CCD imaging activity as it happens
Well it has been a couple of months since my last blog post. As many will know, the weather in the UK has been particularly bad for many weeks now. Deep sky imaging has been virtually impossible, with not a single clear usable moonless night. I've finally managed to generate a six hour hydrogen alpha exposure of IC 410, 'The Tadpoles' in Auriga. I'm not sure when I will get the OIII or SII data!
On the visual astronomy front, the Tolcarn Observatory Astronomy Group has had a couple of clear club nights, albeit with the moon in the sky. Last week we had the opportunity to test a mate's new scope; a William Optics GT-102 triplet refractor. The build quality on this scope is excellent, with a feathertouch focuser and integrated camera angle adjuster. We had some cracking views of Jupiter at high magnification. That night was also the first time I've seen the 14'' Meade LX200 show what it can really do. At 280x magnification we detected structure in the bands and the Great Red Spot itself. I've never seen Jupiter so clear. I'm looking forward to some galaxy hunts with this light bucket! The Takahashi TSA-120 also did not disappoint, with clear crisp views of the planet.
Unfortunately the weather has not made it possible to do any imaging for the last few weeks. However, Xmas is here again. Can I have some clear skies please??!!
Merry Christmas all, here's to a productive year in 2014!
I was keen to see the results of the 3.5 hours of hydrogen alpha data of IC 410/IC1893. I therefore processed the image using Zone System principles, with micro curves adjustment finishing with high pass filtering. Once I can capture another 3 hours of H-alpha, I'll have another go before starting on the OIII data capture.
This week I finally managed to process my first image using the Hubble Palette (SII:Ha:OIII). Although it only comprised two hours of hydrogen alpha data, the end result was satisfactory. I followed the instructions from the book 'Lessons from the Masters' by Rob Gendler after processing the individual filtered images separately using the Zone System approach. Getting the correct colour balance was important to generate an aesthetically pleasing image.
My next Hubble Palette project is another go at IC410, The Tadpole Nebula in Auriga. My plan is to aim for at least 6 hours per filter. I will shoot the H-alpha data first then the OIII which can then be combined in a bicolour image to begin with, then finish with the SII to generate the Hubble palette image.
Tonight turned out clear in the end so I managed to gather 3.5 hours of H-alpha data (14 x 15min subframes). This will be processed later this week once I have taken a new batch of dark frames.
The weather couldn't have been better today for the opening event of the Tolcarn Research and Education Observatory. It was a great opportunity to give the Polarie a run and capture a couple of widefield images of the stars over the observatory buildings.