NGC2244 & Rosette Nebula w/Canon 200mm f2.8 telephoto

[Hankmeister3]

Out of boredom, yesterday I sorted through and selected this frame of the Rosette Nebula from my astro-photo archive of unprocessed images. It was captured back on 3/11/2019.

This single-frame image benefitted from some of my new layering techniques in my ArcSoft PhotoStudio 6 software suite. I wasn't even aware of this software feature until a few months ago.

It wasn't a particularly nice night given the amount of background fog and skyglow after just 87 seconds worth of exposure at f/2.8. This condition may have resulted from some high altitude ice crystals/haze from what I remember.

Widefield imaging of my favorite large-scale DSOs is really starting to appeal to me. This 200mm telephoto has proven its worth every time I use it. I find it hard to believe that 11 elements in 7 groups, with all the variables that come with that sort of engineering, can produce such pinpoint stats and a relatively flat field and still come in with an f/ratio of 2.8!

Canon EF-L 200mm f/2.8 telephoto (1990s Japanese glass)
Piggybacked on Quattro 8 f/4
Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro (PPEC + Sidereal rate only)
87 seconds, ISO1600
Single-frame, no filters
3/11/2019

[Mac]

Awesome single frame capture.

I need to try that focal length with my DSLR lens when I get out of these Bortle 6 skies.

[Juno16]

Beautiful image Henry!

Jim

[Hankmeister3]

Thanks, Steve. Sky conditions are really critical for single-frame astrophotography and nice skies certainly aid every level of astro-image capture. I'm utterly floored when I see members post stacked images they were able to acquire under moonlit sky conditions. When it comes to imaging DSOs you can never do that with single-frame. That's certainly one of the cons of sticking with the most primal, rudimentary means of imaging DSO, planetary and lunar images. It is what it is.

I hope you get some really nice skies your way and for goodness sake, get away from those urban lights! Weather-wise we're taking a real beating in the Mideast to the Midwest belt. And apparently it's not much better across the US of A.

[Mac]

Thanks, Steve. Sky conditions are really critical for single-frame astrophotography and nice skies certainly aid every level of astro-image capture. I'm utterly floored when I see members post stacked images they were able to acquire under moonlit sky conditions. When it comes to imaging DSOs you can never do that with single-frame. That's certainly one of the cons of sticking with the most primal, rudimentary means of imaging DSO, planetary and lunar images. It is what it is.

I hope you get some really nice skies your way and for goodness sake, get away from those urban lights! Weather-wise we're taking a real beating in the Mideast to the Midwest belt. And apparently it's not much better across the US of A.

Our next chance of clear skies is on Saturday and of course the Evil Orb will be shining brightly.

There is about a 6 hour window before the clouds roll in for another week.

[j.gardavsky]

That's an amazing single frame capture!!!

The single frame capturing with the fast telelenses is the way to go,
JG

[Hankmeister3]

Thanks, Jim. Your encouragement and compliments are always highly treasured. Clear skies to you, sir.

Henry

[ic_1101]

That's a beauty Henry, amazing for a single frame. Well done!

[bladekeeper]

Very nice, Henry!

I'm hoping for a crack at this object sometime this winter.

[Hankmeister3]

Thanks, JG. I try to piggy-back that Canon 200mm telephoto every chance I get because it's performed so well to date. I bought it used but excellent condition off of eBay and it was worth every penny I paid for it and then some.

At f/2.8 it makes very short work of exposures before I hit the background fog wall. And pretty much my image capture philosophy for single-frame is use very fast, quality optics (f/2.8 to f/5) and shoot at reasonable ISOs (I hope to consistently drop down to ISO800 for better dynamic range) so that I can get multiple frames in the least amount of time which also helps with ensuring nice round stars because of shorter guiding times which in turn keep the chance of very minimal PPEC guiding errors or errant breezes from affecting the overall image quality.

In the end this protocol generally yields one image out of ten that I believe is worthy of posting here though there may be two or three other frames of very similar quality. It also gives me more flexibility to experiment with exposure times in hopes of hitting that "sweet spot" which can make a difference in post-production when dealing with single-frame images.

[MariusD69]

Nice shot! Well done, Henry!

[Hankmeister3]

Thank you, Alex and Marius. I might get a weather window Wednesday evening and from some of the posts here at TSS I have some ideas for new DSOs I haven't imaged yet. I'll try to get a better shot of the Horsehead and Flame Nebulas and then try to bushwhack Stephan's Quintet and NGCs 797 & 801 and M77 & NGC 1055. They may be too dim or too small of a scale to be within reach of single-frame grabs but I guess I'll find out soon enough. I might also try to image M42 at ISO400 to see if I can get better dynamic range in my capture.

Also I have a new 8-inch f/5 Newtonian that hasn't see its first light yet and I hope to remedy that tomorrow evening, too. It will be time to crack out the thermals, thinsulated boots and my military arctic parka with hood and a knit hat. I can feel the cold already! I can only do this once or twice before I shut things down until February or March.