Notices by Jason Nishiyama (evilscientistca@octodon.social)

It is often forgotten that the things we see in images from space are 3 dimensional objects and we are seeing a 2D projection of them. For example M57 appears as a ring, however kinematic studies of the object suggest it is barrel shaped and we are looking down the end. #astrophoto

The difference altitude above the horizon makes. M70(L) was only about 6° above the horizon when this photo was taken on Sunday. On the same night M72(R) was about 26° above the horizon. The difference in quality is due to the amount of air the light had to get through. #astrophoto

Spiral arms, like those of M51 here, are often sites of much star formation. This could be due to the spiral arms being density waves and the increase in density sets off star formation as the arm passes by a region of the galaxy.

M57 - The Ring Nebula - is a planetary nebula that is a relatively easy target for an amateur telescope. Located in the constellation Lyra it's a simple star hop between the two southernmost bright stars of the constellation diagram. A good target for the northern summer. #astrophoto

It is possible to use a DSLR attached to a properly mounted telescope to do astrophotography (mount shown good for solar or lunar only). This is a less expensive way to try out astrophotography for the amateur. (M31 pic taken with a Nikon D300)

Johannes Kepler devised three laws of planetary motion. The first law (Kepler I) is that the planets orbit the Sun in ellipses, with the Sun at one of the foci.

These laws apply to any orbiting body, satellites around a planet; planets around stars; stars around galaxies.

Because it can't be posted enough... The Hubble extreme deep field. With the exception of a few foreground stars from our own Galaxy, every object you see in this image is a galaxy.

Messier 13 is a globular cluster in the constellation Hercules. An easy binocular object it is a popular target of amateur astronomers. #astrophoto

IR image (left) shows just the clouds. Visible light (right) shows the extent of smoke if you compare it to the IR image.

From a week ago Friday, the globular cluster M4.

M87 is a large elliptical galaxy in Virgo. One of the largest galaxies near our own Galaxy (~53 Mly away) M87 is home to a supermassive black hole that was recently imaged in the radio spectrum. Close examination of the attached image shows a jet of material from the SMBH. #astrophoto

Emission nebulae (such as M8 - shown) are clouds of mostly hydrogen gas that glow by their own light. The light is created when light from stars embedded in the nebula excite the electrons in the gas. When the electrons return to a rest state they emit the light we see. #astrophoto

M57 - The Ring Nebula, is a planetary nebula, that is a star that has blown off it's outer atmosphere in its death throes. At the centre of the Ring is the central star, the remnants of the original star's core. This will become a white dwarf once the nebula dissipates. #astrophoto

By discovering Cepheid variable stars in M31, Edwin Hubble was able to measure the distance to this object. This distance measurement ended the argument about the "spiral nebulae" being objects in our own Galaxy and showed that M31 and others are also galaxies far, far away. #astrophoto

Open star clusters, such as M36 shown here, are stars that formed together relatively recently and having left their nebular birthplace are now drifting slowly apart. Our Sun would have been part of such a cluster billions of years ago.

My photoshop-fu isn't the best but this 3 image moziac shows the relative positioning of the Flame Nebula and the Horsehead Nebula. #astrophoto

From Saturday night, The Horsehead Nebula. 0.2m f3.9 telescope. 10 minutes L, 5 minutes each R, G, and B. #astrophoto

These 2 images (M42 L, Horsehead nebula R) were taken through line filters for oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur. The blue-green O was put in the blue channel, the red H in the green channel, and the redder S in the red channel. This shows where these elements are in these nebulae. #astrophoto

M87 is a massive elliptical galaxy in the constellation of Virgo. It is about 54 Mly away. It could be upwards of 200 times the mass of our own galaxy and is one of the more massive objects local to us. #astrophoto

Just a standard cat-in-a-box.