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Nigeyboy

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Posts 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.M16.JPG.d31f507baaa9339da89f95619579560e.JPG

     

     

    M20.JPG.b544824b6a9cb037804023480eaae024.JPG

     

    Thanks for looking!!

    Nige

    • Like 1
  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:

    M10.JPG.f2d1dcf405317c022014d1ceb07478db.JPG

    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

    • Like 7
  3. 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!

    IMAG0636.thumb.jpg.d210b430e6a55fa225033e48eaa352ac.jpg

    • Like 5
  4. 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:

    370974611_MESSIER57(002).png.0b8ec3057543109613e36a31de13faca.png

     

    Cheers

    Nige

    • Like 2
  5. 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! 

    • Like 1
  6. 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

    MESSIER51.jpg.bfe16bd8d009839c08b46cb807d84721.jpg

    And M101 . . . . . . 

     

    MESSIER101.jpg.3b46fe3f0edb94e5ff5814a170970bc9.jpg

     

    Thanks!

    Nige

    • Like 7
  7. 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

    M13.JPG.6d368feed78406321cfd4a65a76440bd.JPG

    This is a single 2 minute exposure. No real editing done other than contrast tweaks.

    M104

    2093329492_M104(2).JPG.2cc6ff572fb3e2178284e0ebf93522f5.JPG

    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

    • Like 6
  8. 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.

    glossop.JPG.d8aca4b1def8857338b2cc67c6cf61b2.JPG

    Hope the skies are clear for you!

    Nige

  9. 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!! 

  10. 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!!

  11. 12 minutes ago, markse68 said:

    I was too busy looking at the moon and waiting for the ISS transit that missed

    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!!

  12. 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 

    • Like 11
  13. 4 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

    But the corrector lens makes for a poor photo, I've got one and FD lens

    Fair comment! Only thought it a budget option for the OP above. Proper wide angles (ie wider than 18mm where most kit lenses start) for Canon APS-C cameras are either expensive. I did use a friends Canon EF-S 10-22mm once - great lens, but again, more expensive than the little 10-18mm.

  14. Quote

    That is f/4.0 at its widest and I was wondering if a lower f number would be better

    That's an issue with Zoom lenses - they are generally slower! I think its a trade off between speed and cost.  Even some of the Samyang prime lenses are over £400. If you look at whats available for Canon fit at the extreme wide end, options are limited if you don;t want to spend a barrow load of cash!!  

    Have you considered looking at some of the older FD mount lenses? These can be attached to your Canon by way of an adaptor, and you can pick up some real bargains on Ebay!!

     

  15. Hi

    A 24mm on a crop sensor is actually nearer to 38mm so not ‘wide’ angle really.

    While primes are generally better from an image quality perspective, true wide angle primes are expensive.

    Take a look at the Canon EF-S 10-18mm. It is cheap but hits above its weight when it comes to image quality.

    As for Macro, I would think you will always want as much focal length as you can afford!

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