Brian Joynes - Astrophotography

NGC7789

2009-11-17T12:39:00.002Z

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

2009-11-12T00:21:00.005Z

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

2009-09-27T00:02:00.008+01:00

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

2009-09-21T13:07:00.014+01:00

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

2009-09-06T16:20:00.004+01:00

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

2009-08-31T15:27:00.003+01:00

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

2009-08-08T22:47:00.004+01:00

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

2009-08-01T12:19:00.005+01:00

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

2009-06-12T12:12:00.003+01:00

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

2009-06-04T00:30:00.005+01:00

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

2009-06-02T15:01:00.004+01:00

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

2009-02-11T16:28:00.002Z

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

2008-11-28T18:18:00.004Z

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

2008-11-28T18:12:00.003Z

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

2008-11-22T11:54:00.006Z

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.

IC434 and the Horsehead

2008-11-16T15:24:00.003Z

This was taken in November 2006, an age ago it seems. I was using the H9C then and my processing has improved too, at least I think so.
I was able to get an exposure of 21x300, but at that time I wasn't as convinced as now that more time was important, and my approach to taking pictures was much more butterfly than now.
So this is the old data reprocessed, and hopefully better than before. The 80ED was used, guided by an SX guidehead and the Meade14". You can see by comparing with the same object taken with the M25C that this version covers a much smaller area of sky.

NGC2244 again, with some 0III

2008-11-08T15:52:00.003Z

The 0III taken 7.11.08 with a high half Moon and haze. Guiding was terrible, perhaps the old Meade is getting sick.
I took the 0III with the camera 90° to the Ha so could only use the central portion.
4x900sec exposure using the M25C and 80ED, and a Meade 0III filter.
I'll leave this on as a reminder not to do it this way, but the 0III frames, taken through a Meade 0III filter have degraded the picture as a whole, rather than improved it.
The reason seems to be that the Meade filter, bought as a visual one, lets the infra-red through and more of that comes through than the 0III, adding to the H-alpha and bringing more noise with it.

IC1396 __ Elephant's Trunk or Hippopotamus

2008-11-01T12:58:00.003Z

Taken on Friday the 31st of October '08, in Ha on the usual platform of 80ED and M25C. Processed in AA4/PS7 using only the R channel. A clear sky without Moon but hazy and this object was sinking into the west.

IC434 and the Horsehead

2008-10-29T00:55:00.002Z

Another effort from the night of the 27th, a busy night.
Taken under the same circumstances as the others on that night, in Ha. I like Ha work, very satisfying. 4x900sec exposure with the 80ED and M25C.

NGC 2244 __ and the Rosette Nebula

2008-10-28T13:03:00.007Z

Taken on the night of 27.10.08, in a cloudless and Moonless sky, but with haze and lots of cold dew.
The equipment used was the 80ED riding on the Meade LX200 with an M25C camera and Hydrogen Alpha filter to hopefully cut through the haze.
Processed in AA4 and PS7 with Noel's Actions. The frame is uncropped.
It was -1°C too, but I was prepared, having been caught out many times before.
Re-processed it and hopefully added more contrast?

NGC1499 __ the California Nebula

2008-10-26T12:28:00.009Z

Taken with the usual kit, but through an Hydrogen Alpha filter, then coloured in PS7 with Noel's Actions. I like it in B&W really but felt a bit of colour was needed.
Taken on the 21st of October '08 with no Moon and a mostly clear sky which clouded over half way through the 3rd frame preventing my intended 2 hours. It was all in a bit of a rush and you can see that It's not well centred.
I've repeated this subject and hopefully composed it more effectively. This on the night of the 27th October '08. I was also able to get 6x1200 frames this time. Reprocessed for more contrast.

NGC6960 the Witch's Broom

2008-10-12T01:02:00.003+01:00

7x1200 frames under a half Moon at native focal length. Cropped a bit to remove the worst of the optical problems of a standard refractor, Apochromatic or not, and the Skywatcher 80ED doesn't cover the M25 chip with any comfort. I think I can manage the taking of pictures much more effectively than the subsequent processing. This took hours of try this way then that, a bit more of this and a bit less of that. Very wearing. Guiding was better than usual too. I know I can do better so will try again, Cloud God willing. I've lightened the picture to compensate for Blogger darkening it.

IC434 and the Horsehead

2008-10-11T12:17:00.005+01:00

Taken on the 8th of October, a hazy but clear sky with a half Moon in the south when the Horsehead was well up.

The usual kit at native focal length. Exposure was 6x600sec, but it needs more, of course. I'd like to add some Ha to this, though it looks well in Ha alone. Plenty of time yet this year. Guiding wasn't good at all.

Reprocessed by adding in the Lums rather than Median combine. Makes for a smoother result, but doesn't take out the hot pixels.

M31_t the Andromeda Spiral ___ again and hopefully finally

2008-09-28T17:25:00.003+01:00

I used the 0.50 focal reducer. It's a cheap piece and introduces aberrations round the outside, so much cropped, though it does get all this galaxy into the frame.5 frames of 900sec, M25C and 80ED. a much clearer sky than usual, but not long enough.

M37, a cluster in Auriga

2008-09-19T10:26:00.005+01:00

Taken in January '08, with the H9C on the 80ED with an Antares 0.5 FR in the train, a cheap FR but it works well enough. The exposure was 21x60sec, guided, because the Meade mount is unpredictable though well enough polar aligned. Processed in AstroArt4. I hope to get a better result this autumn.

IC5146 _ the Cocoon Nebula

2008-09-08T23:59:00.008+01:00

Taken on the 2nd and 3rd of September, using the usual kit at 600mm FL and an exposure of 8x1200sec on the 3rd and one of 8x600sec on the 2nd. Processed more carefully in AA4 and finished off in PS7. I feel more comfortable with this version. Unfortunately blogger seems to darken the picture quite a lot.

The pictures were stacked in PS7.

M71 __ full field and cropped

2008-09-04T13:58:00.008+01:00

Taken with the M25C and 80ED at native FL. The exposure was 12x120sec. The picture shows the full field so the cluster looks small in the middle, but the next shows the middle of the field.

IC5070 the Pelican

2008-08-15T21:24:00.004+01:00

This is the Pelican taken with the M25C through the 80ED with the 6.3 focal reducer in the train. I'm not really happy with the 6.3 as a field flattener though it works well enough as a focal reducer. The exposure was only 3 frames of 1200sec each, before the clouds stopped it.

I find Hydrogen Alpha work really good fun, a great jolt when I control-B a file and I don't really want to process it further than that, but it makes for a quite small image so it must be further worked.

This one is part of a collaboration with Dave A on a mosaic of the North American nebula area.

M31 the Andromeda Spiral

2008-08-09T10:49:00.008+01:00

Taken from Austerfield with the M25C and 80ED at 600mm fl. The exposure was 10x300sec, and guiding was through the Meade 14". A sky with average seeing and thin cloud. I've always had difficulty with M31 and finally sat down to work on it properly.

NGC7000, the Water Buffalo

2008-08-05T22:56:00.010+01:00

Taken with the MX25C and 80ED through an Hydrogen Alpha filter. 8x1200sec exposure, debayered and using only the red channel, and adding frames instead of the using the usual median combine. I think it makes for a smoother result, though it means I had to clone to get rid of hot pixels, whereas the Median does it automatically.

A reasonably good night for Austerfield, especially so as the street lights were turned off!

2008-08-03T09:04:00.006+01:00

An animation of the partial solar eclipse of 1.8.08 from 9.30 to 11.10am. The pictures were taken with an MX25C and 80ED from the dome at Austerfield. Exposures .01 to .08sec with LPS and H Alpha filters.

NGC6992___the Face

2008-07-09T12:47:00.016+01:00

The Eastern Veil is its normal name but the children I show it to see it as the Face.

Exposure was 10x600sec, and the gear was the M25C and 80ED. Focus could be better. Processed in AA4 and finished off in PS7. More pleased with this one.

M87 _ and friends

2008-07-04T12:52:00.008+01:00

The group of galaxies known as the Makarian Chain. Taken with an SX M25C and 80ED Skywatcher guided by a Meade LX200 14".

M27 __ the Dumbbell, a planetary nebula in Vulpecula

2008-07-03T16:55:00.005+01:00

Using an M25C through the 80ED at native focal length guided by the Meade 14. The night was hazy and ended with cloud after an exposure of only 4 x 600sec. It needs much more. I uses flats too though it's always a hit and miss affair, this time reasonable.

Click on the picture for a larger version.

Brian

M81 and M82, __ Galaxies in Ursa Major

2008-01-29T12:52:00.001Z

Taken on the 28th of Jan 08. An exposure of 17 x 300sec with an SX M25C on an 80ED Skywatcher, guided on a Meade LX200.

M45 __ the Pleiades

2007-10-04T11:07:00.001+01:00

Taken on the 4th October 07 with an SX H9C and 80ED with a 6.3 focal reducer in the optical train. The object being too wide to fit onto the H9C's chip at native FL.

The exposure was 9 x 300sec. Acquired and processed in AA3.

M33__ Triangulum

2007-09-10T11:07:00.001+01:00

An SX H9C in the 80ED with a 6.3 focal reducer to give a focal length of 378mm. The exposure was 22 x 300sec.

Taken on the 10th September 07.

M1__ the Crab

2006-11-17T10:57:00.006Z

Using an SX H9C on the 80ED at native FL and an exposure of 24 x 300sec.

It was taken on the 17th of November 06. I'll try again later this year.

M57__the Ring Nebula

2005-04-02T14:42:00.000+01:00

Taken with an SX MX7C on the 2nd of April 05, but I can't remember what the telescope was. My records are a bit better now. The exposure was 10 x 30sec, so it wasn't guided.