Yes - I know another M83 but it sure makes a fine target from the burbs on a school night.
I set up last night to check out some new toys and soon realised the conditions were very good so set about pushing my sub exposures to unfamiliar ground. Two hours later here's the result: M83 through the ED80 using the DSI II pro, 30x4 mins.
I quite like the image. The structure looks good without blowing out the core. I have been thinking of getting a DSI II for sometime now. This image could just push me to spend the money.
For a shot through a 3.5" scope that really is excellent Peter (almost as good as mine ).
Seriously another great shot - well done and I cant believe what you get done from that little hole in the dark you observe from.
Jeez you get some nice images out of that DSI peter. My DSI images are all rubbish. Mogg sells a cooling kit for the DSI cameras for under US$400. That'd get your exposure time up
Nice image Peter, I think it would have benifitted from longer exposures than 4 min but you have done a nice job of pulling the detail out of the short subs.
That's a super image Peter, well done! Looks like good polar align and tracking to me. Good detail through the spirals and good detail in the core as well.
Robin - I've been having a similar thought but given I love to tinker, I've been working on mt own peltier cooled DSI with temperature control to within less than 1 degC.....
I'm thinking after Astrofest since it get's so cold up there I won't need a peltier device. I have some work to do on dealing with condensation inside the camera body and with sealing the case.
Peter.... Use a cold finger inside the CCD chamber to control condensation... Basically, seal the DSI up so its air tight, and have a metal finger inside that sealed body that connects directly to the peltier.. That metal finger will get colder than the sensor due to it having no electricity running through it... any moisture inside the camera will condensate and freeze onto the cold finger as it will be the coldest surface in the camera.. Also a light clean of the sensor using isopropyl alcohol will keep the sensor from frosting/freezing...
Thanks for the tip Alex - the third photo I posted is of the peltier attached to the DSI back (front of the camera removed). The white square is the cold finger that rests on the back of the ccd sensor within the camera so this setup is exactly as you describe.
I will need to seal up the camera housing and include some dessicant when I put it all together. I'm toying with the idea of making up some dessicant plugs and tap these into the back of the camera body. That way I don't have to pull the body apart again in the future.
Good idea... PWT (particle wave technologies) make refillable dessicant plugs for the SBIG cameras, one of these would work well, all you'd have to do is tap in the thread for it and screw it in.... when the dessicant fills up with moisture, just pull the plug out of the back, put new sillica gel in the dessicant cap, and put the plug back in... Would be a good way to stop frosting, or fogging up..
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