Wiu-Wiu

I was finally able to get to a remote location. Not the very best of weather, plagued by cirrus, but I managed to make a 3-panel mosaic, showing the ion tail. I need to learn how to equalise my background, but DNAlinearfit didn't do the trick. Stack of the 3 separate panels in APP, mosaic made in PixInsight.

If ths were higher up the sky, nobody would look at M13 anymore Lovely view, dark lanes, resolved stars and star clouds all over the place!

2 more from last month..

I've taken up the plan to go through the Struve catalog. A bit boring, but some of them are quite challenging, and most important: I can do it from my back yard, as opposed to Deepsky... So here goes a bunch of Struve sketches, sorry for the overload, hope they inspire you for a quick visit.

Lol those are erasing marks. I use a lightbox to put the stars in place, but galaxies are drawn in place afterwards. In this case, I drew it in the wrong spot so had to redo it thank you for the thumbs up, greatly appreciated!

I used to put even more tape on my torch to further dim it down. Even used nail polish to make a white torch red. Now I have one of those clamp lights, and that really does the trick, it has 2 separate faint LED bulbs, and it's red on its own, I could try to look what the name is if you want. To further see any more details, I usualy start by drawing the stars, then the outlines of the object(s), and then just observe for 10 to 15 minutes. Only then you can really confirm details, and try out direct or averted vision. Making notes after that accordingly is easy and doesn't need much more switching between paper and eyepiece.

I haven't gotten around to further process my latest sketches, I have been busy preparing new sketch templates as these are a bit too large for sketching double stars. So I thought giving you guys a view 'under the hood' and post the raw scans of my final clean sketches. I'll still use this one for wide field sketches though. NGC 3301 in LEO. a small but bright edge on (as I was able to catch it from my 19.3 garden) with a stellar core. NGC 3190 and 3193 are a nice pair together in the 12". 3190 has a peculiar elongated core. The effect of lightpollution is evident; as there should be at least 4 galaxies in this view... I am missing NGC 3187 to the top left, and 3185 to the upper side. NEO 1998 OR2 passed us last month, When I found it at position A, and finished drawing in my field stars, it had moved over a star at position B. Magnitude was estimated twice, at A and D. Sketching an asteroid is as fun as coloring in a colorbook. Still, I like knowing that one of those specs is 'on the move' even more than the other ones

I have this on the main page of my current website... I was already interested and have lively recollection of the Giotto passage through it's tail (back then, it was live on TV, in for what was the middle of the night for me, I asked my mom to wake me up so we could watch it..) I'll be 84 next time around, hopefully I get to watch it live, through a telescope, then.

🤤 Some great optics in this thread.. I need a better job! (or 2 extra jobs, who needs sleep anyway?) On another note: I am now up for adoption, preferably by someone living under sqm 21+ skies and TAK glass in the shed.

Data from 2015 on the website. I got my own SQM-meter and I'm only getting this on a good night now. I'm usually between 18.9-19.2 nowadays. Visual observations from home are restricted to double stars and clusters. It's all photographic with a big fat filter in front of it

Imaged over 2 nights, but had to chuck away a fair part because of focus shift (c'mon ZWO, get that autofocus installed ) Still kept 106 subs of 300s, good for 8,8 hrs of data. Asi 071mc pro - Esprit 120 - CEM 60.

41x300s with Esprit 120 and asi071 on CEM60

I observed it in a 12" dob yesterday, i estimated it 11.4 - 11.9. It passed right over a star when I was observing. You could easily see the movement after 2-3 minutes.

Thank you very much, everyone! Much appreciated! I did mess up my story in decreasing and increasing FoV there. Thank you for correcting me. The RASA had crossed my mind, but having wind issues on the C11HD as it is, I'm going to leave that one on the bucketlist. Interesting point in investing in a new camera, but ZWO just doesn't seem to have that kind of pixel size cameras (I'm fond of the asiair so I want it to be compatible, and a cooled camera is a must) Food for thought! I'll stick to the Esprit for long time imaging, and for now keep the edge for the occasional shorter time exposures at long focal length (supernovae, ...) and rethink my setup for the edge when I ever get a more permanent setup (which would make the asiair less "must have") thanks!

I think this is the most integration time I ever did on a single target. Still hoping to implement autofocus soon, as my focus does shift towards the end of the night and I had to ditch a good lot of images. Captured over 4 nights, also a first. Stacked in APP, processing in PI. Esprit 120 on CEM 60, ASI071mc pro.

Thanks! in the light of this, I might need you to share some of your experiences in my question here:

I love the narrow field my C11 gives - especially for small galaxies. But having it out imaging in the open is reserved for clear nights without wind, as the long FL is hard to keep under control. The long time it takes to gather light is also something that has been on my mind. I've looked into ways to reduce integration time and the focal length, but both give me a smaller imaging field of view. The hyperstar would bring it to F/2, making it a whopping 26 times faster than at f/10. But it would also reduce the FOV to about the size I get with my Esprit 120. The reducer makes it f/7, cutting the integration time in half, and keeping a decent "small" fov. (but keeping the wind/guiding issues in play) What would be the better upgrade? Are objects still good quality when cropped out of the 'large' FOV (and more: are they better than in the Esprit?) Or is it worth spending more time to gather light and just take the reducer? Anyone care to weigh in on this? Both solutions would be at the same cost, as with the reducer I would still need an extra focuser to keep the guiding (oag) under control.

I looked it up, but it is usually displayed by its 'popular' name, the Silver Needle. Lovely image, and right into my best imaging area these days.. Unfortunately it is too windy for a c11 and the Esprit 120 might give a too small image.. Maybe I'll give it a shot anyway, we're spoiled this week!

Imaged it 2 nights ago, it is at mag 13, and that thing is FLYING. It was in LEO so due south and for me, just obtainable before midnight, before my house gets in the way. 1 sub: Animation: 60x30s C11 edge on CEM 60

it is in this picture at the middle right side, those 2 fluffy patches.

While one ATLAS comet is breaking up, this one is just a bit further away, in the little dipper. It should be around mag 15.5 - but lacking proper astrometry tools, I can't even guess. I'd say it might be brighter, since I catched it from my urban garden at full moon peeping over the roofs. 30x60s, C11.

SN2020ftl looks quite bright.. Thanks for the inspiration!

Being quite "new" to astrophotography myself - I've only been imaging since about 4 years ago - I would really suggest you take the asiair pro (as the V1 is out of production) into consideration. I really hated the fact having a laptop into the open air, because after a while, you'll be sitting inside while your rig is taking pictures. The asiair has revolutionalised my imaging. - setting up PHD through the laptop was a pain, every time. Asiair has a phd 'light' and it works. Every time. - Platesolving has been a revelation to me. I have always struggled with staralignment and goto, and trying to compare a testshot for framing when you don't know how accurate you have aligned is ehm.. frustrating - Cable management! I now run 1 (ONE!!) cable to the asiair pro, and it handles all my power needs. - Automatic meridian flip. It has its days (or well.. nights..) but mostly works just fine. - Polar alignment: only tried it once, but my cem 60 has a better polar scope and I have no need for it. - I don't have an automatic focuser nor filterwheel, but those are also compatible - and I'm thinking about it, especially when they launch autofocusing. - yes... the software is always up to date, no more manual updates or tweaking, or windows that decides to install updates in the middle of your imaging session. And all future new perks are free! I'd say you can't go wrong with the asiair, and if you're at it... buy SkySafari too. Heaven!