Pacman nebula from 8.1.19. 53×2.5min. My first attempt at the pacman and very pleased to get this result. Not a great evening for imaging but between clouds i was able to get enough subs. I hope the weather is kind enough over the next week so i can try adding some Halpha to the image.
Finally got round to combining my Halpha images with colour from November. This is the first time ive attempted this so very pleased with the outcome. Total exposure- 24x10min Halpha, 50×2.5 RGB.
Finally got round to processing some more images from earlier in the year. This one is from 17.11.18 and comprises 24x10min exposures in Halpha. I also did several colour images of the heart nebula on this evening which Ive already posted, so i hope to combine these at some point soon.
An edited version of my earlier M45 with a slight change to the curves.
Geoff
ts been a while now since i posted my preliminarily preview of the Esprit 120 mostly due to a combination of work/family/bad weather and Xmas parties. On Friday evening the forecast was clear until around 7ish so i was able to get a few shots of M45. I chose M45 as its a great star cluster which would be good to determine star shapes in the corner of my sensor.
I was able to get 26×2.5min before the clouds started to roll in. For this test the position of M45 wasn’t great so there is a light pollution gradient etc, which isn’t important to determining star shapes, optical errors.
Anyway looking at my RAW images id say the scope covers about 98% of the sensor. For the remaining 2% a very small amount of vignetting is visible with a strong histogram stretch and an ever so slight amount of coma on stars at the extremities of the image. If your using a 36mm sensor like me then a very slight crop is necessary, although most people would do this anyway. If your using a standard APS-C Dslr then your stars are pinpoints to the edge! Very impressive in my book. Zooming into a bright star i can see no signs of star bloating.
I don’t know how Skywatcher are able to achieve such high quality for such a low price (in comparison to high end competitors) but im delighted!
The image ive posted is about 75% crop, for your perusal if anyone wants a full uncropped image please let me know.
Since I’m currently looking to change to a mono camera I thought it would be sensible to have a look at making the flats process easier.
I’ve seen a few posts over the years where people have produced a light panel and added A4 paper to the front giving a nice flat illuminated area.
I wanted to do something similar so I purchased a cheap LED panel on amazon and cut around the telescope circumference. I left the box around the panel and added Velcro to the inside to keep it flat against the outside. I also cut out the power inlet and on/off button.
Very pleased with the result ! I’ll keep it velcroed to the inside of the observatory.
Heart nebula from 17th Nov. 50×2.5min subs from what has become a very light polluted area. I think i may change the LP filter to an Idas D2 for its LED suppression as my neighborhood has recently changed its lighting 
Well its back to imaging in hydrogen alpha as the moon becomes brighter. 5hrs total integration 10min exposures from 18th Nov. Again quite pleased with the outcome from a modified canon 6d, i just wonder how better it would be when i get a mono camera??
Sunday night was clear so i decided to have a second go at M33. This is the second time Ive attempted this galaxy as the first from last year was slightly out of focus. It was a poor night seeing wise and my “clear outside app” was actually orange/red for most of it but Im pleased with the improvement from last year. I still feel i need to add more subs or would better seeing make that difference??? I actually tried to view the galaxy with a set of 70mm binos but it wasn’t visible. 100×2.5min plus darks, flats and bias. Processed in pixinsight.
