130pds + ASI178MM = Unlikely galaxy smasher

[Uranium235]

Well, this one has caught me off guard a bit. I didnt really expect something this alright from such a modest combination of equipment!

Now im starting to get to grips with CMOS imaging, the images are getting better. Still not without its foibles (ie: Narrowband is still better with CCD in my opinion), but for broadband - it aint bad for the price!

Also its something not seen often, a camera that pushes the optics to its resolving limits - actually, in this case the Rayleigh and Dawes limit for the 130pds have been exceeded so its a little oversampled - though it doesnt seem to have suffered much. The upside to its small sensor is that it hardly tests your corrected field - so the stars are as good as they can be.

 

120x120s (4 hours) (UV/IR filter only)

ASI178MM, 130pds, NEQ6

 

Thanks for looking

[geminijk]

WOW!!!!!!!

FANTASTIC results!

John

[Merlin66]

Very impressive.

was that the standard ASI 178 or a cooled version?

 

[Uranium235]

8 hours ago, Merlin66 said:

Very impressive.

was that the standard ASI 178 or a cooled version?

 

Cheers   it's the cooled version. I also did an hour on M101 before bed and that looks like it is worth chasing too (as it basically fills the sensor!).

[Uranium235]

Just ran it through my annotation software, but there is still an awful lot of fuzzies that it didnt identify - at least another 20 galaxies in shot:

[Allinthehead]

That looks great. I wonder how this camera would work with an 80 ed for galaxies. 

[Uranium235]

4 hours ago, Allinthehead said:

That looks great. I wonder how this camera would work with an 80 ed for galaxies. 

Not sure it would be a good match as the camera prefers aperture  and/or a short focal length. Its worth checking out an online calculator to check the resolving limit of whatever aperture you are using. 

[Adam J]

I would not say unlikely at all, its a combination I considered myself or alternatively with a ASI290mm-c.

Clearly working well though I would love to see this with 12 hours of luminescence data.

 

[Adam J]

On 5/6/2018 at 15:32, Allinthehead said:

That looks great. I wonder how this camera would work with an 80 ed for galaxies. 

I would not think so to be honest you would be limited by the resolving power of the 80mm objective and a lesser focal length too. I know that there is always the ED80 vs 130PDS debate but in this application there is no contest.

[tomato]

That is indeed a very impressive result. I'm currently trying to produce something like this but going from the other direction, namely an Esprit 150 and Moravian 8300 (granted, not the ideal camera). However, about to run out of Astro darkness, but like Arnie, it will be back!

[swag72]

That looks great Rob ???? a very good experiment for sure! Can I ask what software you use for your annotations?

[Uranium235]

3 hours ago, swag72 said:

That looks great Rob ???? a very good experiment for sure! Can I ask what software you use for your annotations?

 

Thanks Sara  

It's a bit of free software called astroimageJ. It's saving options for annotations are limited but with a few creative screenshots you can produce an annotated output.

[Uranium235]

6 hours ago, tomato said:

That is indeed a very impressive result. I'm currently trying to produce something like this but going from the other direction, namely an Esprit 150 and Moravian 8300 (granted, not the ideal camera). However, about to run out of Astro darkness, but like Arnie, it will be back!

Your camera is probably quite alright for the Espirit 150. CMOS imaging is a bit of a culture shock for anyone who has been using CCD for a number of years. I tried it again in narrowband last night, but only managed an hour - but that was at f2 so the short subs (2min) was compensated for a bit by the speed of the optics. Though I wont be able to make a proper assessment until ive gotten at least three hours worth.