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M20 & M8 Combo

qcdougn

By qcdougn
in Imaging - Deep Sky

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qcdougn

qcdougn

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Hi,

I took this with the WO 80mm SD and Canon XT. This one is a stack of 125 @ 25 sec. - ISO 800. I've been up since Friday morning 5 am....So, I only gave it a quick process and some Noel C. Actions...Off to bed I go...Maybe I can make it better when I can see more clearly...

Doug

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qcdougn

qcdougn

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Well,

I've had 3-hr. of sleep and I can tell....I need more and will get it soon.... but, hate to miss the daytime too... :?

Martin: This was my first go at these two-together since they are extremely low in the south for me.... My latitude is 46 deg. N. Plus, it is just barely over the neighbors house. The only way to image it is with the 80mm refractor. I chose to use short exposures for two reasons:

1. The 350 XT downloads this exposure length and speed almost imediately to the CF card even with the Noise Reduction mode selected. I don't mind stacking 100 exposures...the computer does the work. If I take a 60 sec. shot for example, it will take another 60 sec. for the image to go to the CF card...therefore, makes for twice the time. I don't know....I usually take nothing over a 45 sec. go and stack the heck out of them... :)

2. I'm in a busy air traffic area, especially to the south...So, if I take short exposures I usually miss a red & green streak in my image. It's easier to discard one 25 sec. shot than a 90 sec. shot....That's my theory... I did have to throw out one 25 exposure of these...

Thanks for the tweak on the picture.....I wasn't too alert when I did my first go....Looks like we have the same equipment except for the binocs....

Doug

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qcdougn

qcdougn

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Tom: Sorry, I meant to include you on the last comments... I'm still not right yet this morning.. :) Very nice touch up....wish I had your skills.

By the way, the reason for the long nights is that the family is away to visit relatives this weekend...So, I can do whatever I want...as far as astronomy is concerned...I don't have any curfew and the skies are clear and no moon... 8)

Thanks again...Doug

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qcdougn

qcdougn

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Hey Tom,

I make my LX-90 do double-duty...I have the 80mm mounted piggyback for a free ride. I did send out my LX-90 to Dr. Clay Sherrod for a "Supercharge" about a year ago and I think it was worth the $$$. The scope tracks well and Go-To's are very close. I think I'll stick to the piggyback arrangement for now since I alternate imaging with the scopes depending on the targets.

I think you can't go wrong with the mount you have picked out. It should work well for you.

Doug

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Albireo380

Albireo380

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Hi Doug,

I did wonder about piggybacking the WO, but what with a DSLR attached to the LX90, and then the WO 'fract + 2" EP, I was beginning to wonder about the LX's ability to track accurately. So, I decided to splash out on another Mount - I may wish to add another / bigger OTA later. I would really like a 12" Newt - but not on an HEQ5 - but as I live in a second floor flat in the city, what I buy has to be carried to the car and then transported 25-50 miles to a dark sky site - so perhaps the 12" Newt is just a dream.

Being a typical Scot, I don't like spending money. so have been thinking about an HEQ5 for weeks now - I will buy over the next couple of weeks and be ready for the Autumn observing season. This far north, apart from the Moon and Jupiter, there is little else you can see at the moment, so I have taken June and July "off" - gives me time to pursue other hobbies in the good (huh!) weather.

Tom

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qcdougn

qcdougn

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Hi again Tom,

Ok on the 12" Newt. I had a Discovery Dob 12.5" for a short while before I got the SCT. It was like carrying a cannon outside every night. The optics were wonderful...but I couldn't locate anything except the main/brightest DSO's and planets. I've gotten 100's of times more use out of the LX-90 than any other scope I've owned. It really opened up the sky for me. Being able to image DSO's beats the soxs off of the big reflector.

Ok on the weather and taking a break until Fall...I may slow down myself too...

Regards,

Doug

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Albireo380

Albireo380

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I know what you mean re the all round excellence of the LX90. I also have an old Celestron (Chinese) 6" reflector on a wobbly mount. The first night (2 years ago) I set up the LX90, I saw more DSO's than I had seen the previous year - partly due to the extra light gathering, but also due to the simple GOTO - suddenly seeing feint DSOs was easy. I haven't used the old reflector since then.

On the other hand, the contrast on planets (with the LX90) is not so good. Also, I find exposures over about 40 secs is problemmatic. Sometimes I can do it, with little tracking error, other times it just gives me little star tracks or "gulls wings" instead of neat star points. This means that (with the DSLR) I tend to take 10-20 exposures of an object (30-40 secs each), then select the best images and Registax them. I am also just beginning to experiment with the LPI, so may get better moon/planet images using this, rather than the DSLR at prime focus.

Oh, I also use a Flip Mirror on the LX90 - it makes accurate focus a snap at prime focus - unfortunately I can't find a way to "mate" the Flip Mirror to the DSLR in a "negative projection" setup - which is a real pity - as the extra magnification would be useful for some objects.

I note you said "Fall" rather than Autumn - I assume you are in Canada or the USA?

Regards

Tom

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MartinB

MartinB

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Tom, are you using the LX90 in Alt Az? sounds like you are getting field rotation rather than any problem with the tracking. With my NS8" I can reliably get 60 secs with the fastar lens - F1.95, 45 secs at F3.3, 40 secs F5 and <30 secs F10. The answer is a wedge which Doug is using and I'm just setting up.

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Albireo380

Albireo380

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Hi MB, Yes, it is in Alt Az. So you think it is worth the cash to buy a wedge? I will give this serious thought. Over about 45 seconds exposure at prime focus, I get small tracks rather than nice star points. Could be field rotation - never really considered it before (as a possibility) as I had thought field rotation wouldn't really kick in over such a short time period. Thanks for the info.

Tom

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qcdougn

qcdougn

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Thanks Rog, I was suprised at this one when it was done.... Jeremy at Astronomy Magazine claims he will put it in the July 7th, e-mail version of the AM Newsletter. I'm please with that.... I don't know if many of the folks in the UK subscribe to this Free newsletter...

Doug

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qcdougn

qcdougn

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Thanks Daz....I was surprised, but pleased to see it. It's not the cover of "Rolling Stone Magazine"....But, as the old rock and roll song says..."I'd buy five copies for my mother"............ :) :) :)

Doug

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