tibbs1972

I Started out well tonight, the third night in a row, a great weekend for observing, and then The Moon started to rise. Gradually, most of the stars faded out. I managed to stack 16 x 60sec exposures at ISO 400, F4.5. I was going to try for 100, better luck next time. At least there's a better chance of observing, now the nights are longer.

Just heading out again, can't believe we are getting 2 nights in a row.

I popped my head out the back door tonight to see if it was clear. To my surprise, it was clear and the moon was rising over the village. I had an amazing view of The Moon chasing Jupiter. I thought to take a quick shot. It's a shame the moon has so much glare, the shot below doesn't justify the true view.

Thanks for the kind comments. I've managed to get the timer working on my camera with 30sec intervals now, which makes tihngs a little bit easier. I can now let the camera takes the shots, while I worry about keeping the object centered and focused. Neil

It's a clear night tonight over Rutland. I've had another crack at Andromeda. Now I know roughly where to aim the scope, its much easier. I managed about 15 x 25sec shots with my 130mm scope. I managed to stack the image below. It's my best image of a deep sky object so far. Amazing to think its 2.5 million light years away and still visible. It certainly puts a different light on my life, when I imagine the scope of such things. It's a shame I won't be around when it gets close to the Milky Way. It certainly would be a sight worth seeing. I also managed to get a snap shot of the star Capella in Auriga a bit later on. Neil

Thanks Isabelle, Hopefully, I'll get some better images now the nights are longer. Neil.

Yep, I was pretty please to finally spot Mars, I uploaded the photo to my latest blog entry. Neil

Pat, Thanks for the offer, I got hold of a philips camera a few weeks back from Telescopehouse. I had a go, but found the settings difficult to adjust and didn't really achieve anything I'll have another crack at it when I have some time and patience to work out the camera settings etc. Thanks again. Neil

Thanks for your comments. I've got a barlow that came with the scope, but it ruins the image. I'm not going to buy any more parts, as I would prefer to save cash and go for a goto dobsonian next year. I'll make do with the kit I've got and try to get more exposures and try to imrove my stacking skills. Neil

I've been out this morning observing Orion and mars. I'm really pleased I made the effort as It's the first time I've seen Mars. It was also an added bonus to have Mars, Orion and Jupiter visible together in one session. The background shots were taken with my DSLR using the 18-55mm lens. The closeups were taken with the camera connected to my telescope. I found the nebula much more difficult to focus than the planets, as it's not visible with the live view function, so a lot of guess work is required with the focus.

I just noticed on stellarium that if I'm lucky, about 5am, I might see Mars rise in the east before dawn. That would be a special occasion for me, as I never observed Mars before.

Hi Pat, Just watched your video, amazing footage. I watch Jupiter pass most nights and when I spot it through my scope, I'm always jealous of you pro's with your larger scopes. I can just make out the rings and moons with my 130mm scope. One day I'll get myself a 12" scope. Until then, keep up the good work and thanks for sharing the video. Neil

I thought I would get a few exposures tonight, and take advantage of the high pressure system over the UK. I might have a crack at Orion in the morning, as it's been rising over the front of the house about 4am chasing Jupiter.

Thanks for the comments everybody and the useful tip about focusing. I've never heard of a Bahtinov mask, I'll do some reading. Neil

I caught the seven sisters last night as well, always a welcome sight. I haven't got a wide angle lens to capture the whole cluster though. More expense ! Great to see Jupiter out the past few nights, although I'm starting to Yawn at work in the afternoons.

Something I've been trying to do for a while now. Thanks to two really clear nights this weekend, I finally managed to find Andromeda in the scope. Just a smudge, but it still feels like an achievement, as its the first Galaxy I've spotted through my scope. I realise I also need to be quick off the mark adjusting the focus for my camera, once i've spotted something with my 20mm lens. I've now marked the focuser with felt pen, which speeds up camera focusing immensly. Neil

I think I saw Callisto, but it was slightly out of focus compared to the other moons. I think it may be the distance. I could be wrong. It was more to the right. Hope you had a clear night.

Great video, nicely done, good work there. I spotted the moons myself this morning, as it was a really crisp clear night. It's the first time I've spotted those 3 moons since I bought the Telescope back in January. Another notch to add to the Astronomy belt. I also added a light pollution filter to my lens and just managed to make out the cloud bands. Pretty chuffed to finally observe them myself. Neil

Hi, Thanks for the advice again and the rest of your comments. I put 3 darks in and 3 flats. Still learning. Next time, I will bump up the ISO and try to remove the orange. Neil

Had a crack at Cygnus last night, took over an hour of 25sec images. I think I might have had the ISO too low at 400, as a lot of the shots were ignored by Deep Sky Stacker.

Thanks again, I'm not suire I can stand outside and take 100 shots, I might drop off. Anyway, good luck with your next attempt. Neil

Thanks for the support.

I took about 20 shots of Andromeda last night and used deep sky stacker again. This is the best shot I've had so far with Andromeda in it. I havn't had much luck with Andromeda and my Telescope so far, but I'm sure I'll get there in the end.

I took some more shots of Arcturus last night. So far, last night was the clearest I've ever seen the night sky, not a cloud in sight. Setting up is getting a bit easier, the worst problem is getting the speed correct on the single axis drive, once I'm polar aligned. In April, I took a shot, but wasn't sure about stacking, so there was a lot of light pollution. I stacked and cleaned up last nights shot using deep sky stacker and some darks and flats I took at the same time. I'm pretty pleased with the result.

Well done, nice to see some recognition for all the long hours spent observing. Neil ( Tibbs )