double cluster in Perseus

here's another image from this past weekend, this is the famous double cluster in Perseus, a pair of open star clusters.

new setup!

I finally have my telescope setup where I can take photographs directly through it. With my Canon Rebel set at prime focus, I can gather more light and reduce the time needed for my exposures. Here are a couple of examples using the new setup. The second image is the galaxy M33, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy. It is a composite of 25 exposures of 30 seconds each.




The first image is the comet Holmes, currently about a second magnitude object in Perseus, easily visible with the naked eye. This comet is notable because it brightened unexpectedly over a millionfold in the past couple of weeks.