Ptolemy Cluster

[kosborn]

Some nights everything goes wrong. Windows decides to update and reboot. The device drivers stop talking to the devices. Plate solving is inconsistent. The mount takes 5 minutes to settle after a dither. The computer won't download images from the camera.

Everyone knows what I'm talking about and last night was one of those nights! After being ready to start at 7pm I didn't get my first useful sub until 11pm after rebooting computer and mount many times. Luckily the Ptolemy Cluster is bright and easy to capture so this meagre 2 hours of subs seems to have been enough. Luckily I managed to get something out of what was otherwise a disastrous night.

A bigger version is on Astrobin (https://www.astrobin.com/88qebx/B/) framed to include adjacent dust, but please don't look too closely because there is no deconvolution, no noise reduction and no sharpening, just a stretch and a bit of increased saturation.

Kevin

[pmrid]

You’re spot on. That is a very familiar story. The upload and reboot thing alone has been enogh to trigger yet another experiment with Linux and RPi moe than once. But I have gone crawling back sooner or later.

Lovely image by the way.

[kosborn]

Thanks Peter,

At least I got an image for my efforts. So many times I've set up and hours later pulled it all back down with nothing to show for it. The joys of our hobby!

[Andy01]

Nice image, but the golden star colours could use some punching up :D

[gregbradley]

A lovely sprinkling of glittering stars on a solid sea of core stars.

Greg.

[kosborn]

Thanks Greg, The density of the background stars amazes me, and that's not even the galactic centre!

[strongmanmike]

Well Kevin, those several hours of frustration still produced a lovely balanced and believable colour image of these jewels, excellent :thumbsup: I was looking at this up at Eagleview two nights ago with my son, through both binoculars and the 12" Dob and a wide field eyepiece, t'was really beautiful :thumbsup:

Mike

[kosborn]

Thanks Mike,


I'm ashamed to say I have a couple of eyepieces that have never been attached to the business end of my OTAs. Ptolemy's cluster would be great through a Newtonian. Maybe I should try to actually look sometime...:P


I appreciate your comment. When I'm imaging in broadband I try to be true to the photons and not add what isn't there. I live in a Bortle 4 - 5 on the west side of the Canberra CBD. Looking east I get the light dome of Civic but looking west I get nice dark skies. Occasionally I've taken a scope to Orroral Valley which has been fun but I can only imagine how dark your skies are every night!

[petershah]

its not real imaging if you don't feel a little pain....a wonderful natural process beautifully done

[kosborn]

Thanks Peter,

It's amazing how smooth it can be some nights and how ridiculously challenging it can be other nights. If it was all plain sailing though the good nights wouldn't be so rewarding!

[strongmanmike]

What suburb are you in..Belconnen?

Orroral Valley would be a good observing/imaging site, in fact you can see my new place (https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/171594400/original) from Orroral Valley, the ridge high over the old tracking station site, which was once home to Australia's highest Observatory too, at 1335m ASL. The dome is still there (https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/171592119/original), be great to recommission it :D

[kosborn]

I'm in Curtin on a battleaxe block (no streetlights) backing a reserve so it's a good location as far as the suburbs go. I have imaged in Orroral Valley at the old tracking station a few times but there hasn't been access since the fires and a bridge was washed away. I've walked up to the old observatory a couple of times. It would need lots of work to recommission it!!

[Camelopardalis]

Beautiful shot Kevin :thumbsup:

[kosborn]

Thanks Dunk,


Sometimes the simple shots like an open cluster or a globular cluster are the ones that grab your attention. I like this one because of the blue foreground against the dense red/orange background.

[strongmanmike]

Yea but shame to see such a great dome and housing go to ruin...

Mike