For the first test of my new ZWO ASI2600MC camera, I needed a somewhat easy target. With all of the famous galaxies done already for the year, I picked M100, the “Blowdryer galaxy.” Not too dim or large, it turned out really well. The colored rings problem I had been… Continue Reading... "M100, the Blowdryer galaxy"
Finally, a clear night after over two weeks of clouds! Continuing with galaxy season, I was able to fit two neighbors into one frame, the Whale and the Crowbar galaxies. Guiding was kind of having a fit since there weren’t any good, bright stars in view, but it all averaged… Continue Reading... "The Whale and Crowbar galaxies"
Over two nights, I was able to get over eight and a half hours of data on the Croc’s Eye Galaxy. The data turned out great, even with a bright moon out. I tried using my studio softbox to take flats, and it worked a little better this time, but… Continue Reading... "M94, Croc’s Eye Galaxy"
I decided to try the Sunflower galaxy again, since it was one of the first deep sky objects I imaged with my Dobsonian and homemade tracking platform. Clouds held out a lot longer than were forecast, and the equipment kept giving me frustrations. The moon was also out most of… Continue Reading... "M63, the Sunflower"
I got a ZWO ASI 178MM to use as a new guide camera. My old Touptek camera loved to disconnect in the middle of the night, so I just couldn’t trust it anymore. The ZWO camera has much higher resolution and also a larger field of view, in addition to… Continue Reading... "M106"
Nothing went right for me this time. My dew heater pad on the primary cell apparently doesn’t work very well. After just a few hours, the secondary was coated in frost, and the primary was getting there. Also, my guide scope decided to stop working during the meridian flip, so… Continue Reading... "A double whammy, the Surfboard galaxy and the Owl nebula"
I had a great frame on the Waterbug Galaxy and his neighbor, NGC 5005. These galaxies lay 64 and 81 million light years away, respectively. Photobombers include the galaxy smudges NGC 5002, near the top center, and NGC 5014, in the top right corner. These galaxies are markedly smaller and… Continue Reading... "The Waterbug and friends"
Conditions were pretty good tonight! NINA is now my favorite software, with everything working perfectly in it, including the focusing routine. I’ve never had such good focus before. And refocusing half way through the imaging plan is a huge benefit to the quality of my finished image. I did very… Continue Reading... "NGC 2903"
This is my first multi-night project, extending NGC 2403. Over three nights, I exposed for almost 12 hours. The focus was a little inconsistent, as I am still learning to use the autofocus routines in my software and also trying to pinpoint the backlash values in my focuser. The noise… Continue Reading... "NGC 2403 again"
My first try at M51 last year was mind blowing at the time. And it is mindblowing yet again. Guiding was about as good as I could ever hope for all night. The meridian flip halted due to plate solving failing. It got a little confused on the super bright… Continue Reading... "Conquering M51"
