The Full Hunters’ Moon of October 28, 2023. 10 frames, AT60ED at F/4.8, QHY294c, UHC-S filter. 1.5x Drizzle processing.
A full moon night, but it was clear and relatively transparent. I needed to test some scope adjustments anyway, so I figured I would just do a few of those things, get a shot of the moon and call it a night. I ended staying up all night and shooting a variety of objects, even with a full moon from the metro.
Not only was it a full moon, it joined Jupiter for a conjunction, and I got a shot of that plus a few others:
The Moon and Jupiter. QHY294c, UHC-S filter, AT60ED at F/4.8.North America Nebula. 20×180 sec, QHY294c, UHC-S filter, AT60ED at F/4.8.The Rosette Nebula. 30×180 sec, QHY294c, UHC-S filter, AT60ED at F/4.8.The Flaming Star Nebula and the Tadpoles area.. 60×180 sec, QHY294c, UHC-S filter, AT60ED at F/4.8.
Horse Head Nebula on Oct 21, 2023. 29×180 sec, QHY294c at -20C, Gain 1600, Offset 50, UHC-S, AT60ED at F/4.8.Quickie Orion Nebula area. 8×180 sec, QHY294c at -20C, Gain 1600, Offset 50, UHC-S, AT60ED at F/4.8.M31 on Oct 20, 2023. 45×180 sec, QHY294c at -20C, Gain 1600, Offset 50, UHC-S, AT60ED at F/4.8.Frame 1. Veil Nebula Complex on Oct 20, 2023. 58×180 sec, QHY294c at -20C, Gain 1600, Offset 50, UHC-S, AT60ED at F/4.8.Frame 2. Starless Version – Veil Nebula Complex on Oct 20, 2023. 58×180 sec, QHY294c at -20C, Gain 1600, Offset 50, UHC-S, AT60ED at F/4.8. Starnet++Frame 3. Starless Plus Enhanced Version – Veil Nebula Complex on Oct 20, 2023. 60×180 sec, QHY294c at -20C, Gain 1600, Offset 50, UHC-S, AT60ED at F/4.8.
I had a new astro computer I built from scrap to test this night and also it was a test of the AT60ED and QHY294c with the ultra-mini guider and IMX224 camera on the new SkyWatcher GTi mount. The above equipment was 7.5 lbs, well within the 11 lb limit of the GTi mount and I had great guiding for the most part.
I bagged the four objects above on this night. A Baader UHC-S L-Booster filter was used to block the horrendous LP, which worked pretty well with the QHY294c.
The three versions of the Veil Complex were, for frame 1, essentially the 60 frames stacked and processed normally. Then, that result was put through Starnet++, which removes all the stars and leaves just the nebula, which is frame 2. I boosted that to bring out more nebula and then recombined it with the original to obtain an enhanced version in frame 3.
Dumb Bell Nebula on Oct 14, 2023. 12×300 sec, QHY183c at -20C, Gain 11, Offset 30, UV/IR, TV-85 at F/5.6.Crescent Nebula on Oct 14, 2023. 23×300 sec, QHY183c at -20C, Gain 11, Offset 30, UV/IR, TV-85 at F/5.6.
I left the scope setup after the eclipse and took these two images with just the UV/IR filter I used on the camera side for the eclipse.
Maximum Eclipse – South LouisianaTele Vue Optics’ TV-85 at F/5.6, Thousand Oaks polymer solar filter, QHY183c astro camera at 1C, 6.8ms, Gain 11, Offset 0. There are 14 frames total in this animation.
I got up early and setup, polar aligned, etc. Started taking images just before it started and got a few during the eclipse. After the eclipse, I got a few more images of the sun and its spots.
Tele Vue Optics’ TV-85 at F/5.6, Thousand Oaks polymer solar filter, QHY183c astro camera at 1C, 6.8ms, Gain 11, Offset 0.Sunspot Closeup – Televue TV-85 at F/5.6, Thousand Oaks polymer solar filter, QHY183c astro camera at 1C, 6.8ms, Gain 11, Offset 0.
