Latest captures and cosmic chronicles

NGC 281, commonly known as the Pacman Nebula, is an emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia, approximately 9,200 light-years from Earth. Its distinctive shape is formed by glowing clouds of hydrogen gas, sculpted by intense radiation and stellar winds from young stars within the region. This image combines a total exposure time of 180 minutes using the Hubble Palette: hydrogen-alpha (Ha), sulphur-II (SII) and oxygen-III (OIII) filters. This narrowband approach reveals the nebula’s intricate structure and highlights the varying distribution of ionised gases across this active stellar nursery.

This monochrome image of the Andromeda Galaxy represents just one hour of data capture - 60x60 sec subframes with the Newtonian working at F3 with the Starizona Nexus focal reducer/field flattener. Whilst the spacing of the imaging train isn't perfect, Blur Xterminator in Pixinsight does a great job of repairing the stars in the corners. The SBIG camera still works great although it has to operate via its own USB2 Hub. The Starlight Xpress filterwheel and Pegasus Focuscube 3 operate off a separate USB3 Hub. To capture flat field frames for calibration I use a Pegasus Flatmaster panel which works perfectly in NINA. I use darks, flats and flat darks to calbrate the subframes prior to stacking. Hopefully some clear nights in the coming weeks will allow further imaging so I can add to the luminance channel then add some colour via the RGB filters before completing the project with some Hydrogen alpha data to bring out the star forming regions in the spiral arms. This scope is now incredibly fast at F3 and matches with the SBIG camera really well, even at shorter exposures.

The Elephant Trunk Nebula, also known as IC 1396, is a striking region of star formation located in the constellation Cepheus. This nebula is particularly captivating when captured in the Hubble Palette, using a combination of Hydrogen Alpha, Oxygen III, and Sulphur II filters. With a total exposure time of 7 hours with the FS-102 and ASI 2600 MM Pro, the resulting SHO image reveals intricate details and vibrant colours, showcasing the nebula's dense clouds of gas and dust. The Elephant Trunk itself, a prominent feature within this nebula, is a dark silhouette against the glowing backdrop of newly forming stars. 

The Orion Newtonian telescope is fitted with my old SBIG ST-8300 CCD camera, and a Starlight Xpress filter wheel equipped with LRGB and H-alpha filters. Autofocus is achieved with the Pegasus Focuscube 3. It is mounted on the Takahashi EM-200 USD3 mount. As the mount does not have a functioning declination drive I can not autoguide, and at this longer focal length I am limited to 60 second subframes. The mount is powered by 2x12V batteries connected in series to give 24V which speeds up the RA drive which is helpful during the initial polar alignment routine with the QHY Polemaster. I locate the deep sky objects using the setting circles on the mount, then adjust the framing manually.

In this session, I focused on testing the old SBIG ST-8300 CCD camera and RGB filters using the Newtonian. Each colour channel—red, green, and blue—was exposed for 20 minutes, with individual unguided subs lasting 60 seconds. I didn't use any calibration frames for this particular test. The target  was Messier 52, a star cluster in Cassiopeia , with the Bubble Nebula prominently positioned in the top left of the frame. This approach allowed me to assess the camera's performance and the effectiveness of the RGB filters without the additional complexity of calibration, providing valuable insights into the imaging capabilities of the setup. I was pleased with how this 16 year old camera performed, despite the fact that I've had to operate it via an older PC running Windows 10 Pro as Microsoft have blocked all the legacy drivers in Windows 11. Unfortunately the 2009 Starlight Express filter wheel is very glitchy so I'll be sending it for a software upgrade shortly. I do actually prefer the results from this CCD over the one-shot colour 071 MC Pro; the stars appear sharper. In addition the slightly smaller chip size means that stars appear less distorted at the edges and easily fixable in Pixinsight. 

Currently, I am still testing the backspacing and optimising the image train of the Newtonian. This is a portion of NGC 7000, specifically known as the Cygnus Wall. The image showcases just one hour of 60-second subs captured with the 071 MC Pro and L-Enhance filter. Although the exposure time is quite short, it demonstrates the potential of this  scope. 

This image of the Newtonian telescope illustrates the laser collimator used to realign the primary and secondary mirrors. Proper alignment is crucial for optimal performance, as even slight misalignments can significantly affect image quality. After using the laser collimator, a quick star test was conducted to assess the optics. The results showed that the mirrors were now better aligned, ensuring that the telescope is ready for the camera again. This process not only enhances the clarity of celestial images but also improves overall observational experiences.

I recently conducted the initial test of the Antlia 4.5nm Hydrogen alpha filter, paired with the ASI 2600 MM Pro camera and the Takahashi FS-102 telescope. We are very pleased with the preliminary results. For this test, calibration was performed using dark frames only; proper flatfield acquisition is the next step to refine the imaging process. Hopefully I can add more data over the next few clear nights and incorporate Oxygen III and Sulphur II.

My 8 inch f4 Newtonian has recently been returned from Orion Optics UK after having the mirrors recoated and the optical elements aligned and collimated. I have added a Pegasus Focuscube 3 to the Baader Steeltrack focuser for more precise focusing at this fast F-ratio. It also allows for periodic refocussing through the imaging session as temperature changes. I have been struggling with optimised spacing and tilt and have been trying to model this through the Hocus Pocus plugin for NINA. Despite this I have managed a couple of images. Both were taken using 1 min unguided subs on the EM-200 USD3. Total exposure for each image 2 hours using the ASI 071 MC Pro camera and Optolong L-Enhance filter.