Various attempts using the Stellina

[DrMike]

Here are a few images taken from my (wobbly wooden) balcony in a Bortle 9 sky. The images have ben enhanced slightly, on the fly, using the tools on the iPad. They are just jpegs, but when the weather gets better I will try the FITS option.

Christmas Tree cluster & Cone Nebula, 42mins@10s subs

M42 21mins@10s subs

Horse & Flame Nebulae 42.5 mins @10s subs

Moon, 1 sec

Sill have a lot to learn.

[CloudMagnet]

For the astronomy equivalent of plug and play, that is not bad going at all. That moon picture is sharp for a single frame but it does struggle with the dimmer nebula. Still not a match for a "true" deep sky setup, but the gap is closing I feel with what is possible out of the box.

[DrMike]

You are right, of course, but these are just one shot, no processing, jpg's. The Stellina does have the ability to provide FITS files and darks, but I haven't done that yet. I will, once I get the time!

And I also agree that the gap is closing. I believe that in a few years, more sophisticated set-ups like Stellina will be offered, at a cheaper price. It is the way of things. I use it at College, it gets the students involved as they can download their own copies of the image. Up to 24 people can "logon" to the Stellina, under my control. Anything to get the iPhone generation interested. 

I went to Middlesbrough once, many, many years ago, when chicken tasted like chicken, and street lights were few and far between!

Happy days.