First Light with the Sky-Watcher 80ED Pro

So only a few days after moaning about the bad weather, we actually had a couple of nights with clear skies. It was also about -5ºC across the two days so I felt a little bit cold when I was out trying to use my new Telescope and Camera.

As it was my first night out I decided to be boring and pick everyone's favourite target, M31, aka the Andromeda Galaxy.

So after setting everything up and getting on target (which took about 2 hours) I was ready to start imaging! I basically took 16 x 90 second subs at ISO 800. I failed to get any Darks or Lights as I was beginning to feel the cold and just didn't have the dedication to stick it out any longer.

I processed the image in Photoshop and whilst I know I lost a bit of data in the processing, I am happy enough with this first attempt.

You may notice there are some issues with the focus on the stars along the left hand side of the image. This is because I believe I had some issues in the optical train which resulted in my DSLR sensor not being square to the optical path. The reason was that I struggled to get focus so ended up setting up a very badly held together "botch" job.

Since taking this image however I have found a little extension tube in my telescope case which states "DSLR Adaptor" rather obviously on the side of it. This would have given me a much more firm extension system to help achieve focus. I probably should have checked it out first but I was just a bit keen!

New Equipment = Terrible Weather

So for Christmas I got some new Astronomy gear to play around with. I got permanent control of the Modified Canon 700D DSLR I had played with previously which is basically a Canon 700D with the IR filter removed to increase the sensor response to red light.

In addition, I also got a Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro Telescope. This scope is a Apochromatic refractor which will provide me with a much wider field of view than my 127 Mak.

In addition to the wider field of view it is also a "faster" scope meaning that more light will get to my camera during an exposure than would do on the Mak.

For anyone out there who likes the official specs then here they are:

Diameter: 80mm
Focal Length: 600mm
F/ratio: F/7.5
Fully Multi-Coated Doublet Objective Lens
FPL-53 ED Fluorite Glass Objective Element
Backlash-free 2” Crayford Focuser

Now all I need is the chance to use it!

Trials with a Modified DSLR - The Heart Nebula IC1805

So I am a lucky man and am going to get a Modified Canon 700D DSLR for Christmas. Basically the modification removes an IR filter from the camera which increases the amount of red light now getting through to the sensor.

However, I needed to test it when it was received and was allowed one night to play around with it in the back garden to make sure it worked.

I decided to pick a target that my standard DSLR would struggle to pick up from my back garden with only a couple of minutes of exposure. The target chosen was the Heart Nebula also known as IC 1805 and the image I took is a stack of 8 x 120s Exposures at ISO 1600 using a Canon 55-250mm IS STM Lens.

I am really chuffed with this considering the Lens I used isn't the best and I had to do a lot of processing to remove light pollution. The heart shape is still visible and hopefully once I get a Light Pollution Filter I can get something even better.

The Camera is now packed away for Christmas Day but I am looking forward to getting more time using it in the future.

Widefield Fun

So I have been having fun recently with taking widefield images, both from my own back garden and during my recent holiday in the Cairngorms.

First up, I have an image of Ursa Minor aka The Little Dipper which I took using in the backgarden using my HEQ5 Mount enabling me to take reasonably long exposures.

To be honest, Ursa Minor is in quite an empty area of sky so my image isn't the most exciting but I still wanted to share it.

The image I took of Cassiopeia the same night is much more interesting as it is in a much busier section of the sky.

In this image I can actually make out several Deep Space Objects such as the Owl Cluster (NGC 457) and I am sure I can see the Pacman Nebula (NGC 281). I really love this image as I every time I study it I make out something I hadn't noticed before.

My next two images are both taken using a fixed tripod from the Cairngorms and capture different sections of the Milky Way.

I don't know if I can say much about these images but I really enjoyed getting the chance to get to see the Milky Way at a dark site although as the next picture of Orion shows it wasn't perfectly dark.

Here you can see Orion hanging over the village of Tomintoul which was producing some light pollution but it was still a wonderful place to see the night sky.

The Planets Line Up

So recently I was lucky enough to be up in the Cairngorms in Scotland when Jupiter, Mars and Venus all got very close to each other in the night sky. It took until my final morning there for the weather to be favourable and for me to get a chance to image it.

Whilst my wife though I was mad for getting up at 4.30am, the wide-field picture I took here shows that it really was a lovely view and I feel it was worth the early morning.  As I was up I also decided to take a picture with the lens zoomed in a bit.

Sirsalis Rille & Crüger Crater

So it has been a while since I decided to spend any real time looking at the moon and recently I decided I would try and tackle a couple more of the Lunar 100.

I targeted two targets that were in the same area Sirsalis Rille (L77) & Crüger Crater (L52) and you can see the image I captured of them below.

Sirsalis Rille is a 426Km long lunar rille that starts at the edge of Oceanus Procellarum near Sirsalis  crater from which it gets its name and proceeds directly away from the mare, eventually ending up among the cracks in the floor of Darwin crater. If you look closely around this area of the image you can also actually make Darwin Rille perpendicularly intercepting Sirsalis Rille.

I have put an image that I took with my 2x Barlow below which possibly shows the intersection a bit clearer.

Crüger Crater was pretty easy to see as it has a very dark interior floor which is actually one of the lowest albedo features on the Moon. The surface has been covered in basaltic lava and has only been exposed to a minimal amount of deposition from impact ejecta. The floor is nearly featureless, with only a tiny craterlet near the centre and few other even more diminutive impacts, none of which I could make out.

Ring Nebula (Messier 57) & the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules (Messier 13)

As any follower of this blog will know, I have recently started playing around with a HEQ5 mount and my DSLR camera. However, I also have been trying it with my 127 Mak telescope in addition to the standard Lenses.

Without guiding and due to the statistics of my telescope I am limited to bright, smaller targets and so I have recently decided to image the Ring Nebula & the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. First up with the Ring Nebula in the constellation Lyra which is a stack of 10 x 90 second exposures.

I was pretty chuffed with this, especially considering my camera ran out of batteries before I could take any Dark or Flat frames. My unmodified camera does block the red elements of the nebula which is a shame but it is still a nice enough image.

Next up was the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules which is a stack of 16 x 75 second exposures. One thing I did this time was use Dark and Flat frames as I had remembered to charge my camera battery so I actually had time to do it.

I really like this image and think it shows that I am slowly learning how to use the camera and processing software. I do wonder how far I can go with my current setup and I now realise what people mean when they talk about how this hobby sucks the money out of you as there is always something better out there!