Glacier Point Yosemite Star Party August 2010All Images by Chanan Greenberg 2010

Half Dome from Glacier Point

This climber was imaged through a 5” Astro-Physics Refractor

Getting ready for the PAS Star Party

Ken Lum Setting Up

Observing and Imaging Setup

Observing Setup: 10” Newtonian; 80mm APO Refractor on an Orion Atlas Mount

Imaging Setup: C-9.25 SCT; 80mm APO Refractor on an Astro-Physics 900 Mount with an Orion StarShoot Deep Space Pro CCD

The Milky Way: Nikon DSLR D5000, 30 seconds

The Milky Way: Nikon DSLR D5000, 5 minutes

Star Trails around Polaris: Nikon DSLR D5000, 30 minutes

Andromeda Galaxy (M31): Nikon DSLR D5000, 5 minutes

Pleiades Rising Over Half Dome; Click here to see movie

The Pleiades (M45): Nikon DSLR D5000, 3 minutes

Milky Way Star Field near Cygnus: Nikon DSLR D5000, 5 minutes

North America Nebula (NGC 7000)

80 mm APO Field of View

North America Nebula (NGC 7000): Orion Deep Space Pro; APO 80mm 65 Minutes

The North America Nebula (NGC 7000) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star). The remarkable shape of the emission nebula resembles that of the continent of North America. It is sometimes wrongly called the "North American" nebula.

The North America Nebula is large, more than four times the size of the full moon. The distance of the nebula complex is not precisely known, nor is the star responsible for ionizing the hydrogen so that it emits light. If the star inducing the ionization is Deneb, as some sources say, the nebula complex would be about 1800 light years distance, and its absolute size would be 100 light years across.

This image is a 65 minute exposure taken with an 80 mm APO Refractor telescope

Iris Nebula (NGC 7023): Orion Deep Space Pro; C-9.25 70 Minutes

The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023) is a bright reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus. NGC 7023 is actually the cluster within the nebula. It lies 1,300 light-years away and is six light-years across.

This image is a 70 minute exposure taken with a C-9.25 telescope

Gamma Cygni Nebula (IC 1318 ): Orion Deep Space Pro; 80mm APO 135 Minutes

The Gamma Cygni nebula is an emmission nebula (designated IC 1318) located 3,700 light years away. IC 1318 is located within the constellation Cygnus and is close to other famous landmarks along the summer Milky Way, like the Pelican and North America Nebulae, the Crescent Nebula, and the Bubble. This area is very rich in stars, hydrogen emission and bands of opaque dust.

This image is a 135 minute exposure taken with an 80 mm APO Refractor telescope

Galaxy NGC 6946: Orion Deep Space Pro; C-9.25 95 Minutes

NGC 6946, (also known as the Fireworks Galaxy), is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 22 million light-years away, on the border between the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. NGC 6946 is highly obscured by interstellar matter of the Milky Way galaxy, as it is quite close to the galactic plane.

This image is a 95 minute exposure taken with a C-9.25 telescope

Elephant Trunk Nebula (IC 1396): Orion Deep Space Pro; C-9.25 95 Minutes

The Elephant's Trunk nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust in the star cluster IC 1396 and ionized gas region located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth. The Elephant Trunk nebula is now thought to be site of star formation, containing several very young (less than 100,000 yr) stars that were discovered in infrared images in 2003. The combined action of the light from the massive star ionizing and compressing the rim of the cloud, and the wind from the young stars shifting gas from the center outward lead to very high compression in the Elephant Trunk nebula. This pressure has triggered the current generation of protostars.

This image is a 95 minute exposure taken with a C-9.25 telescope

Galaxy NGC 7331: Orion Deep Space Pro; C-9.25 95 Minutes

NGC 7331 is a spiral galaxy about 40 million light-years (12 Mpc) away in the constellation Pegasus. The galaxy is similar in size and structure to the galaxy we inhabit, and is often referred to as "the Milky Way's twin," although recent discoveries regarding the structure of the Milky Way may call this similarity into doubt.

This image is a 95 minute exposure taken with a C-9.25 telescope

Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146): Orion Deep Space Pro; C-9.25 120 Minutes

The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146), is a star cluster surrounded by a reflection and emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. The cluster is about 4,000 light years away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago. The nebula is about 15 light years across. The dark nebula Barnard 168 surrounds the cluster.

This image is a 2 hour exposure taken with a C-9.25 telescope

2AM Star Party / Star Trails over Half Dome; Nikon DSLR 30 minutes

Deer visiting early on the last morning; Click here to see Sun Rise over Half Dome