Hi All,
I must be mad but couldn't resist the clear skies again last night. Decided to try M51 in Ursa Major & M66 in Leo. I've discovered a problem with the SC3 in that under certain conditions I get diagonal banding top left to bottom right. I think it's to do with mains interferance &/or the parallel port control lead for the LX. I will have to investigate. Anyway it's a real pain as it kinda ruined my M51 image - it wasn't so evident on the M66 because I used lower gain & shorter exposures. The M51 image is 200 X 15 sec subs (50 mins total) & the M66 is 200 X 8 sec subs (26 mins). DS imaging (long exposure is really boring....).
Comments welcome - John.
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.punnett/graphics/oas/m51_04032006.jpg)
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.punnett/graphics/oas/m66_03032006.jpg)
John, try M100 - there is a Supernova in it - See if you can get it.
Nice images john, that camera is giving great results.
Thks Mike - I'll give M100 a try next time out. Cheers Paul - I'm really pleased with the camera. I've been speaking with people on the QCUIAG since posting the images & someone pointed me in the direction of a free image processing utility - it literally took me 5 secs to correct the banding problem on the original M51 with NO effect to the rest of the image... I'm really pleased.. :-) The corrected image is as shown below.
Cheers, John
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.punnett/graphics/oas/m51_04032006_a.jpg)
John,
amazing images!!!!!!
it didn't take long to straighten that learning curve with the new gear.
keep up the excellent work.
Tony G
Cheers Tony - I must admit I'm chuffed (especially with the M51) - the thing I've discovered with DSO's is that it's so boring..! Take the M51 for instance I captured it at about 1.00am last night - it was a 50 min total exposure - that 50 mins seems like about 3 hours in the middle of the night when it's sub-zero temps.. :-) It's great though when you stack the image & see all the faint detail appearing.
Have you done anymore planetary/ lunar stuff lately. Shame DSC wasn't this weekend.
Cheers, John
Do what I do - leave it running and go inside for a warm cuppa and a nap :)
John,
You say you have a lot to learn, but your new pics are great! I can't wait to have a go. You are very dedicated sitting up all those hours!
Is a Toucam SC3 a normal webcam? What is a MN56?
Fay
Hi Fay,
A Toucam SC3 is basically a Toucam that has had the standard colour CCD chip exchanged for a much more sensitive B&W CCD chip. All I can say is that there is a lot of microelectronics involved (MICRO being the key word....) & I wouldn't attempt the mod unless you have quite a bit of electronics experience under your belt else you'll end up 'trashing' your Toucam.
The MN56 is my current scope - It's made by Intes Micro & is a 5-inch Maksutov Newtonian design - I bought it 2nd hand about 6 months ago for £300. It's a nice little scope - the only problem is my EOS-300D digital camera won't focus with it...
Thks, John