Trout Lake - Aug. 26

Per plan, I went to Trout Lake last night for more imaging. I was all by myself in the Flat Top Sno-park parking lot... except for the bees (and some birds) and whatever may have been creeping around in the surrounding trees. I stayed until 1:30am, finally driven out by the cold and being tired (worked out the previous morning). The trip was worth it though, in that I did get auto-guiding working and got some new images.

The first image (top) is a 1x5' exposure of the Sunflower galaxy. This is the first time I've ever viewed it. I definitely want to come back to this one to get longer exposures and see more of the detail I'm starting to pick up around the edges. It also looks very nice in color based upon other images I've seen.

The next image is again new object for me... M106. On this one I only did a 45" unguided exposure on this one because I was having trouble finding a guide star. At the time it didn't look very interesting either, but after processing it at home I reduced the brightness and saw the 'bars' on it... different from any other I've seen yet. Maybe a better approach on this one is a combination of shorter exposures. Definitely an interesting object.

The next image is M101, which I imaged at OSP, but didn't get much data on. What I saw sparked my interest though, so I went back for more with auto-guiding. This image is a combination of 1x45"+1x300"+1x600" for a total of close to 16 minutes. While again I think focus could be better, I'm fairly happy with this one.

The next image, M94, is another new one that is a 1x5' exposure. At this exposure time, what I see is pretty bland, but there are hints of more in the outskirts of the galaxy. I will confirm this on reference photos and may go back to it.

The last image is a total of 35 minutes of M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)... a 5x5'+1x10' combination. Note some of the brighter stars have flaring at the top and bottom... one of the disadvantages of longer exposures. Another disadvantage is that you are more likely to have defects (i.e. cosmic ray events, planes, satellites, etc.) affecting the frame and you lose more data if you throw it out. There image processing tools to get rid of the flaring but I haven't gotten there yet. These shots came out with very dark backgrounds from the beginning in all of the subframes. I'm not sure if it was because the object was higher in the sky (better 'seeing') or not. Note that the dark dust in the outer reaches of the galaxy are very well defined.

I considered moving on to using my Nikon D40, but, as I've said, I was cold and tired and my computer battery was also getting a bit low. I'll devote my next dark sky session to the D40... though who knows when that will be! Any more warmer weather coming? In the meantime, I think I'm going to start seeing what I can do in my backyard with both the APO and the C8.

New version of M33

Here's a new version of M33 that combines my full set of 30" and 45" exposures for about 23 minutes total.

In preparation for improving my auto-guiding, I've ordered new rings for the 80mm guide scope that will allow me to move the telescope and center the guide star. I've also downloaded the latest version of PHD software (my old one was version 1.7 and they are now on version 1.10 with many improvements). Finally, I believe the key is using a "Mount" setting of "On Camera". We'll see how this all works out Wednesday night.

More OSP pictures

Here is a second batch of pictures from OSP. Generally, these used fewer exposures than the others, but they're not too bad. All are again using the 80mm APO refractor and the SBIG ST-402 camera. The first picture is of the Lagoon nebula, done as a stack of 4x30" + 1x45" exposures. This one would be much more fascinating in color (as most nebulae are). Next is the Ring Nebula (M57) done as 5x5". The originals show the dark center of the ring overwhelmed by the light of the ring itself such that I saw a solid white blob. This brightness was toned down in image processing but the result is still not very satisfying, due to the small size of the object. I had posted a Nikon picture of this earlier and it was more exciting if for no other reason than that it was blue.

The next picture is M101, exposed as 2x30". Despite the few exposures, it came out pretty nice! Next is M51, the Whirlpool galaxy. This one was a 6x30" exposure. If you look in the upper right corner you can see another very small galaxy that is called "IC 4263". The size of this object is 1.7x0.4 arc-minutes and there is a +13.8mag star superimposed over it. Next are two globular clusters, M13 and M22, both of which are single 30" exposures.

I hope to get out again over the next week to see if I can have some success with auto-guiding. If I can, I should be able to provide some much better images.

Back from the Oregon Star Party

I just got back today from the Oregon Star Party at Indian Trail Springs in the Ochoco mountains of Central Oregon. I spent two nights there and imaged with my 80mm APO refractor on both nights using both my Nikon D40 and my new SBIG ST-402 camera. I didn't not use my Celestron 8" SCT at all (at the recommendation of an experienced imager who said I'd be wasting the dark skies due to it's long focal length). Unfortunately, I was unable to use auto-guiding again, but I think I know what I have to do now to make it work. Still, with the SBIG, I was able to make some progress towards better images even using exposure times up to only 45 seconds. For some objects, I took twenty to thirty 30" exposures and am now using software (DeepSkyStacker) to stack them up.

So... the pictures above represent some of my better results and my first attempt at image processing on them. At the top is the best picture I took with the Nikon D40, of the Orion Nebula. I don't think the focus is perfect in this shot and it is only a single 55.1" exposure using ISO1600 (noise reduction 'on'). I'm amazed at how much I can see in this and am anxious to go back to it with a color wheel on my ST-402 (still need to buy one) and take very long exposures. This has always been one of my favorite deep sky objects.

The rest of the photos were taken on my ST-402 for which monochrome is currently the only option. The first (below Orion) is Bode's galaxy (M81), one that I have never seen through one of my telescopes before (not for lack of trying). This is a stack of six exposures of one minute each. Below that is the Helix nebula, again one that I have never observed through my scopes (though probably could have in this case). This is a very large (or close) planetary nebula. It's a 10x30" exposure. Below the Helix is a 23x30" shot of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). Below Andromeda is the Pinwheel galaxy in Triangulum... a 20x30" exposure. This is one of only three spiral galaxies in our local group (the others being our Milky Way and Andromeda). Finally, the last photo is of M3, the globular cluster that I had previously posted a picture of from my Nikon, along with a reference photo from the web. As you can see, this new photo is much more comparable to the reference photo!

These images, though a huge improvement for me, are still not very good when compared to what experienced imagers generate. What I need to improve on is 1) Use auto-guiding for longer exposures, 2) Optimize focus (always tough), and 3)become a better image processor.

I'm still a struggling beginner, but I think I've finally come far enough to feel a little satisfaction and a lot of motivation to continue. The cost of the equipment I used for the photos above (not including my Nikon, which I previously owned) was about $4600. All of this equipment is considered 'entry level'... the $1200 Orion Sirius mount (though it wins high praise for it's capability), the $1600 SBIG ST-402 (used only as a guide camera by many imagers), and the $700 Orion 80mm EON refractor. Besides these items, the other equipment was an assortment of adapters and the power station for remote sites. More serious amateurs use cameras costing closer to $5000 and some use more expensive mounts and telescopes. Finer equipment can probably buy the ability to do location, centering and guiding with higher precision and probably makes the use of longer focal length (more magnification and therefore level of detail) easier. At this point I think I'm going to be like many amateurs and just use my inexpensive equipment and embrace the challenge of getting the most out of it through refined technique and tweaks to the equipment. There are amateurs (some local ones!) who are even going beyond imaging and using photometry to gather data on variable stars and known planets orbiting other suns (easy targets like "hot Jupiters" with two day orbital periods). This is a good hobby!