The Denver Astronomical Society Astrophotography Special Interest Group (ASIG) July Member Gallery

Each month, the Astrophotography Special Interest Group (ASIG) of the Denver Astronomical Society gathers to share one of the most inspiring parts of our hobby—the images we’ve captured of the night sky. From stunning galaxies and colorful nebulae to detailed views of the Moon and planets, members present their latest work, talk through how the images were created, and exchange tips, techniques, and stories from behind the lens. It’s a chance to celebrate progress, learn from one another, and stay motivated under the stars.

Teo Topcubasi

The North America and Pelican Nebulae. Processed on the SE30 Pro

The North America and Pelican Nebulae. Processed in Siril with auto histogram, GHS, and linear stretches after.

Sadr Region (IC 1318/Gamma Cygni) and the Butterfly Nebula. Processed in SE30 Pro 51 minutes processed on board.

Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8 / NGC 6523) and Trifid Nebula (Messier 20 / NGC 6514). Processed in SE30 Pro 40 minutes processed on board.

Silver Needle Galaxy (NGC 4244). Processed in SE30 Pro 75 minutes processed on board.

Milky Way. Stitched panorama. 50 minute exposure taken at Bear Lake in RMNP

Leah Theil

“Pillars of Star Dust” (Eagle Nebula – Messier 16 / NGC 6611). Published: Jul 13, 2026. Total integration: 2h 24m. Integration per filter: – Hα: 48m (24 × 120″) – SII: 48m (24 × 120″) – OIII: 48m (24 × 120″). Equipment: – Telescope: Askar SQA55 – Camera: QHYCCD miniCAM8M – Mount: ZWO AM5 – Filters: QHYCCD miniCAM8M H-alpha 7nm, QHYCCD miniCAM8M OIII 7nm, QHYCCD miniCAM8M SII 7nm – Accessories: Pegasus Astro Powerbox Advance, ZWO EAF – Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight

David Elmore

Sh2-310 Nebula in Canis Major. In narrowband, depicted as HOO with SII added as yellow. About 2 hours of integration of each specie using my Borg107 (424mm focal length) refractor and full-frame ASI6200MM.
One interesting feature barely shows up in the color rendering but is obvious in the starless OIII extraction. There is a degree-sized bubble buried in the nebulosity. What is it, a huge planetary nebula, a supernova remnant?

Sh2-310 Nebula in Canis Major. Starless OIII extraction.

Sh2-310 Nebula in Canis Major. Starless and colorless OIII extraction.

Ciaran Rochling

Pelican Nebula (IC 5070). classic Hubble Palette SHO. Gear: CarbonStar200 Imaging Newtonian, ASI2600MM Pro, Antlia RGB and 3nm SHO Filters. Data collected from KDDS and North Boulder.
R: 30×120″ (1hr) G: 30×120″ (1hr) B: 30×120″ (1hr) S: 56×300″ (4h40m) H: 71×300″ (5h55m) O: 56×300″ (4h40m). Total: 18h15

Chris Hamlin

Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101). LRGBHa. This is my most challenging deep sky imaging project so far! Over several days I struggled with equipment challenges, extreme light pollution, the very short imaging windows of summer, endless cloudy nights, smoke haze, rotation issues, etc. but I fought through it all and I’m happy I did. M101 is such a gorgeous galaxy to image! I’ve tried to capture it’s striking majesty while retaining as accurate a color palette as I could. 13h of total integration over 5 sessions with my C11 at f/7.

Sadr Region (IC 1318/Gamma Cygni). Here is a early image with the 135mm of the HII region around Sadr taken using a NDAS UBZ-II filter. Approximate FOV is 7 x 10 degrees. 70s, 180s, and 300s exposures totaling roughly 3 hours of integration. Crescent and Butterfly nebulas can be seen.

Great Hercules Cluster (Messier 13). Another project using the C11 at f/7 with LRGB filters. I have imaged M13 several times over the years, but this is definitely my best result so far. I captured the data during Denver’s hot, dry spell in mid-July, taking advantage of the time when M13 passed nearly overhead and the atmosphere was at its most favorable. The goal was to resolve the cluster deeply into its crowded core (30 sec L exposures) while preserving the natural color differences among its stars. Located approximately 25,000 light-years away, M13 contains more than 100,000 stars packed into a vast, gravitationally bound sphere. It is one of the oldest structures visible in our galaxy, with stars approximately 12 billion years old. Acquisition: Luminance: 340 × 30 seconds. Red: 37 × 60 seconds. Green: 68 × 60 seconds. Blue: 45 × 60 seconds. Total integration time: 5h 20m.

Philippe Duquennois

Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) and Flame Nebula (NGC 2024). Equipment: Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED refractor telescope + Canon 6D (Astro-modified) mounted on a Celestron CGEM II tracking mount. No guiding camera or filters used.Exposure: 42 frames exposed for 120 seconds each at ISO 1600.Location/Date: Verdon, December 24, 2024.Processing: Stacked in DeepSkyStacker (DSS) + Lightroom (LR).

North America Nebula (NGC 7000). Equipment: Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED refractor telescope + Canon 6D (Astro-modified).Exposure: 70 frames exposed for 120 seconds each at ISO 1600. Taken over a span of 3 nights.Location/Date: December 2024.

The Milky Way (Lagoon to Antares). Equipment: Canon 6D (Astro-modified) + 105mm lens @ f/4.5 on an iOptron StarTracker.Exposure: 2-panel panorama. Each panel consists of 24 frames exposed for 60 seconds each at ISO 3200.Location/Date: Deer Trail, July 19, 2020.Processing: Stacked in DeepSkyStacker (DSS), lens correction applied in Camera Raw (CR), and panorama merged in Lightroom (LR).

Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237 / NGC 2244). Equipment: Canon R8 + vintage Canon FD 300mm f/2.8 lens.Exposure: 23 frames exposed for 120 seconds each at ISO 1600.Location/Date: Terlingua, Texas, February 2026.

Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237 / NGC 2244). Equipment: Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED refractor telescope + Canon 6D (Astro-modified) mounted on a Celestron CGEM II tracking mount. No guiding camera or filters used.Exposure: 104 frames exposed for 120 seconds each at ISO 1600.Location/Date: Verdon, December 2024.Processing: Stacked in DeepSkyStacker (DSS) + processed from Camera RAW.

Sam Falkner

Pickering’s Triangle (NGC 6979). Foraxx Pallette.

Pickering’s Triangle (NGC 6979). HSS Pallette

Richard Carande

The Tick Planetary Nebula (SH2-123). Meade 115 APO Refractor. 640mm focal length, f/5.6. ZWO AM3 mount. ASI 2600mc-pro camera. Antlia ALTP-T 3nm Ha/Oiii. 45x60s Broadband. 162x300s Ha/Oiii. 14:15 total integration. Bortle 5. Captured July 8-10, 2026

The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146). Meade 115 APO Refractor. 640mm focal length, f/5.6. ZWO AM3 mount. ASI 2400mc-pro camera (full frame). Antlia ALTP-T 3nm Ha/Oiii. 45x60s Broadband. 408x180s Broadband 123x300s Ha/Oiii. 21:09 total integration. Bortle 5. Captured July 11-16, 2026

The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146). (With Ha Added) Meade 115 APO Refractor. 640mm focal length, f/5.6. ZWO AM3 mount. ASI 2400mc-pro camera (full frame). Antlia ALTP-T 3nm Ha/Oiii. 45x60s Broadband. 408x180s Broadband. 123x300s Ha/Oiii. 21:09 total integration. Bortle 5. Captured July 11-16, 2026

The Burning Blue Dragon (CTA1 – SNR G119.5+10.2 and NGC 40). (Edge11-HD, with Hyperstar V4. 530mm fl, 280mm ap. f/1.9. Celestron CGX. ASI 2400mc-pro camera (full frame). IDAS-NB-UHS Ha/Oiii filter
189×60” Broadband. 31×180” Ha/Oiii. 192×300” Ha/Oiii. 20:41. Bortle 3. Captured July 4-5, July 17-19

Tommy Lease

The Deer Lick Group and Stephans Quintet (NGC 7331 and Arp 319). Total Integration: 57hrs 35h Hydrogen-Alpha 18h Luminance. 4.5h RGB. Captured with my dual 10-inch Newtonian imaging system and dual ZWO ASI2600MM Pro cameras and Antlia 36mm filters, Skywatcher EQ6R and CQ350 mounts.

Lightning Ridge (DWB 40). This is an SHO image with about 25 hours of data collected.Gear Details:Dual 10-in F4 Newtonian telescopes, Dual ASI2600MM cameras Antlia 36mm 3nm SHO filters, skywatcher EQ6R Pro and CQ350 mounts

The Tulip Nebula (Sh2-101) and Cygnus X-1. Total Integration: 64hrs. 17h Ha. 37h Oiii. 5h Lum. 5.5h RGB. Captured with my dual 10-inch Newtonian imaging system and dual ZWO ASI2600MM Pro cameras and Antlia 36mm filters, Skywatcher EQ6R and CQ350 mounts.

Solar Time Lapse. This is about 2.5hs of data crammed into a 11 second clip. Date: 8/2/26. Equipment: Heliostar 76 Ha. Player-one Apollo 428M. Baader 2.5x Barlow. EQ6R mount.