February 2025 - Douglas Cooke (NGC 2070 The Tarantula Nebula)

Congrats to Douglas Cooke for being the winner of the BINTEL Photo of the Month for February 2025 for his image of The Tarantula Nebula.

Equipment used:

• Celestron C8 telescope with a HyperStar 8 V4
• Celestron Advanced VX mount
• ZWO ASI585MC Camera
• Alinta Triband RGB filter
• A total 4 hours 29 minutes of one shot colour exposures
• Processed in PixInsight

What's in the image:

Douglas tells us: "Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) region. Image data was collected from my backyard in central Canberra in the last fortnight. I noticed this object was referenced in your Introductory Guide to Deep Sky Objects (Nebulae) published this week, so I thought you might appreciate a recent image. "

There's also a bit of story about Douglas and his astronomy journey:

"I've had a life-long interest in astronomy. I had a 60mm refractor when I was a teenager growing up in the 70s (I've still got it). However, life intervened and more than 40 years passed before I had the time to continue my journey. I bought my kit 12 months ago and have been pursuing astrophotography ever since (I've always wanted to own a Celestron SCT ... and the kit that's available now for amateurs like me is just amazing!). It often feels like 'two steps forward and one step back, but I'm pleased with my progress to date. I know I have a long way to go and am continuing to enjoy the challenge (and the rewards!)."

Thanks for sending us your image Douglas! We really appreciate you taking the time to tell us how you got into astronomy and look forward to seeing more of your images.