what to focus on next?

[sj777 (Dave)]

Hi all,
I'm after some ideas on what type of imaging to focus on next. I'm not new to deep sky imaging and I've finally setup a NB imaging rig this winter in my yard and managed to do a fair bit of imaging thankfully. As we move out of the milky way season I want to know what I could start doing. I know there is galaxy imaging which is usually the focus after winter/spring but what about planetary? is there a better time of year for that too?

In terms of gear i have an heq5pro, an neq6, and ASI183MCPro, ASI 533MM Pro, C8 SCT (from nexstar 8se), and a sharpstar 72ED 400mm (one of the older ones).

I've used the 72ED almost exclusively to this point and have not really done much with the c8 so I am keen to start doing something with that. procuring a new camera and/or scope suitable to the target though is not out of the question.

Thanks
Dave

[Startrek (Martin)]

Not sure if you mean what’s available for your specific equipment ?
Thats a bit more difficult to advise as target magnitude, target surface brightness , LP Sky conditions , atmospheric conditions and moon phase plays a big roll.
Do you use Stellarium ?
You can just wander around the night sky ( zoom in or zoom out ) and easily find what’s available 24/7 , year after year.
There are still many emission nebula , galaxies , clusters and PN’s to image at present.
Of course this is governed by what view you have at your imaging location too ( obstructions like trees , neighbours etc… and altitude )

https://stellarium.org/

Cheers
Martin

[sj777 (Dave)]

Yeah sorry - not so much specific targets but types of targets. So when is best to focus on galaxy vs planetary? I'f I said okay from Nov is the time best for galaxies then id set up a rig for that specifically and focus on it for a few months. And then yes what sort of rig would be suitable either with what ive got or with new gear (ie what would I need).

Thanks

[Startrek (Martin)]

Again a few hours on Stellarium will allow you to compile a comprehensive list month by month on what type of celestial object ( nebula , galaxy, clusters, planetary nebula etc… ) are within view of your imaging location.
I think what your after is a southern hemisphere DSO list per month , I think I’ve seen a list on this forum a few years ago.

As far as rigs go ……

Galaxies , planetary nebula and planetary imaging requires longer focal lengths and bigger aperture scopes

Emission nebula , reflection nebula , Super nova remnants , clusters etc.. do not necessarily require longer focal lengths and bigger aperture scopes

However the above scenario must take into consideration your FOV and image scale of your optics with respect to the target your imaging.

Some scopes are good all rounders like my 8” and 10” Carbon newtonians where I image just about everything up there including Moon , Planets , Galaxies, Emission nebula , Reflection nebula, globular clusters ( obviously with the exception of tiny faint >+ 10 magnitude galaxies and PN’s )

Just remember with planetary imaging you need focal ratios of between f15 to f30 depending on seeing conditions. Barlow’s and Powermates enable you to achieve these high focal lengths. Again longer focal length and larger aperture telescopes are more suitable.

It all depends on your FOV and sampling

“Astronomy Tools” has some good calculators to work out your image scale , FOV and so on

Stellarium also has a feature to see if your rig’s FOV will fit a specific object

At the end of the day there’s just too many different types of telescopes and camera combos to compile a list which shows suitability for specific celestial objects.

On line Astronomy calculators and Astro Software programs are the best way to go to check your own equipment’s suitability to specific objects.

Hope the above helps

Martin

[sj777 (Dave)]

thanks for the info Martin. I'll play around a bit more in the tools.

Thanks