Rodd

Maybe for the pac man and galaxies. But for most extended targets, it is quite limiting.

Thanks Peter. I do wish I had a 6200 series camera for this scope. If I did, I probably would not be so eager to switch if out

After having some sort of a poer issue, I decided to test the mount (mostly the mount) and the Pacman was suitably placed. I noticed that the mount had stopped guiding and a yellow lkight was on--yellow lights on AP mounts means a power surge or some electrical issue. I thought maybe the connector was loose and when I tried to tighten in I felt the unmistakable tingle of current. Not good. I also felt a very slight current coming from my computer. The two systems are connected to the same power supply, but the computer via a power strip and the mount via a regulated power converter. Strange. Then it dawned on me--The 12 guage extension cord I use to connect to house current is missing the ground prong. It hasn't been an issue but the extreme heat abnd humidity may have been too much. I replaced the cord and the current issue went away. However, when I plugged in the new cord to house current there was a sizable spark. Nothing was turned on--so its wierd. Perhaps a charge built up that was unabkle to be grounded. After this, everything worked until the yellow light came on again--this time it was the central pin in the connector reqauired spreading--which has to be done periodically. It worked, until the yellow light came on yet again! This time it was becuase I failed to tighten the connector. Can we please be done?! After that, red lights till dawn (red light is good). By then, M27 was gone, but I did not want to waste clear skies. I decided to test the system on the Pacman, and here is the result. Seeing was forecasted to be 4/5, but guiding fluctuations revealed it wasn't--maybe 3/5 or 2/5/5 at best. My goal with Pacman is to avhieve 3 star separation in the central cluster, which I did not achieve here. Maybe on a night of good seeing it will be possible. C11Edge with .7x reducer and ASI 1600, Bin 2, 26 300 sec Ha subs

To bad. There are a bunch like that for me. And in reality, I can’t shoot this one anymore, the southern horizon is never clear it seems

Thank you!

Too bad it doesn’t rise past about 34 degrees for me

Thanks. It’s one of my favorites too.

Thanks Doc!

Thanks, Peter!

I reprocess data on occasion (read perpetually), and I am running out. This is due to the fact that a hard drive crashed a few years ago and the data was lost (there were a lot of projects there). Also, the number of imaging hours I get per month has been drastically reduced due to poor conditions. Here is one that I was never able to process satisfactorilly. I am much closer to the point of satisfaction with this effort. One thing about reprocessing data from year to year - for me it is surprising to learn that 90% of the horror is rooted in poor processing., not in faulty optics, filters, or wahtever. Many times I have found it hard to fathom that early versions are the same data. FSQ 106 with .6x reducer and ASI 1600. About 7 hours LRGB M8 and M20 M20 crop and up-sample

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Yeah, maybe I need to collect more Ha. My last HOO has more visible in outer part, but transparency was very poor. I verified I didn’t use the wrong filter (that has happened before).

Yay--back to bicolor. Ha signal impeded by poor transparancy, but I'kll take it

Here ya go. h44.fit o36.fit s26.fit h44.tif o36.tif s26.tif

Ps can’t use FITs?

Thanks Peter. Transparency has been terrible lately. The outer extensions are very faint in this data. I should collect about 10 more hours, but I am not particularly fond of this nebula and am tired of fighting with it. I prefer broadband anyway for PNs and the Moon is starting to intrude. I was very disappointed in the HOO result.

Great idea. I will do that when I get home

Good idea. I’ll try that. I use PI. I decided to collect SII. Here is the SHO result. I am under whelmed. Time to cut my losses My heart was never in this target anyway

Thanks Mack!

Nice!! My benchmark is ngc 6050, which I think is an amazing horse shoe of interacting galaxies. I processed the Hubble data and can’t wait to go for it. It’s amazing that it can be seen. You nailed it!

Good question. I’ll have to look. Computer is at the scope currently.

Thanks Dirk. One of my favorite adages Iwith respect to astronomy: “You can do amazing things with a 4” scope”

Thanks gonzo!

Finally--some progress--but tghe ultra red rim is a deal breaker. I wonder what SII will do for me.

Here is the image with a bit more red--I masked out the blue and green regions and used pixel math to add Ha to the Ha regions. It helps, but still does not seem right