Notes from a Small Observatory
The trials, tribulations and small triumphs of a Charlotte, NC astronomer imaging under Bortle 8/9 skies.
Thursday, October 1, 2026
20 Hours of WR 134 with the Seestar S50
This image is a 20+ hour integration on WR 134, which is a highly energetic Wolf-Rayet star. The blue shockwave is oxygen ionized by the intense stellar winds produced from this object. The image was stacked and processed in Siril and Affinity.
Thursday, June 25, 2026
The Pelican Nebula with the Dwarf 3
This is a 4.5 hour integration of the Pelican Nebula, taken with a Dwarf 3 scope. Stacked and processed in Stellar Studio and Photoshop PS.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
M 106. A 10-Hour Integration with the Seestar S50
This is a 10-hour integration if M 106 taken with the S50. Stacked and processed in Siril (VeraLux scripts and Cosmic Clarity). Tweaked in Affinity and Photoshop.
Friday, April 24, 2026
A 26 Hour Integration of M51 with the Seestar S 50
M 51 is a wonderful object for S50 imaging, and this image has a total integration time of just over 26 hours (20 second subs in EQ mode). It was stacked and processed in Siril with the Veralux and Cosmic Clarity scripts. Tweaks were made in Affinity Photo.
Sunday, March 29, 2026
NGC 2244 with the Dwarf 3--A 6 hour integration.
This image is just over six hours of integration time on the Rosette Nebula. Stacked and processed in Siril with multiple VeraLux scripts with finak tweaking in Affinity. This image was taken with the Dwarf 3. Compare it with the last image I posted, captured with the Seestar S50.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
NGC 2244 with the Seestar S50--a 6-hour integration
NCG 2244, the Satellite Cluster, is located in the Rosette Nebula. This image of the cluster's brightest stars is a 6-hour capture (20-second subs) with the S50. It was stacked an processed in Siril, with Cosmic Clarity and multiple VeraLux scripts. I tweaked contrast and brightness in Affinity Photo. If you click and zoom on this image, it shows a wealth of detail that the S50 captured--impressive for such a short total integration time. I also processed the image for a more "natural" look, resisting the tempation to boost the saturation and change hues 🙂
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
M42--12 hours with the Dwarf 3 scope
The Dwarf 3 is the perfect scope to capture detailed, wide views of the sky. This ability is particularly suited to large DSOs like the Orion Nebula. This image is a 12 hour integation on 60s subframes, stacked and procssed in Siril (with Varilux and Cosmic Clarity scripts). At 12 hours, the faint nebulosity surrounding M42 starts to become visible and the Dwarf does a fine job of capturing it. Click image to see the large version.
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20 Hours of WR 134 with the Seestar S50
This image is a 20+ hour integration on WR 134, which is a highly energetic Wolf-Rayet star. The blue shockwave is oxygen ionized by the int...
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I had a couple of emails asking how to defork an ETX telescope. The ETX 90 and ETX 125 were optically superb scopes, but the mounts left a...
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M17, the Omega Nebula (among other names). M17 is one of the brightest and most massive stellar nurseries in the galaxy. The open cluster o...
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The ZEQ25 doing its stuff on a cold night--imaging the Orion Nebula with an 8 inch f/4 astrograph. Note the lovely Christmas rug :) As ...





