JonW

M1 - Crab Nebula

JonW — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:35:15 GMT

M1 - Crab Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Meade F6.3 Focal Reducer + 30mm Extension. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with 4.0S update rate in PHD (via GPUSB & APM) PEC correction on.

19 120S Subs, Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, hand picked subs, flat frame, bias calibration and stacking done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels registered and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 then exponential stretch and background fix on final image. Final finishing in Photoshop with colour balance shift and slight unsharp mask.

Taken on 3-01-2009

Seeing was better than the previous picture of this object in December. First image of the new year!

M1 Crab Nebula

JonW — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:41:18 GMT

M1 Crab Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Meade F6.3 Focal Reducer + 30mm Extension. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with 1.0S update rate in Envisage.

9 120S Subs, Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, image quality sorted in Nebulosity 2, flat frame, bias calibration and stacking done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels registered and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 then tangent stretch and background fix on final image. Final finishing in Photoshop with colour balance shift and slight unsharp mask.

Taken on 6-12-2008

Seeing was reasonably good.

M42 - The Great Orion Nebula

JonW — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:35:16 GMT

M42 - The Great Orion Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Meade F6.3 Focal Reducer + 30mm Extension. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with 1.0S update rate in Envisage.

56 15S Subs, Sorted in Nebulosity. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame, bias calibration and stacking done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels registered and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 then exponential stretch on final image. Final finishing in Photoshop with colour balance shift and slight unsharp mask.

Tried to capture everything in one exposure, but there's not enough dynamic range in the DSI III , hence the trapezium and brighter stars are burned out and bloated. Will try again when conditions are right, but will probably need to overlay images taken with different exposure levels. Difficult subject to image, but never ceased to be amazed by the beauty of this nebula, even with a poor image like this...

Taken on 24-10-2008

Seeing was reasonably good.

Caldwell 27 - Crescent Nebula

JonW — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:27:43 GMT

Caldwell 27 - Crescent Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Meade F6.3 Focal Reducer + 30mm Extension. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with 1.4S update rate in Envisage.

31 60S Subs, Sorted in Nebulosity. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame, bias calibration and stacking done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels registered and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 then exponential stretch on final image. Final finishing in Photoshop with colour balance shift and slight unsharp mask.

Taken on 24-10-2008

Seeing was reasonably good.

M-31 Andromeda Galaxy

JonW — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:08:53 GMT

M-31 Andromeda Galaxy

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Meade F6.3 Focal Reducer + 30mm Extension. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with 1S update rate in Envisage.

12 60S Subs, Sorted in Nebulosity. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame, bias calibration and stacking done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels registered and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 then exponential stretch on final image. Final finishing in Photoshop with slight unsharp mask.

Taken on 22-10-2008

Seeing was reasonably good.

M31 - Andromeda Galaxy

JonW — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:42:20 GMT

M31 - Andromeda Galaxy

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Meade F6.3 Focal Reducer + 30mm Extension. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with 1S update rate in PHD.

10 60S Subs, Sorted in Nebulosity. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame, bias calibration and stacking done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels registered and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 then exponential stretch on final image. Final finishing in Photoshop with slight unsharp mask.

Taken on 10-10-2008

Seeing slightly marred by high cloud.

DSI IIIc showing read-out noise

JonW — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:57:48 GMT

DSI IIIc showing read-out noise

Strange problem with read-out noise when both DSIc and DSI IIIc run together on the same USB hub...

M57 - Ring Nebula

JonW — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:11:43 GMT

M57 - Ring Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Meade F6.3 Focal Reducer + 30mm Extension. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with .5S update rate in Envisage.

49 15S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.2. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels registered and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 and enhanced using Adaptive Wavelet Noise Filter, Background Fix, then DDP. Final finishing in Photoshop.

Taken on 26-08-200

Note: I've finally collimated the LX90 to a reasonable degree... This makes a BIG difference. The 30mm extension is not ideal, and with the SCT -T adaptor gives about 50mm total distance to the chip (ideal is around 100mm). This gives a focal reduction of about F7, whilst still allowing the scope to reach 90 degrees declination.

Jupiter and Moons

JonW — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:23:04 GMT

Jupiter and Moons

8" Meade LX-90 with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Meade F6.3 Focal Reducer (at F7 spacing)

39 0.02S Subs. Stacked in Envisage post processesed in AIP4Win 2.2 as separate LRGB Channels and finished in Photoshop. The moons produced from an over-stretched version of the same data and then merged in Photoshop.

Imaged on 28-08-2008 following collimation of the LX90 a few days before.

Caldwell 22 Blue Snowball Nebula

JonW — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:09:25 GMT

Caldwell 22 Blue Snowball Nebula

Meade DSI IIIc at prime focus. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with .5S update rate in Envisage. White balance set to "daylight"

19 60S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.2. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels aligned and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 and enhanced using sky background fix followed by slight stretch. Final finishing in Photoshop (slight unsharp mask).

Taken on 14-08-2008

Previous image looked a bit small, so took the opportunity to image this at the prime focus whilst doing some other trials. Also increased the exposure to fill the DSI III histogram more efficiently.

M11 - Wild Duck Cluster

JonW — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:48:45 GMT

M11 - Wild Duck Cluster

Meade DSI IIIc with 1.25" Astro Engineering 0.6x Focal Reducer in modified nose-piece. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with .5S update rate in Envisage. White balance set to "daylight"

17 5.7S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.2. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels aligned and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 and enhanced using DDP and sky background fix. Final finishing in Photoshop (slight unsharp mask and auto levels).

Taken on 7-08-2008

Caldwell 22 - Blue Snowball

JonW — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:54:33 GMT

Caldwell 22 - Blue Snowball

Meade DSI IIIc with 1.25" Astro Engineering 0.6x Focal Reducer in modified nose-piece. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with .5S update rate in Envisage. White balance set to "daylight"

27 8S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.2. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels aligned and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 and enhanced using DDP and sky background fix. Final finishing in Photoshop (slight unsharp mask).

Taken on 7-08-2008

M57 - Ring Nebula: Re-Processed

JonW — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:11:20 GMT

M57 - Ring Nebula: Re-Processed

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with 1.25" Astro Engineering 0.6x Focal Reducer in modified nose-piece. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with 1S update rate in Envisage.

37 15S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.2. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.2 each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 and enhanced using DDP. This is the same image as posted previously for 15-07-2008, except that the colour balance has been restored in PS, and a slightly sharper unsharp mask applied.

Taken on 15-07-2008

M27 - Dumbell Nebula re-processed

JonW — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:51:32 GMT

M27 - Dumbell Nebula re-processed

Meade DSI IIIc with 1.25" Astro Engineering 0.6x Focal Reducer in modified nose-piece. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with .5S update rate in Envisage.

10 60S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.2. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels aligned and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 and enhanced using DDP. Final finishing in Photoshop (darken sky, manual setting of RGB levels, slight unsharp mask). Essentially the same as previous image, but with no auto white balance set during capture, and more careful finishing on a colour calibrated monitor. Seems well worth taking the extra care over the monitor calibration...

Taken on 27-07-2008

M57 - Ring Nebula

JonW — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:58:02 GMT

M57 - Ring Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with 1.25" Astro Engineering 0.6x Focal Reducer in modified nose-piece. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with 1S update rate in Envisage.

22 15S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.2. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.2 each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels registered and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 and enhanced using DDP. Final finishing in Photoshop.

Taken on 27-07-2008

Note: modified nose-piece is an astro-engineering part for adapting T-thread to 1.25" push fitting, machined back to the front face. This is giving approximately F2.9, so going to stop at this point. Image is not absolutely perfect, but ok to look at in small format.

M27 - Dumbell Nebula

JonW — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:36:27 GMT

M27 - Dumbell Nebula

Meade DSI IIIc with 1.25" Astro Engineering 0.6x Focal Reducer in modified nose-piece. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with .5S update rate in Envisage.

10 60S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.2. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels aligned and joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 and enhanced using DDP. Final finishing in Photoshop (darken sky and auto-levels). Essentially the same as previous image, but with no auto white balance set during capture.

Taken on 27-07-2008

M27 - Dumbell Nebula

JonW — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:10:33 GMT

M27 - Dumbell Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with 1.25" Astro Engineering 0.6x Focal Reducer in modified nose-piece. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with .5S update rate in Envisage.

8 60S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.2. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.2 for each individual LRGB channel. Calibrated channels joined in AIP4WIN 2.2 and enhanced using DDP. Final finishing in Photoshop.

Taken on 22-07-2008

Jupiter with IO, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto

JonW — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:06:59 GMT

Jupiter with IO, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto

8" Meade LX-90 with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Astro Engineering 1.25" 0.6 Focal Reducer.

74 0.03S Subs. Stacked and post processesed in AIP4Win and finished in Photoshop.

Imaged on 19-06-2008 during last few moments of the session just for curiosity...

M57 - Ring Nebula

JonW — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:12:19 GMT

M57 - Ring Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with 1.25" Astro Engineering 0.6x Focal Reducer in modified nose-piece. Autoguided with Starlight 80 + DSIc with 1S update rate in Envisage.

Taken on 15-07-2008

Note: modified nose-piece is an astro-engineering part for adapting T-thread to 1.25" push fitting, machined back to 4mm from rear face. There's still some distortion in the corners, so going to try and machine another version, flush with the face this time.

M57 - Ring Nebula

JonW — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:14:23 GMT

M57 - Ring Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 GPS with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with 1.25" Astro Engineering 0.6x Focal Reducer (unguided).

26 15S Subs, hand picked and stacked in AIP4Win 2.0. Dark subtract done on the fly in Envisage, flat frame and bias calibration done in AIP4Win 2.0. LRGB Post processed with Fits Liberator.

Taken on 28-06-2008.

JonW

M1 - Crab Nebula

M1 Crab Nebula

M42 - The Great Orion Nebula

Caldwell 27 - Crescent Nebula

M-31 Andromeda Galaxy

M31 - Andromeda Galaxy

DSI IIIc showing read-out noise

M57 - Ring Nebula

Jupiter and Moons

Caldwell 22 Blue Snowball Nebula

M11 - Wild Duck Cluster

Caldwell 22 - Blue Snowball

M57 - Ring Nebula: Re-Processed

M27 - Dumbell Nebula re-processed

M57 - Ring Nebula

M27 - Dumbell Nebula

M27 - Dumbell Nebula

Jupiter with IO, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto

8" Meade LX-90 with standard wedge Meade DSI IIIc with Astro Engineering 1.25" 0.6 Focal Reducer. 74 0.03S Subs. Stacked and post processesed in AIP4Win and finished in Photoshop. Imaged on 19-06-2008 during last few moments of the session just for curiosity...

M57 - Ring Nebula

M57 - Ring Nebula

8" Meade LX-90 with standard wedge

Meade DSI IIIc with Astro Engineering 1.25" 0.6 Focal Reducer.

74 0.03S Subs. Stacked and post processesed in AIP4Win and finished in Photoshop.

Imaged on 19-06-2008 during last few moments of the session just for curiosity...