The scope was running automated overnight, so I wasn't present at the time this occured.
Obviously some sort of autoguiding error has occured as stars are doubled, but ..... I can't really explain it with that, and I have no idea why the autoguiding would have failed, the logs say it didn't and there was no problem.
Interesting - a few suggestions of electricity/static, I hadn't thought of that. Still can't work out how to explain it with them, but they're as good as any guess
I'm completely stumped, really having trouble working it out. I've had somestrange problems over the years but this has to top it for the bizzar/weird factor!
That is really quite bizzare, it is almost as if your guidestar was lost and suddenly regained again, never seen anything like this in my experience. Didn't have a cable dragging or snagging or something similar did you.
you have blooming in your ngc 6943, was it took same night and close by, i think that this picture might have something to do with that, thats just what i think.
you have blooming in your ngc 6943, was it took same night and close by, i think that this picture might have something to do with that, thats just what i think.
you are using a ccd arnt you?
Adrian,
Yeap - the ST7 that I use is NABG, so bright stars I get blooming. The images were taken on different nights, so no relationship between them that I can' think of.
Obviously I dont know either but I suspect that Adrian might be on the right track actually.
Looking at the pic with anomalies, one can see that there are numerous reproductions of the same couple of stars (bright above faint below) but all over the place, not explicable by a mechanical error. Also not explicable by anything that would have happenned and affected one component of the image while the rest (on a time line) is unaffected), also cant be explained by tracking errors/clouds losing/regaining gide star as the composition of the duo of stars is too perfectly matched throughout the picture to be the result of multiple "mini" imaging sessions,as it were, if the guide star was lost, regained (imageing properly) lost regained (imaging again possibly in the different area of the final picture) etc...
in my opinion, and I say this unabashedly, it's pure guess work here, looking at the pic I suspect a digital/electronic process occurred not a mechanical one.
If I was standing in the observatory right now I would say something along the lines of ..." ...and the guilty party is in THIS very room..."
my eyes would glance at the ST7 and the computer/laptop? hoping one would break out into a long soliloquy of confessed sins a la "Ok it was me...I went haywire..."
I just cant help but think it's digital/electronic.
but the short answer is : "i dont know either"...(suspect a digital/electronic process not mechanical)
frank
