Paramount Observatory

FACTS:
Distance: Approximately 5,200 light-years away.
Age: The central cluster (NGC 2244) is very young—only about 2 million years old.
The "Hole": The central cavity is roughly 50 light-years across, carved out by the intense stellar winds of the massive O-type stars.

A false-colour SHO image of the Rosette Nebula showing a central cluster of stars surrounded by swirling gold and blue gas clouds with intricate dark dust structures

More cloudy skies re-processing; the "Rose" of the Monoceros constellation, reimagined in SHO. 🌹🌌

I love how the Hubble Palette reveals the hidden structural complexity of #NGC2244. Those dark dust globules are where the next generation of stars are currently being born.

#Astrophotography

William Optics Z73 with ASIAIR, Guide scope, auto focuser, filter wheel with cable management

William Optics Z73 with ASIAIR, Guide scope, auto focuser, filter wheel with cable management

Spent this morning setting up the new equipment to the William Optics Z73 scope. So pleased that I can now organise all the cabling nice and tidy.

With that done, I just need some clear skies to focus and tune it all now, The forecast is not looking good for the next few days/nights.

Electronic fouser, filter wheel and asi585mc camera

New additional equipment for this year, will be adding this to the WO Z73 APO setup. Camera is the #ZWO ASI585MC, excited to see how it works on my setup, all reviews of it are so positive, just need clear skies now 🙂

Thanks to #FLO www.firstlightoptics.com As ever, providing excellent service

The nebula is a small part of the Veil Nebula, which itself is the debris field of a massive supernova. A star roughly 20 times the mass of our Sun exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. When it happened, the explosion would have been brighter than Venus and visible during the day for weeks

The Witch's Broom Nebula glows with vibrant filaments of red and blue gas. A bright foreground star, 52 Cygni, illuminates the center of the frame, making the nebula look like a cosmic wisp of smoke or a glowing broomstick sweeping through the dark void of space.

The Witch's Broom Nebula glows with vibrant filaments of red and blue gas. A bright foreground star, 52 Cygni, illuminates the center of the frame, making the nebula look like a cosmic wisp of smoke or a glowing broomstick sweeping through the dark void of space.

Spent another few hours today reprocessing some old data, this time #C34 the witches broom #nebula

Enjoying learning the new #siril scripts as per Deep Space Astro: youtube.com/@deepspaceas...

#Astrophotography #Space #StormHour #MoonHour #ThePhotoHour #lookup
@liverpoolas.org

Graph showing Arora possibly

If your Northern UK, still a possibility of seeing #Auroraborialise #Northernlights pop outside with your phone and point it NORTH , look for the constellation 'the Plough' that's the general direction.

Good look and please share your photos?

Some Facts:

Distance: It is approx 23 to 31 million light-years away from Earth.
​Size: The galaxy is roughly 60,000 to 75,000 light-years in diameter—about 35% the size of our Milky Way.

A high-contrast astrophotography image of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) showing its distinct grand-design spiral arms and its smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5195, connected by a bridge of gas and stars.

With cloudy skies, been taking the opportunity to re-process data, this time #M51, and using the techniques from Deep Space Astro You Tube :

youtube.com/playlist?lis...

I'm learning so much, and realise how light polluted my skies are!
#Astrophotography #MoonHour #ThePhotoHour
@liverpoolas.org

Physical Properties
​Total Diameter: Approximately 130 light-years across.
​Mass: Estimated at 10,000 solar masses, containing enough material to create thousands of stars like our Sun.

The Rosette Nebula (primarily cataloged as NGC 2237) is a vast star-forming region located approximately 5,000 to 5,200 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros. It is famous for its rose-like appearance, created by a central cavity carved out by the radiation of young stars.

New SHO reprocessed An astrophotography image of the Rosette Nebula in the SHO Hubble Palette. The nebula’s vast gas clouds are rendered in vibrant shades of gold and amber (Hydrogen and Sulfur), while the central cavity glows with a cool, ethereal teal and electric blue (Oxygen). Dark, smoky dust filaments twist through the golden "petals," and the central NGC 2244 star cluster shines with brilliant, pinpoint stars against the blue core.

Original processing A stunning deep-space photograph of the Rosette Nebula. The nebula looks like a giant cosmic rose, with vast, swirling clouds of crimson and deep red hydrogen gas forming the "petals." In the very center, a hollowed-out "hole" contains a sparkling cluster of bright, blue-white stars that look like diamonds resting in the heart of the flower.

Great tutorial on using a range of fabulous scripts for #Siril

youtu.be/8UEDg_vCPWc?...

Reprocessed my previous image of #RosetteNebula in SHO

I think I can probably improve if this, but, really pleased with this result.

#Astrophotography #StormHour #MoonHour #ThePhotoHour
@liverpoolas.org

Why all the fuss in the news about 'Cold Weather Warnings' .......

IT'S W I N T E R !

Two images of the same fragment, showing a small dot below the fragment on the right.

Comparison with earlier observation (program DD 12481) shows that there is probably a small new fragment near the main fragment. I see it in each short filter for 2025-12-29, but not in the F200W image from 2025-12-19.

​Size Check: The Red Spot is currently about 1.3 times the width of Earth. You could drop our entire planet inside that storm and still have room to spare.
​Wind Speeds: Winds around the edge of the spot can peak at over 400 mph (roughly 640 km/h).
​

A high-resolution astronomical photograph of the planet Jupiter, captured on December 27, 2025. The planet’s surface is covered in swirling horizontal bands of white, tan, and bronze clouds. The Great Red Spot is prominently featured in the lower-middle section, appearing as a deep, rust-colored oval storm surrounded by turbulent white cloud wakes. To the right, several smaller white oval storms are visible against the darker atmospheric belts.

​While #Jupiter is always a stunner, the real star of the show right now is the Great Red Spot. This massive anticyclonic storm has been churning for centuries, and in this latest shot, the deep crimson hues are incredibly vivid against the pale ammonia clouds.

YouTube video by Paramount Observatory Sky at Night Deep Sky tour April 2025 Live Event Edit

Hopefully in 2026, I will get more chances to do more of the "SKY AT NIGHT" magazine deep sky tours, here's one from April 2025.

#Astrophotography #Astronomy #Space #Paramountobservatory #lookup
@liverpoolas.org

youtube.com/watch?v=XHnE...

Targets:
🔴 Great Red Spot tracking
🌑 Io & Shadow Transit (early AM)
📸 60° altitude transit = peak sharpness!

​A high-resolution photograph of the planet Jupiter against a black space background. The planet appears as a large, cream-colored sphere with distinct horizontal bands of reddish-brown and tan clouds. The Great Red Spot is visible as a pale orange oval nestled in the southern hemisphere. To the sides of the planet, three of the Galilean moons—Io, Europa, and Ganymede—appear as tiny, sharp white pinpricks of light perfectly aligned with the planet's equator.

​Rig is out for a massive night with the King of Planets! 👑🪐
​Jupiter is sitting at 46" apparent diameter—nearly as big as it gets. I’m running the IR CUT filter tonight to keep those cloud belt colors crisp and avoid the "infrared bloat" on the limb.

Deep in the heart of the Rosette Nebula lies #NGC2244 🌹✨
This open cluster isn't just a pretty face—its massive O-type stars are so powerful they’ve cleared a "hole" in the center of the nebula with their stellar winds.
​📍 Constellation: Monoceros
📏 Age: Under 5 million years (very young!)

A deep-space photograph of the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237) in the constellation Monoceros. In the center is a clear, circular 'hole' filled with the bright, blue-white stars of the open cluster NGC 2244. Surrounding this central cluster are vast, swirling clouds of glowing red and pink hydrogen gas. Dark, finger-like silhouettes of dense dust, known as elephant trunks, point inward toward the central stars, creating a textured, rose-like appearance against the black backdrop of space

Current object, Meet the engine of the Rosette Nebula: #NGC2244. 💎
These hot, blue stars are roughly 400,000 times brighter than our Sun. They’re literally carving out a cavity in space 5,000 light-years away.
​ #Astronomy #Science 🔭

#Astrophotography #ThePhotoHour #lookup @liverpoolas.org

Some facts:

​🫧 The Bubble Breakdown:
​Distance: ~7,100 light-years from Earth.
​The "Star" of the Show: The central star is about 45 times more massive than our Sun.
​Why the Glow? Intense UV radiation makes the surrounding hydrogen gas shimmer in deep reds.

A deep-space telescopic view of the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635). A translucent, delicate blue sphere of gas appears to be floating within a dense, turbulent cloud of glowing red and orange interstellar dust. Inside the bubble, a bright, massive star off-center is responsible for creating the shell. The background is a dark void peppered with sharp, distant stars.

C11, known as the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635). 🫧✨ It’s mind-blowing to think that this nearly perfect sphere is actually being blown by the fierce stellar winds from a massive hot star, nestled inside, essentially a cosmic soap bubble 7 light-years across, floating through a sea of glowing gas. 🌌🔭

The Moon

Tonight's moon is a Waxing Crescent, hanging like a delicate silver sliver in the evening sky. It’s the perfect night for some quiet stargazing. 🌙✨
​🌒 Tonight’s Lunar Details:
​Phase: Waxing Crescent
​Illumination: Approx. 38%
​Take a moment to #lookup🔭🌌
#astrophotography

A high-resolution photograph of the planet Jupiter against a black space background. The planet's surface is covered in detailed, horizontal atmospheric bands of cream, tan, and reddish-brown. The Great Red Spot was not visible as a prominent swirling storm in the southern hemisphere. The planet appears spherical with a slight glow around the edges.

Got a clear night to capture the King of Planets! 🔭 Check out the banding on #Jupiter. It never gets old seeing these storms from my own Observatory here in #Liverpool #UK

#Astrophotography #Astronomy #Space #StormHour #MoonHour #ThePhotoHour #lookup
@liverpoolas.org

ai generated Jupiter over liverpool

Looks like it could be after midnight before I get the chance to open the Observatory tonight.

I will again be targeting Jupiter, so will publish the results tomorrow 🤞

There’s something humbling about realising that while the city sleeps, this gas giant is spinning 390 million miles away.

If you look closely, you can see the distinct atmospheric bands—each one a storm larger than Earth.
#Astrophotography #StormHour #MoonHour #ThePhotoHour @liverpoolas.org

A telescopic view of Jupiter showing its tan and white cloud bands against the black void of space

Been a while, but here's Jupiter from the Mersey! 🔭✨
The roof was back and the cooling fans were humming tonight, I managed to lock onto #Jupiter as it put on a serious show.

Even with the city lights nearby, having my own observatory setup makes these moments so much easier to catch.

A deep space photograph of the emission nebula IC 434 in the constellation Orion. A bright wall of red/pink hydrogen gas fills the background. In the center, a dark, distinct pillar of dust rises up, forming the shape of a horse's head (The Horsehead Nebula). To the left, the bright star Alnitak

Here is my latest capture of #IC434 the brilliant wall of hydrogen gas that creates the backdrop for the famous Horsehead #Nebula. Amazing to think this silhouette is just a massive cloud of dust blocking the light.

​One of my favorite sights in the winter sky.

#Astrophotography
@liverpoolas.org