Markarians Galaxy Chain Area – 30×15 sec, Ultra-Mini finder with AR0130 Toupcam color guider/camera.
Here is another one of those experiments I do. LoL. This time it was with a software program called SharpCap. It can capture images from planetary/guider cameras like the Touptek, ASI or ZWO cameras. Sharpcap’s claim to fame is the ability to stack the images you take on the fly so that you can almost get a “live-view” like experience. I thought it was neat and easy to use.
This is only 7.5 minutes worth of exposure, so it is not really that deep. But, it is interesting to be able to get this much with an under $200 camera and a small finder scope.
I also captured 7 x 15 sec exposures of M13 in a live stack. Not quite enough data in the stack for good star colors with just 1.75 minutes of exposure , unfortunately. But, it shows the globular well enough. Check it out:
The Beehive Cluster – M44 in Cancer. 59×5 sec, Orion Ultra-Mini 30mm F/4.3 guidescope, Toupcam AR130 Color guide camera.
Here’s something I’ve been wanting to try. I used my new guidescope and color guide camera combo to take images of the Beehive in Cancer. It looked great on the screen with 5 second exposures.
I used the ToupSky capture software, which shoots continuous frames and saves each frame in an AVI movie file. Then, I imported the AVI file into IRIS and treated the data like I was processing a planetary image. It worked great and it was fast to process, too.
Color balance could be better, but I think I can fix that before I start recording by tweaking the settings in the ToupSky software. Now that I know it can be done, I’ll probably try this again the next time the weather is clear.
For fun, I combined the above image with one taken with my TV-85 back in 2015. Check it out:
TV-85 data combined with the Ultra-Mini Guidescope/Toupcam combo.
M67 Open Cluster in Cancer. Taken on Jan 29, 2017. 38×60 sec @ ISO 400, TV-85 at F/5.6, Canon T3, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD.
With the heavy light pollution (LP) I’ve had to deal with where I’m imaging from lately, I decided a few open clusters would be better targets than anything too faint like nebulae and galaxies. At around 10:30 pm on this particular night, M67 was in perfect position to be imaged.
The LP limited me to 1 minute exposures at ISO 400, so it is not a very deep image. Getting rid of the LP in processing knocks the colors out and I had to work hard to get a little of the colors back. Oh, well… at least I’m able to get something useful out of the data.
M35 on Jan 29, 2017. Full frame. 50×60 sec @ ISO 400, TV-85 at F/5.6, Canon T3, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD.M35 on Jan 29, 2017. Cropped and rotated north up. 50×60 sec @ ISO 400, TV-85 at F/5.6, Canon T3, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD. Additional 50% blend with image from SN-8.
Two versions of data obtained on Jan 29, 2017 in very light polluted conditions. The full frame is oriented north to the left and the crop has been rotated to north is up.
M42 – 11×60 sec @ ISO 200 plus 45×120 sec @ ISO 100. TV-85 at F/5.6, Canon T3, EQ-G w/EQMOD.
An additional 45 sub-images were added to the previous version of this image, which was 11×60 sec @ ISO 200. So, this is 101 minutes of exposure integration.
M45, the Pleiades. 10×120 sec @ ISO 100, TV-85 at F/5.6, Canon T3, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD.
It is surprising that you could get the Merope nebulousity in the Pleiades to show up under severe light pollution (LP) with just 10 minutes of exposure. It was definitely transparent this night, so that helped. Processing was no fun, however. Nasty red LP took its toll.
Update Feb 5, 2017:
I did a guiding test on Feb 3rd and used M45 as my target. I shot lots of sub-images with 15 and 30 second exposures. I took the best 74 and combined those with the above data is this is what I got:
M45 – 74×15 sec @ ISO 1600 added to 5×120 sec @ ISO 100 or about 28 minutes of integration.
It certainly smoothed out that muddy-looking background LP remnant splotchy-ness appearance. Not too bad for shooting from a location next to shopping center parking lots. lol
M37 Open Cluster in Auriga. 5×120 sec @ ISO 100, TV-85 at F/5.6, Canon T3, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD.
This was one of the first test shots for the night as I was trying to tune the guiding software, mini-guidescope and guide camera. It came out OK for just 5 sub-images.
M42 on Jan 13, 2017. 11×60 sec @ ISO 200, TV-85 at F/5.6, Canon T3, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD.
I was doing a shakedown of new equipment and decided to post the results of my test shot of the Orion Nebula. The 11 sub-images were taken from a red zone on the LP map, probably a Bortle 7 to 8 sky with only the brightest stars visible.
I was trying out a freshly configured Windows 10 laptop, a new guiding camera and a new guide scope. Yep, I broke down and bought the new Orion Ultra-Mini guide scope, since it matched with my relatively new Aptina AR0130 color planetary/guider cam. I also used a new Shoestring Bluetooth wireless interface for the mount, which although it worked well enough towards the end, the first part of the session was not without issues.
M42 on Jan 13, 2017. 11×60 sec @ ISO 200, TV-85 at F/5.6, Canon T3, Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD. Color added from previous image.
This session was also the first one where everything actually worked since I replaced the two stepper motors in my Atlas mount. The last time I tried it I couldn’t get the little netbook I was using to stay connected to the mount. A different laptop with a more robust USB bus did the trick.
There are still kinks to work out with the new guiding camera arrangement and the newest version PHD2 Guiding. The last time I used PHD Guiding, it was Craig Stark’s original version. This is the first time I’ve used the new Open Source version. It will take time, but I’m sure the setup is capable of getting the job done. I got rid of the Meade SN-6 scope I was using as a guide scope and that reduced the weight and bulk of the imaging rig. A lighter payload should let me get better tracking once I have all the settings tuned, hopefully.
I’ve gotten behind in the last couple of years and now I can finally catch back up to all the new technology and software that is now available. Soon, I hope to transport my revamped imaging rig to a dark sky sight and churn out some new keeper comet and deep sky images before summer arrives. Wish me luck. 🙂
Yes, it is possible to get a DSO image from a Dobsonian scope without an equatorial platform for tracking, but I wouldn’t want to have to do it too many times! lol.
Keeping the object in the field of view is tough. Dealing with hundreds of images and only 25% are usable is a pain. Plus, you have to manually pick and sort them, which is even worse. And after all that effort, you get such meager results like the above? Yeah, like I already said… I wouldn’t want to do this more than I have to. 🙂
The Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae. Wide Field image taken with 200mm F/2.8 Canon telephoto.The Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae. Wide Field image taken with 200mm F/2.8 Canon telephoto. Object-centered crop.
Here’s a rework of an image with data from higher resolution images overlayed on a base image that was taken with my 200mm F/2.8 Canon telephoto lens. The overlay images were closeups of M8 and M20 taken with the TV-85 telescope.
Images of Comets, Nebulae, Galaxies and Star Clusters
