The Dark Tower - a cometary globule

[PhotonCollector]

Hi everyone,

Here's an image I did couple of nights ago. Its a cometary globule nicknamed the Dark Tower - it has lights too!

This is a pretty deep exposure as you can see from the millions of stars in the background of the image... which is only about 40 arc-minutes tall.

There's a better resolution image at http://www.skylab.com.au/pmsa/The%20Dark%20Tower.html

Here's the image details.


Field of View: about 40 arc-minutes tall. North is to the right.
Telescope: 12-inch f/5 newtonian telescope on GEM.
Guiding: Manually guided with 4.5-inch f/18 guidescope.
Camera: Canon EOS 300D Digital - Hα enabled.
Exposures: 19 x 3-minute exposures @ ISO 400.
Total Exposure time: 57 minutes.
Filter/equipment:
Baader 2" Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector (MPCC).
Baader 2" UV/IR Cut Filter.
Processing:
Dark frame subtraction, bias and flat-fielded in Iris,
processed in Photoshop.
Exposure Date: 2006, June 1.

regards
Paul Mayo

[Dennis]

Just beautiful...a stunning image. Thanks for posting.

Cheers

Dennis

PS - I cannot believe you are still manually guiding, and so well too!

[Striker]

Great image Paul,

I wont dare say what it really looks like but its not a tower....lol

[Vermin]

Magnificent image Paul.

[acropolite]

The mind boggles when you see so many stars in such a small slice of the skies; beautiful image Paul.

[PhotonCollector]

Hi Dennis,

thanks, glad you like it.

Didn't you know! they call me the "human auto-guider" . I can guide for long periods of 15-minutes or more per sub-frame (rated at: 1 - 60-minutes per sub-frame), nominal 10-arc second or better guiding accuracy, auto-adjust for gusts of wind, compensate for worm gear periodic errors (inbuilt PEC), auto-recognition of other guiding problems (inbuilt Artificial Intelligence sub-routines). Low power consumption - small amounts of solids and liquids required. No cables required !

:)

[PhotonCollector]

LOL

[PhotonCollector]

Thanks, acropolite.

I agree, the number of stars is quite boggling, and I ponder the impossibilities that our civilisation is unique. I think the Universe knows it has to make countless stars and planets and in doing so it will produce only some star systems and planets just right for life to thrive.

[Octane]

Paul,

This is remarkable.

A beautiful image.

Well done.

Regards,
H

[PhotonCollector]

Geeday Octane,

thanks, I'm glad you like it. I must say of all the images I have done, this one I gazed at for several hours.

If you look at the "Dark Tower" sideways, I think it looks like a Dolphin.

regards
Paul M

[h0ughy]

hey i missed this one, its beautiful. LOL @ striker. Paul its an excellent image, one for the coffee table book!

[PhotonCollector]

thanks h0ughy, glad you like it.

I was really happy that I had got the focus spot on for this image. I had expected more nebulae to be present in the image, particulary the Ha region which shoots up to the top-left corner from the "head" (LOL @ Striker) of the Dark Tower.

On the other hand I did not expect to see so many stars in what is otherwise a dark area of the sky, visually.

cheers
Paul M

[ving]

it's the tower of power!!

very nice image :)
thnaks fer postin it.

[PhotonCollector]

geeday Ving,

tower of power: yep, that's it ! ;)

I reckon this would be a prime target for those wide-field imagers ( ED80 s ). I suspect a wide field image of the Dark Tower would be striking.

Paul M

[astroboy]

Fantastic image Paul
I've been thinking for while of shooting a lot of the CG and Barnard objects , where do I find the "TOWER OF POWER" ( which is part of a Frank Zappa song which I can't go into here )

Zane

[Lester]

Great shot Paul.

[Rodstar]

Great image, Paul. A truly distinctive image which, to my eyes at least, looks like someone is giving the cosmic "finger".

[PhotonCollector]

Hi Zane,

The Tower of Power is located right near the tail of Scorpius, not catalogued by any common deep sky catalogues. It is located
at about R.A. 16h 46' Dec. -41° 11'.

I made this chart for you (any anyone else interested) to help identify its precisely location and orientation - see attachment.

Could you PM me if you (anyone) takes any images of this object.

Thanks,
Paul Mayo

[tornado33]

Great shot Paul. Look at all the H alpha emission around it too, and the H alpha spike running up to top left. Fantastic work.
Scott