Still yet another clear, Moonless night, on 24th March 2020 (and it could be yet another one tonight!!) and the target this time (as it has been dozens of times before) was the Double Cluster – I guess I just can’t help returning to this one. 20 subs at 10-minutes per sub using the Canon 200mm lenses and the Trius M26C OSC CCDs. Glorious evening. If tonight is clear once again, I think I might try the Leo trio with both the 200mm lenses AND the Hyperstar.
Got out again on 23rd March 2020 with yet another clear, Moonless night. Target this time was NGC 7822 (the question mark nebula), turned out to be much bigger than I was expecting. Canon 200mm lenses and the Trius M26C OSC CCDs got this one with 11 x 15-minute subs.
Got out on 16th March 2020 with a clear Moonless sky to grab M101 with the 200mm lenses and the Trius M26C OSC CCDs. Managed to get 7 x 15-minute subs giving the above result. Not too bad considering how long it’s been since I’ve been able to get out and fire up the kit.
Clear AND Moonless last night, so I managed to get out and image the Pi Geminorum region for an American lady who wanted a piccie of that area. Very surprised to find the equipment still worked after all that time off.
Here’s a reminder that I used to take deep-sky images at the New Forest Observatory. This is a single-framer of the Sadr region in Cygnus taken with the 2 x Canon 200mm prime lenses and the 2 x Trius M26C OSC CCDs. You can just make out NGC6914 towards the upper left.
I have had just one outing over this Winter season so far and maybe 4 or 5 outings at the beginning of 2019. This is by far the worst year of imaging I’ve had since starting in Autumn 2004. And what has the New Year brought? Nothing but non-stop rain here in the New Forest and it is the wettest I’ve ever known it over the forest which makes the dog walking a right pain. Climate Change? Who knows? However this is also the first Winter I have known here where I have fed the fish every day – which means the water temperature has not been less than 6C. Crazy times!!!
On November 11th 2019 there was a Transit of Mercury where Mercury crosses the face of the Sun. I downloaded data from NASAs SDO satellite (a solar observatory) for the duration of the transit. The first data point was taken at 12:45 p.m. and the last data point at 18:00. Images between these endpoints were taken every 15-minutes.
Got today’s EPOD with an image of the “37” cluster called “The Answer is an Emirp”.
Thank you Jim for continuing to publish my work.
As we still do not have any hours of darkness this is another month where there are no images from the New Forest Observatory. I really wonder why I bother with this hobby sometimes.
Today I gave the last photography course from the New Forest Observatory. I have decided to “properly” retire this year. May I take this opportunity to thank all of you that have attended the photography courses at the New Forest Observatory and I hope they have helped you to excel in your hobby.
