Charlie Hein
Postmaster
Reged: 11/02/03
Posts: 6184
Loc: 26.06.08N, +80.23.08W
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We are pleased and proud to present to you the Finalists in the CN Imaging/Sketching contest for May 2007:
Film Astrophotography's Finalist - RALF_T:
M51 - It´s a composite of two images. First is a shot with Fuji Superia 200, 30 minutes exposure. Second was made on hypered Tech Pan, 40 minutes. Both images were stacked and enlarged in my darkroom. The print was scanned finally.
Scope was as usual a 12inch f/5,3 ATM-Newtonian. Guiding was done by eye with an off-axis-guider.
DSLR & Digital Camera Astro Imaging & Processing's Finalist - krneki:
Leo Trio (M65, M66 and NGC 3628)
Location: Slovenia
Date: April 8th 2007
Exposure: 24x300s ISO 800
Camera: Canon 350D (Baader uv/ir mod.)
Scope: Skywatcher 254/1200 + MPCC
Mount: HEQ-5 (rajiva/conrad mod.)
Guiding: SC3.2 modified ToUCam II Pro through 70/900 guidescope with Guidemaster
Processing: IRIS, Photoshop CS2 and finally saved to jpg with IrfanView.
Larger image available here.
Sketching Forum's Finalist - Kris Smet:
Kris Smet
Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel
24/05/07
8" dobson f/5
5mm Baader Hyperion ep (200x)
seeing: poor
transparancy: good
Beginning Imaging's Finalist - Dragon Man:
My image of Orion Nebula in mild H-Alpha (it is still high in our sky here)
Ken James
Taken: April 2007
Taken from my backyard
Snake Valley, Victoria, Australia
Saxon ED80
Modified Toucam 840k Pro II SC1
10 x 180 second frames captured in 'Desire'
Stacked in Registax
Processed in Photoshop
Diffraction Spikes added in Photoshop
CCD Imaging & Processing's Finalist - Florent:
Taken by : Florent Poiget, Pithiviers le Vieil, France
Date : May 2007
- Losmandy HGM TITAN / Gemini Goto mount
- Astro Systeme Austria 12" N f/3.8 Astrograph
- SBIG ST-10XME at -25°C
- SBIG CFW-8A
Accessories :
- Astrodon™ 1:1:1 Tru-Balance™ LRGB Filters
Conditions :
- Second Quarter and New Moon
Exposures : (Total : 17h29min. for the Luminance only on 6 nights)
Luminance :
L= (196exp. x 5 min) + (69exp. x 1min.) all in binning 1x1
Color information :
R= G = B = 12 exp. x 5 min. (binning 1x1)
Full resolution crops can be seen at this link :
http://www.poigetdigitalpics.com/M51astrograph.html
Solar System Imaging's Finalist - swalker:
Venus in UV
12.5 inch f/5.1 Discovery Newtonian
5x Tele Vue Powermate (at 8x)
Baader Venus filter
Lumenera LU075
2000 frames out of 4000
recorded 5/8/2007 23:49 UT from Chester, NH
processed in Registax 4, MaxIm DL 4.58, and Photoshop CS2
Congratulations to all of our finalists on a job well done getting to this point, and good luck in the finals!
Thanks again to all who took part in the contest!
Please note that voting will conclude on May 15th at 11:59pm EDT.
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Film Astrophotography's Finalist - RALF_T:
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DSLR & Digital Camera Astro Imaging & Processing's Finalist - krneki:
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Sketching Forum's Finalist - Kris Smet:
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Beginning Imaging's Finalist - Dragon Man:
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CCD Imaging & Processing's Finalist - Florent:
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Solar System Imaging's Finalist - swalker:
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Illinois
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/18/06
Posts: 523
Loc: near Chicago, Illinois USA
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Hard to vote and all are good! Florent's M51 is one of the best I ever see for details and arms! Swalker doing good job on Venus! Not easy to photograph on Venus for details!
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Astronomer since 1975!
Meade 16" Lightbridge Dobsonian
Orion 10" SkyQuest Classic Dobsonian
Tele Vue Eyepieces
Orion Expanse Wide-Field 6mm eyepiece
4.5" F5 Reflector since 1982!
Orion Narrowband and SkyGlow filters
Member of IDA, let's fight light pollution!
Old Edmund 6"F8...donated to cousins
Super Polaris C8...donated to Byron Observatory in Illinois
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Jaxdialation
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/01/07
Posts: 1625
Loc: St. Augustine, FL
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Fine, outstanding images by everyone. Congratulations.
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John
Someone please make sure that when I die, my wife doesn't sell my astro gear for what I told her I paid for it:
14.5" f4.3 SST/Tak TSA-102/RCOS 10"RCA inbound
/ST-10XME/STL-11000M/Tak EM-400/HD Tripod/Scope Buggy/Everything CCDWare has published
New Zhumell Owner? Read this: New Zhumell Owner Upgrade Mega Thread
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farfromthesun
member
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 42
Loc: London
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Congratulations indeed, this collection of entries is absolutely astounding. It's going to be very difficult to vote!!
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Photos
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dane1945
newbie
Reged: 12/25/06
Posts: 1
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The Leo Trio is my favorite. Such detail. Beautifully done!
Danny Sagstetter
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Chris Schroeder
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/11/04
Posts: 4668
Loc: N.E. WI Sky Glow
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This is too hard, they are all so good
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Chris
Mallincam Color Hyper Plus
10" DSH with SC DSC, CPC 800 XLT
M102ED S.V., ZS 80FD 10th Anniv, ZS 66SD, PST
POD XL3 http://POD.SchroederCity.com
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CollinofAlabama
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/24/03
Posts: 892
Loc: Lubbock, Texas, USA
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A very good one, I agree. My three favorites (ha!) are the Leo Trio, Florent's M51 & Walker's Venus. These are all truly amazing images. But Florent got my vote. That's just one stunning image. But if any of these three win, I will be happy because they're all so spectacular!
CDS
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Coelum Serendum
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Olivier Biot
Amused
Reged: 04/25/05
Posts: 14000
Loc: 51°N (Belgium)
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This month's pictures are again awesome! Congrats to everyone, and... keep posting 'em!
Cheers 
Olivier
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Tal-200K (#199) with JMI NGF-Mini2M focuser on GEM3 • Astro-Tech AT80ED on Orion Sirius EQ-G with EQDIR & home made wireless EQDIRECT • Celestron Regal LX 8x42 & 10x42 • Helios 15x70
ATM 14" f/5 (designing mirror cell and filter wheel/focuser) • ATM 10" f/6 Portable Truss (polishing) • ATM 10" f/25 Dall-Kirkham (primary: polishing, secondary: #120 grit)
AstroForecast
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prueter
newbie
Reged: 05/27/07
Posts: 2
Loc: Ohio
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Kris Smet's required a keen eye, willingness to observe with care and attention to the nuances of detail and scientific accuracy.
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Roy M.
super member
Reged: 01/31/06
Posts: 143
Loc: Northern Virginia
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Well this is getting harder every month. Specially since they are all from different "schools", they are all outright winners. In the end, I had to go with Kris' masterful sketch. I was astounded by krneki's Leo Trio on DSLR! OMG it looks like hubble pic! Florent's M51 is pure eye candy, so beautiful and sharp - you must see the pic in its full glory in his web site... I haven't seen such detail on Venus before from the ground on swalkers offering, UV is the trick huh? Finally, I have to say that Dragon Man should be kicked out of the beginners forum!!! - great detail in the low S/N areas!
Congratulations all! keep them coming! 
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Televue NP-101is
Celestron C10-N GT + GPS
CG-5 (not for long)
Nikon D200 DSLR
Televue EPs: 3.5mm Nagler, 2x, 3x Barlows
Meade DSI Pro, ToUCam Pro II
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astrodude
member
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 10
Loc: Sacramento, Ca.
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Florent's image got my vote, but not by much! Krneki's DSLR is amazing, I was waffling of getting a DSLR but I think this just put me over the edge. Swalker's sketch is truely a talent I wish I had 1/10th that ability. RALF_T's film shot is very good for only two exposures (I used to do film myself, not this good though).
Very nice work all, and very very hard to pick just one.
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Patrick Harrold
Tak FSQ-106n / AP900GTO cp2
http://www.astrodude.com
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F.Meiresonne
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 2736
Loc: Eeklo,Belgium
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Quote:
Kris Smet's required a keen eye, willingness to observe with care and attention to the nuances of detail and scientific accuracy.
Yes, truly amazing! A talent for sketching...i am stunned...
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Freddy Meiresonne
Obsession 18 inch #1638
Orion Optics 8 inch F/4.5 -1/8 wave optics -Vixen GP-E
20x80 Helios Stellar Binos
10x50 Helios Nature sport plus
8x40 Helios Nature sport plus
Eyepieces in use :Pan 35,24,19, N13T6, Pentax 10 XW, N9T6, Ultrascopic 7.5, TV2, baader ortho 12.5 and 9 mm
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Archaeus
newbie
Reged: 05/21/07
Posts: 3
Loc: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
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This is a tough pick.
I'm amazed at how good these all are.
There's a real talented bunch of imagers and sketchers here.
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seekere
newbie
Reged: 06/26/05
Posts: 3
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I have to say the Florent image of M51 is absolutely beautiful. Its clarity and detail almost make a 3D image. The trio is great, but I keep looking at Florent's image. Well done!!!!!!! 
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For everyone, as I think, must see that astronomy compels the soul to look upward and leads us from this world to another. Plato
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SolidAhmed
sage
Reged: 10/16/06
Posts: 393
Loc: Los Angeles
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Every pic has it's own magic and it's reason to be voted.
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Celestron C6-S GT Schmidt-Cassegrain w/XLT
Canon Digital Rebel XTi
F-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
Vixen 10x50
www.InterstellarArt.com
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
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Chris Talpas
newbie
Reged: 05/31/07
Posts: 1
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I have to agree with the others that this month's crop of images are all very well done. In the end, I went with Florent's M51 for it's incredible detail and beauty.
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dvb
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/18/05
Posts: 1648
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Florent's is indeed remarkable, as is his set-up -- but I'm tending to krneki's, as he is using "real world" equipment.
It is hard to beat Kris' sketch for real world equipment though -- An 8" Dob, a pencil, a keen eye, and patience!
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I'll take one of each, please:
Antares 10" f/5 Dob w/SkyCommander
Skywatcher 10" f/4.7 Newt on Matilda
Celestron 8" SCT
Meade 8" SN f/4
Celestron C6 SCT
Skywatcher ED100 f/9
Skywatcher ED80 f/7.5
EQ6 Pro "Matilda"
Skymaster 15x70
Minolta 10x50
Mallincam HyperColor Plus
Speco 9" CRT
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Solaris
newbie
Reged: 01/03/07
Posts: 1
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Great!
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RichardHK
sage
Reged: 11/25/06
Posts: 392
Loc: Hong Kong
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Quote:
The Leo Trio is my favorite. Such detail. Beautifully done!
Danny Sagstetter
+1. Me too. Fabulous.
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Richard Entwistle, Hong Kong
ETX-125, SV90TBV, & PST scopes
Canon 15x50-IS & Fujinon 7x50 bins
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optwebman
member
Reged: 06/05/07
Posts: 30
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With the equipment used the Leo Trio is an outstanding image and my favorite this month.
OPTwebman
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johndouk
member
Reged: 08/24/06
Posts: 24
Loc: Athens, Greece
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Amazing work from all finalists ! Congratulations !!! 
Since I am a fan of DSI, I swing between krneki's leo trio & Florent's M51 ...
Both are stunning images !!!
Including equipment in judging parameters, I'll probably vote for krneki... 
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John
______________________________
Think positive
www.AstroForum.gr
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glacy31
sage
Reged: 05/31/05
Posts: 339
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I have seen florent's image and its astounding, but I cant help myself in wanting to vote for the DSLR image, it is tight and well processed and makes an example of what is possible with such equipment.
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Losmandy G11 Gemini
TMB 80/480
WO FLT 110
EOS350DH
ST 7i
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Sam Sayers
member
Reged: 05/28/07
Posts: 21
Loc: Just beyond Saturn
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Bravo to each of you. Very impressive.
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Sam
"Midnight", my Celestron CPC-800 with piggybacked Celestron 80ED
Celestron NexImage
Oberwerk 20x80mm Deluxe II binocular
Celestron OptiView 10x50mm LPR binocular
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Nick Cook
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/28/06
Posts: 1010
Loc: Somerset, England
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Wow. All just brilliant and showing exceptional talent in each of the fields. For me particularly the images from Florent and Krenki stand out, both images representing a lots of hours of capture and processing. Also they look stunning!
So hard to decide between them...
Congrats all,
Nick
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Meade 14" RCX + Astro Physics 0.75 Reducer (27TVPH)
Meade 5000 ED80 APO (Guider/widefield)+ WO 0.8 Reducer
William Optics Zenithstar 66 Petzal
SBig STL11000M + AO-L + 3" Pyxis Rotator + 3" PDF Focuser
Canon 20Da + IDAS Filter
Pulsar 9ft Dome
www.nick-cook.net
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iblis
admirer of the sky
Reged: 07/12/06
Posts: 2241
Loc: Germany
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I vote for the wonderful portraiture of M 51,
thx Florent Poiget
Grüße von Iblis
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Grüße von Iblis
The Universe is not only queerer than we imagine; it is queerer than we CAN imagine.
(Haldane)
and here I observe that universe
The sky is my heaven !**********  ********
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Dennis Sakva
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/19/04
Posts: 1000
Loc: Kiev, Ukraine
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M51 is wonderful, Leo trio is overflown with details... But I've never seen SO MUCH DETAILS ON THE VENUS! I think the author "extracted" every possible detail from that. Truly unique!
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andyenglish
sage
Reged: 10/24/06
Posts: 383
Loc: Albu(r)querque, NM
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The Leo Trio gets my vote, too. That is Hubble-quality photography!
-Andy
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When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you have set in place—what are mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us? -Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT)
http://nm-spaceman.tripod.com/floating_pencils
100mm EQ f/6 achromat refractor, 7×20 7.1° binoculars.
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Mark Costello
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/08/05
Posts: 920
Loc: Matthews, NC, USA
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Again, these are all great pictures. The interesting thing about this contest is that so many of the final entries are done with newts. Generally, I don't see too many pictures taken with newts these days but the ones submitted here are really great.
I came close to voting for the Leo Trio and M51 pictures but in the end my vote went to swalker's Venus picture. I've never seen Venusian detail like that taken with an earth based telescope. Well done!!
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Mark Costello
Matthews, NC
Wife, son, three daughters, two dogs, ... and
Souped up & Tuned Burgess 102mm refractor on a CG5 & Celestron 7X35's
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trion23
super member
Reged: 01/23/07
Posts: 116
Loc: Knoxville, TN
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I have a very hard time selecting my favorite almost every month.
My two favorites are Florent's M51 and Krneki's Leo Trio, but all are worthy of votes! All are fantastic images (and sketch) by their own merits.
Thanks,
Trion
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Chris Atkins
Knoxville, Tennessee (near the Smoky Mountains)
Orion XT6 Intelliscope (Just got Object Locator!)
Orion Transporter 70mm
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Keplero
newbie
Reged: 02/17/07
Posts: 3
Loc: Madrid, Spain
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All are awesome !!
My favourite for this month is swalker's Venus
I´ve never seen this amount of details on Venus !! Really very difficult matter. Congratulations !
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Tak TSA-102 APO
Tak EM-11 Mount
"If You Find This Universe Bad, You Should See Some of the Others" (PKD)
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TheBigEye
journeyman
Reged: 12/08/06
Posts: 5
Loc: New Mexico, USA
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I struggled with this one. Maybe the contest should move to having multiple images in each category, then letting us vote on a winner for each category. Such different equipment and talent is required for those categories. In this month's set, M51 is just amazing. So is the shot of Venus. And, so is the "Leo Trio" - one of my favorite targets. In the end I gave the nod to the Leo Trio because I thought the photographer did an outstanding job with the equipment at his disposal. All of the entries are excellent!
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CreationAstroGuy
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/18/07
Posts: 524
Loc: NW WA
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They are all amazing! The sketch of the moon stood out to me, though. Great job everyone!
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Ryan Nelson
8" LX90 GPS UHTC
DSI with a 3.3 reducer
Eyepieces; 22mm Nagler, 16mm Meade Seires 5000, 26mm Meade Seires 4000, and a 9mm Burgess/TMB planitary!
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