Beyond 62

Beyond 62 Sean Burke | Beyond 62
đź”­ Astrophotographer
đź“Ť Wiltshire, Swindon
Deep-Sky | Night-Scapes & Star Trails | Moon-Scapes |
Wide-Field | Auroras

The Horsehead Nebula (B33)This is a target I’ve been chasing for years.My first attempt, 4 years ago, was with a small t...
23/03/2026

The Horsehead Nebula (B33)

This is a target I’ve been chasing for years.

My first attempt, 4 years ago, was with a small tracker and a Sony A6000 (last slide). Back then, I could barely pull the shape out of the noise — now, seeing it in this level of detail feels unreal.

This image is a reminder of what happens when you stick with something you love. Progress isn’t instant… but it adds up.

Located ~1,500 light years away in the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, the Horsehead is a vast pillar of dark dust silhouetted against glowing ionised hydrogen — stretching roughly 13 light years across.

Captured over multiple nights:
117 Ă— 300s exposures

Equipment:
ZWO ASI 533MC Pro
William Optics Redcat 51
Svbony Duo Narrowband Filter
ZWO ASIAIR Mini
ZWO ASI 120MM Mini (Guide)
ZWO AM5N

Processing:
PixInsight
Photoshop

From the depths of space… to your wall. ✨A selection of my astrophotography is now available as museum-quality giclée pr...
17/03/2026

From the depths of space… to your wall. ✨

A selection of my astrophotography is now available as museum-quality giclée prints—captured over hours beneath the night sky and ready to bring the universe into your home.

Explore the collection 👇

https://beyond-62.myshopify.com/

The Heart Nebula in HOO - reprocessed ❤️I wasn’t 100% happy with my last attempt at the Heart Nebula so with all the clo...
17/03/2026

The Heart Nebula in HOO - reprocessed ❤️

I wasn’t 100% happy with my last attempt at the Heart Nebula so with all the cloudy nights I thought I’d give it another go and i’m much happier with this result.

I’ve also set up an online store where you can purchase this photograph as a fine art giclée print! - link in bio.

Captured as part of a mosaic alongside its cosmic neighbour, the Soul Nebula, this panel represents the final result of around 4 hours of integration time.

Shot using the William Optics RedCat 51 (250mm) from my back garden, with
48 Ă— 300-second exposures, through an SVBONY dual narrowband filter.
Stacked and processed in PixInsight using the HOO palette.

đź“Ť Located roughly 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia,
the Heart Nebula spans almost 200 light-years across and is a vast star-forming region.
At its core lies a young open cluster whose intense radiation sculpts and ionises the surrounding hydrogen and oxygen, giving the nebula its distinctive glow — and its heart-shaped outline.

Equipment:
• William Optics Redcat 51
• ZWO ASI533MC Pro
• ZWO ASIAIR Mini
• ZWO ASI120MM Mini (Guide)
• SkyWatcher EQ3 Pro
• SVBONY Dual-Band Filter

Fine art prints of this photo available on my store - https://beyond-62.myshopify.com/products/the-heart-nebula-hoo-fine-art-print?variant=52973048660305

Aurora’s Over NorwayAfter my first chase didn’t yield the results I was hoping for, I kept a close eye on the NOAA forec...
22/12/2025

Aurora’s Over Norway

After my first chase didn’t yield the results I was hoping for, I kept a close eye on the NOAA forecast. A large coronal hole facing Earth was releasing a powerful stream of solar wind, and the chances of heightened aurora activity later in the week looked very promising. Trusting the forecast, I headed out once more — and what unfolded was nothing short of magical. The sky came alive, and it became a night I’ll never forget. 🌌✨

The Lobster Claw & Bubble NebulaCaptured during a perfectly clear night out under the stars, this image showcases two of...
22/11/2025

The Lobster Claw & Bubble Nebula

Captured during a perfectly clear night out under the stars, this image showcases two of the Cassiopeia region’s most striking emission nebulae—the Lobster Claw Nebula (Sh2-157) and the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635). These glowing clouds of ionized gas sit roughly 7,000–11,000 light years away, shaped by stellar winds, radiation, and the powerful forces of massive young stars carving out their surroundings.

This final image is the result of 85 x 300-second exposures, giving a total integration time of 7 hours and 15 minutes in dual-narrowband H-Alpha and O-III. The long exposure time helps reveal the fine filaments, structure, and contrasting colours within these nebulae that are otherwise invisible to the eye.

Processed with a combination of PixInsight and Photoshop, with careful stretching, noise reduction, and colour calibration to bring out the detail and depth of the region.

Equipment used:
• William Optics Redcat 51
• ZWO ASI 533MC Pro
• ZWO ASI Air Mini
• ZWO ASI 120MM Mini Guide Camera
• SkyWatcher EQ3 Pro
• SVBONY Dual-Band Filter

The Pacman Nebula (Re-Processed)The Pacman Nebula (NGC 281) lies about 9,200 light-years away in Cassiopeia. Its dark du...
29/09/2025

The Pacman Nebula (Re-Processed)

The Pacman Nebula (NGC 281) lies about 9,200 light-years away in Cassiopeia. Its dark dust lanes carve out the classic “Pac-Man” shape in the glowing hydrogen gas.

After diving into PixInsight (alongside Photoshop) and reprocessing my data, I was blown away by how much more detail I could reveal. Removing the stars during stretching brought out incredible structure in the nebula while keeping noise low — a massive step up from my first attempt.

Swipe to see the starless version and compare it with my original processing.

Gear:
ZWO ASI 533MC-Pro | Skywatcher Startravel 120T OTA | ZWO ASIAIR Mini | ZWO ASI 120MM Mini Guide Camera | Skywatcher EQ3 Pro

Software: PixInsight & Photoshop

The Heart of the Heart Nebula ❤️https://www.instagram.com/p/DPGh0FIAj5A/?igsh=OHhlcnd0bzZldHFm 7,500 light-years away in...
27/09/2025

The Heart of the Heart Nebula ❤️

https://www.instagram.com/p/DPGh0FIAj5A/?igsh=OHhlcnd0bzZldHFm

7,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia lies this massive emission nebula and star-forming region.

After trying out a few other targets with my new setup, I can confidently say this is my best deep space image so far!

I’ve been fine-tuning my setup and refining my workflow — from capturing the best possible data to improving how I stack and process each image.

I’m exceptionally happy with how this turned out, and it’s only going to get better from here! 🚀✨

Equipment:

ZWO ASI 533MC-Pro
Skywatcher Startravel 120T OTA
ZWO ASI Air Mini
ZWO ASI 120MM Mini Guide Camera
Skywatcher EQ3 Pro

Software:

Deep Sky Stacker
Photoshop
Lightroom

✨ The Western Veil Nebula ✨A remnant of a massive supernova, around 2,400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus.C...
23/09/2025

✨ The Western Veil Nebula ✨
A remnant of a massive supernova, around 2,400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus.

Captured last night with my SkyWatcher StarTravel 120 telescope & ZWO ASI 533MC Pro camera.
Total exposure time: 4h 45m with a duo narrowband filter.

This is just a small piece of the Cygnus Loop, and I’m blown away every time I see the delicate filaments of gas glowing across the night sky. 🌌

This is the third target I’ve captured with my new setup, and seeing the progress with each image is part of the magic of astrophotography. Every project teaches you something new—whether it’s a technique, a detail about the object, or a way to refine the capture—and you get to see the results of that learning in every frame.

The Milky Way over Durdle DoorFriday night’s 5-hour round trip was absolutely worth it. I took a gamble with the weather...
27/07/2025

The Milky Way over Durdle Door

Friday night’s 5-hour round trip was absolutely worth it. I took a gamble with the weather, knowing there was a chance of cloud cover—but luck was on my side. Aside from some haze on the horizon, the sky was incredibly clear.

I ran into a few hiccups getting this shot—mainly due to rushing my packing and forgetting the intervalometer batteries, which left my tracking setup pretty much useless. In the end, I had to settle for a single 30-second exposure, but I’m still unbelievably happy with the result.

Can’t wait to try this again next year with an astro-modified camera!

Today’s partial Solar Eclipse spanning 2 hours and reaching a maximum of 33% coverage from my location!Tracked and shot ...
29/03/2025

Today’s partial Solar Eclipse spanning 2 hours and reaching a maximum of 33% coverage from my location!
Tracked and shot at 600mm with a solar filter, creating this composite image of the various stages of the Eclipse. I managed to get lucky observing the Eclipse with only some high altitude clouds occasionally rolling through and the Eclipse ending before total cloud cover.

Shot using:
Sony a7IV
Sigma 150-600mm lens
Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2
K&F Solar Filter

Another shot of Friday’s lunar eclipse, this time captured at 600mm with the eclipse at around 50% coverage. This is a c...
16/03/2025

Another shot of Friday’s lunar eclipse, this time captured at 600mm with the eclipse at around 50% coverage. This is a composite image using two different shutter speeds to bring out the details of both the illuminated and shadowed regions of the Moon.

Re-edited shot 🌓Yesterday morning’s lunar eclipse, captured at 0.5 magnitude as it set above Stonehenge.I made an early ...
15/03/2025

Re-edited shot 🌓

Yesterday morning’s lunar eclipse, captured at 0.5 magnitude as it set above Stonehenge.

I made an early morning trip to Stonehenge hoping to capture the near-total eclipse descending behind the stones. Unfortunately, some western clouds obscured the view at its peak, but I still managed to take a few shots and witness the incredible sight of the Moon being engulfed in Earth’s shadow.

I rushed my first edit and wasn’t quite satisfied with the result. This re-edit is a composite of two images taken at different shutter speeds—allowing me to capture both the intricate details of the stones and the varying illuminations of the Moon.

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