Hi everyone, it has been a while since I posted an image here but the weather has been rather cloudy here in Auckland and only lately have we had some decent clear nights. I have also pretty much put the ToUCam on the shelf since I have now
finally ordered my new 'real' CCD camera: A QSI 683wsg with 8-position filterwheel, Astrodon LRGB filters and a Lodestar guider. Now I'm just waiting for OPT to get the camera from QSI and it's all due to arrive here in late March or early April
In the meantime I'm still experimenting with the SBIG ST-7 that I borrowed from Grant Christie at the Auckland Stardome. It's very nice to play with a proper sensitive chip I must say! Allthough the FOV is still small I can see the massive difference in quality compared to my ToUCam images.
So I shot my favourite galaxy cluster the other night: Abell 1060 in Hydra - or rather just the centre of it. Yes the framing is not optimal, but I had to keep the two bright stars just outside the small frame since the ST-7 has no antiblooming. I then overlaid my old image form 2006 as a colour layer and the result is available here:
http://www.pbase.com/rolfolsen/image/141648461/original
Image details:
Date: 18/02/2012
Telescope: 10" Serrurier truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: SBIG ST-7 / Philips ToUCam Pro SC1 webcam
Exposure: L: 4 x 1800s + 3 x 900s, RGB: Overlaid from my old 2006 image
Hope you enjoy. All comments and critique most welcome.
Regards,
Rolf