Carlow Astronomy Club.

25/07/2026

The Iris Nebula (also known as NGC 7023 or Caldwell 4) is a bright reflection nebula located about 1,300 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cepheus. The nebula is illuminated by a magnitude +7.4 star designated HD 200775. It is six light-years across. The Iris nebula has a complex structure of clouds and filamentary structures. The distribution of these clouds is highly inhomogeneous, containing several dense irradiated structures.

Imaged in Athy on 17th/18th July.
Techy stuff:
Telescope: Skywatcher 72ED Focal length.
Camera: AltairAstro26C 120x180sec subs.
Mount: SAL-33
Guide: 50mm Guide scope with AltairAstro 130GPcam.
Image Processing: Image integration and processing in Pixinsight.

15/07/2026

IC 5070 – The Pelican Nebula
The Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) is a vast cloud of glowing hydrogen gas and dark dust located around 1,800 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. Named for its resemblance to the profile of a pelican, it is an active stellar nursery where new stars are continually forming. Intense ultraviolet light from young, hot stars causes the surrounding hydrogen gas to glow red, while dense clouds of dust create the intricate dark lanes and shapes seen throughout the image. Together with the neighbouring North America Nebula, it forms part of one of the Milky Way's largest star-forming regions.

Equipment:
Sky-Watcher Evostar 72ED refractor
Altair Astro 26C one-shot colour
SAL-33 equatorial mount
Total integration: 50 × 180-second exposures (2 hours 30 minutes)

Taken in Athy 14th July.

15/05/2026

IC1396 a vast ionized gas emission nebula and active star-forming region in the Cepheus constellation, located approximately 2,400 light-years from Earth. It is most famous for containing the Elephant's Trunk Nebula (IC 1396A), a dense, dark, 20-light-year-long globule of gas

Taken over the last 2 weekends in Athy Co.Kildare for a total of 5.5hrs integration.

Camera: AA26C 108 x 3min subs

Filter: opt L-extreme

Telescope: skywatcher 72ED with OAG

Mount: MLAstro SAL33

Captured with StellarMate and processed in Pixinsight.

01/04/2026

https://www.rte.ie/news/us/2026/0401/1566197-artemis-nasa/

After several years of delays, the Artemis II mission is poised to carry three Americans and one Canadian on a journey that is expected to break the distance record set by the Apollo missions.

07/03/2026

After a bit of a hiatus which was due to 80% weather and 20% waiting on my new mount to arrive, I finally managed to get first light last night with the MLAstro Sal-33 mount. This is 4 Hrs of integration on the Soul Nebula.
The Soul Nebula (Westerhout 5, Sharpless 2-199) is a massive 100-light-year-wide emission nebula and stellar nursery located 6,500–7,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. Often paired with the nearby Heart Nebula, it is known for producing young, hot stars that shape surrounding gas and dust clouds, creating striking pillars.

Technical details:
96x180sec subs using AA26C and L-extreme Dual band filter.
Mount: MLAstro-SAL33
Guiding: AA130gpcam with Ekos.
Acquisition SW: Kstar/Ekos on Pi4.
Calibrated and processed in Pixinsight.

05/01/2026

Our nearest galactic neighbour only a mere 2.5 Million light years away, and visible to the naked eye. The Andromeda Galaxy or M31 is home to approximately 1 trillion stars. One has to assume there must be life out there somewhere?

This is 6hrs of data captured over the recent clear spell with my 72mm Skywatcher ED and AA26c at 420mm focal length on the atlas Orion mount.
Acquisition and guiding was done via Ekos. Each sub was 3 mins long. Images were then integrated and processed in Pixinsight.

04/01/2026

https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2026/0103/1397562-supermoon-explainer/?fbclid=IwdGRzaAPHTPNjbGNrA8dMsGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHq3XD14mTQyq0OrSUEj7rLVkt_ESpU6ZbLnldI-o3q_6Q9p5ToRnU12DRTrQ_aem_x_zR3pZVLHelW3DmBKi6Fw

The wolf supermoon is the first of 13 full moons we will get to enjoy in Irish skies this year

13/12/2025

Finally managed to dust the cobwebs off the mount - Literally! 😁. This is 5 Hrs on M45 Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, a popular Winter target. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and the nearest Messier object to Earth, being the most obvious star cluster to the naked eye in the night sky. It contains the reflection nebulae NGC 1432.
Taken with my Skywatcher ED72 and AA26C 116X3min Subs, Stacked and processed in PixInsight.