Sh2-171 / NGC7822 First attempt (130pds)

[Uranium235]

It was a miracle I got going at all last night, many gremlins in the setup (network, guiding) but after an hour and a half of faffing about it was up and runnning.

First time on this one, its Sh2-171 which is embedded with in the larger diffuse nebula NGC7822. Its a big area and could easily take 6 panes to cover the whole lot, but I thought I would concentrate on the most interesting bit (centre portion).

No prizes for guessing which was the easier side in this 2 pane mosaic, I did the right hand side first and thought "hmmm... im not getting much here" - reason is that particular part is very diffuse. Its only when I moved over to the right (where Sh2-171 is) that signal levels took a noticeable jump.

Processing wise, not too much I can do at the moment - still too much noise in the diffuse parts. But I did apply a layer mask to the core of Sh2-171 so I can retain some of the detail while pushing NGC7822. Needs possibly another two hours to kill off the noise, so i will return at the next opportunity.

12x600 (Ha) x2 panes

130pds, Atik 383L+, NEQ6, MPCC MkIII

Setpoint: -20

Resolution: 3.4" p/p

Thanks for looking

Rob

[PhotoGav]

Looking good Rob. Worth persisting through the Gremlins! I think they were out in force last night - I had many problems with a usb hub, power and guiding. Off to purchase an active hub today... When will the spending end?!

[Gina]

I had the gremlins last night too   A good imaging night virtually lost  

That's come out very nicely Rob and a geat result for a small scope   Are you going to do other wavelengths and produce a colour image?

[Mr Spock]

Interesting area, and a great looking image to show it well.

[Uranium235]

Thanks Michael   Theres a lot going on in this area for sure! Im hoping to get enough subs to bring out the dark stuff a bit better... especially in the centre right area - there is one glob that almost looks as if someone has squiggled the name "John" in dust.... how odd!

[Epicycle]

Lovely wide field, one often sees ced214 on its own. Any reason for binning? Speed? This would be stunning at the natural resolution of the 130pds and the 383L+

E.

[Uranium235]

Thanks

Yep, binned for speed. If I were to have gone 1x1 it would only be half done - I dont mind sampling at 3.4" for very large objects, especially once you throw two or three panes together the overall impact outweighs the loss in resolution. If I were imaging with a 71mm refractor at 1x1, it would be the same resolution as 2x2 with the 130 (except the 130 will have a smaller FOV).

Galaxies though... a different kettle of fish - always unbinned.

[Quatermass]

Lovely stuff even the gremlins could not stop it 

[Uranium235]

Cheers Q, I did pop my head out the back just and its clear.... very tempting to add more, but the sky is a bit unpredictable tonight (fast cloud or showers without warning).

[NOMH]

Really sweet field of view! I agree re binning on large objects. I learned that lesson after doing a multi panel NB mosaic of the veil at bin 1. Man o man did that take some time to finish! I'm actually entertaining the thought of just strapping a camera lens to my QSI 683 and picking 5-10 degrees at a time. I've seen this done by some guys on Ice in Space and they are outstanding.

JB

[Uranium235]

Ahhhh... somebody agrees with binning large objects!

Ive got my own limit of 3.5" p/p which I wont cross when using a telescope (otherwise the stars get ruined), but if you were going for something really big a camera lens might be just the job - the Oph nebula or perseus dust cloud might be a good candidate for that (if you can get to a dark enough place!).