Foxfur + Cone nebulae with bonfire filter...

[AKB]

It's always nice to have someone else to blame when things don't turn out quite right...

What should have been a good session (no clouds – amazing!) appears to have been negatively impacted by this phenomenon which I photographed earlier in the evening:  smoke from a neighbour's bonfire sinking towards the ground and just spreading and hanging there.

 

 

I could smell the bonfire when I was out in the evening setting things up.  The next four hours went absolutely like clockwork, acquiring 48 x 5 minutes subs with guiding ~ 1" RMS.  Unheard of!  However, the results are rubbish.  Two hours on each of the Spider and Foxfur+Cone nebulae.  The spider is so poor, it's not worth sharing, but here's the Cone...

 

 

There's a distinct mistyness here, and where has the blue gone?  The central star looks dreadfull too.  This is my current setup (Esprit 120ED, ASI 294, Quadband filter.)  The filter in normal use does seem to suppress lighter blues, to some extent, but this is extreme.  I'm wondering if the smoke/water in the air has scattered the blue more than the rest, and just made the whole thing hazy?

Tony

 

 

 

[MartinB]

I can see what you mean about the blue but it's still a cracking image.

[AKB]

4 minutes ago, MartinB said:

it's still a cracking image.

Thanks.  You really think so?  I was comparing it to 90 minutes worth from my C9.25 Hyperstar setup with the same camera (and no filter):

Perhaps it's just the f2.3 to f7 difference, but normally the Esprit's star shapes are SO much better than those of the Hyperstar...

 

[tooth_dr]

The stars are a bit odd in the upper picture.  I wouldn't be surprised if the smoke affected things.  Still a great image despite the minor issues.

[simmo39]

Nice images!