As this was based on comparable data I decided to combine this data even furter with data from the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii to show even more data than was shown in this NASA release.

Therefore I combined data like shown in this figure:

This resulted in this image showing unprecedented detail of the Ring Nebula:

Credits:

NASA/ESA/A.van der Hoeven/R. Gendler/C. Robert O’Dell (Vanderbilt University)/D. Thompson (LBTO)

Image info:

Telescope: TEC140Camera: QSI 583ws
Mount: NEQ6
Guiding: 90mm f5.5 with a DMK21

Exposure:

Luminance (made from RGB and luminance images) 45×10 min (=7.5 h)
R: 6 x 10 min
G: 9 x 10 min
B: 6 x 10 min

Annotated version:

Image info:

Telescope: TEC140Camera: QSI 583ws
Mount: NEQ6
Guiding: 90mm f5.5 with a DMK21

Exposure: 24×10 min
SQM: 20.5-21

Annotated version:

Discovered 1775 by Johann Elert Bode.

Globular star cluster Messier 53 (M53, NGC 5024) is one of the more outlying globulars, being about 60,000 light years away from the Galactic center, and almost the same distance (about 58,000 light years) from out Solar system. At this distance, its apparent angular diameter of 13′ corresponds to a linear diameter of roughly 220 light years. It is rapidly approaching us at a velocity given by Mallas as 112 km/s, by Harris as 79 km/s. M53 has a bright compact central nucleus of about 2′ in diameter, although its stars are not very concentrated toward the center when compared to other globulars, and a gradually decreasing density profile to the outer edges. Harlow Shapley classified it in density, or concentration class V. While the NGC, following John Herschel, suspected its brightest red giant stars at about 12th magnitude, the Deep Sky Field Guide lists them at 13.8 mag, and the horizontal branch at about magnitude 16.9. The cluster’s overall spectral type is givan as F6.

Its discoverer Johann Elert Bode, who found it on February 3, 1775, described it as a “rather vivid and round” nebula. Charles Messier, who independently rediscovered and cataloged it two years later, on February 26, 1777, found it “round and conspicuous” and that it resembles M79. William Herschel was the first to resolve it into stars, and found it similar to M10.

As in all globular clusters, the stars of M53 are apparently “metal-poor”, which means that they contain only little quantities of elements heavier than helium (actually mainly elements like carbon and oxygen); those of M53 are even below the average globular cluster members in “metallicity”. It contains the considerably respectable number of 47 known RR Lyrae variables, some of them were reported to have changed their periods irreversibly with time (Kenneth Glyn-Jones).

In small amateur telescopes, M53 appears as a slightly oval nebulous object with a large, bright center, of rather even surface brightness and evenly fading out to the edges. Mallas reports that he saw many stars in the 4-inch refractor under excellent viewing conditions, with the central part appearing somewhat grainy. In somewhat larger telescopes, its outer fringes appear resolved into stars, while the central part is still unresolved and grainy, with one star standing out, in telescopes of about 8-inch aperture. Large instruments of about 12-inch up show it well resolved, with a moderately concenterated nucleus and stars spread out to about 12 arc minutes diameter.

M53 can be easily found just 1 deg NE of the 4th-mag star, 42 Alpha Comae Berenices, a visual binary star (A: 5.05, B: 5.08, both of spectral type F5V). Alpha Comae itself may be located by either following the line from Arcturus via Eta Bootis by a further 11 deg to the W, or by following the line of Gamma – Delta – Epsilon Virginis by another 7 deg NNE.

At only about 1 degree separation to the east, the faint and quite loose globular cluster NGC 5053 comes into the field of view, which is at roughly the same distance as M53 (53,500 light years), indicating that these clusters are also physically rather close together.

NGC 5053 was discovered by William Herschel on March 14, 1784 and cataloged as H VI.7.

NGC 5053 is of a much lesser stellar density than its prominent neighbor, and particularly lacks a concentrated bright nucleus.

At a distance of about 53,500 light-years from us, NGC 5053′s apparent diameter of 10.5 arc minutes corresponds to a linear extension of about 160 light-years. The cluster shines at a visual brightness of about 9.5 magnitudes, and a photographic magnitude 10.5. Its absolute visual magnitude is only about -6.72, corresponding to an intrinsic luminosity of about 40,000 times that of our sun. It is receding from us at about 44 km/s.

Because of its moderate stellar content, the nature of this cluster as a globular has been doubted in the past, but spectroscopic investigations have now firmly re-established this classification: The stars of NGC 5053 are old and poor in heavy elements. Its horizontal-branch stars are of about mag 16.65, and its brightest stars are at mag 13.8.

It was found that this cluster may perhaps be a former member of the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (SagDEG), or Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy (Sgr dSph), the nearby dwarf galaxy discovered in 1994, which is currently in a close and perhaps final encounter before its tidal disruption, with our Milky Way Galaxy.

[source: http://spider.seds.org]

All images taken with the C11 @ f10 and a DMK21-618.

And an annotated version:

Here is an animation of a passage a day later:

This image shows 2 ARP objects in one field of view in the constellation of Ursa Major.

The top object is ARP 214, also known as NGC 3718. It’s a mag. 10.7, 9.2′ x 4.4′ galaxy of the SB(s)a peculiar type (Seyfert 2). It is known as a LINER (Low-Ionization Nuclear Emission-line Region) galaxy, possibly interacting with NGC 3729. The galaxy is classified as a bar spiral, although the bar is an absorption structure and does not consist of stars.

The image was taken using a TEC140 with flattener and a QSI583 CCD camera.

Exposures:

34 x 300s UV/IR-cut

19 x 1200s UHC-S

Although circumstances from my location are far from perfect for galaxy photography because of light pollution the image still shows lots of small and faint objects.

In total 185 small galaxies are visible. The image below shows an annotated, inverted version showing these galaxies.

To the right of ARP 214 another ARP object can be seen, ARP 322, aka Hickson 56 galaxy chain.

Another remarkable chain of galaxies, Hickson 56 in Ursa Major, is situated just 7′ south of the barred spiral NGC 3718. This compact group has several catalogue designations including UGC 6527, VV 150, Markarian 176 and Arp 322. The UGC notes describe Hickson 56 as “a nonlinear chain of 4 galaxies.” These four are connected and cover a length of 90″ = 48kpc. The fifth galaxy is about 65″ from the nearest member of the chain and is possibly at the same distance.” Photographs reveal all five members with the central trio appearing as a linked chain, but visually splitting apart the members will challenge experienced deep-sky aficionados.

At 100x, this compact group merged into a faint elongated glow just 1′ in length, elongated roughly east-west in a 3:1 ratio. Upping the power to 220x resolved a pair of “knots”; 56b at the east end and 56c at the west side. Hickson 56a is the largest member of the group but this low surface brightness edge-on required close attention. The observers using Lord Rosse’s 72-inch Leviathan in Parsonstown, Ireland examined the field of NGC 3718 four times between 1852 and 1868 and missed this galaxy chain so just detecting this group is a satisfying experience. (Source: Steve Gottlieb)

Here is a full res version

Last night I went to Kinderdijk to photograph comet Panstarrs. The result can be seen here:

Here is an animation showing the comet setting about an hour after sunset:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is an image showing the comet’s skytrace: