NGC7789

Taken with the WO FLT98 and M25C riding on Geraldine with modified balancing arrangement.
The exposure was 26x120sec, and the processing was done in AstroArt4 and Photoshop CS2. I could have improved on the focusing though.
Brian

M39 - An Open cluster

Taken on the 9th of November 09 on a cloudless night at 6pm. I didn't have much time before the forecasted clouds came over (do I believe the forecasters?). Fog was already rolling in across the road as I entered the village. I used the 80ED with the WO AFR4 as I'd just taken a series of SAO68943 Chi Cygnii for John Cox to follow. and use the same kit for that.
The sky remained clear throughout. I'd modified the balance system on the big Meade and that seems to have eased the guiding problems I'd been having.
I used 20x120sec subs to try to retain colour of the stars. AstroArt4 was used to acquire and preprocess the frames and only flats were used to calibrate. I usually get a very blue result if I use bias frames with flats, must be doing something wrong there. Processing finiahed off in Photoshop CS2 with a touch of Noel's Actions to help smooth the background, though it didn't need much work. No sharpening done and the whole cropped only to cut out the stacking edges.
The cluster isa bit straggly but all its stars are a uniformly pleasing blue. If you look towards the top left, you should be able to pick out the small redish planetary nebula PLN 93- 2.1.

Brian

M31 the Andromeda Galaxy

Taken on Friday the 15th September 09, from Austerfield with the FLT98 and M25C. It was an Open Night, but cloudy so, for the first time, Dave Hardware and I, stayed away, unfortunately some members came round, and I'm sorry that I wasn't there, but the St John Brigade people were and they had all the lights on in all the buildings. But it was cloudy anyway.
It cleared up about 10.30 so I went down and took this of M31, almost at the top of the sky. The exposure was 18x300sec and the processing was done in Astroart4 with some in Photoshop7. You'll note that I didn't get the centre of the galaxy in the centre of the frame, I didn't notice this till it was too late, unfortunately, so I didn't restart as perhaps I should have, but if I had, I'd have lost a lot of time as the clouds returned by 2.30pm. No darks as usual, but I'd noticed a dust shadow in the middle of the frame, so took some half second flats. I can frequently dispense with flats if I use Gradient Xterminator.
Brian

IC1795 and IC1805 on 20.9.09 Sunday

I had to watch Waking the Dead on TV before going out to take pictures of the night sky, but had to pay for it in lost time as the clear sky degenerated, very gradually into full cloud.
It wasn't really clear anyway, having a skin of haze over the whole sky which thickened gradually like white sauce.
I found in processing that I also had to discard the later half dozen frames I'd taken before noticing the thickening haze.
I'd moved the FLT98 to the big Meade for this and used the H9C to guide and the M25C to take the picture.
I'd also had difficulty with flats since turning to the 98 after the 80ED. I'd taken several series of flats of different exposures from 2 to 15sec, but not solved the problem, so this time I took flats of .2, .3, .4, .5, and 1sec and found that those of .2 to .5 worked best, whereas 4 to 6 sec worked for the 80ED.
This is a busy part of the sky, just 5° above the Double Cluster, and in the frame are IC1795, the nebulosity to the top right, with IC1805, the open cluster with nebulosity, to the lower left. Between them is the small open cluster, Tombaugh 4.
The whole needs more time, as always.
Acquired in Astroart 4 and processed there and in Photoshop7.
Brian

IC405- the Flaming Star nebula

I took this on the 18th of March 09, it was clear but cold and foggy so I didn't do much on this, and left the scene at 1am with fog all the way home. Nevertheless it processed it and this is the result, augmented by a little use of Photoshop's Selective colour layering. This allows you to add a "New Adjustment Layer" for "Selective Colour", which lets you enhance chosen colours (learned at a recent Workshop).I used it to add red, obviously. The blue, reflective nebula region didn't need help.
I used the 80ED and M25C without flattener so had to crop it a bit. The exposure was 13x600sec.

M27 in Ha and OIII

This is another try at narrowband work, using Ha in the red channel, OIII in the blue and OIII as a pseudo green, following the Steve Cannistra method.
It's not really suited to pictures with lots of stars as they also take on the pseudo colours and have to be treated differently. Lots of work and finally I think I like the original colours more, but it was worth the effort to try and I'll do it again with more suitable scenes, but it makes for a most unnatural picture, like the Barbara Cartland of Cygnus.
Of course, it could be that I'm not much good at the processing side of the job, but I'll hopefully get better at it, then try again.
Brian

7.8.09 Friday

After the barbecue I took this of Jupiter with the webcam and some 1200 frames through the 14" without a barlow.
Can I see the newly found mark of an impact? Wishful thinking I suppose.
I thought the 14" didn't need collimating but to reconsider, I think I'll do it next time out.

M13 - 27.7.09

I've been trying different methods of processing this quite difficult object and this used 5 frames of 300sec, 25 mins in all. I took bias frames and flats but only used the flats, the bias seems to add rather than reduce noise.
I'd usually processed by averaging to retain the colour but tried adding instead and was surprised to find the colour only slightly deminished.
I also used Mike Smith's plug-in rather than Astroart4s built in colour synthesis.
So this is with all colours and lum stacked by addition and the Lum processed in Photoshop after a light DDP step in AA4. The final stacking of colours and lum was done in Astroart.
The telescope was a WO FLT98 without flattener so I had to crop a bit off the M25C's full chip size.
Two galaxies are visible if you enlarge the picture.

NGC 6992 in Hydrogen Alpha

On 11.6.09 with the FLT98 and M25C and an Ha filter in the train. 14x300sec exposure, but with a rising Moon and heavy haze to combat. Could have been better if I'd concentrated more on focusing. This is the red channel alone.

M24 is almost the whole of this

Taken 31.5.09 using the M25C on the William FLT98 and AFR4 flattener, guided by an H9C. I took 33 frames of 120sec, but had to discard 4 because of planes or satellites. This is a reprocessed effort, in that the Lum file was added in stacking and the colour files were median combined. In the first work all were median combined. The Lum was mostly processed in Photoshop and all stacking was done in AstroArt. The picture was reduced to 1500Px, but not cropped.
I'd previously thought the small cluster in the middle was M24, but not so. It's the swathe of stars to the right of this picture.
Brian

1.6.09 - Widefield view of NGC 6888 the Crescent

A cloudless night but of poor seeing, lots of haze. I only had a short time available so took a look at the Crescent Nebula in Cygnus, in H Alpha. I've not done any H-Alpha for months and this brought it all back.
Only 3 frames taken of 600sec. It would have been better if I'd focused with more care, but time was short and dawn was showing itself.
The telescope was a William FLT98 with AFR4 flattener and the camera an M25C. I used only the red channel here. This is the full frame, uncropped.

Venus

Taken from Austerfield on 10.2.09, before the Full Moon got up and in the way and before Venus sunk into the trees.
The camera was an old Philips webcam on the Meade 14".
It was cold.

NGC2244 the Rosette

Taken on the 27th of November 08, a cloudless sky, but of very poor seeing from Austerfield. Very disappointing because of the repeated loss of the guide star through sudden very small clouds, or local areas of "boiling air".
Another try with an OIII filter, 7x1200sec in 4 parts, because of loss of guiding.
The M25C and 80ED used with AA4 used for acquiring and processing this hard fought effort. It was also getting cold, down to -2.

M45

Taken on 27.11.08, a clear night with poor seeing, making for very poor guiding and trailed stars, with lots of little clouds invisible to my eyes but seen by the guiding camera. This version took 11x130sec with the M25C and 80ED, processed in AA4 and PS7.

M33 Triangulum

21.11.08, the night started clear and windy, with no Moon and the Milky Way fleetingly visible but it soon faded and by 11.30 had full cloud cover. After lots of fiddling I got the equipment working but the wind and seeing made very poor guiding, .8 of a pixel, where I've always had under .5.
I took 12x600sec frames of M33 but I wasn't as good as usual with focusing and of course it can change during the process of the 2 hours and I didn't refocus.
The usual gear used, M25C and 80ED guided by Geraldine who was reluctant to comply, though she seemed to finally come round. Processed in AA4 with the Lum in PS7. Cropped a little.