Poor night of transparency and seeing so just got this in the passing. Lots of sky fog that got processed out.
| Object ID | M44 / Praesepe / Beehive cluster, Cancer |
| Details | 2019-01-07 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian, MPCC |
| Camera | Atik 460EX Baader RGB filters |
| Exposure(s) | 10x60s each RGB 2×2 Darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
After a HOYS-CAPS session added narrowband. Rat’s head in there?
No more MPCC and stars are much sharper at the edges.
| Object ID | NGC 2264, Christmas Tree Cluster |
| Details | 2019-01-29 |
| Telescope | 250mm f4.8 Newtonian, MPCC |
| Camera | Atik 460EX @-20C Baader Ha, OIII, SII filters |
| Exposure(s) | 10x300s 2×2 each Darks |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop SHO colour mapping |
Heavy processing to remove moonlight background. First entry in the SAA 100 catalog.
| Object ID | NGC 752 Open Cluster, Andromeda Mag. 5.7, size 50′ |
| Details | 2018-09-21 Bright 90% Moon |
| Telescope | 200mm f5 Newtonian, MPCC IDAS P2 LPR filter Guided |
| Camera | Canon 600D |
| Exposure(s) | 10x40s, ISO 800, darks, flats |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
Tighter open cluster, quite remote at 8,000 light years away.
| Object ID | M103 (NGC 581) Open cluster Cassiopeia Mag. 7.4, Size 6′ |
| Details | 2018-09-08 Not very transparent. |
| Telescope | 200mm f5 Newtonian, MPCC IDAS P2 LPR filter Guiding c80ED, ASI 290MC |
| Camera | Canon 600D |
| Exposure(s) | 10x60s, darks and flats |
| Capture | APT, PHD |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
Nice wide open cluster with a deep Milky Way background too.
| Object ID | M39 (NGC 7092) Open cluster Cygnus Mag. 4.6, Size 32′ |
| Details | 2018-09-08 Not very transparent. |
| Telescope | 200mm f5 Newtonian, MPCC IDAS P2 LPR filter Guiding c80ED, ASI 290MC |
| Camera | Canon 600D |
| Exposure(s) | 10x60s, darks and flats |
| Capture | APT, PHD |
| Processing | Nebulosity, Photoshop |
A new combination tonight.
| Object ID | M45, Pleiades |
| Details | Open Cluster, Taurus Mag. 1.6, Size 110′ |
| Telescope | C80ED @ f5.6 (x0.75 reducer) |
| Camera | Atik 460EX (-15C) and SX filter wheel IDAS P2 LPR filter |
| Exposure(s) | L 10x60s 1×1, RGB 10x60s each 2×2 darks, no flats or bias |
| Capture | APT unguided |
| Processing | Stacked in Nebulosity, processed in Photoshop |
First image using the C80ED for a long time.
| Object ID | Caldwell 14, NGC 869 and 884 |
| Details | Open Clusters, Perseus |
| Date/Time | 2017-12-10 19:41 – 20:01 UT |
| Telescope | C80ED @ f7.5 IDAS P2 LPR filter |
| Camera | Canon 600D |
| Exposure(s) | 30x30s lights, 10x30s darks ISO 1600 |
| Capture | APT, unguided |
| Processing | Stacked in Nebulosity, processed in Photoshop and Lightroom |
NGC 2264
Star forming nebula and Open cluster, Monoceros
Mag 3.9, size 20′
2017-01-29
200mm f8 RC at f6 (Revelation x0.75 reducer)
Piggyback guiding with 70mm f/7 refractor
L 5×240s 2×2, RGB 5×120s 4×4 Darks Bias Flats
Atik 460EX (-25C), LRGB filters, IDAS P2 LPR filter
Captured in APT, Processed in Nebulosity3, PS CC, LightRoom
Bad planning in that the object went behind the observatory roof after only 5 sets of exposures. Not great but better than expected though.
Good quality flats make such a huge difference. Much easier to process, especially when using the reducer.
Open Cluster, Cassiopeia
Mag 7.1 Size 916′
2014-10-01
200mm f8 RC, piggyback guiding C80ED
L 8×120 2×2, RGB 5×120 3×3
Atik 460EX (-10C), LRGB filters, Lumicon DS filter
Captured in APT, Processed in Nebulosity, PS CC
First chance to try out the new 460EX properly.
A “mucky” night with low transparency. Lots of star bloat but the camera has almost no noise at -10C. Processing still needs some work. Too many very red stars. Could be caused by the DS filter?
Open Cluster, Lacerta
Mag 6.4 Size 21′
2013-010-10
200mm f5 Newtonian MPCC, piggyback guiding C80ED
15×60 10×180 10×90 ISO 1600, darks
Canon EOS 350D modded, Astronomik CLS
Captured in APT, Processed in Nebulosity, PS CS5
Not transparent enough tonight to image any galaxies (tried M33 but the image fogged after 2 minutes) or nebulae so a new open cluster for me.
