Wanted to share this;
I imaged M42 over 2 nights to get 40x240sec and 36x60sec (iso400) of data, plus calibration frames.
I'm very surprised at the results as I'm imaging from a suburb in Johannesburg, the most light polluted spot in Africa, and I didn't use any LP filter.
And on that note - which I'll share in another forum post. The Celestron Advanced VX's all star polar alignment doesn't work in the Southern Hemisphere with the NexStar+ hand control unit supplied. You'll have to downgrade to the previous controller if you're looking to purchase this mount and use it in the South. Other than that - great mount, just don't push it too close to payload capacity
Yes, the Nexstar + has a bug in the firmware for the southern hemisphere ASPA feature. Celestrons firmware engineers are aware. They should be working on it after the release of the new CGEM / CGEM DX mount control firmware update which is in beta testing at the moment.
Very nice! Good one Tanja
Celestrons firmware engineers are aware. They should be working on it after the release of the new CGEM / CGEM DX mount control firmware update which is in beta testing at the moment.
Cheers
Rod
Yip - I know. I was all over their tech support and they are shipping me the legacy hand control. My argument was that it's unprofessional to release a product that doesn't work on the other 50% of the earth....
You want to get out of Jo'burg and into the bush...have a go from there. Do you have a dark site you can setup at?
Thanks for the comments. Oh certainly. I have a dark location I image from. Unfortunately it's not always possible to travel, as getting far enough from the LP is hundreds of KM's . If you look at my Flickr photo stream you'll see quite a few shot from a dark location: http://www.flickr.com/photos/astro-tanja/
Thanks for the comments. Oh certainly. I have a dark location I image from. Unfortunately it's not always possible to travel, as getting far enough from the LP is hundreds of KM's . If you look at my Flickr photo stream you'll see quite a few shot from a dark location: http://www.flickr.com/photos/astro-tanja/
Yes, I had a good look at your Flickr photostream. I bookmarked it You're good...the piccies you take are great and excellent for someone who has only been taking astropics for a little more than a year. I hope you get the chance to shoot more targets soon. If you nail your polar alignment, you should be able to extend out your subs to 5 minutes or more, per sub. That'll work wonders on objects like the Helix and Veil. Give more data to stretch and bring out the detail.
What will be interesting is to see you migrate over to CCD imaging. I think you'll do really well there and your images will only get better.
Thanks for the comments everyone
I'll push for longer subs in future, but I might not be able to image this again as the rainy season is starting here..
Next best thing - my friend will do a series of 10min subs from the USA and integrate all our data together - will post the results here.
I'll push for longer subs in future, but I might not be able to image this again as the rainy season is starting here..
Yep...know all about rainy season. This time of the year at home is a waste of time getting out the scope. If it's not raining, the sky's like pea soup. Might get the occasional bolt hole in the clouds to do a little observing, but it's not worth lugging out equipment every 10 minutes and then carrying it back inside. Having arthritis doesn't help out, either. I'd like to setup a permanent obs' but with the cyclones we get here, it's not worth it...the setup could get wrecked. Winter is the best time of year, anyway
Great work. 
