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ASTRO-PHOTOGRAPHY

Sorry…  This site under construction…  But you can still click on the links above…  Mike

Welcome!  This web site is a combination of astrophotography and inspirational Christian messages.  The images within this site were taken from a variety of locations over the years, through a variety of telescopes.  My current astrophotography efforts center on using a newly self-built 24″ f8 RC telescope and fork mount, using a FLI PL-09000 CCD (charge-coupled-device) camera, with LRGB and 3nm Narrowband Filters.  Guiding is off-axis, using an ASI-1600 CMOS camera; Focusing is done by moving the Secondary Mirror with an FLI Focuser.   Automation is CCD Commander with TheSkyX.

You can see all my images with this new telescope setup by going to my Astrobin page:  https://www.astrobin.com/users/sagrada737/

I conduct CCD Imaging activity from my home Sagrada Observatory, located here in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Although the Sagrada Observatory is situation as part of our home, it is designed and built totally as a “remote robotic observatory”, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world via the Internet for the purpose of CCD Imaging.

Status:  January 15, 2022   I will soon be updating the following image links!

Click on the AstroPhotography links to the left to view various astro-images of my previous CCD Imaging efforts with Galaxies, Nebulae, Star Clusters, and other imaging categories.  As this site is updated, more images will be added.  In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy viewing the various images contained on this site.  As the weather permits, I will add to this collection of God’s Light – presented to you as “technical artistry”.

The current image result is shown here.  Feel free to post a comment below.    Enjoy!        – Mike Sherick
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  Tribute to Neil Armstrong  1930 – 2012

Apollo 11 Lunar Landing

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Featured Images from the Sagrada Observatory

“First Light” Image with the FSQ-106N and Apogee U16M/50-7S

I recently received my new Apogee U16M-HC and 50-7S filterwheel.  What a beautiful piece of engineering!  After populating the filterwheel with a set of Astrodon Gen2 LRGB 3nm Ha,SII, OIII filters, I looked around the shop to determine what kind of scope I could interface with this instrumentation.    I settled on using an existing FSQ-106N.  I machined an adapter, and after some additional setup, I came up with the scope configuration shown below, which is mounted to a Paramount Me.  I used an ST402 with an E-Finder for the guiding function.
Shown below is the “First Light” image with this camera setup, taken from my Sagrada Observatory here in Las Cruces, NM (Click Sagrada for a look at this observatory).  The “high-cooling” efficiency of the U16M is great for imaging during the summer heat here in southern New Mexico.   The target for the first light image was the Veil Nebula.  The image shown below represents an image sequence of 30 x 600 seconds binned 2×2 at -25C.  Data acquistion was done with CCD Commander, with initial calibration done in CCDStack2 and final processing done in PhotoShop CS4.
The U16M is intended to be installed on a 24″ f8 RC, now under construction.  In the meantime, I’m looking forward to doing more narrowband imaging with this setup while the construction of a custom 24″ f8 RC  draws near completion.   Anyway, I hope you enjoy this first light result.   Click on the image for full size.

 

2 comments to ASTRO-PHOTOGRAPHY

  • Joan & Dean

    Absolutely *magnificent* and stunning image again, Mike & Carol! Thanks ever so much for sharing this and all your many *beautiful* celestial phenomena, created at the beginning of time by God–which we mere humans, especially His children, find so awestriking and inspirational! Truly, the words of Psalm 19:1 declare it eloquently: “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork”! It’s such a spectacular blessing that we, your visitors, can enjoy and wonder at the *spectacular* work of your observatories and God’s creation!

    Happy Resurrection 2010 and God bless–He is risen!
    Joan & Dean

  • dear Mike

    Thank so much you for your beautiful images shown on your website ánd the glory you gave the God, the creator of all these magnificent and stunning object. Thanks to your photo of NGC 4565 on Astronomy Picture of the Day I found your site. How I would like to look once into such a big telescope and gaze at an object like that or the Andromeda galaxy.

    God bless you

    Evert Meilink

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