In order to obtain an image of this nebula, which sits in the southern part of the sky near the center of the Milky Way, I have to begin exposures just as the nebula emerges from one neighbor's pine tree and continue until the nebula falls into another neighbor's palm tree. That's what I did last night. I literally saw the last pine bough disappear from the "frame and focus" shot a few minutes before beginning actual exposures. This was really fun, actually.
Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 16x8'
Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX
2 comments:
Another stunning shot, Val. The folks at NASA should be knocking on your door. That ATIK camera is excellent. I like my Nikon but am thinking about a dedicated CCD imager now. Especially in the summer heat, the noise from a DSLR is annoying. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, Phil! No question the cooling helps, and the Sony chip has so little noise that I have not used dark frames at all with it. Read noise is also very low. The chip in the camera is very small, but I hang onto it because I wonder if I could find anything as efficient.
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