Omega Centauri

[DiscoDuck]

An old favourite for the first test image with my new TS 9mm Off-Axis Guider and QHY5L-II guide cam. Had been getting a lot of flexure between the scopes using a separate Orion ST80 guidescope before.

4 hrs (10 minute subs) with QHY8 on an RC8 scope and an NEQ6 mount.


Paul

[Regulus]

Excellent colour Paul and a really nice, deep image.

Trevor

[jenchris]

Nice.
I'm glad you like the OAG. I hated mine.
I could seldom get a decent guide star.

[suma126]

looks great well done:thumbsup:

[Andre27]

Well done , good image.

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks Trevor, Jennifer, Shane and Andre.

Jennifer, re the OAG, yes, not sure how easy finding a guide star is going to be. I may have just struck lucky that time! Though the extra sensitivity of the QHY5L-II over my old Orion Starshoot seems to help.

[west_andrew]

Love the colours....

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks Andrew. Wasn't too sure how far to push the saturation.

[multiweb]

Very nicely done, Paul. Good star colors and resolution. :thumbsup:

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks Marc.

[RickS]

Nice work, Paul.

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks Rick.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

That's a beautiful Omega Paul!

Good colour.

Cheers,

Justin.

[NOMH]

Oh man, I love this cluster. Nice capture!
This is the absolute furthest south I can image from my location and only about 2 hours a night as it skirts along the foothills.

JB

[clive milne]

Top shelf Paul...

[DJT]

Nice one Paul, well done.

[strongmanmike]

Very nice Omega Paul, the stars look good so the new kit must be working ok :thumbsup: I used to have lot's of trouble with flexure too before an OAG...be hard to go back now...

Mike

[Placidus]

Nice. Superb colour.

[gregbradley]

Gorgeous.

Greg.

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks all.



Well, still struggling with the OAG to find guide stars sometimes. Find I have to plan in advance in Stellarium/Cartes du Ciel, even to the point of working out the orientation of the camera to get one. And a meridian flip causes headaches with having to find one the other side or rotate the camera and refocus! Tips appreciated!

[Slawomir]

Hi Paul,

Very nice photo and certainly beautiful round stars :)

I stopped using OAG because it was a pain with an ED doublet, not so much in regards to finding suitable guiding stars but because I needed to refocus the guide camera for each filter; I had a basic OAG and it was just too much fiddling in a dark at night...

Now struggling with flex...got the flex down to 1arcsec per 8minuts 20 seconds...would love to halve it though...

[DJT]

Wondering why you need to refocus the guide camera with the OAG?

[Paul Haese]

Nice work. Nice colour and resolution looks good. A bigger image would be nice to see the resolution better. When you say RC8 are you referring to a GSO RC8? If so, that is another tick for their scopes.

[strongmanmike]

So, you are operating at 1600mm FL is that right? I am only at 1120mm so my Lodestar and the SX pick off mirror has a bigger field than it would have at 1600mm but (to date) I always have a guide star available in a 2.5sec exposure (without any specific framing) which is my standard now, so I'm not sure how I can help you? What guide camera are you using? What guide exposure length can you get to and maintain good guiding with the EQ6?

Mike

[Slawomir]

Don't want to steal the thread, so in short: when changing a filter for the main camera I need to refocus it (I use a doublet so focus adjustements between filters are relatively substantial) and that always significantly stuffs up the focus for the guide camera. Solution: need too get a triplet or an OAG with easy and reliable focus adjustement.

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks Slawomir. Re OAG refocussing, I know what you mean. Had to refocus it on another image as was using an Ha filter. It's just a simple screw holding the stalk in position, so fine adjustment is almost impossible. Seems to be a case of close enough is good enough! :shrug:



Thanks Paul. Yes, a GSO RC8. I'll dig out a higher res version and send you a link.



Mike, yes 1600mm. I'm using a QHY5L-II. With 3-4 seconds exposure, guide stars of 10-11 mag seem fine, but they're not that common in the fov I find, unless planned in advance. Perhaps I can expose longer and/or focus the guide cam better. I need to experiment I guess to determine that maximum exposure time. This hobby is always a learning curve! :D I presume the Lodestar is more sensitive than the QHY too??

[Ross G]

Excellent photo Paul.

Nice colours.

Ross.

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks Ross.

Paul