NGC 7000

[Paxo]

I haven't been around for the last week or so as I have been off organising Europe's largest conference on Nanomaterials, anyway that's another story. While at the conference, in an attempt to relax one morning, I used the remote GRAS system to capture some images of NGC7000, North American Nebula.

An RGB composite image with 20 x 2min exposures in each RGB channel, stacked and processed in Maxim DL:

(click to enlarge)

Had a few problems with the calibration files on this one, leaving a few hot pixels in the image, but here's my effort. I am still amazed at the number of stars picked up in this image, I suppose this is the advantage of taking from a dark site. This image was taken remotely from New Mexico using an SBIG STL-11000M through a Tak FSQ-106 EDTak FSQ-106 ED.

Please enjoy

Steve..

[lunator]

Steve

Very nice pic

Any views on the application of nanotechnology for amateur astronomy....

Cheers

Ian

[Paxo]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for asking :mrgreen: , there are potentially loads of applications, we have been using 'nanotechnology' for a number of years in the field with the modern lens coating often applied by plasma deposition technology, filters are often ion bean etched to get very flat surfaces. We will see the revolution from from carbon fibre to carbon nanotube/polymer composites which will give very high strenth OTA's for example. One of the biggest areas though may come in imaging. There is a lot of work currently, to which I am involved to a degree, looking at using carbon nanotubes as heat transfer media for electrical devices. It is possible to grow CNT's onto computer circuitry and there extremely high thermal conductivity allows heat to dissipate very efficiently, this could bee used on ccd's for example.

Research is a long way down the line on using CNT's for the 'space elevator', it's not just science fiction, there are practical applications of this happening now in labs around the world. Nanoparticles are used extensively in rocket fuel, highly reactive metal particles at that size regime are extremely explosive.

A more practical application for the amatuer may be smart textiles detecting heat loss around the body and applying heat accordingly, slow release caffeine patches maybe, the list is endless :laughing3: :laughing3:

Steve..

[lunator]

Steve

Thanks for the info.

No bionic eyes on the horizon.....??

[bazza]

Steve, a beauty.

If only we had those clear skies here!!

Barry.

[Paxo]

Thanks Barry.....

Steve..

[Sam]

Steve, a beauty.

If only we had those clear skies here!!

Barry.

Large aperture bionic eyes, that would be odd!