised of IR, Red, Green and Blue filtered images. Neptune was shot using an IR filter and the colour added using an image shot using a DSLR.

Mars Comparison - 20201013 & 20210210
Mars Comparison - 20201013 & 20210210

What a difference 79 million miles (127 million km) makes! Here is a comparison of the planet Mars imaged at opposition on the 13th October 2020 and on the 10th February 2021.

Both images shot from London using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera. R[G]B images.

20221214 23-36UT Mars
20221214 23-36UT Mars

Mars imaged from London on the 14th December 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera and ADC

20221122 23-42UT Mars
20221122 23-42UT Mars

Mars imaged from London on the 22nd November 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera and ADC

20221207 23-22UT Mars at Opposition
20221207 23-22UT Mars at Opposition

Mars imaged from London on the 7th December 2022 - on the night of opposition.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera and ADC

Mars 18th October - 14th December
Mars 18th October - 14th December

Composite of Mars images taken from the 14th October to the 14th December 2022

Mars Arrives
Mars Arrives

Mars imaged over the two months leading to opposition

Mars 13th February 2023
Mars 13th February 2023

Mars imaged from London on the 13th February 2023.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera and ADC

20250102 20-57UT Mars
20250102 20-57UT Mars

Mars imaged from London 2nd January 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

20241024 04-20UT Mars
20241024 04-20UT Mars

Tiny planet Mars imaged from London early on 24th October 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

20240928 04-38UT Mars
20240928 04-38UT Mars

Mars imaged from London in the early hours of 28th September 2024. Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera.

20250202 21-05UT Mars
20250202 21-05UT Mars

Planet Mars imaged from London on the 2nd February 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera with ADC

Jupiter

Jupiter - 15th January 2024
Jupiter - 15th January 2024

Jupiter imaged from London on 15th January 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera.

Jupiter - 19th January 2024
Jupiter - 19th January 2024

Planet Jupiter imaged from London on the 19th January 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera.

20241024 04-06UT Jupiter & Io
20241024 04-06UT Jupiter & Io

Jupiter with moon Io and shadow. Imaged from London early on 24th October 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

20250102 20-45UT Jupiter Io & Ganymede
20250102 20-45UT Jupiter Io & Ganymede

Jupiter with moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right) imaged from London on 2nd January 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

20241115 23-36UT Jupiter
20241115 23-36UT Jupiter

Jupiter imaged from London on 15th November 2024. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

Ganymede, Jupiter & Europa transiting - 5th September 2021
Ganymede, Jupiter & Europa transiting - 5th September 2021

Jupiter with moon Ganymede top left and Europa transiting the planet (bright spot ~2 o'clock position by Great Red Spot). Some surface details are visible on Ganymede (which is nice).

Imaged from London on 5th September 2021 using Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera and ZWO ADC.

Jupiter RRGB, 15th April 2017
Jupiter RRGB, 15th April 2017

Jupiter shot from London just before midnight 15th April 2017
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue Powermate 2.5x ASI174MM camera
 

Jupiter - 6th October 2022
Jupiter - 6th October 2022

Jupiter imaged from London on 6th October 2022 with the Great Red Spot nicely placed. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera & ADC.

Jupiter and Io transit - London 2nd October 2022
Jupiter and Io transit - London 2nd October 2022

Planet Jupiter with moon Io and its shadow starting to transit (left middle). Imaged from London on 2nd October 2022.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI224MC camera & ADC, Televue 2.5x Powermate.

Jupiter and Io - 11th October 2022
Jupiter and Io - 11th October 2022

Jupiter and Io from the 11th October. I always feel a moon in the picture gives more of a sense of place.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera & ADC.

27th September 2022 - Ganymede WinJupos Comparison
27th September 2022 - Ganymede WinJupos Comparison

Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede imaged from London on the 27th September 2022. Details on the image. When capturing detail on small bodies often what appear to be albedo features are imaging artifacts so it is worth comparing data with actual simulated views using spacecraft data. Here I'm comparing against the WinJupos ephemerides and can see that while some features are probably artifacts some appear to be genuine such as the bright spot of the crater Osiris (I think) at the bottom of the image.

Jupiter map - October 2022
Jupiter map - October 2022

Jupiter map rendered from images taken over the first few weeks of October 2022, generated in WinJupos

Jupiter in IR, 12th May 2017
Jupiter in IR, 12th May 2017

Jupiter imaged from London on 12th May 2017. IR imaged comprised of 8 image stack de-rotated in WinJupos
Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera, 685nm IR pass filter

Jupiter Europa and Io
Jupiter Europa and Io

Jupiter with Europa (top left) and Io imaged on 4th April 2016
RGB image captured using a Celestron Edge HD 11 scope and ASI120MM camera

4th April 2016

Jupiter and Io 10th Feb 2016
Jupiter and Io 10th Feb 2016

Jupiter with Io top right. Imaged on 10th February 2016 from London.
RGB image with IR 685nm image as Luminance.
Celestron Edge HD 11, ASI120M camera.
Processed using AS!2, Registax6 & PS CS6

Jupiter 10th Feb 2016 IRRGB
Jupiter 10th Feb 2016 IRRGB

Jupiter just before midnight on 10th February 2016
Celestron EdgeHD 11, ASI120M camera, Televue Powermate 2.5x, Baader IR Pass 685nm, ZWO RGB filters
Processed with AS!2, REgistax6 and PS CS6
Imaged from London

Jupiter, 1st June 2017
Jupiter, 1st June 2017

Jupiter imaged from London on 1st June 2017
To create this image I took 3 IR, R, G & B stacks and then de-rotated and combined them in WinJupos
Celestron Edge HD11 scope, CGE Pro mount, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Jupiter with Europa in Transit i 6th June 2018
Jupiter with Europa in Transit i 6th June 2018

Jupiter with moon Europa in transit, imaged from London on 6th June 2018

Single IR, R, G, B image run stacked, sharpened and de-rotated.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera and Televue 2.5x Powermate

Jupiter de-constructed - London, 3rd June 2018
Jupiter de-constructed - London, 3rd June 2018

Jupiter imaged from London on 3rd June 2018. All my planetary imaging is done using a mono planetary camera, the colour image produced by imaging through different filters and combining in Photoshop. This image shows the image as captured through each filter, the combined R/G/B colour image, and this image with the IR filtered image applied as a luminance (detail) layer.

Europa Transit Animation
Europa Transit Animation

Twenty five minute animation of the transit of Europa across the face of Jupiter, shot from London on 6th June 2018.

Consists of 9 IR frames, captured using a Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera & Televue 2.5x Powermate.

Processed in AutoStakkert, Registax, WinJupos & PIPP

Jupiter with Europa in Transit - 6th June 2018
Jupiter with Europa in Transit - 6th June 2018

Jupiter with moon Europa in transit, imaged from London on 6th June 2018

5 IR, R, G, B imaging runs stacked, sharpened and de-rotated.

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera and Televue 2.5x Powermate

Jupiter, Callisto & Europa - London, 14th July 2019
Jupiter, Callisto & Europa - London, 14th July 2019

Planet Jupiter with satellite Callisto just below and Europa to the bottom right of the image.

Shot from London on the 14th July 2019 with Jupiter at 15.8 degrees altitude

Celestron Edge HD 11 & ASi174MM camera - IRRGB image

Jupiter, Io, Europa & Ganymede - London, 20th July 2019
Jupiter, Io, Europa & Ganymede - London, 20th July 2019

Planet Jupiter with moons (L-R) Io, Europa & Ganymede. Imaged from London on the 20th July 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera. IR (685nm) R,G,B image

20250202 19-28UT Jupiter
20250202 19-28UT Jupiter

Planet Jupiter imaged from London on the 2nd February 2025. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera with ADC

20250113 19-11UT Jupiter & Ganymede
20250113 19-11UT Jupiter & Ganymede

Jupiter with moon Ganymede and it's shadow imaged from London on the 13th January 2025.

Celestron Edge HD 11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI224MC camera

Saturn

Saturn 17th August 2023
Saturn 17th August 2023

Planet Saturn imaged from London on the 17th August 2023.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC & ADC

Animated Saturn Ring Progression 2016 - 2023
Animated Saturn Ring Progression 2016 - 2023

Composite of images showing the change in the angle of Saturn’s rings as viewed from Earth. Shots were taken every 2 years from 2016 until 2022 and this year (2023). Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI174MM & ASI224MC camera

Saturn Ring Progression 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023
Saturn Ring Progression 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023

Composite of images showing the change in the angle of Saturn’s rings as viewed from Earth. Shots were taken every 2 years from 2016 until 2022 and this year (2023). Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI174MM & ASI224MC camera

Saturn 5th June 2016
Saturn 5th June 2016

Saturn imaged from London t 01:35 BST IRRGB using Celestron Edge HD11 and ASI120MM camera
Processed using AS!2, Registax6 and PS CS6

Saturn - 21st August 2022
Saturn - 21st August 2022

Planet Saturn imaged from London in the early hours of 21st August 2022. Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Saturn ring progression 2016, 18, 20 & 22
Saturn ring progression 2016, 18, 20 & 22

Composite of images showing the change in the angle of Saturn’s rings as viewed from Earth. Shots were taken every 2 years from 2016 (top) until this year (2022). Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI174MM camera

Saturn ring progression 2016, 18, 20 & 22
Saturn ring progression 2016, 18, 20 & 22

Animated GIF of the change in angle of Saturn’s rings from 2016 - 2022

Saturn 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Saturn 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024

Images of Saturn, top left was taken in 2016, bottom right this year (2024) - all with the same equipment. As well as the orientation of the rings changing you can also see the impact of the planets gain in altitude on the quality of the images!

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Animation of Saturn's rings 2016 - 2024
Animation of Saturn's rings 2016 - 2024

Animation of images of Saturn taken from 2016, until 2024 - all with the same equipment. As well as the orientation of the rings changing you can also see the impact of the planets gain in altitude on the quality of the images!

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

20241003 22-23UT Saturn & Titan
20241003 22-23UT Saturn & Titan

Saturn and Titan imaged from London on the 3rd October 2024. A more natural colour process. Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ZWO ASI224MC camera with ADC.

Saturn 2024-09-20
Saturn 2024-09-20

Saturn imaged on 20th September 2024. Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ZWO ASI224MC camera with ADC.

Saturn & Moons
Saturn & Moons

Saturn with moons (L-R) Rhea, Dione, Tethys & Titan. An IR RGB image shot from London on 22nd August 2016

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI120MM Camera

Saturn 24th May 2016 IR
Saturn 24th May 2016 IR

Saturn imaged in the early hours of 24th May 2016 from London using a 685nm IR pass filter
Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI120MM camera
Processed using AS!2, Registax6 and PS CS6
Best 3000 frames out of 4000 stacked

Saturn, 19th September 2017
Saturn, 19th September 2017

Saturn imaged from London on 19th September 2017.

RRGB image with the red channel used for luminance

Celestron Edge HD11, ASI174MM camera
Processed in AS!2, Registax6 & Photoshop CC

Saturn Red 30th June 2018
Saturn Red 30th June 2018

Saturn imaged from London on 30th June 2018.

Red filtered image, shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, ASI174MM camera, Televue 2.5x Powermate

Saturn in IR 13th August 2018
Saturn in IR 13th August 2018

Saturn imaged in IR from London on the 13th August 2018. This version has had some of the noise in the image removed using the Topaz de-noise plug-in.

5 stacked images de-rotated in WinJupos

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera with 685nm IR pass filter

Saturn and Titan, London, 7th August 2019
Saturn and Titan, London, 7th August 2019

Saturn imaged from London just after midnight on the 8th August 2019 at an altitude of 14.6 degrees. Moon Titan is visible at the bottom of the image.

RRGB image composite 1 set of exposures for planet and another for Titan. Image rotated 180 degrees.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera.

Saturn, Titan & Rhea - London, 21st July 2019
Saturn, Titan & Rhea - London, 21st July 2019

Saturn with moons Titan (left) and Rhea (right). Imaged from London in the early hours of the 21st July 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera. IRRGB image. Composite of exposures for planet and moons.

Saturn and Moons 13th August 2018
Saturn and Moons 13th August 2018

Saturn with moons Titan, Dione, Enceladus, Tethys & Rhea imaged from London on 13th August 2018.

Two image composite exposed for moons and another for Saturn.

20190830 21-28UT Saturn & Titan RRGB
20190830 21-28UT Saturn & Titan RRGB

Saturn imaged from London on the 30th August 2019 at an altitude of 14.9 degrees. Moon Titan is visible to the right of the image.

RRGB image. Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera.

20190830 21-28UT Saturn
20190830 21-28UT Saturn

Saturn imaged from London on the 30th August 2019 at an altitude of 14.9 degrees. Red filter image. Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM camera.

Saturn - London 12th July 2020
Saturn - London 12th July 2020

Saturn imaged from London, early morning 12th July 2020. Altitude 17.25 degrees.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera. RRGB image.

Saturn - London 26th July 2020
Saturn - London 26th July 2020

Saturn imaged from London in the early hours of 26th July 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI174MM camera

Saturn - 11th August 2020
Saturn - 11th August 2020

Saturn imaged just after midnight on the 11th August 2020.

IRGB image shot using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Saturn - 28th August 2021
Saturn - 28th August 2021

Planet Saturn imaged from London on the 27/28th August 2021

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate, ASI224MC camera & ZWO ADC

Saturn - 19th August 2020
Saturn - 19th August 2020

Saturn imaged from London in the early hours of 19th August 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ZWO ASI174MM camera.

Saturn ring orientation 2016 - 2020
Saturn ring orientation 2016 - 2020

Short gif showing the change in the ring orientation of Saturn over the four years from 2016 - 2020

Saturn 2016, 2018, 2020
Saturn 2016, 2018, 2020

The changing faces of Saturn, imaged in 2016 (top), 2018 (middle) and 2020 (bottom). We can see that the orientation of the rings is changing and in a few years time will almost disappear as they will be edge on to our line of sight before opening up again.

All images shot from London, red filter, Celestron Edge HD11, Televue 2.5x Powermate & ASI174MM camera

Saturn & Moons - 5th September 2023
Saturn & Moons - 5th September 2023

Saturn and five of it’s moons imaged from London on 5th September 2023. The planet is massively over exposed to capture the moons. I’ve pasted a correctly exposed image of Saturn taken at the same time to show the planets location and set it as a difference layer in Photoshop.

Galaxies

Galaxies

Galaxies are island universes consisting of billions of stars, just like our home, the Milky Way. When looking at a galaxy through an eyepiece it will generally appear as a grey fuzzy blob, but consider the fact that the light you are seeing has taken millions of years to reach your eye, this helps put things into context! Having said this, if you really want to look deeply into the structure of the galaxies visible in our night sky you have to image them.

When most people think of a galaxy they will picture a spiral form, and this is indeed the structure of our home as well as some of the most beautiful galaxies in the night sky, but they also come in irregular form and elliptical, with many sub-classifications in between.

From time to time we also get to see transitory phenomena such as supernovae where a star explodes and may briefly outshine all the other billions of stars within it's home, truly mind blowing, and a privilege to witness.

Due to the restrictions of my location in London the images in this gallery have been imaged remotely using the iTelescope network. It is possible to get good results from an urban location and I'll include some city galaxies once I get the chance!

A star cluster is, simply stated a group of gravitationally bound stars of which there are two types, globular clusters (my personal favourite) and open clusters.

Globular clusters are, as the name suggests, roughly spherical and consist of tens of thousands to millions of stars crammed into a region from 10 – 30 light years across. They generally consist of very old yellow and red stars, the live fast die young blue stars having exploded as supernovae or ended their lives as white dwarfs.

In our galaxy globular clusters orbit the galactic centre and so, for the northern hemisphere, are best viewed in the summer months when the Milky Way is most prominent. A few of the brightest are visible to the naked eye with Omega Centauri having been classified as a star before the invention of the telescope, M13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, can just about be spotted from a very dark location when transparency is good.

Stars & Clusters

Open clusters are confined to the galactic plane, usually to be found within the spiral arms, they are relatively young and form from HII regions such as the Orion Nebula (see Nebula gallery). Open clusters usually contain a few hundred members and are much less densely packed than globulars. Some examples in this gallery are the Pleiades in Taurus and the Double Cluster in Perseus, both dominated by young hot blue stars. The stars of the Pleiades are so young (forming within the last 100 million years) that they still sit within the cloud from which they formed, showing as a region of reflected nebulosity around the stars making up the cluster.

Messier 83
Messier 83

Spiral galaxy Messier 83 in the constellation Hydra

34 minutes Luminance, 3 minutes RGB

Planewave 20" CDK f/4.5, FLI ProLine PL 16303E
Imaged from SSO, 29th January 2015

M31 Andromeda Galaxy
M31 Andromeda Galaxy

M31 The Andromeda Galaxy
6 x 3 minutes Luminance, 4 x 3 minutes Red & Green, 2 x 3 minutes Blue
Takahashi FSQ-ED Petzval Apochromat Astrograph, 106mm f/5.0, SBIG STL 11000M camera

6th January 2015

M81 & M82
M81 & M82

A wide field view of Bode’s Galaxy (M81) and The Cigar Galaxy (M82).

12 x 300 seconds Luminance, 1 x 600 seconds for each Red, Green and Blue channel

106mm f/5.0 Petzval Apochromat Astrograph, SBIG STL-11000M camera.

Imaged from New Mexico Skies 25th April 2015

M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy - Feb/March 2019
M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy - Feb/March 2019

M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy imaged from London over the nights of the 26th February & 12th, 24th & 25th March 2019. LHaRGB image using a TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

4 Hours Luminance using Hutech IDAS LPS filter (20 second subs), 2 Hours Ha (90 second subs), 45 minutes each Red, Green and Blue filter (15 second subs)

8 hours 15 minutes total

The Leo Triplet - March/April 2019
The Leo Triplet - March/April 2019

The Leo Triplet or M66 Group. A small galaxy group approximately 35 million light years distant. NGC3628 is at the top left, M65 is on the right and M66 is at the bottom.

Luminance imaged from London on the nights of the 29th and 31st March, 4 hours integration consisting of 60 second subs. Luminance only using a Hutech IDAS LPS filter. RGB imaged from London on the 11th April 2019,30 minutes integration each colour channel consisting of 30 second subs.

TS65 Quad Astrograph and ASI1600MM Pro camera

20180501/9 M82 LhaRGB
20180501/9 M82 LhaRGB

Galaxy M82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy a starburst galaxy 12 million light years away in the constellation Ursa Major.

LHaRGB image consisting of 45 minutes luminance, 40 minutes Ha and 15 minutes for each R, G & B channel.

0.43-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD + f/4.5 focal reducer

FLI-PL6303E CCD camera

Imaged remotely from New Mexico Skies

Ha 9th May 2018, Luminance 1st May 2018, RGB 27th April 2018

NGC2442 & SN2015F
NGC2442 & SN2015F

Supernova SN2015F is marked shining at an approximate magnitude of 13 over a distance of 50 million light years! NGC2442 (The Meat hook Galaxy) an unusual barred spiral galaxy is in the far southern constellation of Volans.

50 mins Luminance, RGB 5 minutes each

Planewave 27” (700mm) CDK, fl. 4531mm, f/6.6. FLI PLO09000 CCD

Imaged from SSO 22nd March 2015

NGC1566 The Spanish Dancer Galaxy
NGC1566 The Spanish Dancer Galaxy

The Spanish Dancer Galaxy, NGC 1566, an intermediate spiral in the southern constellation of Doarado. Located approximately 40 million light years away. It has a small but extremely bright nucleus which places it in the Seyfert class of galaxies and may harbour a supermassive black hole.

Imaged from SSO using a Planewave 20” (510mm) f/4.5 CDK and FLI-PL6303E CCD

Luminance 80 minutes (16x5 mins), RGB 5 minutes

The Grus Triplet
The Grus Triplet

The Grus Triplet group of galaxies is located in the southern constellation of Grus and consists of three close spiral galaxies – NGC 7582, 7590 and 7599 located around 60 million light years away. 

CDK700 (28″) @ F6.8. 
FLI 09000 camera. 
L: 60mins. RGB: 15mins

Imaged remotely from SSO

Centaurus A and SN2016adj
Centaurus A and SN2016adj

Centaurus A Galaxy. Supernova SN 2016adj is indicated box at the bottom of this image. 
30 mins Luminance, 5 mins each RGB Channel

27" f/6.6 Planewave CDK Telescope & FLI PLO9000 CCD

Imaged from SSO 20th February 2016

NGC292 Small Magellanic Cloud
NGC292 Small Magellanic Cloud

NGC292 The Small Magellanic Cloud. NGC104 - globular cluster 47 Tucanae can be seen at the bottom of the image.

Luminance 5x180 seconds, 2x300 seconds each R,G,B channel

Takahashi FSQ ED Petzval Apochromat Astrograph 106mm, f/5.0, FLI Microline 16803 CCD

Imaged from SSO 23rd September 2015

Deer Lick Group and Stephan's Quintet
Deer Lick Group and Stephan's Quintet

In the centre of the image is a group of galaxies named the Deer Lick Group.  The most prominent galaxy is NGC 7331, 46 million light years distant.  The other smaller galaxies in the “group” are probably 10 times more distant. Stephans Quintet is seen on the left of the image. There are at least 16 galaxies in this image

15th November 2014

NGC5128 Centaurus A Widefield
NGC5128 Centaurus A Widefield

NGC5128 - Centaurus A widefield

1x300 second Luminance
Takahashi FSQ ED 106mm f/5.0, SBIG STL 11000 M CCD

Imaged from SSO 19th July 2014

NGC1291
NGC1291

Ring galaxy NGC1291 in Eridanus. Located 33 million light years away its strange appearance is probably the result of a collision with another galaxy.

 L: 12x5mins. RGB: 5/5/10mins

20" CDK with FLI-PL6303E camera.

Imaged from SSO, 9th August 2015

M33 Triangulum Galaxy
M33 Triangulum Galaxy

Imaged remotely from New Mexico Skies, 2nd October 2016

50 mins Luminance, 15 mins R, G, B

NGC253 The Sculptor Galaxy
NGC253 The Sculptor Galaxy

The Sculptor Galaxy

Imaged from Siding Spring Observatory on 2nd October 2016

30 minutes Luminance (6 x 300 seconds)

M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy - Wide-field Luminance
M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy - Wide-field Luminance

A wide-field view of M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy, imaged from London on 21st March 2017
Luminance channel only, stack of 62x90 seconds
TS65 Quad Astrograph and Atik 314L+ CCD

M101 The Pinwheel Galaxy - 31st March 2017
M101 The Pinwheel Galaxy - 31st March 2017

M101, The Pinwheel Galaxy in Ursa Major
Imaged from London on 31st March 2017.
2 1/2 hours integration using Hutech IDAS filter
TS65 Quad Astrograph & Atik314L+ CCD camera
Processed in Maxim DL and Photoshop CC

M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy LRGB, March 2020
M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy LRGB, March 2020

M101 The Pinwheel Galaxy - 21 million light years distant. Imaging galaxies from the city is not for the faint hearted, this is the front line of the battle with light pollution! This image was shot over 4 nights from London. Image consists of 4hrs 40 mins luminance (30 second subs) and 50 minutes for each R, G, B channel (also 30 second subs). Captured and stacked using Maxim DL, processed in Photoshop CC TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

NGC1055 - Remote Capture
NGC1055 - Remote Capture

NGC1055 presenting as part of a sinister or smiling clown face depending on your point of view!

Luminance = 16 x 300 secs BIN1
RGB = 5 x 300 secs BIN2 each channel

iTelescope T21 - Mayhill New Mexico
OTA: Planewave 17" CDK
Optical Design: Corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph
Aperture: 431mm
Focal Length: 1940mm (0.66 Focal Reducer)
F/Ratio: f/4.5
CCD:  FLI-PL6303E  CCD camera

M33 Triangulum Galaxy, 5th November 2017
M33 Triangulum Galaxy, 5th November 2017

Galaxy M33 in Triangulum imaged from London on 5th November 2017 under a bright, just past full Moon.

LRGB image consisting of 2 hours BN1 luminance using a Hutech IDAS filter and 30 minutes BIN2 each R, G, B channel

TS65Quad Astrograph & Atik314L+ CCD
Processed in Maxim DL and Photoshop CC

M33 - Triangulum Galaxy LRGB - December 2020
M33 - Triangulum Galaxy LRGB - December 2020

M33 The Triangulum Galaxy. Imaged from London over 3 nights in December 2019. LRGB image, ~2 hours Luminance, 30 minutes each RGB channel. ASI1600MM Pro camera & TS65 Quad Astrograph.

Omega Centauri
Omega Centauri

Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) is a globular cluster in the southern constellation of Centaurus.

25 x 60 seconds Luminance and 120 seconds for Red, Green and Blue channels.

20” (510mm) f/4.4 CDK and an FLI ProLine PL09000 CCD

Imaged from SSO, 13th February 2015

NGC2808
NGC2808

NGC 2808 is a globular cluster in the constellation Carina.

20 x 2 minutes Luminance, 4 x 2 minutes each R, G, B channel

Imaged from SSO NSW Australia Planewave 27" CDK, FLI PLO9000 CCD

18th January 2016

NGC6752
NGC6752

Globular Cluster NGC6752 in the southern constellation Pavo

5x60 seconds Luminance, Red, Green and Blue channels

Imaged from SSO. 21st April 2016

20190823-25 M11 Wild Duck Cluster
20190823-25 M11 Wild Duck Cluster

Messier 11 (M11), popularly known as the Wild Duck Cluster, is a rich, compact open cluster located in the southern constellation Scutum. The Wild Duck Cluster has an apparent magnitude of 6.3 and lies at a distance of 6,200 light years, or 1,900 parsecs from Earth. It covers an area of 14 arc minutes of apparent sky and is believed to be about 220 million years old. M11 is receding from us at 22 km/s. The Wild Duck Cluster is the most distant open cluster listed in the Messier catalogue that is visible to the naked eye.

Imaged from London using a TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera. LRGB image, 2 hours Luminance (30 second sub-frames) 30 minutes each R,G, B channel (20 second sub-frames). Hutech IDAS LPS filter used for Luminance channel

Pleiades
Pleiades

Pleiades

300 seconds x 18 (1hr 30 mins) integration
Darks and flats applied.

TS65 Quad Asrograph, Atik 314L+ CCD

Imaged from London, 7th January 2016

M45 - The Pleiades, 17th November 2017
M45 - The Pleiades, 17th November 2017

M45 - The Pleiades imaged from London over the nights of 12th, 16th and 17th November 2017

3 hours 20 mins luminance
20 mins each R, G, B channel

TS65Quad Astrograph, Atik314L+ CCD

Processed in Maxim DL & Photoshop CC
 

NGC1647, Hyades & Pleiades 27th December 2018
NGC1647, Hyades & Pleiades 27th December 2018

Three clusters in one shot, NGC1647 on the bottom left, The Hyades and the Pleiades top right.

28 minutes integration using a Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-70mm EF Zoom lens @ 70mm

Mounted on Vixen Polarie star tracker

NGC869 & NGC884 Double Cluster in Perseus - London, 27th September 2021
NGC869 & NGC884 Double Cluster in Perseus - London, 27th September 2021

NGC869 & NGC884 The Double Cluster in Perseus imaged from London on the 27th September 2021.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & Canon EOS 6D camera. Image is a stack of 125 15 second exposures @ ISO 400.

Perseus Double Cluster, 14th October 2017
Perseus Double Cluster, 14th October 2017

The Double Cluster in Perseus (NGC868 & NGC884, Caldwell 14).

Imaged from London on 14th October 2017. TS65 Quad astrograph, Atik314L+ CCD

LRGB image - 30 mins Luminance, 20 mins each colour 

Perseus Double Cluster - 21st September 2018
Perseus Double Cluster - 21st September 2018

The Perseus Double Cluster shot from London on the 21st September 2018.

30 minutes integration consisting of 180 x 10 second subs stacked and processed in Maxim DL and Photoshop CC.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & Canon EOS 6D camera

Perseus Double Cluster, November 17th 2019
Perseus Double Cluster, November 17th 2019

NGC869 & NGC884 The Double Cluster in Perseus imaged from London on the 17th November 2019. This image is comprised of a stack of 229 20 second exposures (1 hr 16 mins integration) shot at ISO 100 to preserve dynamic range. TS65 Quad astrograph & Canon EOS 6D camera

Perseus Double Cluster - Widefield
Perseus Double Cluster - Widefield

Widefield shot of the Perseus Double Cluster (Caldwell 14) - common name for the naked-eye open clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884

single 30 second exposure

Canon EOS Rebel T3i, Lens 141mm f/4.5 ISO1600.

Jewel Box Cluster & The Coal Sack
Jewel Box Cluster & The Coal Sack

A widefield view of NGC4755 or the Jewel Box Cluster. The bright star above is Beta Crucis or Mimosa, the area to the right devoid of stars stars is the coal sack dark nebula.

Takahashi SKY90 Apochromatic Refractor. 90mm focal length 417mm f/5.6, Canon 1100D Colour DSLR

Imaged from SSO, 26th March 2015

NGC6475, Ptolemy Cluster
NGC6475, Ptolemy Cluster

M7 (NGC 6475) the Ptolemy Cluster in the constellation of Scorpius.
Single 300 second exposure
Luminance only

M35 and NGC2158
M35 and NGC2158

Messier 35 or NGC 2168) is an open cluster in the constellation Gemini. The compact open cluster NGC 2158 lies directly southwest of M35.

28 minutes integration plus calibration frames

Widefield image using a TS65 Quad scope and Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera with Astronomik CLS filter

Imaged from London

Cygnus
Cygnus

The constellation Cygnus with the Cygnus rift and the rich starfields of the Milky Way.

17x45 seconds, Canon EOS Rebel T3i 45mm f/2.8 ISO1600

Lasserre-de-Prouille, August 2015

Cygnus Region, Chideock Dorset October 2019
Cygnus Region, Chideock Dorset October 2019

Cygnus region imaged from Chideock in Dorset in October 2019. Dark skies really make a difference!

10 x 60 second exposures stacked in Maxim DL.

Canon EOS 6D

The Cygnus Rift, 30th July 2018
The Cygnus Rift, 30th July 2018

The Cygnus rift imaged from Pezenas, France on 30th July 2018.

5 x 45 second exposures stacked in Maxim DL

Globular Cluster NGC6752, 16th July 2017
Globular Cluster NGC6752, 16th July 2017

Image Shortlisted Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2018

Globular Cluster NGC 6752 in the constellation Pavo.

Shot remotely from Siding Spring Australia using a half metre f/6.8 Planewave CDK, f/4.5 focal reducer & FLI-PL6303E CCD camera.

7x120 secs Luminance
1x120 secs red, green & blue channels

Albireo
Albireo

Albireo in Cygnus appears to the naked eye to be a single star of magnitude 3 but through a telescope, even low magnification views resolve it into two. Long thought to be a binary star system Giaia has shown them not to be physically associated but rather an optical double. The brighter yellow star makes a striking colour contrast with its fainter blue companion

Canon EOS Rebel T3i, Celestron 8" f/10 SCT

London

7th January 2018 - Colours of Rigel & Betelgeuse
7th January 2018 - Colours of Rigel & Betelgeuse

10 images of the stars Rigel (left) and Betelgeuse (right) taken with successive de-focus to show the colours of the two brightest stars in Orion

TS65 Quad Astrograph & Canon EOS 6D
Composite created in Photoshop CC

Globular Cluster M15 - 13th September 2018
Globular Cluster M15 - 13th September 2018

Globular cluster Messier 15 imaged from London on 13th September 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera.

10 minutes integration processed in Maxim DL & Photoshop CC

Messier 92 - London 30th May 2020
Messier 92 - London 30th May 2020

Globular cluster Messier 92. Imaged from London on the 30th May 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope and Canon EOS 6D camera.

30 minutes integration (18x10 seconds)

Globular Cluster M2 - 13th September 2018
Globular Cluster M2 - 13th September 2018

Globular cluster Messier 2 imaged from London on 13th September 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera

8 minutes integration comprised of 10 second subs. Processed in Maxim DL & Photoshop CC

Messier 2, 9th September 2020
Messier 2, 9th September 2020

Globular Cluster Messier 2 imaged from London on the 9th September 2020

Messier 3 - London 28th May 2020
Messier 3 - London 28th May 2020

Globular cluster Messier 3 imaged from London on the 28th May 2020.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & Canon EOS 6D camera. 1 hour integration (360x10 seconds)

NGC457 The Owl Cluster - 26th October 2018
NGC457 The Owl Cluster - 26th October 2018

NGC457, The Owl Cluster in Cassiopeia. Imaged from London on 26th October 2018.

Stack of 720 10 second exposures comprising 2 hours integration time.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & Canon EOS 6D

Hyades & Pleiades - Christmas Day 2020
Hyades & Pleiades - Christmas Day 2020

The Hyades and Pleiades clusters, shot from Burwash common, East Sussex on the 25th December 2019. 10 minute exposure (20 x 30 seconds) using a Canon EOS 6D camera and Vixen Polarie star tracker.

Nebulae, Comets, Meteors & Flares

Nebulae

A nebula is a vast cloud of interstellar dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases. They come in a number of different forms, principally emission, reflection and planetary - this gallery contains examples of all three types.

Emission nebula lend themselves to narrowband imaging as they are bright in the Ha wavelength, something which helps when imaging under light polluted skies. Reflection nebula are, as the name suggests, visible due to the light they reflect from nearby stars. These are best imaged using the standard LRGB process and are greatly affected by light pollution in urban areas. Planetary nebula form when a star goes nova ejecting shells of gas and leaving behind the star's core in the form of a white dwarf, which illuminates the expelled gases. It is sobering to think that this probably will be the fate of our Sun.

The images in this gallery are a combination of shots taken from London and via the iTelescope network. 

Comets, Meteors & Flares

It is always exciting to image or observe a comet. Some of these visitors from the farthest edge of the solar system may be making a once in a lifetime approach to the Sun before either disintegrating or returning to the cold and dark of the limits of the Sun’s influence. Others may have a shorter period and be more predictable but still make an interesting imaging target.

It is rare that a comet will reach naked eye visibility, especially under urban skies, but many will be visible in a long exposure photograph taken with a stock lens or in binoculars/a small astronomical telescope. Keep an eye on the astronomy media as comets, especially bright ones, don’t always give a great deal of notice as to when they will be at their best.

Meteors are by their nature unpredictable but you can increase your chances by imaging during a regular meteor shower such as the famous Persieds. Iridium Flares (flashes of light from tumbling Iridium satellites) are predictable with timings and positions for your location being available from sites such as Heavens Above – they are fun to image especially if they occur close to a familiar constellation, the Moon or a bright planet.

The images in this gallery have been taken from London, France and robotically from New Mexico Skies and Siding Spring Observatory.

Rosette Nebula HaOiiiOiii, London 27/28th January 2019
Rosette Nebula HaOiiiOiii, London 27/28th January 2019

Two clear nights in a row (27th & 28th Jan) meant I was able to shoot this image of the Rosette Nebula in the constellation of Monoceros. 2 1/2 hours Ha and the same in Oiii (each sub 90 seconds) combined into a HaOiiiOiii image.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

IC443 - The Jellyfish Nebula HOO, London Feb & March 2020
IC443 - The Jellyfish Nebula HOO, London Feb & March 2020

IC443 The Jellyfish Nebula in Gemini. Imaged from London on the 29th February & 3rd March 2020 (Ha), and 16th March 2020 Oiii Ha image - 281 minutes integration, Oiii 120 minutes integration. Ha mapped to red channel, Oiii mapped to green & blue. ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera & TS65 Quad Astrograph.

20220119-27 Rosette Nebula Starless
20220119-27 Rosette Nebula Starless

The Rosette Nebula imaged from London on the nights of 19th January 2022 (Ha) and 27th January 2022 (Oiii). Presented in Ha (red) and Oiii (blue & green) representing ~4 hours of 90 second subs for each channel. Stars have been removed to better show the structure of the nebula.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera.

20220119-27 Rosette Nebula Stars & Starless
20220119-27 Rosette Nebula Stars & Starless

GIF showing the rosette nebula with and without stars

M27 - Dumbbell Nebula HaOiiiOiii, 15th August 2017
M27 - Dumbbell Nebula HaOiiiOiii, 15th August 2017

M27 The Dumbbell Nebula, imaged from London on 15th August 2017

TS65 Quad Astrograph, Atik 314L+ CCD

Ha mapped to Red, Oiii mapped to Green & Blue

20 minutes exposure each channel
 

M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula
M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula

The Dumbell Nebula imaged from London on 17th July 2016

Celestron Edge HD11 and Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Astronomik UHC Filter

1 Hour integration

Messier 27 The Dumbbell Nebula - 18th August 2020
Messier 27 The Dumbbell Nebula - 18th August 2020

M27 The Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula imaged from London on the 18th August 2020.

Ts65Quad Astrograph & ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera.

45x1 minute Ha mapped to Red, 45x1 minute Oiii mapped to Green and Blue

20190917-18 NGC7000 North America Nebula
20190917-18 NGC7000 North America Nebula

NGC7000 - The North America Nebula. Imaged from London on the 17th & 18th September 2019. 2 Hours integration (120 x 60 seconds) using a Hydrogen Alpha filter (Red channel). 2 hours integration (120 x 60 seconds) Oiii filter (Green and Blue channel)

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

20190901-04 NGC6992, The Eastern Veil Nebula
20190901-04 NGC6992, The Eastern Veil Nebula

NGC6992 The Eastern Veil Nebula a supernova remnant in Cygnus imaged from London in Ha (1 hour, 60 second subs - 1st September 2019) and Oiii (2 hours 30 second subs - 4th September 2019)

Ha mapped to red channel, Oiii to green and blue

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

20190905-06 NGC6960 Witch's Broom Nebula - Western Veil
20190905-06 NGC6960 Witch's Broom Nebula - Western Veil

NGC6960 - The Western Veil Nebula or Witch's Broom Nebula

Imaged from London on the nights of the 5th (90x60 seconds Ha) and 6th September (90x60 seconds Oiii) - HaOiiiOiii image using a TS65Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

The Helix Nebula
The Helix Nebula

NGC7293 The Helix Nebula

50 minutes Luminance, 5 mins each RGB channel

700mm (27") Corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph, 4531mm fl f/6.6
FLI PLO9000 CCD

Imaged from SSO, 28th July 2014

M1 - The Crab Nebula, 8th December 2018
M1 - The Crab Nebula, 8th December 2018

M1 - The Crab Nebula imaged from London on 8th December 2017

TS65 Quad Astrograph, Atik314L+ camera
Capture and processing Maxim DL and Photoshop CC

Bi-colour image
2 hours integration Ha - mapped to red
2 hours integration Oiii - mapped to green & blue

The Flame & Horsehead Nebula HHOO - London 20th Jan 2020
The Flame & Horsehead Nebula HHOO - London 20th Jan 2020

The flame and Horsehead Nebulae in Orion. Imaged from London on the 20th January 2020. TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera. Ha mapped to red, Oiii mapped to blue, green channel is a blend of the two.

Horsehead Nebula - Shortlisted, Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015
Horsehead Nebula - Shortlisted, Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015

Widefield view of the Flame (NGC2024) and Horsehead (IC434) Nebulae in Orion
3x 300 seconds BIN x1 luminance, 1x 300 seconds BIN 2R, G & B

Imaged from New Mexico Skies, 12th December 2014

Flame & Horsehead Nebula - London 10-15 February 2019
Flame & Horsehead Nebula - London 10-15 February 2019

The Flame and Horsehead nebulae imaged from London over the nights of the 10th, 14th and 15th February 2019.

This is a narrowband bi-colour image with Ha mapping to the red channel, Oiii to the blue channel and the green comprising a blend of Ha & Oiii.

3 1/2 hours integration for Ha and Oiii, so 7 hours total. 90 second subs taken using a TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

Flame and Horsehead Nebula
Flame and Horsehead Nebula

The Flame and Horsehead nebula imaged from London over the nights of 3rd, 4th, 26th & 29th December 2016.
Bi-colour image with Ha (2 hrs 35mins integration) mapped to red and Oiii (2 hours integration) mapped to green and a synthetic blue channel. Luminance added comprising 1hr 30 minutes shot through Hutech IDAS filter
Atik314L+ camera and TS65 Quad Astrograph

M42 - The Orion Nebula, reprocessed
M42 - The Orion Nebula, reprocessed

M42 The Orion Nebula imaged in Ha from London over 3 nights in late December 2019. A re-process with increased dynamic range.

TS65 Quad Astrograph, ASI1600MM Pro camera.4.5 hours integration.

The Orion Nebula and Running Man
The Orion Nebula and Running Man

The Orion Nebula (Messier 42) and Running Man, imaged from London using an Ha image for Luminance and DSLR image for colour.

TS65Quad Astrograph, ASI1600MM Pro for Ha, Canon EOS 6D DSLR for colour. Ha is 4.5 hrs integration, colour 3.5 hours.

M42 and Running Man Nebula
M42 and Running Man Nebula

The Orion and Running Man nebulae LRSynGB
5x120 seconds BIN 1 Lum
1x120 seconds BIN 1 R & B, Synthetic green as clouded over before I obtained the green channel!

18th December 2014

Great Orion Nebula LRGB
Great Orion Nebula LRGB

The Great Orion Nebula (M42) imaged from London over the two freezing nights of the 28th and 29th November 2016

LRGB image using TS65 Quad Astrograph and Atik314L+ CCD camera

M42 - Orion Nebula HOO, London Dec '19 & Jan '20
M42 - Orion Nebula HOO, London Dec '19 & Jan '20

M42 The Orion Nebula imaged in HaOiiiOiii. The Ha image is mapped to red and consists of 6 hours of 60 second subframes. The Oii image is mapped to green and blue and consists of 4 hours worth of 60 second subframes. Ha data was captured during December 2019 and January 2020. Ts65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

8th January 2018 - The Orion and Running Man Nebulae
8th January 2018 - The Orion and Running Man Nebulae

M42 The Orion Nebula and the Running Man.
This image was a bit of an experiment in what could be achieved by stacking multiple short exposures. This is a stack of 327 20 second exposures making a total integration time of 109 minutes. Stacked in Maxim DL and processed in Photoshop CC

TS65 Quad Astrograph & Canon EOS 6D, ISO 800

M42 The Orion Nebula HOO
M42 The Orion Nebula HOO

M42 The Orion Nebula imaged in HaOiiiOiii. The Ha image is mapped to red and consists of 4 1/2 hours of 60 second subframes. The Oii image is mapped to green and blue and consists of 2 1/2 hours worth of 60 second subframes. Ha data was captured on the 22nd, 29th and 30th December 2019 and the Oiii data on the 12th January 2020. Ts65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

Rosette Nebula ii
Rosette Nebula ii

Rosette Nebula (Caldwell 49) -  HaRGB

Ha - 45 minutes, R,G,B 5 minutes each

Imaged from New Mexico Skies, 29th December 2014

20220129 - Belt and Sword of Orion
20220129 - Belt and Sword of Orion

The belt & sword of Orion - just 75 secs (3x25) @ ISO3200 under Bortle 3/4 skies. Shot while visiting my in-laws in Burwash Common, East Sussex. Amazing the difference dark skies make! Canon EOS 6D & tracking mount.

20220204 Orion Nebula - Ha and starless
20220204 Orion Nebula - Ha and starless

The Orion Nebula imaged from London in Hydrogen Alpha. Roughly 4 hours of exposure time - data from previous imaging runs is also included in the stack. Second image has stars removed.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera

Rosette Nebula i
Rosette Nebula i

Rosette Nebula
1 hour Ha for red channel, 1 hour Oiii for green channel, Synthetic Blue
TS65 Quad Astrograph, Atik 314L+ CCD

 Imaged from London, 23rd and 24th February 2016

Heart of the Rosette Nebula
Heart of the Rosette Nebula

The Rosette Nebula centred on cluster NGC2244
A bi-colour image consisting of 3 hours Ha and 3 hours Oiii shot fro London over two nights (20th and 24th January 2017)
TS65 Quad Astrograph & Atik 314L+ CCD camera

NGC2264 - Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster
NGC2264 - Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster

The Cone Nebula (NGC2264), top, Christmas Tree Cluster and Fox Fur Nebula (bottom) imaged from London over 3 nights in January 2017
Ha - 5 hours, mapped to red
Oiii - 3 hours, mapped to green & blue
TS65 Quad Astrograph, Atik314L+ camera
Captured and stacked in Maxim DL Pro, processed in Photoshop CC

 

NGC2264 - The Cone Nebula & Christmas Tree Cluster
NGC2264 - The Cone Nebula & Christmas Tree Cluster

NGC2264 The Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster imaged remotely on the 18th and 25th December 2020. 90 minutes Ha and 90 minutes Oiii consisting of 10 minute sub exposures, combined to create a HaOiiiOiii image.

Thor's Helmet HST Tilt & Shift
Thor's Helmet HST Tilt & Shift

Previous image - given a tilt and shift treatment

Thors Helmet HST Palette
Thors Helmet HST Palette

NGC 23592 or 'Thor's Helmet' an emission nebula in Canis Major.

20 minutes each Ha, Oiii & Sii, HST Palette Sii (R) Ha (G) Oiii (B)

Imaged using a 510mm (20") Planewave CDK f/4.5, FLI-PL6303E CCD camera

Imaged from SSO, 1st March 2015

Eagle Nebula HST
Eagle Nebula HST

In honour of the Hubble Space Telescope 25th anniversary I thought I'd create my own version of the famous Pillars of Creation but in widefield.
This is M16 the Eagle Nebula in a modified Hubble Palette using the turquoise and gold motif.

5 x 300 seconds SII (R), 5 x 300 seconds Ha (G), 3 x 300 seconds OIII (B),  L = sum of all three channels.
317mm f/7.4 Ritchey-Cretin scope, SBIG ST-10XME camera

Imaged from SSO, 11th April 2015

Eskimo Nebula
Eskimo Nebula

The Eskimo Nebula (NGC2392,Caldwell 39), bipolar planetary nebula. The formation resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood.
This is only a 30 second exposure in Ha and Oiii channels and processed in bi-colour

Celestron Edge HD11, Atik 314L+
Processed in Photoshop CS6

London, 12th March 2016

Crescent Nebula HST
Crescent Nebula HST

NGC6888 The Crescent Nebula (slightly decapitated)

4x5 mins BINx2 Sii (R), 8x5 mins BINx1 Ha (G), 4x5 mins BINx1 Oiii (B)

Planewave CDK 318mm f/7.9, KAF-6303E CCD

New Mexico Skies, 12th September 2014

NGC6888, Crescent Nebula - London 27th August 2017
NGC6888, Crescent Nebula - London 27th August 2017

NGC6888 The Crescent Nebula imaged in Ha and Oiii from London on 27th August 2017.

TS65Quad Astrograph, Atik314L+ CCD

45 mins Ha, 20mins Oiii captured and processed in Maxim DL and Photoshop CC. Ha mapped to red channel and Oiii mapped to green and blue

The Heart Nebula in Ha, November 18th 2019
The Heart Nebula in Ha, November 18th 2019

NGC896 The Heart Nebula imaged in Ha from London on the 18th November 2019. 80 minutes integration (80 x 60 seconds), ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera & TS65 Quad Astrograph

Heart Nebula
Heart Nebula

IC1805 The Heart Nebula.

One hour of Ha data rendered in false colour

Takahashi FSQ Fluorite, Petzval ApochromatAstrograph106mm f/5.0, SBIG STL - 11000M

New Mexico Skies, 8th November 2014

Iris Nebula
Iris Nebula

NGC7023 or Iris Nebula imaged over two nights LRGB

New Mexico Skies, 28th August 2014

Spare Tyre Nebula
Spare Tyre Nebula

Planetary nebula IC5148, nicknamed the Spare Tyre Nebula in the southern constellation of Grus (The Crane). 

L 6x600 seconds, R, G & B channels 300 seconds each

700mm f/6.6 (fl 4531mm) Planewave Corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph, FLI PLO09000 CCD

Imaged from SSO, 25th May 2015

Witches Broom Nebula HST
Witches Broom Nebula HST

NGC6960 - The Witches Broom or Western Veil Nebula

20 mins each channel Oiii (B), Ha (G), Sii (R). Ha as Luminance

OTA: Takahashi FSQ Fluorite Petzval Apochromat Astrograph 106mm f/5.0

New Mexico Skies, October 2014

Tarantula Nebula
Tarantula Nebula

The Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus) is an H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).

12 x 5 minutes Colour

Takahashi SKY90 APO f/5.6SBIG ST2000 XMC CMOS Colour CCD

Imaged remotely from SSO, 9th February 2016

NGC7662 The Blue Snowball
NGC7662 The Blue Snowball

Planetary nebula NGC7662, commonly called The Blue Snowball (for obvious reasons!)

Imaged from London on 1st August 2016 using a Celestron Edge HD11 scope at f/10 and a Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera with CLS filter

NGC2392 - London 23rd February 2019
NGC2392 - London 23rd February 2019

NGC2392, otherwise problematically known as the 'Eskimo Nebula'. Imaged from London on the 23rd February 2019. A planetary nebula in Gemini, only 48 arc seconds across

30 minutes Ha and Oiii, Oiii used as luminance, blue and green channels, Ha as red.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI1600MM Pro camera

20210106 - Messier 76 The Little Dumbbell Nebula
20210106 - Messier 76 The Little Dumbbell Nebula

Messier 76 The Little Dumbbell Nebula presented in a modified SHO palette. Imaged on 6th January 2021.

NGC7380 The Wizard Nebula
NGC7380 The Wizard Nebula

The Wizard Nebula imaged in narrow-band (Ha, Sii & Oii - 1 hour each channel). Processed using gold and turquoise motif Hubble Palette

New Mexico Skies 10th October 2016

Witch Head Nebula - IC 2118
Witch Head Nebula - IC 2118

The Witch Head Nebula imaged from SSO on 2nd and 3rd November 2016

Also known as IC 2118 & NGC 1909 it is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by nearby supergiant star Rigel in Orion (which is causing the light gradient in the upper right of the image).

 It can be found in the constellation Eridanus, about 900 light-years from Earth. 

This is an LRGB image comprising 90 minutes red channel, 60 minutes green and blue. The luminance channel is only 40 minutes as the imaging session was curtailed by clouds.

Imaged using telescope T12 at SSO via the iTelescope network

NGC2174 Monkey Head Nebula - London 20-22nd February 2019
NGC2174 Monkey Head Nebula - London 20-22nd February 2019

NGC2174 The Monkey Head Nebula in Orion, imaged from London over the nights of the 20th, 21st and 22nd February 2019.

Ha,Oiii,Oiii image Ha mapped to red and luminance channel (3 hours integration), Oiii mapped to green and blue channels (2 hours integration)

TS65 Quad Astrograph, ASI1600MM Pro camera, Maxim DL & Photoshop CC

M27 Dumbbell Nebula HaOiiiOiii - London, 2nd August 2019
M27 Dumbbell Nebula HaOiiiOiii - London, 2nd August 2019

Wide field shot of planetary nebula M27 - The Dumbbell nebula in Vulpecula. 30 minutes Ha and the same in Oiii (each sub 30 seconds) combined into a HaOiiiOiii image.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

NGC1499, The California Nebula HaOiiiOiii, London November 2019
NGC1499, The California Nebula HaOiiiOiii, London November 2019

NGC1499, The California Nebula in Perseus. Imaged from London on the nights of 3rd, 4th & 6th November 2019.

~2 hours integration - Ha Filter, 2 1/2 hours Oiii - HaOiiiOiii image.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

NGC1499, California Nebula Ha, London November 2019
NGC1499, California Nebula Ha, London November 2019

NGC1499, The California Nebula in Perseus, imaged from London on the nights of the 3rd and 4th of November 2019.

Approximately 2 hours integration - Ha filter

TS65 Quad Astrograph, ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera

NGC7380 The Wizard Nebula HaOiiiOiii, London October 2019
NGC7380 The Wizard Nebula HaOiiiOiii, London October 2019

NGC7380 - The Wizard Nebula in Cepheus. Imaged from London in HaOiiiOii. 70 minutes Ha on 2nd October 2019, 70 minutes Oiii on the 4th October. The integration time for each channel is shorter than I would like due to a tree branch getting in the way around 70 minutes after darkness falls!

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

NGC281, Pacman Nebula HaOiiiOiii, London October 2019
NGC281, Pacman Nebula HaOiiiOiii, London October 2019

NGC 281, IC 11, Sh2-184 or The Pacman Nebula is a bright emission nebula forming part of an H II region in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera

3 hours (180 x 60 seconds) Ha mapped to red (15th Oct)

3 hours (180 x 60 seconds) Oiii mapped to green and blue (16th Oct)

M52 & NGC7635 Bubble Nebula Crop. London September 2019
M52 & NGC7635 Bubble Nebula Crop. London September 2019

Cluster M52 (top right) & NGC7635 The Bubble Nebula (centre). cropped widefield shot on the 20th September using a Ha filter for red channel - 2 hours exposure (120x60 seconds), Oii filter on 27th September for Green and blue channel - also 120x60 seconds.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera. Shot from London.

M52, NGC765, NGC7538 Bubble Nebula Ha Widefield, London September 2019
M52, NGC765, NGC7538 Bubble Nebula Ha Widefield, London September 2019

Cluster M52 (top), NGC765 The Bubble Nebula (centre) & NGC7538 (bottom). Widefield shot using a Ha filter, TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera. 2 hours exposure (120x60 seconds). Shot from London

M52, NGC7635, NGC7538 Bubble Nebula HaOiiiOiii widefield, London September 2019
M52, NGC7635, NGC7538 Bubble Nebula HaOiiiOiii widefield, London September 2019

Cluster M52 (top), NGC7635 The Bubble Nebula (centre) & NGC7538 (bottom). Widefield shot on the 20th September using a Ha filter for red channel - 2 hours exposure (120x60 seconds), Oii filter on 27th September for Green and blue channel - also 120x60 seconds.

TS65 Quad Astrograph & ASI1600MM Pro camera. Shot from London.

Bubble Nebula
Bubble Nebula

NGC7635 - The Bubble Nebula

600 second x1 bin Ha exposure as luminance channel, R,G,B 120 sec x2 bin + calibration files

Corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph, 318mm, f/7.9, KAF-6303E CCD

Imaged from New Mexico Skies

M20 - The Triffid Nebula - 6th July 2020
M20 - The Triffid Nebula - 6th July 2020

Messier 20 The Trifid Nebula imaged from Siding Spring Observatory, NSW, Australia.

510mm f/4.4 Planewave CDK, FLI-PL09000 camera

1 hour luminance, 10 minutes each R, G, B channel

C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy Core 25th Jan 2015
C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy Core 25th Jan 2015

Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy - Coma
L 5 minutes Bin 2x2, RGB 1 minute Bin 2x2

12.5" CDK, SBIG-STXL-6303E

C/2020 F3 NEOWISE & Noctilucent Clouds - London 11th July 2020
C/2020 F3 NEOWISE & Noctilucent Clouds - London 11th July 2020

Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise and some faint noctilucent clouds imaged from London at ~3:30 BST on the 11th July 2020.

This comet is absolutely stunning to even the naked eye with the tail obvious even under light polluted city skies.

Canon EOS 6D, 70 - 300mm Telephoto lens @ 124mm, 5 seconds ISO800

C/2020 F3 NEOWISE - London 11th July 2020
C/2020 F3 NEOWISE - London 11th July 2020

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE shot from Wimbledon, London on the 11th July 2020.

stack of 60 4 second exposures, using a Canon EOS 6D camera, 70 - 300mm telephoto lens at 182mm, F/5 ISO800

NEOWISE over my Observatory - London 11th July 2020
NEOWISE over my Observatory - London 11th July 2020

Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise above my back garden observatory in Wimbledon London.

11th July 2020

NEOWISE Rising - London 11th July 2020
NEOWISE Rising - London 11th July 2020

Animation showing Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE rising over 5 minutes. London 11th July 2020

C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy 25th January 2015
C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy 25th January 2015

Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy imaged from London
TS65 Quad Refractor, Atik 314L+ Camera
5 minutes Luminance BIN 2x2, 1 minute RGB BIN 2x2

C/2013 US10 Catalina 7th Sep 2015
C/2013 US10 Catalina 7th Sep 2015

C/2013 US10 Catalina

3x 120 seconds Luminance BIN 2x2

Planewave 17" CDK f/6.8, FLI Proline 16803 CCD
Imaged from SSO

Comet c/2015v2 Johnson - inverted
Comet c/2015v2 Johnson - inverted

Comet C/2015 V2 Johnson imaged from Mayhill New Mexico on 2nd February 2017
Inverted luminance image 10 mins (5x120 seconds) 
Planewave 17" CDK f4.5
FLI-PL6303E CCD Camera

C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy 18th Dec 2014
C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy 18th Dec 2014

Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy
2x120 seconds BIN 1 Luminance, 1x60 seconds R & B, Synthetic Green
17" CDK f/6.8, FLI Proline 16803 CCD
Imaged from SSO

C/0252/p Linear 6th April 2016
C/0252/p Linear 6th April 2016

Comet 0252/p Linear

Takahashi TOA-150 f/7.3SBIG ST-4000XCM One Shot Colour CCD

Imaged from New Mexico Skies

Capella & Comet 21p Giacobini-Zinner 3rd Sep 2018
Capella & Comet 21p Giacobini-Zinner 3rd Sep 2018

Bright star Capella and comet 21p Giacobini-Zinner imaged from London at around 3am BST on the 3rd September 2018.

TS65 Quad astrograph & Canon EOS 6D camera

6 minute stack of 20 second exposures

Comet 21p Giacobini-Zinner - 1st October 2018
Comet 21p Giacobini-Zinner - 1st October 2018

Comet 21p Giacobini-Zinner imaged from Sierra remote observatory on the morning of 1st October 2018.

Single 300 second luminance image with 610mm reflector

Meteor in the Summer Triangle
Meteor in the Summer Triangle

A bright meteor caught through thin cloud as I was attempting to image some Persieds. I don't think this is one as the trajectory seems wrong. I did catch some Persieds but this is the nicest shot.

The stars making up the summer triangle can be seen to the right - Vega top, Deneb left and Altair right. If you look closely you can even see NGC7000 the North American Nebula just below and to the left of Deneb.

London August 13th 2016

 

C/2012 Q2 Lovejoy 26th Nov 2014
C/2012 Q2 Lovejoy 26th Nov 2014

Comet C/2012 Q2 Lovejoy imaged against the stars of the constellation Puppis.

6x1 minute luminance

Takahashi FSQ ED Petzval Apochromat Astrograph, 106mm f/5.0

Imaged from SSO

C/2014 E2 Jacques 3rd Sep 2014
C/2014 E2 Jacques 3rd Sep 2014

C/2014 E2 Comet Jacques in the constellation Cygnus, Deneb is cropped at the bottom left of the image, Jacques is the green fuzzy towards the centre.
Stacked 20sec ISO3200 exposures.
Canon EOS Rebel T3i, telephoto @ 141mm. Vixen Polarie tracker

Meteors - St Bauzille De Putois 31st July 2014
Meteors - St Bauzille De Putois 31st July 2014

Meteors over St Bauzille de Putois - blend of 3 images.
Possibly 2 early Perseids and one sporadic

Iridium Flare 14th April 2014
Iridium Flare 14th April 2014

Mag -8.1 Iridium flare

Comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto 10 minute animation - 11th February 2019
Comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto 10 minute animation - 11th February 2019

The movement of Comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto over 10 minutes (10 x 1 minute exposures). Imaged from Bathurst Observatory.

Star Trails and Skyscapes

This gallery contains images taken with stock DSLR lenses, simply mounted on a tripod for the star trail or single shot images, or a Vixen Polarie StarTracker for the images that go a little deeper into a particular patch of sky.

Star trails are easy to take and can produce spectacular results, all you do is frame your shot and leave the camera to take multiple long exposure images via the use of an intervalometer - you don't need to track as trailing is a good thing!

For star trails I normally take around 3 hours worth of 30 second images and then stack them in free software such as StarTrails or StarStax. These will produce a single stacked image that you can then further process in your chosen image processing software.

Constellations and the Milky Way also make good targets and I have included a few shots taken while visiting dark sky locations in the UK and France.

Trails LaBastide Villefrance 31st Jul 2013
Trails LaBastide Villefrance 31st Jul 2013

Star trails from Labastide France.
361 30 second exposures at ISO 800, lens at 17mm

Moonrise over Canary Wharf
Moonrise over Canary Wharf

Moonrise over Canary Wharf London

8th December 2014

Trails Among the Trees - Burwash
Trails Among the Trees - Burwash

130x30 seconds lit by the full Moon

Burwash Common, 5th April 2015

St Bauzille De Putois
St Bauzille De Putois

Star Trails looking north from St Bauzille De Putois, France

113x30 seconds 17mm ISO800

31st July 2014

Saturated Trails Lasserre-de-Prouille
Saturated Trails Lasserre-de-Prouille

Circumpolar trails with increased saturation to enhance star colour.

240x30 seconds, Canon Rebel T3i, f/2.6 17mm ISO1600

Lasserre-de-Prouille France, 19th August 2015

Me and my Shadow - Cascaret July 2016
Me and my Shadow - Cascaret July 2016

Imaging the Milky way in Languedoc, France. My shadow is cast by the lights of the farmhouse in which we were staying while on holiday.

July 2016

Milky Way - Lasserre-de-Prouille
Milky Way - Lasserre-de-Prouille

Core of the Milky Way rising 

August 2015

Cascaret Milky Way I
Cascaret Milky Way I

The Milky Way rising over the fields outside Montreal, Languedoc, France

July 2016 

Fish Eye Trails - Lasserre De Prouille
Fish Eye Trails - Lasserre De Prouille

Two hour trail taken with 8mm fish-eye lens. The smear of the Milky Way is visible across the image

Milky Way over Sunflowers
Milky Way over Sunflowers

The Milky way rising over a field of sunflowers in the fields near Montreal, Languedoc, France

July 2016

Venus at Sunset - Putney Bridge London
Venus at Sunset - Putney Bridge London

Venus at sunset from the Thames at Putney Bridge

Canon EOS Rebel T3i, 17mm f/2.8 1/15sec ISO200

London, 3rd March 2015

Montreal Star Trails
Montreal Star Trails

Star trails over the church of St Vincent, Montreal, Languedoc, France

July 2016

While You Were Sleeping
While You Were Sleeping

Fields illuminated by the light of the Moon

Single 5 second exposure ISO400, Canon EOS Rebel T3i, 17mm f/4 ISO400

Burwash Common, April 2015

Star Clouds & Water Clouds
Star Clouds & Water Clouds

Milky Way over Labastide-Villefranche

Canon EOS Rebel T3i, 17mm f/4.5, 40 seconds ISO3200

Labastide-Villefranche, July 2014

Shooting Mars
Shooting Mars

Imaging Mars from Burwash Common 2nd March 2014

Spire sunset
Spire sunset

Sunset behind the spire London 3rd May 2014

Venus Jupiter Conjunction 18th August 2014
Venus Jupiter Conjunction 18th August 2014

Annotated image of the conjunction between Venus and Jupiter in the pre-dawn skies of London

Venus & Jupiter Setting 1st July 2015
Venus & Jupiter Setting 1st July 2015

Venus and Jupiter setting over SW London on 1st July 2015. Images taken 1 minute apart and stacked

Fields of the Milky Way
Fields of the Milky Way

Milky Way - 8mm Fish-eye ISO1600, 60 second exposure

SW France 19th August 2015

Venus, Moon, Mars & Jupiter
Venus, Moon, Mars & Jupiter

From top - Regulus, Venus, Moon, Mars and Jupiter clustering in the morning sky over SW London

9th October 2015

Jupiter Venus Conjunction June 2015
Jupiter Venus Conjunction June 2015

This image shows the movement of Jupiter and Venus towards conjunction in the June sky over South West London. It consists of 11 images taken on each clear night during June (10th, 11th, 15th, 18th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 27th, 28th, 29th & 30th) from the same location, at the same time of day andwith a consistent focal length. The positioningof the planets in the sky relative to the horizon has been alteredin all but the base image to better show the gradual reduction in distance between the two bodies over time but the relative separation has in all cases been faithfully retained.

Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR Camera, Tamron 17 - 50mm Zoom lens @ 40mm.

Milky Way - St Bauzille de Putois
Milky Way - St Bauzille de Putois

Milky Way over St Bauzille de Putois, southern France

Composite 5 45 second exposures, ISO800 42mm f/2.8

July 2014

Moonrise - London
Moonrise - London

Moonrise 13th June 2014, 20 images blended using Startrails v2.2
135mm f/4.5 1/60th sec
Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Moonset London
Moonset London

3 day old Moon setting over SW London

20th May 2015

Sunset Composite
Sunset Composite

Composite of the sun setting over South West London on June 29th 2014

Canis Major to Cassiopeia
Canis Major to Cassiopeia

Stitch of 4 images looking towards the south at around 10pm on Saturday 1st March 2014. Sirius is the bright star at the left of the image, passing through Orion, Taurus, Perseus and on to Cassiopeia in the trees on the right

Burwash Common, East Sussex

Jupiter Rising
Jupiter Rising

Jupiter rising on 31st December 2013

From Burwash Common, East Sussex

Star Trails over the Turrets of Roquelune, 31st July 2017
Star Trails over the Turrets of Roquelune, 31st July 2017

Star trails over the turrets of Chateau Roquelune, Pezenas, SW France

ISO 400, f/2.8, 17mm, 231 x 30 seconds
 

Trails over Chateau Roquelune, 5th August 2017
Trails over Chateau Roquelune, 5th August 2017

2 hours 45 minutes of star trails shot from Chateau Roquelune near Pezenas, Languedoc SW France, 4th & 5th August 2017

292 x 30 seconds

f/2.8, 17mm ISO 200
 

Jupiter Setting Among the Trees, August 2017
Jupiter Setting Among the Trees, August 2017

Jupiter setting amongst the trees, Pezenas, SW France. August 2017

Roquelune - Reflected Night, August 2017
Roquelune - Reflected Night, August 2017

Chateau Roquelune in Pezenas, South West France - night time view from the lake reflected in a crystal ball

Jupiter Mars Conjunction, 7th January 2018
Jupiter Mars Conjunction, 7th January 2018

Conjunction of Jupiter (top) and Mars (bottom) shot through the branches of a tree from London on the morning of 7th January 2018.

300mm telephoto and Canon EOS 6D - cropped

Chateau Trails - Pezenas July 2018
Chateau Trails - Pezenas July 2018

Star trails over Chateau Roquelune near Pezenas in South West France.

3 hours of 30 second exposures shot pointing north

Mars & Chateau Roquelune - July 2018
Mars & Chateau Roquelune - July 2018

Chateau Roquelune and Mars (the bright 'star' to the bottom right of the Chateau)

30 second exposure, Canon EOS 6D

A Lonely Tree, Pezenas July 2018
A Lonely Tree, Pezenas July 2018

Lonely tree, Pezenas, France - July 2018

20190907 Westdown Trails
20190907 Westdown Trails

2 hours worth of star trails pointing towards the north celestial pole.

Westdown, Burwash Common, East Sussex

Canon EOS6D - images combined in StarStax

Chideock Star Trail, October 2019
Chideock Star Trail, October 2019

Approximately 1 1/2 hours of star trails (126 x 40 seconds), taken from the west Dorset village of Chideock. October 2019.

Orion Rising - Christmas Day 2019
Orion Rising - Christmas Day 2019

Orion rising on Christmas Day 2019. Shot from Burwash Common, East Sussex, UK. Canon EOS 6D

Burwash Star Trail - 25th December 2019
Burwash Star Trail - 25th December 2019

Star trail shot from Burwash Common, East Sussex UK, comprising approximately 2 hours worth of exposures stacked in StarStax.

Whitstable Trails - 17th February 2020
Whitstable Trails - 17th February 2020

132 minutes worth of star trails (396 x 20 seconds), shot from Whitstable, Kent on the 17th February 2020. Canon EOS 6D, processed in StarStax and Photoshop CC

Venus setting through trees - London 11th April 2020
Venus setting through trees - London 11th April 2020

Venus setting through the branches of the trees of my London back garden during lockdown. 2 hours worth of 1/8 sec ISO 200 exposures taken 30 seconds apart. Canon EOS 6D

Flyby 27th March 2020
Flyby 27th March 2020

There aren’t many planes in the sky as London remained in lockdown when this image was taken but one managed to make its way into this one! I love the colours and dynamism so decided it was a keeper…

ISS

Many people are amazed that you can see let alone photograph the International Space Station (ISS) as it orbits above us but it is surprisingly easy. The ISS is bright and obvious - all you need is a camera that allows you to take long exposures and a tripod. By consulting websites such as Heavens Above you can see when the ISS will be visible above your location – all you then need to do is frame, focus and point the camera at the right patch of sky and open the shutter at the right time. An intervalometer will enable you to take a series of photographs which can be stacked into a single image using photo processing software such as GIMP or Photoshop.

To capture high resolution images of the ISS is more difficult but incredibly satisfying. The method is described in my Stargazing Live piece which can be accessed via the Articles and Media section of this site.

Moon & ISS - 22nd January 2024
Moon & ISS - 22nd January 2024

The ISS just before transiting the Moon.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera

ISS Lunar Transit Composite - 22nd January 2024
ISS Lunar Transit Composite - 22nd January 2024

ISS lunar transit composite, London 22nd January 2024.

Celestron Edge HD11 scope & ASI174MM camera

ISS Transit Slow Motion - 22nd January 2024
ISS Transit Slow Motion - 22nd January 2024

ISS Transiting the Moon in slow motion

ISS Transit - Realtime (22nd January 2024)
ISS Transit - Realtime (22nd January 2024)

The ISS transiting the Moon in real time

ISS 9th April 2015
ISS 9th April 2015

ISS imaged over London
8" f/10 SCT, ASI120MM camera

ISS and Vega 7th June 2015
ISS and Vega 7th June 2015

The ISS ALMOST occulting the bright star Vega - composite of 5 images
8" f/10 SCT, ASI120MM

ISS over London 12th Oct 2015
ISS over London 12th Oct 2015

Fish-eye view of the ISS passing over southwest London

ISS and The Moon - London 31st March 2020
ISS and The Moon - London 31st March 2020

The Moon with a close pass of the International Space Station (ISS). Looking on Calsky the ISS was due to skim the edge of the Moon from my location in London. I set up to capture this but on first inspection I couldn't see the ISS in any of the captured frames and thought it must have passed lower than expected. It did but on a second look I managed to find it in one of the frames out of 4,200! You can see it here at the bottom right.

ISS in Lyra 6th June 2015
ISS in Lyra 6th June 2015

The ISS passing through the constellation Lyra. The space station passed within half a degree of Vega on this occasion.

Track of ISS Solar Transit, 18th June 2017
Track of ISS Solar Transit, 18th June 2017

Composite image showing the track of the International Space Station as it transited the Sun as seen from Wimbledon, south west London on 18th June 2017

Lunt LS60 scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ASI174MM camera

ISS Solar Transit 18th June 2017
ISS Solar Transit 18th June 2017

The International Space Station transiting the Sun as seen from Wimbledon in south west London

False colour image taken using Lunt LS60 solar scope, Televue 2.5x Powermate and ASI174MM camera.

The ISS was extracted from a single frame of the capture video and blended using darken mode in Photoshop with a 4 panel mosaic of the Sun taken during the same period. Rendered in false colour

Regulus & The ISS - 10th November 2018
Regulus & The ISS - 10th November 2018

The International Space Station (ISS) almost occulting the bright star Regulus in Leo. Imaged from Wimbledon in the early hours of 10th November 2018.

Celestron Edge HD11 Scope, ASI174MM camera

The ISS passing Regulus - 10th Novenber 2018
The ISS passing Regulus - 10th Novenber 2018

GIF of the ISS passing below the star Regulus. Motion has been slowed down to better show the movement of the ISS. The ISS appears roughly 5 seconds in.

ISS Transiting the Moon - London, 5th August 2019
ISS Transiting the Moon - London, 5th August 2019

The International Space Station transiting the Moon as seen from Wimbledon, South West London on the 5th August 2019.

Celestron Edge HD11 & ASI174MM - single frame taken from video.

ISS Lunar Transit - London, 5th August 2019
ISS Lunar Transit - London, 5th August 2019

Animated GIF of the International Space Station caught transiting the Moon, visible from Wimbledon at 3:21 pm on the 5th August 2019. Transit slowed to half speed

Celestron Edge HD11 scope and ASI174MM camera

Equipment and Observatory

Over the years I’ve collected a lot of equipment to pursue my passion for astronomy and astrophotography, too much to list here, so I’ll just provide a summary of the equipment I consider to be the most important and/or useful.

Observatory

Pulsar 2.2 metre Observatory Dome. The purchase of the observatory was a game changer for me in that it enabled me to permanently site my 11” scope and did away with the hours spent setting up, polar aligning etc. before even being able to start imaging or observing. It also enabled me to move my gear out of the house, something for which my wife is eternally grateful!

Telescopes & Lenses

Celestron Edge HD11 aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope – (280mm f/10)

Celestron Nexstar 8SE Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (200mm f/10)

Celestron 127 Nexstar SLT Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope (127mm f/12)

Telescop Express TS65 Quadruplet Astrograph (65mm f/6.5)

Lunt LS-60THA/B6C Hydrogen-Alpha Telescope

DSLR lenses: - Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L USM IS Telephoto lens, Canon EF 2x III Extender

Orion 50mm guidescope (for widefield guiding)

Mounts

Celestron CGE Pro

Celestron Advanced VX

Cameras

ZWO ASI174MM Planetary camera

ZWO ASI1600MM Pro CMOS Deep Sky camera

StarShoot Autoguider

Canon EOS 6D DSLR

Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR

Filters & Optical Accessories

Planetary filters: - Baader 685nm IR Pass Filter, Baader U (Venus) Filter, ZWO L, R, G & B filters & ZWO manual filter wheel

CCD filters: - Baader H-alpha 7nm, Baader Oiii 8.5nm,  Astronomik Sii 12nm, Baader LRGB filters, Hutech IDAS Light Pollution Suppression Filter & Atik Electronic Filter wheel 2

DSLR filter: - Astronomik CLS Clip Filter

Televue 2.5x Powermate

Celestron Focal Reducer/Corrector f6.3

General Accessories

Vixen Polarie Star Tracker

Flip Mirror – I find this invaluable for target acquisition when planetary imaging

Bahtinov masks (for 11”, 8” and 65mm scopes) – for achieving sharp focus fast

Aurora Flatfield panel

Intervalometer – a must have for star trails and any DSLR astrophotography

Software

SharpCap – Free, planetary image acquisition

FireCapture – Free, planetary image acquisition

AutoStakkert! 2 (AS!2) – Free, for analysis, alignment and stacking of high definition images

Registax 6 – Free, software does same as AS!2 but also supports wavelets for sharpening high definition images

PIPP Planetary Image PreProcessor – Free – great for analysing ISS video and extracting frames

StarTrails and StarStax - Free, star trails processing software

Deep Sky Stacker – Free, alignment and stacking of deep sky images

PHD2 – Free, auto-guiding software

Atik Artemis Capture, Free Atik camera and filter wheel control software

Maxim DL, (Expensive) image acquisition, guiding, processing and observatory control software

PhotoShop Creative Cloud – Not Free, but invaluable!

Celestron Edge HD11 Aplanatic SCT with Lunt LS-60 Piggy-backed
Celestron Edge HD11 Aplanatic SCT with Lunt LS-60 Piggy-backed
Celestron Edge HD11 Aplanatic SCT with Lunt LS-60
Celestron Edge HD11 Aplanatic SCT with Lunt LS-60

Fish eye view in observatory

Celestron Edge HD11 Aplanatic SCT with Lunt LS-60
Celestron Edge HD11 Aplanatic SCT with Lunt LS-60

Fish eye view

Stack of toys!
Stack of toys!

Celestron Nexstar 8SE SCT and Telescop Express TS65 Quadruplet Astrograph on the gear stack!

 

Aperture Fever
Aperture Fever

Left to Right

Lunt LS-60THA/B6C Hydrogen-Alpha Telescope, Telescop Express TS65 Quadruplet Astrograph, Celestron 127 Nexstar SLT Maksutov-Cassegrain, Celestron Nexstar 8SE SCT, Celestron Edge HD11 aplanatic SCT

Tm Peake's Soyuz TMA-19M Capsule - Science Museum London
Tm Peake's Soyuz TMA-19M Capsule - Science Museum London

Soyuz TMA-19M capsule that carried British astronaut Tim Peake to and from the ISS. December 2015 - June 2016. A little peak inside the door!
Science Museum - London

Articles, Media & Special Events

Insight Investments Astronomy Photographer of the Year

The Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year is the largest international competition of its kind, annually showcasing phenomenal photography of the night sky and the universe taken from a global community of astrophotographers. The event is organised by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, London.

I was incredibly honoured to be chosen as the winner of the Planets, Comets & Asteroids category in the 2017 competition for my image 'Venus Phase Evolution', which can be seen in the Planets gallery of this site. In addition my image of the Lunar terminator at first quarter was shortlisted. Both images were featured in the 2017 exhibition book and in the competition gallery at the Royal Observatory.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to be shortlisted in the Robotic Scope category of the 2015 and 2018 competitions for images of the Horsehead Nebula (in the Nebulae gallery of this site) and Globular cluster NGC6752 (in the Stars and Clusters gallery). These can also be seen in the books accompanying the 2015 & 2018 competitions.

A great round-up of the event from Sky at Night Magazine featuring a short interview with myself discussing my winning image can be found here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=86X4tV8INE8

BBC Website - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-41231623

Royal Observatory website - http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/astronomy-photographer-gallery/2017-winners/planets-comets-asteroids

Exhibition film - https://vimeo.com/230779477

The 2018 competition proved hugely exciting for the success of my daughter Thea in the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. Her image ‘Inverted Sun’ being highly commended. It can be seen in the link below and in the Sun gallery of this site.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/galleries/2018/young

2019 was another exciting year with my daughter Thea again being placed as highly commended in the Young Astronomy Photographer of the year competition for her image ‘Daytime Venus’. There is a blog post about the event, where her winning image can be seen, in the blogs section of this site. There is a link to the short film made for the exhibition below.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/galleries/2019/young-competition

Here’s a great overview of the night from Sky at Night magazine

youtu.be/bq23DZnQG_I

Presentations & Talks

In December 2017 I was delighted to be invited to give a guest lecture to the Imperial College London Astronomy Society on the subject 'Astrophotography Under City Skies'. A really enjoyable evening with an inspiring bunch of students.

Televue Optics User Profile

Televue Optics have very kindly written a feature on me and showcased some of my images on their website

http://televue.com/notamnomen/2017/12/06/roger-hutchinson-powermate-user-profile/#.Wif9JsCLSUk

Naked Scientists - Naked Astronomy Podcast

I was delighted to host Graihagh Jackson and chat about imaging Jupiter in the July 2016 edition of the Naked Astronomy podcast.

You can listen to my piece here: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/interviews/interview/1001930

Or the whole episode here: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/astronomy/show/20160725

Naked astronomy and The Naked Scientists is also available for subscription on Apple and other podcast platforms - always a great listen if you are interested in what is going on in the world of science and astronomy

BBC Stargazing Live

I was lucky enough to film a piece for the 2016 run of Stargazing Live on imaging the International Space Station with Professor Lucie Green. The link to the piece with a guest appearance by the British weather is below http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03fb1fh

PhotographingSpace.com

Tutorial on high resolution colour imaging of the Moon

https://photographingspace.com/high-res-moon-colour/

Sky and Telescope

My Aldebaran occultation image features in an article on the October 2016 Aldebaran occultation for the USA

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/moon-covers-bright-star-aldebaran/

Sky and Telescope were also kind enough to feature one of my Mercury images in their March 2018 edition.

All About Space Magazine

Lunar image featured in June edition

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/all-about-space/20180621/283656825541192

Mail Online

Short feature on a few of my images

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3746739/From-lunar-eclipses-icy-comets-Amateur-photographer-takes-stunning-space-images-backgarden.html

Huffington Post - Most Spectacular Space Images of 2014

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/27/space-photos-2014_n_6348682.html

Awesome Astronomy website

New Horizons Mission to Pluto http://www.awesomeastronomy.com/articles/154-new-horizons-to-pluto-the-final-piece-of-the-puzzle

Robotic Imaging

http://www.awesomeastronomy.com/articles/149-dawn-of-the-robots-or-how-robotic-imaging-saved-my-sanity

Flickr

This site is just a selection of my images - they can all be seen on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/16590526@N07/

I can also be found on Twitter and Instagram under the username @thelondonastro

Royal Observatory Greenwich

Since 2015 I have participated in a panel discussion at the Royal Observatory Greenwich 'Evening of Astrophotography' event along with such luminaries as Will Gater (astronomer, journalist and astrophotographer), Jon Culshaw (comedian and impressionist), Jamen Percy (aurora photography genius), Ed Robinson (award winning photographer & founder of One Red Eye), Marek Kukula (Public Astronomer at the ROG) and Melanie Vandenbrouck (curator of art post 1800 at the Royal Museums Greenwich).

The night consists of planetarium shows, the panel discussion, workshops, a chance to talk to members of the Flamsteed Astronomy Society and a tour of the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the year exhibition. A brilliant night all round.

This event is now annual and is usually held in November.

Royal Museums Greenwich

I've been featured in a short film from Royal Museums Greenwich on imaging the Moon where I give some hints and tips on how to achieve a great shot of our nearest neighbour

https://twitter.com/ROGAstronomers/status/935486448748281856

BBC Radio 4 Extra

On the night of the 24th March and the early morning of the 25th March 2024 BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast a night of programming around the full Moon. My short contribution is in ‘Chapter 4 - Waning Gibbous’ - the last 10 minutes of the programme. The link is here Moon Night the interview is here interview

Announcing the winner of Planets, Comets & Asteroids IAPTY 2017
Announcing the winner of Planets, Comets & Asteroids IAPTY 2017

© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

IAPTY Awards Ceremony 2017

2019 Exhibition Film
2019 Exhibition Film

The short film featuring Thea (and myself) playing at the National Maritime Museum Astronomy Photographer of the Year Exhibition

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017, shortlisted Lunar Terminator
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017, shortlisted Lunar Terminator

My image of the first quarter Lunar terminator displayed in the exhibition gallery of the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Part of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017 exhibition

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017 - Planets, Comets & Asteroids image
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017 - Planets, Comets & Asteroids image

Closer look at my image in the exhibition gallery of the Royal Observatory Greenwich - this photo is overexposed due to the fact that the image is backlit - this is more for the text...

Under the Lightbox - Royal Observatory Greenwich
Under the Lightbox - Royal Observatory Greenwich

Me and my eldest daughter Thea standing under my winning image in the Planets, Comets and Asteroids category of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017

My Daughter Thea - Highly Commended, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
My Daughter Thea - Highly Commended, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Thea receiving her certificate from Jon Culshaw at the awards ceremony at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Stargazing Live
Stargazing Live

With Lucie Green and the Stargazing Live team after filming, November 2015

Royal Observatory - Astrophotography panel
Royal Observatory - Astrophotography panel

With (top to bottom) Jon Culshaw, Jamen Percy, Bendan Owens and Will Gater - Royal Observatory Greenwich

IAPTY Exhibition
IAPTY Exhibition

© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

The exhibition Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017

2019 Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
2019 Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Thea with Jon Culshaw

© National Maritime Museum, London

Screenshot 2024-03-25 104816.jpg

Landscapes and Macro

Sometimes the weather is too bad for astronomy or the summer days too long so here is a selection of images un-related to the night sky!

Sunset, Seatown Dorset October 2019
Sunset, Seatown Dorset October 2019
Sunset, Seatown Dorset October 2019
Sunset, Seatown Dorset October 2019
Sunset Fishing, Seatown Dorset October 2019
Sunset Fishing, Seatown Dorset October 2019
Sunset in glass - Seatown Beach Dorset, October 2019
Sunset in glass - Seatown Beach Dorset, October 2019
Don't touch my nuts - Great Tits 4th June 2020.jpg
Blue Tit, London May 2021
Blue Tit, London May 2021
Robin - June 2021
Robin - June 2021

Our friendly garden Robin snapped while perched on my kid's trampoline.

Canon EOS 6D, 300 mm lens with 2x Teleconverter

Hoverfly Pile-up
Hoverfly Pile-up

Hoverflies on a Scabia, shot in my London garden. Not sure what is going on here but it doesn’t look altogether pleasant! June 2019

Busy Bee
Busy Bee

A macro shot of a Bee busy collecting pollen in may garden in London, May 2019.

20190901 Common Green Shield Bug
20190901 Common Green Shield Bug

A common green shield bug enjoying some sap in my London garden

Hoverfly in Flight
Hoverfly in Flight

A hoverfly in flight in my London garden. Macro shot using a Canon EOS 6D. Lots of out of focus shots before this one! 21st July 2020

Common Field Grasshopper - August 2020
Common Field Grasshopper - August 2020

Common Field Grasshopper shot in my London garden on the 1st August 2020

Snail - May 2021
Snail - May 2021
Bee - London May 2021
Bee - London May 2021
Permission to Land - August 2020
Permission to Land - August 2020

A honey bee coming in to land on a Passion flower in my London garden, 16th August 2020.

Araneus Diadematus spider - September 2020
Araneus Diadematus spider - September 2020

Araneus Diadematus spider (European garden spider) imaged in my London garden, September 2020.

Misty Morning - Burwash Common December 2018
Misty Morning - Burwash Common December 2018

A shot over the misty fields beside my in-laws house in Burwash Common East Sussex. This was shot using an iPhone 8 on the morning of the 27th December 2018 and is a cropped panorama.

Strangford Lough from Mount Stewart House, April 2019
Strangford Lough from Mount Stewart House, April 2019

Panorama looking over Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland. Shot April 2019 using an iPhone 8.

Marseillan Plage - Tinyplanet projection
Marseillan Plage - Tinyplanet projection

Panorama of Marseillan Plage as a ‘tinyplanet’ projection in which the panorama is wrapped around on itself.

July 2018

Lyme Bay Dorset - HDR, October 2020
Lyme Bay Dorset - HDR, October 2020
Lyme Bay HDR Panorama - October 2020
Lyme Bay HDR Panorama - October 2020
Double Rainbow - Putney, London - November 2020
Double Rainbow - Putney, London - November 2020
Mushrooms, Polesden Lacey - 1st November 2020
Mushrooms, Polesden Lacey - 1st November 2020
Amethyst Deceiver, Polesden Lacey, 1st November 2020
Amethyst Deceiver, Polesden Lacey, 1st November 2020
Snowflake - London 9th February 2021
Snowflake - London 9th February 2021

Snowflake caught in the net of our garden trampoline after snow here in London

Snowflakes and Sempervivum - London 9th February 2021
Snowflakes and Sempervivum - London 9th February 2021
Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough

Strangford Lough, County Down imaged on a stormy August day

Causeway Coast at Cushedun Caves - August 2021
Causeway Coast at Cushedun Caves - August 2021

The north eastern coast of Northern Ireland shot from Cushendun

Causeway Coast at Cushendun Caves - August 2021
Causeway Coast at Cushendun Caves - August 2021

The north eastern coast of Northern Ireland shot from Cushendun

Causeway Coast Panorama - August 2021
Causeway Coast Panorama - August 2021

The north eastern coast of Northern Ireland shot from Cushendun

Sunset May 2014
Sunset May 2014
Christmas Eve Rainbow
Christmas Eve Rainbow

A rainbow over South West London, Christmas Eve 2014

Sunset June 2014
Sunset June 2014
Sundog March 2014
Sundog March 2014

Sun dogs or parhelia are created by light interacting with ice crystals in the atmosphere, typically appearing as two subtly colored patches of light to the left and right of the Sun, approximately 22° distant and at the same elevation above the horizon as the Sun. 

Sky Feather
Sky Feather

Clouds are usually my enemy, but I couldn’t resist photographing this one as it was the only one is a beautiful blue sky and so resembled a birds feather.

Sunset Rainbow - October 2018
Sunset Rainbow - October 2018

A rainbow lit up by the setting Sun - 1st October 2018

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Equipment and Observatory
Announcing the winner of Planets, Comets & Asteroids IAPTY 2017
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Sunset, Seatown Dorset October 2019
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