Quote:
Originally Posted by Retrograde
Hi Martin,
It certainly seems a bit disappointing regarding the faint outer extensions given the time you've put in, although there's still some nice detail in the brighter parts despite the seeing.
I'm wondering if longer subs would help? Perhaps the Helix is a dark-sky object only if you're hoping to go really deep. 
I had plans to set up the larger scope for a few days given the clear weather we've had, but with the wind spoiling things I decided to just use the small refractor (apart from one night where the wind died down). |
Thanks Pete,
I’ve tried longer subs (5min) on the Dolphin a while back , same rig plus 10 hrs of data and again it was a struggle to expose fine detail, still a very high noise floor.
As I mentioned above I reckon 35 to 40 hrs of data under B8 skies on my rig is about the max integration to expose detail and beyond that it would be diminishing returns.
In Sydney when it’s windy I just hang up and stretch some Bunnings polytarps to protect the rig , seems to work well and in addition shields my neighbours floodlights which spill over into my yard like Las Vegas
Cheers
Martin