Ngc 253

[atalas]

Well I got my auto-guider working on Wednesday night so I decided to try a long exposure of NGC253 . The light polution here is very bad so 30min is not a good idea but I wanted to see what the guider is doing.
The shot was taken through the ED80 and guided through the C11 all mounted on a G11 mount . The camera is the single shot colour camera by StarLight- Express SXV-H9C and the guide camera is there dedicated SXV-auto-guider.






Louie :)

[seeker372011]

Nice image, Louie.nice round stars, no trails at all that I can see.

if that's a single 30 minute exposure, then your guider is doing very well indeed and your CCD and processing are doing even better to get rid of all the LP. Looks like all systems go for the next clear night at a dark site.

not sure about the final colour though..suppose that's a question of salt and pepper to taste in photoshop :)

[fringe_dweller]

Love it! what a shot! Thats a nice well set-up mount Louie
I have always loved that apparent triangle of bright stars this prince amongst galaxies appears to be nestled in. It has a weird power of impression on me always in the scope, very unusual. Always wondered what kind of triangle that is - its not just a plain old right angle is it? (no maths/geometry genius here LOL)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isosceles_triangle
kearn

[Dennis]

Very impressive image Louie, very impressive indeed. I reckon if you could just tweak the focus a little (stars look not quite at focus) it would jump out at you even more.

Congrats on getting everything to work - that is a major milestone in ccd imaging!

Cheers

Dennis

[atalas]

Thanks for the kind words everyone,Narayan I forgot to metion I used a CLS filter could account for the colour not sure. Kearn yes a great visual Galaxy for sure mate !
Dennis yes your right mate, I thought the same thing on the focus . I'm not sure If the problem was the bad seeing but I could just not get It any sharper,even though I spent an Hour on It trying to get It right. Ive had a strange time with this equiptment,If the Argo was working well the auto-guiding wasnt happenig,If the guiding was good the Argo was out a couple of deg ! drives you nuts sometimes .
I think that you just have to remember Its just for fun so keep having fun and take things at your own pace.

Louie :)

[Dennis]

Yeah - focus can be a challenge at the best of times! With my ST7, I use CCDSoft to set up the ccd camera, focus and acquire the image. It has a neat function for software aided focusing. I use a motorised focuser (JMI NGFS) and just sit there pressing the in-out buttons whilst eyeballing a dynamic graph on my computer. When the graph peaks, I know I am at pretty good focus. It can still take up to 20 mins to focus though, so it's not easy, unless you get an horribly expensive software controlled, temperature compensated focuser.

Cheers Dennis

[Striker]

About Time Louie....I see you have been working on your system.

Excellant stuff....cant wait to see more with that camera....go the starlight H9C

[iceman]

Nice one Louie, one of your best shots with the new setup. I love it!

[atalas]

Thanks Tony and Mike , I've got an STi Ronchi and knife edge focus aid coming so I hope this helps with my focusing. I use to get better focus with the ST7 If I remember correctly or maybe I was more patient then. :lol:

oh yes Dennis ,there is a focus aid in the the Starlight software (brightest pixel )
the larger the number the closer you are to best focus,but I found that It would
have a huge difference in the reading because of the seeing.

Louie :)

[beren]

:) Nice work with your new setup Louie , so you went with the CLS filter hey :thumbsup:

[asimov]

That's one top shot Louie! well done mate.

[[1ponders]]

Nice shot Louie. :thumbsup:

If you've got the cash to spare consider "The New CCD Astronomy" by Wodaski. I received it on Wednesday and am about half way through it. I'll do a review when I'm finished ...BUT... at this point in time I've found it a gold mine of information written so that even I can understand it :D, even though I'm using the 300D its still very useful to me. For someone using a dedicated CCD though I can see it being the difference between keeping your hair and going bald painfully. There is a great section on using CCDSoft for focusing (along with other programs)

[Dennis]

Hi Louie

Please let me know how you get on with the STi Ronchi 'cos I ordered one last week 'cos my old eyes struggle with focusing the Pentax istDS.

I also find when I am close to focus with the ST7 I can get wildly varying numbers when the seeing is poor. In the good moments, all the photons land on a single pixel (= high count) and when it turns sloppy again they are spread over adjacent pixels (= low count).

Cheers

Dennis

[h0ughy]

Gee another great shot, and i bet you weren't even trying louie! top stuff

[Orion]

Beautiful shot Louie!

[toetoe]

very nice :thumbsup:

[atalas]

Thank you all for the kind words, Dennis I'll let you know how the STi goes for sure mate.
Paul I bought the book about a year ago , I would be totally lost without It.
As yet CCDsoft does not support Starlight Express cameras and I doubt It ever will,well I guess Sbig has something to do with that. Thats a real bummer cause I like CCdsoft for camera controle ,oh well thats life.

Louie :)

[seeker372011]

Maybe Maxim DL is the answer?

[RB]

Great shot Louie,

Nice detail, those StarLight cameras are great.
You've got a great setup and that book- The New CCD Astronomy by Wodaski, I agree, is a must have if your getting into this area of astronomy.

It was great to meet you last night at Kulnura mate.

:thumbsup:

Keep up the great work.

Andrew

[atalas]

Yes Narayan I'm glad you brought Maxim Dl up , at $400.00US I was hoping a kind hearted gentleman like your self would buy It for me ! :whistle:
I've been wanting that for a while now mate , I'll give in and buy It sooner or later I'm sure. To be honest Narayan I thought that If I don't totaly understand
what I have now there would be no point in moving to better softare . Of cause my logic could be incorrect and I might just be a tight ...... at the wrong time.



Louie :P

[atalas]

Andrew hi mate, yes It was tops meeting you last night as well, real pity the weather was crap ! but hey there will be many other times Andrew .

Long Live IceInSpace !

Louie

[Dennis]

Well, my STI arrived today – damaged. I am uncertain when and where the damage occurred. The packaging appears adequate and apart from a slightly crumpled corner on the cardboard box, there are no obvious signs of physical violence.

• The main body was sealed in it's polythene bag with a black plastic retaining ring loose in the bag, with flakes of black paint peeling from the ring.
• The threaded tube that the plastic retaining ring was meant to hold in place was loose in the main body, tilted at an angle and the main body rattled when I picked it up.
• The optical surfaces of the diagonal are covered in black flecks of paint or plastic.
• The threads on the diagonal look uneven and have plastic swarf visible.
• The transfer lens is covered in black flecks of paint or plastic.
• The ronchi screen was loose and rattling around inside the main body.
• The diagonal will not screw into the diagonal tube as the tube is loose and rattles around in the main body.
• The loose (rotating?) ring is bare in patches and just picking it up leaves black flecks of paint on one's fingers.

I have e-mailed STI and I hope they will replace the device, as the calibration must be null and void now with the ronchi grating loose and rolling around inside the main body. Oh well, its cloudy outside so I would not have been able to use it anyhow.

Cheers

Dennis

[RB]

Mate, how dissapointing is that for you Dennis. :mad2:
Let us know how you go please.


RB

[Dennis]

Thanks Andrew. Disappointing but bearable in the grand scheme of things. There are unfortunate souls being blown up in Baghdad, so I can't really feel too sorry for myself.

I'll keep you posted although I am anticipating a good outcome as STI looks a class act from their website and user manuals.

Cheers

Dennis

[Itchy]

Just to add my voice to the chorus


Nice One Louie:party:
Cheers

[RB]

Your soooo right Dennis, we forget how blessed we are here. :doh:


Andrew

[ving]

gee i miss alot of posts...

great one louie! :)
very clear shot

[atalas]

What a bummer Dennis ! mine arrived a few days a go safe and sound. I havent tried It as yet ,was hoping to try It out tonight but the clouds had other ideas .
I hope all works out well for you with STI and the replacement comes out quick and safe
this time.
Thanks Tony your voice has been heard and I must say I'm looking forward to seeing more of your stunning shots !
David G'day mate ! thanks you sir .... man this sight is so huge It takes hours to get through ....pretty cool ah ! :D

Louie :thumbsup:

[mick pinner]

you'll have to be more cowful Ving.

[Dennis]

Thanks Louie

I e-mailed Richard (the owner) at STI and attached some photos of the damaged goods and did not get a reply as early as I expected. I was just going to e-mail him again, when I received a reply from Richard's son who advised me that Richard has gone into hospital for a routine procedure, so will not be able to respond to the business for at least a week. I passed on my best wishes for a full and speedy recovery and said that obviously my issues would wait until Richard was better. Kind of puts the hobby into focus doesn't it?

So, in the meantime, I'll satisfy myself with extensive, detailed and lavishly illustrated reports from your good self on how the STI performs!

Cheers

Dennis

[Rodstar]

Louie, good to see the new equipment is now behaving itself. That is a lovely image, even in the thumbnail size it caught my imagination. Well done. See you next new moon.

[atalas]

Dennis I still haven't tried the STI out , Hi Rod and thanks mate ! I'm looking forward to our next meet .

Louie :astron: