Hi Everyone!
Thank you lord! Got a chance to get out last night! Its been two weeks!
Clear except for the small Cumulus clouds that moved through early and messed up some subs, but dang, I could hear the wind blowing through the trees all night. At least the 11 mph that I saw on the Weather Channel
app. Atmosphere was very unstable. Focusing was really tough! I ended up not using the Batinov Mask tool in
APT and just running Live View at 100% magnification with the mask and try to get a good pattern intersection.
The sky was really bright. I used the
SQM app on my phone and it read an 18.50. The worse end of
Bortle 7.
So, with all of that going on, my goal was modest. To better my last years (and only) attempt at M51. I will include that image for comparison.
Definitely better color (modded camera vs. unmodded camera) and better details, but don’t magnify the image much because its pretty noisy!
40 subs stacked in
DSS (about 160 minutes).
Nikon D5300 (
Ha modded) at iso 400 for 240 seconds. IDAS LPS-D1 filter.
Bias, Flats, and I used an old Master Dark.
Processed in
Startools with a twitch in Photosho Elements.
This is last years version.
About 1 ½ hours integration with a Nikon D3300 (unmodded).
I am hoping that I can get a few more hours on this target this season. Just for the heck of it, I stacked last years data and this years data to see what develops!
Thanks for looking!
Jim
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut,
N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin:
https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/