HEQ5, N250/1200, TSO ADC, ASI 224MC (cooled), home observatory, mountpusher
Sun – 2019-12-22
After a longer overcast period, I managed to image the Sun in Hydrogen alpha, using my solar setup: HEQ5, Lunt LS60T Hα, B600, ASI 120MM
HD 33802
I had both some time and clear skies to image yet another colored binary. I used the HEQ5, N250/1200, TSO ADC, ASI 224MC (cooled), home observatory, mountpusher setup well known by those who follow my posts, and the heavy processing described here. The main issue with these binary stars is that they are faint, and their companions are even more so, so even my mountpusher has a problem following the target — the mountpusher needs at least two-three frames per second to not beep and have the time to apply the needed corrections.
HD33802, HIP 24244 [* in Lep] 3Iot Lep, B8V, 232ly 4.45m [simbad] [photo-planner]
Photoplanner: Close Neighbors
So I’ve been thinking about this: what if I want target proposals for objects that have a nearby neighbor. Like the Double Cluster, or M81 and M82, or M35 and NGC 2158. So I came up with a generic filter in the photo planner that narrows the search results based on whether a particular result has a neighbor. The search switch is conjunction, and the unit is degrees, defaulting to 1 degree. Some searches (like an unpolite naked :conjunction) may still result in a server error (low memory), so the switch works on already specific queries.
Examples:
Galaxies that have an obvious nearby friend:
type:galaxy minlum:11 conjunction:1Open clusters and/or globular clusters that are near each other:
type:ogc :conjunctionOpen or globular clusters or planetary nebulae with at least one planetary nebula in the pair. The curious cases of M46 and NGC 2818:
type:pnogc conjunction:0.7 conjunctiontype:pn minsize:0.005The results are some pretty nice vistas.
Sol Invictus: it was here before me, it’ll be here after me, till it won’t
Lunt LS60T Ha + B600 on the HEQ5, with an ASI 120 MM USB3 2019-12-07
Two little known color binaries
Some binaries, like Albireo and Alcor-Mizar are well known, other less so. This time, using my program like always, I dug out two binaries I had no reason to hear about. It’s not exactly „yet another balcony survey„.
HD 36167, HIP 25737 [* in Ori] 31 Ori, K5III, 508ly 4.71m [simbad] [photo-planner]
HD 49933, HIP 32851 [* in Mon] F2V, 96.8ly 5.78m [simbad] [photo-planner]
HD 36167
HD 49933
The Sun 2019-11-16
So this is the first light of the Lunt LS60T Ha 60/500 tube with the B600 filter, beaming its light to an ASI 120 MM-S camera. It’s a nice setup. Last time I observed from my balcony in Hα was in 2015, different times. (tovább…)
The transit of Mercury 2019-11-11
No big deal, in the lunch break.
2019.11.11. transit of mercury MG 9479
2019.11.11. transit of mercury MG 9541
2019.11.11. transit of mercury IMG 2019.11.11. 144227
2019.11.11. transit of mercury IMG 2019.11.11. 145224
2019.11.11. transit of mercury IMG 2019.11.11. 151617 1
Two binaries for breakfast
Continuing my binaries series. HEQ5, N250/1200, TSO ADC, ASI 224MC (cooled), home observatory, mountpusher, very bad seeing.
6 nu1 CMa
HD 55856
My old EQ3 with a new ST4 port
UPDATE 2022: I reimplemented the whole hand controller on an ESP32 micro, from the ground up. See this article.
On cloudy nights astronomers sleep still do some astronomy, or just something, in order to be doing something. What I did last night: take out my old EQ3 mount — motorized but no goto and no autoguider port — and think about it a bit. After some thinking and measuring, I added a standard ST4 autoguider port to it. While I know there are others who have done so before me, I remember reading some articles a few years back, for this project I didn’t bother to google that/those articles again. Cause it’s not rocket science.
And cause I already have my soapbox driving the HEQ5. Actually I have two soapboxes, so let’s rock.
the steppers used for radec
the steppers used for radec
So I opened the black box the hand controller literally is, to see what’s under the hood.
