Last image for a while.. Centaurus A

[Garyh]

Hi everyone,
Have been very busy lately as might be moving to a new home shortly. So much junk to sort through and pack! Always amaze myself in how much junk one can hoard in 5-6 years in one place. Still even with this I have managed a few nice nights worth doing some imaging (well between all this crappy weather anyway!). I chose Centaurus A and managed 2 hours worth of good subs and lost a bunch to fog rolling in and out.
Happy with the result but always some more data would be sweet!
Image is 24 x 5 min @ iso 800 with 8" newt and Canon 20D. Has been cropped a bit and reduced to around 60% res to post.
Might be my last image for a while as will have to get the little Observatory ready to put on the back of a truck! (It`s coming for a move too!)
Maybe some real dark sky location but happy to be a few clicks from any major town as I don`t think I could tolerate much LP these days.
Thanks for looking....
cheers and CS
Gary

[iceman (Mike)]

Stunning as usual Gary.

What is causing the double-diffraction spikes on the bright star to the right?

[h0ughy (David)]

nice shot - where you looking at moving to?

[Octane (Humayun)]

Gary,

What a wonderful image. I love the subtle blue and hints of magenta in the star forming regions of the arms. Utterly fantastic.

Hope your move goes smoothly. I hate moving!

Regards,
Humayun

[Tilt (Michael)]

Excellent result Gary! 24 subs have done the trick with producing a smooth image, did you take darks or use ICNR with the 20D?

Michael

[Garyh]

Originally Posted by iceman

Stunning as usual Gary.

What is causing the double-diffraction spikes on the bright star to the right?

Thanks Mike! I think it`s a double star? as no other stars show the same spikes.

Thanks Dave and Humayun! We are thinking of buying up on the northern tablelands, Maybe Glen Innes or Tenterfield? lots of room to move!
Gary

[Lester]

That is a very nice image Gary. Hope the move goes okay and you are soon back in the observatory.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Well Gary, it could be worse, you could be moving to a place in Centaurus A.....then again, imagine the image you could take of our Milky Way from there!!

Very nice Cen A

Mike

[Garyh]

Thanks Micheal, I used 4 darks and 8 flat field subs for this one. I very rarely use ICNR as I find getting more light more beneficial.

Thanks Lester and Mike! Cent A looks a little busy for my liking SMC is a little closer and a much quieter neighborhood! (too much radio over in the big smoke!) LoL
cheers

[RB (Andrew)]

A very beautiful image Gary.

Hope your move goes smoothly.

[jase (Jason)]

Exceptional work Gary. Really lovely colours on display. Hey, you can't just pack up your stuff...there not enough time for that. You need to be collecting photons to build the portfolio for this years Malin awards. Hope you get back up and running soon. Priorities man, priorities!

[spearo (Frank)]

nice Shot Gary
good luck with the move, always a pain.....watch out for back aches lifting all your gear!
:]
frank

[multiweb (Marc)]

Wow! How cool is that? Love the colors. Nice and crisp.

[Garyh]

Thanks Andrew, Jase, Frank and Marc! The moving is not the pain, it`s all the packing that drives me nuts!
Jase, your`e right there! Have managed to store a quiet a few hours of photons to keep me busy till I get setup again. Maybe some will be good for the DM awards?
cheers people!

[richardo (Rich)]

Good going Gaz,
a bit of a swan song for a while, so lucky you got a few photons under your belt hey!

Good your moving to a darker site.
I can imagine that there would be nothing worse than going from a dark site to a LP one.....
(one person springs to mind... Mike, poor beggar, look what he's going through at the moment.. he won't have anything left to reprocess soon)

Have a good move Gary.
Get your priorities right.... setup the observatory 1st, then all the other stuff can come latter......

All the best till we see your next images
Rich

[Garyh]

Thanks Rich! Hopefully all goes smoothly and the little shed is up on a hill under dark skies soon! Hopefully somewhere that is truly dark

Yeah, Poor Mike having to move from nice dark skies near Canberra to Newcastle. Would make me a little unhappy A full Automated remote setup would really be the best solution if one had the money that is..

Shall try to keep up with good old IIS till we loose the internet in the next few weeks.
cheers and CS everyone!
Gary

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Ah yes......poor'ol Mike.....

...and to think, I have a whole new set of Astronomiks HaOIIISIIHBeta filters just sitting in my filter wheel twiddling their thumbs too

Grumble grum.....

[atalas]

Nice Gary!

[Ric]

A great capture Gary, this is always an enjoyable galaxy to view.

Cheers