Astro
First light with my new ASI2600MC-duo camera. Only 1 hour of North American nebula without any calibration frames. I am impressed with the resolution and clarity compared to ASI533MC. Still need to work on calibration for the guiding camera to make it better.
The double cluster from Perseus: A pair of open clusters 7000 light years away and consisting of hot blue-white young stars only about 14 million years old. These clusters are blueshifted as they are approaching us at ~40km/s.
This image is a stack of 100 five-second exposures.
Andromeda Galaxy (M31) - the closest neighboring galaxy at 2.5 million light years away.
This image is a stack of 60 two-minute exposures taken with ZWO ASI533MC-Pro camera attached to William Optics ZenithStar61 refractor.
It was supposed to be cloudy but it cleared up right after sunset and comet Tsushibchan-ATLAS made a surprising visit. Also found out that I can see it from my front yard without going to faraway places in search of western horizon.
A couple more photos of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS from last night. Tonight it will be farther away from the horizon but we are expecting rain. 😒
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS this morning in Niantic, CT. I could spot it easily through binoculars but couldn’t see it with naked eye. A little bit of tail can be seen here.
This image is a 1 sec exposure at f/4 with a 70mm lens.
Mars and Jupiter conjunction seen this morning (aug 15). They were less than half a degree apart - less than the size of full Moon in the sky. Three moons of Jupiter are visible. Ganymede on the left, Europa and Callisto on the right.
Sunspot AR3664 that created the fantastic display of Aurora went around the Sun over last 2 weeks and is back. It is reduced in intensity and can be seen at the top left edge. Although it is not likely, I am hoping that it will create more Aurora in coming days. 
The totality lasted only for 3 minutes and 33 seconds but the whole eclipse went on for about two and half hours. Fortunately, I was at a spot where I could observe and photograph it from start to finish. Here is the whole total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 compressed in a one minute video.
From all the photos taken during the total Solar eclipse on Monday, this one is my most favorite. It shows some corona but if you zoom in at the bottom half of the photo, the solar prominences and Bailey’s beads are so striking!
For those who don’t know what Bailey’s beads are… these are the small specks of light coming through the lunar craters and valleys as the Sun emerges from totality.
A collage of eclipse progression and 2 photos taken during totality - one showing the corona and the other showing solar prominences and Bailey’s beads.
Three minutes and thirty three seconds of totality - an amazing experience! Here are three shots from beginning and end of totality. Will post more tomorrow.
Sun on Sunday, March 24. So many sunspots! I guess there is a higher chance of seeing northern lights due to with all this solar activity.
These photos were taken about 24 hours apart. From the movement of the Sunspots we can appreciate the Sun’s rotation. This is the first time for me to observe this and the Sun rotates much slower than I expected.
My favorite constellation in the sky. Playing here with a diffuser filter to get that soft dreamy look.
2024 version of the Running Man (NGC1977) and Orion Nebula (M42). This star forming region in the sword of Orion is about 1350 light years away. The core was intentionally overexposed to bring out the dark nebulosity.
This image is a stack of sixty 1-minute exposures taken with WO Zenithstar61 telescope attached to ASI533-MC-Pro camera. Processed using SIRIL and Photoshop.