Few subs from last night

[multiweb]

Been very quiet for me on the astro side of things. Mostly work and weather but I've also been unlucky enough to have gear trouble, my old Gemini 1 packing it amongst other things. :rolleyes: Got under the stars last night, first time since BSG. Weather in Sydney has been pretty sh||y lately like everywhere else I guess. It was forecast to be clear all night Friday but ended up clouding over around 2:00am. I've managed those few subs testing my new laptop/software and drivers. Love the Mount Hub Pro from Hitecastro. This thing rocks and has cut down heaps on the big bag of noodles that usually hangs off my rig. I also trialed a very cool software called align master. I'm sold. Just what a lazy polar aligner like me needed. I got within 1' of the SCP both axis from scratch picking Canopus and Achenar whithin 5min. From scratch. Everything was very steady and PHD was just there for show I reckon. :P So I did a couple of 20min exp in Ha without breaking a sweat. Would have liked more but weather didn't play nice. All shot with QHY9, Baader Ha 7nm and 200mm lens.

The LMC and M42 were shot using the native drivers in Nebulosity. The HH and M42 were shot using the ASCOM driver in MAXIM DL.

The LMC is 4x20min. Orion fields are 3x10min each. Orion was pretty high. The LMC very low on the horizon.

If the weather improves I'd like to do a mosaic of the orion constellation. :)

[vanwonky]

Very nice Marc. Love the wider view with the HH.

[allan gould]

Marc
Nice photos and I'm glad that you enjoyed Alignmaster as Mathias got me to beta test it for the Southern Hemisphere and Ive been using it continuously for a few years now. Always reliable and good value IMO.
In particular I like your wide shot of M42 and HH. Really nice.

[Tandum]

Marc, Is that a black line running left/right through M42 in the 2nd one? If it is, try turning clamping on/off in the drivers.

[gregbradley]

You got that setup running very nicely. Some very nice Ha shots there.

Greg.

[multiweb]

Thanks mate. :thumbsup: It's the one I like best too.


Thanks Allan. It's a great software. I was watching John G. using it at BSG and I thought ... what have I been doing all these years... the hard way :lol:


Yes it is a read out artefact on the ASCOM drivers in Maxim. It doesn't show on the other shot of M42 alone which is using the native drivers. Clamping was off if I recall. I'm giving up fast on QHYs running as ASCOM cameras right now. Not much luck.


Thanks Greg. :thumbsup: As you mentioned in another although the transparency was up to it, the seeing was pretty good while it lasted.

[strongmanmike]

Yep, some cool wide Ha shots there Marc :thumbsup:

Good to hear you have got back out there too :thumbsup:...I'm still waiting :sadeyes: :rolleyes:

Mike

[multiweb]

Thanks mate. Yeah Newcastle weather has been worse than here. Few clear nights we had in Sydney, you guys were under still.

[bmitchell82]

Welcome back to the posting arena! :) Grahame told me of some of your mount woes :( its a downer when stuff like that goes on.

Nice set of subs anyhow! are you planning to put some colour to them? or are they traditional b&w

[DavidTrap]

Noice! Definitely inspired to try a Ha widefield with my 200mm lens after seeing those - I bought the adapters while the dollar was good, but am yet to blood the setup.

I had a great couple of nights out at Leyburn this weekend. It was amazingly clear for November in SEQ, but this is an extended dry spell for this time of year. Over the two nights, I shot 3 hrs of RGB before moonrise and then 5hrs of Ha before dawn on Rosette at 600mm focal length - tight squeeze on an 8300 chip! I did capture an hour of Luminence, but will have to add to that later in the season. Hopefully I'll get a chance to process it this week, but pretty happy with the Ha subs straight out of the camera.

DT

[multiweb]

Thanks Brendan. Yeah S||t happens :( Would love to do some color but I need two things.

A) Dark site
B) No clouds and new moon

Maybe pushing it. ;)


Thanks David. I'm looking forward to do Monoceros too (Rosette + Cone nebula). I'm pretty sure you can fit them both in one frame with a 100mm or 50mm for sure. But it's much fainter than Orion. RGB from a dark site for sure and 15min subs minimum.

[Leonardo70]

Nice capture Marc.

Ciao,
Leo

[bmitchell82]

Isn't that what the brave who take the prize do Marc?

[multiweb]

Thanks Leo. :thumbsup:



Can you make the clouds go away next new moon? :)

[bmitchell82]

would $50 bucks sort them out? :) over here in the west we have had the most horrid year for astro. nearly 7 months of nothing but cloud, rain and gale force winds! So next year a few of us are driving into the wilderness..... 15hrs north near Newman central WA

[RickS]

Lovely big FOV, Marc. I did some imaging around the Tarantula a month ago with my FSQ-106ED and your pic is on a much grander scale.

Cheers,
Rick.

[DavidTrap]

Marc - what f-stop are you using for that lens? Are you stopping it down with the internal diaphragm, or using an external mask?

Ta
DT

[multiweb]

Sounds good. You guys don't have to drive far to get some real dark skies around Perth either.


Thanks Rick. Glad you like it. :thumbsup: These fields are 5.2 x 3.9 degrees at an image scale of 5.57 arc seconds per pixel.


Fully opened. No stop. The QHY9 sensor is small enough to get away with corners aberrations.

[atalas]

Nice work Marc.

[DavidTrap]

Thanks for the reply. Is there any vignetting that needs flat fields?

DT

[multiweb]

Thanks Louie. :thumbsup:



Yes - very very minimal darkening in the corners. I always flat field anything I do anyway. I hate dust motes. :P

[richardo]

Top stuff Marc......
Glad you sorted things out...... I hate equipment break downs.. especially when they worked flawlessly the night before.....
All systems go there and I really love your LMC image..... some lovely knots and things showing...

All the best
Rich

[multiweb]

Thanks Rich. :thumbsup: Yeah that was a bit of a downer and I didn't need it but hey, c'est la vie. I'm on the rebound now. Got the new lappie, everything's ticking ok and I'm starting on a pier as well.

[Ross G]

Hi Marc,

The photos look great.

I love all the deatil and gas between the Horshead and Orion Nebula.

Ross.

[alan meehan]

Good to see you out again Marc some nice shots there ive forgotten what clear weather is
AL

[multiweb]

Thanks Ross. :thumbsup: Catch up soon.



Thanks Alan. Yeah me too. Very trying on the hobby at the moment.