M81 & M82 in LRGB

M81 & M82 Bode and Cigar Calaxies

Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away, with a diameter of 90,000 light years, about half the size of the Milky Way, in the constellation Ursa Major. Due to its proximity to Earth, large size, and active galactic nucleus (which harbors a 70 million M_☉ supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers. The galaxy's large size and relatively high brightness also makes it a popular target for amateur astronomers.


Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy approximately 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. A member of the M81 Group, it is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and has a center one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy's center. The starburst activity is thought to have been triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81. As the closest starburst galaxy to Earth, M82 is the prototypical example of this galaxy type. SN 2014J, a type Ia supernova, was discovered in the galaxy on 21 January 2014.^[8][9][10] In 2014, in studying M82, scientists discovered the brightest pulsar yet known, designated M82 X-2.

 Telescope : TS 65 QApo

Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT

Camera : Atik 460 Exm

Guiding : Off-axis guider with Qhy 5IIL

Filters :LRGB

Programs I have used :Maxim DL, PixInsight, Photoshop CS6

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

M 45 Pleiades -LRGB-

This article is about the star cluster.For other uses of Pleiades or Pléiades, see Pleiades (disambiguation).

 The Pleiades (/ˈplaɪ.ədiːz, ˈpliːə-/), also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45, are an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the star clusters nearest Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky.
The cluster is dominated by hot blue and luminous stars that have formed within the last 100 million years. Reflection nebulae around the brightest stars were once thought to be left over material from the formation of the cluster, but are now considered likely to be an unrelated dust cloud in the interstellar medium through which the stars are currently passing.
Computer simulations have shown that the Pleiades were probably formed from a compact configuration that resembled the Orion Nebula. Astronomers estimate that the cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, after which it will disperse due to gravitational interactions with its galactic neighborhood.

Telescope : TS 60 ED

Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT

Camera : Atik 460 Exm

Guiding : Off-axis guider with Meade dsi2

Filters : L : 30x240sec bin 1x & RGB : 8x240sec all bin 1x

Programs I have used :Maxim DL, PixInsight, Photoshop CS6

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405) in HaRGB

IC 405 (also known as the Flaming Star Nebula, SH 2-229, or Caldwell 31) is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga, surrounding the bluish star AE Aurigae. It shines at magnitude +6.0. Its celestial coordinates are RA  05^h 16.2^m dec +34° 28′. It surrounds the irregular variable star AE Aurigae and is located near the emission nebula IC 410, the open clusters M38 and M36, and the K-class star Iota Aurigae. The nebula measures approximately 37.0' x 19.0', and lies about 1,500 light-years away from Earth. It is believed that the proper motion of the central star can be traced back to the Orion's Belt area. The nebula is about 5 light-years across.

Telescope : TS 65Q apo

Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT

Camera : Atik 460 Exm

Guiding : Off-axis guider with QHY 5IIL

Filters : Astrodon Ha 5nm 12 x 900sec bin1x

RGB 12 x 300sec all bin1x

Programs I have used : Sequence Generator Pro,Maxim DL, PixInsight, Photoshop CS6

Total exposure : 360 minutes or 6 hours

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

Travel to Budapest. The Paris of East.

Budapest (/ˈbuːdəpɛst/, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbudɒpɛʃt]) is the capital and the most populous city of Hungary, and the tenth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits. The city has an estimated population of 1,752,286 over a land area of about 525 square kilometres (203 square miles). Budapest is both a city and county, and forms the centre of the Budapest metropolitan area, which has an area of 7,626 square kilometres (2,944 square miles) and a population of 3,303,786, comprising 33% of the population of Hungary.
The history of Budapest began when an early Celtic settlement transformed into the Roman town of Aquincum, the capital of Lower Pannonia. The Hungarians arrived in the territory in the late 9th century, but the area was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241–42.Re-established Buda became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culture by the 15th century. The Battle of Mohács, in 1526, was followed by nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule. After the reconquest of Buda in 1686, the region entered a new age of prosperity, with Pest-Buda becoming a global city after the unification of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest on 17 November 1873, with the name 'Budapest' given to the new capital. Budapest also became the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a great power that dissolved in 1918, following World War I. The city was the focal point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Battle of Budapest in 1945, and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

from Wikipedia

IC 405 (also known as the Flaming Star Nebula) in Ha filter

IC 405 (also known as the Flaming Star Nebula, SH 2-229, or Caldwell 31) is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga, surrounding the bluish star AE Aurigae. It shines at magnitude +6.0. Its celestial coordinates are RA  05^h 16.2^m dec +34° 28′. It surrounds the irregular variable star AE Aurigae and is located near the emission nebula IC 410, the open clusters M38 and M36, and the K-class star Iota Aurigae. The nebula measures approximately 37.0' x 19.0', and lies about 1,500 light-years away from Earth. It is believed that the proper motion of the central star can be traced back to the Orion's Belt area. The nebula is about 5 light-years across.

Telescope : TS 65Q apo

Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT

Camera : Atik 460 Exm

Guiding : Off-axis with Meade DSI 2

Filters : Astrodon Ha 5nm

Total exposure : --