Imaging with the 130pds

[Susaron]

And a M92 field, taken the same day than NGC6823, some galaxies can be seen on the left.

60x60s subs with 30 darks and 30 bias, taken with the QHY168C at Gain 10, Offset 30, Temp =-10C from Brihuega, Spain at 997m high.

Cheers.

[Susaron]

Dear 130PDS addicts.

A suburban M7 surrounded by dark nebulae B283 and B287, also the tiny globular cluster NGC6453 can be seen. 20x180s subs + darks + bias with the usual equipment.

It is not easy to catch even here in spanish latitudes due to the LP mushroom, as the cluster does not climb so much over the horizon.

 

[astrosathya]

17 hours ago, Susaron said:

Dear 130PDS addicts.

A suburban M7 surrounded by dark nebulae B283 and B287, also the tiny globular cluster NGC6453 can be seen. 20x180s subs + darks + bias with the usual equipment.

It is not easy to catch even here in spanish latitudes due to the LP mushroom, as the cluster does not climb so much over the horizon.

 

How did you manage to record so much data in 1hr? I too images the same object on 5th July this year through my RC and DSLR (135x30s, iso3200). The ISO was a mistake, should've kept it at 800, but regardless, theres a stark difference. Please can you help? 

[Susaron]

1 hour ago, astrosathya said:

How did you manage to record so much data in 1hr? I too images the same object on 5th July this year through my RC and DSLR (135x30s, iso3200). The ISO was a mistake, should've kept it at 800, but regardless, theres a stark difference. Please can you help? 

Hi Sathya, perhaps it is a combination of factors mainly the camera and the scope. The camera is a QHY168C, contrary to a DLSR it does not have IR filter so you have the whole spectrum available, as filter I use an IDAS LPS D1, so I collect all the needed data discarding the LP. Moreover the SW130PDS is F5, so it is a fast scope, this allows along with a good camera, to reduce the time needed for your exposures, I have got even very good results with 60s exposures. If you dive a little in this thread you can see the differences got for the same objects taken with the same scope and different cameras.

The SW130PDS is a bargain imaging scope, so what you save in the scope can be used to couple a good camera, the QHY163M, 168C, 247C or the ASI071, 1600 or 294C are very good candidates, or any good CCD like the Atiks 460X or Horizon CMOS. The difference is huge really huge.

Also the postprocessing has something to say, with DBE tool from PixInsight you can extract the best from your pictures.

I attach just a frame, with the background removed and with the histogram streched.

 

[alacant]

4 hours ago, astrosathya said:

How did you manage to record so much data in 1hr?

Hi everyone

@astrosathya: Your 150 RC will capture only a small section of what @susaron has captured with the 130 as your FOV is much smaller; you will be missing much of the surrounding milky way. It should be brighter in your RC (larger aperture) but up against modern cooled cmos, dslrs is not competing on the same terms.

But hey, getting in close on clusters is good too as you can record asterisms which are otherwise lost at shorter focal lengths.

HTH and keep going with the clusters!

[astrosathya]

4 hours ago, Susaron said:

Hi Sathya, perhaps it is a combination of factors mainly the camera and the scope. The camera is a QHY168C, contrary to a DLSR it does not have IR filter so you have the whole spectrum available, as filter I use an IDAS LPS D1, so I collect all the needed data discarding the LP. Moreover the SW130PDS is F5, so it is a fast scope, this allows along with a good camera, to reduce the time needed for your exposures, I have got even very good results with 60s exposures. If you dive a little in this thread you can see the differences got for the same objects taken with the same scope and different cameras.

The SW130PDS is a bargain imaging scope, so what you save in the scope can be used to couple a good camera, the QHY163M, 168C, 247C or the ASI071, 1600 or 294C are very good candidates, or any good CCD like the Atiks 460X or Horizon CMOS. The difference is huge really huge.

Also the postprocessing has something to say, with DBE tool from PixInsight you can extract the best from your pictures.

I attach just a frame, with the background removed and with the histogram streched.

 

Thanks for the reply Susaron. I actually have a 150mm F/ Newtonian as well as a QHY9M with 7x36mm HaOIIISIILRGB filters. ? The newt has a faulty secondary holder and its too much effort o setup the CCD in rainy season, hence the use of my Modified DSLR. I'll try the newt next time with a LP filter. Thanks again.

[Susaron]

Ladies and Gents,

The picture of M7, first shared here, has been chosen by Sky and Telescope as the Editor´s Choice of the Week.

I guess Skywatcher should give us a gift or something by this promotion, don´t you think??

[Stub Mandrel]

Congratulations!

Just to help folks find it:

https://www.skyandtelescope.com/online-gallery/m7-ptolemy-cluster-2/

 

[al-alami]

I am really happy with this result ... well so far

Telescope: Skywatcher 130PDS
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro
Camera: QHY 163M
Filters:Ha + O III + S II (Hubble Palette)
Total integration time: 12 hours 45 minutes
Exposure:
Ha (green channel):
77 X 300 sec
O III (blue channel):
39 X 300 sec
S II (red channel)
37 X 300 sec

Processed in DSS, Pixinsight and Photoshop CC

[pipnina]

Finding this thread just makes me more excited for the coming darkness! I got to do a few tests with my 130-PDS (hopefully I've got the hang of it all now!) during and just before summer twilight. Not sure what I'm going to photograph first though. My camera has pitiful Ha response (One day I'll complete the build with OAG and a cooled CMOS...) and the central milky way nebulae (M8, M16 etc) are too low down for me to image (without exposing the precious to the road and pavement... and street lamp glare!)

On a side note, has anyone else found the 130-PDS prone to stray light? In an image I took recently I noticed a gradient in the image that seemed too "sharp" to be vignetting or sky gradients. (The glowing pale lobe to the left hand side)

Are there measures that can be taken to prevent this?

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, pipnina said:

Finding this thread just makes me more excited for the coming darkness! I got to do a few tests with my 130-PDS (hopefully I've got the hang of it all now!) during and just before summer twilight. Not sure what I'm going to photograph first though. My camera has pitiful Ha response (One day I'll complete the build with OAG and a cooled CMOS...) and the central milky way nebulae (M8, M16 etc) are too low down for me to image (without exposing the precious to the road and pavement... and street lamp glare!)

On a side note, has anyone else found the 130-PDS prone to stray light? In an image I took recently I noticed a gradient in the image that seemed too "sharp" to be vignetting or sky gradients. (The glowing pale lobe to the left hand side)

Are there measures that can be taken to prevent this?

I think gradients go hand in hand with any degree of light pollution, even a nearby bright star combined with some light, high haze can put a gradient across your images.

[Atreta]

Last one, the good old m8 lagoom nebula 

I'm focusing more on this is target to see how much detail i cam get out of it.

This is about 5 hours of integration time from different nights taken with iso 400 and 4 minute exposure and with flats. I found that iso 400 works best for me. 

The camera is a t5i unmodded and i still can't use the coma corrector,  I'll try to have a friend to help me with it. 

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

12 hours ago, Atreta said:

Last one, the good old m8 lagoom nebula 

I'm focusing more on this is target to see how much detail i cam get out of it.

This is about 5 hours of integration time from different nights taken with iso 400 and 4 minute exposure and with flats. I found that iso 400 works best for me. 

The camera is a t5i unmodded and i still can't use the coma corrector,  I'll try to have a friend to help me with it. 

Great shot. Here is mine on my T2 unmodified last year. Mine has even worse HA than yours!

[Susaron]

I go for M8 this night, let's see what I can get

[JohnSadlerAstro]

Wow those images are amazing! I'm really looking forward  to the nights coming back. One annoying thing with the 130 is collimation. For some reason I can only get the secondary centred if I off centre the front vanes quite a lot.

I guess I'll just have to get some test shots in and see how it does.

John

[Susaron]

2 minutes ago, JohnSadlerAstro said:

Wow those images are amazing! I'm really looking forward  to the nights coming back. One annoying thing with the 130 is collimation. For some reason I can only get the secondary centred if I off centre the front vanes quite a lot.

I guess I'll just have to get some test shots in and see how it does.

John

You won't get problems if you use collimation screws on the secondary (7 pounds 3 of them), and a good laser collimation tool like the hotech sca laser

[Atreta]

14 hours ago, Gerry Casa Christiana said:

Great shot. Here is mine on my T2 unmodified last year. Mine has even worse HA than yours!

You got a lot of Ha too, great image.

i'm considering to mod mine, but i don't like red overwhelming the entire picture. 

14 hours ago, Susaron said:

I go for M8 this night, let's see what I can get

Hope you can get it. I wanna see

[Atreta]

14 hours ago, JohnSadlerAstro said:

Wow those images are amazing! I'm really looking forward  to the nights coming back. One annoying thing with the 130 is collimation. For some reason I can only get the secondary centred if I off centre the front vanes quite a lot.

I guess I'll just have to get some test shots in and see how it does.

John

i think mine is out of collimation, my copy of ccd inspector expired and can't check it anymore.  it would be nice if someone could analyze it for me

[RolandKol]

My first proper use of ASI1600MM on Veil Nebula [Back Garden, Woolwich, UK, 11/07/2018- 29x300s HA Bin x1, 27x25Os OIII Binx2], stacked in ASTAP, processed in PI. 

[Susaron]

Dear friends,

A Cocoon nebula from yesterday`s evening near Toledo, Spain. 34x180 subs plus darks and flats. QHY168C at Gain 10, Offset 30 Temp= -10ºC, taken with APT.

Cheers.

Mario.

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

13 hours ago, Atreta said:

You got a lot of Ha too, great image.

i'm considering to mod mine, but i don't like red overwhelming the entire picture. 

Hope you can get it. I wanna see

I have already modified the same camera. Huge difference! Wouldn't go back. Couple of comparisons below but the also guiding was added as I didn't have that before  

 

[Atreta]

2 hours ago, Gerry Casa Christiana said:

.Couple of comparisons below but the also guiding was added as I didn't have that before  

 

Huge difference

[Susaron]

M8 Lagoon Nebula and GC NGC6544. I don´t know if it was a flexure or a guiding problem but only the stars on the upper rear square show some trails. The picture is a stack of only 15x180subs. The QHY parameters are the same than in the Cocoon.

[alacant]

53 minutes ago, Susaron said:

M8 Lagoon Nebula

Tremendous shot. It's really low here in Alicante and the haze and atmospheric turbulence near the southern horizon usually tell us to stay away. But now we're inspired. Hope you don't mind, we had a play with the decon and colour. Yeah, now it's too green!

[Susaron]

1 hour ago, alacant said:

Tremendous shot. It's really low here in Alicante and the haze and atmospheric turbulence near the southern horizon usually tell us to stay away. But now we're inspired. Hope you don't mind, we had a play with the decon and colour. Yeah, now it's too green!

I tried deconvolution but it is not easy. Perhaps I should tune the color saturation and balance a little.