antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 245
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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I am started to do better at pulling out nebulas with my CPC 800 in Alt-Az. I am limited to about 30s subs most of the time partly cause of light pollution, partly cause of field rotation, but am starting to get some exciting results shooting with my DSLR (if you read that forum you probably have seen these already but I wanted to show some new CPC owners what I am getting without a wedge) .... I still have the Crab Nebula to process, but finished processing M16 and M42 from last night. Both shot with prime focus with an unmodded Nikon D40 through my CPC 800 with a f/6.3 focal reducer. 60 x 30sec subs at ISO 800. (well M16 has 59 cause an airplane ruined one) .... Stacked in Nebulosity, Processed in Photoshop CS2.
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 245
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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and M42:
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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KerryR
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 1147
Loc: SW Michigan
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Wow! Cool!
I'm amazed at how much detail you're picking up in alt az.
I didn't really know it'd work that well.
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Kerry
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John Miranda
member
Reged: 09/13/09
Posts: 42
Loc: Oro Valley, Arizona
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Nice job Anna! M42 in particular came out great!
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John Miranda
www.johnmiranda.com
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aglaaluk
member
Reged: 07/28/09
Posts: 99
Loc: Rio Rancho, NM, (U.S.A.)
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Hi Anna,
Great looking shots.
I am trying to save up for a descent camera so I can give this a try.
Being new to this astrophotography thing I just don't know where to start. Do you shoot through an EP?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Jeff
CPC 1100
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 245
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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Jeff -
I shoot prime focus, which is the camera attached directly to the visual back (No diagonal or EP). Without having a wedge I am limited on some objects. Some nebulas turn out quite well and some are still barely visible despite alot of subs (I am still trying to pull out something passable for M1 I took last night, despite 100 x 30s subs, I am still not getting much detail) and some get a fair amount of detail, such as M42 and M17. Other DSOs like globular clusters and most open clusters are fairly easily captured with my setup. I am still learning myself so every time I go out I find that I improve alot. The Nikon D40 I have is not an expensive camera, and I dont have it modded since I use it for regular photography as well, and I have found it a good place to start since I already had it.
Alot of people on this forum are alot better qualified for advice for you but that is what I have found so far, basically use what you have or just put a little money into it (for adapters, perhaps a focal reducer) and see if you like it before you spend a ton on dedicated astro-cams and more equipment.
Just my 
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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b1gred
Enginerd
Reged: 04/01/04
Posts: 15711
Loc: Castle Rock, CO 6677' MSL
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Anna, those are FANTASTIC!!!
You're making me think about getting into this aspect of the hobby.
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"Dark Skies & Great Viewing"
RandyR / W0RDR
GPS 9.25 XLT/Sky Align /FeatherTouch
TV85 w/FeatherTouch
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lipman
member
Reged: 03/20/09
Posts: 59
Loc: San Carlos, CA
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Those are really great shots Anna! I have held off on trying my hand at astrophotography because I figured that I'd either need a wedge (hassle) or hyperstar (expensive + hassle). But your results are tempting me to go the DSLR route first. Have you been able to capture any galaxies so far?
Paul
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Celestron CPC 1100
Orion Q70 38mm
Stratus 21mm
Ethos 13mm
Orion 2x Shorty-Plus Barlow
Starizona counterweights
http://lipmanastronomy.blogspot.com
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 245
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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Paul. Check out my website in my signature. I have a few galaxies in there. They aren't great but I think it's mostly because I only had 10-15 subs for them. Esp with the alt-az I have found you need a TON of subs so next clear night I am gonna try galaxies again. Also as my processing skills are improving I might go back and reprocess them. I can probably get more out of them now, but you can see what I've gotten and the progress so far
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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John Miranda
member
Reged: 09/13/09
Posts: 42
Loc: Oro Valley, Arizona
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Hi Anna, If you don't mind sharing, what ISO & exposure duration are you setting your Nikon at for most of your subs?
On M42, I found that I had to have a shorter exposure to prevent blowing out the center, and a longer exposure to capture the (relatively) fainter nebula surrounding it and combine those as appropriate.
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John Miranda
www.johnmiranda.com
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 245
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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I had said in the first post: I shot them all at ISO 800 and 30 sec subs. Just did a little masking layers to not blow out the core
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45330
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Are these at a dark sky site or your backyard?
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 245
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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Back yard just outside of San Antonio. 15 min from downtown. Borderline red zone
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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aglaaluk
member
Reged: 07/28/09
Posts: 99
Loc: Rio Rancho, NM, (U.S.A.)
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Thanks for the info Anna.
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Jeff
CPC 1100
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Footbag
sage
Reged: 04/13/09
Posts: 462
Loc: Scranton, PA
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Quote:
Back yard just outside of San Antonio. 15 min from downtown. Borderline red zone
Wow. I would've guessed a very dark site.
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Adam
Celestron CPC 800, Celestron HD Wedge
Hyperion 17mm, Celestron 40mm Plossl, TMB 9mm
WO 66, SSAG
Modded Canon XS
Lackawanna Astronomical Society
My Gallery
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yonkrz
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/16/06
Posts: 571
Loc: SW Minnesota
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Those are some nice shots Anna,keep it up. 
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Jeff
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ido
sage
Reged: 06/29/06
Posts: 366
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Great shots !
What method are you using in order to align the scope ?
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http://bareket-astro.com/en.htm
Bareket observatory, Israel.
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 245
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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Auto-Two Star on most nights. Occasionally I will replace one of those later as the evening goes on to get a better pair.
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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Larry Hansen
member
Reged: 07/21/09
Posts: 66
Loc: U.P. of MIchigan
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Nice pics. Thanks for posting them.
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Larry
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Time is nature's way of making sure that everything does not happen all at once.
CPC 800
Powered by Power Tank
Celestron EP and Filter set
Meade electronic EP
Celestron dew shield
More to come later ( much Later )
47° N - 85° W - Summer
38° N - 115° W - Winter
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lipman
member
Reged: 03/20/09
Posts: 59
Loc: San Carlos, CA
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Anna,
Do you find substantial differences in what you can do with your D40 vs the Meade DSI? I want to do astrophotography but really don't want to do anything other than alt-az at this point. I am thinking about getting a DSLR (probably the Canon T1i) for astro and non-astro use, and would really like to understand whether a dedicated device like the DSI II Pro would produce noticeably better results.
Thanks!
Paul
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Celestron CPC 1100
Orion Q70 38mm
Stratus 21mm
Ethos 13mm
Orion 2x Shorty-Plus Barlow
Starizona counterweights
http://lipmanastronomy.blogspot.com
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