Telescope images capture galaxies far far away: See photos

Physics and astronomy professor Herbert W, Hamber considers himself a "backyard astro-photographer," although his photos are far from amateur.

The University of California, Irvine professor makes the trek to San Diego County's northeast desert where he spends three to four nights at a time capturing overnight images of the cosmos.

With 10 to 15 pounds worth of camera equipment, telescopes, mounts and computers, Hamber heads inland to Borrego Springs where the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center is located. During his most recent visit to the research center, the professor captured a series of striking images of nebulas and galaxies.

Hamber spent his career as a physicist, teaching physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. "I'm a theorist," Herbert said, "I calculate with pencil and paper and computers." But his educational background lent itself well to photographing the night sky.

The hobby began for Hamber after his daughter bought him a telescope for Christmas nearly seven years ago. He started out slowly, but his interest peaked in the past few years as the technology and equipment evolved. Now Hamber finds himself at the desert research center about three times a year for several nights at a time.

Galaxies, nebulas and more: See photos

The research center in Borrego Springs, California is a designated dark sky site, far away from the city lights.

"The best place for taking colorful pictures of nebulas and galaxies is a place where there's little background light pollution," Hamber said. Faint looking objects in the sky become more visible from the desert. But the number of days available to photograph are limited, as cloudy weather and moonlight can ruin the telescope images.

To the naked eye, the night sky might not seem like anything special. When you add a telescope into the equation, everything changes, Hamber said. "The sky above you is full of these amazing celestial objects..." It's not just the planets that should amaze you, he continued. In fact, Hamber is more impressed by galaxies and nebulas in comparison with the planets. "If you look at the nebulas and galaxies, there is such variety."

What do the photos show?

• Rosette Nebula NGC 2244 in the constellation Monoceros
• Orion Nebula M42 in the constellation Orion
• Horsehead Nebula IC 443 in the constellation Orion
• Lagoon and Trifid Nebulas M8 and M20 in the constellation Sagittarius
• Whirlpool galaxy M51a in the constellation Canes Venatici
• Dumbell Nebula M27 in the constellation Vulpecula
• Great Globular Cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules

How were the photos captured?

Much of the photography is automated said Hamber. His telescopes have computerized mounts – he'll point the telescope at a given subject and the mounts will track the subject all night. Hamber takes images in a sequence of short exposures, usually between 10 and 30 seconds. Many of these individual pictures are taken over a period ranging from a few minutes to as much as five hours or more a night.

From there, the individual short exposures are combined — or “stacked” — by a free computer program called Deep Sky Stacker into a single image, Hamber wrote. This image is later cleaned up, cropped, color adjusted/white balanced and cropped in another free program called Gnu Image Manipulation Program.

To see Hamber's full collection of astro-photography, visit his online gallery.

Sky watching from home

For those who want to get involved in astro-photography, Hamber recommends purchasing a small starter telescope. As you figure out how to use the equipment, you'll learn about the movement of planets and starts, he said. Hamber also recommends joining a local astronomy club, having a social activity related to astronomy is useful to learning the science.

Between March 21st and 25th, those living in the Northern Hemisphere have a chance to spot Mercury in the evening sky. The Center for Astrophysics recommends looking for Mercury shining brightly, low in the west, starting half an hour after sunset.

NASA recommends to skywatch from a wide open area without tall trees or mountains nearby, since you can see more of the sky. In order to avoid light pollution, which washes out the fainter stars in the Milky Way, watch the sky from outside cities or urban areas with bright lights.

A large field, a wide valley, or the shore of a lake are all examples of great places to sky-watch and stargaze, according to NASA.

For more stargazing and sky-watching tips, NASA produces a monthly video on the highlights of meteor showers, changes in constellations and more.