August 2006 Astro Images

M11, The Wild Duck Cluster
On 8/3/06

Not to be stopped be a few clouds, I imaged M11 after the skies deteriorated somewhat after imaging M71, above.

M11, The Wild Duck Cluster on 8/3/06. Taken with a Celestron C-8 at F/5.8 (1160mm,) and a Baader MPCC. Guided with a Meade DSI and 100mm F/5 refractor. Camera is a Hutech Type 1 modified Canon 350 XT. Exposure was 7x30 second sub-images at 1600 ISO. Processed and stacked in IRIS with dark, flat and bias calibration. Photoshop, RC-Astro's Gradient XTerminator and Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools for post processing. Neat Image for noise reduction. Click here to see the full size hi-res version.

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The Milky Way, Wide Field Images
on 8/14/06

What can you image with just a camera with a wide angle lens and a tripod? The Milky Way, that's what! I just love taking images like this.
I was in the process of upgrading my telescope mount and had taken my C-8 off the old mount and moved it to a new one. Unfortunately, I was lacking the hand-paddle/computer for the new mount and I could not do any imaging with it.
Not to be stopped by a little problem like that I used my camera on a tripod and obtained these 2 images below:

The Milky Way on 8/14/06. Taken with a Hutech Type 1 modified Canon 350 XT, 28-70mm Sigma Zoom at 28mm F/2.8 and F/4. Exposure for the first image was 3x30 second sub-images at 1600 ISO. The second image was 1x20 sec at F/4 and 1600 ISO. Processed and stacked in IRIS with dark, flat and bias calibration. Photoshop, RC-Astro's Gradient XTerminator and Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools for post processing. Neat Image for noise reduction.

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First Light - Astro-Tech 66mm F/6,
Atlas EQ-G Goto Mount:
M31, The Andromeda Galaxy

The newest items in my imaging equipment arsenal are a 66mm F/6 ED (Semi-APO) refractor and an Orion Atlas EQ-G equatorial mount. The refractor is manufactured by Astro-Tech and is similar to other small 66mm APO-type scopes.
The new mount is an Orion heavy-duty GOTO mount that has a hand-paddle computer and interfaces with my laptop computer better than my old fork mount did. It is also more accurate than my old fork mount was.
I tried both items out in cloudy conditions, but my first real imaging session with the new mount and new scope in good conditions was early in morning before sunrise on 8/28/06. My target was the Andromeda Galaxy. Check out the results:

M31, The Andromeda Galaxy on 8/28/06. Taken with a Astro-Tech 66mm F/6 ED refractor and a Hutech Type 1 modified Canon 350 XT. Exposure was 16x120 second sub-images at ISO 1600. Processed and stacked in IRIS with dark, flat and bias calibration. Photoshop, RC-Astro's Gradient XTerminator and Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools for post processing. Neat Image for noise reduction. Click here to see the full size hi-res version.

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The Pelican Nebula
on 8/30/06

I had a chance to shoot more images using the new 66mm F/6 Apo refractor on 8/30/06. Here is the Pelican Nebula, which is right next to the North America Nebula in Cygnus.

The Pelican Nebula on 8/30/06. Taken with a Astro-Tech 66mm F/6 ED refractor and a Hutech Type 1 modified Canon 350 XT. Exposure was 20x150 second sub-images at ISO 800. Processed and stacked in IRIS with dark, flat and bias calibration. Photoshop, RC-Astro's Gradient XTerminator and Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools for post processing. Neat Image for noise reduction. Click here to see the full size hi-res version.

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The North America Nebula
on 8/31/06

With all the new equipment, I figured it would be best to test different guiding software packages and see how well each performed. For this session, I decided that I would guide with my DSI camera and Meade's Envisage software. My target was the North America Nebula. After a few frustrating hours chasing equipment bugs, I finally got everything working.

The North America Nebula on 8/31/06. Taken with a Astro-Tech 66mm F/6 ED refractor and a Hutech Type 1 modified Canon 350 XT. Exposure was 30x180 second sub-images at ISO 800. Processed and stacked in IRIS with dark, flat and bias calibration. Photoshop, RC-Astro's Gradient XTerminator and Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools for post processing. Neat Image for noise reduction. Click here to see the full size hi-res version.