mcrowle

I’ve recently returned from my first foreign trip since the pandemic, to Canazei in the Italian Dolomites. As usual I planned to include some landscape-astrophotography, so took along fairly fast 24mm, 35mm and 50mm lenses as well as a standard zoom for daylight photography. I’d scouted a location using Googlemaps before the trip, but found that the mountains hid much of the Milky Way core and that I was having to look across the resort lights when imaging it. Still, I was happy with some of the results. The following is my favourite so far (I may add others to the thread as I process them). 5 x 8-sec exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 3200, taken with an EOS 5D MkIII (acquired used during the pandemic) and a 1980s Leica Summicron 50mm f/2 lens. The frames were stacked in Sequator, then Paint Shop Pro used to adjust contrast via curves in post-processing. Thanks for reading, and clear skies!

Comet P1 Nishimura is not visible from my back garden observing location, so I set out to image and view it from a local footpath that has a clear and dark view towards the ENE. The conditions were somewhat difficult due to the comet’s low elevation, bright moonlight and some patchy thin cloud. The following is the result of 13 x 15-sec exposures at f/4 and ISO 3200 with an EOS 600D and rather ancient Zeiss Jena 135mm f/3.5 lens, on a Vixen Polarie star tracker; frames stacked on the comet in DeepSkyStacker, with curves adjustment, further noise reduction and considerable cropping in post-processing. Not exactly a stunning result, but it does show the tail! Regards, Mike.

Another view of P1 Nishimura this morning, this time via 7 x 50 binoculars, from the same location as last Monday morning, not far from home. Again I used a screenshot from Heavens-above .com for reference. The comet was definitely brighter, though of course it’s now fighting light from the waning gibbous moon, as well as its increasingly low elevation! There was also some thin cloud in that area of the sky. A series of short exposures with a DSLR and 135mm lens on a star tracker revealed a faint tail, though this was not visible via the binocs. Regards, Mike

Finally got to see P1 Nishimura this morning, after several attempts that failed due to poor planning and/or cloud. I got up at 4am once again and headed straight out to a local footpath with a low horizon in the relevant direction (ENE), as the comet’s location is not accessible from my back garden. This time I’d prepared by creating a screenshot of its location as shown in Heavens-above.com. I had 7 x 50 binocs with me, plus a SkyWatcher 80mm ED refractor, but In the event I forgot to try the binocs and went straight for the 80mm. I found the comet quite easily, with reference to the screenshot, though it was not particularly prominent - no doubt due to its low elevation and the encroaching dawn. P1 appeared rounded, quite condensed, and with no hint of a tail. Regards, and clear skies, Mike.

I got up at 4am to try and view the comet this morning, but it quickly became obvious that it wouldn't clear the valley side (as well as local obstructions) from my backyard observing position before light. It then suddenly clouded up at 04:45, and I went back to bed! My plan now, if I have another clear morning soon, is to head out with binoculars (and perhaps the Sky Watcher ED 80mm) along a local footpath which has a less obstructed ENE horizon. Good luck, all! Mike.

I’m in mid-Cornwall, and have just checked my sessions (mainly imaging) over this Summer. Late Spring / early Summer was best, as I suspect was the case over much of the UK, but still I managed 4 sessions in July. That followed 6 in June and no less than 10 in May! Hope that helps. Good luck, and clear skies! Mike.

I located and captured 12P Pons-Brook last night, my 112th comet . It was quite easy to see in the 12" Newtonian, though its high elevation in Draco made it difficult to navigate to. It appeared round and quite condensed, whereas to the camera it looks like the Millennium Falcon . The following image is from 9 x 4-minute exposures, stacked on the comet and cropped quite considerably. Regards, and clear skies, Mike.

I’ve been into astronomy since the 1980s, though only dabbled in imaging until the early 2000s. Now I’m mostly an imager, but although I started autoguiding for the first time last year I’m still mostly hands-on. So, yep, still outside with the red torch, though at least not in the freezing cold at this time of year . Of course I can retreat indoors once I’ve star-hopped to my subject, set focus and calibrated the guiding, though I’m outside again to manually dither and check focus every few frames. However, this time of year it’s nice to sit outside while the rig is imaging, enjoying the quiet that’s only interrupted by tawny owls. Regards, Mike.

I was delighted to find that the Sky Watcher coma corrector, designed for fast Newtonians like my 12" f/4 also works very well with my SW Equinox 80mm ED refractor. I only wish I'd thought to try it earlier, rather like auto-guiding but that's another story! Regards, Mike.

Ah, sorry, didn't realize I was so late with the reply! Hope the trip went well. Regards, Mike.

Perhaps target some of the large Milky Way nebulae that are difficult or impossible from the UK, such as NGC 6357 (Lobster Nebula, Scorpius), NGC 6334 (Cat's Paw Nebula, Scorpius), (IC 4628, Scorpius) and NGC 6188 (the Fighting Dragons of Ara). The latter is low down, but I've caught it from Tenerife. Don't do what I did, though - imaged Omega Centauri with a 90mm lens on a star tracker and only realized when I got home that the bright galaxy Centaurus A was also in the frame but right on the edge! It would have made a great subject along with Omega. Regards, and clear, dark skies, Mike.

Great thread - absolutely love comets! I located and imaged 2023 E1 ATLAS last Thursday, during a brief spell of relative darkness before Moonrise, after noticing the comet's position in a distinctive starfield in Draco. It was indeed quite easy to find, though appeared quite diffuse. Below was the result of 18x2-min exposures with a 12" f/4 Newtonian. By the way I too have been recording a list of comets seen (since my first in 1983), in a database started in the 90's. Regards, Mike.

Hope you will find the story of my introduction to autoguiding and PHD encouraging. I was just now reading an astrophotography book from 1997 that said everyone is autoguiding and the age of manual guiding is over. Having started imaging in the 80s, I manual-guided until 2022! I was worried it would be difficult to set up initially, and that each session would take longer to get going. However, last year I realised I already had most things I needed, so ordered some final bits to work with my Losmandy G11 mount. I thought it would be worth a try and nothing would be lost if I didn’t get on with it. It worked first time, and of course I’ve autoguided ever since . Regards, Mike.

Hopefully I can help with a couple of these. Re. 1) is it possible that you had the 'Fix Remaining Hot Pixels' setting on the Cosmetic tab enabled when DSS stacked? (I think that's what the setting is called, but I don't have DSS on this machine to check). It is supposed to remove hot pixels left after the dark frames were applied, but I've found it will at least partially remove stars, as in your example image. I only have it enabled if my stars are too bloated to look like hot pixels 😃. Re. 5) stars are a very severe test of lens performance, as their pinpoint nature mean any distortion is obvious. Most, if not all, lenses will have issues around the edges, but this can be improved by stopping down the aperture. That's not ideal unless you are using a fast lens though. Regards, Mike

Looks to be a further chance of Aurora tonight, 7-8 May. Good luck to anyone with clear skies. I’ll keep an eye on geomagnetic and meteorological conditions, but currently Clear Outside forecasts 100% low cloud, 100% medium level cloud and 100% high cloud. I make that 300% cloud! 🤪 Regards, Mike

The three aurorae I've imaged from Cornwall this year have not been bright enough to see in colour, though I apparently missed the most active phases of the latest one. However, I saw 5 bright displays here during the solar cycle that peaked around the turn of the century. I had younger eyes, then, admittedly, but they were visibly in colour - mostly red, purple and pink columns, plus sometimes green bands. I live in hope that the current solar cycle delivers such a display! Regards, Mike.

I didn't capture it so well here in mid Cornwall this time. I got the purple sky on camera early on, just as it was getting dark - I could see the glow by eye, though not the colour. Following an interruption for cloud, I returned home for supper and to prepare for work in the morning. Much later it cleared again and I captured some very faint pink/purple columns. I was out for about 90 minutes in all, over 3 sessions between 21:30 and 02:30, but happened to miss all the peaks in the activity. Hopefully there will be more opportunities in this solar cycle 😃 . Regards, Mike.

Many thanks, Paul! Yes, indeed it was a wonderfully relaxing couple of hours, with just the sound of the gentle waves and the gulls. However I must admit that I’m not naturally an early riser, and in fact this was a very late night rather than an early morning! If it had not been a weekend, though, I would have done things differently 😄. Regards, Mike

I walked to Spit Beach near Par early Saturday morning to take my first Milky Way core photos of 2023, though I found myself sitting on a rock much of the time waiting for high, diffuse cloud to move through. The following both comprise 5 x 10-sec exposures at f/2.5 and ISO 6400, taken with a Canon EOS 5 MkIII and Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens on a static tripod. The frames were stacked in Sequator and post-processed largely using an ancient version of Paint Shop Pro. Regards, and clear skies, Mike.

A quickly processed image, taken along a (currently very muddy) footpath near home. Regards, Mike.

Been viewing and imaging it from here in Cornwall. I'll keep an eye on conditions and will hopefully head out again a little later. Good luck all! Regards. Mike.

Yes, likewise I have a small refractor that I’ve carried in my kit bag on occasion for imaging close to home. In theory I could take it overseas but would no doubt have to cut back on other kit to compensate for its weight. Regards, Mike.

Yes, great landscapes over the years, though in some locations clear skies were just as limited as at home! Got to say, though, that while I travel with a tripod and occasionally a star tracker, I've never carried a telescope for overseas AP. No doubt others will have some experience with that if it's what you have in mind. Regards, Mike.

I’ve been trying to include some AP during my holidays for a number of years now, or at least until Covid put a halt to things. Initially I’d limit myself to a few star trails and the odd landscape astro capture. A couple of times since, though, I’ve also taken a star tracker. In the future I plan to do more AP on my travels, weather-permitting of course. In fact I’ve now booked my first post-Covid holiday, to the Dolomites, around a New Moon. So far, over several years, I’ve done at least some AP in 2 Swiss Alps locations (Saas Fee and Kandersteg), the Azores, Tenerife and Kranjska Gora in Slovenia, taking the star tracker only to Kandersteg and Tenerife. I’ve also used stays at ski resorts in Finland to photograph aurorae. As well as Tenerife, which was a landscape astrophotography workshop, Saas Fee was particularly successful as 6 nights out of 7 were clear. I’m not sure how typical that is, but apparently it benefits from a rain shadow effect from several directions due to the surrounding mountains! I don’t drive, but as I’m often staying in small settlements, such as out-of-season ski resorts, I just walk a short way along local footpaths to locations that I’ve scouted in daylight. Tenerife was the exception, but it was a group workshop, with Alyn Wallace, so we travelled together by minibus. Regards, Mike.

Sorry, I had rather rushed my earlier post and it's a bit ambiguous. I meant that Comet C/2022 U2 ATLAS is perhaps brighter than predicted, not brighter than C/2022 E3 ZTF, which is nearby. Regards, Mike.