What do you call a modified for Astrophotography 40D with a broken USB socket?
Useless – same as the owner who broke it. And I just got my DSLR cooler box working correctly too!
Blog Archives
M42 – Orion Nebula Test Shot
OK – so the reason it’s a test shot is because my house gets in the way and I didn’t plan to shoot this target and I missed my opportunity before the chimney got in the way. On my positive spin I have established what exposure duration I will use based upon how much the core is blown out. In fact, like most other people, I will probably do multiple exposure durations and layer them in PhotoShop. Now all I need is no wind, and a cold cloudless night before the end of January to get this. Easier typed then done.
Test shot, unprocessed JPEG, 200 seconds @ ISO 800, sensor temp 7C, ambient temp 4C
M81 / M82 – My First Real Go
I’ve managed to get some data of M81 and M82 recently, no idea how with all the cloud the UK has been having, but I did it! This was my first attempt at processing in Pixinsight, using Harry’s tutorials which were invaluable to get started and to get to grips with Pixinsight. Thanks Harry! I will probably go back to the processing of this and keep doing it and trying different methods.
Anyway, here is the shot processed with Pixinsight.
Image Details:
- SW 100ED DS-Pro with Canon 40D Guided on HEQ5
- 7 Hours of data @ 60 x 7 mins subs
- Dark and Flat Calibrated
No Cloud – But it’s Coming
Finally no cloud, but it’s on its way. Target for tonight is IC 1396, The Elephants Trunk. Here is a 10 minute Sub. 3 down, 22 to go.
Update 2nd November 2011: After taking 27 subs in total and combining it with data previously captured I came up with the final results after post processing in Photoshop. I still need to take my calibration frames for the subs taken on the 1st November, I’ll get these done shortly.
Here is the stacked uncalibrated image of IC 1396.
What? No Cloud? Best get my plan out.
What? No Cloud? Can’t be right?
Finally a gap in the cloud. 4 clear nights had been upon us so I took the time, which is mandatory it seems when there is no cloud, to get outside with the scope and do some Astrophotography.
During cloudy periods (the whole of the Summer) I took some time to invest in some software to aid in planning which targets to observe and image. I had plenty of time to research and ended up choosing Astroplanner http://www.astroplanner.net/ as it seemed to be a very good comprehensive tool with lots of features that will be useful in determining (more so checking) which targets will be visible from my location and when, including transit times so I know the best time to image it approx. With this software I am able to set my location and my horizon as well as many other settings, including which telescope, camera, eye pieces and optical aids. The list goes on. It also has a neat little feature to show with my setup just how big the target will be in the FOV or imaging frame, which is very very useful in deciding which kit to use. It also logs my observation sessions, allows print outs of observation forms, and many other things I can’t write about due to time, you need to go look. If you are into Astrophotography and don’t have this tool, I recommend you go try a free trial.
Anyway, so I utilised my plan I created for the month of September and I managed to get through 3 targets, two of which I have posted the images in my Astrophotography gallery. All images guided using PHD..
First up was M31, known as Andromeda Galaxy is located in the constellation Andromeda. It’s about 12.5 million light years away, which is not far in astronomical terms. Overall I took around 3 hours worth of data (lights), darks, flats, flat darks and bias calibration frames. The scientists agree that The Andromeda Galaxy is hurtling towards the Milky Way Galaxy, which is where our Solar System is located, and one day will merge. They also believe it could miss depending on its sideways trajectory. I guess anything is possible!
I think I need a bit more data but I am happy with one of my very first real attempts as DSO imaging. I also need to practise my post processing, but I’m happy with this for now.
Second up is M45, The Pleiades (Seven Sisters) which is an open star cluster located in the constellation Taurus. According to Wiki (and I’m sure many other sources), the cluster is dominated by hot blue and very luminous stars which have formed within the last 100 million years. I think this is reflected in the picture below which is 2 hours worth of exposure at ISO 800, taken with my Sky-Watcher 100ED DS-Pro with 0.85x FR and Modified Canon 40D. And yes, I might have missed a bit out, c’mon though it’s all new to me.
Then came the cloud. Well, nevermind, I am sure there will be plenty more opportunity during the Winter to get more imaging done. Being new to this, I’m pretty optimistic still.
First Light Moon and Jupiter – 14th September 2011
Well, finally the cloud shifted and I was able to get the scope out. This time though, I fancied a try at some visual work, as the Moon and Jupiter were well positioned, also my dad wanted to have a look. So packed up all the kit into the back of the car (Grandad Picasso C4) and the boot was full, so I don’t think it will be going on holiday’s with us 
and made the short journey to my dad’s abode. Setup didn’t take long and we were straight on it once we got the mount polar aligned and synced with Cartes Du Ciel.
First up was the moon. Arrgghhh, bright, blinded. OK lesson learned you really do need a filter to reduce the amount of light. Polarizing will do the job nicely. Next up was Jupiter. I was quite amazed that in the finder scope I could see four of Jupiter’s moons as well as Jupiter, which appeared to be a bright large star. Of course, things are never so easy, the finder scope was not aligned with the main scope, so some adjustment had to be made here which was pretty painful as it was hard to run to PC to make adjustments and then back again to see the effect. With the annoyance of this I plucked out my Saitek Cyborg controller, and after a quick automatic calibration I was controlling the mount while looking through eyepiece. Brilliant!
Finally got Jupiter aligned and it was a good experience. I change the eyepiece to my 6mm which gives a mere magnification of only 150x. You could make out two red bands on the gas giant which was a good feeling. It’s pretty amazing seeing pictures of the planets, but seeing them with your own eyes if you know is so much better if you know what I mean, even if you can’t quite see so much.
After a bit of viewing it was time to fit the 40D to the scope to do a little video recording of both targets. First up the Moon again, then Jupiter. I used Backyard EOS for the recording as it has the ability to record using the Liveview function on the Canon 40D. Both recording’s were taken using the 5x zoom function so you could see something. I’ve posted these images in my Astrophotography gallery, which doesn’t have too many photos in at the moment due to persistent cloud all year. The focus could be improved, but hey, not bad for a first attempt!
