Kissimmee Park Observatory

03/14/2025

Here is last night's eclipse, taken at the observatory, right around 3am. It was not a very dark eclipse, and the colors were a bit more muted than the most recent past total lunar eclipses. The moon was placed between the stars of Leo and Virgo; the brighter star to the lower right of the moon is 89 Leonis, a 5th magnitude star. The faintest stars in this image are over 10th magnitude.

03/07/2025

I caught Starships demise from Central Florida

02/01/2025

Here is the banger from the Winter Star Party: the Eta Carina nebula, in narrowband, with five hours of total exposure. This target is only 5° above the horizon in the Florida Keys.  We were blessed with clear skies on the southern horizon for several nights. 

01/30/2025

Next capture from the Winter Star Party: The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405) in Auriga. 8.5 hours total exposure, including 20 minutes of data taken in Texas last year.

01/29/2025

First spoils from the Winter Star Party:
This is the Rosette Nebula in LRGB; 5 hours of exposure because I used an hour of luminance from when I was in Texas last year.

01/27/2025

The SkyTent returns to the Winter Star Party!! Great to be back at WSP after 17 years! Looking forward to a week of pristine Bortle 3 skies.

01/08/2025

Here is the Whirlpool Galaxy, taken with the RC-12 astrograph at KPO; with 5.4 hours total exposure in this HaLRGB image.

The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as M51, is a stunning celestial object that has fascinated astronomers and stargazers for centuries. Located approximately 23 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici, this galaxy is a beautiful spiral galaxy that is interacting with a smaller companion galaxy.

At the heart of the Whirlpool Galaxy lies a supermassive black hole that is millions of times more massive than the sun. This black hole is thought to be responsible for the strong gravitational forces that are shaping the galaxy’s structure. The Whirlpool Galaxy is also home to many young and bright stars, as well as a large number of star clusters and nebulae.

01/06/2025

In Episode SH016 of Star Hopping…
We’ll use our star hopping techniques to show you how to find the spiral galaxy Messier 106, the grand design face-on spiral Messier 101, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, and finally we are amazed by the famous Whirlpool Galaxy, also catalogued as Messier 51.

So we’re back to locating deep sky objects this week after our Star Hopping ‘Extra” last time, where we learned about the different types of galaxies. Good thing, because as promised, we’ll be looking at galaxies for several weeks going forward. There might be a globular cluster or two thrown in for good measure.

In this episode we’re looking at three spiral galaxies, one tilted from our perspective and the last two we view as face on spirals. I do need to say that these three targets are viewed best after midnight during this time of January, to allow them to get some altitude so we can see them better. Over the next several months they will climb closer to the zenith, and as I mentioned last week, with galaxies and mostly all deep sky object, the higher, the better. So don’t forget to revisit these galactic beauties in your observing sessions in the coming months…

In this episode of Star Hopping with KPO, we'll be exploring the Canes Venatici region, and using our star hopping methods to find Messier 106, Messier 101, ...

01/01/2025

The galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128), as captured by the RC-12 Astrograph in the KPO dome. HaLRGB image with a total integration time of 8.5 hours.

Centaurus A, also known as NGC 5128, is a remarkable galaxy that stands out as one of the most intriguing and well-studied objects in the night sky. Located in the constellation of Centaurus, approximately 12 million light-years away from Earth, Centaurus A is a giant elliptical galaxy with a fascinating history and a wealth of unique characteristics that have captured the attention of astronomers for decades.

One of the most striking features of Centaurus A is its peculiar appearance, which is the result of a rare cosmic collision between two galaxies. This collision, which likely occurred hundreds of millions of years ago, has left Centaurus A with a distinctive shape characterized by a bright central core surrounded by a dark band of dust and gas. This dust lane is thought to be the remnant of one of the original galaxies involved in the collision, which has since merged with the other to form the galaxy we see today.

12/30/2024

In Episode 15 of Star Hopping…
We’re presenting another Star Hopping “Extra”. This time, we’re presenting all the different types of galaxies, and how they might appear in your telescope. Within each type of galaxy, there are variations that could be confusing if you don’t know the characteristics of each.

We’ll set you straight so you will be able to tell which type of galaxy you’re looking at in your eyepiece. Check the episode to find out!

Intro
As I was reviewing the star charts in preparing for this episode, it became very clear that we needed to wait a bit for the stars to rise some more. There are many, many deep sky objects sitting either on the horizon or low in the sky around the 10:00 PM timeframe. In a fairly short period of time we will be very busy.

Wait for some Altitude
As I mentioned in the last episode, the great majority of the targets are galaxies, and to see them well, it is necessary to let them get to a reasonable altitude of about 30 degrees or more. This allows the faint light coming from these grand celestial structures to pass through a thinner section of our atmosphere. When deep sky objects are low, their light is diminished by the longer atmosphere, just as the sun dims and starts to appear orange and red as it sinks close to the horizon. When they are higher, they appear brighter and are easier to locate. When they are at or near the zenith, they are about as bright as they can get. Generally you should just be patient and wait for deep sky targets to rise a bit before hunting them down with your telescope.

So we’re going to postpone for a week before we start checking out all the new targets, in the constellations of lower Ursa Major, Canes Venatici, Coma Berenices, and finally Virgo.

So what do we do in the meantime? Let’s get acquainted with the different kinds of galaxies; and discuss all the different types of shapes that galaxies can take…

In this Star Hopping "Extra", we'll discuss the different types of galaxies that you can find in your telescope, and explain the differences between them.Tha...

12/25/2024

Located approximately 11.8 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, Bode’s Galaxy, also known as M81, offers astronomers a captivating subject for study and a window into the processes shaping the evolution of galaxies. With its distinct spiral structure and proximity to Earth, M81 serves as a valuable laboratory for investigating the dynamics of galactic systems and the formation of stars.

See more about this image on the KPO Astrophotography Blog, at
https://buff.ly/4i7bWfB