its been a while since i put up an image, the weather has been much what you expect in a southern victoria winter.... mostly cloudy
the pics here are in a somewhat unfinished state as i hope to get more data, that wont happen for a couple of weeks with the moon back so here tis
first image. the helix, it thought i had done pretty well with the outer neb extension til i saw the effort by marcus, i will try to add a few more hours and see if i can stretch it that hard, i could stretch this a little more but at the expense of being overwhelmed by noise. currently at 290 min at 10 min exposures.
Second image, yet another rendition of dave and barbs nebula, the Ha came out lipstick pink, i changed it to a redder version, although now ive seen another pink one maybee thats how it really is. this was a complete cow to process, i found the insane number of stars overwhelming and getting the color just right this one 180 mins again at 10 min exposures i pushed it fairly hard so its a little grainy, even through the artifacts
third image and fourth, M16 sorry about the jpeginess, but thats 200kb, this one 270 min also at 10 min exposures. i can go 20 min but i find stars over mag 6 completely blown out when processing and looking very unnatural. i think the focus was just a tiny bit out, this scope seems very sensitive to temp changes... more attention in the future.
the last deep sky image ngc 253 100 min. i would like more resolution , but 5 inches of scope wont dish it up unless i go mono, ive spent enough on the gear for now so not sure what extra time would do for this image
Really cool set of pictures Clive! The sculptor and M16 really stand out. Cool obs too. Before realising you photoshoped the sky I though you did a "mural painting" on your roof Is that you next to the scopes? I though it was this bloke from current affair, what's his name again?
Not a bad Half finished bunch Clive. I would be very happy with this lot. Pink/ red , who knows what colour they really are!! As long as you are satisfied with your results that is all that really matters. It's a long way to go to check out the colour, so just be happy.
That's a very fine set of images Clive! Nice colour and good resolution. My favorites are 6559 closely followed by the Helix. You should be happy with the neb extension on the Helix - it's more than you see in most other renditions! I love the mix of reflection and emission nebs in 6559 - nicely processed. In fact it's my next target once the moon goes away. Nice obs pic as well - love the "ceiling"!
Very nice set of "works in progress" Clive, and the Obs looks like a very nice place to hang out of a night!
That last pic should be titled "The loneliness of the long-distance Astronomer"!!!!!!
What a drag this winter has been - I would normally be set up and imaging from about 7-8pm and then off to bed for my beauty sleep at a reasonable hour! Haven't done that for many nights now as my avatar implies!!!
Doug
They're all beautiful work Clive, but the Eagle and 253 are just stunning for my eye!!
Very original and striking work on the observatory mural too - fantastic! Amazing details and colour contrasts when you sew your pics together like that....
They're all beautiful work Clive, but the Eagle and 253 are just stunning for my eye!!
Very original and striking work on the observatory mural too - fantastic! Amazing details and colour contrasts when you sew your pics together like that....
Unfortunately a single scope is not ideal for all images so getting
high resolution out of a 5 inch APO for galaxies will be challenging
although your NGC253 is very good.
One approach would be to use a high end barlow to get more F ratio like
Marcus has been doing with his TOA150.
Perhaps an AP Barcon or a 2X Powermate or a Tak TOA 1.6X extender.
Well done Clive. Great shots and they all look good to me. I have a W/O Flt 110 and wonder what you think of this combination with the QHY8 for imaging.
Half finished or not Clive the certainly look pretty good to me
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thanks leon,since i got thenew refractor i set myself to try to get 8hrs on each object to let me get he best image possible, mind you it can be a bit of a drudge shooting the same thing night after night.
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the sky above your observatory is very cool !
david i just selected out the sky above the observatory... the shot was taken late in the day but not dark ..... and pasted in a few shots i have taken to make it intesting.
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Is that you next to the scopes? I though it was this bloke from current affair, what's his name again?
yes thats me, dunno about the current affair thing though, i actually had a friend take the pic as he has an uber wide angle lens to get the whole obs in, it was in case omaroo got the compendim up and running, its probably time you saw who i was. ( i hate having my pic taken BTW)
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It's a long way to go to check out the colour, so just be happy.
Good to puty a face to a friend.
thanks hagar, i just wasnt overly keen on the lipstick pink, still we tweak all our pics so much they are different from the real thing anyway to some degree
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You should be happy with the neb extension on the Helix - it's more than you see in most other renditions!
Cheers, Marcus
i was til i saw yours, a challenge for a mono camera no doubt, but i know its there so will work at it.
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Lovely set of images Clive. Nice extension on the Helix. Love the NGC6559 having just laboured over it myself.
thanks craig, ngc6559 has just become a popular item, its interesting to see all the different renditions, as its not like m20 where you expect it to look just so.
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Very nice set of "works in progress" Clive, and the Obs looks like a very nice place to hang out of a night!
That last pic should be titled "The loneliness of the long-distance Astronomer"!!!!!!
What a drag this winter has been - I would normally be set up and imaging from about 7-8pm and then off to bed for my beauty sleep at a reasonable hour! Haven't done that for many nights now as my avatar implies!!!
Doug
thanks doug, the southern part of the country has been covered in cloud for quite some time, and as you say in winter you can get in a couple hours still be in bed at a reasonable time for work the next day, never mind clear skies will roll in again soon.
once youve had an observatory you wonder why you didnt do it earlier!!!
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They're all beautiful work Clive, but the Eagle and 253 are just stunning for my eye!!
thanks for taking a look rob, for some of these objects alonger FL would be nice. must get a website up and running at some time later this year so i can post bigger pics. ive got a google pages one but they are closing it down soon.
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A fine collection of images Clive.
Steven
thanks steven, not quite the RC quailty you have, .....yet....
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Unfortunately a single scope is not ideal for all images so getting
high resolution out of a 5 inch APO for galaxies will be challenging
although your NGC253 is very good.
One approach would be to use a high end barlow to get more F ratio like
Marcus has been doing with his TOA150.
true greg, i realized when i got it that the long FL stuff lie galaxies would not be the best, i just need to select larger objects for the best results. wont be going down the path of the barlow/powermate, i dont think the flattener i have (68mm version) allows it, i would have to get another scope.... probably a 9.25 inch celestron .... but not yet, plenty to do still, looking forward to the tarantula and in particular m78.
thanks Clive. great set of pics. can't wait to see some "completed work" cheers
completed work probably due end of next month, these arent horrible i just found that longer exposure just helps with the fine and faint detail. plus theres nothing else i am dying to shoot at the moment.
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Nice images, Clive. Good to see a face to the name
You know, you could take advantage of that roof....just use a DSLR and take piccies of the roof, then you'll have picture perfect shots
no pretending im 25 anymore to little hair and whats left is grey.
the real rooof is just timber, this is thanks to a bit of photoshopping.
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Well done Clive. Great shots and they all look good to me. I have a W/O Flt 110 and wonder what you think of this combination with the QHY8 for imaging.
Mark
mark, i love the qhy8, easy to use smooth noise free as you can get so thats easy, the 110 ... i am very happy with the 132 so optically i have no probs ( although there seem to be several versions of the 110 although ive never heard a bad report on any, the oil spaced version had the best rap) i have found its just about finding the right target, and for me it seems the best are within the galactic plane, once you get away from that and the magellanic clouds a longer FL seems more appropriate for individual targets. you just have to find something that fills your FOV. do that well and its a winner.
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Great images there. The Helix is a standout with the detail in the faint outer loop (Northeast arc its officially called)
Scott
thanks scott, its the best in my collection so far of the helix for the extension.... although i think i got a bit more detail in the core with the 12 inch newt. i am thinking of blending some 20 min exposures and layering in the extension.... more at a later date.
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I concur.. They all look mighty fine for "work in progress" images Clive...
That refractor definitely seems to be delivering the goods! I look forward to final images from all these!!!
Ps.. Your G11 looks MUCH beefier now without a 12" newt dwarfing it!!
I like your observatory pic too.. Nice sky!
yep alex just a work in progress, the doubling of exposure times is for the last 10-15 % so its almost there, im happy with the refractor, its much easier to use than the big newt i really should have had that on a titan, plus there was too much flexure in the system... i sold the 12 inch to an iis'er who is refurbishing it with a new coat of paint and putting it to good use. (bargain at $150 dollars).
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Good to get some clear skies out here at last. We only managed to get one night in on Saturday.
Glad you were able to get a few targets done this time Clive.
Very nice selection M16 and 253 are our pick
By the way we see you've been busy painting your roof mural
hi dave , barb. its been very cloudy one of the nights we had was windy, i got data which i couldnt have with the 12 inch, as per the pic i currently have the scope low in the observatory so its quite shielded from the wind. as for the mural.... yep dab hand with the paintbrush
you started something with the ngc 6559, its on everyones list now. be good to seewhat the pros can do with this one.
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Lovely collection of images Clive !!
Nice rich colours there, well done.
Love the obs too !!!
thanks for looking andrew, something there for everyone hopefully.
....... looks like thats it, thanks all for your comments
cheers clive
this one 180 mins again at 10 min exposures i pushed it fairly hard so its a little grainy, even through the artifacts
and I can only imaging the results with some more data added, nice work indeed.
Is that you next to the scopes? I though it was this bloke from current affair, what's his name again? 
