Deep-Sky | Scientific Artist

Wide field images of the deep-sky (and not so deep-sky if I am showing images of the Moon or planets), including star fields, nebulae, and supernova remnants are the subject matter of this page. All images are acquired at the New Forest Observatory astronomical imaging centre by Greg Parker and subsequently processed by Noel Carboni in Florida U.S.A. A book of our early work is available from Springer, titled “Star Vistas”, it has Forewords by the late Sir Arthur C Clarke, Sir Patrick Moore, and former Queen lead guitarist – Dr Brian May.

Currently the New Forest Observatory has an 11″ Celestron Nexstar GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector (with Hyperstar III) and a Sky 90 refractor as the imaging scopes. The imaging camera is a 6-megapixel one shot colour SXVF-M25C from Starlight Xpress. Everything is housed in a Pulsar Optical 2.1 metre fibreglass dome.

2011 will see the slow assembly of what I call the “mini-WASP” array – you can read more about this array on the NFO site. Briefly, I shall use an array of Sky 90 refractors and one shot colour cameras to carry out “parallel imaging” – that is, downloading a lot more data in a given time than you can get using just a single scope. So unlike the professional SuperWASP array, which is looking into the existence of extra-solar planets, the mini-WASP just uses the multiple scope principle, and is not pursuing the same research goal 🙂

Jupiter and Mercury with pronounced spikes

$M78 and Barnard\'s Loop$

$The \"Diamonds on Black Velvet\" that is the Double Cluster in Perseus$

$A \"smoke ring\" supernova remnant - CTB1 in Cassiopeia$

M95, M96 and M105 in Leo - single Sky 90 frame.

First Light image for the mini-WASP array

M13 the great globular cluster in Hercules

The Double Cluster and Greg's Charm Bracelet

Asteroid JO25 2014 captured on 19/04/2014

200mmDataOnly_Noel_Process_Oriented_northup_Forums

$The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of color in NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing. This is a region where young stars are forming – or have barely burst from their dusty cocoons as they continue to form. Newly formed stars are the scene-stealers in this Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) image. These are the bright red orbs that sometimes appear with eight diffraction spikes. When knots with sufficient mass form within the pillars, they begin to collapse under their own gravity, slowly heat up, and eventually begin shining brightly. Along the edges of the pillars are wavy lines that look like lava. These are ejections from stars that are still forming. Young stars periodically shoot out supersonic jets that can interact within clouds of material, like these thick pillars of gas and dust. This sometimes also results in bow shocks, which can form wavy patterns like a boat does as it moves through water. These young stars are estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old, and will continue to form for millions of years. Although it may appear that near-infrared light has allowed Webb to “pierce through” the background to reveal great cosmic distances beyond the pillars, the interstellar medium stands in the way, like a drawn curtain. This is also the reason why there are no distant galaxies in this view. This translucent layer of gas blocks our view of the deeper universe. Plus, dust is lit up by the collective light from the packed “party” of stars that have burst free from the pillars. It’s like standing in a well-lit room looking out a window – the interior light reflects on the pane, obscuring the scene outside and, in turn, illuminating the activity at the party inside. Webb’s new view of the Pillars of Creation will help researchers revamp models of star formation. By identifying far more precise star populations, along with the quantities of gas and dust in the region, they will begin to build a clearer understanding of how stars form and burst out of these clouds over millions of years. The Pillars of Creation is a small region within the vast Eagle Nebula, which lies 6,500 light-years away. Webb’s NIRCam was built by a team at the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center.$

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revisited the famous Pillars of Creation, revealing a sharper and wider view of the structures in this visible-light image.
Astronomers combined several Hubble exposures to assemble the wider view. The towering pillars are about 5 light-years tall. The dark, finger-like feature at bottom right may be a smaller version of the giant pillars. The new image was taken with Hubble's versatile and sharp-eyed Wide Field Camera 3.
The pillars are bathed in the blistering ultraviolet light from a grouping of young, massive stars located off the top of the image. Streamers of gas can be seen bleeding off the pillars as the intense radiation heats and evaporates it into space. Denser regions of the pillars are shadowing material beneath them from the powerful radiation. Stars are being born deep inside the pillars, which are made of cold hydrogen gas laced with dust. The pillars are part of a small region of the Eagle Nebula, a vast star-forming region 6,500 light-years from Earth.
The colors in the image highlight emission from several chemical elements. Oxygen emission is blue, sulfur is orange, and hydrogen and nitrogen are green.
Object Names: M16, Eagle Nebula, NGC 6611
Image Type: Astronomical

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

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where pure science meets art