An Incredibly Rich Star Field in Canis Major
Davoud
its filter carousel repaired. Last night, 16 December, was such a rare,
clear night in central Maryland, however, that I had to try _something_
so I placed my Canon 40D on my 106mm f5 Tak refractor and made a
wide-field image of NGC 2359 "Thor's Helmet" in Canis Major. It is
surrounded by one of the richest star fields I have seen.
The page <http://www.primordial-light.com/deepsky6.html#thor> contains
the full frame reduced to a width of 1024 pixels; there is a link to a
larger image, as well.
Davoud
--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.
usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm
palsing
Sweet... thanks for sharing...
\Paul
Chris.B
Thankyou for reminding us of our original purpose.
TBerk
> its filter carousel repaired. Last night, 16 December, was such a rare,
> clear night in central Maryland, however, that I had to try _something_
> so I placed my Canon 40D on my 106mm f5 Tak refractor and made a
> wide-field image of NGC 2359 "Thor's Helmet" in Canis Major. It is
> surrounded by one of the richest star fields I have seen.
>
> The page <http://www.primordial-light.com/deepsky6.html#thor>
Dude, you _have_ to clean your lens- look at all that dust all over
every inch of the picture.
berk
people who live in and around the Cities never see stars. Let alone
the Milky Way.
John Nichols
"Davoud" <st...@sky.net> wrote in message
news:181220090011415093%st...@sky.net...
> My CCD camera is on its way back from sunny Santa Barbara after having
> its filter carousel repaired. Last night, 16 December, was such a rare,
> clear night in central Maryland, however, that I had to try _something_
> so I placed my Canon 40D on my 106mm f5 Tak refractor and made a
> wide-field image of NGC 2359 "Thor's Helmet" in Canis Major. It is
> surrounded by one of the richest star fields I have seen.
>
> The page <http://www.primordial-light.com/deepsky6.html#thor> contains
> the full frame reduced to a width of 1024 pixels; there is a link to a
> larger image, as well.
>
Nancy Burkett
> its filter carousel repaired. Last night, 16 December, was such a rare,
> clear night in central Maryland, however, that I had to try _something_
> so I placed my Canon 40D on my 106mm f5 Tak refractor and made a
> wide-field image of NGC 2359 "Thor's Helmet" in Canis Major. It is
> surrounded by one of the richest star fields I have seen.
>
> The page <http://www.primordial-light.com/deepsky6.html#thor> contains
> the full frame reduced to a width of 1024 pixels; there is a link to a
> larger image, as well.
>
> Davoud
Good job and great on the processing. Seems like you did it just right, not
under or over done. Ed likes it too. Hope you were spared the worst of the
snowfall that seems to be blanketing the NE.
Nancy Burkett
Davoud
> > The page <http://www.primordial-light.com/deepsky6.html#thor> contains
> > the full frame reduced to a width of 1024 pixels; there is a link to a
> > larger image, as well.
John Nichols:
> That's one nice pic. Why not submit it to APOD?
My humble thanks to all of you for your kind remarks.
I have submitted it to APOD, but when you consider the gorgeous detail
that people are getting with their RC's from elevations of 2500 meters
and upward in New Mexico, the Atacama, and such like, not to mention
the stuff from the professional observatories and Hubble, a photo taken
at 18 meters elevation in the heart of the East Coast light dome seems
unlikely to end up on the top of the pile the APOD people have to
choose from! Who can blame them!?
Anthony Ayiomamitis
> In article <BWSWm.60043$ky1.22...@newsfe14.iad>, Davoud:
Davoud,
Can I trouble you for your thoughts on the Starfish? I am looking for
a guider and I would love to get your thoughts. Other options include
Lodestar, LVI as well as standard webcams.
The area is indeed quite rich and which is obvious with your result.
There is a tint of blue in the central portion - is this due to
reflection nebulosity or due to a lack of flats?
Thanks!
Anthony.
Davoud
> Can I trouble you for your thoughts on the Starfish? I am looking for
> a guider and I would love to get your thoughts. Other options include
> Lodestar, LVI as well as standard webcams.
I love it! I have the uncooled version because I'm not interested in
using it for anything but guiding. It has great sensitivity and it
offers guiding that is about as simple as auto-guiding can be. Mac OS
or Windows, just connect the camera to USB and to the mount's guider
port. Use PHD. Calibration is unbelievably quick and easy. For the
first time since I have been imaging auto-guiding is a rather trivial
matter for me.
> The area is indeed quite rich and which is obvious with your result.
> There is a tint of blue in the central portion - is this due to
> reflection nebulosity or due to a lack of flats?
Lack of flats. In lieu of flats I used the Dynamic Background
Extraction routine in Pixinsight. The dark blue did not escape my
notice, but it didn't bother me, either. I figured that only the creme
de la creme of astrophotographers would be likely to notice and I was
right :-)
Anthony Ayiomamitis
David,
Thanks for the feedback. I will check it out. My interest is also
strictly for guiding and nothing else. I considered getting a cheap
ST-7 but the weight may lead to flexure and in contrast to other
solutions which are much lighter. I hope the Starfish allows for guide
exposures around 4-5 seconds so that one does chase the seeing.
With respect to your result, check out the colour balance in Photoshop
and especially the first option for shadows and by slightly reducing
the blue and being careful not to clip the histograms. You may also
need an ever slight adjustment for the midtones (blue once again).
Finally, make sure the box for "Preserve Luminosity" is checked off.
Anthony.
Anthony Ayiomamitis
..... Finally, make sure the box for "Preserve Luminosity" is checked
ON and not off as I accidently wrote above. Similarly, "... so that
one does NOT chase the seeing".
I am preoccupied with a new project starting on Monday and running for
six months ... sorry for the typos above.
Anthony.
Pierre Vandevenne
> strictly for guiding and nothing else. I considered getting a cheap
> ST-7 but the weight may lead to flexure and in contrast to other
> solutions which are much lighter. I hope the Starfish allows for guide
> exposures around 4-5 seconds so that one does chase the seeing.
Weight was also worrying me especially since my setup wasn't too well
balanced (mechanical constraints on the OTA I can't solve) and I
recycled an old Philips toucam. Even if I use it in unmodified mode
(integrating short frames), PHDGuiding goes to 5 sec without any
problem, even without dark frames, but then the -15C we had today
helped a bit <G>.
Here's the night's image
http://www.datarescue.com/life/kepler/20091219/M45.jpg
20x5 mins with a QSI 583 on the Lichtenknecker FFC
Nothing special, but it doesn't hurt posting astronomical images now
and then...
Anthony Ayiomamitis
Pierre,
That is a gorgeous image and easily a keeper. Add some RGB data and
you have a winner.
I also have an old Philips ToUCam and I am delighted to hear about the
longer than usual (for a webcam) exposure! Did you use a GPUSB
interface between the computer and the mount?
Anthony.
John Nichols
> In article <BWSWm.60043$ky1....@newsfe14.iad>, Davoud:
>> > The page <http://www.primordial-light.com/deepsky6.html#thor> contains
>> > the full frame reduced to a width of 1024 pixels; there is a link to a
>> > larger image, as well.
>
> John Nichols:
>> That's one nice pic. Why not submit it to APOD?
>
> My humble thanks to all of you for your kind remarks.
>
> I have submitted it to APOD, but when you consider the gorgeous detail
> that people are getting with their RC's from elevations of 2500 meters
> and upward in New Mexico, the Atacama, and such like, not to mention
> the stuff from the professional observatories and Hubble, a photo taken
> at 18 meters elevation in the heart of the East Coast light dome seems
> unlikely to end up on the top of the pile the APOD people have to
> choose from! Who can blame them!?
>
get accepted in you don't submit. Even if APOD doesn't take it, it's still
a fine photograph.
Pierre Vandevenne
> I also have an old Philips ToUCam and I am delighted to hear about the
> longer than usual (for a webcam) exposure! Did you use a GPUSB
> interface between the computer and the mount?
I use the following setup
ED80 -> Toucam -> PhDGuiding
PhDGuiding -> Ascom Interface -> USB-Serial -> Vixen Skysensor.
I didn't expect this to work very well, at least not as well as the
SBIG integrated guider, and I ordered the wsg version of the QSI with
the idea of adding a stand alone guider later. But in fact, it works
well enough that I don't even bother with dark frames for the webcam.
What PhDGuiding is able to achieve even with low SNR guide stars is
amazing, at least compared to what Maxim does.
As far as the exposure is concerned, if the camera is used in normal,
non long exposure, mode I believe PHD stacks 1/10th of a second
exposures. The only drawback is that downloads from the main camera
take a bit longer than usual because the USB bus bandwidth is limited.
Using single exposures in modified mode should take care of that, but
again this hasn't been a critical issue (downloads from the main
camera in 12 seconds rather than 8)
Davoud
> Thanks for the feedback. I will check it out. My interest is also
> strictly for guiding and nothing else. I considered getting a cheap
> ST-7 but the weight may lead to flexure and in contrast to other
> solutions which are much lighter. I hope the Starfish allows for guide
> exposures around 4-5 seconds so that one does chase the seeing.
The Starfish permits exposures from one ms to five minutes.
Davoud
> I use the following setup
>
> ED80 -> Toucam -> PhDGuiding
> PhDGuiding -> Ascom Interface -> USB-Serial -> Vixen Skysensor.
Looking at the fine monochrome M45 that you posted, it's impossible to
argue with success.
Nonetheless, your guiding setup seems convoluted compared to Starfish >
PHD and Starfish > Mount. No arcane ASCOM, no USB-to-Serial.
Anthony Ayiomamitis
Davoud,
This is the same scenario with the SBIG cameras having a second chip
for guiding and which acts as a "hub" between laptop and mount.
Anthony.
Anthony Ayiomamitis
> Anthony Ayiomamitis:
>
> > Thanks for the feedback. I will check it out. My interest is also
> > strictly for guiding and nothing else. I considered getting a cheap
> > ST-7 but the weight may lead to flexure and in contrast to other
> > solutions which are much lighter. I hope the Starfish allows for guide
> > exposures around 4-5 seconds so that one does chase the seeing.
>
> The Starfish permits exposures from one ms to five minutes.
After posting my message last night, I did check out the
manufacturer's webpage. Something I forgot to ask and which I
confirmed last night is compatibility with the ST-4 protocol given my
mounts are AP.
Anthony.
Pierre Vandevenne
> Nonetheless, your guiding setup seems convoluted compared to Starfish >
> PHD and Starfish > Mount. No arcane ASCOM, no USB-to-Serial.
Well, since I've spent the last 30 years of my life in the bowels of
computers and computer programs, this is the easy part :-)
(and the Vixen Skysensor PC won't accept a direct ST4 connection, I
made a custom cable)
Davoud
> > The Starfish permits exposures from one ms to five minutes.
Anthony Ayiomamitis
> After posting my message last night, I did check out the
> manufacturer's webpage. Something I forgot to ask and which I
> confirmed last night is compatibility with the ST-4 protocol given my
> mounts are AP.
Yes, it is ST-4 compatible. The Starfish plugs directly into my 1200
GTO's guide port. That's where the simplicity comes in, IMO. USB to
computer and standard "phone-type" guider cable to the mount, and
that's all there is to it. You have to experience it to see how good it
is.
Davoud
> > Nonetheless, your guiding setup seems convoluted compared to Starfish >
> > PHD and Starfish > Mount. No arcane ASCOM, no USB-to-Serial.
Anthony Ayiomamitis:
> This is the same scenario with the SBIG cameras having a second chip
> for guiding and which acts as a "hub" between laptop and mount.
Yes, I know. I have an STL-11000M with a remote guide head. I say
"have;" I mean I own one, but it's on its way back from SBIG after
repairs.
Anthony Ayiomamitis
Davoud,
You just made my day since you basically confirmed for me the most
ideal scenario vis a vis the wiring and which effectively emulates and
clones a dual chip SBIG CCD camera.
Anthony.
Davoud
> > Yes, it is ST-4 compatible. The Starfish plugs directly into my 1200
> > GTO's guide port. That's where the simplicity comes in, IMO. USB to
> > computer and standard "phone-type" guider cable to the mount, and
> > that's all there is to it. You have to experience it to see how good it
> > is.
Anthony Ayiomamitis:
> You just made my day since you basically confirmed for me the most
> ideal scenario vis a vis the wiring and which effectively emulates and
> clones a dual chip SBIG CCD camera.
Well, it duplicates an SBIG with an external guide camera on a separate
'scope, but I find it much easier to use. For one thing, the chip is
1280 x 1024 pixels while the TC237H is 657 x 495 pixels. And Craig
Stark's PHD calibration algorithm should be the envy of every
astro-software developer.
I understand people's concerns about tube flexure when using a separate
'scope, but I don't think I've ever experienced it, and I've been using
setups such as those shown on this page
<http://www.primordial-light.com/technique.html> since I began imaging.
Since these photos were made I've had a machine shop modify a Losmandy
double dovetail for the small Tak in order to gain extra stiffness just
as insurance, though I never saw evidence of the single dovetail
flexing.
My zerbat'ry is somewhere behind a six-foot snow drift just now, and
it's a crystal clear and starkly cold night. Enough to make a man whose
snow blower broke down today cry. We had about 60 cm of snow from
Friday night to Saturday night -- the heaviest December snowfall in
Maryland since records have been kept.