Sculptor Galaxy

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

I received my second hand 8" Newt and this is first light really (thanks Adam!)
I was chasing sucker holes in the clouds all night and the seeing was like being underwater, at least it wasn't raining.
The focus is a bit iffy and my alignment was off as well so had to do short subs -45 secs at iso 800 x 40.
But I am very pleased with the first go with the 'pig in lipstick' (cheap newt with moonlite focuser)
What a cool galaxy!
Graham

[adman (Adam)]

Graham - looks good for first light. BUt I do agree about the focus. When I was setting up the other night, I came across the bahtinov mask that I used for that newt that I should have stuck in the box when I shipped it. I will get it to you at some point.

Do I read it right that there were 40 subs at 45 seconds each in the image above? There seems to be a lot of noise for so many subs - how was it stacked / processed etc? It looks like you might have clipped the data a little also - those stars are a little too white.

I do love that phrase 'lipstick on a pig' and it is very apt for that scope - the colour of the focuser is even the right one - just paint the OTA pink and it'll be complete!

Adam

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

First light looks pretty good. Congrats on the new scope.

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Thanks!
For the data-I stacked in DSS with some calbration frames that were already on my computer so the darks and flats/flat darks were same camera but different scope- may that has affected it. Also the atmosphere was really bad seeing. I have clipped to try and max the data as initially in DSS after some stretch it just looked like brown sludge!

[adman (Adam)]

yeah - some longer subs and less stretching will be helpful. Your flats do need to be from the same optical system though with the same camera orientation etc.

I always found taking flats to be a pain, as I never left enough time to do them on the night I took the light frames and would do them the next day with the white t-shirt trick - but more recently I have been using my iPad as a white screen and just holding that over the end of the tube and firing off 10 or 15 flats after my imaging runs. That way I don't need to keep the camera attached to the scope until the next day.

keep the piccys coming!

Adam

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

I can highly recommend one of Peters (Exfso) light boxes.

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Yeah-I have one for my 80mm refractor but it won't fit the porky one! May have to give him another call.....

[midnight (Darrin)]

There is a lot of promise in this Graham. You've certainly captured detail in the galaxy - all you need is longer subs and this will come out really good.

Cheers,
Darrin...

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Darrin (Midnight) you are a good man to encourage us fumbling foals!
Always a nice phrase to keep that eye to the reticle. Hope the weather in WA is better than the raincloud fest down here, it's like being inside a battleship grey snowdome, or that train in the Iain Banks novel- 'The Bridge" with a never ending ashtray and colliery window pane view. I can see why the seasonally affected get so affected. Was so sunny till midday to add iron to the irony. Maybe should go Solar ?
Even my local kingfisher looks a tad crookaburra!
Suppose I can use this time to really learn to bogo pogo!
Yours with the vit D tablets and the inflatable kayak
Graham

[originaltrilogy (Petr)]

I just found this thread, I know it is old but I am imaging same galaxy with 45 second subs so is interesting to compare.

Did you ever go back to sculptor and image again? I am interested to compare other systems to my Hyperstar with the same targets.

How does initial stacked image look compared to one in my thread? Could you upload link?

Thank you.

-Petr