Astrophotography
I was sent a Vaonis Vespera II smart telescope in July 2025. Here are some images I’ve taken with it. I have a review of it on TelescopicWatch.com
These images were taken using the stock Vespera II with the included dual band/broadband filters, or unfiltered from a dark sky. Unless otherwise noted, I used 10s subs and did processing in the free Siril astroimage processing app.
These should load in full resolution by default thanks to the way my website is coded - if you’re on a desktop, just right click to “open in new tab” - if you’re on mobile, you can just zoom in or save the photos to your device.
Emission & Reflection Nebulae
Cone Nebula, Christmas Tree Cluster & Hubble’s Variable Nebula
Entirely shot from my backyard, 22h, dual band filter. My longest total exposure image so far.
IC 59 & IC 63 - Ghost of Cassiopeia
Shot from the Chiricahua Mountains, 3h 30min, unfiltered.
IC 434 & NGC 2024 - Horsehead & Flame Nebula in Orion
Shot mostly at home, 9h of 10s subs/dual band filter, 8h of 5s subs/dual band filter, with 45 mins of unfiltered data (10s subs) from the Okie-Tex Star Party. 17h 45min total.
IC 1396 - Elephant Trunk Nebula in Cepheus
Entirely shot from my backyard, 23h 20min, dual band filter, 4h 20min of 15s subs, remaining 10s subs.
IC 1805/1795 - Heart Nebula in Cassiopeia
Entirely shot from my backyard, 41 hours total exposure time, dual band filter.
IC 2118 - Witch Head Nebula in Eridanus
Shot from the Chiricahua Mountains, 7h, unfiltered.
IC 2177 - Seagull Nebula in Canis Major/Monoceros
Shot entirely from my backyard, 12h 45min, dual band filter.
IC 5146 - Cocoon Nebula in Cygnus
Entirely shot from my backyard, 10h 45min, 20s subs, broadband filter.
M8 - Lagoon Nebula in Sagittarius
Shot from Sonoita Arizona, 5h 45min unfiltered. This one was processed by my friend Steve Labkoff in PixInsight with BlurXterminator - thanks Steve!
M17 - Swan Nebula in Sagittarius
Shot from Sonoita and Mt Graham Arizona, 4h 45min unfiltered.
M42/M43 - Orion Nebula
2h from the Okie-Tex Star Party unfiltered, 4h from my backyard with broadband filter, f6h total.
M78 - Reflection Nebula in Orion
Shot entirely from my backyard, 12h unfiltered! I needed to remove the broadband filter to get this one as it’s entirely a reflection nebula.
NGC 281 - Pacman Nebula in Cassiopeia
Entirely shot from my backyard, 11h, dual band filter.
NGC 2174 - Monkey Head Nebula in Gemini
Shot from my backyard, dual band filter, 7h 30min total.
NGC 2237 - Rosette Nebula in Monoceros
Entirely shot from my backyard, 14h 20min, dual band filter. This one uses 20s subs rather than the usual 10.
NGC 7000 - North America Nebula (Cygnus Wall)
Shot from my backyard and from the Chiricahua Sky Village with full Moon, dual band filter, 10h total.
NGC 7380 - Wizard Nebula in Cepheus
Entirely shot from my backyard, 3h 30min, dual band filter.
NGC 7822 - Emission Nebula in Cepheus
Entirely shot from my backyard, 14h 30min, dual band filter. 15s subs on this one.
Wolf-Rayet Shell Nebulae
NGC 2359 - Thor’s Helmet Nebula in Canis Major
Entirely shot from my backyard, 10h 50min, dual band filter.
NGC 6888 - Crescent Nebula in Cygnus
Entirely shot from my backyard, 9h, dual band filter.
Supernova Remnants
IC 443 - Jellyfish Nebula in Gemini
Entirely shot from my backyard, 23h 20min, dual band filter, 4h 20min of 15s subs, remaining 10s subs.
M1 - Crab Nebula in Taurus
Entirely shot from my backyard, 3 hours of data, broadband filter.
NGC 6960 - Witch’s Broom (Western Veil Nebula) in Cygnus
Shot with a mix of dual/broadband filters, 13h of 10s and 20s subs, from my backyard and Mt Graham.
Mosaic - Veil Nebula in Cygnus
Shot with a mix of dual/broadband filters, 24h of 10s and 20s subs, from my backyard and Mt Graham. This is binned to 1/2 scale, still adding data for the full res version.
Planetary Nebulae
M27 - Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula
Shot from Mt Graham, AZ and from my backyard, broadband filter, 133 mins total.
NGC 1360 - Robin’s Egg Nebula in Fornax
Shot entirely from my backyard, 7h 20min, dual band filter.
NGC 7008 - Planetary Nebula in Cygnus
Shot from a mix of locations, 2h 50min total, dual band filter.
NGC 7293 - Helix Nebula in Aquarius
Shot entirely from the Okie-Tex Star Party, 7h 20min, unfiltered.
Galaxies
IC 10 - Irregular Galaxy in Cassiopeia
Shot from my backyard, 6h, 10s subs, broadband filter.
IC 342/Caldwell 5 - Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis
Shot from my backyard, 19h 30min, 20s subs, broadband filter.
M31 - Andromeda Galaxy
Shot from my backyard, 10h 20min, 10s subs, broadband filter.
M33 - Triangulum Galaxy
Shot from the Chiricahua Mountains and Mt Graham unfiltered for around half Remainder taken at home, 45 mins of at-home data with dual band filter, 8h 5min total exposure time, remaining 7h 20min with broadband filter.
M77 - Seyfert Galaxy in Cetus
Shot from my backyard, 4h 20min, 10s subs, broadband filter.
NGC 147 & 185 - Andromeda Galaxy Satellites in Cassiopeia
Shot from my backyard, 10h, 10s subs, broadband filter.
NGC 253 - Sculptor Galaxy
Shot from the Chiricahua Mountains, 3h unfiltered. I actually did 13 hours total (50% from home, 50% from the Chiricahuas) but Vespera’s auto-focus failed and ruined most of the data.
NGC 6946 - Fireworks Galaxy in Cepheus
Taken at the Okie-Tex Star Party, unfiltered, 12h total exposure time, 20s subs.
NGC 7331 - Deer Lick Group in Pegasus
Shot from my backyard, 5h 45min, broadband filter. Supernova SN2025rbs is visible.
Open Star Clusters
M11 - Wild Duck Cluster in Scutum
Shot from my backyard, 2h 50min, broadband filter.
M45 - Pleiades/Subaru Cluster in Taurus
Shot mostly at home, 1h 40min with broadband filter, 40 mins of unfiltered data from the Okie-Tex Star Party, total 2h 20min.
NGC 869 & NGC 884 - Double Cluster in Perseus
Shot from my backyard, 4h 43min, broadband filter.
NGC 7789 - Caroline’s Rose Cluster in Cassiopeia
Shot from my backyard, 8h, broadband filter.
Comets
Comet SWAN - 10-19-25
Shot from TAAA Chiricahua Astronomy Complex, 10 mins, unfiltered.
Comet Lemmon - 10-27-25
Shot from my backyard, 4 mins, broadband filter.