Eta Carina

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

FYI the focal length was around 5 metres

awesome image...and as for imaging at that sort of focal length..scary!

[PeterM]

Wow Peter!
I'm running out of desktops.
Thanks indeed for sharing your fine work.
PeterM.

[Peter Ward]

Thanks Frank, Narayan, Pete

The total exposure time was about 4 hours...(sorry, "about" is a little slack, but quite a bit of data was rejected by MaxIm 5.0 on FWHM grounds.

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Hooly dooly!!! That's probably the best amateur ... errr ... I mean semi professional homunculus I've ever seen - definitely better with the extra data. Way to go Peter!!!

Cheers, Marcus

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by marc4darkskies

Hooly dooly!!! That's probably the best amateur ... errr ... I mean semi professional homunculus I've ever seen - definitely better with the extra data. Way to go Peter!!!

Cheers, Marcus

Ah yes, it is CWAS time again!

[Octane (Humayun)]

Peter,

That's just sensational. The subtle colour throughout really does it for me. Not to mention all the exquisite detail.

13 Internets to you.

Regards,
Humayun

[pgc hunter]

stuff me!!!! That's bloody amazing That's probably the clearest middle finger salute I've ever seen in an amatuer image

[atalas]

Beautiful Peter!

[Lester]

Fantastic image Peter.

Can't say much more than the rest. Obviously its not just the gear you use, but also the ability to process such data to get this pleasing result.

[wysiwyg (Mark)]

Stunning Image Peter,

The amount of detail is amazing and the processing job you did on this is also very pleasing to the eye, well done!

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by wysiwyg

Stunning Image Peter,

Thanks Mark, Lester, Atlas, Octane, Hunter and Humayun

This one really seems to have struck a chord with a few people...even my wife (my best critic as "astronomy is *so* boring ) commented on the 16x20 print...."that's pretty dear...which object is that? " ....which makes me think it really was a new trick for an old dog

[AlexN]

mmmm an A3 print would be nice!! Would go well on my wall I reckon! PM me if you feel like running off another print!

[RobF (Rob)]

I'm usually too much of a PC purist to waste memory on desktop pics - but this stunning pic is staying quite a while I reckon
(umm - assuming that isn't too naughty....)

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Very detailed Peter, excellent work. Makes you wonder how an A0 device would have improved it, given this kind of FL was designed for it.

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Very detailed Peter, excellent work. Makes you wonder how an A0 device would have improved it, given this kind of FL was designed for it.

If you are asking what would the data look like if I didn't use an AOL then the answer lies in the frames I threw away.

The FWHM's were at least 30% larger. In short I don't think I could have got the same resolution without it....either that or move the rig to Mona Kea

BTW I'm driving up to Santa Barbara today....checking out a few new toys

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Oh, OK, sorry, you DID use an AOL, sweet.

Yes, if you mean new SBIG toys, report back on what you think after a play

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Oh, OK, sorry, you DID use an AOL, sweet.

Yes, if you mean new SBIG toys, report back on what you think after a play

Happy to oblige Fred

Well the first thing I can say is I'm totally shagged after having risen at 1.30am Sydney time, then faced 3 hours up, then 3 back of LA freeways to get to/from Santa Barbara....

The first STX series cameras are all KAF16803 based, there are several units in production now, with the first commercial units expected to ship in August. There is now a good deal of information on the net about these CCD's so I'll keep it down to my personal impressions.

These suckers are *BIG*, and will prove to be a challenge to mount as even AP 2.7" fittings will be barely adequate. The CCD focal plane position is not common with STL units, and will require custom adapters for some (eg AP) field flateners

2" fittings are simply too small (!!) as they severely vignette the guide sensor. They are fast, full res downloads in about 4 seconds. Other features I thought to be very cool were the low profile "equi-illumination" shutter (no iris shaped flats!) plus being able to assign an IP address to the camera and download images via a web browser.

Alan Holmes (SBIG's CEO) showed me some sample data taken with a TeleVue 127is. Images were *very* clean. The KAF16803 looked to have excellent sensitivity and the field was amazingly wide, with hints of galactic cirrus visible even with 5 minute exposures.

There will be two types of filter wheel, the standard 5 position unit will be nearly 1kg lighter than a similarly sized Optec unit. Development options for an 8 filter unit are still being looked at...I can say no more other than the filter positioning will likely be the most accurate on the market, bar none, with less back focus required than the 5 position wheel. The AO will be as fast as current units, just a little larger

Initial SG-4 production was quite limited, the package is a tad larger than I expected, with size being on a par with a ST402 casing. Initial setup is with a PC, but once completed, no PC required for plug and play guiding.

Needing a beer now.....

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Hmmm? all sounds pretty utopic...?...maybe I could be tempted by the dark (get more APOD's) side?

Nice Eta by the way but with your amazing setup (I want one too) I'd expect nothing less, sure you didn't layer Hubble data in there..?

Mike

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Interesting Peter, thanks. Yet another set of different filters, and I bet they wont be cheap. Did you see the artificial guidestar feature powered up?

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Did you see the artificial guidestar feature powered up?

Forgot to ask! However I do know the SG4 will be also compatible with the new RGH port (SG4, Remote Guide Head, and self guide sensors are all now KA340 based).