The incredibly deep UKST H-Alpha Survey

[tornado33]

I didnt realise the 1.2 metre UK Schmidt scope at Siding Spring had done this. Its a fantastic piece of work, using the worlds biggest monolithic narrowband H Alpha filter and Tech Pan film (the finest film ever made for Ha imaging).
The telescope http://www.aao.gov.au/ukst/
the Ha survey http://www-wfau.roe.ac.uk/sss/halpha/index.html
one can download Gif or Fits images.

Go here http://www-wfau.roe.ac.uk/~sss/scan_progress/hal_map.html
if you click a black square you get a page with the option to dl a whole field.
this program allows you to view the fits images in Photoshop
http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/
The images are incredibly deep, ive never seen anything like it. In nearly every firld theres some sort of nebulosity.

I downloaded the field that has the Norma nebulosity and NGC 6164-5 on it, then cropped part of it and played with the processing a bit, look how deep it is, incredible.
Scott

[tornado33]

Call me a geek but I had to go find a real obscure nebula like "well known" K1-3 lol.
Heres a comparison with the standard DSS Red plate, and the UKST Ha plate, as you can see its chalk and cheese.
Its a pity they only did the Galactc Plane, if they did the whole sky imagine what new undiscovered Ha regions awaited.
Scott

[avandonk]

I tried not to look. I did once or twice.

Bert

[avandonk]

Managed to find Carina.
http://www-wfau.roe.ac.uk/sss/hablock/HAL0175block.gif

Bert

[tornado33]

Sure is a deep Carina isnt it.
Mind you, Bert I reckon if I had a genuine astro camera like an SBIG STL-11000M with the HA filter on your lens, and at a dark country site Im sure I could go at least as deep :)
Scott

[avandonk]

Scott don't even think about it. Can you borrow one? It would be interesting to say the least. I just do this to get pretty pictures showing as much detail as possible given the limitations of our equipment and I enjoy other peoples pictures as well.

A cooled astro CCD camera on a 300mm F2.8 would be something else. That is why I bought this fully manual lens. Just to do this! (down the track when cooled CCD's get cheaper) You have in your possession the best manual lens ever built or ever likely to. An astro CCD will not work with a modern electronic lens. My 300mm F2.8L only works on a Canon camera. It will not focus without power from the camera. Unless someone can enlighten me in this regard? Fool the electronics?

Meanwhile enjoy the extra latitude the lens gives your efforts. I certainly am. I have seen a picture with two comets in the one frame taken from a backyard! Plus a few (many) others, all pushing the limits of our limited equipment.

Bert

[tornado33]

Yes, Bert I totally agree. Ive not seen even much slower lenses that give pin sharp star images to the edge of the field like that. I predict that if mated to one of these cooled dedicated monochrome astro cameras and taken to a dark country site, several hours of Ha filtered imaging could well go far deeper then the UKST Ha survey. If ever I come into some money I will buy a sbig type camera. This http://www.sbig.com/large_format/Pelly33.jpg
was taken with a Sbig camera and a F6 refractor and a red (not Ha ) filter., see http://www.sbig.com/sbwhtmls/online.htm

Imagine same exposure times with the narrowband ha filter and the 300mm f2.8 lens. The mind boggles. Sadly the dedicated astro cameras are still far too expensive.

Note, a mate in Coonabarabran has a St8 I think, if ever I am able to visit him I will have to see about getting a canon adaptor for it and trying it out with the lens :)
Scott
Scott