4.5 hours of Horsehead

Crappy shootout on the whole. The final 2.5 hours were really a mess. Flexure, focus change due to temp change, broken down remote control wire, so no dark frame...

Won't be able to do Horsehead again the coming days anyway, so let's call it that.

Horsehead Nebula

I was actually hoping I could get much more exposure on this one, but weather didn't permit, so that's it for the time being I guess.

Optics: Takahashi Sky90 with reducer (407mm F4.5)
Tracking: Takahashi EM11 T2M, autoguided by 50mm finder/guider, PHD
Camera: Canon 5DII modified,
Exposure:
31/1/2014 - ISO800 (5 min x 12)
28/1/2014 - ISO1600 (4 min x 15)
Total 2 hours

Hong Kong Astronomical Society Observation Site

Omega Globular Cluster

My first globular cluster. Of course I should start off with the biggest!

Optics: Takahashi Sky90 with reducer (407mm F4.5)
Tracking: Takahashi EM11 T2M, autoguided by 50mm finder/guider, PHD
Camera: Canon 5DII modified,
Exposure:
28/1/2014 - ISO400 (5 min x 15)

Hong Kong Astronomical Society Observation Site

Resized and Cropped

100% Cropped

Old Film Image

I dug out my old hard disk and discovered some unprocessed film image. Back in 2008 I was not able to process that due to technical difficulties, namely too serious vignetting. Now with the advancement of my skill and software development (which I can command) I can finally finish this, which should be, my final film astro image.

Sky90, EM11, manual guide, Mamiya 645, E200+1, mosaic of 2, 1 hour each.

The End of 2013

Have been making use of the clear but very polluted atmosphere to do some new equipment testing and light imaging.

I have sent my Sky90 back to Takahashi for collimation and service, and they have done an excellent job. The scope doesn't look like mine when it comes back! I'm very pleased with the appearance and the optical performance. Here are the results:

Tak Sky90, EM11, Lodestar, Canon 5DII modded, LPS-P2, 3 min x 32 (96 min)

Tak Sky90, EM11, Lodestar, Canon 5DII modded, LPS-P2, 3 min x 52 (156 min)

Tak Sky90, EM11, Lodestar, Canon 5DII modded, LPS-P2, 3 min x 40 (120 min)

My renewed Sky90!

The end of the imaging session, together with my friend testing my Borg125SD

Have been testing my RC8 as well, which was acquired quite a few years ago but never had the chance to use. Collimation was way off, and I had no laser collimator with me so I had to do it very crudely. Forgot to take a picture of the setup.

I will need to add a barlow to the guidescope the next time I image with it.

Microtech 8"RC, EM11, Lodestar, Canon 5DII modded, LPS-P2, 3 min x 10