February 17, 2008
Well, another clear night, but OH MY WORD was it cold! (Well, cold for the UK anyway). FYI -6C is 21.2 F
and I may need to rethink my dew supression system for the whole night (New style dew shield specifically for the Hyperstar is on its way from Astrozap soon)
Anyway… enough of the waffle, and on to the goodies
NGC 2237 Rosette Nebula in Hydrogen Alpha
OTA: NS8GPS @ f/2 (Hyperstar v3)
Guiding: William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD + DSI-C + PHD
RGB Imaging: QHY8 + MaximDL, 32 x 600s (5 hours 20 mins at f/2!!!), Astronomik 13nm Ha
Stacked: DeepSkyStacker
Post Process: ImagesPlus + PSCS2 + Noel Carboni’s AstroTools
(Click on image for larger version)
Posted by Steve under Astro | Comments Off on NGC2237 Rosette in Ha… at Ice station Zebra!
February 16, 2008
With the moon causing problems, its time to break out the Ha filter again.
IC2177 Seagull Neb (which is confusing because TheSky is showing ANOTHER seagull Neb somewhere else). This target is really low, never rising more than 27-28 degrees above the UK horizon. A fair amout of noise in the larger version, but unsure if this was due to dodgy flats, the moon, or atmospheric interference.
OTA: NS8GPS @ f/2 (Hyperstar v3)
Guiding: William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD + DSI-C + PHD
RGB Imaging: QHY8 + MaximDL, 21 x 600s, Astronomik 13nm Ha
Stacked: DeepSkyStacker
Post Process: ImagesPlus + PSCS2 + Noel Carboni’s AstroTools
(Click on image for larger version)
Posted by Steve under Astro | Comments Off on IC2177 in Ha
February 12, 2008
Well, it appears that last night was the last of the current clear spell in the east of the UK. Tonight is forecast with mist and fog, and tomorrow the rainclouds start to roll in again. I can’t complain though, 4 clear nights in a row, 3 of which I was out imaging.
I`ve been after IC443 for a while, but its always been low down on my list. As it happens, I also managed to get IC444 in the image, so I am pretty pleased with this one.
OTA: NS8GPS @ f/2 (Hyperstar v3)
Guiding: William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD + DSI-C + PHD
RGB Imaging: QHY8 + MaximDL, 20×900s, Astronomik 13nm Ha
Stacked: DeepSkyStacker (2xdrizzle)
Post Process: ImagesPlus (2xbin) + PSCS2 + Noel Carboni’s AstroTools
(Click on image for larger version)
While waiting for it to get really dark, I managed to take this image for the ISS + STS-122 passing just south of the moon just before 19:00 GMT (image is a composite of three seperate frames, hence the breaks in the line)
Posted by Steve under Astro | Comments Off on IC 443/IC444 in Ha, and an ISS/STS-122 moon pass
February 10, 2008
Finally, February’s usual freezing and clear nights arrived on Friday, and stayed for Saturday too. (Supposed to be clearish tonight too, but I am just too shattered to even think about it).
I`d just like to thank Rob Kelly from RCK for helping me help myself, and stop me smoking through Hypnotherapy ( http://www.rck.net/ ). My imaging sessions used to be my worst time, and yet I have just managed to two all night sessions in a row without the mearest hint of an urge to light up!
Just how many objects can you pack into a single image? I left this running as my second sequence of the night while I got some sleep early this morning. Normally I`d stay up all night, but with Saturday (and possibly Sunday/Monday/Tues/etc) looking clear, I`ll need some sleep or I`ll completely lose the plot.
OTA: NS8GPS @ f/2 (Hyperstar v3)
Guiding: William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD + DSI-C + PHD
RGB Imaging: QHY8 + MaximDL, 24×600s, CLS
Stacked: DeepSkyStacker (2 x drizzle)
Post Process: ImagesPlus (2xbin) + PSCS2 + Noel Carboni’s AstroTools
Lets see… Astrometry says I have:
* NGC 4374 / M 84
* NGC 4388
* NGC 4402
* NGC 4406 / M 86
* NGC 4425
* NGC 4435 / The Eyes
* NGC 4438 / The Eyes
* NGC 4459
* NGC 4461
* NGC 4473
* NGC 4477
* NGC 4486 / M 87
* NGC 4501 / M 88
* IC 3475
* NGC 4531
* NGC 4548 / M 91
* NGC 4552 / M 89
* NGC 4569 / M 90
* NGC 4571
But I`m sure the larger version shows a fair few faint fuzzies in the background…
(Click on the image for the larger version)
Next up, NGC2264 Xmas Tree + ConeOTA: NS8GPS @ f/2 (Hyperstar v3)
Guiding: William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD + DSI-C + PHD
RGB Imaging: QHY8 + MaximDL, 15×600s, CLS
Stacked: DeepSkyStacker (2 x drizzle)
Post Process: ImagesPlus (2xbin) + PSCS2 + Noel Carboni’s AstroTools
Notes: Some isues with color gradient due to the flats (need to get them sorted out once and for all!). Its possibly a little over processed, but not sure…. not much noise in it. I may end up going back to process this one again.
(Click on the image for the larger version)
Lastly, M31
OTA: NS8GPS @ f/2 (Hyperstar v3)
Guiding: William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD + DSI-C + PHD
RGB Imaging: QHY8 + MaximDL, 12×600s, CLS
Stacked: DeepSkyStacker (2 x drizzle)
Post Process: ImagesPlus (2xbin) + PSCS2 + Noel Carboni’s AstroTools
(Click on the image for the larger version)
Posted by Steve under Astro | Comments Off on What a great couple of nights!
