Smoke Ring Galaxies in Virgo

strongmanmike (Michael) · #1 21-03-2013, 09:09 PM

This is a work in progress

Average seeing, some cloud to dodge and what do you know...periods of strong breezes again greeeaat

for the two nights it took to get this miserly 90min of 1/2 decent data

...but I won't harp on again

Would hope to get a little more data and some colour frames next new moon I guess...but so far so ok I guess..?

EDIT: Now in Colour

100% resolution crop of the main members

Full Frame to surf there are some cool shaped distant galaxies in there - check out the lower left edge of the full frame.

Mike

RickS (Rick) · #2 21-03-2013, 09:18 PM

Could be worse, Mike. We had a couple of clear nights and then it's wall-to-wall cloud again after months of the same. So, I'm glad you're not going to harp on

Back to the business at hand... really love that field of galaxies! I'll wait with bated breath for the colour version

Cheers,
Rick.

blink138 (Pat) · #3 21-03-2013, 09:21 PM

phwoar what a field!!
pat

RobF (Rob) · #4 21-03-2013, 09:55 PM

Oh my. This is going to be amazing to count the faint fuzzies in the final rendition. It is already!

SDF = Sidonio Deep Field.....

Larryp (Laurie) · #5 21-03-2013, 09:57 PM

Heaps of galaxies! Nice work, Mike

David Fitz-Henr · #6 21-03-2013, 10:06 PM

That'll be a corker of an image Mike; heaps of galaxies and lots of variety to boot!

Logieberra (Logan) · #7 21-03-2013, 10:20 PM

Geeze you get some sharp focus with that fast system!

Stevec35 (Steve) · #8 21-03-2013, 11:31 PM

Looking good already Mike. Hope you get a chance to finish it.

Cheers

Steve

h0ughy (David) · #9 21-03-2013, 11:33 PM

holey snappen Rsoles - i lost count of the galaxies. Very awesome Mike

rogerg (Roger) · #10 22-03-2013, 01:23 AM

Wonderful image Mike

dvj (John) · #11 22-03-2013, 04:39 AM

Wonderful grayscale and nice resolution overall.

alpal · #12 22-03-2013, 06:32 AM

Nice work Mike - you really have a winning setup.
It's always a pleasure to view your results.

cheers
Allan

cybereye (Mario) · #13 22-03-2013, 07:16 AM

Mike,

As a kid growing up in the 60's, I'd watch Lost in Space and wonder what it would be like to travel the Cosmos, seeing new and wonderful worlds. Well guess what, this image has let me do just that - see new and wonderful worlds almost as if I was there!!

What an awesome image!

Cheers,
Mario

multiweb (Marc) · #14 22-03-2013, 07:41 AM

Drool... love that field. It's like trash and treasure. So much to dig around.

Seeing whole galaxies like this in relation to each other just adds to the scale of things.

gregbradley · #15 22-03-2013, 08:04 AM

You come up with some great interesting objects Mike. That's a great shot. Love the main spiral. It looks a bit like the Qantas kangaroo symbol.

Greg.

SkyViking (Rolf) · #16 22-03-2013, 11:38 AM

Lovely field there Mike, I'm glad to see you're getting some clear skies

The colour version will be amazing, there is nothing like a good crowded galaxy field.

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #17 22-03-2013, 12:12 PM

There's lots happening for just 90min of data.

allan gould · #18 22-03-2013, 02:08 PM

Really love that image as its so detailed. Thats the splendor of your scope and camera Mike so keep them coming (and its not at all Vegas

)
Allan

rogerg (Roger) · #19 22-03-2013, 04:33 PM

Mike,

I’ve been thinking about your Orion AG. It produces such nice results in part due to the matching of your focal length to chip size. I have been considering what OTA to replace my 12” SCT with. Current top contender is the 16” GSO RC when it comes out if it’s up to scratch. But your Orion has me thinking.

What’s the disadvantage to a fast focal ratio like your AG? Or is there a disadvantage to the position of the camera? Or is the only disadvantage cost and the telescope is otherwise perfect?

My thought goes like this: Not being on top of a Chilean mountain my FWHM is never going to get better than my usual 4”-6”. Pixel scale less than 1” is wasted on me, usually less than 1.5” is wasted on me. Hence, focal lengths > ~2000mm are wasted on me, but aperture I want. One can overcome this by binning 2x2 permanently or by decreasing the focal length. The Orion AG being the latter option.

Any comments based on your experience?

strongmanmike (Michael) · #20 22-03-2013, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickS

Could be worse, Mike. We had a couple of clear nights and then it's wall-to-wall cloud again after months of the same. So, I'm glad you're not going to harp on

Back to the business at hand... really love that field of galaxies! I'll wait with bated breath for the colour version

Cheers,
Rick.

I know, I am sure the weather conditions are worse elsewhere but sheesh it is frustrating to get the odd good night, so I can see this scope shine, and then have to endure so many others that hamper its power, mostly due to wind

. It is much better than Newcastle though where a shot such as this galaxy cluster wouldn't have been possible as the seeing was that bad EVERY night

...I started to doubt the optics there for a time

...although wind was never an issue

Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by blink138

phwoar what a field!!
pat

Cheers Pat, like a Schmidt plate

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobF

Oh my. This is going to be amazing to count the faint fuzzies in the final rendition. It is already!

SDF = Sidonio Deep Field.....

Cheers Pat, yes 90 min in average conditions isn't quite enough, even with this scope

so I will see what happens in a couple of weeks

...as long as I don't lose interest

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larryp

Heaps of galaxies! Nice work, Mike

Cheers Lazza

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Fitz-Henr

That'll be a corker of an image Mike; heaps of galaxies and lots of variety to boot!

Thanks Dave, would have been nice to be able to have grabbed even just 30min each RGB as I think there is enough Lum here to compose a half decent image

Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logieberra

Geeze you get some sharp focus with that fast system!

Yes I spend (waste?) a bit of time ensuring I nail the focus, always have actually, even back when I was using the 6" Starfire

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevec35

Looking good already Mike. Hope you get a chance to finish it.

Cheers

Steve

So do I...think I will

Quote:

Originally Posted by h0ughy

holey snappen Rsoles - i lost count of the galaxies. Very awesome Mike

Yeh, something about seeing tons of galaxies of various shapes and sizes, always takes me back (with Mario

) to my young man days up at Stromlo when I found some deep Schmidt plates and ogled over the multitude of tiny galaxies in the frame

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerg

Wonderful image Mike

Cheers Roger

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvj

Wonderful grayscale and nice resolution overall.

Thanks John, the colour palette would be more to you liking..yes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpal

Nice work Mike - you really have a winning setup.
It's always a pleasure to view your results.

cheers
Allan

THnaks Alan, yes the setup is very powerful, needs a little tweaking at some stage but meah, I will wait till it is under cover in the dome

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybereye

Mike,

As a kid growing up in the 60's, I'd watch Lost in Space and wonder what it would be like to travel the Cosmos, seeing new and wonderful worlds. Well guess what, this image has let me do just that - see new and wonderful worlds almost as if I was there!!

What an awesome image!

Cheers,
Mario

I totally get your sentiment Mario, the image made me feel exactly the same... we need to image together, I can feel it

Guardi le Stelle

Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by multiweb

Drool... love that field. It's like trash and treasure. So much to dig around.

Seeing whole galaxies like this in relation to each other just adds to the scale of things.

I agree Marc, cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregbradley

You come up with some great interesting objects Mike. That's a great shot. Love the main spiral. It looks a bit like the Qantas kangaroo symbol.

Greg.

Cheers Greg, it was galaxy clusters like this (and there are plenty out there!) that I really wanted this platform for from day one. However it is only now at my new site that I have been able to do them justice, Newcastle was crap. See attached is NGC Qantas

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkyViking

Lovely field there Mike, I'm glad to see you're getting some clear skies

The colour version will be amazing, there is nothing like a good crowded galaxy field.

Thanks, it is a not often imaged group either

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

There's lots happening for just 90min of data.

Plenty

Quote:

Originally Posted by allan gould

Really love that image as its so detailed. Thats the splendor of your scope and camera Mike so keep them coming (and its not at all Vegas