Csillagtúra

Messier 46

It was a beautiful night, and the first light of my camera battery replacement solution. As a good bye target, as it was already morning, not bothering with guiding, I pointed the telescope towards Messier 46, the famous open cluster that has a planetary nebula superimposed on it, NGC 2438. According to the wikis, the planetary is at around 3k light years away, while the cluster is some 5k. I acquired 18x60s at ISO 3200 with the N 150/750, Baader MPCC Mark III, Canon 1100D mod, HEQ5 setup, with both the Baader UHC and the IDAS LPS D2 filter in place. The filters were not explicitly meant for this target (not even the planetary), but since they were in place and the remaining time was short, I just left the equipment as it was after photographing the nebulae.

(tovább…)

Cave Nebula – 2018-10-12

2018.11.29. admin

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Cave Nebula

It was an exceptionally good night for observation, so I acquired 31×4 minutes at ISO 3200 light with the N 150/750, Baader MPCC Mark III, Canon 1100D mod, HEQ5, having both the Baader UHC and the IDAS LPS D2 filter in front of the sensor. The Cave Nebula is one of the few Caldwell objects not taken from the NGC or IC catalogs. Since this was the night I deployed my home made power supply for the camera, I am very pleased with this, sort of first light image.

C 9, SH2-155 [nebula in Cep] Cave Nebula, Barlang-köd 7.7^m ø50′ [wiki] [simbad] 750mm

(tovább…)

NGC 2174 Monkey Head Nebula – 2018-10-12

2018.11.29. admin

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Monkey Head Nebula NGC 2174

Monkey Head Nebula

In october, I photographed the Monkey Head Nebula, acquiring 28x240s, ISO 3200 frames with the N 150/750, Baader MPCC Mark III, Canon 1100D mod, HEQ5 setup, using both the IDAS LPS D2 and the 2″ Baader UHC filter.

NGC 2174, SH2-252 [nebula in Ori] Monkey Head Nebula, Majomfej-köd 6.8^m ø20′ [wiki] [simbad] 600mm, 750mm

(tovább…)

Rosette Nebula 2018-11-10

2018.11.26. admin

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rozetta-köd rosette nebula

Rosette Nebula

During the same night I imaged the Rosette nebula, acquiring 10 x 5 min, ISO 3200, with the Canon 1100D mod, Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 L II USM at f/6.3, HEQ5, with the IDAS LPS D2 filter clipped in. Compared to my previous attempts, I find this result a more natural, more smooth outcome.

C 49, NGC 2237, SH2-275 [nebula in Mon] Rosette nebula, Rozetta-köd, Sharpless 275, SH2-275 9^m ø90′ [wiki] [simbad] 200mm, 400mm, 600mm, 750mm

C 50, NGC 2244, Mel 47, Col 99 [open cluster+nebula in Mon] A open cluster of bright stars, with surrounding nebula extending over a field 1d square. 4.8^m ø24′ [wiki] [simbad] 200mm, 400mm, 600mm, 750mm

(tovább…)

A Gemini region – 2018-11-10

2018.11.25. admin

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m35 NGC 2174 SH2-248 Jellyfish Nebula

Gemini region

During the same night, I imaged the Gemini region containing:

LBN 844, SH2-248 [SNR in Gem] Jellyfish Nebula [bright] from shc, Medúza-köd 6^m ø50′ [simbad] 135mm, 200mm, 400mm, 600mm, 750mm

NGC 2174, SH2-252 [nebula in Ori] Monkey Head Nebula, Majomfej-köd 6.8^m ø20′ [wiki] [simbad] 600mm, 750mm

M 35, NGC 2168, Mel 41, Col 82 [open cluster in Gem] M. 35. Large open cluster, well defined and condensed towards centre. 5.1^m ø28′ [wiki] [simbad] 750mm

Also on the image:

NGC 2158, Mel 40, Col 81 [open cluster in Gem] A very small Class II or globular cluster. Somewhat similar to NGC 2266. 8.6^m ø5′ [wiki] [simbad] 750mm

IC 2156 [open cluster in Gem] [wiki] [simbad] [photo-planner]

IC 2157 [open cluster in Gem] 8.4^m ø7′ [wiki] [simbad] [photo-planner]

LBN 843, SH2-247 [H II nebula in Tau] Sharpless 247, SH2-247 [midbright] from shc 8^m ø9′ [simbad] [photo-planner]

LBN 845 [nebula in Gem] LBN brightness=4 ø20′ [simbad] [photo-planner]

I put together 5 framings to extend the corners, the main frame contains 16x90s ISO 3200, F/5, using the usual rig Canon 1100D mod, Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 L II USM at f/x, HEQ5 and the IDAS LPS D2 filter.

(tovább…)

IC 2177 Seagull Nebula 2018-11-10

2018.11.25. admin

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IC 2177 Seagull Nebula

Seagull Nebula

The same night I imaged the IC 2177, SH2-296 [nebula in Mon] Seagull Nebula, Sirály-köd, Sharpless 296, SH2-296 ø120′ [wiki] [simbad] 200mm, gathering 10x195sec at f/4 ISO 3200 with the Canon 1100D mod, Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 L II USM at f/x, HEQ5, using the IDAS LPS D2 clip in filter. For this one I also used my starheal.

(tovább…)

California nebula – 2018-11-10

2018.11.25. admin

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ngc 1499 california nebula

California nebula

I managed to dial down the chromatic problems (astigmatism?) of my Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 L II USM, by adjusting the lens’s mount, but it’s still bordering garbage for astrophotography’s needs.

I imaged NGC 1499, SH2-220 [nebula in Per] California nebula ø160′ [wiki] [simbad] 200mm, 400mm on 2018-11-10, with the usual wide field rig, Canon 1100D mod, Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 L II USM at f/4.5, HEQ5, acquiring 21×90 sec of light at ISO 3200. An extra is the IDAS LPS D2 clip in filter.

(tovább…)

A little charging station

2018.11.01. admin

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equipment programming raspberry pi

I like horizontal extensions :)

I like stuff that’s standard, modular, dumb, fault tolerant and degrades gracefully. The mount, the camera, the heating, the guiding — these all have different priorities, different needs and complexities. This is why I chose to use the 12V 7.2Ah standard UPS batteries, many of them, in separate circuits. This setup, obvious from the way the charging is solved, is for occasional one night sessions, not continuous deployment.

HEQ5

One circuit is for the mount. I put one or more batteries in parallel, or more like max(): the batteries are isolated from each other through diodes.

DSLR

My Canon 1100D (modified) does work from a USB phone charger, but it has its own 12V battery. It works well, non stop all night, from a single battery, without depleting it. A fellow amateur astronomer has already asked me to make him a similar wonder-box :D See details.

The DSLR was the last item that a voltage other than the one provided by the standard 12V batteries. Its own batteries meant special care, special costs, and thankfully that is over, once and for all. (tovább…)