M65 in Leo

[videoguy]

Hi all

Managed several DSO a few nights back using the GSTAR-EX integrating video camera. First time I recorded the jet extending from M87 and also managed some nice M104, NGC5139, NGC5128 and M104 but was really pleased with this unfiltered view of M65.. It's a real tidy little galaxy that scales nicely on a 1/2-inch CCD at f/5.

Cheers
Steve

[mick pinner]

nice Steve, seems like a nice little camera.

[cometcatcher]

Hey that's really good. While it's a similar camera to my GEM Mintron it looks like it outperforms it easily.

I would like to see more piccies.

[PhotonCollector]

Hello videoguy,

That's a fine image - very nice.

Paul Mayo

[ving]

taken from sydney steve?

great image :)

[cjmarsh81]

Nice image videoguy. Is your skywatcher Dob or Tripod mounted?

[videoguy]

Hi guys..thanks for the feedback. Yeah..this camera has pretty impressive performance but unlike your GEM Kevin and earlier Mintron designs, their is no obvious homogneous amplifier glow on the left side on the monitor when at full integration mode which was both annoying and troublesome even when doing dark frame subtraction. The are some other tri-colour filtered results from the same night at the lower part of the page here
http://gstarex.myastroshop.com.au/ if any of you are inrterested.

cjmarsh81 - yes, the SW252 is on a tracking EQ6 mount

[cometcatcher]

Steve, are you using a video capture card for the images? Is it possible to see a full 768x576 image?

My GEM Mintron in frame integration mode is half the vertical resolution compared to frame integration off.

And yes my amp glo drives me batty, not to mention the constellations of hot pixels. It's almost always hot here in Mackay even at night so the camera gets very noisy.

If that camera is an improvement in all those areas it would be worth me getting one.

This is a dark frame with 128x and gain around mid way. The fainter hot pixels cancel out with a dark frame but the brighter ones usually have to be touched up by hand. Finding a clear place in the frame to put an object is another pain. In fact my entire camera is a pain.

[videoguy]

Hi Kev

Yep...that's a very GEM camera look. Actually a MTV-13V1.. I used one for quite a while and despite the hot pixel constellations (as you put it :-) it served me well for some time but it has the Panasonic chip set which is not as good as the Sony chipset and not as sensitive near 1-micron which was one of the great benefits I found that enables me to image the thermal emissions from the night side of Venus. Although you are much farther north, the hot pixel spread in your GEM image looks pretty much as I experienced down here in cooler seaside Sydney. I have attached a stacked dark frame full res for you to compare (it's not a single frame as I discarded those after stacking the dark frames) however it still shows the hot pixel spread at full integration nonetheless. You'll also notice how the amp glow is greatly reduced (limited to only the top left corner). I've also attached a rough version of NGC5128 to give an idea of the view after stacking 50 unfiltered images and subtracting the dark frames. Unfortunately I have cropped the final result a little.

The GSTAR-EX is a vast improvement over previous Mintron designs and is better and cheaper than the U.S based StellaCam.

[videoguy]

I just realised I didn't answer your question re computer capture. Yes, I do use a low cost PCI video capture card at 768x576 resolution. There's a picture of it on P.69 of the Video Astronomy book. Cost about $95. I'm still seeking out a low cost USB solution that offers the same resolution as interfaces like the Belkin composite to USB converter cables offer only up to 640 x 480 that I know of to-date at least.

[cometcatcher]

Thanks very much for the info. My camera would have trouble ever getting an image of Cent A like that one.

I'm also using a cheap PCI capture card at 768x576. And by the sound of it we are both looking for something that will do the same res on a laptop computer? Not being able to go truely portable with the camera is a bit of a set back, but long cable runs and/or second PC helps.

Looks like I better start saving. I was also thinking of the Orion Starshoot Deep Space camera, being one shot colour but going by the pics I've seen it doesn't have the sensitivity of the B+W Mintrons.

[videoguy]

Hi Kev..no probs.

Also bare in mind that these images were taken from metro Sydney (the land of lit skies) so the performance from a "real" dark sky site will be far better. I also hope to be able to report on a colour version of the camera soon and will post the results.

[cometcatcher]

A sensitive colour camera would be great! When I bought my GEM Mintron a couple of years ago a mate got a colour GEM camera at the same time, but this camera was really "deaf" for DSO's.

These sort of cameras suite me due to my old poor tracking EQ platforms. For a few seconds they are okay but lose track with anything longer. So unless I get a better mount I'm not really in a position to use a DSLR or other long exposure camera.