75 Minutes of Joy

[Octane]

All,

Please, be gentle; it's a work in progress -- a five minute mashup in Photoshop.

http://users.tpg.com.au/octane2/ngc3372.html

This is my third image with the FSQ/STL combination, and, I've had the gear since almost the beginning of last year (crikey!).

I captured 18, but, 8 were lost due to the fog that decided to settle in at around 2 AM and didn't let up.

The spike at the bottom appeared as a result of dithering the mount between exposures -- the culprit is mu Carinae.

I hope to be able to add to this as time allows.

I am just so happy to be have been able to get out under the stars and get the rig humming once more.

Bear in mind, I'm a complete noob at monochrome imaging. When this image is complete, I promise, it will be epic beyond epic. At least I hope so.

Processed in IRIS and finished off in Photoshop CS4.

Finally, thank you Frank, for your hospitality and your epic meals. : )

H

[zipdrive]

Looks promising, can't wait to see the final product:thumbsup:
did you sort out your robofocus issue I read in another post sometime ago?

[richardo]

:2thumbs::cool::clap:
Who's a happy chappy then:jump:

Congrats H......

Glad things finally have come together for you.

Look forward to the finished image.
Looking very good so far.:thumbsup:

All the best
Rich

[Tom Davis]

Lovely FOV. That scope/camera combo is truly an imaging classic!

-Tom

[gregbradley]

Fantastic Humi.

FSQ106N/STL11 is indeed a classic combo and will produce many wonderful images for you. You can't go wrong with that setup.

I put a Robofocus on my FSQ106ED recently and its a godsend. Especially for an FSQ which has a very small critical focus zone. You have to get the correctly sized brass connector for the FSQ shaft otherwise the standard one will cause it to wobble. Unless you have a microfocuser it would be very difficult to get the FSQ focused accurately.

I also requested the mounting bracket to fit the FSQ. It is black and about twice as thick as the standard plain alum bracket they supply.

I had to drill the slot open a tad for the 2 screws they supplied to fit through to the underneath of the focuser.

It works like a dream and focuses accurately forwards and backwards whicb is great.

You can also temperature train the focuser which I haven't done but can be worthwhile if you image in an area where the temps fall more than about 2C. The focus will shift noticeably with about a 2C temp change on an FSQ. 5C shift and you will have soft looking images.

So focus regularly is one solution. Surprisingly my FSQ106ED and reducer did not show much temp focus shift in the last 2 weeks when I used it extensively over 8 nights. Temps were reasonably stable but usually there is a small tweak to the focus required after an hour or so.

Try to avoid bright stars where you can near the edges of an FSQ106N image as the scope puts dark bands through bright stars near the edges of the images. These can be Photoshopped out but are a bit of a pain even if really a minor thing in the images.

The good news is the 106N has the superior no flex focuser which is most likely stronger and less flex than the 106ED's. It also has a superior focuser lock that does not cause focus shift when engaged though this is not an issue if you use a Robofocus. And who doesn't love those gorgeous green fluorite lenses - oooh.

Greg.

[troypiggo]

One word - "jealous"! Jealous of the clear skies you got, the fact you had the time to do it, the fact you actually got out there, your gear, and the result! And no calibration?! Can't wait for the final.

[strongmanmike]

Wow that must be a relief :2thumbs: :prey:

All down hill from here now :P

Mike

[multiweb]

Very cool H. Looking forward to the finished pic.

[Stevec35]

Well it looks pretty reasonable to me Steve

[TrevorW]

Great effort H, can't wait for the final masterpiece

[Heath]

That's going to be awesome Octane.

I too was ecstatic to be finally out under the skies again.

[ballaratdragons]

really pleasing widefield, H.

It always nice to see the whole of the Carina Nebula.
stars are nice and crisp :thumbsup:

[Ephemeral]

Some really nice pictures on this site

[avandonk]

Not bad H. Wrap your optic in dew heater thingies and thermostatically control the optics temperature just above ambient when you set focus.

Bert

[spearo]

Lovely!

450sec exposures seems to have worked, got lots of neb.

That focus looks pretty sharp to me!

love the HDR links!
:]
PS: no worries re meals...as long as noone gets food poisoning i consider the meal a success!

frank

[Hagar]

Very nice H, now all you need is another 3 years to get the colour :P and it will be a ripper. You are like me you need to give up work so you can image a bit more. Maybe even move out into the desert somewhere.
Well done Mate, glad it finally works.

[Octane]

Thank you, one and all!

Dave, I'm still waiting for a reply from RoboFocus. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and am hoping that they're just busy with a backlog from Christmas/New Years period.

Greg, http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=70047

Doug, lol! Yes, I'll probably get the red channel at Snake Valley in March, green channel at Border Stargaze, and blue channel at Snake Valley in November. lol.

Cheers, all.

H

[RobF]

Nice H
I can't believe you're still sane though, sitting on all that wonderful gear for almost 12 months with almost no chance to use it. Made of tough stuff! :thumbsup:

[Octane]

Rob,

Ask Doug, JohnG or Frank, Jeanette, Terry or Marki, or Ron, I've mentioned a number of times how I feel like just selling it all and moving on. But, those evil thoughts disappear as soon as I utter them. I guess this forms part of the charm of this disgustingly obsessive nerddream of a hobby; the quest for perfection.

I am the most patient person you'll ever meet.

H

[marco]

This is a lovely image H, I can't imagine how you couldn't use this scope more than three times in one year but I will not ask it, from another reply I understand that this must be a sensitive topic :P

Clear Skies
Marco

[Octane]

Hi Marco,

Ah, work, weather, equipment, etc. All has been a bit of a pain in the last year. It's not a sensitive topic, but, it just drives me nuts at times. : )

I am hoping this year brings us all joy in the guise of endless clear nights.

I'm looking forward to adding many, many, many hours to this.

Cheers.

H