Roy Foreman

24 minutes ago, Kon said:

Excellent images and processing. The IR has really helped to pull the resolution.

Thank you and yes, the IR really helps but does require longer exposure times. Glad you like my images, much appreciated. 

The forecast was for cloudy skies during the evening but during the afternoon it was nice and clear, so I went for some daytime lunar imaging.

I captured a few full disc images using a Proplanet 807 IR filter, then went for some magnified views using a Baader FFC set to x3 and a Proplanet 642 IR filter.  But by this time the clouds were rolling in, so I was unable to complete a full disc mosaic.

Telescope was a Skywatcher MN 190, and camera was ZWO 183 MM.

Seeing was not the best, and thin cloud resulted in some difficult gradients,  but here is what I managed to capture.

Very good for a first attempt, well done.

Last night a brief window of clear sky caught me off guard.  No time to set up my usual lunar imaging gear, so I just used the scope that was already mounted and ready to go - a Skywatcher MN 190 Mak-Newt.

This is an excellent scope and I had no doubt that it would produce sharp and contrasty images, which it did.  However it's relatively short focal length meant that selective enlargements from the main image were never going to show the fine details captured with longer focal length instruments, which turned out to be the case.  After grabbing a few prime focus images the clouds rolled in, so I never got the opportunity to add amplifying lenses to extend the focal length.  Oh well, next time !

Camera was a ZWO 183MM with proplanet 642 IR filter.

15% of 2000 frames - 2 pane mosaic.

Selective enlargements from the main image.

Interestingly the stacked images required no further processing, other than a bit of sharpening for web display.

Hope you enjoy, and thanks for looking.

Thank you on both counts. Yes a great scope, go for it !

I've wanted to do some wide angle imaging for years, so this 'Nifty Fifty' challenge was just the impetus I needed to get out there and do it.  I opted for Orion as my intended target as it contains lots of interesting objects, and is relatively bright.

Trouble is, I've only had two clear nights this winter and on neither occasion was Orion high enough out of the murk to produce a decent image.

With the closing date looming I just had to bite the bullet and shoot between the clouds, so the image below was the best I could manage.  Oh well.

Shooting data as follows :-

Date - 9th February 2024

Camera - Nikon D810a Full Frame Astro DSLR at ISO 3200

Lens - AFS Nikkor 50mm F/1.8 at F/2.8

Mount - Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTI - unguided.

5 x 30s with ES Dark Sky filter

4 x 30s with no filter

Stacked in DSS and processed in Photoshop

Star spikes added to the main constellation stars using Star Spikes Pro.

Orion is not centred to avoid tree branches intruding into the image.

Very atmospheric.  Earthshine is quite evocative to the eye, but can be difficult to image well.  Nicely captured.

Excellent for a first attempt.

Lovely 

Very good, especially for unguided

Great image, especially the balance of Ha and RGB.

Nice tight stars and good colour. Better than my efforts so far !

That's an amazing difference, so much dust. From a purely pictorial point of view I prefer the original as it seems more colourful, whereas the reworked version is more monochromatic but technically more accurate. You are quite right when you say the dust has blocked out all the dark sky !

Unlike most DSO imagers I'm not a great fan of false colour NB images, which just goes to show how tastes vary. However, there are some NB images that I find appealing and yours is one of them. I like it just the way it is.

This version definitely goes a bit deeper than the first. I'd be happy with that result. No clear skies forecast for a while so you might have to settle for what you have so far.

I use an LED photo light panel that I got from WEX, but I expect many other photo retailers will sell the same, or similar, thing. The A4 version is, if I remember correctly, around £30-40 and has three brightness levels. It is USB powered and far cheaper than dedicated flat panels, and on its dimmest setting does the job well with no T-shirs, paper or other such stuff needed. It can be used for scopes up to 7" aperture. I also have the A3 version for larger scopes. They are light weight and around 5mm thick. I think there is an A5 version as well.

I like this. Nice colour and structure.

I have found out the hard way that small stuff is very demanding ti image. You've done a great job on the Eskimo, well done.

Yes the close up version looks great. One to put on my to do list. Nice work.

7 hours ago, Barry Fitz-Gerald said:

I really wish you hadn't said that, I can see that I am going to have a lot of trouble resisting one now.

When I got mine I told my better half that it looked so amazing that I was getting it just to keep indoors to look at. When time came for first light she expressed surprise. I had to explain that you don't spend that kind of money on a scope and not use it. Fortunately its performance is as good as its looks, so you're just gonna have to get one !

Excellent.  Great colour, not overcooked and good detail. Nice work.

4 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Nice set of images. Lovely scope!

Thank you and yes the CC is a great scope - virtually covers a full frame sensor with just a 2 mirror system, no correction lenses needed. Looks amazing too.

52 minutes ago, Barry Fitz-Gerald said:

Yes, remarkable images!   The CC has intrigued me - looks like a perfect lunar telescope, how do you find it? Is collimation a nightmare?

Yes the CC is an excellent lunar and planetary scope. Great for deep sky too with its wide flat field.

I didn't find collimation any more difficult that a Newt ot SCT.

It's only downside is that it is big and heavy.

30 minutes ago, Glasspusher said:

Excellent images, well done!

Thank you, much appreciated. 

33 minutes ago, Kon said:

Nice set of images. I like your full mosaic in particular, it is an excellent picture.

Thank you and glad you like them. With 10 panels the mosaic was a pain to put together, but luckily the CC has a nice even, flat field which helped.