This week the New Forest Observatory features a rare image (for the NFO) – that’s one of very few images taken with the Canon 200mm prime lens on a Canon 5D MkII DSLR. This was during the phase when I was checking the lens itself out to see if it was up to doing astrophotography (it was). This whole of Cassiopeia image is an 8-frame mosaic with each frame being about 2-hours worth of 5-minute subs at ISO800.
A couple of nights back I managed to get some 10-minute subs on the Rosette using the Hyperstar 4 and the ASI 2600MC Pro CMOS camera with UV/IR cut filter. I added this new data to a lot of previously taken data – AND – no perceptable difference. So I am well into the diminishing returns region on this one with a total of about 16-hours of exposure time under Bortle 4.5 skies. So this one is well and truly done – and I really shouldn’t go back to it again unless at smaller focal length.
This week’s Picture of the Week features a very old favourite of mine, the interacting galaxies M51 in the constellation Canes Venatici.
This image comprises data taken with the original Hyperstar with a tiny little H9C OSC CCD, and the Hyperstar III with the M25C OSC CCD. Probably around 4 hours worth of data in all, and looking at the depth of the image, this one could do with quite a bit more data to do it justice.
Do you know that you can purchase a print of ANY picture you see here on the New Forest Observatory website?
I can supply full colour prints from size A4 right up to size A1 for any picture on the site. So this includes not only deep sky images, but also high-speed flash images, macros and micros.
To get ordering information simply leave your contact details (email) below the image you are interested in, together with the size of image required.
This week the New Forest Observatory features the beautiful Pelican nebula which sits right next to the North America nebula in the constellation Cygnus close to the star Deneb.
This image comprises well over 15-hours worth of data taken on both the Hyperstar 4 and Sky90 MiniWASP array rigs. Not much point in putting any more effort into this one as there will not be any improvement much short of 50-hours, so this one is also done.
This week’s featured image is the beautiful reflection nebula M78 in the constellation Orion. This is a composite image using data from both the original Hyperstar with the little H9C OSC CCD, and also the Sky90 array with the M26C OSC CCDs. Probably around 8 hours of data in total. The band of emission nebula at the top left of the image is part of Barnard’s Loop.
This week we feature the beautiful carbon star popularly known as Hind’s Crimson Star, which lies below Orion and is therefore in the southern murk for me.
Image captured on the Sky90 array with the M26C OSC CCDs and comprises 4-hours of 15-minute subs.
This week we feature the Caph region of Cassiopeia. This is a 4-frame Sky90 MiniWASP image taken using the M26C OSC CCDs. Each frame is 3 hours of 15-minute subs (that’s only one hour of actual imaging time per frame).
My winter projects this year seem to be based around the brilliant ANET A6 3D printer – especially as we’re not getting any clear nights.
Here you can see three recent prints all using Amazon Basics pearly white 1.75mm PLA at a resolution of 0.2mm and 100% fill density.
From the left we have a Sierpinsky Pyramid, 180mm along a base side and a print time of 75.5 hours. In the middle is a Roman Surface with a print time of 51.5 hours, and on the right is a Mandelbulb with a print time of 54 hours. These are mega-long print times, carried out to perfection on what the snobs of the 3D-printing world call a potato.
Like all the images you see on the New Forest Observatory, all the 3D prints are also for sale, so do enquire if you would like one. However, please be warned that those excessive print times means that none of these 3D prints comes cheap 🙂
This week we feature what I call the “Thunderclouds Region” of Orion. Lying between M42 and the Running Man nebula we see this chaotic H-alpha region which to me looks like a brewing thunderstorm.
This is a VERY OLD image taken using the original Hyperstar on a C11 SCT with a tiny little H9C OSC CCD. It is a single frame of around 120 x 1-minute subs.
