NGC2239 (G11 first light)

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

Finally had some good conditions last night to get a first image with the G11. Decided to start on something big and bright so here's another Rosette taken with the 10" Newt/QHY8. 29x5 min subs. I'm very happy with the guiding performance and I've also been tweaking the paracorr spacing and think the coma correction is a bit better.

It's been a long time between images so my processing is very rusty. Comments/suggestions welcome.

[RobF (Rob)]

Looks nice Peter. With the care you put into quantitating your tracking performance I've been itching to see what you thought of the G11 with the Newt on top.

Was planning to PMl you Sun on expectation you'd finally had it out but no need to hassle you now! Will be interested in future updates versus you're highly tweaked EQ6.

Rob

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

Rob,

The G11 is working very nicely - the pHD RMS value is always below 0.1 and it is often achieving 0.06 (without pec). It seems to be happy with the 10" newt and I've had no issues with motor stalls during slews. I needed 40 lbs worth of counterweights to balance it.

The only thing I don't like is the backlash in the dec axis as it makes centering the object painful and it takes a while for the guiding to settle however once it is guiding I've not had any problems. I will probably have a go at adjusting it some time.

I haven't tried to measure the PE however the curve that Adam posted showed it was quite good (+/-3 I think). This is quite a bit smaller than what I was seeing on the EQ6 however the rate of change was small so it was easily guided out.

Peter

[troypiggo (Troy)]

Gorgeous stars. Think you've nailed the coma correction.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Gotta be stoked with that. Terrific shot Peter.

[ozstronomer (Geoff)]

Lovely image Peter, looks like the tracking is spot on with that G11 and the coma corrector is now working nicely. Well done

[kinetic (Steve)]

Peter,

you epitomise everything I admire about some amateur astronomers....

test....measure...quantify...adapt. ..test measure...quantify...share....

Lovely Rosette....inspiring.

Steve

[clive milne]

Nailed it.

[DavidU (Dave)]

Very tidy indeed !

[h0ughy (David)]

Peter, you must be happy with that. I would be over the moon. Lovely snapshot to boot

[allan gould]

That's a really sweet image Peter. Sharp, well composed and nicely processed and I'm glad you're happy with the G11. When I get back to Brisvegas I'll have something to compare.
Allan

[Hagar (Doug)]

Looks good Peter. It has been a while between image. Istill find the G11 to be enough mount for me at the focal length I work at.

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

Thanks all for the encouraging comments. I've had my eye on a G11 since I first got into this and it has been a while coming but sure worth the wait.

Originally Posted by troypiggo

Gorgeous stars. Think you've nailed the coma correction.

Cheers Troy. I was a bit more careful inserting the camera in the focuser tonight and the stars are looking good in all corners so happy with the spacing now. It was quite an ordeal to check the different spacing options but worth it in the end.

Originally Posted by multiweb

Gotta be stoked with that. Terrific shot Peter.

Thanks Marc. I'm looking forward to trying some longer subs (10 mins on NGC2264 tonight).

Originally Posted by ozstronomer

Lovely image Peter, looks like the tracking is spot on with that G11 and the coma corrector is now working nicely. Well done

Cheers Geoff. It is good when everything behaves.

Originally Posted by kinetic

Peter,

you epitomise everything I admire about some amateur astronomers....

test....measure...quantify...adapt. ..test measure...quantify...share....

Lovely Rosette....inspiring.

Steve

Thanks Steve. Thats what I really like about the hobby. There is so much scope to tinker. I've learned a lot from IIS so happy to share!

Originally Posted by clive milne

Nailed it.

Thanks Clive

Originally Posted by DavidU

Very tidy indeed !

Thanks David. Some longer subs next time should tame the noise.

Originally Posted by h0ughy

Peter, you must be happy with that. I would be over the moon. Lovely snapshot to boot

Thanks for the advice Dave. It has turned out to be a sweet mount.

Originally Posted by allan gould

That's a really sweet image Peter. Sharp, well composed and nicely processed and I'm glad you're happy with the G11. When I get back to Brisvegas I'll have something to compare.
Allan

Cheers Allan. You are missing some cracker nights up here!

[TrevorW]

Nicely done Peter

[allan gould]

Originally Posted by peter_4059

Cheers Allan. You are missing some cracker nights up here!

Rub it in while you can!!!
I'll be back

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Well done Peter

I like this crop, it showcases the central cluster very nicely

Sounds like you have the G11 purring

Mike

[h0ughy (David)]

no problems there Peter - got a pic on your setup now? Did you get the power worked out?

[Ross G]

A beautiful photo Peter.

Nice colours and great stars.


Ross.

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

Originally Posted by TrevorW

Nicely done Peter

Cheers Trevor.

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Well done Peter

I like this crop, it showcases the central cluster very nicely

Sounds like you have the G11 purring

Mike

Thanks Mike. I had intended to go after the dark features at the top of the image but didn't quite get the framing right. The central cluster does make a nice image though.

Originally Posted by h0ughy

no problems there Peter - got a pic on your setup now? Did you get the power worked out?

I'm running the mount and dew heater off the 13.8V ps and the QHY8 off it's original 12V supply. So far no issues with ground loops. No pictures of the kit yet but I'll probably set it up again tonight.

Originally Posted by Ross G

A beautiful photo Peter.

Nice colours and great stars.


Ross.

Thanks Ross. I'm happy with the way the stars turned out. It's taken a long time to get the colimation, focus, coma correction, flexure and guiding worked out.

[RobF (Rob)]

You realise you'll have to repaint the Newt black now and put some reflective silver strips around it