7 replies to this topic

[BQ Octantis]

By chance, I discovered the Markarian Chain in my data from May:

 

Markarian's Chain, 2019-05-04
Canon 50mm f/1.8 Mk I @f/3.2, Canon T3i (stock)
Orion SkyView Pro EQ mount (sidereal track + PEC playback)
75×45sec, 100×bias, 50×darks, 50×flats@ISO1600
Aligned & stacked in Lynkeos v3.1
Processed in Photoshop CS5 w/
Annie's Astro Actions v7.0 & Astronomy Tools v1.7
Scaled to 150%, cropped to 780×600
Tropic of Capricorn, Northern Territory, Australia

 

Looking forward to going after it with my 200mm f/2.8 when it comes back around…

 

Cheers,

 

BQ

[j.gardavsky]

A very nice capture!

 

I will give it a try on classic film with my Leica R lenses,

 

JG

[Traveler]

Nice!

Can show us the non cropped version as well for some inspiration? Thanks!

[BQ Octantis]

All,

 

Thanks for the feedback and likes!

 

A very nice capture!

 

I will give it a try on classic film with my Leica R lenses,

 

JG

Thanks, JG! Classic film? Do you do your own processing?

 

Nice!

Can show us the non cropped version as well for some inspiration? Thanks!

Thanks, Traveler! This was based on my crack at the Virgo cluster back in May. I was overlaying screenshots of Stellarium's deep sky objects to identify the spirals when I stumbled across the chain. I had a tree and strong light pollution at the edge of the scene, so I've never published the full sensor view. But here's an animated GIF from initial stack to final for inspiration (click for full size):

 

 

BQ

Edited by BQ Octantis, 14 December 2019 - 07:45 PM.

[Traveler]

Wow, thank you BQ. Very nicely done. I have now a target on my bucketlist for sure! Thank you again.

[Teddythefinger]

Hey BQ this is cool! I've been wanting to try my hand at the chain. It's def on my list for next year!

[GTom]

My 2.8/200 is coming today - unfortunately have to wait weeks for the next clear night...

[BQ Octantis]

Hey BQ this is cool! I've been wanting to try my hand at the chain. It's def on my list for next year!

 

Thanks, Teddy! Looking forward to your results…

 

My 2.8/200 is coming today - unfortunately have to wait weeks for the next clear night...

I just bought a couple of aperture masks (a.k.a. step-down rings) for my 2.8/200—a 58mm and a 52mm. My terrestrial testing shows great promise (much sharper detail out to the corners and much less vignetting than at f/2.8), but it's cloud season over central Australia…