CCAS Astrophotography
Here are photographs taken by our members. If you have original photographs that you would like posted on our site, please contact us!

Click picture for close up view

M16, The Eagle Nebula in Serpens by Pete LaFrance This image of M16 was take with three filters: HA (Hydrogen-Alpha), OIII (Oxygen3), and SII (Sulphur 2). Pete used his CGE-1100 telescope @ f/5 with a ST-10xe CCD camera attached. Exposures were as follows: 5 images @ 5 minutes 1x1 HA; 2 images @ 5 minutes 1x1 OIII; and 3 images @ 5 minutes SII.

M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy by Pete LaFrance Take with a SBIG ST-8xe camera.

Supernova in M100 Spiral Galaxy by Pete LaFrance Here's an image of the supernova in M100 taken by our fellow member Pete LaFrance on March 5, 2006. Print it out and you can use it at the telescope to help identify which star around the galaxy's core is the supernova! Visually, in most amateur scopes, you'll be able to see the oval of the galaxy's core, but not the spiral arms around it (or if you can, they'll be very faint). You will be able to see the other foreground stars that appear in this image. By lining up the picture with the view in your eyepiece, you'll be able to tell which of those stars is the supernova. Thanks to Pete for making this image and adding the arrow to point out the supernova!

M33 Spiral Galaxy by Pete LaFrance Pete's image of M33, a spiral galaxy in Tiangulum, taken with the ST-8xe camera.

The Heart Nebula by Pete LaFrance IC 1805, known as the Heart Nebula, is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. The bright white “blob” is the open star cluster Melotte 15 (Mel 15). This image was taken with a ST8-xme camera and a Hydrogen-Alpha filter to enhance the nebulosity.

M81 Galaxy by Pete LaFrance M81 (NGC3031) Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major.