M33 - I'm Pleased......

[JohnP]

I remember trying to image this when I first modified my Toucam (before I put the B&W chip in) and I got nothing. Last night I wanted to try out my guiding again just to make sure everything was OK - I decided on M33 although, it was still quite low. I am really pleased with this & how easy it was to process etc. Technical details are as follows:

Imaging: MN56 + SC3 + Astronomik CLS & Atik 0.5X FR. Gain was 80% - image sum of 80 X 45 secs (total 60 mins) - Amp Off + air cooling - 20 X darks subtracted.

Guiding: SC1.5 - WO ZS66 Piggbacked

This really is a great galaxy.. and I definitely want to try and add RGB.

Cheers,  John



Annotated version....

[Rocket Pooch]

Well done john, thats much better than my SAC8 version and again is brilliant for the £ to Picture price.

I on the other hand last night was mainly debugging my filter wheel, more details to come later.....

But great image, get it in the gallery.

[Fay]

John,

i can see why you are pleased, it is excellent. Could you see M33 on the screen?
Another one I would love to try.


Fay

[JohnP]

Cheers Chris - It's great to be able to do long guided exposures at last... gives me more options when using the SC3.

Fay - Yes you could see in the preview - I think every object I image you can see in preview although you do need to use your imagination a bit sometimes.. I imaged this using 45 secs at 80% gain with a CLS filter - I definitely had to guide for this length of exposure - If you used full gain & no CLS I guess you might be able to cut exposure by 1/2 or so, so tracking might not be needed if you want to give it a try.. I'll send you a raw so you can see what it was like..

John

[Fay]

John,

looked long & hard for The Bubble, M33 & NGC891. I could not find any of them.


Fay

[Tony G]

John,
apart from the last couple of evenings which have been clear, I was wondering if you had a private plane which carrys you to a high altitude
observatory of your own to take some great photos, or do you have some sort of freak of nature, where there is a swirling funnel system above your garden which fends off all clouds and other weather systems which may interrupt your imaging sessions because again you have some great images when all I can see is clouds
Keep it up.
(I gotta get one of those cameras soon)

Tony G

PS your not downloading those images off the Net?????  
No didn't think so.  

[JohnP]

Tony - Thks for your comments - Wednesday night was actually crystal clear all through... Being able to guide now with another modified camera has opened up lots of new options for me with the SC3- hopefully more images to come.. The downside to it all now is that it literally takes me about an hour to get 2 scopes out & aligned then two cameras out & aligned & focused & all the interconnecting guide leads etc... I'm knackered before I even start imaging... Maybe it's time to start looking at a permanent setup......

Thks agin for your comments - John

[JohnP]

Hi Fay,

You can definitely see all those objects in preview. I have sent you raws for the M33. Below is a single 20sec raw for the bubble... I suspect either your GOTO wasn't going correctly or your camera was playing up again....

Cheers,  John

[Tony G]

John,
have you looked at the garden shed observatories on the Web, as down on the Sidcup by-pass next to the world of golf they have a wide range of sheds and mini detatched house on display, but if I remember rightly there is also a place with sheds made up near Knockholt whether its the same people or not I don't know.

Tony G

[Rocket Pooch]

I don't think the shed is the problem, the steel one I used was £250, its all the other bits.

[Tony G]

Chris
if needs be, I could help out with a few of the bits and pieces (construction materials and a tube to use for the mount maybe) its when the electronics and soldering and fine intregate bits start thats when I start to pack up,
but later on if I decide to do the same then maybe someone could help me with the fiddlely bits after I get the daughters to build the observatory, under my supervision that is.
John if you do need anything to get you started let me know and i'll see what I can do

Tony G