Having some fun....

[Helen]

Its so nice to be out and to have things working for a change

I've made some progress in getting a working imaging rig. It now consists of a WO FLT123 with an ATIK 460c, and guided by an ATIK 16ic on a Megrez 90. I don't think I've ever had a guiding graph as flat as tonight . I've also made progress on getting FocusMax to work.

The subs are still rolling in, but I couldn't resist a quick play. So here is 1 hour and 20 mins worth of Caldwell19 - IC5146 - The Cocoon. Mixed subs of 300s and 600s, stacked in DSS, and just a quick levels and curves in CS2. I'll do flats tomorrow and process properly. I'm hopeful of a decent result...

Helen

[Moon monkey]

looking good already ...

[Ganymede12]

Cool!

.....

Which nebula is it?

[Gina]

A great start on the Cocoon Should be really good with more data, flats etc. - lovely

[Helen]

Thanks guys

Cool!

.....

Which nebula is it?

Here's a link to more information Ant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_5146 Its really a mix of objects, which makes it very interesting

Helen

[Ganymede12]

Thanks Helen

Would I be able to see it in my 70mm refractor?

[Helen]

Thanks Helen

Would I be able to see it in my 70mm refractor?

My book on the Caldwell objects suggests that you won't see the bright nebula, Ant. You should see the stars though, and the dark nebula.

Helen

[Ganymede12]

So I should be able to see the dark lane? What would it look like, an absence of stars?

[Helen]

Yes, you should see a dark patch - probably one for a dark sky site though.

Helen

[Chris]

Cool start, and what an imaging rig!

[nmoushon]

Wow nicely done. Gones very well in line with todays APOD. Even got the dark lane in there. Great job.

[prokyon]

Its so nice to be out and to have things working for a change

Yes, sounds good and looks good!

[Helen]

Thanks everyone. Here's a reprocess with flats and more data. Now 2 hours 20 minutes of data.

[Gina]

Lovely

[Shibby]

Very nice! I see you've sensibly framed it to include plenty of the dust lane

Ant, the dark dust lane is very conspicuous visually I found.

[fwm891]

The extra data and flats has cleaned it up very well Helen. Glad everything is coming together

[Helen]

Thanks I've got a dilemma now... its supposed to be clear tonight so do I go for more data on this or go for a new target???

Helen