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arkosg

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  1. I know where you are!  :)

     

    -Dennis

  2. Hm, that seems odd. I often use my Trius in 2x2 binning mode for more sensitivity for those really faint nebulae, but most of this recent set of images are at 1x1 binning. And I still only needed a few ~45s images, stacked, to get the pics I shared. I know the Trius mono cameras are considered pretty sensitive, but I wouldn't think they'd be *that* much different from other, recent cameras out there.... Is the light pollution in your region particularly bad? Cheers, - Greg
  3. Thanks Louise. Our skies are OK but not great - Vancouver is not that far away, and dominates the eastern part of the sky. That said, the skies are not terrible either. But they are definitely not super dark like some locations I've visited! The nebula images I posted are, as I said, using a nebula filter - in this case an IDAS NB-1. In the past I've used a Halpha filter. Without these filters, there is simply too much skyglow and I have a difficult time getting the nebulosity to show up. But with the filters... it's actually quite amazing! The really faint ones are still tough, but that you can see anything at all in most cases is pretty incredible. So if you're keen on nebulae, I'd strongly suggest some sort of narrowband filter (I find that the more general skyglow/light pollution filters don't sufficiently darken the background to bring out the nebulosity as easily). Cheers, - Greg A
  4. Thanks guys. The exposures actually *are* included - but in tiny print on each image (Starlight Live includes this info automatically when you export an image). Exposure times vary depending on the object, but for this set of images I typically used 30 - 45 sec exposures on fainter objects, stacking 3 - 6 images (sometimes SLL would stop stacking early for some reason). The Trius is also being run at 1x1 binning - in the past, I've commonly used 2x2 - just to see what impact that has. Definitely means slightly longer exposures need, but (atmosphere willing) more detail. The 1x1 binning is also why the exposure info is in such small writing; at 2x2 it is a more readable size. 🙂 Cheers, - Greg A
  5. Hello everyone! After a pretty dreary September and part of October, I was finally able to get out with students to do some viewing. Here are some of the objects viewed over two nights using Starlight Live software on my Borg 77edii (f/4) and Borg 125SD (f/5) with a Trius 694 mono camera. In most cases an IDAS NB-1 "nebula" filter was employed to help with the suburban light pollution in our skies. The first night (mainly 125SD) was much steadier and drier, but along the coast we take what we can get when it isn't raining! ;-D It's so much fun to see these objects from less-than-optimal skies... I often intend to quit much earlier, only to find myself saying (over and over!) "... oh, look, <object> is coming up... I should just have a look at that before I pack up." And then another hour goes by! Cheers, - Greg A Eastern & Western Veil Comparison of FOV between two scopes on the NA Nebula Again, FOV comparison on the Elephant Trunk Nebula And again, with the Rosette Nebula Pacman Nebula through the 125SD: And Crab Nebula: And the Cocoon Nebula: Finally, a few wider shots of objects using the Borg77: Flame/Horsehead, California Nebula, Pelican Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy:
  6. Hi Martin, Thanks! Conditions were really pretty good (for here), and it definitely makes a difference as to what you can achieve when the seeing is better. I'm using SLL v 3.4. The SX mini FW is normally pretty well behaved, although I have had occasions in the past where it "freezes up". Sometimes, in the past, I was able to physically unplug it and replug it and have it be recognized successfully again. But this last couple of sessions it's required a restart of SLL to get the FW working again. One session I had numerous "freezes" in a fairly short time span. It's the same cabling, etc. I've used for the last year, so that hasn't changed, or how I connect the FW and the Trius 694. I tried it out "inside" and things seemed to behave pretty well, though I was eventually able to get a freeze after repeated FW control commands one after the other. It seems random to me - or at least, I haven't figured out a pattern to it at this point. Unrelated note: I've also noticed a bit of amp glow (?) in the top left corner. Again, seems to vary. Could be issues with darks - with all of the FW freezes, it's possible I started imaging again without taking/applying darks, which could be the difference in this case! The "banding" issue seems to appear only during 1x1 binned images. If you look at the M100 image (wide field), particularly in the darker corners, you may be able to discern a "tartan" pattern of horizontal and vertical banding. It seems to vary (and I haven't tried to pin down what makes it stand out). Below are other Halpha 1x1 examples taken from a different observing session; I've stretched the contrast a bit more so you can see the issue clearly. Again, it seems to only occur in 1x1 mode (or at least it's more evident then). Are the flats you mention for use with Jocular? Clear skies! - Greg
  7. Hi everyone, It's been a challenging spring here on the West Coast, and opportunities to get in some observing have been fewer and much further apart than I'd have liked, so I was happy when a nearly New Moon coincided with some clearing and diminished winds. I dusted off my 5" Borg refractor @f5 riding on an Ioptron AZ Mount Pro (alt-az) with a Starlight Xpress Trius 694 mono camera (running 1x1 and sometimes 2x2 binned mode) and filter wheel (typically shooting through a luminosity filter, though I did some Halpha viewing as well). Using StarlightLive v 3.4 on the Mac (I've noticed some "banding" in 1x1 shots, and had a few SX filter wheel control "freezes" that required a restart of SLL). Usually a stack of a half dozen or so 30s or shorter exposures (depends on how my mount is feeling and where in the sky I'm observing). No guiding. My standard observing location is a suburban sky in a small city at sea level with Vancouver BC nearby to the east and trees blocking much of the W-NW sky near the horizon. Hope you enjoy the shots! Clear skies, - Greg Arkos Antennae galaxies - with faint tidal tails! Not bad for so low in the sky... \ Leo Triplet M100 with supernova! Closeup of earlier (before) shot and above Some Halpha viewing: PacMan Nebula, Wizard Nebula (which I hadn't viewed very well before), Elephant Trunk Nebula, and finally the Eagle (M16) just rising as I was packing up.
  8. arkosg

    Lodestar X2C Gallery 4

    Images via Lodestar Live 0.10 or 0.11 on a Celestron CPC 800 HD 8" alt/az at f/3.3. Exposures of 10-30s, and stacked using Sum, Median and Mean as needed. Conditions vary - usually quite clear, but also humid, with varying Moon phase.
  9. arkosg

    Lodestar X2C 3rd outing

    Images via Lodestar Live 0.10 on a Celestron CPC 800 HD 8" alt/az with f/3.3 reducer. Exposures of 15s and stacks of 3-10, depending on object, using mainly mean stacking (occasionally sum stacking). A thin waxing crescent moon had already set. Conditions were clear but humid, and seeing was only OK (not particularly steady).
  10. arkosg

    Lodestar X2C 2nd Light

    Images via Lodestar Live 0.10 on a Celestron CPC 800 HD 8" alt/az at f/3.3. Exposures of 15-30s, and stacks of 3-8 (for dimmer objects). Not always optimal - sometimes I was busy trying to adjust colour and it kept stacking, but didn't change the image much. Mostly colour balanced in LL, with minor tweaks to colour in iPhoto. No darks (long story).
  11. arkosg

    Lodestar X2C First Light

    My first set of images with a Lodestar X2C & Celestron 8" CPC 800 HD at f/3.3. There was a third quarter moon present, and some skyglow.
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