Butch’s time with the CfA2 Great Wall of Galaxies observed

Posted: September 22, 2025

79 minute read

Guest post from Butch: Perhaps appropriately, this report is quite lengthy, as is the Great Wall itself.
Read more...

Quickshot: the Western Veil Nebula (NGC6960)

Posted: September 14, 2025

1 minute read

I haven’t been able to image lately for a number of reasons, some just personal crap, but also because the weather here the past few months has just sucked.
Read more...

M81 and M82 in RGB blended with narrowband subtracted continuum

Posted: March 18, 2025

less than 1 minute read

This is a quick post on the M81/M82 region, also known as Bode’s and Cigar Galaxies, respectively.
Read more...

Spaghetti Nebula, two-panel SHO mosaic with RGB stars

Posted: March 7, 2025

3 minute read

This is a two-panel mosaic of Siemeis 147, AKA Sharpless 2-240, affectionately known as the “Spaghetti Nebula”. The Spaghetti Nebula is a striking astronomical object located in the constellation of Taurus. This ethereal cloud of gas and dust appears as a delicate, curved nebula with intricate filaments that evoke the image of twisted pasta.
Read more...

Quickshot: The Elephant Trunk Nebula (SHO with RGB stars)

Posted: February 9, 2025

1 minute read

I realized that I never processed the Elephant Trunk Nebula that I started taking at the end of 2024. I had expected to go back and get more data but never did, and now it’s too low.
Read more...

The Flaming Star, Tadpoles, and Spider Nebulae

Posted: January 10, 2025

3 minute read

I gathered about 40 hours of narrowband and broadband data for this rendition of the Flaming Star, Tadpoles, and Spider Nebulae over a ten-day session in late 2024/early 2025.
Read more...

2024 in review

Posted: January 5, 2025

less than 1 minute read

2024 was a great year for theAstroShed, and I gathered a lot of faint light from far away. By far the image that I was happiest with was the Heart Nebula, but the Horsehead/Flame nebulas and Pleiades aren’t far behind. Click through to see bigger images.
Read more...

The Horsehead and Flame Nebulae, in RGB plus Narrowband

Posted: December 24, 2024

1 minute read

This is my late-2024 take on the Horsehead and Flame Nebulae in a fairly wide view from my 530mm f/5 refractor. This view, taken over ten different nights, is cropped but if you click through you can see a bigger view along with processing details.
Read more...

Pleiades (M45) has some dark secrets

Posted: December 5, 2024

less than 1 minute read

I was able to pull out some darker whispies as well as several galaxies hidden in the mist while imaging Pleiades, AKA M45 or “The Seven Sisters” (I count a lot more than seven!).
Read more...

Quickshot: The North America Nebula

Posted: November 29, 2024

1 minute read

A quick process of the North America Nebula. This is about eighteen hours of SHO + RGB data and I like how it turned out :smiley:. See below for acquisition details.
Read more...