Exploring the Suffolk Virginia Night Sky – Astronomy, Astrophotography, Telescopes, EAA – Planets and Stars and Nebula and Galaxies – Looking, Learning, Sharing… Let's see what we can see…
The Suffolk Sky
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Exploring the Suffolk Virginia Night Sky
Astronomy, Astrophotography, EAA
Planets and Stars and Nebula and Galaxies
Looking, Learning, Sharing...
Let's see what we can see...
02/25/2025 – Some SeeStar EAA – Capturing a Few Messiers
Set the SeeStar up just before dark. Updated the app and the firmware, then adjusted the level. Nice clear night in the low 50s, dropping into the mid-40s as the Sun went down. I started capturing Messier objects just after 7 PM. It has been awhile since we have had a clear sky with no Moon. The warmer temperatures are also very welcome. I added 9 more Messier Objects to the SeeStar Messier List.
For this session, I just used the SeeStar App on the iPad. All the images in this post were taken directly from the SeeStar with no post processing applied.
Messier 44 (M44), the Beehive Cluster, an open cluster in the constellation of Cancer. This is a SeeStar live stack of 91 x 10 seconds with the internal IR_CUT filter.
Messier 78 (M78) is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. This is a SeeStar live stack of 92 x 10 seconds with the internal IR_CUT filter.
A satellite buzzed through about halfway through the stack. I think the murky gradient moving out to the upper left is a reflection from my neighbors spot lights (when they are on it looks like daytime out there). NGC 2071 up to the left. NGC 2067 just right and up from M78, NGC 2064 just right and down from M78.
Messier 35 (M35), the Shoe Buckle Cluster, is an open cluster in the constellation of Gemini. This is a SeeStar live stack of 61 x 10 seconds with the internal IR_CUT filter.
Messier 36 (M36), the Pinwheel Cluster, is an open cluster in the constellation Auriga. This is a SeeStar live stack of 64 x 10 seconds with the internal IR_CUT filter.
Messier 37 (M37), sometimes called the Salt and Pepper Cluster, is an open cluster in the constellation Auriga. This is a SeeStar live stack of 61 x 10 seconds with the internal IR_CUT filter.
Messier 38 (M38), also known as the Starfish Cluster, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Auriga. This is a SeeStar live stack of 38 x 10 seconds with the internal IR_CUT filter.
I only did a little over 6 minutes on M38 as it was dropping a lot of frames. Not sure why, was doing pretty well up till M38.
The SeeStar S50 really does a fantastic job collecting light from open clusters, but I wanted to grab a few more Messier galaxies for the list.
Messier 106 (M106) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. This is a SeeStar live stack of 93 x 10 seconds with the internal IR_CUT filter.
There are a few other faint fuzzies in this capture… NGC 4248 (just up from M106), NGC 4231/NGC 4232 (two galaxies up from M106), and NGC 4217 (edge on galaxy in the upper right, just in the FOV). A satellite buzzed through early on, it almost stacked out.
Messier 64 (M64), the Black Eye Galaxy, a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Coma Berenices. This is a SeeStar live stack of 91 x 10 seconds with the internal IR_CUT filter.
Not a lot of detail but you can definitely see the “black eye.”
Messier 46 (M46) an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Puppis. This is a SeeStar live stack of 61 x 10 seconds with the internal IR_CUT filter.
This is a neat open cluster with a little planetary nebula NGC 2438 in the star field.
