Here is a 4-frame mosaic of the Pleiades taken with the original Hyperstar lens assembly (on a C11) with a tiny little H9C one-shot colour camera.  Also happens to be one of my all-time favourite images.

Here is a wide-field composite image of M78 and its relation to Barnard’s Loop taken using both Sky90 and Hyperstar I data.

Another deep-sky image from the NFO archives, and another original Hyperstar/H9C composition.  This time the Cave nebula in Cepheus.  I recall the tracking was so good on this one that I actually got some vertical banding where the tracking error was well within 1-pixel for the whole imaging session.  Not sure why it was quite so good that time, something to do with where I was imaging in the sky as well as several other things all working together with me for a change, but I never managed to repeat the precision tracking with this system afterwards

Another old image from the New Forest Observatory taken with the original Hyperstar and a little SXV H9C one-shot colour camera (1.4 megapixels only!).  The camera was highly sensitive and I regret selling it when I bought the APS-sized chip M25C.  This image of M78 was taken using just two hours of total imaging time showing the enormous speed (f#1.85) of the original Hyperstar.

Another image using the original Hyperstar and the little H9C one-shot colour camera.  Pretty deep for just 2.5 hours total exposure time – shows the speed of the Hyperstar lens

I just came across a load of very old imaging files taken using the original Hyperstar (no collimation screws) and a tiny little H9C one-shot colour CCD (1.4 Megapixels from memory).  Did a pretty good job all told, and this image was a huge pile (probably in excess of 100) short exposure subs (a minute or less per sub).  I wanted to catch the “thuderstorm region” between M43 and NGC1977.  I will post up more memory joggers as and when I find them.

I came across this print of M42 while looking through some old notes.  Print you note – not data – the data has long gone.  So why a print?  Because when this first came out of the Hyperstar I and SXV-H9C camera I was completely gobsmacked!  A thirty second sub (I knew nothing about multiple subs and stacking when I started) with the faithful old C11 in Alt-Az configuration.  I thought this was the bees-knees.  In fact I was so pleased with it I printed it out and gave it as Christmas Cards to the neighbours in 2004.

O.K. so I’ve learned a little since then – but I can still remember the feeling of elation with those very first images I got at the New Forest Observatory

Here is the second marathon processing session by Noel.  This time it’s the Belt region of Orion. Read the rest of this entry »

Taken over several years this image is a composite of Hyperstar I, Sky 90 and Hyperstar III data. Read the rest of this entry »

Panic over.  It is not an alien race trying to get our attention (shame) – but an extremely variable, variable star!  This little beauty is WY Cas lying just below the open cluster NGC7789 in Cassiopeia, and Noel created the animation from two separate images taken over a year apart.  Read the rest of this entry »