nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

I am working on a video from last night's imaging. It includes the Polemaster - and how i get polar alignment - PhD2 and guiding inside 1.5 arc seconds - Astrotortillia for finding and centering targets (beats doing two, three, and more alignments and never really knowing if the star you selected to align is the right one.....and Backyard EOS for Nikon. The video needs a lot of editing but the last plate solve was for my target which I have attached.

This photo is comprised of 130 subs - culled 27, so used 103 - 162 flats - 75 darks (I used more darks because it was so hot throughout the night), 120 bias.

I shot at ISO 800, 30 second exposures. I am going to do this again but with a CCD camera and a 625 refractor - should have the same FOV. The one attached was with the 800mm Newt - stars are a giveaway. I will be shooting 70 seconds exposures tonight at the F/7.25 ..I think I have the math right.

(Download)

jkoar Loc: The Gunks, NY

Wow!

AuntieM Loc: Eastern NC

ISO 800, 30 seconds is all I understood from your description. The photo is absolutely indescribable...........Wow (from jkoar) is right!!!!

Lagoonguy Loc: New Smyrna Beach, FL

Very impressive work.

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Now this is your real work of art Ed.
Beautifully done. Hope you can get some clear skies.
The rest of us are in the clouds.
Craig

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

Let's review the math on the exposure time needed for tonight. The Newt is 800mm at f3.9. Let's just call it f4 for simplicity. And the other scope is F7.25. One stop slower than f4.0 is f5.6 and two stops is f8.0. So the difference is almost 2 stops. That means you need almost 4 times the exposure time. Instead of 30 sec, it would be 120 sec.

But if the CCD is more sensitive, perhaps that could change. Or if you are using a focal reducer, it would change also.


I just want the time to do more of this. I had intended to retire at the end of March. And here it is, almost 3 months later. And a trip to Shanghai scheduled in 2 weeks, and a trip to Phoenix sometime after that. And new Firmware to verify after that. It will be perhaps end of September before I am free. But I do think I am going to buy a Hyperstar and a CCD camera before hanging the spike up for the last time.


By the way, that image of the Veiled Nebula is about as good as I have ever seen it done. It's superb!

SDB777 Loc: Edwards, AR USA

I love the spikes....but I'm betting the refractor photo is going to be spectacular.


Scott (back to clouds and rain here) B

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Beautiful Ed!

If it is cloudy here, I wouldn't know.
Seems I'm in a fog....

But looks to be some clearing in the week ahead.

Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

Ed, as usual, spectacular! Keep the pix coming.

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

Very nice image, it's astounding how large the whole veil is.

Matthew

nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

Thanks all for the nice comments....and you are right - the Veil is huge. I had plans to re-shoot it last night but was so tired - I was asleep by 11:00 pm which is early for me. Now the weather is forecasting clouds and chances of thunderstorms. So it's the waiting game!

CathyAnn Loc: Apache Junction, AZ

WOW!!! Absolutely spectacular!

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

Really very well done.
I really really like this.