First attempt at M63 "SunFlower" Galaxy

[lensman57]

Hi,

I managed to set up the scope a couple of nights ago and my newly aquired used Atik16lc for the first time. I took 14 subs of 300s each, but managed 6 darks as I was getting tired and sleepy, on examination about 6 of the subs were a total loss as I believe the guide scope had worked itself loose. Anyway the result is here. If I get the chance I think that I will redo the lot.

Regards,

A.G

[faulksy]

very very nice mate, great job, be nice to see what you can do when your not sleepy

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice detail, despite the difficulties

(that line sounds like I learned to write in Beowulf's day )

[Astrosurf]

That's a really nice shot. I must try that one! I'd be interested to know what equipment you've got. Could you put it in your signature?

Alexxx

[Leveye]

Very nice! is this cropped at all?

[lensman57]

Very nice! is this cropped at all?

Hi,

Many thanks for all your feed backs, the data is really not enough as explained but I guess it just shows that how much more sensitive a mono chip is. I have a very well used blue SW ED 80 that I used for this capture, no flatner or reducer as the chipsize is small so it was at F7.5. I also have a used Atik 16lc and it was the first time that I used it in anger since I bought it last month, hence a few teething problems. EQ5 pro SynScan, polar alignend and I also used the polar aligning facility of the SW handset to tune things up a bit. 50 mm Guidescope that caused me a lot of problems as it became loose and I used my ASI 120c planetary camera as a guide camera with PHD and GPUSB. I have started having a bit of problem with PHD guiding, it seems to hang during calibration, sometimes it comes around and sometimes not, I wonder if anyone else experinced the same problem. the processing was done through DSS, StarTools and a bit of sharpening in CS2 after jpeg conversion, the image was cropped to about1/3 of its original size just to get rid of unwanted bits. The subs were 300s, and I used only 8 for stacking, 6 darks, 20 flats and 20 bias.

Regards,

A.G

[Astrosurf]

I really must get an Atik!

I've not had problems with PHD hanging, but it can take a couple of minutes to calibrate. I would always uninstall / reinstall with issues like that. Are you sure all the connections were tight? See what others say.

I would always process the TIFF as you've got all the data and you keep the quality.

[lensman57]

I really must get an Atik!

I've not had problems with PHD hanging, but it can take a couple of minutes to calibrate. I would always uninstall / reinstall with issues like that. Are you sure all the connections were tight? See what others say.

I would always process the TIFF as you've got all the data and you keep the quality.

Hi,

I will reinstall and c what happenes. I normally work with either fits files or Tiff after conversion, the jpegs are really for posting on the web.

Regards,

A.G

[Astrosurf]

Ah, OK. Tell us how you get on.