WVAstronomy

06/20/2024

"Moonlight Milkyway" 🌙 📷

Shooting the Milkyway under 60%moonlight really washes out the sky, but illuminates the landscape. It's a love/hate thing, 😆

First finished image from my session at Calhoun County Park. (More to come) Captured Saturday night as the moon was setting below the trees.

Astro Modified Canon 80d - L pro filter
Sky- tracked 30s, 15mm - iso6400
Foreground -120s, 15mm .3, iso1600

Jonathan Eggleston
West Virginia Astrophotography Association Optolong Filter Images

06/05/2024

So great to see all the new followers guys! 🙌
I'm going to be putting a lot more into this page and have some really cool things coming up this summer! Welcome to the page, I really appreciate all the support! 😃🙏

Milkyway season is in full swing! 👏

01/28/2024

Last night, I was gazing at the spectacle of a lunar halo from my cozy backyard in Monroe County, West Virginia.
With my full frame Sony A7rii paired with the Irix 15mm prime lens, I was able to capture the striking beauty of the moon surrounded by a radiant ring of light.
The lunar halo materializes when moonlight refracts through ice crystals suspended in the Earth's atmosphere.

The wide-field of the Irix 15mm lens allowed me to capture the scene perfectly, framing the moon and its enchanting halo in all its glory.

This resulting image preserves the magic of that moment, where the halo adds an otherworldly touch to the nocturnal West Virginia canvas.

ISO1600, f7.1, 6s exposure

12/10/2023

The, "Elephant's Trunk Nebula" is a captivating region located in the night sky.

Found within the constellation Cepheus, this target is a part of the larger complex known as the IC 1396 star-forming region, located 2,400 light-years away.

This awesome nebula spans over 20 light-years in length and is a prominent feature in the Milky Way.

The Elephant's Trunk owes its form to the intense radiation emitted by nearby young, massive stars.
These bright stars flood the region with ultraviolet light, causing the surrounding hydrogen gas to ionize and emit a striking red glow. This emission nebula effect is beautifully contrasting against the dark, obscuring dust lanes that wind their way through the nebula, creating a stark juxtaposition of colors and textures.

Within the confines of this deep sky object, the process of star formation is at work, as the dense pockets of gas and dust gradually compress under the influence of gravity, giving birth to new stars.
This region showcases the ever-evolving nature of our universe, making it a favorite subject for astrophotographers and amateur astronomers.

One night in the backyard with the redcat 51 telescope and Optolong L-Extreme filter.

(3.5Hr Exposure)

09/13/2023

Hello everyone!

It has been a while since I've really put much into the WVAstronomy FB group, but let's change that shall we!!
I'm going to do my best to give this group a little more attention from now on, and if you guys haven't had a chance to check out the West Virginia Astrophotography Association , check out that page as well and give us a follow on there. It's a new resource for anyone getting into, or are interested in learning about backyard astrophotography and the many rewards it offers.
Here is an image of my most recent target, the "Cave Nebula" located 2400 light years away in the constellation of Cepheus.
This interstellar gas cloud has been a favorite of mine for a few years now.
I love how the dark dust starts to pop with enough exposure time. 😍
I spent 17 hours over 4 nights in the backyard with the redcat 51 gathering data for this one, and I gotta say, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.
Hope you guys like!

08/26/2023

Make sure you guys don't miss the Farm Fest today in VA!
I will be taking photographs of the event, as well as selling prints and sharing astrophotography tips! Come on out and enjoy an evening of music in the mountains and take yourself home an awesome print! Hope to see you guys there! 😃 🥳

08/12/2022

Hey guys, was wondering what type of images you guys like seeing more, nightscape images or deep-sky?

07/18/2022

Never knew about this nebula! Amazing! I think it's one of my new favorites! What do you guys think?

: "The Cosmic Bat"

Located in Ophiuchus and rarely imaged, LDN 43 is a dark nebula consisting of very dense material blocking light from the background stars. Two cometary nebulae (GN 16.31.3 and GN 16.31.7) are found inside the dark nebula area, which certainly looks like a flying bat. The nebula spans 12 light-years at its estimated distance, about 1,400 light-years from planet Earth.

Imaged in LRGB on our RiDK 500 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.
Processing: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby, Mark Hanson Astrophotography

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11/04/2021

The California Nebula is an intense hydrogen emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus....

This iconic deep-sky object has been ignited by energetic starlight that has ionized its nebular gas composition.

The Nebula is 2.5° long (60 light-years across), and roughly 1,500 light-years away from Earth.

I processed a little different than last year's version.. this is a combination of hubble pallette and RGB blended together for this rendition...
Hope you guys like it!

60x300s lights
40 darks
35 flats
35 dark flats

Rokinon135 at f4, Asi183mc pro, L extreme filter, Asi120mm mini guide camera, orion mini 50mm guide scope, AsiAirPro, eq6r pro mount
Stacked and calibrated in APP, processed using PS and Adobe Camera raw

10/31/2021

For Halloween I give you the bottom Kate's Mountain...

Legend has it, Kate's mountain, south of White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, was named for Catherine "Kate" Carpenter, who in September 1756 took refuge with her child on the mountain after her family was attacked on the peak...

During this time, attacks on white settlers by Shawnee and other tribes were commonplace, and one day, the inevitable attack came on Kate and her family. Kate's husband grabbed an axe and ordered Kate to grab their son and run.
While fleeing through the woods, Kate was overcome by her attackers, and her son savagely ripped from her hands. Both were scalped, beheaded, and mutilated. A similar fate befell Kate's husband back at their modest cabin.

Shortly after the attack, other locals began reporting seeing a headless woman running through the woods. A woman's scream and the cries of a small child cut short were also heard...
Even today, odd occurrences still are reported...weird lights and an odd humming sound that is associated with causing problems with a car's electrical system.

I was heading up to see what I could find for a composition, but noticed this scene at the very bottom of the mountain, so I decided to shoot here...

This is a composite image of multiple exposures Blended together to create the light trails and to get the Milky Way in there.

All foreground shots were captured with my Sony A7rii and irix 45mm at f/6.3, 15s exposures, iso400,
Sky was a stack of 10x6s exposures, iso6400

10/11/2021

Hey everyone,
Here is a link to a video I threw together of all the major celestial events going on this month, as well as some of my favorite deep sky targets.. It is meteor month, with the peak of the Orionids meteor shower happening. So check out the video for the dates of everything...

https://youtu.be/dFQ7kSWltF0

And remember, you don't need any special equipment to view meteor showers.. the best way to see them are just a dark sky and your eyes...
I wish you good luck and clear skies!
Thanks..

Sky News, Whats up in the night sky, October 2021 is all about the month of October and what it has to offer. This series will get better over time, but I co...