Last night I had a good session in the dome. I went out about 9 p.m. with hopes of working on some of the technical administrative stuff that seems to be keeping me from getting the most out of my setup. I began by working on PEC correction using PEMPro software. Unfortunately I was never able to make it work, so eventually I gave up.
It was awfully warm in there, > 80 degrees. But I decided to try some CCD imaging anyway. Fortunately the camera has a built-in cooler to reduce electrical noise, and for the first time I hooked up a water pump to circulate water through for some extra cooling help.
I've been having an awful time getting autoguiding to work - the trials and tribulations of astrophotography can be especially trying for a newbie like me. But something must have clicked last night because I finally found a combination of settings that worked. I wrote them down, let's hope that in the future they continue to work!
So here is my main project for the night, a picture of M57 the Ring Nebula. This is a preliminary shot without much in the way of processing - I suspect I can get it to look better with some extra work.
M57 has special meaning to me because it's actually the first telescopic object that I ever took a picture of. That was way back when, using a huge telescope in the University dome in Kansas as part of a summer camp. In fact, the picture was taken on a glass plate which I still have. I think I will pull it out to compare it later. I'm guessing that this picture through a little amateur scope is actually better than that one was.
Tonight I'm going to visit some folks in the TAAA Astrophotography SIG for a meeting/star party. I'm hoping to pick up some good tips from guys who really know what they are doing.
One thing though, these all-nighters take a little more out of me than they used to...
No comments:
Post a Comment