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Bobby Hilke Astro

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Bobby Hilke Astro

Backyard Astrophotographer

ig: instagram.com/bobby.hilke.astro

05/05/2026

One of my favorite spring DSOs - Rho Ophiuchi

About 8 hrs total exposure time.

10/07/2025

Different perspective on the California Nebula. Imaged from my bortle 6/7 backyard during a full moon. About 9.5 hrs in total exposure time (two nights).

The California Nebula (NGC 1499) is a vast emission nebula in the constellation Perseus, about 1,000 light-years away. Spanning roughly 100 light-years in length, it glows a deep red from ionized hydrogen gas excited by the nearby hot blue star Xi Persei (Menkib). Its elongated shape and crimson hue resemble the outline of the U.S. state of California—hence its name.

Equipment used to capture this image:
Scope - Explore Scientific 127 CF Refractor
Camera - zwo asi2600mc Pro
Mount - Sky-Watcher EQ6-R pro
Filter - Optolong Astronomy Filter L-Ultimate

6 minute subs at 100 gain

08/05/2025

Tap for full image

*First Light with my Nikon Z7ii*

About the image:
Vertical widefield image of the beautifully complex LDN 1235 (Shark Nebula) region, a dark nebula complex in the constellation Cepheus. Featured from top to bottom are several well-known dark and reflection nebulae: the Rotten Fish Nebula, the Shark Nebula, the Wolf's Cave Nebula and the faint Little Jellyfish Nebula drifts in the surrounding cosmic cloudscape. These dense regions of gas and dust are illuminated by distant stars and set against a backdrop of rich interstellar medium, offering an awesome view into one of Cepheus’ most photogenic areas of the night sky.

About the camera:
I use both dedicated astro cameras (OSC) and mirrorless/dslr cameras for astro imaging. Astro Cameras are great, but I decided to go with a more affordable option for a good full frame camera. Previously I used the Nikon Z6, which is a GREAT camera.. but with a pixel size of 5.98um, I was a bit undersampled with my widefield setups. I recently added the Z7ii (nearly 2X the mp, astromodified by Kolari Vision Infrared ). I must say, I am very impressed. An obvious upgrade to resolution, really apparent in the starfield. Not much of a drop off in SNR either. I'll take a FF camera at under $2k that performs like this every day of the week.

Setup
Scope: Askar SQA55 Quintuplet (264mm)
Camera: Nikon Z7ii (300s × 70/iso640)
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5
No filter

Imaged from Tionesta area in Pennsylvania (Bortle 3/4)

Clear skies!

08/04/2025

Barnard 150 - The Seahorse Nebula

The Seahorse Nebula, also known as Barnard 150 (B150), is a dark nebula located in the constellation Cepheus, approximately 1,200 light-years from Earth. Its striking, seahorse-like shape is formed by dense interstellar dust that blocks the light of background stars, creating a silhouette against the brighter Milky Way. As a region of cold gas and dust, the Seahorse Nebula is a site of potential star formation. It is part of a larger complex of dark nebulae cataloged by astronomer E.E. Barnard in the early 20th century.

Imaged from the cooks forest area in Pennsylvania (Bortle 3/4)

Setup
Scope: Explore Scientific 127 CF Refractor
Camera: ZWO ASI2600mc pro
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R pro
No filters

300 sec subs - 8 hrs total exposure - Zero gain

Clear skies!

04/09/2025

MORE data from my Trip to Big Bend!

The Horsehead is setting very early these days but with 3 clear nights bortle 1 skies I figured it was worth a go!

I spent about 8hrs on this target for 3 nights (2-3 hrs per night). I did 300s subs with zero gain and no filters. Results above.

Equipment Used:

Scope - Explore Scientific 127 CF Refractor
Camera - zwo asi2600mc pro
Mount - Sky-Watcher EQ6-R pro
Reducer/Flattener Skywatcher .85X 120 pro ed

No filters

04/08/2025

The Centaurus A Galaxy

I took advantage of the south TX skies and spent some time on this galaxy which is not visible from the North. I didn't get as much time as I would have liked on this target, but I did get enough for this image.

Centaurus A, located 12–13 million light-years away in the Centaurus constellation, is the fifth brightest galaxy in the night sky. It's a prime target for amateur astronomers, especially in the Southern Hemisphere during autumn. Known for its active supermassive black hole and dramatic radiation jets, Centaurus A is a merger of two galaxies, an elliptical and a spiral.

Equipment used:

Scope - Explore Scientific 127 CF Refractor
Camera - ZWO asi2600mc pro
Mount - Sky-Watcher EQ6-R pro
No filters

About 4 hrs of exposure time from Big Bend

04/07/2025

Another cool shot I got in big bend 🌌

Nikon Z6 / 10s Exp / f2.8 / iso 6400

04/06/2025

IC 4604 - Nebula in Ophiuchus

IC 4604 is a Nebula in the Ophiuchus constellation. IC 4604 is situated close to the celestial equator and, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Given its B magnitude of 5.1, IC 4604 is barely visible to the naked eye, easily visible with the help of a small binocular.

Equipment used to capture this image:

Scope - Explore Scientific 127 CF Triplet Refractor
Camera - zwo asi2600mc Pro
Mount - Sky-Watcher EQ6-R pro
No filters

About 5 hrs exposure time

04/02/2025

The Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex

Not only was this my 1st time taking a trip to the Big Bend National Park 🏜 .. it was also my 1st time imaging the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. I haven't been able to get any time on this spectacular target from the northeast region. Whether it was wildfire smoke, bad weather and just bad luck. I couldn't catch a break for 2 years.

My luck changed in TX..

I got 2 beautiful nights in a row and although Rho is late to rise this time of year, it was well worth the wait. I got two very clear nights and this was the result.

The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is a complex of interstellar clouds with different nebulae, particularly a dark nebula which is centered 1° south of the star ρ Ophiuchi, which it among others extends to, of the constellation Ophiuchus. At an estimated distance of about 140 parsecs, or 460 light years, it is one of the closest star-forming regions to the Solar System.

Gear used:
- Nikon Z6 (Full Frame)
- Sharpstar Optics Askar SQA55
- Sky-Watcher HEQ5

(And Thanks to High Point Scientific for quickly getting the SQA55 to me before my trip!)

No filter

About 5hrs of total exposure time

03/23/2025

Almost Milkyway season!

I'll be heading to the darkest/clearest sky in the lower 48 pretty soon, so stay tuned and I'll see you in the desert 🏜

Here's one from last fall at Cherry Springs I somehow never posted

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