M16 Eagle NebulaComposite of monochrome images in the light of sulfur ([S II]), hydrogen (h-alpha), and oxygen ([O III]), assigned red, green, and blue respectively and images from a one-shot color camera to provide realistic star color.

Before comet mania took over recently, I was able to spend a few days and nights under the clear, dark skies of southeastern Utah. This trip was mostly dedicated to deep sky astrophotography in a location more suited to it than the murkier, brighter skies of the Midwest. But I also wanted to take in some of the amazing scenery and fascinating culture of this part of the country.

I'd hoped to image some celestial targets that are more challenging, either because they are especially faint and therefore not swamped by a brighter sky background, or they lie toward the south, again more accessible in a darker sky, or I had not imaged them before. Here are some of the results of that adventure, with more to come and yet more to finish processing.
 
LDN 1235, The Shark NebulaLDN 1235, The Shark Nebula Sh 2-278Composite of one-shot color images with monochrome images of hydrogen light (H-alpha).


IC 2118 Witch Head NebulaIC 2118 Witch Head Nebula

After I got back, I was interrupted by the appearance of comet C/2023 A3 in the evening sky, and a rather long string of clear nights at home — so more data to process. I did catch some photos of the comet from Utah when it was in the morning sky and of course it would have been great to be there for the comet's brighter evening apparition but alas that was not in the cards.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
October 15, 2024

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) October 20, 2024Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) October 20, 2024
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) October 20, 2024.
24 frames, 60 sec. each
Explore Scientific ED102 102mm f/7 apochromat refractor, Stellarvue 0.8x reducer/flattener
ZWO ASI294MC Pro cooled color CMOS camera, gain 120, -17ºC, ZWO UV/IR cutoff filter
ZWO EAF autofocuser
iOptron CEM25P mount
ZWO ASIAir Pro controller
auto-guided, SVBONY SV2165 30mm f/4 guide scope, ZWO ASI120MM Mini guide camera
Processed in Astro Pixel Processor, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
#comet #TsuchinshanATLAS #astrophotography

I schlepped out both of my astrophotography setups, one or the other or both of which were used for these images:

• GSO 8" RC, ZWO ASI2600MM mono camera, Losmandy GM811G mount, ASIAir Plus controller, Askar off-axis guider, ZWO ASI174MM Mini guide camera, ZWO autofocuser.
• Explore Scientific 102mm Apochromat refractor, ZWO ASI294MC color camera, ASIAir Pro controller, 30mm guidescope, ZWO ASI120MM Mini guide camera, ZWO autofocuser, iOptron CEM25P mount.