Bug Nebula with DSI-C

[Hitchhiker]

Imaged NGC 6302, the Bug Nebula, on Saturday night.

Telescope: 10" LX200GPS mounted Alt-Az
Camera: Meade DSI Colour

Used an F3.3 Focal Reducer. Captured and combined with Envisage.

[h0ughy]

nice definition and shape to the nebula!

[Robby]

Ahh the good ole bug.. One of my favorites.. That means winter must be comiing... :( Dam!
Nicely captured. Bit of tracking error, but nothing to really worry about.
Well done!

[Hitchhiker]

I don't have a wedge for my LX200 so this was done Alt-Az with no guiding. I could probably go a little deeper without too much trailing.

[josh]

Hey Adam
I just had my first night out with my new dsi. I was doing 11 sec exp through an lx90 {alt-az} and after some time i got some pretty bad field rotation.
Do you use drizze to get rid of that?
Thanks

[Gama]

If you go 3 deg to the left, you will also see the "Fly Spray Nebula", as that is always near by..

Just kidding.
Your setup should give you countless hours of enjoyment, and a photo album to boot.

[Hitchhiker]

Hi josh, yes I use drizzle to de-rotate and stack each image. Just select Drizzle from the "Image Process" drop down box. Select two stars in the middle third of the field of view and click on the "Settings..." button - I set all the Drizzle settings to 1.00 as I use Drizzle to de-rotate only at this stage. Press Start and as each image is taken it is stacked to make a final image.

I have used other astro software to stack images after capturing but I find Envisage seems to preserve colours better and it's all done at the scope! I use the FITS3P format and "Save all uncombined.." so that I can always reprocess later.

Here is a link to some excellent articles by Steve Hamilton on Drizzle on AutostarSuite.Net:

http://autostarsuite.net/files/11/articles/default.aspx

There is a really good article at AutostarSuite.Net on field rotation in Alt-Az mounts. Here is the link:

http://autostarsuite.net/forums/storage/19/4981/Field%20Rotation%20V3.pdf

In a nutshell, the exposure time you can use without trailing depends on where in the sky you are imaging.

[josh]

Thanks bud
Thats put me on track {was worried id need a wedge already}
Back to the scope:party:

[Hitchhiker]

Clear skies, josh! Are you using a focal reducer on your LX90?

[tornado33]

Thats a nice hi res. shot, colour rendition looks nice and accurate too :)
Scott

[Hitchhiker]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. One of the things I liked about this nebula is the nice starfield surrounding it.