Not Jupiter - The Dumbbell Nebula (M27)

This is my first Jupiter-free update in a while. This pic is of a planetary nebula, a dying star, in the summer constellation Vulpecula. It's called the Dumbbell Nebula but I think it looks more like a Bowtie Nebula. It's object #27 on Messier's list.

I took this picture with my 100mm refractor, the color data is from an image I took a few years ago with my DSLR, and the brightness (luminosity) was captured last month with my ST-402, a highly sensitive monochrome camera. I combined the two images in Photoshop. You can click on the pic to get a slightly larger version.

Telescope Comparison

I finished processing my data from the 12th last night. I had both the 9.25" and the 18" scope out that night , here's a comparison of how Jupiter turned out in each.

Jupiter - Oct 17th

Quick Jupiter from the 17th. The jet stream was right overhead that night so I scaled the magnification back a bit.

Jupiter - Oct 12th

My parents were able to peek at Jupiter on Tuesday night through the big scope, they seemed impressed. The seeing was good that evening, and I was able to capture this image. The moon Ganymede is just about to disappear behind Jupiter. Click for the full version.

Jupiter - Oct 10th

Here is Jupiter from last night. Just a quick process, I might go over this again later to see if I can get a little more detail. It was pretty hazy and it seems to have thrown the color off.