gallery

Lunar Eclipse Close-Up (right)

By Gregory Terrance
Although 8 percent of the Moons disk remained outside
Earths umbral shadow at mideclipse on March 23rd, the
event reminded many observers of recent total eclipses
where one limb of the Moon was bright during totality.
Lunar Eclipse Sequence (below)
By Jerry Schad
Veteran astrophotographer Jerry Schad chose the spectacular setting of Zion Canyon in Utahs Zion National
Park as the foreground for this lunar-eclipse series. Schad
made more than two dozen exposures by removing and
replacing the lens cap to create this view.
Milky Way Vista (facing page)
By Carl and Chris Weber
The region around the red giant Antares is one of the
most colorful in all the heavens. Streams of obscuring
dust crisscross the area, reflecting light from several of
the brighter stars. The pinkish glow of emission nebulae is apparent, especially around Zeta Ophiuchi at top.

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September 1997 Sky & Telescope

1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

Sky & Telescope September 1997

113

Copelands Christmas Tree (left)

By Chuck Vaughn
The scattered open cluster NGC 2264 became a favorite
with observers after Leland S. Copeland nicknamed it the
Christmas Tree in the 1950s. Seen upside down in this
view, the tree has its base marked by the 5th-magnitude
variable star S Monocerotis (at center of field), while the
Cone Nebula is at the trees top. The whole region is
awash with bright and dark nebulosity.
IC 410 and IC 405 in Auriga (lower left)
By Michael Stecker
The area around the 6th-magnitude variable star AE
Aurigae (upper right) is a popular target for astrophotographers because of several glowing clouds of hydrogen. IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula, surrounds AE,
while IC 410 lies about 2 to the southeast. The open
cluster NGC 1893, which appears within the boundaries
of IC 410, is almost lost in the rich background of the
Milky Way.
The Crab Nebula (below)
By Chuck Vaughn
The brightest supernova remnant in the sky, the Crab
Nebula, M1, in Taurus is the expanding shell of debris
marking the site of an outburst recorded in A.D. 1054.
The nebulas delicate filamentary structure is emphasized
in this photograph that isolates red, hydrogen-alpha
light.
Circumpolar Comet Hale-Bopp (facing page)
By S. Binnewies, P. Riepe, H. Tomsik, R. Sparenberg, D. Sporenberg, and B. Schrter.
At an elevation of 3,130 meters (10,270 feet) in the Swiss
Alps near Gornergrat, members of the German astrophotography group VdS-Fachgruppe Astrophotographie captured this 7-hour sequence of Comet Hale-Bopp sweeping along the northern horizon on April 2nd.

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September 1997 Sky & Telescope

1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

HOW THEY DID IT

Milky Way Vista
Pentax 67 camera, 105-mm lens set to f/4. Two 25minute exposures on Kodak Pro 400 PPF color-negative film were stacked and printed on 45-inch Vericolor film to make a transparency.Two transparencies
were stacked and copied onto 45-inch negative film
to produce a master negative from which this print
was made. The stacking and copying process increases contrast and color saturation. Field nearly 30 wide
centered at approximately 16h 40m, 22; north is at
upper right.
Lunar Eclipse Close-Up
10-inch f/6 Newtonian reflector, Fujicolor Super G 800
Plus film, 5-second exposure.
Lunar Eclipse Sequence
Canon TX camera, 50-millimeter lens, Fujichrome Velvia
film pushed +1 stop to ISO 100, sequence exposures at
5-minute intervals. Partial-phase exposures at f/16 with
a 2-stop neutral-density filter ranged from 6 seconds
near mideclipse to 212 seconds at ends of sequence.
Mideclipse exposure at f/2.8 (no filter) was 10 seconds
and recorded several bright stars as points. Final exposure made before dawn with Moon in west illuminating foreground, f/2.8 with light orange warming
filter, 2 minutes and shows stars as trails.

Copelands Christmas Tree

Astro-Physics 5-inch f/9 refractor, gas-hypersensitized
Kodak Technical Pan 2415 film, 3-hour exposure. Field
114 wide centered at 6h 41m, +10; north is up.

IC 410 and IC 405 in Auriga

Astro-Physics 5-inch refractor working at f/4.5, gashypered Fujicolor HG 400 film.Two 1-hour exposures
were digitized and combined. Field 212 wide centered
at 5h 19m, +33 45'; north is up.
The Crab Nebula
12 12-inch f/9 Ritchey-Chrtien reflector, gas-hypered
Kodak Technical Pan 2415 film, hydrogen-alpha filter
with a 150-angstrom-wide bandpass, 3-hour exposure. Field 10' wide centered at 5h 34.5m, +22 01';
north is up.

Circumpolar Comet Hale-Bopp

16-mm f/2.8 Zeiss fisheye lens, ScotchChrome 400
film, eight 1-minute exposures separated by 1-hour
intervals.

1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

Sky & Telescope September 1997

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