Starlight Xpress Ltd sponsors the mini-WASP array

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Greg Parker

Huge thanks go to Terry Platt and Michael Hattey of Starlight Xpress Ltd who made me a deal I simply could not refuse on imaging cameras, a guide camera, and filter wheels.  Thank you for sponsoring the mini-WASP project guys I just hope I get the order of magnitude improvement in Parker/Carboni images I’m hoping for.  If I don’t it will all be down to the user – not the cameras 🙂

Posted in mini-WASP Array, News, Projects | Leave a comment

IOM May 2011 – Spiral galaxy M106 (NGC4258) in Canes Venatici

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Greg Parker

The imaging object of the month for May 2011 is a Messier object, Spiral Galaxy M106 in Canes Venatici.  I particularly like this galaxy and have imaged it several times – it looks to me like a piece of celestial “Mother-of-Pearl” – quite beautiful colouring if you manage to get deep images of this one on a clear (good seeing) night.  M106 is about 22 million light years away and shines at magnitude 8.3 with dimensions 18.6 x 7.2 minutes of arc – so reasonably large.  Even so – this one is better imaged with much longer focal lengths than my 405mm using the Sky 90 with reducer-corrector.  I would recommend focal lengths in excess of 1000mm and sub-exposure times of around 10-minutes with the usual minimum of around 50-60 subs.

The evenings are now getting shorter and this is the last month of imaging (for me at least) for a few weeks now.  Make the most of any clear Moonless nights we get this month – we’ve got a while before we can grab some deep-sky photons again.

Until June – clear skies!!

M106
Posted in IOM | 2 Comments

The Baader narrowband filter sets

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Greg Parker
Baader narrowband filter sets

Here are the two sets of narrowband filters from Ian King Imaging.  The filters in separate boxes are the H-Beta filters – those in the set of 3 are the (Hubble) H-Alpha, OIII, SII narrowband filters.  All sitting on top of an image which could do with some additional narrowband data 🙂

Posted in mini-WASP Array, News, Projects | Leave a comment

Ian King Imaging sponsors the mini-WASP project :)

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Greg Parker

Ian King has very kindly sponsored the mini-WASP project by providing me with two sets of Baader 2″ narrowband filters at an extremely good price – thank you very much Ian!  I now have the 2″ Baader narrowband H-alpha, H-beta, SII and OIII filters for the 5-position filter wheels that will be fitted to the two Sky 90 refractors.  It’s very early days but the immensity of this project is already beginning to hit home 🙂  And this is still only half the array being put together at this stage – two more Sky 90 systems are to be added at a later date – not sure if I can cope with all this (well my wallet anyway).  Getting back to the subject in question – check out the mini-WASP sponsors page where you will now find Ian King Imaging as the latest supporter of this unique deep-sky imaging project.

Posted in mini-WASP Array, News, Projects | Leave a comment

Unexpected guests :) And a little about the New Forest Observatory

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Greg Parker

A ring at the doorbell two days ago and a pair of American visitors together with a local lady are standing on the doorstep (??)  Apparently the visitors were walking over Brockenhurst Common having just left the train station and they had asked the local lady if she knew where the New Forest Observatory was.  Fortunately she did – but it was not an easy route to describe, so she brought them right to the front door 🙂  The visitors had arrived at Brockenhurst purely on the off-chance of finding the Observatory and had only landed at Heathrow at 5:30 a.m. that same morning.  So even though there had been no prior warning or communication of any sort, we gave them a tour of the observatory and showed them the control room and framed images – and they left very happy.

On reflection I now think that this couple from Dayton Ohio thought that the New Forest Observatory was some sort of big public Astronomical Observatory suitable for International visitors.  To prevent further confusion to any potential visitors – it isn’t.  The observatory is in Greg Parker’s garden 🙂

Posted in News | 4 Comments

Mind-boggling astrophysical thought for the Month

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Greg Parker

Gold is formed in Supernova explosions!

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Chara or Beta Canum Venaticorum

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Greg Parker

Noel recently processed this Chara data taken at the New Forest Observatory.  Chara, or Beta Canum Venaticorum goes with Cor Coroli or Alpha Canum Venaticorum as the pair of stars that make the constellation Canes Venatici – the hunting dogs.  As per usual, in this image North is to the right.  Don’t see that many images of Cor Caroli or Chara about 🙂

Chara
Posted in Sky 90 and SXVF-M25C | 2 Comments

The International Space Station 25th April 2011 9:30 p.m.

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Greg Parker

Last one of the ISS for now – a bright arc across the sky with Ursa Major in the middle of the frame can only be taken so many times 🙂  But do look out for the ISS over the next few nights – it will certainly be impressive up to at least May 5th 2011.

ISS at 9:30 p.m. on 25/04/2011
Posted in News | Leave a comment

The International Space Station at 10:14 p.m. on 23rd April 2011

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Greg Parker

We’re getting some good sitings of the Space Station even though we are plagued with this high faint cloud.  I missed Progress 41P this time, only got the Space Station 🙁  Noel Carboni made the image a little less “orange” for me (that’s due to all the surrounding street lights).

ISS at 10:14 p.m. on 23/04/2011
Posted in News | Leave a comment

Progress 41P and the International Space Station

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Greg Parker

Last night (22nd April 2011) Progress 41P (a Russian automated cargo vehicle) and the International Space Station passed over almost directly overhead.  Progress 41P was just one minute in front of the ISS, so you could see both in the same orbit as they came from the West, passed through Ursa Major (clearly seen in the middle of the image) and then left 25 degrees above the ENE.

Image taken using the Canon 5D MkII, fisheye lens, ISO100 and f#100 from the New Forest Observatory site by Greg Parker.

For the next couple of days you will continue to get good sightings of Progress 41P – the Space Station is good at least until May 3rd.

Progress 41P and the International Space Station
Posted in News | 5 Comments