M17 last night.

[Robby]

Hi all...
It's been very quiet on the Kiwi front latey. And that is mainly due to the crap weather we have had lately.
The clouds sort of parted last night and it finally cleared completely at 11pm. Which meant I had about an hour of imaging time before the moon. Managed to shoot M17 the omega/swan nebula.
Focus is a little soft, but I am pretty happy with it...
Scope: C9.25 @ f/6.3 on G-11 mount
Camera: Canon 300D, 13x3mins, ISO800
Guiding: ST80, ToUCam, K3CCDTools, & Star-Mate
Darks: 9x3min averaged dark. Flat & Bias: None.
Processing: Photoshop. Curves, colour filtered unshape mask, & Levels.
Bigger image here... http://www.star-mate.com/DSO/M17%2013x3min%20Pro1%20Web.jpg
Cheers
Rob

[iceman]

Nice one Robby, about time you cranked out an image! It has been very quiet!

How's the new mount & scope combo treating you?

[atalas]

Yeah I second that!nice one dude.


Louie:)

[Robby]

Hi Mike,
The new scope is great. Still getting the hang of it, but all in all it looks a very promissing Astrophotography scope.
The G-11 is good, once I sorted out the initial motor drive hic-up.... Just done a deal on a new tripod, which should solidify the base up a bit. I am currently using a "full credit" homemade aluminium tripod, which while being very functional, is a bit light-weight. :)

I forgot to mention... Last night was my first ice session of the winter.. Ice on the scope that is...

Cheers

[seeker372011]

well done Robby, that's a great image, winter always means the Swan and the Eagle doesnt it?

On a related subject, so the Canon you reckon can handle being exposed to a bit of dew and ice and so on? or do you protect it in some way?

I always worry if it is sufficient well protected against the conditions

[Robby]

Hi Seeker,
The camera seems to keep ticking. Actually last night it didn't dew or ice up at all. It wasn't a real wet night anyway. But I have had dew on the camera in the past. Seems to cope :confuse3:??
I guess it would be a pretty easy job to shield the camera, but I have never bothered.
Cheers