Mike's Astro Photos » Stars

M53

Mike Hankey — Mon, 10 May 2010 17:12:39 +0000

Here’s a photo of Messier 53, a globular cluster in the Coma Berenices constellation.

M53 - April 10th, 2010

M5 Globular Star Cluster

Mike Hankey — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:19:36 +0000

No its not the BMW M5, its Messier’s M5. M5 is one of the larger globular star clusters in our galaxy. Its about 24,000 light years away from earth and thought to hold 100,000 to 500,000 stars.

M5 - April 14, 2010

Photo Details
William Optics FLT98
Canon 20Da DSLR Camera
38 minute exposure 19×2 minute
ISO 800
STV Autoguider
No moon, clear

The Beehive Cluster

Mike Hankey — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:22:25 +0000

Here’s a photo of M44 an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. To the naked eye the Beehive Cluster looks like a nebula in the middle of the constellation.

Beehive Cluster - March 20th, 2010

This picture was taken with a William Optics FLT 98 Refractor and a Canon 20Da camera.

Arcturus

Mike Hankey — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:49:32 +0000

Here’s a quick snap of Arcturus. This is a single 30 second exposure using the new William Optics telescope. I’m still waiting on some mounting brackets before I will be 100% with the new scope, so the content production is a little slow right now.

arcturus

Star & Satellite

Mike Hankey — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:07:48 +0000

I took this picture while testing out the focus and trying to align the scope. When I reviewed it the next day I spotted what looks like a satellite streak in the upper left corner.

Star & Satellite

M3 – Globular Star Cluster

Mike Hankey — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:30:34 +0000

Here’s a picture of M3 a magnificent globular star cluster.

M35

Mike Hankey — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:19:08 +0000

Here’s a photo of M35 an open star cluster in the constellation Gemini. This is a 60 minute exposure (3 minute x 20 frames) at ISO 800 taken with my Canon 20D and CPC 1100 using the focal reducer. This is a pretty big object about the same size as the full moon. I spent most of my time this weekend hunting the skies for Comets Wild 81/P and C/2007 Q3 Siding Spring. These two comets don’t rise until close to midnight so I captured a few DSOs while I was waiting. After 3 nights of searching I still have not been able to find either of these comets, but they will be around for at least a month, so I will keep at it.

Open Cluster M35 - February 19th, 2010

Astro Photos From Tucson

Mike Hankey — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:14:26 +0000

Catalina Mountains Tucson - February 5th, 2010

Here are a few astro photos I took from La Paloma, our Hotel in Tucson. I had originally wanted to drive out into the desert and shoot from there, but the timing wasn’t right so I decided to give it a try from the resort. I spent a few hours one night walking around to different spots trying to get a good vantage point on the stars. It wasn’t till the end of the night that I had discovered the golf course, which turned out to be the perfect place for observing and photographing. There were no street lamps and the course was very dark. The hotel is in the foothills of the Catalina mountains, the suburbs of Tucson, so the skies weren’t super black, but they were better than Baltimore County and the scenery was pretty awesome.

I really wanted to catch some meteor photos over the mountains and I thought about setting up the camera and leaving it running for the whole night, but the thought of sleeping on the golf course didn’t do much for me and I didn’t want to leave the camera unattended in such a public place. I shot 3-5 pictures from a dozen or so different spots. No meteors but the cacti, mountains and sky line all contributed to some cool photos.

Tucson Skyline - February 5th, 2010

Big Dipper & Cactus in Tucson - February 5th, 2010

Big Dipper Catalina Mountains - February 5th, 2010

Catalina Mountains Tucson

Orion From Tucson - February 5th, 2010

Orion Tucson - February 5th, 2010

M37 Jan 8, 2010

Mike Hankey — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 02:00:21 +0000

Here’s a shot of the open star cluster M37 from January 8th, 2010.

Messier 37 - January 8th, 2009

M103

Mike Hankey — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:39:04 +0000

Here’s a photo of Messier 103 an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia. This image is comprised of approximately 20×2 minute exposures stacked with flats and darks using Deep Sky Stacker.

Messier 103 - November 28th, 2009