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The Western Veil Nebula WIP report

Western Veil Nebula WIP

So the last week was kind and I managed another couple of sessions under the stars. The lack of dark nights has made this a labor of love indeed.   I have gathered 5 hours for each Ha pane so I have managed one of my bonus goals.   Total integration time so far is 17 Hours:   I may not add any more data to this until the darker skies return :sad:   Project status Stage 1 - Complete Stage 2 - Complete Stage 3 - Skipped Stage 4 - 0% Complete Stage 5 - Complete
Robp

Robp

2
Blog 19648

Antares

Every year in June the red super-giant star Antares becomes visible from our south facing bedrooms and over the roof tops. This year Saturn can be seen just above the claws of Scorpius,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,quite a sight without binoculars or a telescope.   I managed to get a nice photo with my little Lumix compact camera balanced on the window-sill. The minimal light pollution after midnight and the lightly applied assistance of APS providing all the help this inexpensive camera needs to capture thi
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

1
Toward First Light - And Beyond!

Scopes and Holidays . . . .

Hi all,   Another week seems to have flashed past, and I am still scopeless lol!! However, I am not too unhappy about it. It doesn’t seem to get dark properly here now, and despite the weather showing signs of improving, I am not missing much I don’t think.   That being said, I am of course looking on all the used sites for an appropriate bargain. I have been giving things a lot of thought, and taking advise where its offered (ie on here!!). I said in one of my previous posts that I had decided
Nigeyboy

Nigeyboy

0
Phil42's Blog

Sky watcher star travel 102 problems

Hi guys , I have just purchased this telescope and it's the first one I have had. I know nothing about astronomy only I wanted to buy one to attach my Slr to it to get some good photos. I have seen the moon close up but I am having problems seeing any stars as when you look through the viewfinder nothing appears to be in line through the scope . There is no red dot finder for alignment and probably don't really know what I am suppose to be doing . I have tried reading the set up guide and have p
Phil42

Phil42

1
The Western Veil Nebula WIP report

Western Veil Nebula WIP

So I think I may be dreaming but there has been lots of clear nights here recently (and an almost whole week of clear skies forecast to come!) This has meant that I have been able to gather lots of data.   I have completed gathering the HA and OIII data for stage one and two. Total time so far is 12 Hours 30 minutes total integration time.   I have done a quick process of the data in a HOO palette   I am quite happy so far. One side seems lighter than the other so I'll have to work on how I pro
Robp

Robp

1
crashtestdummy's Blog

not much of an update.

Well what can I say, not much further forward than I was at the last update.The new lap I made worked out great and polished much better than the last one but the outcome seemed the same with a centre problem so I took my mirror on the 350 mile journey north to see John again.We tested my mirror for warping and that turned out ok, no warping or mirror damage but we decided I needed to go back to 400 with the tile tool.I did this over about 5 hours with good contact and pencil test then a good 2
crashtestdummy

crashtestdummy

3
The Western Veil Nebula WIP report

Western Veil Nebula WIP - Nearing the end of stage one

I managed 1 Hour 45 Minutes of subs on the second pane of the Ha layer last night. It was a beautiful clear night for a while but then the clouds rolled on in around 1:30am so I packed up.   I have done a quick stretch and stitch so I now know that my framing is as I wanted it. I haven't taken any flats for this pane yet. I was hoping to do them today when I got home from work but it is raining rather heavily right now :sad:     Seems like there may be another couple of breaks in the cloud this
Robp

Robp

0
Toward First Light - And Beyond!

Patience, and taking stock. . . . .

The time since my last blog entry has been a little turbulent. Some close to home family problems have had my entire focus and energies. Coupled with a week in the Lake District, the time has flown by!   I had really hoped to have a scope to take with me up to Windermere, to make the most of the dark skies on offer up there. However, due to circumstances this didn’t happen. My EQ3-2 is still scopeless in the dining room. That said though, and with hindsight I didn’t miss out – the typical weathe
Nigeyboy

Nigeyboy

4
The Western Veil Nebula WIP report

Western Veil Nebula WIP - framing and first pane

So I used a CCD field of view calculator to work out the framing of the nebula.   I left a little overlap between the two panes. The image of the nebula in the framing isn't my own, but the default image provided by the calculator:   The target is very low on the horizon at the moment and within the most light polluted portion of my available sky. It also isn't very dark at the moment during the nights but I couldn't pass up on a clear skies.   I managed 2 hours and 30 minutes after throwaway s
Robp

Robp

2
The Western Veil Nebula WIP report

Western Veil Nebula WIP - Goals

I'm starting this blog with the intention of imaging the Western Veil Nebula this summer   My main goal is to complete a two pane narrowband mosaic with each pane consisting of 2 Hours 30 minutes of data from HA, OIII and SII (Total of 15 hours integration time).   My bonus goal is to complete a two pane narrowband mosaic with each pane consisting of 5 Hours of data from HA, OIII and SII (Total of 30 hours integration time).   The equipment I shall be using to gather the images are:   Mount: HEQ
Robp

Robp

0
Andy's Column

Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer

I originally wrote this one back in May last year and since it is time of the year relevant it make sense to post now. This one has a slightly nostalgic tinge to the usual mix of pop culture references and dubious facts wrapped around a vaguely astronomical theme.   As we enjoy the longer days and the slightly warmer winter weather that here in the British Isles we optimistically call summer, it inevitably signals the end of what many would consider the astronomical observing season. Living so f
Andy69

Andy69

2
Blog 19648

Saturnalia

I look forward to Saturn coming to opposition each year or each 378 days to be precise. The sky over our backyard in the early hours of the 24th of May was clear and the stars shone bright. In the east, the stars of Cygnus and Lyra were shining brightly and Saturn was a brightish yellow presence due south over my neighbour's house rooftops. Through the eyepiece its rings shone bright, the Seeliger effect making a clear difference. Sadly, my imaging and images were affected by the planet's low
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

2
ToTo123's Blog

KRONOS 3T-65 parts

Hi Everyone,   Thank you for the warm welcome. As you can guess I'm new to this. I have just purchased a Kronos 3T- 65 telescope for very little money. I purchased it so my daughter could gaze at the skies at night as she has a few issues going out during the day. The telescope is in great condition but there is two items missing from the telescope. The Barlow lens is missing and a sleeve extender. At the moment I only have the eye piece. I have looked all over the net trying to find the company
ToTo123

ToTo123

1
ToTo123's Blog

KRONOS 3T-65 parts

Hi Everyone,   Thank you for the warm welcome. As you can guess I'm new to this. I have just purchased a Kronos 3T- 65 telescope for very little money. I purchased it so my daughter could gaze at the skies at night as she has a few issues going out during the day. The telescope is in great condition but there is two items missing from the telescope. The Barlow lens is missing and a sleeve extender. At the moment I only have the eye piece. I have looked all over the net trying to find the company
ToTo123

ToTo123

1
Toward First Light - And Beyond!

Reconsidering Equipment Choice . . . . .

So, not bought any further equipment since the EQ3-2. I have been spending perhaps too much time browsing the forums. This has its positives – it gives me other ideas to consider, and on the negative side – it gives me other ideas to consider lol!! But in all seriousness, it has stopped me rushing out and getting stuff that I either won’t need in 12 months, or will not be suited for my needs. A lesson there for others I think – when you have decided what you want, stop and rethink!! Saves money
Nigeyboy

Nigeyboy

2
Toward First Light - And Beyond!

Part 1 - The Journey Begins!

I first fell in love with astronomy when I was perhaps 5 years old. I remember my dad showing me some of the constellations one winters evening. I even was allowed to look through his 10x50 bins!! Since then, it has always been a major interest in my life. It culminated 10 years ago, when I got my first telescope - a Helios 150 reflector on an EQ3 mount. Unfortunately, living in the middle of a city, and at the time not being able to drive, the scope got very little use. I used it perhaps half a
Nigeyboy

Nigeyboy

1
Bert B's Blog

Do we live in a black hole ?

I am told that a beam of light gets bent by the gravitational pull of our planet. If so, the same beam of light will get bent every time it passes close to a celestial object. As the beam of light travels through our galaxy and out into the universe, I imagine that it must constantly get bent by millions of objects. As the beam of light gets further from its origin and towards the edge of the universe, I imagine that it must get bent more towards the concentrated matter of the universe and might
Bert B

Bert B

5
Investigate911's Blog

Imaging Jupiter

Hello, I am relativley new to astrophotography , and I have a question. I'm using a n 8 inch Shmidt Cassegrain Celestron Telescope, with a 2x Barlow and a webcam. I tried removing the lens from the webcam exposing the chip, however it completly ruined the image, I would just get a big blur of light and shadow, so I put the lens back into the webcam, and butt the camrea up to the eyepiece with a special jig. I am using a Logitech C920 webcam. I notice people with webcams getting these pics of Ju
Investigate911

Investigate911

4
Geryllax Vu's Blog

The Magick Carpet Ride

A young woman and her two wyrd sisters are practicing their mysterious magicks tonight. They will exercise their telekinetic and mathematical skills with the levitation of a massive material object. In their alchemical experiment they will test whether two events that would appear simultaneous in a reference frame that is at rest, would these events still appear simultaneous if the reference frame were in motion? Can she make the invisible, visible? It is a windless night, during the witching
Geryllax Vu

Geryllax Vu

0
Blog 19648

Oh those summer nights!

The 26th of April turned out to be a nice clear night. It wasn't balmy out but on the other hand it was metallic simian cold! Winter was behind me and as I looked up at the waxing moon I noticed that Jupiter was much further west than it had been a few weeks before. I decided to capture my last Jovian images of the season and take a picture or two of the our old Moon. As a bonus I managed to get some video clips of Venus as it climbed above our house extension roof. I'm looking forward to se
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

0
Andy's Column

Is this a dust cap which I see before me?

It's been a while since I posted anything here so to rectify that read on to discover why the moon is like Scarlett Johansson and along the way Galileo, Buzz Aldrin, ET and a drunken zombie all get a mention too. Any astronomer with any degree of experience will have a list of things they really want to see. Many, for example will have no doubt fantasised about seeing Betelgeuse going supernova perhaps while they happened to be looking at it. Or it might be watching a comet perform a death plung
Andy69

Andy69

1
Geryllax Vu's Blog

The Wind

A young woman stands before a high flat concrete wall on a blustery day. She directly faces it, at a distance of L meters away. The wind sweeps down past the wall at the constant velocity v and blows directly perpendicular from the wall to her face. She feels compelled to shout at the wall in some way, but she takes the stopwatch from her pocket and decides upon the experiment that she shall perform (akin to the Michelson-Morley aether wind experiment). The formula for a sound wave to echo back
Geryllax Vu

Geryllax Vu

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