M83 + DSI II + Guiding +full moon

[peter_4059]

I finally got my autoguiding working last night. Despite the full moon I had a go at some long DSI II exposures (26x2 min subs) through the ED80. I'm quite pleased with the result and wished I'd got the autoguiding a lot earlier.

[iceman]

That's really nice, Peter! Autoguiding really does make such a huge difference, you wonder why you didn't bite the bullet and do it earlier.

Are you doing flats and darks, too?

Will you be going RGB or H-alpha down the track with your mono DSI II?

[Dennis]

Hi Peter

That looks very good, especially for a full Moon nearby. And yes, auto guiding is sweet once you have got it up and running. All you need now is a permanent observatory!:whistle:

Cheers

Dennis

[peeb61]

Well done Peter...very nice detail!

Paul

[Ric]

Great image Peter, glad to see you've got it all working well.

Cheers

[allan gould]

Peter
Is that using the 102mm guidescope? Hope its working for you - and by the way a great shot!
I'm still in Cambodia/Vietnam - storms and torrential rain makes even getting out at night to see any stars a chore. Hope I don't bring it to astrofest with me. Have a good time there and I'm looking forward to seeing you there.
Allan

[peter_4059]

Thanks everyone for the comments. Mike I'm doing automatic dark subtraction in Envisage but no flats yet. I started on the RGB last night on M20 but had some frustration with the goto so wasted a lot of time and my poor west horizon beat me in the end.

Dennis - no need to encourage me - perhaps you can help me convince my family - I'm competing with a garden bed and a soccer field as alternative uses for the site.

Allan - yes I had your 102 guidescope side by side with my ED80. It's taking a bit of time to get used to finding a guide star and I've ended up using PHD as it allows me to use the long exposure mode of this guide camera (althought I still prefer the feedback guidemaster provides).

The weather in Brisbane has been magnificant the last few days - hope it persists for Astrofest.

Peter.

[dcalleja]

Peter
Way better than my attempts on this subject with my Pro II. Exposure time is king on galaxies. Nice detail in the arms

[Hagar]

Very Nice Peter, Auto guiding makes a world of difference when you extend the time of the exposures. A lot of detail in this shot. Well done.:thumbsup: