Deep Space Wonders from Negev Desert

Deep Space
Wonders from
Negev Desert
by
Michael Kalika
(Israel)

What is Astrophotography?
People photograph different things – kids, vehicles, sport events,
nature, special moments… Astrophotographers capture past.
Astrophotography is simply taking a photograph of an object in space,
whether it's with a point-and-shoot camera, NASA telescopes or any
other type of equipment and camera. Although speed of light is very
fast - it still takes tens, hundreds, thousands and million of years for the
light of distant deep space objects to travel to Earth. Therefore,
whatever we capture from the deep space is not as we see it now. It is
a picture of the past as it was many years ago…

What is Needed?
To make something special you do not need to work in
observatory or spend fortune on expensive equipment.
Very often a simple 6” telescope, a low end equatorial
mount and 2nd hand DSLR camera and laptop is all what
is needed to start with.
But... it requires dedication, some technical and
astronomy knowledge, constant learning, willingness to
drive hundreds of kilometers to dark sites, passion and
love.
My remote observatory equipment:
Skywatcher 6” Telescope, NEQ6 Mount,
Power Battery & Laptop
The Imaging Equipment:
Canon DSLR 550D, Lodestar X2
CCD AutoGuider, Off Axis Guider

The Capturing Process
The light of deep space object is very weak. Therefore, to eliminate
light pollution effects in the urban area we must drive hundreds of
kilometers to the dark site in Israel desert and grab with us heavy
equipment.
To capture image we open camera shutter for long exposures,
usually between 2 to 15 minutes (depends on the subject). We do
many long exposures frames so we could stack them together and
receive better image - more image signal and less noise. For
achieving long exposures without objects being blurred, some form
of tracking mount is employed to compensate for the Earth's
rotation.

Image Processing
Now that we captured image data during a
sleepless and cold night in the desert and
returned home the image processing begins…
In short, image processing involves noise
cleaning, aligning, stacking, sharpening and
stretching images. One of the marvelous and
powerful tools that we use is called PixInsight.

The Great Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula also known as M42 is an enormous
cloud of gas and dust, one of many in our Milky Way
galaxy. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to
the naked eye in the night sky. M42 lies roughly 1,300
light-years from Earth. At some 30 to 40 light-years in
diameter, this great huge gas cloud is giving birth to
perhaps a thousand stars. A young open star cluster,
whose stars were born at the same time from a portion
of the nebula and are still loosely bound by gravity, can
be seen within the nebula. It is sometimes called the
Orion Nebula Star Cluster. In 2012, an international team
of astronomers suggested this cluster in the Orion
Nebula might have a black hole at its heart.
Imaged by me on November 3rd, in Negev desert in
Israel.
Tech Details Tech details:
35 x 10sec ISO800 frames
Overall, 2 hours and 7 minutes of imaging time
Equipment Scope: Skywatcher F5 150/750 reflector
Mount: NEQ6
Imaging camera: Canon 550D
Guiding camera: ZWO ASI130MM
Guider: Orion Thin Off-Axis Guider
Software Sequence Generator Pro, Stark Labs PHD 2.6,
PixInsight 1.8

The Sculpture Galaxy
The Sculptor Galaxy, also known as the Silver Coin
or Silver Dollar Galaxy, NGC 253, is a beautiful
island galaxy located in the constellation of
Sculptor, some 11.4 million light-years from Earth.
It's size is 70 light years across. The Sculptor
Galaxy is a starburst galaxy, which means that it is
currently undergoing a period of intense star
formation. Recent research suggests the presence
in the center of this galaxy of a supermassive
black hole, with a mass estimated to be 5 million
times that of our Sun.
Imaged by me on November 3rd, in Negev desert
in Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Triangulum Galaxy
The Triangulum Galaxy also referred as M33 is a
spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light-years
from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. M33
is the third-largest member of the Local Group of
galaxies, which includes our galaxy Milky Way, the
Andromeda Galaxy and about 44 other smaller
galaxies. M33's diameter is 60,000 light-years and
it is home to 40 billion stars, compared to 400
billion for the Milky Way, and 1 trillion stars for
Andromeda.
Imaged by me on September 1st 2016, in Negev
desert in Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Witch's Broom Nebula
The Witch's Broom Nebula, also known as NGC 6960 or Veil Nebula.
A long time ago, five or maybe eight thousand years ago, before the
dawn of recorded human history, a new light would have suddenly
have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today
we know this light was from a supernova - an exploding star at least
8 times bigger than our Sun. Blasted out in the cataclysmic explosion,
the interstellar shock wave plows through space sweeping up and
exciting interstellar material. The expanding cloud of gas and dust
that we see in this image is a remnant of that violent event. Who
knows, how many civilizations did not survive at that time...?
The glowing filaments are like long ripples in a sheet seen almost
edge on, remarkably well separated into atomic hydrogen (red) and
oxygen (blue-green) gas. The complete supernova remnant lies about
1400 light-years away towards the constellation Cygnus. This Witch's
Broom actually spans about 35 light-years. The bright star in the
frame is 52 Cygni, visible with the unaided eye from a dark location
but unrelated to the ancient supernova remnant.
Imaged by me on June 2nd 2016, from Negev Desert in Israel.
Tech Details 27 x 600sec ISO1600 frames
Mount: NEQ6
Imaging camera: Canon 550D full spectrum modded
Guiding camera: Starlight Xpress Lodestar x2
Focuser: Moonlite Crayford Focuser with step motor
Other: QHY PoleMaster
PixInsight 1.8

The Helix Nebula
The Helix Nebula [NGC 7293], also known as The
Eye of God, is a large planetary nebula located in
the constellation Aquarius. It's one of the most
iconic celestial images in astronomy. This nebula
formed at the end of a star's evolution and it
consist of an expanding glowing shell of ionized
gas ejected from an old red giant star late in it's
live. The core becomes a hot white dwarf pouring
out ultraviolet radiation into its surroundings.
The Helix Nebula lies about 700 light-years away
from Earth, spanning about 2.5 light-years.
Imaged by me on July 9th 2016, from Negev
Desert in Israel.
Overall, 1 hour and 55 minutes of imaging time
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Eagle Nebula
Also known as M16, the Eagle Nebula is a 5.5 million-year-old
cloud of molecular hydrogen gas and dust stretching
approximately 70 light years by 55 light years. Inside the nebula,
gravity pulls clouds of gas together to collapse inward. If enough
gas is present, nuclear fusion is ignited in the center, and the
compact cloud becomes a shining star. The Eagle Nebula is
thought to have several star-forming regions within it. The gas and
dust that ultimately collapsed into our Sun four billion years ago
likely resided in a structure similar to the Eagle Nebula. The Eagle
Nebula lies 6,500 light-years away in the inner spiral arm of the
Milky Way, next to our own.
In the middle of the image there a small structure called "Pillars of
Creation", imaged using the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995.
Those images greatly improved scientific understanding of
processes inside the nebula. The "Pillars of Creation" were
probably destroyed 6000 years ago and due to the distance, we
won't be able to see the destruction from Earth for another 1000
years.
Imaged by me on July 9th 2016, from Negev Desert in Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Crescent Nebula
NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula or The
Brain Nebula, is a cosmic bubble about 25 light-years
across, blown by winds from its central, bright, massive
star. This object is an emission nebula located in the
constellation Cygnus, about 5000 light-years away from
Earth. It was discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in
1792. It is formed by the fast stellar wind from the Wolf-
Rayet star colliding with and energizing the slower
moving wind ejected by the star when it became a red
giant around 250,000 to 400,000 years ago. The result of
the collision is a shell and two shock waves, one moving
outward and one moving inward. The inward moving
shock wave heats the stellar wind to X-ray-emitting
temperatures.
Imaged by me on July 1st 2016, from Negev Desert in
Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Trifid Nebula
The beautiful Trifid Nebula, also known as Messier 20, is
an easy to find object with a small telescope or
binoculars in the constellation of Sagittarius. The object
is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars, an
emission nebula (the lower, red portion), a reflection
nebula (the upper, blue portion) and a dark nebula (the
apparent 'gaps' within the emission nebula that cause
the trifurcated appearance).
Tifid Nebula located about 5,000 light-years away from
Earth, it's size is about 40 light-years across and a mere
300,000 years old. That makes it one of the youngest
star forming regions in our sky, with newborn and
embryonic stars embedded in its natal dust and gas
clouds.
Imaged by me on June 3rd 2016, from Negev Desert in
Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Great Globular
Cluster in Hercules
The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules also
known as M13 is one of the brightest globular
star clusters in the northern sky in the
constellation of Hercules. M13 is about 145 light-
years in diameter, and it is composed of over
300,000 stars. M13 is 25,100 light-years away
from Earth.
Imaged by me on June 2nd 2016, in Negev desert
in Israel.
Overall, 1 hour and 9 minutes of imaging time
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

Messier 106 Galaxy
Messier 106 (M106) is a spiral galaxy in the
constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by
Pierre Méchain in 1781. M106 is at a distance of
about 22 to 25 million light-years away from
Earth. It is also a Seyfert II galaxy. Due to x-rays
and unusual emission lines detected, it is
suspected that part of the galaxy is falling into a
supermassive black hole in the center. Its size is
135,000 light years.
NGC 4217 is a possible companion galaxy of
Messier 106. A Type II supernova was observed in
this galaxy in May 2014.
Imaged by me on April 8th 2016, from Negev
Desert in Israel.
Overall, 5 hours of imaging time
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Rosette Nebula
The Rosette nebula is a not only a cloud of gas
and cosmic dust in the form of beatiful flower. It
is also a cradle of young stars and a symbol of
Valentine's day. The beautiful Rose located 5,000
light-years from Earth and aproximately 50 light
years in diameter.
Imaged by me on February 13th 2016, from Negev
Desert in Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Markarian Chain
Galaxies are smiling us :-)... Who knows...? Maybe
someone smart lives there, in these worlds...
Across the heart of the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies
lies a striking string of galaxies known as
Markarian's Chain. It is called a chain because,
when viewed from Earth, the galaxies lie along a
smoothly curved line. It was named after the
Armenian astrophysicist, B. E. Markarian, who
discovered their common motion in the early
1960s.
Imaged by me on February 13th 2016, from Negev
Desert in Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Horsehead Nebula
Horses in the space... Does anyone want to take a ride? :) The
Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 ) is a dark nebula in
the constellation of Orion. This dark cloud of interstellar dust and
gas is a region where star formation is taking place. The dust cloud
is so dense that it obscures the light from objects behind it, such
as background stars and emission or reflection nebulae red. The
Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1500 light years from Earth
and its size is approximately 3.5 x 2.5 light years.
Another interesting object from the left side of the horse is The
Flame Nebula, also known as NGC 2024. It is an emission nebula.
The bright star Alnitak, the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion
[the brightest strong star above both nebulas], shines energetic
ultraviolet light into the Flame and this knocks electrons away
from the great clouds of hydrogen gas that reside there.
Imaged by me on December 11th 2015, from Negev Desert in
Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

Pleiades
Have you ever heard the story of Pleiades? According to the ancient Greeks, the
Pleiades were seven sisters. Their parents were Pleione and Atlas who was
condemned by Zeus to support the Heavens on his shoulders. One day, the
Pleiades were traveling with their mother and met the hunter Orion. Orion fell in
love with Pleione and her charming daughters. He spent a great deal of time
chasing after them, trying to win their affection. After several years, Zeus
intervened and transformed the women into doves to help them escape. They
flew into the sky to become the cluster of stars that today has their name. The
constellation of Orion is said to still pursue them across the night sky. However,
only six stars are visible in the sky without a telescope. The ancient Greeks
explained the absence of a seventh star with several different stories. According
to one story, one of the Pleiades, Merope deserted her sisters because she was
ashamed of having a mortal husband, who also happened to be a criminal.
Pleiades [M45] is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars
located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to
Earth and it is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. The cluster is dominated by
hot blue and extremely luminous stars that have formed within the last 100
million years. These stars have from 2 to 16 times the mass of the Sun. The
Pleiades contain few thousand stars, is about 400 light years away, and only 13
light years across. Dust that forms a faint reflection nebulosity around the
brightest stars was thought at first to be left over from the formation of the
cluster, but is now known to be an unrelated dust cloud in the interstellar
medium, through which the stars are currently passing.
Imaged by me on November 13th 2015, from Negev Desert in Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31 or
M31 is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-
years from Earth. It is the nearest major galaxy to the
Milky Way and was often referred to as the Great
Andromeda Nebula in older texts. It is so bright that it is
easily seen by naked eye as a faint fuzzy patch of light in
the northern part of Andromeda constellation named
after the mythological princess Andromeda. Being
approximately 220,000 light years across, it is the largest
galaxy of the Local Group, which also contains the Milky
Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 44 other smaller
galaxies. Our galaxy, The Milky Way and Andromeda are
expected to collide in 3.75 billion years, eventually
merging to form a giant spiral or disk form galaxy.
Imaged by me on October 16th 2015, from Negev Desert
in Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
PixInsight 1.8

The Dumbbell Nebula
The Dumbbell Nebula also known M27. Imaged by me
on July 17th in Negev desert.
This is what our Sun will become ~7 billion years in the
future. In about 5 billion years from now, the core of Sun
will run out of hydrogen, then helium... and our home
star will begin to die. The outer Sun layers will expand,
cool, and become less bright. It will become a red giant
star and after this phase, the outer layers of the Sun will
continue to expand and form Planetary Nebula like M27.
The core of the Sun will shrink into few thousand miles
cold star - "The White Dwarf".
M27 is located in the constellation Vulpecula and it takes
light about 1000 years to reach us from there. The
diameter of M27 is ~1.5 light years.
Imaged by me on July 17th 2015, in Negev desert in
Israel.
Overall, 2 hours of imaging time.
Mount: NEQ6
Software BackyardEOS 3, Stark Labs PHD 2.5,
PixInsight 1.8

The Leo Triplet
The Leo Triplet, also known as the M66
Group is a small group of galaxies about 35
million light-years away in the constellation
Leo.
Imaged by me on May 15th 2015, in Negev
desert in Israel.
Mount: NEQ6
Software BackyardEOS 3, Stark Labs PHD 2.5,
PixInsight 1.8

The Imaging Site
The imaging site is located near Mitzpeh
Ramon in Negev Desert, Israel.
This is one of the darkest and highest
places in our small country.

About me
My name is Michael Kalika. Since I was a kid, I remember myself watching
at the night sky and stars, reading science fiction and dreaming about
traveling in space. When I grew up, I fulfilled my dream… No, I did not
travel in space… .
I bought telescope which allows me to catch those small particles that
pass millions of light years and capture information that they carry with
them – the photons.
I am Software Engineer in my background. I live in Rishon Le-Tzion, Israel
and I am father of 3 boys. I hope one day they will follow my path and
capture marvelous space images. And who knows what will they
discover…?
Email: Michael.Kalika@gmail.com
AstroBin Gallery: http://www.astrobin.com/users/mkalika
LinkedIn: https://il.linkedin.com/in/michaelkalika
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.kalika.3

Deep Space Wonders from Negev Desert

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Deep Space Wonders from Negev Desert