Astrophotographs of Calar Alto
The material presented in this section is part of the POP 123 project, driven by the Foundation Descubre (Andalusian institution for the outreach of the scientific knowledge). This project aims at letting the general public know about the astronomical data acquisition, ranging from the instrumentati on itself to the staff responsible for the gathering of raw data. This way, the general public can learn the basic principles of imaging in astronomy, beyond the communication of astronomical information at a professional level from highly reduced and analysed data.
For this purpose, this project makes use of a professional telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory (CAHA). The observatory has allocated to this project 60 observing nights per year using the 1.23m Zeiss Telescope to obtain images of both, scientific and aesthetic value.
DESCUBRE gives some of this observing time to the Documentary School of Astrophotography (DSA) lead by the astro-photographer Vicent Peris. Every image produced under this project is jointly owned by CAHA, DESCUBRE, and DSA, with the collaboration of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia (OAUV). Despite the youth of this project, it has already been awarded with the «Astronomy Picture of the Day» (NASA) by the fourth time.
Face-on spiral galaxy Messier 74
The face-on spiral galaxy Messier 74, placed at 30 million light-years from the Sun, in Piscis, photographed with the 1.23 m Zeiss reflector of Calar Alto Observatory
Nebula Jones-Emberson 1: gas watermark
Planetary nebula Jones-Emberson 1 (also known as PK164+31.1) lies on the northern celestial hemisphere, towards the constellation Lynx, at some 1600 ligh-years from the Sun.
Nebulae of many colours: The NGC 6914 complex
In the deep space there are not only stars: galaxies like ours contain also nebulae, diffuse matter made up from gas and dust. These nebulae display a variety of shapes and colours that reflect the diversity of processes that arise when nearby star light gets tangled among them.
Our Neighbour Andromeda
The Andromeda galaxy illustrates the typical phenomena that occur in a normal spiral galaxy, perhaps presenting a similar scenario as if we were to look at our own Galaxy from far away…
The Owl Nebula
Stars similar to the Sun end their existence as white dwarfs. But, before becoming those dense stellar corpses, they expel their outer gaseous layers and they ornate the sky for some thousands of years with the most beautiful objects in the universe: planetary nebulae. M97, better known as Owl Nebula, belongs to this category. We present one of the best images ever obtained of this celestial wonder.
The Ring Nebula
Descubre Foundation presents a photograph of the Ring Nebula in Lyra (M57) processed by Vicent Peris, obtained with the equipment of Calar Alto Observatory. This image is exceptional due to its depth, the width of the nebular areas that it reveals, and its very fine spatial resolution, specially at the inner areas of this celestial object.
A new look into the Whirlpool
Two versions of a new and deep image of the Whirpool spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici (M51).
NGC 7331: a great spiral galaxy
The spiral galaxy NGC 7331, in Pegasus, can be distinguished with small telescopes under dark skies as a faint fuzzy spot. It is an island universe similar to our own Galaxy (or perhaps somewhat larger) and located 50 million light-years away …
