Telescope Reviews: Feb09 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!

Welcome to the February 2009 Cloudy Nights Imaging/Sketching Contest poll!

Each month the best images selected from the individual Cloudy Nights Imaging and Sketching forums will be presented for the userbase to vote on. The monthly winner receives the coveted Cloudy Nights t-shirt! At the conclusion of the poll, the entry with the highest total will be the winner of the contest..

Please choose your favorite out of all the images. This poll will remain open through March 15th at midnight.

Here are the entries for February!

Beginning Imaging's Finalist - DaemonGPF:

Leo Trio - M65, M66, NGC3628 (Feb 27)
Guided manually on CG5 mount
Captured with Astro Tech 66mm APO & Starshoot II mono
60sec x 20 lights + 10 x 60sec darks - stacked in MaximDL
Curves, Contrast, Sharpen in Photoshop 7.

DSLR & Digital Camera Astro Imaging & Processing's Finalist - kost973:

M13
Canon 350D(baader)
6õ10+6x1 min ISO 1600
Heq5Pro (Autoguided 90\500+Meade DSIProII)
Newton SW 200\1000+Baader MPCC
Maydanak (Uzbekistan)
Iris(Calibration),PS CS3
crop 50%

CCD Imaging & Processing's Finalist - Jim Lafferty:

"Time Tunnel" inside the Rosette Nebula (Narrowband color). Imaged with my TOA130 and ST-10 XME and NJP Temma mount. Imaged on January 30 and 31, 2009 from Redlands, Ca. (Ha)SHO of 60 minutes unbinned with each filter.

Solar System Imaging's Finalist - HANTO:

Saturn RGB
Instruments:
8-in Newtonian mounted on Losmandy G11, DMK21AU04.AS, Astronomik RGB, amplification with Baader Flat-Field-Converter.
Seeing 7/10.

Sketching Forum's Finalist - Erix:

This was done entirely at the eyepiece. The collage was put together in Photoshop after photographing my sketch (rather than scanning).

2009 Feb 13, 1600UT – 1700UT
Solar prominences in h-alpha, western limb

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
Erika Rix

DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell
Sketch created scopeside with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ crayon and pencil, white Prang watercolor pencil.

Temp: 3° C, Humidity 60%
Seeing: Wilson 3, Transparency: poor
Scattered, winds 7mph from NNW
Alt: 34.4, Az: 159.2

Approximately 30° inward from the eastern limb, a crescent-shaped plage was seen with a dark dot during my h-alpha observation. No AR was noted in white light. There were a few proms scattered about to the north and south, but the prominences on the western limb really stood out. At first glance it looked like two detached proms, but adjusting the outer etalon and increasing magnification, that section of limb came alive with prominence structure.

Good Luck to all our finalists!

Which image or sketch is our winner?
Users may choose only one (42 total votes)

Beginning Imaging's Finalist - DaemonGPF:

5 11%

DSLR & Digital Camera Astro Imaging & Processing's Finalist - kost973:

11 26%

CCD Imaging & Processing's Finalist - Jim Lafferty:

14 33%

Solar System Imaging's Finalist - HANTO:

2 04%

Sketching Forum's Finalist - Erix:

10 23%

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"He's dead, Jim - I'll get his wallet, you get his tricorder." - Leonard "Bones" McCoy

Weston CSC: