A few old favourites (14.09.01)

Macavity · September 2, 2014

It's been so long... Almost forgotten how to do all this?

Before the infamous "white cloud" *really* set in...

M57

M27

M71

The last perhaps the most interesting. Is it a globular cluster? (Yes! IMO) Or an open cluster?

Note usual assymetric coma from my F4 Newt! One day, one day, it will work...

Prime motivation last night was to see if I do do a remote "cold start" from indoors.

Main addition has been the small wide-field Video Finder to ensure the first star

is within the field of the first Slew by EQMod. It now is! Details of finder are here:

Now concentrating mostly East of meridian. Neighbours hedge has "bolted".

If it's clear tonight, might try to ring the changes... Caldwell Objects mebbe?

P.S. Rather kicking myself for selling (of necessity) my Baader UHC filter...

Martin Meredith · September 2, 2014

Hi Chris

Nice images! IMO the coma doesn't detract from the objects themselves. What length exposures are these?

Good luck tonight

Martin

Macavity · September 3, 2014

Hi Martin! (Others, thanks for the "likes"... encouragement always appreciated!)

The setting I use on the Watec 102N+ control box, for "brighter" objects, is:

Integration Setting: 7 = 64x -- This results in the data light flashing at 64 x 1/25 sec

or approx once ever 2.56 sec (measured). The GSTAR4 software increments the

on screen frame counter about once every 2.56 sec or so, when set to 128x. LOL

The gamma set to "LO" (low or 0.45x); the gain is at 11/14 scale marks of 8-38dB!

My limited patience last about 100 frames x 2.56 sec - Approx. 4 mins per object.

For galaxies, I up the integration setting to 9 (Watec 256x = 10.24 sec in practice)

and again record 100 frames. This works out at about 20 mins (time for coffee?)

I ADMIT to being a fairly unrepentant "stacker" (gets rid of Watec hot pixels etc.)

Recently I have graduated to doing simple (Registax 5) dark frame subtraction...

Still "flying blind" a bit, "making it up as I go along" etc. etc. Feedback Welcome!

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