Hawksmoor

Have enjoyed fish and chips on that pier many times. I like the soft stars which indirectly have upped the colour rather nicely. The contrast with the sharp illuminated pier gives the whole image a rather other worldly atmosphere which I really find intriguing. Nice one!

George

Welcome to SGL from George next the sea in Lowestoft.

Been playing about with five three minute lights at ISO800 captured in my backyard using my Canon 600d and a Canon 90-300 zoom lens at f=90mm - all mounted on a Star Adventurer.  I captured the lights at the beginning of this month. Have been trying out AffinityPhoto  which Mrs H gave me as a birthday present. This image which I have named 'Belt Up' is the result.

Really beautiful!

Orion over the Carlton Marshes Visitor Centre, Lowestoft ,Suffolk.

The Constellation Orion striding over the southern horizon on the 3rd of January 2022. Image captured  using an unmodified  Canon 600d camera with an Sigma EX 10-20 zoom lens  all on a Star Adventurer equatorial mount. 

18x3minute light and dark frames at nominal f=17mm (APC sensor) and ISO800 were stacked using Sequator freeware and developed using Affinity Photo. . The foreground image was taken during daylight using the same camera and optical set up . "I'm getting too old for ladders and midnight visits to the marshes .  The two images were finally merged to create the composite photograph.  I posted this wrongly first time around. Sorry Mods, I'm definitely getting doddery!

George next the Sea

The Constellation Orion striding over the southern horizon on the 3rd of January 2022. Image captured  using an unmodified  Canon 600d camera with an Sigma EX 10-20 zoom lens  all on a Star Adventurer equatorial mount. 
18x3minute light frames at nominal f=17mm and ISO800 were stacked using Sequator freeware and developed using Affinity Photo. . The foreground image was taken during daylight using the same camera and optical set up . "I'm getting too old for night visits to the marshes - see 'The Hound of Grimpen Mire'" 😅. The two images were finally merged to create the composite photograph. 

George next the Sea

 

Heads up!

Noticed this was a free download for Kindle if you have Amazon Prime. Have just started reading this in bed on stormy nights and it appears to be quite an informative read.

George in Lowestoft next the sea.

4 hours ago, orion25 said:

I've been following Ceres through the Hyades since early November and decided to try for an image.  Its position changes significantly from night to night making it easy to spot the "moving object" among the stars. These are shots I took through my 127mm Mak on the evenings of November 13 and 14.  I can't wait until Ceres' opposition on the 26th!

Cheers! 

Reggie🚀

Nice captures Reggie. I haven't observed or imaged any asteroids for quite a while. You really appreciate the dynamics and scale of the Solar System when you see these mini worlds move so quickly relative to the stars. Nice work!

George

After we 'put the clocks back' I look forward to my first views of Orion before 'ridiculous o clock', as he rises majestically above our hedge that borders our backyard to the south. Mrs H always says " Orion is peeking over the hedge". This image was captured at 2:00am on the 3rd of November 2021.

My first attempt at a widefield version. Canon 600d camera on a Star Adventurer mount. Sigma wide lens at f=14mm. and F5. Stack of 7x 240sec RAW lights (plus darks and Bias) at ISO800.  Stacked using DeepSkyStakker, colours and levels adjusted and image cropped using APS . Noise and light pollution reduced using Topaz AI and GradientXterminator.  

I am currently trying out the GradientXterminator plug-in and am dropping big hints to Mrs H that my birthday is in November and that this would make a great gift for an old astro-imager!

On 21/10/2021 at 08:34, Pixies said:

The Squid Game?

or something to do with diffraction slits?

I'm very fond of barbecued 'squid' but have yet to succumb to the Netflix series. Not too fond of dystopian futures - seem to have been 'living the dream' of late. Probably a lot nicer in Edinburgh! You are however quite correct with the second guess. - I am trying to build an adjustable diffraction slit for my latest DIY spectrograph.

On 21/10/2021 at 08:30, Laurieast said:

A Foucault tester! ? 

After I had looked up what a Foucault Tester is and does, I can see why you suggested this DIY item.  I have never had the patience to grind an astro-mirror and have spent my cash mainly on refractors and assorted lenses.  So, good try but no coconut!

Our postman delivered three quite small packets containing; two 8mm springs, a 300mm length of 12mm square aluminium solid bar and a packet of replacement pencil sharpener blades. Have you guessed what project they're for yet?  Todays more utilitarian project however., was cleaning out the back inlet gulley that collects waste from our kitchen  sink  and the bathroom toilet soil and vent pipe - so my astro-project is even more exciting than that!😉

George in a stormy and locally whiffy Lowestoft.

A beautiful image Paul. Great composition and light worthy of a painting from the school of the 'Sublime'.

George

20 hours ago, Rustang said:

Looks great, I'm surprised you managed 20 sec subs without tracking, that's pretty good going. I struggled with 3 a few weeks ago when having a stab!

Hi Rustang

Thanks for your comment.Probably got away with 20 sec exposures as focal length was short (nom f=10mm as camera has apc sensor actual f=16mm). I was originally going for 30 sec but trailing was unacceptable even at 25sec. A bit trial and error. Looking forward to trying out this lens on my star adventurer eq mount, should be able to get 4minute exposures and hopefully plenty of glowing gas clouds in a wide-field context.

George

42 minutes ago, Pete Presland said:

lovely looking view, i was so happy to see this from the dark skies of Weybourne recently.

Hi Pete.Glad you had some clear skies in Weybourne. North Norfolk coast is great for star gazing. Weyborne crag also excellent for fossils- another of my ‘focussed’ hobbies!😜

Beautiful image with or without a longer lens!

Really enjoying the few clear summer nights on the east coast and using my recently acquired 'used' 10-20mm Sigma lens. Have yet to try long exposures utilising this lens in combination with my Star Adventurer EQ mount. So short 20 sec exposures stacked and processed. Have also purchased Prof Ian Morison's book 'The Art of Astrophotography' and used his suggested processing techniques to bring out the nebulosity and place emphasis on stars forming constellations and asterisms. This image was taken from just above the beach looking south towards Southwold. The image is uncropped - 20x20 sec lights  at ISO3200 F4.5 and nom f=10mm.  Fixed tripod mounted Canon 600d DSLR. 

After 11:30pm Suffolk County Council turn out the majority of street lights in Oulton Broad where we live and on a cloud free night, the  contrast between the bright Milky Way and the dusty Great Rift can be seen with the naked eye stretching over our backyard. It is one of my favorite night sky features.

From Cassiopeia to Cygnus. Sigma10-20 zoom lens. 10 stacked 30 sec lights at f=10mm (actual f=16mm as APC sensor), ISO1600. Canon 600d on a fixed tripod. Cropped image. Processing based on Prof Ian Morison's excellent book 'The Art of Astrophotography'. Probably over did the softening and technicolor! (DeepSkyStacker, Fitswork4, APS and Topaz Denoise AI).

My first Perseid shower imaging session with a new - recycled Sigma lens at F4.5 and f=10mm.  A cropped compilation of about 30 x20 second light frames at ISO3200 with a Canon 600d DSLR on a fixed tripod. The images were taken from the cliffs at Pakefield-Lowestoft ,looking  out over the North Sea.  Sadly, the CEFAS offices and Labs have been refurbished recently with more LED lights than you can shake a stick at!  Sadder still, they appear to have decided to leave everyone of them switched on all night.  I shall be writing to their new Chief Exec! On a more positive note Mrs H and I saw about 40 meteors, including one green fireball (extreme left on the image) all in  a period of 2 hours,  a pretty good display in recent years!

Exceptional year with interesting, thoughtful and technically accomplished images.

Welcome to SGL from George in Lowestoft.

Very nice ! Asteroids not often imaged and always fascinating to watch. Thanks for posting.

Hi Wibblefish. Welcome to SGL from Lowestoft.

Best regards from George next the sea.

Brilliant image. Particularly liked the detail at the North polar cap.

Thanks for posting George

23 hours ago, orion25 said:

I saw two fireballs already, both in the southern sky heading west at about the same time on two different nights 😮

 

 

Excellent! I wish I could say the same but weather has been poor and unpredictable here on the east coast over the last two nights.  My 'mini rig' is all ready to go but it is currently raining and predicted to do so until 1:00am with high level cloud forecast through to dawn. I may stay up on the off chance of an unexpected clear spell.  - Do I feel lucky ?

Hope you get a good view tonight where you are!

Best regards George