Each year, the AAQ holds an astrophotography competition. The images for this year’s winners are below.
Lunar - Terry Cuttle. Composite image of the phases of the 31 Jan 2018 Total Lunar Eclipse. Canon 600D DSLR, Televue TV76 refractor with 0.8 FF/reducer - effective focal length 380mm, polar aligned EQ3 mount set at the sidereal rate, camera exposure and timing controlled by a laptop running Eclipse Orchestrator
Narrowband - Greg Bond. Large Magellanic Cloud. FSQ106 + Apogee U16M HC camera using LRGB + Ha & OIII
Landscape - Greg Bond. Southern Cross and Reflection. DSLR and tripod
Galaxy & Cluster - Rick Dunckis. NGC 4945.
Under 1 hr total integration, with 120 or 180 sec subs at iso 800, taken with an unmodded Canon 1100D, Baader MPCC3 coma corrector, 10" f4.8 Skywatcher dob ota, mounted on a HEQ5pro (on a pier) and guided with an Orion thin oag and zwo 120mc guide cam. PHD2 guiding, DSS stacking and PS CS5 processing.
Galaxy & Cluster - Rick Dunckis. NGC 5128.
Under 1 hr total integration, with 120 or 180 sec subs at iso 800, taken with an unmodded Canon 1100D, Baader MPCC3 coma corrector, 10" f4.8 Skywatcher dob ota, mounted on a HEQ5pro (on a pier) and guided with an Orion thin oag and zwo 120mc guide cam. PHD2 guiding, DSS stacking and PS CS5 processing.
Landscape - Joe Cali. Tidbinbilla Tracking Station. DSLR, fixed tripod & 14mm f2.8/135mm f2 lens
Lunar - Tony Dutton. Mare Humorum. C14 and ZWO ASI174MC webcam
Lunar - Tony Dutton. Crater Copernicus. C14 and ZWO ASI174MC webcam
Nebulae - Rick Dunckis. M 20. Under 1 hr total integration, with 120 or 180 sec subs at iso 800, taken with an unmodded Canon 1100D, Baader MPCC3 coma corrector, 10" f4.8 Skywatcher dob ota, mounted on a HEQ5pro (on a pier) and guided with an Orion thin oag and zwo 120mc guide cam. PHD2 guiding, DSS stacking and PS CS5 processing.
Lunar - Joe Cali. Dawn Eclipse with Fog
DSLR, fixed tripod & 14mm f2.8 lens
Landscape - Joe Cali. Will You Pleeeaase Turn Off That Torch. DSLR, fixed tripd & 14mm f2.8 lens
Landscape - Greg Bond. Helen Gorge. DSLR and tripod
Landscape - Alison Beck. "Short Lived". Nikon D7100, Lens : Sigma 10-20mm, 25 sec @ F5.6 ISO6400
Planetary - Peter Culshaw.Saturn & Titan.
Camera ZWO ASI120MM-S, Scope Meade LX90 10in, f10, 2500mm focal length, captured using SharpCap, processed with Autostakkert & Registax.
Landscape - Wendy Dutton. Milky Way Tree.
Taken with a Nikon D750 mounted on a camera tripod.
Landscape - Wendy Dutton. Coal Sack.
Taken with a Nikon D750 mounted on a camera tripod.
Landscape - Wendy Dutton. Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. Taken with a Nikon D750 mounted on a camera tripod.
Nebulae - Rick Dunckis. M 8. Under 1 hr total integration, with 120 or 180 sec subs at iso 800, taken with an unmodded Canon 1100D, Baader MPCC3 coma corrector, 10" f4.8 Skywatcher dob ota, mounted on a HEQ5pro (on a pier) and guided with an Orion thin oag and zwo 120mc guide cam. PHD2 guiding, DSS stacking and PS CS5 processing.
Planetary - Tony Dutton. Jupiter and moons.
C14 and ZWO ASI174MC webcam
Planetary - Tony Dutton. Mars. C14 and ZWO ASI174MC webcam
Narrowband - Suavi Lipinski. Lobster Nebula. CFF (105mm f/6) scope, QSI690 camera, AP Mach 1 mount
Galaxy & Cluster - Suavi Lipinski. Centaurus A. CFF (105mm f/6) scope, QSI690 camera, AP Mach 1 mount
Narrowband - Robin Brown. Horsehead Nebula. TS80 scope, ASI-1600mm camera, HEQ5 mount
Nebulae - Chris Ryan. M 42. Scope: Sharpstar 107PH. Camera: ASI1600MM-C. Taken Dec 2017. It's a HaRGB mix, processed in PixInsight
Rick Stevenson - Centaurus A. CDK17 scope, STXL-11002M camera, 28 hours Ha/L/R/B/G from Yass, processed with PixInsight
Rick Stevenson - Heart of the Running Chicken. CDK17 scope, STXL-11002M camera, 21 hours Ha/Oiii/Sii from Yass, processed with PixInsight
Rick Stevenson - NGC 6744. CDK17 scope, STXL-11002M camera, 26 hours Ha/L/R/B/G from Yass, processed with PixInsight
About the author
- Rick Stevenson is an expert in remote astrophotography, and is Section Director of the AAQ's Astrophotography Section.
