petevasey

Despite the generally poor weather this Spring, another clear night was forecast for 9th April, so I tackled the unusual and seldom imaged mag 9.9 lenticular galaxy NGC 4753 in Virgo. This recently was featured as a Gemini South telescope image, described as a 'Train Wreck' galaxy! With my modest equipment and less than pristine skies, I did not expect too much, but managed to bring up the unusual dust lanes, so reasonably pleased with the image. QSI 683 on RC10 with SX AO unit. Luminance 15 x 10 minutes, RGB each 5 x 10 minutes all binned 2x2. Cheers, Peter

A decently clear night last night (7th April), and although windy the shelter of my Obsy dome and the high speed Starlite Xpress guider took care of that. So I was able to capture another 16 luminance subs, so a total of 33 x 10 minutes binned 2x2. I also got a bit more colour data, but have stayed with the original which for some reason came out better with minor tweaks. So at last I can just show the tail without too much noise. Full size result below. That's that for the tail in my muzzy UK sky. Not the best of the Trio, but they would be better with my longer focal length SharpStar 140. Or even a mosaic with the 2 metre RC10 to really grab the galaxy details. Maybe next year 😉 Cheers, Peter

Hi, Olly, Unfortunately I can't use NoiseXterminator, or for that matter StarXterminator. I've downloaded trial versions of both, but the plugins are not 'seen' by my Photoshop version (CS3) . It's not shown as supported, but it was worth a try. Unfortunately I'd need CS4 at the least, and of course although that is shown for sale on some sites, I don't know if it's worth it - probably not. I certainly don't intend to take out a yearly subscription for the current version. I can't even install Affinity Photo - my Windows 7 is also too old! But I do have an earlier version of GradientXterminator which indeed I did use on this image and it worked well as you noticed. I also have a program called Neat Image, available both as a stand alone and PS plugin which works quite well to reduce noise in a controlled manner, although it's not in any way AI. Fortunately Starnet++ 2 does run on my machine and I've used it successfully on a number of occasions, so don't miss StarXterminator. In general the tools I do have work well. It's just in extreme situations like this that the very latest clever software might be of assistance. Cheers, Peter PS. Added later. I've found that StarXterminator and NoiseXterminator won't work in Windows7 anyway. So to use them I'd need to upgrade Windows and buy PS CS4. I don't think so! Although W7 is no longer supported by Microsoft I find it very reliable, and it runs all my equipment without problems. As does my Observatory XP computer! If it ain't broke, don't fix it 😉

Thanks for your interest, Olly. I've had a good play with the image. Certainly I can improve it to look less noisy overall, but in doing so the tail tends to disappear into the background - it's simply not contrasty enough. I just hope for better conditions this month. Last chance for this target under dark skies at my latitude. Cheers, Peter

The Leo Trio is of course well known and a favourite target. But the tail of stars spreading East from NGC3628 is on a different level altogether. I've always wanted to capture it - there are some beautiful images around. But I suspect the vast majority were taken under very dark clean skies. As we know the UK weather this Spring has been dreadful - wet and cloudy almost all the time. But a clear sky was forecast for 30th March even here in North East England. The Moon became obtrusive by 3 am on 31st, but I managed to collect 17 Luminance and 6 each RGB subs, all 10 minutes, binned 2x2 with my QSI683 camera on my TMB 105 refractor (650 mm fl) . Here are the results. The reasonably processed 'Galaxies' image isn't too bad, also showing quite a few tiny background galaxies. But the highly stretched version although it does show the 'tail' also shows just how poor the conditions were with turbulence and huge amounts of background noise from general thin haze and sky glow. I don't think I've had a single night this season with steady transparent Arctic air. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth continuing imaging the way the weather is going, particularly when I look at an image I took of NGC3628 in 2010. Maybe more data will help to reduce the noise, but the forecast for the next week or so is also rubbish, and before we know it the twilight nights will be here. Ah me, what a world! Cheers, Peter

Many thanks Cheers, Peter

Actually nothing to do with tonight although I can see a few stars and a bright Moon in between the clouds. But perhaps you can give me a heads up. My Solarview50 is with Solarscope in Ballasalla at the moment. So if you've had lots of clear nights, did have you had some good clear sunny days as well? If so I'll not feel guilty giving Helmut a nudge to see how he's getting on with the resetting 👹 Cheers, Peter

I've never been particularly strong, and once I retired the upper body strength I acquired from years of handling stuff as part of my business has mainly deserted me! So as the years progress I find my telescope increasingly difficult to lift off and particularly lift on to my observatory mount which is quite high on its pier. Some of you may recall in other threads I was considering selling the quite heavy RC10 and getting something easier to handle. It's not just the weight, there is plenty to get hold of and the truss tubes at the front are ok, but although the rear plate has lots of slots in it they are quite small and of course have uncomfortable square edges. But I had a thought, and after some browsing bought a grab handle which I fitted to the back plate. And it has made a considerable difference. Much more comfortable and the shape I chose allows for my grip to move as required when positioning the telescope's dovetail in the mount clamp. I shopped around, and eventually bought this one. Not cheap I know, but of very good quality. BUT if anyone wants to follow my lead, you need to be able carefully to drill and tap the backplate to accept suitable screws. I used 6 mm socket cap. The position I chose works well for me - I am right handed, but of course the position is a matter of personal preference. Cheers, Peter

Thank you. Not exactly free. They do pay for using them, generally £10 every time - the image of M48 also in that issue was paid for each time it has been used - this is the third time! As was my Sharpless 284 image first time used, again in the March issue - I could hardly believe I had 3 images in the same issue. Picture of the Month is the one that really gets the prize - £50! Cheers, Peter.

For those who are too far north for J0529-4321 the twin or double quasar QSO 0957+561 A/B in Ursa Major is nicely positioned at the moment. Just NE of galaxy NGC 3079, there's a photo on my web site that I completed in January 2021. I submitted it to Astronomy Now, but I don't think it was used at the time. Coincidentally it's in the current March issue Night Sky section! Cheers, Peter

Most will have seen the artists impression of this on line - the brightest quasar discovered so far. But very few mentions of the RA and DEC coordinates. They are of course intrinsic to the name, RA 5 Hours 29 minutes, DEC 43 minutes 51 seconds South . I've plotted it on Skymap Pro using a background image, and I reckon more accurate coordinates are (J 2000) RA 5 29 15.8 and DEC -43 51 54. In Pictor and too far South alas for UK observers. Olly Penrice is also out of luck - maximum altitude for him is just over 2 degrees. Someone at COAA might stand a chance, just over 9 degrees altitude. Go to the Canary Islands and things are looking better at over 17 degrees altitude. The image below is from one of the zoom in shots on line, the stars are real, and the coordinates match. If anyone is in a suitable location, worth a try out of interest - do post your result. Cheers, Peter

Yes indeed, superb! Of course the Dawes limit for an 8" optic is 0.57 arc-secs, and the resolution of the 2600 at 400 mm fl with its 3.76 micron pixels is 1.94 arc-secs per pixel - I would think easily obtainable at your location. But I'm not sure how the one-shot colour affects that resolution. Nevertheless to obtain the detail shown in your image with such a wide field is undoubtedly exceptional. Your close up is similar to the field of view of my QSI 683 on my RC10. But at its f8 ratio it would take 16 times as long to collect the same amount of data. Ouch! And of course my camera is far too large to go on an 8" RASA - I'd need to lash out on a 2600. Nevertheless that target is now on my must do list. Getting a bit late in the year for me now - I'm tied up in early March, but might get a chance under dark skies at Kielder - a weekend on 8th March coming up. Probably my Sharpstar 140, at f 6.5 only 10 times slower than the RASA 😉 Cheers, Peter

As I mentioned in Tomato's thread his beautiful image inspired me to revisit this nice galaxy, 17 years after first imaging it. And a clear interval on 11th Feb followed by most of the later night of 12th gave me an opportunity. This magnitude 10.3 galaxy NGC 2336 in Camelopardalis is one of the nearest reasonably sized galaxies to the North Pole, lying only 10 degrees from it, so accessible all the year round for Northern observers. Quite small in the sky at 7 x 4 arc-minutes, but physically very big - approximately 200,000 light years across, twice the size of our own Milky Way galaxy. As I say, a long time since that earlier image and well overdue for an update. The tiny galaxy just above the main one is mag 17.4 PGC 213387. There was occasional cloud and slight haze which probably contributed to the halos on the brighter stars. But I was able to collect a worthwhile amount of data with this result. Luminance 22 x 10 minutes, RGB each 13 x 10 minutes. All binned 2x2, QSI 683 on RC10 with SX AO unit. Because of the relatively small size of the galaxy, I've posted the full size image. Cheers, Peter

Hi, Olly, Wow that's one heck of a project! And the image of Sharpless 257, when in the vertical configuration, puts me in mind very much of Dan Dare's arch enemy 'The Mekon', particularly with a colour adjustment. I wonder if calling it 'The Mekon Nebula' will ever catch on 🤡 Cheers, Peter

Hi, Damian, That looked like a grand day out - even better than moon cheese 😉 The viaduct looks particularly interesting, and a bit of browsing led me to this site. He's obviously a keen walker in the area, and there are several interesting walks shown. Some of them pretty l o n g, but for those who are able (my walking days are pretty well done although I'm hoping to get a new right knee this year) a good way to blow away the cobwebs after a long night in the warm room! In one of his walks (Killantringan Lighthouse Circular) he mentions Portpatrick. We visited it when at New England Bay Caravan Park in 2022 - a delightful little town and well worth a visit even if not on a long walk. Hope to see you in October. Cheers, Peter,

That's well worth the effort - lovely image. I got a very mediocre image in 2007, and it's been on my 'Must Do' list for a repeat since then. But you've inspired me! Whether there'll be an opportunity this season of course is not looking good with the current weather patterns, but at least it stays pretty high all Spring. we shall see! Cheers, Peter

Hells bells, Derek, what rotten luck. Dare I say 'join the dodgy leg club'? At least my tendon injury is healing although still quite weak - I made the right decision not to come. But with only a week to go it sounds as though you have no choice either - so sorry. Best of luck with your recovery. And also that of your friend if you get to see him. Peter

Kettering or Stoneleigh - not much difference for me, only 10 miles less to Stoneleigh and still 240! Just as well. I don't really need anything. But once trapped among all the goodies, and particularly after a lunchtime pint, need goes out the window and want kicks in! So it's just as well I'm not intending to make the 480 mile round trip 😉 But for those who are going, have a great time and don't overheat the plastic! Cheers, Peter.

A good response to the question is 'Do you have any binoculars?' Preferably around 50 mm aperture. If the answer is 'Yes' point them at an Astronomy magazine which has a binocular target section such as Sky at Night magazine. That will get them looking at the night sky. And at adverts for the huge choice of telescopes available. If no binocs, and they are not sure what to do, an alternative to an astronomical telescope might be a spotter scope of around 60 mm or more aperture. They usually have a zoom facility so no extra eyepieces needed. But will need a tripod for the best experience. Then if the astro side doesn't kick off, at least they will have an excellent instrument for birdwatching etc. Surely can't go far wrong with something like this one from Amazon. By the way. thanks for the mention of Sorel boots! I'd never heard of them, but obviously you find them very satisfactory. They have a sale on at the moment and I needed some new boots for observing - my old ones are split and leaky. So I went for the nice but not too bulky Buxton Lite Lace. Looking forward to getting them in a few days. With the current freezing weather I wish I had them now 😉 Cheers, Peter

This new all in one imaging system has just been announced by Celestron. 6" f2 optics giving a focal length of 335 mm. They state 'extraordinarily wide field of view'. Well. I'm not so sure about that! They use the Sony IMX178 sensor which is quite small at 7.3 x 4.9 mm. It's the sensor used in the Altair GPCAM3 178C camera. So the actual field of view is 1.3 x 0.8 degrees. Just enough to enclose the whole of Messier 33 or the Orion Nebula, just manages the Rosette nebula, doesn't quite get all of the Pleiades and M44 (the Beehive cluster) and fails miserably on Messier 31. So not exactly a huge field of view, a larger chip might have been preferable, but I suppose they had to set a limit somewhere. And of course very 'fast'. No autoguiding facility yet but they say it's coming . Technically it looks like an amazing piece of kit, but at US $3,999 it needs to be! Budget allowing, certainly an easy way into astro imaging. It will be interesting to see reviews. Cheers, Peter

Yep, Luxor probably will be crowded! But I've never been to Egypt and travelogues are never as good as the real thing! I 've now attended five Solar Eclipses, only one of which was unfortunately pretty cloudy. But all were part of a very interesting holiday. The weather is never certain, so I always want the trip to be interesting, even if the main event is disappointing. But I would expect Egypt in August to be uncomfortably hot and sticky. So maybe despite the allure of a 6 1/2 minute totality I'll be content with what I have! Or possibly consider Gibraltar area - cooler and still 4 1/2 minutes totality with the bonus of Venus and the Beehive. But much lower in the sky (38 degrees altitude). Hmmm. Cheers, Peter.

Hi, folks, I first posted this on 'The Lounge' as part of a query on travel insurance. But it might be of particular interest to Solar observers and imagers, so here are a couple of pictures. The first one shows the eclipse path over the Luxor area with totality times - as long as it ever gets! As you can see the Sun is almost overhead, so given a clear sky, minimal atmospheric interference. Second one, using a screen shot from Skymap Pro - imagine capturing Venus and the Beehive Cluster in the same image as totality!!! Venus will be mag -3.9, the bright star right of the Sun is mag 3.9 delta Cancri. The eclipse overlay uses at scale my image from America 2017 which as it happens appears in the January 2024 Astronomy Now. I also picked up several stars down to mag 8, shown in this image on my web site. So a very good chance of showing a recognisable Beehive with Venus on top of it! Well, of course I might not make it, but hopefully this might inspire someone on the forum to make plans. Yes, I know it's over 3 years away, but I bet there'll be a lot of interest generally and organised tours will soon fill up. I don't speak Egyptian and at my age I'll be much happier as part of an organised tour group. Luxor being a well known tourist spot for the Valley of the Kings etc., hopefully there will be tours based there.. Cheers, Peter

Hi, Derek et al, Happy New Year to all. re my Achilles tendon injury. I've sent the following to Lesley - self explanatory. Sorry I'll miss February, c'est la vie! Cheers, Peter Vasey "My tendon injury is fortunately healing quite well. But after 8 weeks of non use, when I was back to wearing shoes just before Christmas the calf muscle was just a lump of jelly! It is clear to me that it's going to be two or three months before it is anywhere near full strength again. So reluctantly I must cancel my booking for February 6th. Working my caravan and moving relatively heavy equipment could be a recipe for further injury at that time. I will look forward to 30th October when all should be well! "

If you want to have a look at some kit before making up your mind, you might like to visit me in Hexham. On my web site you can see what kit I've got, and of course in my signature below. Cheers, Peter

I'm in the UK, North East. But what dealers stock Solarscope products? - I haven't been able to find any. Having said that, I'm in close contact with Helmut anyway, and I'm sure he would sell direct to me if I asked. Nevertheless if he can finally sort my SV50 without a huge cost, I'd be happy with that. I'm sure a double stacked 60 mm unit on my 65mm TSQuad would be a fantastic instrument. But even if direct prices are as you suggest almost half of those through APM or Astroshop.eu, we're still probably looking at over £6000. Similar to a double stacked Lunt 60 and way outside my present budget. And of course Helmut might not have the filters available at the moment, I know he's been very busy and a bit short staffed this year. I do need to get a solution soon - at my age (80) I might not be around, or at least particularly active when the next Solar maximum comes round - it's now or never! Cheers, Peter