Caroline's Rose - just testing

[petevasey]

Hi, guys,

Some of you may be aware that after several months of thrashing around I eventually accepted that an Esprit 150 would be too heavy for my EQ6 mount and bought a SharpStar 140 triplet refractor.  Just in time - the price went up considerably a few weeks after I bought it!  Apart from a first light in poor conditions, my initial images were narrow band, but I wanted to do an RGB test using a good open cluster.  NGC 7789 was riding high, and a nice target.  The evening of 30th September was beautifully clear and steady although clouds were approaching.  But enough time to get 10 x 2 minute Luminance subs and 5 x 2 minutes each RGB.  Flats and darks of course.  All unbinned with QSI 683, SX AO unit and TSFLAT2 flattener.  With this result.  I think it proves that the scope is a good-un and the flattener does the business 😇

For anyone interested the full size image is here.

Edited October 2, 2022 by petevasey
Added link to full size image

[MartinB]

That is looking good Pete.  The stars are nice and tight and the brighter blue stars are well controlled.  The star colour is lovely.  I noticed the slightly blue background which I am sure was deliberate.  I downloaded the full size image and neutralised the background and actually preferred the star appearance against a neutral sky.

[petevasey]

7 hours ago, MartinB said:

That is looking good Pete.  The stars are nice and tight and the brighter blue stars are well controlled.  The star colour is lovely.  I noticed the slightly blue background which I am sure was deliberate.  I downloaded the full size image and neutralised the background and actually preferred the star appearance against a neutral sky.

Thanks, Martin.  Point taken about the blue tint.  The Sun was shining in the window when I was posting it, so the background wasn't so noticeable.  Now adjusted and reposted on my web site.

Cheers,

Peter

[Graham Darke]

Nice one Peter. I imaged this target last Saturday night at Kelling before the rain came. 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

That image brings to life the usual binocular smudge... very nice!

[Ouroboros]

That’s a cracking image for star sharpness right out to the corners, @petevasey.  I assume that’s without star sharpening or anything?  I’ve just checked the price of the Sharpstar 140.  Ooh errr! Hopefully that sort of high quality image is what you can expect for a scope that’s five times the 800 quid my SkyWatcher Evostar 80 and flattener would now cost.  Maybe it’s time I looked for an upgrade. Pity the pound is so low versus the dollar.  Anyway, enjoy your scope.  

[petevasey]

1 hour ago, Ouroboros said:

That’s a cracking image for star sharpness right out to the corners, @petevasey.  I assume that’s without star sharpening or anything?  I’ve just checked the price of the Sharpstar 140.  Ooh errr! Hopefully that sort of high quality image is what you can expect for a scope that’s five times the 800 quid my SkyWatcher Evostar 80 and flattener would now cost.  Maybe it’s time I looked for an upgrade. Pity the pound is so low versus the dollar.  Anyway, enjoy your scope.  

Yep. quite a price.  BUT.... The price has increased by over £1000 since I paid for it, fortunately in advance.  Phew!!  Glad you like the image, here it is again with the excessive blueness removed.

Cheers,

Peter

[petevasey]

5 hours ago, Graham Darke said:

Nice one Peter. I imaged this target last Saturday night at Kelling before the rain came. 

Yes, I've just seen that one Graham.   A cracking good image, showing nicely the capabilities of the ASI camera and the little Quad.  I have its baby brother, the 65 quad, it also has excellent definition and flat field of view.  Great fun!

Cheers,

Peter.