8"RC 2nd Light - NGC1977 - Arnie's favourite...

[cybereye (Mario)]

Hello everyone!!

Well I finally managed to put my 8" RC through its paces for the second time since I got it. This time I collimated it using the hand & camera method and got a lovely airy disk. I fine tuned my polar alignment using PHDlab and managed to get it to within ~5 arcmins of spot on, which I was very happy with.

After my somewhat disappointing first light with the Horsehead nebula I decided to image a brighter object and settled on NGC1977, The Running Man nebula, not to be confused with Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 film, The Running Man!!

So details of the image are:

Scope: GSO 8" RC F/8
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Camera: QHY8L
Guiding: Orion ST80, QHY5 & PHD
LP Filter: Baader UHC-S
Subs: 20x5minutes
Darks, Flats and Dark Flats
Stacking: DSS
Processing: StarTools
Final Cosmetics: GIMP

Although a bit noisy, this is about 1 gazillion times better than my first light!

Cheers,
Mario

[allan gould]

Excellent image Mario. I'm glad you are enjoying the 8" RC and it sure looks like you are nailing it now.

[Larryp (Laurie)]

Very nice Mario

[tilbrook@rbe.ne (Justin Tilbrook)]

That's very nice!

Good one Mario

Cheers,

Justin.

[RobF (Rob)]

Glad to hear you've upgraded Mario. Experience and great pics to date bodes well for the reign of the RC. Expecting to see more great pics

[peeb61 (Paul)]

Nice one Mario,
Good to see what we can do with our QHY8L's!

Paul

[cybereye (Mario)]

Originally Posted by allan gould

Excellent image Mario. I'm glad you are enjoying the 8" RC and it sure looks like you are nailing it now.

Thanks Allan. After my first light I was wondering if I'd done the right thing in changing my scope but now am more comfortable with my decision!

Originally Posted by Larryp

Very nice Mario

Thanks for the thumbs up Larry!

Originally Posted by tilbrook@rbe.ne

That's very nice!

Good one Mario

Cheers,

Justin.

Thanks Justin!

Originally Posted by RobF

Glad to hear you've upgraded Mario. Experience and great pics to date bodes well for the reign of the RC. Expecting to see more great pics

Thanks Rob. By July, and another 6 months experience with the RC under my belt, the next AAIC can't come quick enough - then hopefully I can take my images to another level!

Originally Posted by peeb61

Nice one Mario,
Good to see what we can do with our QHY8L's!

Paul

Paul, the best money I've ever spent!

[Ross G]

Great capture Mario.

The RC8 is working well.

I am still to try mine!

Ross.

[cybereye (Mario)]

Originally Posted by Ross G

Great capture Mario.

The RC8 is working well.

I am still to try mine!

Ross.

Ross,

Winter will be soon upon us and that should give plenty of opportunity to get our RC8's out!!

Cheers,
Mario

[Leonardo70 (Leonardo Orazi)]

Very Nice Mario .... happy to see another GSO on the road !!!

All the best,
Leo

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

Nice pic!

How did you end up fixing the imaging problems that you had on the horse head?

Cheers

Rusty

[cybereye (Mario)]

Originally Posted by Leonardo70

Very Nice Mario .... happy to see another GSO on the road !!!

All the best,
Leo

Grazie mille Leo! I must admit it is only after after my second light with the new GSO RC8 that I'm now more comfortable with my decision to upgrade!

Originally Posted by rustigsmed

Nice pic!

How did you end up fixing the imaging problems that you had on the horse head?

Cheers

Rusty

Thanks Rusty. As for my problems from my first light, I fixed them by choosing a different target - yes that's right I went the "flight" path of "fight or flight"! The Horsehead is one of those targets where I need to know exactly how my rig works - filters, camera, etc. , and until then I'll keep away from bright star infected targets!

Cheers,
Mario