Lagoon Trifid with Constant Temperature Optic

[avandonk]

I noticed that focus did not change as much with temperature when using the fridge. I also had a dew heater around the base of the lens to stop the filter at the rear of the lens getting condensation. I took this a step further and heated the whole lens with two 10 inch Kendrick heater straps and used a thermostat to keep the temperature relatively constant. Focus does not change at all. I focused last night once everything was at equilibrium and ambient was 17C. This morning it was 2C and focus was still perfect. I will write this up and put it up in DYI.


Lagoon and Trifid 4MB
http://d1355990.i49.quadrahosting.com.au/2009_05/lagtrth.jpg


Bert

[Craig_L]

Lovely shot as usual Bert. These widefields give you such a sense of perspective.

[Tilt]

Very nice work there, I look forward to having a crack at these objects again, this time my 350D is modified so I hope to get better results.

Michael

[RobF]

Just stunning Bert!
Great road map - I'm going to know where to look for the triffid now when it gets high enough above the city glow.

There's gotta be life on one of those dots.....

[multiweb]

Another great widefield Bert. Tracking might be a tiny bit off on this one though but still a great picture. :thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

Love it Bert.
The Lagoons "footprint" is well defined! Funny how space can imitate life.:lol:

[bluescope]

Nice image Bert ... you are certainly the King of widefields on IIS ... IMHO ;)

:thumbsup:

[tornado33]

Excellent idia heating the whole lens to maintain perfect focus. Very detailed image too!
Scott

[dugnsuz]

Nice Bert - you really do some innovative, thought-provoking work.
Beautiful image and interesting ideas - Thanks
Doug

[Screwdriverone]

Great shot Bert!

I love the widefields with SO MANY STARS! Its mind boggling.

Is it just me (and it probably is) but does that shot look vaguely rude to anyone?

Anyone?..........

probably just my sick and twisted mind....no doubt.

Cheers

Chris

[Lester]

Excellent wide field Bert, you are very good at it.

[Tom Davis]

Absolutely love it!!

Tom

[iceman]

Beautiful work, Bert! Lovely job.

[avandonk]

Thanks for all the comments folks. I did not use any autoguiding. I just let the mount run. The longest exposures were eight minutes. The astigmatism can be explained by the rather large thermostat shielding one side of the base of the lens.

See here
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=44558

I have been testing the new thermostat and it is really working well. The whole lens is being maintained at 20C with the fridge at -5C. This thermostat has two relays that can be individually set to respond to different settings from the same temperature sensor. This allows two heaters to be controlled to manage the heat distribution far better.

What this really means for me is that I can set the system to take 20x16 min exposures and I can go to sleep. As I do not need to adjust focus with any ambient temperature change.

Bert

below are a few quick pictures

[multiweb]

:eyepop: ... and I thought I had too many cables hanging on my rig. Lucky you've got a permanent setup. Would take you a week to pack up and move :lol:

[gregbradley]

Superb shot Bert - one of your best.

You've captured the whole of the lower nebula below the lagoon and very nice colour balance and nice and bright.

Greg.

[peter_4059]

Impressive images Bert. As Marc says You are very fortunate to have a permanent setup - I've never seen so many wires.

ps JJJ - are you thinking what I'm thinking? :rofl:

[jjjnettie]

Sorry Peter, but my telepathic powers decline after a couple of Drambui's.:lol:

[peter_4059]

JJJ - I was referring to your observation about space and life. Perhaps my telepathic powers are also affected by Drambui (however I'm not drinking Drambui) :lol:

[avandonk]

Here is a 'better?' version 7MB

http://d1355990.i49.quadrahosting.com.au/2009_05/lagtrif2.jpg


Bert