Trifid Nebula take 3 final image

[Quatermass]

Had a great night out last night with Richard who brought along his Sky watcher 12inch telescope and we had another crack at the Trifid nebula. Learned a lot about go to systems and Richard let me use his laser collimator on my Sky watcher 200p. I was gobsmacked to see how far out of colmination my scope was no wonder I was having so much trouble with egg shaped stars. After using the laser collimator my stars were in much better shape so that's one for the birthday wish list.

So here is my last attempt at the Trifid Nebula this is 68 subs at 70seconds each ISO 800 with 60 darks flats and bias shots. Also included is the drop box link if any one else would like to have go processing the stacked .tiff file

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/75039043/Trifid%20Nebula3%20master%20image.TIF

[Daniel-K]

very good, focus looks spot on a tiny bit a trailing but fantastic color !

[Quatermass]

Thanks Daniel using the laser collimator certainly made the stars better this time round might have a crack at the lagoon tonight if its clear again.

[Ganymede12]

Stunning image! What camera did you use?

[Quatermass]

Thank you Ganymede I use my Canon 350D which I modded and removed the IR filter a few months ago

[Ganymede12]

Thanks, and how did you attach it to the scope?

I ask because I'm already saving for the Skyliner 200P and It would be great to take pics through it!

[Quatermass]

I use the Skywatcher 200p on an EQ5 mount with the dual axis kit. To attach the camera all you need to buy is a T-Adapter

Take a look here on my blog it explains how to fit the camera on with a t-adapter for the 200p

http://astrocasto.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/lets-do-astrophotography-now-part-5.html

[Martin-Devon]

Very nice Mark, all of your hard work capturing & processing this has paid off

[Quatermass]

Cheers Martin, why is all the good stuff so low down? going to try for the Helix Nebula next month if I can get it, love this region of the sky.

[SkyJamie]

Great image Mark

Jamie

[Quatermass]

Cheers Jamie, going to give it a rest now becoming a bit obsessive over it

[RikM]

Very nice image Mark

There is a little bit of green background which HLVG would take care of no problem.

[RikM]

Thanks, and how did you attach it to the scope?

I ask because I'm already saving for the Skyliner 200P and It would be great to take pics through it!

The Skyliner Dobsonians are wonderful scopes for looking through but they can't be used for this kind of long exposure deep sky astrophotography. The main thing you need for this is a sturdy equatorial mount with tracking motors (and preferably an autoguider, though as QM demonstrates, you can still get some great images without). If you get a Skyliner Flextube Auto or GoTo, you would be able to take very nice pictures of the moon and planets with a modified webcam, just not deep sky stuff like galaxies or nebulae.

[Ganymede12]

Didn't Quatermass take this photo with a Skyliner 200P? And theses turned out great!

[RikM]

Didn't Quatermass take this photo with a Skyliner 200P? And theses turned out great!

No. This was taken with an Explorer 200P on a motor driven EQ5, and is a really exceptional result for such a combination. Most people would struggle to get a result like this, with such a large scope on such a small mount.

[Quatermass]

Didn't Quatermass take this photo with a Skyliner 200P? And theses turned out great!

Nope I took these with the skywatcher 200p sorry if that was not clear. Taking astrophotos on a dob is not a good idea you need an EQ mount to track your target. This is my set up for you..

http://astrocasto.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/new-sky-watcher-explorer-200p-eq5.html

[Quatermass]

Also another thing to bear in mind is the processing of the image data you have collected this takes longer to learn and get right then taking the images themselfs. So the two go hand in hand really once you have got to grips with the imaging side of things you also need to master the processing side of things great data is worthless if you dont do a good job processing it. Its all great fun though so dont be put off learning is the fun part

[Gina]

Amazing image Mark - quite superb You're a lucky devil with the weather too Getting very difficult to remember when we last had a clear night here Thought there was a possibility tonight but no! It's thick cloud.

[Quatermass]

Cheers Gina.The curse of the thick clouds its a horrible thing Gina I have to say that imaging this nebula has been such a lot of fun despite it being low down and having to do a run out in the car. Using Richards laser colliminator was an eye opener for me my secondary mirror was way off the mark and the results after using it were much better far less wonky stars. Your going to love imaging this one hope you get some clear skies soon

[Gina]

Thanks Mark

[nmoushon]

Very nice image! Is this a combination of your other takes that you've previously posted or a new set completely? Whats the speed of the 200p f/4?

[cloudbuster]

that really is a massive improvement on your first effort...well done mark!

[Quatermass]

Very nice image! Is this a combination of your other takes that you've previously posted or a new set completely? Whats the speed of the 200p f/4?

This was a new set of subs after altering my secondary mirror on my telescope and correcting collimation. The telescope is f/5 most of the other shots were plagued by bad focus and bright moon lit night. Getting a good clear night with good collimation improved things a lot.

[Quatermass]

that really is a massive improvement on your first effort...well done mark!

Cheers cloud buster the 3 peas payed off... patience preparation and perseverance

[squeaky]

Cracking image!

AND... I later discovered that my laser collimator needs collimating! So I'll get that done shortly, then get together with Mark again to fine tune his system. That should help even more!

As for the post processing - talk about a dark art! I can't get anywhere near that final result from the tiff file. Clearly need to go back to the tutorials!