After a few years of playing with OSCs from QHY and a Canon SLR - I felt it was time to give mono a try!!! Early days yet, but suffice to say I'm glad I made the switch.
I'm using the Atik 414EX, a replacement for the venerable 314L+, offering Sony's latest EXview HAD CCD II chip, deeper cooling and 'tube style' Atik 4000 form factor.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy these humble offerings: M104 and NGC2207.
M104 is a special one for me. I first viewed it as a boy through a lovely refractor at the Downer Observatory, Canberra. It was a special night and it has been my fav galaxy ever since
Great results Logan, they hint quite strongly at a future full of fabulous images, look forward to you sharing your journey
I worked at the Downer club until 1997, the scope you viewed M104 with, was that the Astrophysics 7" Starfire mounted on the big 16" Japanese monolithic newt, or the Astrophysics 6" F12 planet killer refractor, the one that just fitted in the dome? Do you remember who the astronomer was on the night?
Mike, thanks - I appreciate the boost of confidence My visit to Downer was around 1997/98. At one stage there I was going weekly, just to get close to some wonderful gear I could only dream of owning. I Remember a lovely vintage orange tube C14, but my view of M104 was through a big, white refractor. I remember feeling disappointed when I realised we weren't going to look through the main scope that night - a massive white beast of a thing. I mistook the refractor for its mere guide scope! It must have been as you say, a 7" AP mounted on 16" Japanese newt (not the planet killer), and may well have been you behind the wheel
Thanks Russell. I'm enjoying the Atik very much. It has drivers for Mac and Windows and is now friends with SkyX - which matters to me. Atik's people are wondeful to deal with (through Bintel) and software support/integration is a big priority for them, which is just as important as the hardware these days.
That M104 is extremely sharp. Two, possibly three of the surrounding globular clusters are not just visible but definitely non-stellar. That is special. Well done.
Logan I take it this was with the GSO RC12 you have? The M104 shot has great potential. Some selective sharpening of that dust last will make it pop once the colour comes.
I had a view on Saturday of M104 through a 22" f3.6 scope and it showed subtle detail similar to this image. As it turns out this is on my to do list next.
Welcome to monochrome too. I look forward to your results.
Logan I take it this was with the GSO RC12 you have? The M104 shot has great potential. Some selective sharpening of that dust last will make it pop once the colour comes...
Thanks Paul, I'll keep at it with colour data to follow. Yes, taken with the GSO RC. I love it. Thanks for your recommendations! They are top scopes for the price, as you well know My only upgrades: Optec TCF-Si focuser (but these shots were eyeballed - SkyX @focus2 keeps giving me over-saturation errors!) and I'm also using a lovely shroud made by AstroZap specifically for our scopes - it's space-agey material stuff and looks very smart: http://www.astrozap.com/scripts/prod...?idCategory=78.
Thanks Paul, I'll keep at it with colour data to follow. Yes, taken with the GSO RC. I love it. Thanks for your recommendations! They are top scopes for the price, as you well know My only upgrades: Optec TCF-Si focuser (but these shots were eyeballed - SkyX @focus2 keeps giving me over-saturation errors!) and I'm also using a lovely shroud made by AstroZap specifically for our scopes - it's space-agey material stuff and looks very smart: http://www.astrozap.com/scripts/prod...?idCategory=78.
Cool looking shrouds, they are out of stock on the 12". Might have to look back again later. Thanks for the link.
No. These were all taken @ -10. The extra -3 to -5 that the 414EX provides over the 314L+ lets me get to -10 below ambient even on the warmer summer nights down here. M104 was 12x300sec. NGC2207 was 10x300sec. Cheers.
NOT mega data at this stage
I remember feeling disappointed when I realised we weren't going to look through the main scope that night - a massive white beast of a thing. I mistook the refractor for its mere guide scope! It must have been as you say, a 7" AP mounted on 16" Japanese newt (not the planet killer), and may well have been you behind the wheel
Yeah, under the light polluted skies of downtown Dickson, most of us astronomers liked to use the 7" Starfire, it gave the best overall views for the public although the C14 was pretty good too. I used the 16" a few times but there was way to much light pollution and at F5 the images always looked washed out, was fun walking up the massive ladder to the eyepiece though would have been a killer for AP with a modern coma corrector like that in my scope
I think my last session there was late in 1996, I was training too hard for strongman by then and didn't like the late nights, then started a several year absence from astronomy.
would have been a killer for AP with a modern coma corrector like that in my scope 
