Seeing and Sky Quality

[martin_h]

Last night was a very good night, 3 nights ago wasn't - so it seems. It looked ok-ish but the proof is here.

So, if it looks iffy, it probably is!

See if you can spot the join in this mosaic!.......LOL

[Stu]

Wow, what a difference!! Still a nice image though, I love the Veil.

Typically I put my scope out Tuesday night which was clear, but hazy. Last night was clear as a bell.

Stu

[Adamar98]

What a great image! You can see more stars on the bottom half. But It's still a belter!

[robbie c]

That's a great image is it me or does the left hand side look like one of those Xenomorph's from the Alien films

[ollypenrice]

What a great image! You can see more stars on the bottom half. But It's still a belter!

No you can't. Look again. What you see in the bottom half is that the poor seeing (atmospheric turbulence) has bloated the stars that you can see. There are likely to be fewer of them but they are much bigger. This is not at all what imagers want to see.

Olly

[Naemeth]

No you can't. Look again. What you see in the bottom half is that the poor seeing (atmospheric turbulence) has bloated the stars that you can see. There are likely to be fewer of them but they are much bigger. This is not at all what imagers want to see.

Olly

Agreed. The atmosphere clearly robs the lovely clear stars and replaces them with stretched stars that are no longer crisp.

Compare the dust too - I'd much prefer the top pane of dust than the second - the top is much more natural and the bottom is spiky and harsh.

Thanks for the comparison Martin, it's good to see just what a difference the seeing can make in one image.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Lovely image.

[Adamar98]

I see what you mean. It must be a nightmare trying to do a mosaic. I presume it could take months to create one? Getting the conditions right.

[Shibby]

Remarkable difference! But it may be the poor transparency / haze causing halos, rather than seeing conditions.

[ollypenrice]

Remarkable difference! But it may be the poor transparency / haze causing halos, rather than seeing conditions.

Yes, quite true.

Mosaics can take years. We have a couple of projects on the go...

Olly