Globular Star Cluster "Omega Centauri" NGC 5139

[PhotonCollector (Paul)]

Hi all,

here's the first picture with the new 2" Baader UV/IR Cut filter. The filter has really improved my imaging capabilities since it cuts out the IR light from the sky background. My images don't turn out so red with the modified Canon 300D.

There's a higher resolution image here http://www.skylab.com.au/pmsa/NGC%205139c.html


ImageNGC5139 20060420
Field of View 50' x 33' arc-minutes wide.
Telescope 12-inch f/5 newtonian telescope
Guiding hand guided with 4.5-inch guide-scope.
Camera Canon EOS 300D Digital - Hα enabled.
Exposures 5 x 30-second exposures @ ISO-800
Total Exposure time 2.5 minutes
Filter/equipment Baader 2" Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector.
Baader 2" UV/IR Cut Filter.
Processing Dark frame subtraction, bias and flat-fielded in Iris,
Photoshop, Noiseware.
Exposure Date 2006, Apr 20.

[h0ughy (David)]

Must be glob hunting season, nice image Paul, great colours too.

[PhotonCollector (Paul)]

I think this globular is popular at the moment because of its current position in the sky. In another few months I think we will see lots of Lagoons and Trifids....


thanks for you comments. Paul

[vash (Ashley)]

I shot it last night because I couldn't find ngc 5128, mind you, Didn't look very hard for it.

[RB (Andrew)]

Beatutiful image Paul, love the colour.
Thanks for sharing the info on the UV filter.

[PhotonCollector (Paul)]

Thanks for you comments on the image. Glad you liked it.

The Baader UV/IR Cut filter did make two noticeable differences.

The first thing I noticed after I modified my camera was how much red were in the resulting images. As the modded camera could now see InfraRed, I suspected that the excess red was in-part from the sky background acting as a IR heat source. So the filter certainly cuts out IR and the sky background doesn't turn out quite as red is it did previously.

The second thing I noticed after modding the camera was that stars seemed larger - bloated from IR, I guess. So the new filter has also reduced the amount of star bloating.

You can find info about the filter here
http://www.baader-planetarium.de/dow...uvir-Cut_e.pdf

best regards
Paul Mayo