Tarantula Nebula- 10 hours

[RyanJones]

Hi all,

I’ve spent a lot of time between serious imaging sessions refining my set up. A lot of work went into tuning my mount, repositioning the OTA, building a dew heat controller and heaters for my secondary and guide scope. Along the way most of my potential imaging nights have been spent testing. I was hoping by the time I’d finished, my new dedicated Astro camera would have arrived. Alas it has not. So I took the opportunity to add some data to this years Tarantula on my old DSLR. Apart from my previous data and this data being taken within a week of the full moon and last nights session having a seeing rating of only 5, the night was a resounding success. I managed to achieve a full night of over 6 hours with no dew and guiding error hovering between 0.47 and 0.52 consistently for the entire session.

This image was inspired by a recent image posted by JP in a dual band colour palette.

202 x 180sec subs
Canon 350d @ ISO400
STCduo filter
8” f/4 imaging Newtonian
HEQ5 Pro mount
Guided by ASIair with EQmod
Bortle 8 backyard

Thanks for looking:)

Cheers, Ryan

[jahnpahwa]

Unreal mate!

6hrs with those guiding numbers is top notch, and great result too.


Looking forward to seeing what you get up to with your new camera. What are you getting?

[RyanJones]

Thank you JP. And thank you for the inspiration. I’m waiting on a ZWO071MC Pro. Fingers crossed it comes soon.

[xa-coupe]

JP is inspiring everyone it seems !

Great picture.

[Anth10]

Ryan,
I here you when you say most of the time you spend is on testing gear on perfectly good imaging nights. Its all worth it in the end if you make progress and take notes on what works for you - this is proof in the pudding great shot. Your new camera choice will make a huge difference from the DSLR.
I'm still using my modded Canon60D - its seems like technology is moving quick with these cooled cameras and improved sensors.
Good luck with it.
Anth

[RyanJones]

Thank you Anthony. I think there came a point when I decided that if I was going to get better at this then I needed to concentrate on one setup. It was very rare for me to be doing visual astronomy so there was little point in me keeping my setup configured for it so I set about really concentrating on turning it into an astrograph. I’m pretty happy with how it has come up and given that I made bits and pieces myself the reward is doubled.


Cheers

Ryan

[Startrek]

Ryan
Great effort there on the Tarantula with your 350D ( and only 8 megapixel )
These ZWO cooled OSC cameras are fantastic , you will be amazed how good your images will be compared to the DSLR
I’ve only had my 2600MC for 2 months and the reduction in noise compared to my Canon 600D is incredible
With the ZWO Duoband filter I can push 3 to 5 minute subs in Bortle 8 Sydney and the results are astounding , minimal noise and heaps of detail, especially with nebulas
The specs on the 071MC are great and I think they have now fixed a previous issue with dew on the sensor
Recommend you join the ZWO support forum , Sam from ZWO replies next day with any of your queries about the camera
Good luck with it

PS what software are you going to use to run the 071MC ?
I use APT which is pretty good , if you decide to choose APT , I have a 2 page procedure from A to Z ( saves looking at the 200page manual )
Cheers
Martin

[RyanJones]

Thank you Martin,

I just received an email saying it’s on its way so it looks like this image was a last hoorah to the 350d. She’s served me well and taught me a lot.

I have read that the Pro has sorted out the dew issue. I was looking at the 2600 but I just couldn’t collect enough beans and the 071 specs are off the scale compared to the 350d anyway.

I’m going to be using the ASIair built in software for capture. If it’s anywhere near as good as the guide side that I’ve been using for a while I’m going to be a pretty happy camper.