As I write this entry in my study I have the other 3 screens showing me what is going on in the mini-WASP observatory.  All 3 scopes and cameras are currently imaging the Double Cluster, and later I am really going to push my luck and see if I can move the scope up to Stock 2 and make a 2-framer, all from indoors.  Tom How’s Patent automatic dome rotator is of course up and running 🙂

So I am now grabbing 3 hour’s worth of data in just 1 hour’s worth of imaging time – it really doesn’t get much better than this.

Not all completely sorted, there’s still a few bugs to iron out – but this has taken me just over a year to get to this point so as you might imagine, tonight is happy bunny night 🙂

I have recently been receiving enquiries about photography courses in general (not deep-sky imaging).  Non deep-sky imaging photographic courses are listed under the “Courses” heading on the Scientific Artist web site.

I just came across a nice Star Vistas review that I hadn’t seen before.  Thanks guys – nicely done 🙂

Got today’s EPOD with the supernova in M95 from March this year.  That’s EPOD number 41 🙂  Thank you Jim for continuing to publish work from the New Forest Observatory.

When you have three imaging scopes with CCDs, a filter wheel, a guide scope with guide camera, 3 Robofocus units, 3 computers with monitors, a Paramount ME, a Gigabit LAN hub, a light box, a dehumidifier, a lamp, a dome rotator, and a greenhouse heater, all in the observatory – you have a lot of plugs 🙂

Normally hidden from view behind the mini-WASP monitors, I proudly present to you – PLUG CITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The second TS 80mm triplet APO arrived today so I made up another Robofocus bracket and mounted the new scope in the mini-WASP frame.  So that’s it – I am not going to go any further with the hardware on this, I am calling a halt here and getting on with some imaging.  So the final configuration I have settled on is:

1)  TS 80mm triplet APO in port 1 with an M26C one-shot colour CCD and IDAS filter.

2)  Sky 90 and M26C one-shot colour camera with a filter wheel containg an IDAS filter, H-alpha, H-beta, SII and OIII all in port 2.

3)  TS 80mm triplet APO in port 3 with an M26C one-shot colour CCD and IDAS filter.

4)  Megrez 80mm guide scope with starlight xpress guide camera in port 4.

Initially (and maybe finally) I will have all scopes pointing at the same object.  The Sky 90 has a slightly bigger FOV than the TS 80s so it makes sense that the narrowband work is carried out on the Sky 90 (it can of course do straight RGB as well).

So all I have to do next is get all the scopes accurately aligned, get the scopes focus trained, and then it’s imaging time once again – hooray 🙂

Here is an image from the mini-WASP array using the M26C one-shot colour cameras on a Sky 90 and a TS 80mm triplet APO.  Both datasets were combined using Registar as they had different image scales (the TS 80mm is f#6 and the Sky 90 is f#4.5).

Had an hour to waste tonight whilst half-watching a TV programme so removed the hot pixels from the recent Ruchbah region image (TS 80/M26C one-shot colur CCD).

When you have 2 filter wheels, 3 Robofocus units, 3 cameras, and a guide camera, plus Paramount – there’s a build up of cables you wouldn’t believe 🙂

And here is an 8 x 5-minute test shot of the Ruchbah region taken with the TS 80.  Hot pixels aplenty, but star quality as you can see very good considering the chip wasn’t even flat!