Tulips from Worcestershire (Sh2-101) 130pds

[Uranium235]

Righty-ho! Its been about three years since I last had a stab at this one, if remember rightly it was with ye olde 314L+ and the 80ED - so time for a revisit with the 130!

Cygnus is pretty much bang overhead at the moment so its a good time to have a go at it. However, going for the widefield I didnt expect such a dense starfield - so I had to be careful with the processing using brush-in sharpness and contrast where needed. Additionally, the outer fluff was dimmer than expected so it needed more exposure than is usually required to bag something to an acceptable level (three hours per pane).

No doubt it could probably use some more (perhaps a couple of hours), and some colour too - but the weather is a little hit and miss at the moment so I have to grab what I can, when I can. Pretty pleased with the corners as well, courtesy of some minor tweaks to the tilt compensator to improve the star shapes in one corner... it only needed something like 0.2mm to bring it back up to snuff. However, it looks like the desiccant could do with another recharge as it took about 30 min for the ice to clear (humid weather does the camera no favours if its not being used).

12x900 (Ha) 2x2bin x2panes

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

Calib: Flats and Bias

Thanks for looking!

Fullsize: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/612/20006189904_3988fd933d_o.jpg

[nightfisher]

Rob, that is stunning, be very proud

[Ruud]

Oh that's good!

A perfect image.

[Uranium235]

Thanks guys!

[cfpendock]

Very, very nice.  I like the contrast. Sometimes I prefer these images in black and white.

Chris

[Uranium235]

Thanks, I will get round to colour (eventually!) - I could have set up tonight due to an unexpected clear slot, but Ive only just finished baking the desiccant and it takes a couple of days at least to dry the CCD chamber out.

[laudropb]

Dry nice image. Perfect star field. Thanks for posting.

[StuartJPP]

Nicely done...lots to see on there.

[toxic]

very nice image as usual from you rob - but don't you get tulips from hamster jam

[theo]

That's really very nice indeed.

Pete

[cfpendock]

Thanks, I will get round to colour (eventually!) - I could have set up tonight due to an unexpected clear slot, but Ive only just finished baking the desiccant and it takes a couple of days at least to dry the CCD chamber out.

I used to have exactly the same problem of icing for the first 30 minutes or so with my Atik 4000, but where changing the desiccant involves dismantling the camera..... If possible, I keep the camera indoors during bad weather, but if I want to keep it on the scope (e.g. to avoid doing more flats), then I wrap the imaging train in a plastic bin bag, secured with a rubber band to avoid too much ventilation, and containing a couple of small sacs of silica gel. (cat litter works perfectly).  I change the silica gel every month or so, taking the used sacs into the house where they dry out sufficiently to be re-used just by being in the house for a few weeks.  When I started doing this I put a small portable humidity meter inside the plastic bag so I could read it through the plastic.  It works a treat, and I have had no more icing problems. 

The "unexpected clear slot" didn't really materialise last night, and the seeing was appalling so I don't think you will have missed anything.  

Chris

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Lovely detail in that image

[Uranium235]

I used to have exactly the same problem of icing for the first 30 minutes or so with my Atik 4000, but where changing the desiccant involves dismantling the camera..... If possible, I keep the camera indoors during bad weather, but if I want to keep it on the scope (e.g. to avoid doing more flats), then I wrap the imaging train in a plastic bin bag, secured with a rubber band to avoid too much ventilation, and containing a couple of small sacs of silica gel. (cat litter works perfectly).  I change the silica gel every month or so, taking the used sacs into the house where they dry out sufficiently to be re-used just by being in the house for a few weeks.  When I started doing this I put a small portable humidity meter inside the plastic bag so I could read it through the plastic.  It works a treat, and I have had no more icing problems. 

The "unexpected clear slot" didn't really materialise last night, and the seeing was appalling so I don't think you will have missed anything.  

Chris

I do keep the camera indoors, but the humidity still gets to it after a few months or during prolonged spells of heavy rain. Fortunately, I dont have to dismatle it to get to the desiccant but the tables seem to becoming less effective over time - I might shoot of an email to Atik in order to obtain a fresh supply.

Nice idea with the bag, Ive got a few zip lock freezer bags I can use to cover the camera with (leaving it attached to the telescope) while its not being used. Another thing I can try is wait until the chamber is dry, then bake the desiccant again so Im not doing it again in three months time (might give me a couple of extra months).