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Mini-Me does M31 (CCD + DSLR)

Uranium235

By Uranium235
in Imaging - Deep Sky

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Uranium235

Uranium235

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Now its getting dark at a sensible time, and my latest project complete - I gave my 6 year old son control of the imaging setup for an extended run so he could have a go at a colour image.

I showed him a pic of M31 and he decided to go for that one being as it isnt too hard. So for the first night he used the CCD to collect a stack of Lum before collecting the colour data with the DSLR in place the following night. Obviously, he couldnt stay up to help me pack away (way past his bedtime!) so I  kept an eye on it for him.... thankfully we had a couple of uninterrupted nights of clear sky.

So processing... ha yeah! He was alright doing the Luminance, but after what must have seemed like his millionth curve when processing the DSLR data he started to complain about it taking too long...lol. So we left it where it was with no further development. I tried to steer him towards the colour scheme by asking "is there too much green?", then telling him how to remove it with either HLVG or a nudge in levels.

I dont think he will be chasing any Ha for this, processing was punishment enough for him :D

Anyways, here it is!

 

Lum 18x900 - 383L+

RGB 40x300 - 1000d

 

Thanks for looking! :)

 

30286093920_58fbec0915_k.jpg

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Uranium235

Uranium235

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5 minutes ago, simmo39 said:

V nice. the colours look great

Yes, I was surprised he got so much colour out of it - especially it coming from a DSLR. But I just kept asking him to saturate/blur + Lum until he got bored of it...lol. Well, he definitely now knows where CTRL+A, M, L, U, C and V are! :D

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Uranium235

Uranium235

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Scary... if he keeps this up I'll be looking over my shoulder in a few years! :D

Next time though, Im going to break the processing into parts so he's not drifting off or squirming about in his seat (as he does when he's had enough of something).

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Uranium235

Uranium235

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4 hours ago, wimvb said:

Great image. In a few years, he will be supervising the gear while dad takes a nap.

Thats the plan ;)

I think by the age of 10 he will have a better understanding of what he's looking at and will be able to take the initiative when it comes to image capture - but it will never be truly unsupervised (not unless he has his own telescope!).... but I guess that depends on whether he develops an interest in science (he should do... all boys do!).

 

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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1 minute ago, Uranium235 said:

but I guess that depends on whether he develops an interest in science (he should do... all boys do!).

 

This one didn't, not as a boy. I only developed an interest in science once my abominable school science education had slithered into the bog of history! That slither took about thirty years. At 16 our science 'teacher' said of relativity, 'You don't need to know about that at this stage.' 'This 'stage' would have been about the perfect intellectual stage to embrace relativity. Keep your lad thinking. I'm sure you will.

Olly

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Uranium235

Uranium235

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I agree, its a good think to challenge a schoolkids intellect with something like relativity - who says they wont grasp it? Even so, there are many ways to describe and demostrate it so even duffers like me can get a hold of it... I was always more into chemistry than physics - somehow, sticking weights on a spring didnt really do it for me in physics class :D  If they's just for once tried to explain a little more on the astro/grand scheme of the universe I would have perked up a bit... but noooo... weights on springs for you boyo.

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Uranium235

Uranium235

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10 hours ago, Barry-Wilson said:

Super result from a young budding astronomer :headbang:

I wonder who is the proudest, dad or mini-Uranium :icon_biggrin: ?

A bit of both mate :)

He's off to his first star party today, so I'm hoping he will get some time on bigger telescopes for visual (if we get any clear sky!).

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Stub Mandrel

Stub Mandrel

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19 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

This one didn't, not as a boy. I only developed an interest in science once my abominable school science education had slithered into the bog of history! That slither took about thirty years. At 16 our science 'teacher' said of relativity, 'You don't need to know about that at this stage.' 'This 'stage' would have been about the perfect intellectual stage to embrace relativity. Keep your lad thinking. I'm sure you will.

Olly

Nearly all my science teachers were notable for the phrase 'this isn't in the syllabus but...'

 

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Stub Mandrel

Stub Mandrel

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I didn't realise how good my school was for many long years after I left it. It was the biggest comprehensive in Wales and it took along time before I realised the 'streaming' was effectively a way of running a Grammar and a Secondary modern in the same set of buildings (over three sites!) No 11+ but year one had random assorted classes with letter names 1A, 1B (I was in 1H) with no streaming. After that there were A and B streams with each class ranked (I think) A1-A7 and B1-B10, plus the unfortunately named 'remedial' classes X,Y and Z. There must have been comfortably 600+ pupils in each year. No political correctness in those days!

For me, at least, the (good) teachers were more interested in developing individuals than focusing on examination performance, although I think they were deeply distressed by my lack of ambition. Why did I want to do environmental biology when I they could get me a place on a veterinary science course? (answer - I'd read James Herriot and no way was I sticking my arm up the wrong end of a cow). I also decided against going for oxbridge - the last straw was reading the prospectus and finding you got an automatic upgrade to an MA after a few years. Such an insult to everyone who earned a Masters still offend my egalitarian instincts! Curiously my daughter who is at the ACAS stage now had similar feelings for different reasons, although she is applying to Durham and would go for St Andrews if it taught Japanese!

Back to to Uranium's original post, his lad sounds like a bright youngster and I hope when the time comes if he decides on university that the financial picture is a bit less daunting! I heard Alan Bennett yesterday proudly recounting how his education was entirely state funded and he didn't feel nannied but grateful.

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