As good as it gets...

[Peter Ward]

Just when I thought I was making headway....I came across this on SBIG users....

http://panther-observatory.com/galle...Car_RGB_80.htm

Pristine dark skies. 20" scope.....Sigh.....

[jase (Jason)]

Exquisite detail. Bugger the RC. The Keller Cassegrain is now on the shopping list. Mr. Schedler is a good operator. This image certainly delivers the knock out blow. Thanks for sharing Peter.

[Hagar (Doug)]

Hah you can sigh. My only complaint is it's too big for my monitor. I know, I know.

Positively brilliant.

[Ian Robinson]

Wow .... now if only I could a big Lotto or Powerball price.

[skwinty (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

Pristine dark skies. 20" scope.....Sigh.....

Oh for another 6 inches !! Really Peter, next time you go to the states buy one and stick it into the dip locker. You wont have to pay shipping costs then.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Many, myself included, have long considered the Keller designed corrected Cassegrains better than the RCOS design and I would buy one in preference should I ever be able to afford one .

This is just as good

http://panther-observatory.com/galle.../M20_F9_80.jpg

A superb and faultless image.......

Mike

[iceman (Mike)]

Incredible! What resolution!

[Lester]

Yes amazing and in 5 years time we will look at it and think perhaps not.

[spearo (Frank)]

Oh my goodness....the bar is just sooooo high....
perfect
frank

[sheeny (Al)]

Wow says it all I think!

Al.

[tornado33]

This site does say that RC scopes are inferior
http://www.astrooptik.com/Komplettgeraete/Cassf9_e.htm
You can order the cassegrain with an F3 prime focus option as well. Now that would be VERY nice.
What Id love to do is put a cooled 450DSLR onto one of those scopes pick a good object and get around 3 hours of data on it. Actually If I could afford a scope like that, Id have a Canon 1DSMK3 specially modded, all 25 megapixels of it. Id need to set aside a few more grand for a quad core workstation to process the huge images though
Scott

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by tornado33

This site does say that RC scopes are inferior

Inferior? Que?

The spot digram of an F9 vs F6 system, plus one with a field corrector and one without is next to useless for comparative purposes.

Also theoretical performance means very little unless the mechanical and optical system has been figured to the required degree of perfection.

There is no doubt Keller does a great job, but so does Paul Jones and even more so does Aries with their Ion Milling.

To mull over the optical design in 1/2 metre class telescopes also ignores the two most important factors: the mount & the seeing. These dominate the performance of the instrument far more than esoteric design differences.

These guys were imaging at around 7000 feet AMSL with the site regularly enjoying 1.5 arc sec seeing..... yet another sigh....

[leon]

When my Tak grows up, it will be able to do that

Yes Peter, I agree, sigh... but that is a hell of an image just awesome, thanks for sharing

Leon

[Matty P (Matt)]

Incredible.... just incredible!

Thanks for sharing.

[tornado33]

Makes me jelous of my mate whose back from the States for a month, he lives at Sunspot, New Mexico, a solar observatory that is 9000ft ASL http://www.nso.edu/
where he works as a PostDoc solar Physicist. If I were him Id certainly have my rig there, and the great thing is, being a solar physicist, he only works during the day, that would leave the nights open for excellent imaging Oh well one can only dream.
Getting back to RCs, to be fair Brad Moores pics arent too far behind this one
http://www.southern-astro.com.au/
but look at the time, 28.5 hours on an image!

What does make the cassegrain scope's image all the more impressive is that Eta carina wouldnt be very high at its location. 47deg N!
Scott

[Peter Ward]

Had another look at my recent suburban data....and tricked it up a bit some sharpening and layers in PS3. result below.

http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/gallery17.html

Hey, 2/3rds the aperture, sea level, 4 million people with lights.... then decided it wasn't too bad after all.....

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

Had another look at my recent suburban data....and tricked it up a bit some sharpening and layers in PS3. result below.

http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/gallery17.html

Hey, 2/3rds the aperture, sea level, 4 million people with lights.... then decided it wasn't too bad after all.....

Naaah, sorry, you've done some fine work Pete and your Keyhole is great but this time yours is just noooo cigar in comparison, sorry

In the case of the area directly around the keyhole seeing is indeed imortant but the lights of 4million people would have little effect here really. Yohannes has here produced a knockout blow for Keller scopes and if the Americans and all her followers weren't so perocial and blinkered, RCOS would fight harder for the highend market with the Germans

Mike

[Ric]

There is not much a mere mortal as myself can say about this image.

I'll just pour another glass of red and simply enjoy this one.

One mighty fine image

Cheers

[Hagar (Doug)]

Love all these images, look just like mine.Ha!! Ha!! Chuckle Joke.

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Naaah, sorry, you've done some fine work Pete and your Keyhole is great but this time yours is just noooo cigar in comparison, ................................

............. RCOS would fight harder for the highend market with the Germans

Mike

Agreed....Johannes has made a very special image....and the data set I have is just 15 minutes worth (part of a much larger mosaic)..... I was more interested in the my system's resolution rather than data depth of the two images.

Just don't mention the war.....