Jump to content

Narrowband

Nigeyboy

Members
  • Posts

    243
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Nigeyboy

  1. Coming to the end of my access to the OU CoAST Telescope in Tenerife. Been tied up work, so my astronomy has taken a back seat. However, I managed to get some images taken over the past few weeks. With the limited darkness at the moment, I was lucky to get them through so quickly. So here is M16 and M20. Both a single 150 second exposures using the 14" CoAST scope. A little tweaking to bring out the structure in both nebulas was all the editing I'ce done. Thanks for looking!! Nige
  2. Hi all, Been super busy with work recently, helping get 1700 pubs reopened to the eager public, so Astronomy has taken a back seat. I am however still signed up to use the Open University CoAST Telescope in Tenerife. I posted some pics in my blog a while back, but basically as part of a free online course the OU provides, you get to use this awesome scope. Its a 14" Celestron SCT on a 10Micron mount. Using a web portal you can log imaging requests, and when yours gets to the top of the queue, away it goes and takes your image. Here is a single 150 second colour shot of Messier-10, taken a few nights ago under a quarter Moon: Not bad detail for a single shot! I have used the scope to capture quite a lot of data on M101 using different colour filters, and just need to work out how to combine them into a colour image!! Cheers Nige
  3. Great report! It has inspired me to get out as soon as possible! Only had a few sessions with my binoculars so far this year, but must get out with the scope!! Thanks for the kick in the pants!!
  4. Hanimex used to make cameras. About 35 years ago, I had a 35mm compact camera for Christmas. It was a major upgrade from my little Halina 110!!
  5. I have two pairs: Miranda 10x50's that I purchased from Jessops to observe Hale-Bopp in 1996! They are battered and worn, but still work! Celestron Skymaster 20x80's. Got these a couple of years ago and I love them. I can happily hand hold them for fairly long periods. Best £100 I have spent!
  6. @happy-kat - yep, did that one about a fortnight ago!! Really enjoyed it.
  7. Another one of my images taken with the OU CoAST Telescope. This is a single colour shot of M57. Exposure time was 180 seconds. Was surprised how bright it was when the image came back. Just some contrast changes to darken the sky: Cheers Nige
  8. @Kimboman will do our best. Decision has been made to open them all in one go when the time is right. Its more cost effective than opening them a few hundred at a time!
  9. It's great when the young ones show an interest isn't it!!
  10. Hi all, So, at the start of January I was once again placed onto Furlough. Working as I do for Greene King Pub Company, it seemed inevitable! This time, for Lockdown 3.0, Greene King have really gone to town, with nearly 90% of the workforce on furlough. But this time of years is usually our quietest, so it makes sense I suppose. I work on the wider IT department (field based), and deal with pub refurbs and all that's shut down for now. I'm part of the 'start up' team, so when we get the nod from Boris that the pubs can open again, I will be pulled back to help get 2400 pubs open and trading again! So, I'm sat at home again, across the table from my 13 year old lad as he does his home schooling. However, this time I have decided to use the time I have constructively and I have been doing various online courses to keep my brain active! Greene King have an online library, and I have worked through all the relevant courses on there, so had a look online. The Open Universities 'Open Learn' website has loads of free courses, ranging in levels from total beginner to advanced. There are quite a few astronomy related ones, and so far I have completed. Some are very easy, but fun to do while others are more in depth with a lot of maths . . . . !! Moons of our Solar System An Introduction to Exoplanets Comparing Stars Active Galaxies. And I am currently working through 'Astronomy with an Online Telescope'. This one is pretty easy, but the main sell is you get to use the OU's CoAST Telescope on Mt Teide on Tenerife!! While the use is limited to 3 minute exposures, as long as I'm doing course I can put in requests for it to take pics of whatever subjects I ask for! CoAST is a 14" SCT (Celestron) on a 10Micron GM4000 mount. So, while I don't have the skills required, or the spare £70k to have my own set up like this, I am really excited to be able to use it online like this. Here is the scope: and a few of the images I have captured (all single 3 min exposures): M13 M42 M104 M51 M101 Basic shots I know, but when I got the first ones back I was so pleased!! I have some more targets pending, but weather on the mountain has been snowy and poor, so there is about a weeks delay in getting pics back. Thanks for reading! Nige
  11. Thanks @peter shah. Like I say, single shot but quite a lot of detail. I chose the black and white option, as a few days prior my colour request didn't come out at all! I'm hoping to focus on either M51 or M101 and collect some more data. Then try some stacking! I think I only have use of the scope while I'm doing the course, so trying to make the most of it!
  12. Hi all Some may have seen my previous post (M13 & M104), and I have received a couple more images back through from the OU CoAST Telescope in Tenerife. These are again just single 3 minute exposures of M51 and M101, taken last night. No real editing again apart from some level tweaks in PS! I am going to start pulling data on just M101, and attempt some stacking to pull out more detail. Obviously, all I have done here is request the target via a web portal, set the exposure and filter types etc and pressed send! The telescope did the rest! No skill like the rest of you guys, but it has really filled me with excitement to log on in the morning, and see the results come through. Plus, when will I ever get to use an AP set up like CoAST in my own garden!! So - here is M51 And M101 . . . . . . Thanks! Nige
  13. Speechless . . . . . stunning doesn't quite cover it. 👏
  14. Hi all, First off, I'm a long term viewer of these image forums. Some of the images you all submit are truly amazing! I'm no where near able to take shots like this yet - don't even have a motorised mount yet, but I'm slooooowly saving up for one!! I have been furloughed for Lockdown 3.0, and while I sit with my son while he home schools, I have been working through various online courses. One of them is on the OU, and part of the course allows use of their COAST telescope in Tenerife. Its a 14" Celestron on a 10Micron GM4000 mount. Camera is a Proline KAF-09000. I have carried out a few single exposure shots, and here are the results: M13 This is a single 2 minute exposure. No real editing done other than contrast tweaks. M104 Again, a single 2 minute shot with some tweaks to contrast. I'm really happy with them - given that they are single exposures, a lot of details is visible. Hopefully I can get some more data on M104 to allow some basic stacking. It certainly has lite the touch paper . . . . . just need that mount lol! Thank all Nige
  15. D'oh! Just seen the date you intended to travel! Sorry this info was two days late!!
  16. If you take the A57 Snake Pass out of Glossop, it leads you in the heart of the Peak District. I observe from the Northern end of park, outside of Ashbourne (a place called Ilam). If you follow the A57 for around 11 miles, you will reach the upper end of Ladybower Reservoir, and there are plenty of places to park up around there. Hope the skies are clear for you! Nige
  17. I saw this! Like you, I was a kid of 10 at the time, and was gutted I couldn't see it from the UK! Some of the imaging of 1986A that has been coming out over the past 34 years (crikey - 34 years . . . !) has been amazing. I saw some animation put together from images taken over the years, showing the evolution of the immediate area, and you could see the shockwave expanding and heating the surrounding gas up into luminous pearls around it! Awesome!!
  18. Fantastic shot! As mentioned above, its like a viewing port on a Starship!! As mad as it may seem, I have only flown on a passenger plane twice in my life (I'm 43!). Three years ago we went to Crete, and the flight home was at night. I recall seeing stars like that, and flying over a thunderstom - it was amazing!!
  19. Thanks. I have a Skywatcher 150-PL on the standard EQ3-2.
  20. I saw that totally by chance! Saw it coming over, and thought to myself 'thats going to pass in front of the moon!', but from where I was in Derby, it passed perhaps a moons diameter below! Shame!!
  21. Hi all, So last night was clear for the first time in what seems like ages! I set up my 150-PL outside while it was still light. Not to cool as it was very warm last night! Think it was warmer outside the house than it was inside! The Moon was well up, but quite low over the roof of a house across the street. I spent perhaps 10-15 minutes looking, but the seeing was rough, and due to the phase, it was pretty dang bright! I did spend some time at high-ish power on my favourite Lunar formation - the Sinus Iridium and surrounding area! It was in full, if low illumination last night, and despite the shimmering it was a beautiful site as ever. I then turned my scope on Jupiter - my main target for last night. From my garden, Jupiter is fairly low, but the general direction is clear of house roofs etc. While the seeing wasn't the best, there were periods where it settled down, and the image became as steady as you like. I started off at low mag of 48x with just my 25mm. I spent quite some time letting my eye tease out detail in the cloud bands. I'm pretty sure I counted 4 cloud bands. I then popped in the 2x barlow with the 25mm. I rarely use the supplied 10mm eyepiece. The image quality is pretty rubbish to be honest. (I'm saving up for some BST ones at the moment) The four Galilean moons where widely placed - Ganymede and Io on the right, and Europa and Callisto on the left. I could make out a definite colour difference between the yellowish Io, and the Blueish Europa. The planet at 96x though was magnificent!! I spent a good 45 minutes on it, and the longer I stayed at the eyepiece, the more detail seemed to become available to me. At first, the cloud bands started to become more apparent. Then detail started to pop in and out of view. I could see a greyish blob just in from the limb of the planet, and realised it was the Great Red Spot! I was over the moon! I have never seen it before, and the longer I stayed looking, the more it became apparent. I checked Stellarium, and lo and behold, the spot was there, just where I was seeing it! I took a punt, and inserted the 10mm to give me 120x, and while the image of the planet was bigger, the detail was lost, so I quickly went back to the 25mm and Barlow. I spent a good 45 minutes on Jupiter, and the time was very well spent. Despite the wobbly atmosphere, during those steady times it was amazing. I'm wondering if a filter would help bring out more subtle detail? Any advise on that? After Jupiter, I swung the scope over a few degrees to Saturn. Obviously a smaller target, but surprisingly bright in my scope. I stated at 48x, but quickly added the barlow again. The rings . . . . totally absorbing. As with Jupiter I spent a long time just observing, and during the steady periods the planet and rings became very sharp indeed. I could clearly see the Cassini Division, and - i may have been imaging it - some faint cloud detail on the planet. The gaps between ring and planet were sharp and defined. I only saw one of its moons, Titan. I checked Sky Safari, and while there are a glut of other moons, conditions meant I couldn't see them. I contemplated staying out to catch Neptune, Uranus and Mars, but it was past midnight and I had to be up at 5:30am! Maybe this weekend if the skies remain clear! So - the main thing I learned last night was patience. You need to spend time teasing out the details on these magnificent planets. Do that, and you will be rewarded! I saw the GRS for the first time last night!! So, it was actually the Great Grey Spot, but that didn't matter in the slightest! Clear Skies Everyone! Nige
  22. Ah, North Norfolk - AKA The Shire!! My old stomping grounds (from Hoveton)! Welcome to SGL - may you have plenty of clear skies!!
  23. Hi Chris! A warm welcome from the East Midlands!! You have come to the right place!! Get that scope out, and back where it belongs - under the stars!!
  24. Think that Dave may be on a budget Richard! That lens is over £800 new isn't it?
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.