A bottle of Champagne

[Stephane]

Hi all,

Below is a 6-hour integration of the "Hamburger galaxy". I prefer to view it as a bottle of champagne being opened (can anyone else see that?).

Unfortunately I didn't collimate, and my collimation was way off. It actually ruins this image, so I heavily cropped. Please don't zoom into the corners. :lol:

As always, clear skies.
Stéphane

[RB]

:lol:

I’ll never look at the hamburger the same way again Stéphane!!
Good one.

:thumbsup:

[multiweb]

+1 I cannot unsee that popping bottle top now. :lol: Great shot. :thumbsup:

[Mickoid]

Another fine shot you've produced here Stephane. Great detail and sharpness, those corner stars aren't too bad, they certainly don't distract from a wonderful Centaurus A image. I can see your bottle but I reckon it looks more like a hamburger and ngc 3628 looks more like a hotdog! :)

[Kuz]

Another top capture stephane , colours look spot on and super clear . I have always thought to myself it looks like coke shooting out the top of a bottle .

[Startrek]

Stephane,
Excellent Centaurus A exposing some fine detail in and around the main arm
I reckon you could push a little harder and expose more
I always check collimation every session ( only takes a minute but worth it )
Star field is pretty good anyway
Well done indeed !!!
Martin

[Anth10]

Toast to a wonderful example of Centaurus A. A sparkling effort:D
Cheers! Should be very pleased with such a result Stephane.

Regards
Anthony

[Stephane]

Thanks everyone for your kind comments.

Martin, I would like to expose a little more and might add some integration to reveal the finer details. There are also some nice background galaxies lurking that I would like bring out. I also need to learn to collimate properly. I can get the laser dot in the center of the primary mirror and reflected back into the center of the collimator target easily. The problem is, as I rotate the collimator in the focuser, the dot goes way off. The focuser might be little tilted, the cheap collimator itself might also be faulty.. any tips?

Anthony, I enjoyed your three champagne references there!

Clear skies,
Stéphane

[Startrek]

Stephane,
To check your collimator is collimated you can make up a V block
The collimator just sits in the V block on a table within 2m to 3m of a wall. Whilst holding the timber base of the V block , slowly rotate the collimator 360degrees and ensure red laser dot remains in a fixed position or stationary
Are you using an Orion laser collimator or similar ?
How to make a V block
Materials
A 300mm long 40mm x 40mm piece of Aluminium angle ( or 30mm x 30mm )
A piece of ply wood or similar 300mm long x 90mm wide x 30mm thick ( approx) to be used a base
2 x 25mm long 8 gauge wood screws

Drill 2 x 6mm holes (about 100mm apart and 20 mm in from one end) in the base of the aluminium angle or in the V.
Using 2 screws fix the aluminium angle ( V pointing down ) into the timber base
Ensure the V block set up resembles the letter capital “K” tipped on its back

Sit the collimator into the V block ensuring fixing screws heads are clear. Now whilst holding the timber base slowly rotated the barrel of the collimator with your index finger with the red laser targeted at a brightly painted wall

If the red dot doesn’t deviate at all , your collimator is collimated ok

Cheers
Martin

[Stephane]

Martin, thanks so much for that procedure. I’ve tried doing something similar, and it did appear the collimator worked fine. But it wasn’t as meticulous as your suggestion.

Thanks again.