My first Horsehead

[Tony Leece]

Always wanted to have a go at this one.
Bit early for it but i couldn't wait any longer.
I only manged an hour and a half of 3 minute unguided subs.
Will get more data on this as it is one of my favourites

Skywatcher ED 80
Optolong L-extreme
Azeq6 pro
Zwo 533 mcp Gain 101 @ -10 degrees
asi air v1
bortle 6-7 Perth
Waxing Gibbous moon with illumination of 97%

[Pepper (Steve)]

That’s great.
One I’ve never had a go at.

[AdamJL]

Nice work, you’ve tamed Alnitak well!

[Startrek (Martin)]

At least someone’s getting some sky time
Nice image there for limited data on such a challenging target
A few more hours would really make it pop, especially in the outer areas
Well done !!

[Tony Leece]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the kind comments

[leon]

Wow for your unguided subs that is a great result indeed, well done.

Leon

[Tony Leece]

Thanks Leon

[Startrek (Martin)]

Tony,
I just noticed 3 minute unguided subs
What’s your secret in maintaining perfect round stars with 3 minute subs and only relying on tight PA on your AZEQ6 ?? Also frame rotation ?

Best I can manage on my EQ6-R at 1000mm focal length is 60 or 70 sec ( PA error just under an arc minute ) before stars commence to distort. Guiding for me is a must.
Martin

[Tony Leece]

I do have OCD when it comes to the Asiair polar alignment feature and re park and redo it 3 or 4 times to get as near zero as possible Martin.
I do still get slightly oval stars, but i always put that down to not having a field flattener
I don't seem to have any issue with field rotation, but that isn't anything i have thought about tbh.
Pleased you like the image.

I do have a 10 inch newt that i have still to use on this mount but with it being 1200mm focal length i too cannot get more than 30 seconds unguided using it.
I will get a guide camera at some stage though mate

[raymo]

Your 10" Newt sucks in 10x as much light as your 80mm scope, so 30secs
with your Newt is equal to 5 mins with your 80mm. So the 10" is a win win;
not only a lot more signal, but much better resolution as well, which would be
good for lunar or planetary imaging.
raymo

[Tony Leece]

Never thought of it like that Raymo, thanks mate

[Anth10 (Anthony M)]

I’d agree with Raymo when it comes to the the light capturing capacity that the 10” pulls in against smaller aperture scopes but most definitely I can say that guiding is an absolute necessity at 1250mm focal length and the sheer weight alone means balancing is also crucial. But well worth the effort if you can get it setup to work -I’m still trying my best to get it tracking well but that’s the challenge of this hobby- trying to improve and maximise your output…
Good luck Tony- and very promising for future captures given the result with the horse head!
Anthony

[Startrek (Martin)]

Tony,
Further to Raymo’s comments, have a read of Craig Starks ( Stark Labs ) write up on Aperture, Focal Ratio etc...

http://www.stark-labs.com/help/blog/...ioAperture.php

A great read

Cheers
Martin

[ChrisV (Chris)]

With Leon - 3 minute unguided subs. That's pretty awesome

Chris

[Tony Leece]

Cheers Martin that's a good read
Thanks Chris, on a couple of rare occasions i have been able to do 5 minute unguided too. But like i said rare

[AdamJL]

It’s the weight of that scope. I’ve done 5mins unguided on an EQ6-R as well with the same scope. Rare, like you say but 3mins was definitely doable.

Super accurate polar alignment was the key.

[astroron (Ron)]

Very good Tony for your first effort on this object.
You even got a piece of the Flame Nebula.
Good work.
Cheers

[Tony Leece]

Yes Adam, i try to get as good a polar alignment as i can.
Thanks Ron