Hobart Images (again)

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Greetings all, have had a few hours between the clouds to try a few shots. I am getting a bit annoyed with the CLS CCD filter- I took over an hour of M8 and M20 and M20 looks ok but M8 looks like Shrek's hanky!
I think I will ditch it and go back to no filters.
I captured some of the Bug (6302) and some more Eagle. Also tried a Cat's paw but even after an hour my images were unworthy of showing. Intermittent clouds and wind not helping matters.
Cluster is NGC 6231, rest is obvious I hope!
Done at f6 480mm with unmodified Canon 450D.
see next messages for other images
graz in hobart (graham) :-0

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Sorry -had to reduce the size of these.
Again -with 80mm f /6 480mm focal length, Unmodded Canon 450D , CLS CCD annoying filter.
Graz in Hobart, where you use windscreen wipers to move the cloud deck so you can see the other clouds!
Criminy!

[multiweb (Marc)]

You're on the right track. You're focus is a little soft. You might want to try a focusing aid such as a bathinov mask. It's too hard to try imaging in high wind especially at this FL which contributes to the blurring in your shots. Wait for a quieter night if you can then keep doing what you're doing.

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Greetings Marc (Mr Multiweb!) I have a mask but had difficulty picking up the spikes on live view with APT. Because I found it easier to find and focus the star on Live View I have not really pushed using it. Should I instead take a series of focus shot exposures -i.e 10/20/30 sec etc and look for the diffraction spikes centralising on these?
Thanks to you (and all the IIS folks that keep advising us newbie types)

Graz

[Saturn%5 (Graeme)]

Nice shots Graham, but you might want to make the most of the clear skies as i just got a new scope today and we know what that means .

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by graham.hobart

Because I found it easier to find and focus the star on Live View I have not really pushed using it. Should I instead take a series of focus shot exposures -i.e 10/20/30 sec etc and look for the diffraction spikes centralising on these?

Yes it is one way of doing it. Pick a bright star, get close with your live view method, then do a 5-10s shot and check the spikes. I do that when focusing through a Ha filter. It works fine. Good focus is one of the critical components in imaging often overlooked and one of the easiest to get right. If you don't get it right there's nothing you can do to salvage your data.

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Originally Posted by Saturn%5

Nice shots Graham, but you might want to make the most of the clear skies as i just got a new scope today and we know what that means .

does this mean all weather will be ****ey>\?
what scope and when do we see pics?
cumulo grazza

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

what's also often overlooked is a comfy chair. Now I am doing some imaging runs that last over an hour (not yet published) have to park the arse somewhere. Some people set up and go inside, I like to sit outside and watch the skies with binos. On a forty dollar armchair from the tip shop, best buy apart from warm socks and ugg boots,
I don't know how you do it guys- imaging and processing etc.
But I know one day, I will bring it home, like the Burgess shale of hobart imaging......
At the moment I am doing the Salvo's soup of imaging!
Of course this is all written outside, waiting for the clouds, waiting for my daughter to cry and waiting for M27 to come out from behind the eucalyptus.
Astronomy I suppose is the waiting science- imagine predicting a planetary orbit, a lunar or a solar eclipse in the years preceding optics: what crazy rat catching wizard folk they were then.
Bollocks would love to continue this one sided diatribe but the fookin' clouds have pissed orf don't ye know, so back on the imaging saddle shall I great be-wilderbeast of Hobart town.

[Poita (Peter)]

Clouds are still fooking on here unfortunately...

[Saturn%5 (Graeme)]

Hi Graham,
sope i got is well new to me but has a few years on it, a old Vixen r150s on a half peir mount not as big as big as my old 12" dob but only just getting back into the hobby after moving from Queensland to Tasmania, anyway keep those shots coming i enjoy looking at them.

cheers Graeme

[midnight (Darrin)]

I had a cls filter and it left a sour taste in my mouth after the results I got too!!. I don't know if this was destroying the data or whether all I had to do was colour balance in say PS. I quickly dropped it off for now.

Sorry I can't help much here as I've only been doing this for year now but I admire your will to get out there and "av-a-go".

Darrin...