Your best photos submitted to the magazine this month
PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF
Tim Jackson, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, 24 January 2023
Tim says: “Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF last visited us 50,000 years ago. This really was a once in a lifetime opportunity to image it. Having been in the news and all across social media, I was inspired by some of the great images I had seen. I managed to wake up at 4am to find it in the early morning sky.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera, William Optics Zenithstar 73 III APO refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ5 Pro mount
Exposure: 2h
Software: PixInsight, Affinity Photo
Tim’s top tips: “Shooting comets isn’t easy as they travel faster through the sky than the stars. Once I had it framed in my field of view, I guided on the stars and set a plan in my ASiair Wi-Fi controller for two hours of 120-second light frames. The problem is the comet will blur or the stars will trail, depending on how you image. Processing the image was probably the hardest and longest task I’ve undertaken since taking up imaging three years ago. I used all the tools available in PixInsight and, after taking some advice, I chose to remove the stars from every light frame first, using StarXTerminator. This took around eight hours. I was then able to use the comet alignment tool in PixInsight to process the comet with a starless background. Following this I recombined the stars into the final image, and did the usual curves adjustments and denoise processes.”
The Heart Nebula
Rachael and Jonathan Wood, Auckley, South Yorkshire, 4–18 January 2023
Rachael says: “When Jonathan and I got our new camera, we knew the perfect target. This nebula has so much structure to offer and the Hubble palette really brings this to life.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI294MM Pro camera, Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED refractor, Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 GT mount
Exposure: 12.5h
Software: Photoshop
The Moon
Sonia Turkington, North Reddish, Greater Manchester, 25 January 2023
Sonia says: “I love a crescent Moon. I find it hard to find the right light balance with these photos to get a good one, but I got it right with this one.”
Equipment: Google Pixel 6 smartphone, Sky-Watcher Skyliner 250PX 10-inch Dobsonian
Exposure: ISO 53 f/1.9, 1/26”
Software: Google Photos
Aurora
Rebecca Saxton, Haverhill, Suffolk, 27 February 2023
Rebecca says: “I went to Iceland in January with the hope of seeing the aurora, but it was cloudy all week! I was planning a trip to Norway when my aurora app sent me a notification, then I saw a Tweet saying they were visible from Norfolk. Imagine my surprise when they appeared right on my doorstep.”
Equipment: Nikon D750 DSLR, 24–70mm f/2.8 lens
Exposure: 6”
Software: Lightroom
Six planets (plus the Moon) in one night
Daniel Zoliro, Chouteau, Oklahoma, USA, 19 August 2022
Daniel says: “I got a wild idea to see how many planets I could capture in one night, using the same gear. All of the images were captured using the lucky imaging technique.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI174MM camera, Celestron C9.25 Schmidt-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount
Exposure: Various, 8ms–20ms
Software: FireCapture, AutoStakkert!, PixInsight, Photoshop
NGC 2359, Thor’s Helmet
Stephanie McNaughton, Red Rock, Arizona, USA, 21 January 2023
Stephanie says: “Thor’s Helmet is one of my favourites. I know it isn’t as extravagant as Orion, but it is so beautiful. As an aspiring astrophotographer, I’m proud to be able to send you this image.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera, Celestron 8-inch Rowe-Ackermann astrograph, Vixen Sphinx SXP mount
Exposure: 3h
Software: DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight, Photoshop
The afternoon Sun
Rob Lyons, Vancouver, Canada, 14 January 2023
Rob says: “It was cloudy here in Vancouver for three months straight, but one day we got a break and I made my first astronomy image of 2023, the Sun at 2pm.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI533MM Pro camera, DayStar Solar Scout SS60-ds H-alpha solar telescope, Sky-Watcher SolarQuest mount
Exposure: 45”, best 24 frames stacked
Software: AutoStakkert!, ImPPG, PixInsight, Photoshop
The Jellyfish Nebula
Neil Wilson, Terrington St Clement, Norfolk, 21 January 2023
Neil says: “This nebula has been on my list for a while now, and when the opportunity arrived, I had to grab it. I was particularly pleased with the amount of structure that was revealed.”
Equipment: Altair Hypercam 26C camera, Celestron 9.25-inch EdgeHD aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 mount
Exposure: 1h
Software: NINA, APP, Starnet++, Photoshop
Aurora
Karl McCarthy, Mynydd Illtud, Brecon Beacons, 26 February 2023
Karl says: “There were reports that a strong aurora was possible, so I made sure my camera bag had everything ready to go if the forecast came good. I drove 30 minutes to Mynydd Illtud, set up my camera and, to my excitement, from the first shot the aurora was visible.”
Equipment: Nikon D850 DSLR, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art lens, Giottos 8254 YTL tripod
Exposure: ISO 1600 f/1.8, 8”
Software: Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise
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