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Mini-me does the Bodes


Uranium235

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Its been nearly a couple of weeks since my eldest son (now age 6) came out to the dark site with me to take a few snaps while I was working on the IFN, but tonight we sat down together to finally get the data processed.

Just a couple of hours worth of 5min subs, because after a while he complained of being a bit cold/tired (though it was waaay past his bedtime!). lol... as soon as I strapped him in before setting off home he was out like a light... had to carry him into bed :)

The data turned out ok(ish), I'd have hoped for a bit more star colour - but sorting that out is just a litte bit beyond his attention span at the moment. At least M81/82 turned out alright, albeit a little noisy.

 

22x300 (L)   ISO 800

Canon 1000d, NEQ6, Star 71

 

33822696915_69d7c761ff_h.jpg

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I need to get to a dark site it would take me twice that number of subs from my back garden for a result like that,but then again its allot of equipment to take to a dark site. 

Very nice image.

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7 minutes ago, Adam J said:

I need to get to a dark site it would take me twice that number of subs from my back garden for a result like that,but then again its allot of equipment to take to a dark site. 

Very nice image.

Thanks :)

Its not really such a chore to take it out to a dark site, it took about 25min to set it all up and the power came courtesy of an 85Ah leisure battery. Its just a shame we couldnt have any heaters on while sitting in the car, in case the vibration from the engine caused a bit of a PHD wobble - but I took a blanket for us both to keep the worst of the cold out.

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I have my eye on a couple of dark sites near me, but not actually taken my scope there yet. I was wondering how you plan your visits ? Do you arrive at twilight and then wait for 'astronomical darkness' ? - I think that is like 9:30pm now, so between twilight and total darkness, there might be a couple of hours, and then there is X number of hours imaging. Do you limit the number of hours you do? - I am not sure I fancy standing around for 5 hours capturing subs, whilst being in the dark. I had thought about sitting in the car, but like I think you mention the vibration from the engine is probably not a good thing.

Great image by the way !

Alistair.

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6 hours ago, AlistairW said:

I have my eye on a couple of dark sites near me, but not actually taken my scope there yet. I was wondering how you plan your visits ? Do you arrive at twilight and then wait for 'astronomical darkness' ? - I think that is like 9:30pm now, so between twilight and total darkness, there might be a couple of hours, and then there is X number of hours imaging. Do you limit the number of hours you do? - I am not sure I fancy standing around for 5 hours capturing subs, whilst being in the dark. I had thought about sitting in the car, but like I think you mention the vibration from the engine is probably not a good thing.

Great image by the way !

Alistair.

The only planning that going into my dark site visits are letting the landowner know that Im coming over that evening, working out a plan of what Im imaging and sticking to it, then making sure my leisure battery is fully topped up before going out.

I usually arrive about 30-60min before it gets dark so I can set up in good time and allow the optics to cool down sufficiently. But I try not to power everything up - just so I can preserve the battery levels. However, I dont wait until astronomical darkness - I kick off as soon as its dark enough (ie: plenty of stars about) and no hint of blue sky left. Pretty soon there wont be any astronomical darkness left, but Im not going to let that stop me ;) The only limit to my session length is how tired I feel (because driving while tired is dangerous) and how long I think the battery can hold out for.

During the summer I will probably take a nap before going out there, just so Im not so tired when it comes to driving home.

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