Galaxies Unite...

[Robby]

Hi people,
Had a mamoth session last night under good clear skies... And about time too!!! Made my way through 3 targets and finished up at 4am!! I guess I can't complain as I didn't start until 11pm.
Nothing too obsucre this time. Just a few Galaxies...
1. GrusTrio
2. NGC55 (Cigar Galaxy)
3. NGC300 (my favorite of the night. Lots of detail and heaps of hidden small galaxies)

All were taken with 300D on C9.25 at F/6.3 and between 9 & 14x 4min exposures at ISO800.

Thanks for looking.
Cheers

[asimov (John)]

WOW Robbie...very nice mate!

[ving (David)]

/me falls over...

[beren]

galaxy images are my favourite ,fantastic work the effort was well worth it

[atalas]

Yeah great work Robby ! I love those Galaxies mate, visually as well . The Grus trio have been a long time visual favourate of mine when I had my 13.1" dob.
Great work and great detail Robby ! I'll have a drink for you over the weekend Robby .

Louie

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

Wowie! way to go. ...about time someone posted some galaxy images -its been nebulae and clusters in the main of late it seems to me. I like your image of the Cigar galaxy the best.

Lots of people seem to suggest that the Celestron C9.25 is the best SCT there is..
now you have had it for a while what's your view?

[Robby]

Originally Posted by seeker372011

Lots of people seem to suggest that the Celestron C9.25 is the best SCT there is..
now you have had it for a while what's your view?

Hi Seeker,
I'm happy with it. It's certainly a step up from the C8. Star's are still not as sharp as I'd like, due to still having a large central obstruction, but for the money it's great. Must get round to having a good visual session with it from a dark sky one of these days!
Cheers

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Great stuff

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Robby,

Thanks for these Galaxies. Galaxies are my favourite objects. Great shots!

[beren]

Robby do you use {or can} the DSI as a autoguider or does the Toucam do the job adequatly

[Robby]

ToUCam is fine for autoguiding. I have good ringis on the guidescope that allow a decent amount of movement for hunting guide stars.
Yes, you can use the DSI for autoguding as well, but you are limited to using the DSI specific software and LX200 compatible mounts, or other mounts with the addition of an LX200 emulator like my star-mate ...
Cheers

[beren]

I was using the LPI the other night and i had trouble egtting a decent star to guide , mind you i was both frozen and lazy to adjust the scopes out of the alignment together {have the DR125mm for good range of movements .........so the starmate is geared up for a LX200 now hey ??????

[Robby]

star-mate has alsways be LX200 compatible. That's actually how the project started!! I needed an LX200 emulator, and it was easier to build than buy!
Cheers

[Robby]

The problem with both DSI & LPI for autoguiding, is that you have the use the horrible Autostar software to guide with... I have never been able to guide well using that software. K3CCDTools is a breeze by comparison, but it doesn't support the Meade cameras, so I stick with the webcam. I'm happy!

[beren]

I can use the LPI with guide dog and K3ccdtools but would a Toucam be better?Ahh wonder why nikon had to have a infra red shutter release system , thinks that what i was asking about the last time Robby

[Robby]

Toucam shouldn't be any better than the LPI, but I've never tried an LPI, so don't really know.
Yeah, the IR shutter release on the D70 was one of the main reasons I went with the Canon.
Cheers