M51 after months of change, work, and clouds, March 2025

 

Here is a quick M51, just 10x5' with the Player One Uranus C Pro camera and Baader MPCC II-corrected 203mm Synta-ONTC Newtonian.  About two years ago, my old camera broke; a year ago, I replaced my laptop; and six months ago, I bought a CMOS camera.  My long-time capture app, Nebulosity, is no longer updated and will not work on the new laptop.  So I've begun using SharpCap Pro for the new camera, and it works fine, but the learning curve has been tough to climb while working full-time and any number of wonderful family events.  (Also, I've been working through the Herschel 400 list visually, and that has definitely taken some nights.) The resolution with the C Pro and the Newt is very high: 0.595" per pixel, higher than any other setup I've used.  My seeing will not be up to it on some nights; I'm still thinking around that.

Jupiter at 10:45 a.m. CST, Dec. 28, 2024

 

Best 1k/5k with the QHY 458C and the Spooner-Ricks 6" f/8 at f/12.

M33, Fall 2024

This is first light with the TS 102SD, native at f/11 but telecompressed to f/6.93.  This is also first light with a Player One Uranus C Pro camera.  I haven't had a camera in a while.  So far, I'm impressed with this one.  This is 41x300s.

Double Cluster - NGC 869 & NGC 884

 

This is 37x300s with the Player One Uranus C Pro through my TS Optics 102SD f/11 and the Astro-Physics Telecompressor (CCDT67), which reduces the scope to eff. f/6.93.  This was taken from my backyard, and my subdivision lately installed new >4k streetlights with no shielding---a disaster for astronomy.  I'm doing my best here and still glad I can do something.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), October 13 & 16, 2024

These were taken with the old Canon T3i and a zoom lens on hand, over a drainage pond.  I spotted the comet first in an image taken of the area SkySafari indicated the comet would be found.  I took about 160 images, and these were some of the best.  The camera was stationary on a tripod.  The images would have been much better if the camera were tracking.

This one was a phone shot with the Pixel 4 XL, taken on Wednesday Oct. 16 when I was showing the comet to some friends:

M8, the Lagoon Nebula (2024)

 

This is data from ATEO-1 at Starbase.  ATEO-1 is a 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph, one of the premier imaging telescopes available.  This is just 170 minutes of data, but it is clean and deep and fun to work with.  This image is Ha-OIII-SII in a modified Hubble palette.

Mineral Moon, New Telescope

This is first light with the TS 102SD f/11.  Thus far, the scope has impressed.  I hope to do a longer review later.  This is the nearly full moon of April 22, 2024, shot with the Canon T3i at 1/4,000 of a second. The image is color-enhanced to show that different parts of our moon reflect light differently. The colors differ because the minerals that make up the moon's surface differ from place to place.