MarsG76

Hello Astronomers, I hope everyone is keeping safe in this weird time we have found our selves.... I guess social isolation is something that us astronomy geeks are used to, goes with the territory. I have been imaging a little bit between the full moon and cloudy nights... I have acquired some data of three objects since January that I'm only starting to process very slowly as time permits. It is easier start to to collect photons than sit down to process the data. The attached is a close up of IC2944 around the Bok Globules area, AKA The Running Chicken Nebula... imaged in SHO hubble palette. This is the latest image exposed...This nebula is a deep southern sky object, located about half way between the Southern Cross and The Carina Nebula. Since I have a permanent setup in a small hut, I found myself starting the exposures during multiple night as I arrived home from work, tired and only wanted to go to sleep. If I didn't have the gear already setup there is no way I could (or would have the will to) spend so many nights on exposing subs, but as in my current situation, it is easy to just start the exposures and go to sleep... deleting the failed subs the following morning/day, and continuing during the following clear night for as long as I wanted.... The exposure time of this was about 60 hours in total, 55 subs each of 900 second HAlpha, 1200 second OIII and 1800 second SII subs, at ISO 1600 using my cooled Canon 40D astromodded DSLR. Overkill.. maybe... but can't hurt. The tracking was on a CGEM mount, through a C8 SCT at native F10 (2032mm focal length) autoguided on PHD2 using a OAG. Clear Skies, MG

Awesome image.... Pity that we can't image from earth with enough detail to have a hint of the remnants of the mission.

Excellent result.... you definitely put a lot of effort into this masterpiece, well done.... we're aware of the challenges that plague us when we're imaging the heavens.

Excellent galaxies, love'em

Those images are superb.... I dare say this is the best amateur photo I have seen of the M82.... only better one was a hubble image.... well done.

Looking great.. very smooth....

Great looking image, plenty of detail and great colors... the only critique I have is that perhaps the black levels are clipped at bit although it could be the monitor with which I'm looking at it. I find that the darkest black level 14-18 in photoshop looks ideal.

Looks good

Looks like an awesome camera.... I wonder how much vignetting would be on the big sensor when used on a 8" SCT?

Very nice result.. been a while since I glimpsed Venus.

Awesome.. reminds me of what my 1st M42 look like...

Looks like a comet... check if it's documented.. you might have a comet named after you...

Those images are superb.. the C8 is a great scope for imaging close ups.

Beautiful... looks like liquid GOLD!!!!

Thanks for sharing your experience.. I remember my first view of the moon and planets through a scope so I know the feeling.

looks great, well done...

Very very nice.. good to see that the GRS hasn't disintegrated yet.....

Looks great.. nice and delicate veil....

Are you sure that that's not some dirt on the sensor?

Hi All, Sharing my latest image, the Colliding Galaxies, NGC2207 and IC2163, in Canis Major. I imaged this at 2032mm, f10 on my 8" SCT and still it is very small in the frame but the actual collision is visible. Used the cooled 40D DSLR and exposed 600, 300 and 150 second subs, to make this image, total exposure was 5 hours 49 minutes and 30 seconds. Clear Skies, MG

Awesome, happy birthday and enjoy the scope.

Looks like my first M45... keep at it... use flats and bias too, it'll improve your image.

To my eyes, your test is a great success....

Fantastic close up... love it

Yes but wired in parallel and ultimately connected to two wires, 0 & 12V.