Well, what can I say… great sky last night, apart from that bl__dy great moon. I didnt quite realise just how bright is was goingt o be until I went outside, so I had to quickly change targets and process. The only way to image last night was to use narrowband filters, something I have never had to use before. There are a few targets that are rapidly disappering into the west for this year, so I chose to start with something big and bright…. but was a bit wary because one shot colour CCDs have a reputation for not being so great for narrow band imaging. Both images are a little noisey… partly due to the moon, but also due to the short sequence runs and low sub count.<\/p>\n
As a side note, it was incredibly cold last night. In fact, as I was standing on the patio, looking up at the sky, I didnt notice I was actually standing in a puddle from rain earlier in the day. I must have stood there for 10 minutes or so, totally stationary…. when I tried to move, I discovered to my surprise that the puddle had frozen solid, with my boots still in it! Well, it made me laugh \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
(Note: These images have been updated since I first posted this article)<\/p>\n
OTA: William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD + 0.8 FR\/FF
\nGuiding: NS8GPS @ f\/10 + DSI-C + PHD
\nImaging: QHY8 + MaximDL, 6 x 900s
\nStacked: DeepSkyStacker
\nPost Process: ImagesPlus + PSCS2 + Noel Carboni\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s AstroTools
\n(Had to stop the sequence as it slipped slowly behind the rooftop of a nearby house)<\/p>\n
(Click on image for larger version)
\n<\/a><\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/www.steves-astro.com\/images\/ngc\/ngc7000_ha_20071123_2xdrizzle_large.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n