Imaging Session June 20th, 2020

M22 Globular Cluster. Taken on Jun 20, 2020. 60×15 sec, QHY183c at -15C cooling, Gain 42, Offset 100, Baader UHC-S filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD. SharpCap 3.2 LiveStacking and PHD2 Guiding with dithering on. Metro area Bortle Red Zone, below average transparency.
M22 Combined Data to Date with Jun 20, 2020 data as a base.
Ring Nebula – M57. Taken on Jun 20, 2020. 48×15 sec, QHY183c at -15C cooling, Gain 42, Offset 100, Baader UHC-S filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD. SharpCap 3.2 LiveStacking and PHD2 Guiding with dithering on. Metro area, Bortle Red Zone, below average transparency .

Friday night, Jun 19th, 2020 was warm and muggy and clouds persisted till after 9:00 PM.  It was predicted to clear, so I went to bed early and woke up just before 2:00 AM and setup my scope then.  It was clear, but the transparency was poor and the humidity was still high.

I managed to get a decent amount of data on two objects, and I also peeked at 2 or 3 other things in between.   M22, the globular cluster in the first image, was a secondary target and I really wanted to get the Omega Nebula and the Trifid Nebula nearby.  My narrow window to image them was so small, however.  Trees and streetlights were in the way.   By the time I was ready to shoot, that area had moved out of position.

I had imaged M22 a few times, but with other scopes.  I took all the data I had on it and recombined it to produce the 2nd image above.  It is data from an 8″ Schmidt-Newt and a 6″ Schmidt-Newt, along with the data from the first image above.

The Ring Nebula was a quick peek that turned into a usable image.  The full size image is a crop at 100% resolution of the central area.  I was hoping to pick up that galaxy that is nearby to the Ring, but 48×15 sec sub-images wasn’t enough to bring it out.

However, I did have a stack of 34×30 sec sub-images taken in March that I blended this night’s data with and now you can see it, just barely,  above and slightly left of the ring.   Check it out:

Ring Nebula – M57. Taken on Mar 7 and Jun 20, 2020. 34×30 sec and 48×15 sec, QHY183c at -15C cooling, Gain 42, Offset 100, Baader UHC-S filter, Televue TV-85 at F/5.6, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD. SharpCap 3.2 LiveStacking and PHD2 Guiding with dithering on. Metro area, Bortle Red Zone, below average transparency .

It looks like I need to get out of the big city to get the summertime nebulae targets like Omega and the Trifid.  Late June and early July sometimes has clear skies and hopefully I’ll be lucky and get to a dark sky site before too long.

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