Spiral Galaxy NGC1566 first light SX694

[gregbradley]

I received a Starlight Express Trius 694 camera last week. I have been imaging with it when the weather allowed. I have 2 images so far. This is the 2nd but first released.

7 hours of 10 and 15 minute subexposures. I have imaged this galaxy before and I knew this is a pretty galaxy.

The top spiral arm swings around faintly on the left a long way. Its just noticeable in the image.

LRGB image, Starlight Express Trius at -20C, CDK17, PME, SBIG STi on a MMOAG.

I am about to hook the Trius up the .66 reducer which will give it a bit more field of view and also make it somewhere between F4.54 and F5.

http://upload.pbase.com/image/153284598/large regular size

http://upload.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/153284598/original large size

Greg.

[LewisM]

GORGEOUS result Greg!

I am a complete SX advocate (even though I like my SBIG, it's too damned heavy!)

Now on my list of targets.

[TimberLand]

The new sony chips are getting a head of steam up now.

I can't wait for clear skies to try mine out. The thermal noise is almost non existent.

Darn Queensland weather.

Great shot by the way. Good noise control and colour.

[DavidNg]

Great image Greg. I can see the faint tail of the lower arm swing to the right too. I am still unable to produce any decent galaxy image, it is harder to process.

cheers,
David

[gregbradley]

Thanks Lewis. Its quite a bit better than my previous attempt here:

http://www.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/132352670/large


Greg

[alpal]

Nice job - that's a great galaxy & just above the LMC at 1.00am.

[gregbradley]

Thanks David. Try the brighter ones like Sculptor, Cent A etc.
If you want any help with processing it just PM me.

Greg.

[strongmanmike]

Well, so far so good Greg :thumbsup: I think the reducer will be a good addition here though....the awesome little Starlightxpress has arrived in your hands at the perfect time as it's gaaaalaxy seeeeason :D

Mike

[gregbradley]

Thanks Justin.

Yes the images are very clean although a 10 minute dark still has a quite a number of hot pixels. Similar to my Microline 8300.

Definitely a good camera although I'd prefer it in a Microline body if possible (more than twice the price though).

Greg.

[gregbradley]

Thanks Mike. It sure is galaxy season. There are a lot of really nice images close to Acamar.

What do we do when they all pass?:confused2:

Greg

[Shiraz]

pretty darn good Greg. should really sing with the reducer.

[gregbradley]

Thanks Ray. It seemed less seeing affected than I expected. It was reasonable seeing as well. Its all setup ready for a clear night (rain predicted for the next few days). I'm also coming to grips with the subtle differences required in my processing routine for this camera.

Greg.

[Rod771]

Yes it has performed well. I was looking forward to the result at that focal length. Hmm interesting :question:

Well done Greg!

[marc4darkskies]

Now that's up close and personal Greg! Nice one! Congrats on the new gear (as if you needed more ;))!

Cheers, Marcus

[gregbradley]

Its performing better than I expected as the small pixels would make you think its a mismatch. I think it will work even better with the reducer (assuming I can get round stars as backfocus allowance is minimal and will require piggyback guiding or a thinner OAG). Also I intend to add an AO unit to help.



The zoomed in look is appealling. I originally bought an ST10XME years ago that was never delivered (2nd hand market) that often is seen doing shots like that.

It also gives you a look at another option for cameras with your 360 later on.

Greg.

[RickS]

An auspicious first light, Greg! Nicely done.

[gregbradley]

Cheers Rick. I was not sure what to expect but was happy with the results. Opens the door to a large number of galaxies that are smaller and dimmer.

Greg.

[sjastro]

Nice image Greg.

The outer spiral structure can be seen here.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~sjastro/ngc1566nnc.jpg

Regards

Steven

[ChrisM]

Very nice indeed Greg. I don't think that I've seen that galaxy before; it certainly is 'pretty'.

What's the FL of your setup with the CDK17? And do you know how many arcsecs/pixel?

Chris

[Stevec35]

Impressive Greg! One of your best galaxy images I would think. Bit of colour noise apparent which would be overcome by longer RGB exposures I would think.

Cheers

Steve

[Jon]

Lovely image Greg.

[David Fitz-Henr]

That's a very promising image for first light on the new camera Greg! Colour balance processing is also definitely improved over your other image. One question: there appears to be a smaller ghost image at the seven o'clock position on many of the brighter stars in the image - is this a registration/alignment isue?

[Lee]

Great image.... that little camera must look like a pimple on your cannon!

[gregbradley]

Thanks Steven. Thats a very deep image you have there. Thanks for that.



2940mm, .32 arc secs/pixel. With the reducer (not in this image) .48 arc sec/pixel, with the Proline 16803 its .63 arc secs/pixel



Thanks Steve. I think its worth taking some more subs when the weather clears up. Its definitely a photogenic galaxy. I am still getting used to the differences with this camera. 12 hours might be a good exposure figure for a galaxy like this with 10 minute subs.



Thanks very much Jon.



No its not an alignment issue. I did 15 minute subs in luminance with this image. I looked at the subs and they all have those little blooms. Perhaps I should've run bloom handling in CCDstack. I think its a bloom as the downside of small pixels is overflow of the pixel relatively quickly compared to the 100,000 electron 9 micron pixels we often use. On the 10 minute subs in another image the stars are all tight with no blooms so I think 15 minutes is simply too long for this camera. Still experimenting but it seems 10 minutes is the maximum on that scope with this camera.



Yes its pretty small but that makes it easy to handle. The CDK17 has no problem with a heavy camera though. The focuser is very heavy duty.

Greg.

[SpaceNoob]

Would the overflow occur that quickly at that image scale? Still need to significantly exceed the bloom gate I thought?

You have less well depth sure, but those small wells are spread over a much smaller area.

[allan gould]

Great image with a gReat camera. You must be happy with your setup.

[gregbradley]

Well depth is 18,000 electrons which is very small. KAF8300 has small wells and they are 25,500. The KAF16803 wells are 100,000 electrons.

I looked at other images I have taken with the same camera and scope using 10minutes and there was no sign of that surrounding fuzz around brighter stars. Its also only on the brighter stars. Early days to be definitive but there you go.



Thanks Allan. I am thrilled. I am also looking at ways to use a reducer and an AOL. I think I may have a way.

Greg.

[multiweb]

Beautiful details in that one. Nice. :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

Thanks Marc. I am happy with the increased resolution. If tonight is clear I'll try out the camera with the Planewave reducer.

Greg.

[Bassnut]

Red filter looks right out of rego Greg, whats going on there?

[leinad]

Nice galaxy, and CCD. Has nice nice QE levels.

For 7 hours total integration time it looks like some bad registration there; some bad (focus/atmos shift) subs included in the stack ?

Look forward to some more, always interested to see these reviews (new equipment tests)of yours here and there.

[gregbradley]

Not 100% sure. Could be small wells spilling over or some spike in the PE in the red subs. I have to examine the red subs more. A lot of these were 15 minutes which may be too long for this small welled camera.



I corrected those stars with the red tongue. I'll have to check the masters again. I put it down to small wells in the camera and some spill over. Not 100% sure. It seems better in another image of 10 minute subs. I am adjusting my processing to suit the camera. It could be a pecularity of the camera, it could be a needed step in my processing routine also.

Greg.

[Ross G]

A great looking galaxy photo Greg.

Love the composition.

Good luck with the new camera.

Ross.

[gregbradley]

Thanks Ross. Its a real close up isn't it? If the skies clear ( a lot of rain seems to be forecast) I might take some more exposures and build it up more. It'd be nice to capture more of those outer arms.

Greg.

[jase]

Love it Greg! The details are divine in the full resolution image. Magenta is strong, which I wasn't expecting from this galaxy. An excellent rendition. Thanks for sharing.

[gregbradley]

Thanks Jase. I was very happy with how it turned out. As far as the magenta there is no guarantee I have that right. It certainly is the way the data seemed to go.

Greg.