Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Cloudy Nights - Official Forums of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu.... uh, User   You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Astrophotography and Sketching >> Beginning Imaging Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 snowdragonusa professor emeritus Reged: 09/04/07 Posts: 637 Loc: Denver, CO My first... well plenty of firsts :)       #2564763 - 08/06/08 07:29 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have been enjoying my scope over the last year. Mostly I have been doing visual and attending public outreach star parties. But in the last month or so I have been able to do some imaging. Last month I concentrated on Jupiter. This month I really got serious about learning my wedge and polar alignment and this is my first shot from it. I used WCS to help me get pretty good polar alignment. I didn't try anything over 2 minutes due to the wind shacking things a bit. I am not sure I would have been able to tell if it was the wind or the alignment. I need to work on PEC to see if there are any big issues there I think. Granted this is with a DSI Pro mono and only 17 frames out of 30 due to wind issues. I was also shooting through Denver's LP dome so that didn't help either. So enough of what went wrong to justify the quality. Sculptor Galaxy/C65 08/05/08 12" LX200R w/ 0.63 reducer DSI Pro w/ Luminance filter 17 frames 1 minute subs Stacked in Registax Processed in PixInsight 1.2 -------------------- Adam 12" LX200R AT80mm piggyback DSI Pro, DSI-C, LPI Denver Astronomical Society Brighton Astronomical Group Post Extras:       Nils_Lars scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 01/04/08 Posts: 922 Loc: Santa Cruz Mountains , CA Re: My first... well plenty of firsts :) [Re: snowdragonusa]       #2564959 - 08/06/08 08:51 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Very nice , thats alot of detail from a tough target. -------------------- Erik Orion ED 80 Orion Atlas GOTO mount Williams Optics reducer Various eyepieces and other gear Baytronix 80mm guidescope Orion Starshoot Autoguider PHD guide Canon 400D (unmodded) Stilleto Focuser Tamron 75-300mm&28-80mm lenses NexImage webcam http://home.comcast.net/~eriknlarsen/site/?/photos/ Post Extras:       nofxrx Pooh-Bah Reged: 07/12/05 Posts: 1418 Loc: palm bay,florida Re: My first... well plenty of firsts :) [Re: Nils_Lars]       #2565067 - 08/06/08 09:50 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I agree with Erik,awesome detail...and the stars look good to me!! EXTREMELY small FOV huh?!?!?! When you get some extra $$ get a 6.3 FR/FF,you will be very glad you did. Not knockin the shot,I just know that when I shoot @ 2350mm I hope and pray to the little green men(who designated that they were green by the way....sorry kinda off topic )that I keep 60% of my subs if I am lucky... Great job!! -------------------- Brent Oliver 3 Wonderful dogs: Sadie, Kara and Ozzie Celestron C10-N///C9.25///Orion 80ED///WO ZS66SD White Celestron CI-700 & ASGT Eq. Mounts Nikon D40Xa///SBIG ST-402ME/Class 1/CFW///DSI-PRO... My Gallery Ohh yeah,and a VERY undersanding wife!! Post Extras:       jgraham Postmaster Reged: 12/02/04 Posts: 5326 Loc: Dayton, Ohio Re: My first... well plenty of firsts :) [Re: nofxrx]       #2565130 - 08/06/08 10:32 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Nice! Excellent detail. I've been using an f/6.3 FR on my LXD75 SC8 and it's worked very well for me. This week I started experimenting with an f/3.3 FR and I think I've just about got it under control. -------------------- -John ================================================ Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5" Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130 Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I & II), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC Tasco 60mm Refractors Post Extras:       Blixx sage Reged: 12/02/07 Posts: 348 Loc: CO. Aurora, USA Re: My first... well plenty of firsts :) [Re: jgraham]       #2565173 - 08/06/08 10:54 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Very nice shot. I live in Aurora and find that the LP has gotten worse over the years. My sister lives in Byers and I have found that it is a much better sight for doing AP. Dan -------------------- Celestron C6R ( The Yard Cannon) Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT Orion 100mm SkyView Pro Celestron C80ED Mead Telstar 60mm Orion Starshot 2 Color Mead DSI Color Celestron NexImage Orion 2x Shorty Barlow Various EP's CG5-ASTG Mount Post Extras:       snowdragonusa professor emeritus Reged: 09/04/07 Posts: 637 Loc: Denver, CO Re: My first... well plenty of firsts :) [Re: nofxrx]       #2565224 - 08/06/08 11:20 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks everyone! Believe it or not I did use a 6.3 focal reducer! The FOV on a 12" is not too big at all. I did a test shot of M57 without a FR and you can see just how small a FOV it really is! This one was on the forks and no guiding. I think it was a 20 or 30 second shot. Like I said it was a quick and dirty test shot. Clouds rolled in just after and ended my attempts for the night. I used a Hartman Mask for focus for the first time on C65 as well and that sure did help. I think I will see about getting a 3.3 FR. I have a feeling I am really going to use it! -------------------- Adam 12" LX200R AT80mm piggyback DSI Pro, DSI-C, LPI Denver Astronomical Society Brighton Astronomical Group Post Extras:       SanDiegoPaul professor emeritus Reged: 07/22/05 Posts: 598 Loc: San Diego Re: My first... well plenty of firsts :) [Re: snowdragonusa]       #2565289 - 08/06/08 11:57 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Great stuff & looks like you're really going to enjoy imaging with your setup. REcheck your Polar Align though as it looks to be causing you football-shaped stars. you're certainly on the RIGHT TRACK though! -------------------- Meade 10" Lx200-R with Moonlight SCT Focuser Mitty Evolution Wedge AT-80 Guide Scope SBIG ST402ME CCD Imager Canon Digital Rebel DSLR Meade DSI-c CCD for Guiding Please visit my gallery! http://www.pbase.com/sandiegopaul/ Post Extras:       jgraham Postmaster Reged: 12/02/04 Posts: 5326 Loc: Dayton, Ohio Re: My first... well plenty of firsts :) [Re: SanDiegoPaul]       #2565660 - 08/07/08 07:50 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Cool! Isn't it neat seeing detail in the ring? You field of view may be relatively small, but you'll find that opens the door to a host of deep sky objects that are off the beaten path. There are scores of bright globulars and planetaries that are easy to image, but they're small. For some of the ones I'm interested in I'm going to have to leave my SC8 at f/10. Distant galaxies will also be great targets for large telescope like yours. To go wide you can try an f/3.3 FR or piggy-back a small telescope like an Orion StarBlast. One advantage of a small CCD is they're a great match for a small telescope. -------------------- -John ================================================ Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5" Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130 Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I & II), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC Tasco 60mm Refractors Post Extras:       s58y Post Laureate Reged: 12/12/04 Posts: 4832 Loc: Eastern NY Re: My first... well plenty of firsts :) [Re: SanDiegoPaul]       #2565677 - 08/07/08 08:04 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Great first images. It looks like your FOV is just right for M57. -------------------- Hutech 30D, SBIG ST-402 autoguider SV80S, SV66 guidescope AP900, G-11, Barndoor tracker http://www.pbase.com/s58y Post Extras:       snowdragonusa professor emeritus Reged: 09/04/07 Posts: 637 Loc: Denver, CO Re: My first... well plenty of firsts :) [Re: s58y]       #2567051 - 08/07/08 08:13 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have used all of my CCDs and webcams with the 80mm. Since I didn't have things set up polar before I needed to guide with one scope and capture with the other. Now that I have a better handle on polar I can just concentrate on capturing and not worry about field rotation. I am excited to see what else I can image with either scope. I am going to Okie-Tex again this year and a bit better prepared than last year since I had JUST received my scope the day before I left for the star party! I am also going to have to make a list of objects to image. Otherwise I will be slewing all over the place and never really image anything! LOL I am a little OCD that way. Thanks again for all of your comments! Cheers! -------------------- Adam 12" LX200R AT80mm piggyback DSI Pro, DSI-C, LPI Denver Astronomical Society Brighton Astronomical Group Post Extras:       Pages: 1 Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 3 registered and 6 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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