M82 with newly discovered Supernova

Taken by Rhys Owen on 23.1.14 from Hatfield, with a Canon 600D and a Takahashi 106FSQ, using Nebulosity to acquire the frames. Guiding was done with PHD. The exposure was a multiple of 14 x 120sec and 6 x 300sec at ISO400. Calibrated in Astroart with darks and flats then finished off in Photoshop.
Look for the bright star near the middle of M82. It's in the photograph taken on the 23rd, but not in the one taken a year ago. Click on a photograph to gain an enlarged view.

 

M42 - The Orion Nebula


Taken by Rhys Owen on the 6th of January from Hatfield. 12x300sec at ISO800 and 12x60sec at ISO400 exposures with a modified Canon 600D in a Takahashi 106FSQ, recorded with Nebulosity and guided by PHD. Calibrated in Astroart with darks and flats, and finally processed in Photoshop.
Always a difficult target because of it's wide dynamic range, but expertly executed here.

The Sun's Active Region 1944 on 8.1.14


The forecast was good, but the reality was streaky cloud all round the horizon, but I had to try, and the aim was a mosaic of AR 1944.  9 videos were taken when the cloud appeared to be thinner, but only 6 were added into the mosaic. This was the AR that was supposed to give us aurorae but we'll have to wait for tonight, to see if that happens. It's forecast to be clear too.
Taken with the DMK31 and the Skywatcher 80ED and Solar System's 0.3A filter set at 48.9°C. Processed in Avistack, and Photoshop. Avistack seems to be better than Registax6, or I'm getting better at using it.