My Sky

I am trying out some processing routines so I can improve my planetary images.

The leftmost image was processed in Autostakkert, FitsWork and CS4 (RGB 500 frs per channel). The middle one was processed in Registax V6 (wavelets) and CS4 (RGB 1200 frames per channel) and the one on the right was also processed in Registax V6, but this time I used the de-rotate routine. Final image was combined in WinJupos 9.1.16 and CS4 (R-RGB 1200 frames per channel).

C11 f/20
DMK21AF (icx618)
RGB Astronomik IIc

Jupiter, GRS & Io - 201110292344UT - Reprocessed II

2011-11-09T21:36:00.000Z

Jupiter, GRS & Io - 201110292344UT - Reprocessed.

2011-11-08T00:52:00.002Z

Jupiter reprocessed on Registax V6, with de-rotation.

Jupiter, GRS & Io - 201110292344UT

2011-10-30T12:35:00.002Z

Jupiter on the evening of Oct. 29th.
Seeing was very good but temperature was dropping steadily which prevented mirror cooling to match seeing.
I also had to struggle against corrector condensation and at some time through the evening, I had to work around it with my wife's hairdryer...
By the time I had it done, seeing got worse. Damn it!
C11 @f/20
DMK21AF
RGB Astronomik IIc
500fr per channel RGB
Autostakkert, Fitswork and CS4

Jupiter, GRS & Ganimedes 201110202215UT

2011-10-23T13:26:00.004+01:00

Seeing has degraded over the past few days which makes it clearly more difficult to get sharp images. This one had to be overprocessed...
C11 f/20
DMK21AF
RGB Astronomik IIc
500 fr per channel

Clouds are rolling in and unfortunately, it looks like winter has finally arrived. Hopefully will get some cristal crispy clear nights and good seeing.

Jupiter, GRS & Europa 20111010 at23h49mUT

2011-10-12T14:51:00.004+01:00

On the same evening seeing can trick you for sure... after just 5 minutes, seeing was much better than on the previous RGB sequence run (20111010-23h45mUT).

Captured with Lucam Recorder.
Autostakkert, Fitswork, CS4.

Jupiter 20111010 23h45mUT

2011-10-11T01:19:00.002+01:00

C11 @f/20
DMK21AF
RGB Astronomik IIc

Jupiter, GRS and Europa
Fair seeing...

Jupiter, GRS & Calisto 20111006 at 00h30mUT

2011-10-06T02:07:00.005+01:00

I just cannot believe how good the seeing has been the past days.
As such, I have been taking advantage of it, though some high clouds are rolling in at night, along with some haze. But hey, I am not complaining at all.

C11 @f/20
DMK21AF, RGB Astronomik IIc
500 frames per channel, in Fitswork and CS4

Jupiter 20111005 at 00h42mUT

2011-10-05T02:06:00.005+01:00

Another Jupiter.
C11 @f/20
DMK21AF
Seeing was much better than usual... :-)

Jupiter 20111003

2011-10-04T18:01:00.006+01:00

C11 @f/20
RGB 500 frames
20111003 @23h58m
Europa is visible just below and left of GRS.

Jupiter 20111003

2011-10-04T01:17:00.004+01:00

I decided it was time to give my C11 a go and I did take the borrowed C14 away. I set the C11 up and shot Jupiter for a while.
Seeing was much better than the previous sessions but nevertheless my C11 outperforms the C14...
20111003 at 23h51m UT @f/20
IC Capture 1/23"
RGB - 500 frames per channel
Autostakkert and CS4. Processed on the fly, right after capture, meaning it can be improved, I guess.
My best so far.

Jupiter 20110919

2011-09-19T16:03:00.002+01:00

First Jupiter of the 2011/12 season.
Seeing was fair/normal but much better than it has been this year. The weather has been so unbelievably poor this year that I have been hitting the sack really early...

C14 @f/22
DMK21AF
RGB Astronomik IIc
1000 frames per channel (1/30" @30fps)
20110919 00h20m UT

SN2011dh 20110619

2011-06-20T01:16:00.003+01:00

SN2011dh today's magnitude. It is getting brighter everyday...

NGC6888 Crescent Nebula 201106 150min

2011-06-19T17:07:00.006+01:00

NGC6888, Astronomik Halpha 6nm, 150min (15x10min). FS102NSV F/8, ST-2000XM, autoguiding (SW70mm + PHD), SDMask, DDP, CS4, G-11.

Added more 90min (9x 600seg) to the previous Jun 15th 60min.
Still working on NGC6888, I intend to get more Ha integrations, as well as SII and OIII.

NGC6888 Crescent Nebula 20110615 new processing

2011-06-16T11:34:00.001+01:00

wide field

NGC6888 Crescent Nebula 20110615

2011-06-15T12:12:00.002+01:00

NGCC6888, 20110615, Astronomik Ha 6nm, 6x10min, FS102NSV F/8, autoguiding (SW70mm + PHD), SDMask, DDP, CS4.

SN2011dh 20110614

2011-06-15T12:06:00.001+01:00

SN2011dh is getting brighter and brighter, which is pretty cool for a first Supernova catch :-)
One to keep a close eye on...

Moon - 20110611

2011-06-12T20:34:00.003+01:00

Moon on saturday June 6th, 2011.
FS102NSV, ST-2000XM, Red Astronomik, 20 x 0.025 sec
Leiria, Portugal

SN2011dh 20110610

2011-06-11T17:47:00.003+01:00

SN2011dh's magnitude is coming down and it is getting brighter and brighter :-)

M33 - 20101018

2011-06-07T00:51:00.004+01:00

This M33 picture, lost in my hard disk since October, got finally my attention. This is by far the best M33 I have ever pulled out.
Luminance, 85min (7x10min + 1x15min), FS102NSV f/8 (824mm DF) ST-2000XM, self-guided, SDMask, DDP, Curves, Levels, Unsharp, Noise, G-11.

NGC4565

2011-06-06T19:25:00.004+01:00

Edge-on spiral galaxy, aka Needle Galaxy, located some 30 to 50 million ly away, in Coma Berenices, was first spotted in 1785 by sir William Herschel.

Some other DSO's can also be seen in this galaxy rich neighborhood.

FS102NS @f/8 (824mm FL) ST-2000XM
115min
MaxIm & CS4

M101 Pinwheel Galaxy

2011-06-06T01:37:00.003+01:00

The Pinwheel galaxy, also known as Messier 101 (M101) located in the Ursa Major constellation lies some 25 million light years away from us, was first discovered on March 25th, 1781 by Pierre Méchain, who later informed Charles Messier.

FS102NSV @f/8; SBIG ST-2000XM 25x 300"
June 3rd/4th, 2011.

M51 before and after SN2011 dh

2011-06-04T19:23:00.003+01:00

M51 animation, before and after SN2011 dh.
Different exposure times between the two pictures make stars look brighter, though this is not true...

Supernova SN2011 dh in M51

2011-06-04T18:55:00.003+01:00

This is my first Supernova!
I used my Taka 4" at native f/8 focal length and SBIG's ST2000XM detector. Six 300" exposures aligned and combined in MaxIm, with DDP filter. Post processing in CS4.
Acknowledgement: Pedro Ré's magnitude determination.

M13 - 20110525

2011-05-25T22:58:00.006+01:00

M13 is one of the most beautiful globular clusters in the night sky, comprising some 300,000 stars. Lying in Hercules, at 25,000 ly from Earth, it was first spotted by Edmund Halley (1714) and latter cataloged in 1764 by Charles Messier.
Under dark skies it can be seen with no telescopic aid, since it shines at a 5.8 apparent magnitude.

FS102NSV @f/8 + ST2000 XM

Alphonsus & Arzachel Craters

2011-05-11T01:52:00.005+01:00

Full Resolution

Apollo XV Landing site - Hadley Rille

2011-05-11T01:10:00.016+01:00

mouse over to see landing site

David Scott and James Irwin landed their Lunar Module Falcon at Hadley Rille, on July 30th, 1971. This was the first lunar mission that carried a lunar rover in which they traveled for some 17.5 miles (some 28,2 Km).
Some processing artifacts are visible on the lower right corner :-(

Saturn - 20110508

2011-05-10T14:39:00.006+01:00

The C14 dovetail has finally arrived, after a long period of "who knows where it was shipped to". I was so anxious to get Saturn that I didn't allow the scope to cool down properly, nor did I precise collimate.
Binned L (1x1) RGB (2x2) on Firecapture.
Aligned and Staked with Autostakkert.
Wavelets on Registax 6.
Final tweaks on CS4.
Close to Fair Seeing conditions (see Damien Peach: http://www.damianpeach.com/seeingscale.htm)

Saturn - 20110425 @21h25m UT

2011-04-26T01:00:00.006+01:00

Saturn at f/20, aligned and stacked in Autostakkert with 1.5x drizzle routine, wavelet processed in Registax 6 and final tweaks in CS4.
Titan, Saturn's largest moon is visible.

Saturn - 20110414 @23h16m UT

2011-04-15T22:25:00.002+01:00

Saturn, on the night of April 14th.
The storm that is putting on an awesome show on the North Tropical Zone can be clearly seen, along with Tethis shadow just below the rings, on the left lower quadrant.

Saturn - 20110414

2011-04-15T16:09:00.003+01:00

Better seeing allowed collimation and this Saturn 2nd picture of this year's season. Transparency was not that good, making data acquisition very difficult for the Blue channel.
This is a LRGB, showing some red and green tints due to histogram equalization difficulties.
C11 @f/30 + DMK21AF(icx618) + Astronomik 2c

Luminance:

Saturn - 1st season picture

2011-04-11T01:22:00.005+01:00

This is my first Saturn of the 2011 season.
I set the C11 up on top of the pier to start my Saturn season but had no luck with the weather. The clouds rolled in and I was only able to shoot on Luminance avi.
Could not work on the collimation so this is as good as it could get :-(

M51 - Remote controlled first light

2011-04-05T14:30:00.005+01:00

First light with full system ready.
I have finally managed to complete my project of setting up a remote controlled system, consisting of pier, mount, scope and camera. Control is possible via an internet based system, in which I can operate the system (laptop-mount-scope) with another laptop linked to the system.
No more freezing outside ;-)

FS-102NSV + ST2kXM + AO8
March 31st, April 1st @ 22h00m/1h14m
Cropped image.

Registax v6. - Jupiter reprocessed

2011-04-03T20:24:00.002+01:00

Last April 2nd Registax 6 was released. Time to go back to my old Jupiter avis I got in January and give them a new shot.
Registax 6 seems to be much better then v5, with its multialignment points and image processing is much quicker.
Great timing since Saturn season is right there.

March 2011 SuperMoon

2011-03-21T16:36:00.003Z

bigger

Pier and Remote control ready to rock!
Great timing for this SuperMoon; this is the first picture I got with the new system setup.
FS-102NSV f/6 + ST-2000XM; RGB 1x 0.002" per channel.
Leiria, March 19th, 23h10m UT.

Finally, Pier is almost ready. 20110118

2011-01-20T00:26:00.003Z

I finally did it.

Pier is bolted on to the floor (though these pictures show it before I did it), and G11 is placed on top of it. Now all it needs is a perfect polar alignment. I am working on it now.
Still a few things to work out, but it is going quite smoothly. =:-D

Rupes Recta 20110113

2011-01-14T19:16:00.003Z

First light with C14.
Low transparency and unsteady skies....
Can't tell if out of focus or decollimated scope!
Hopefully this will be the last shot before my pier is ready :-)

Pier Project

2010-12-29T18:23:00.005Z

I just have paid a visit to the blacksmith where my pier is to be made.

It is almost ready to rock!
The picture below shows a similar pier project in which the big difference will be the bottom plate; mine will be really wide (oh, my...!) and square.

These are the specs I have came up with:

A- 250mm/10"
B- 750mm/29.53"
C- 100mm/3.94" (adjustable)
D- 20mm/0.78"
E- 110mm/4.33"
F- 700mm/23.56"
G- 152mm/5.98"
H- 980mm/35.58" (depending on C)

E/G is a DIY (actually a blacksmith's job) Losmandy MA adapter to connect to my G-11 mount.

I will have it delivered next year, by tuesday or wednesday and will have to set it up as soon as the weather allows it to be bolted on.
In the meantime, a Telegizmos 365 T3G2 cover is also expected soon next week to permanently set my rig up.
Looking forward to it very much.

Hope I can post a picture of the entire rig soon.

Moon (20101216)

2010-12-17T12:08:00.011Z

The skies have cleared up a bit and the setup got dusted off :)
Seeing was not so great as can be figured out by the stack I got of some 30 frames, out of 1700 frame avi file.
Anyway, it was so nice to have a glimpse of the moon, M31, M42, NGC2392, NGC 884 & 869 (double cluster).
This evening I invited Mateus, my 6y-o (I guess) little neighbor to have his first view through a telescope. Though not a "wow!" guy, he enjoyed it pretty much watching those DSO's and Moon.
Here he is, next to the setup

Mateus all dressed up, ready to rock in his first astronomy experience.

He was able to detect those faint whitish "clouds" without a doubt. Cool; I did not have to tell him what to look for. He spotted them right away, though he doesn't know (yet) what a galaxy is or, for that matter, how HUGE the Universe is...

Before he joined me, I had some time to snap a couple of moon shots:
this one was shot at a 68%RH & 3.1ºC (37.58ºF)

shot at 60%RH & 3.6ºC (38.48ºF)

M33 - Oct. 17th

2010-11-11T23:04:00.006Z

The Triangulum Galaxy (M33) is located on the Triangulum Constellation and lies between 2.4 to 3.0 million light years from Earth. M33 shines at mag. 5.7 and was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It is believed to have been first spotted in 1654 by Hodierna.
Under dark skies it can be seen with the naked eye.

Oct. 17th
10x 600" at -20ºC
FS102NSV + ST2000XM + C Astronomik IIc
Flats only.
Maxim + CS4
reduced to 800x600

higher resolution

Jupiter, Nov 4th

2010-11-05T14:51:00.002Z

Though seeing and transparency were far from good (fair, to be honest), I gave it a shot at Jupiter.

Comet 103P/Hartley

2010-10-14T10:51:00.006+01:00

Comet 103P/Hartley 2 was discovered on March, 15th, 1986 by Hartley, Malcolm at U. K. Schmidt Telescope Unit, Siding Spring.
It is 1,5 km across and will pass some 18.000.000 km away from Earth, on October, 20th.
Image:
FS102NSV + ST2000XM + CLS Astronomik IIc
35x 45" bin 2x2 @ -20ºC
Darks & Flats
MaxIm & CS4
Leiria, October, 14th - 22h55m-23h43m UT
Low transparency, 98% RH and, almost quarter Moon... :(

Jupiter, GRS, Calisto & Io

2010-10-03T23:27:00.004+01:00

Lots of detail on the planet and on the moons...
Io is transiting and casting a shadow on Jupiter, while Calisto is quietly taking its tour around the planet.
Best picture ever of those moons. :-)

Jupiter, GRS, Calisto & Io

2010-10-02T17:08:00.002+01:00

Night of multiple avi recording.

Jupiter reprocessed (9/9)

2010-09-30T11:43:00.002+01:00

Managed to reprocess some "old" files and came up with this "new" picture...
Image #1:
reduced to 80%
still needs some work over right limb and Io (not shown).

image #2
original processed image (reduced to 70%)

Jupiter, Sep 28th

2010-09-29T20:22:00.003+01:00

One lucky shot between the clouds...
C11 f/30
TV 3x
DMK21AF icx618
RGB Astronomik IIc
Leiria, 23h45m UT

NGC281, Sep 12. 2010

2010-09-15T14:16:00.004+01:00

Reprocessed my previous image.
This time I have dark subtracted the frames and have also removed one Ha and one SII frames that were not good.
5x 600" Ha & SII
5x 700" OIII

NGC281, Sep 12. 2010

2010-09-13T13:09:00.003+01:00

Fisrt time Ha, SII, OIII imaging.
Image: FS102NSV + ST2000XM + Astronomik filters
Guiding: SW 70mm + DMK + PHD
6x 600" Ha
6x 700" OIII
5x 600" SII
No Darks nor Flats.

Jupiter & GRS, Sep. 9th, 2010

2010-09-10T13:28:00.008+01:00

High clouds and low transparency ruined what could have been a very good night.
Io is on the upper right corner, kind of escorting the GRS.
Autostakkert & CS4.
Image is resized to 80%.

Jupiter & Io - Sep. 8th

2010-09-09T10:56:00.003+01:00

Rain is gone but clouds are still around...! :(
I was able to get the gear out and set it up for a Jupo shooting session, but the seeing was not that good.
Stack of some 700 frames per channel, in Astrostakkert & CS4.
Time is UT.

GRS Aug 29th

2010-08-31T11:57:00.004+01:00

Jupiter, Aug 28th @f/20

2010-08-29T00:44:00.007+01:00

This time I gave it a try with other camera settings.
Here's what I did different:
a) decreased the exposure time to 1/30sec for each channel;
b) limited the recording time to 45 sec per channel;
c) kept the gain at 438 (R&G) and boosted it up to 591 for the Blue channel - IC Capture.

It took me just under 2´30" to get a full RGB data set, compared to the more than 3 minutes previous settings: limited the capture to 2000 frames, which would end up at a 1´06" per channel, with a total time of around 3´30", including manual filter changing and gain/exposure time adjusting for Blue.
It seems it pays off...

Jupiter, 25 Aug @f/30

2010-08-26T17:52:00.012+01:00

Testing continues, this time at f/30 (FL 8400mm).
Image details seen on "full resolution".

Jupiter, Aug 25, ICX618 fisrt light

2010-08-26T14:09:00.004+01:00

First ligth with new CCD chip (ICX618ALA) installed on my DMK21AF.
Seeing was good though there was still some turbulence. This is my best planetary image ever and I am pretty excited about this new CCD.
C11, Powermate 2x, RGB Astronimik IIc, modded DMK21AF (icx618).
Registax & CS4.

M16 in Bicolor NB

2010-07-18T00:33:00.003+01:00

Pillars of Creation in Bicolor Narrowband Imaging.

7x 900" Astronomik 6nm Ha
5x 900" Astronomik OIII
FS102NSV @f/6 + ST2000xm

Yeda Prior Occultation by Roma asteroid, July 8th, 2010 #2

2010-07-10T18:49:00.005+01:00

Data analysis of Delta OPH occultation by 472 Roma:

FS102NSV + DMK21AF @30fps+ Red Astronomik IIc filter

Report update:
we had 4/4 positive occultations. LSanto did get a dimming star.

Yeda Prior Occultation by Roma asteroid, July 8th, 2010

2010-07-09T12:25:00.009+01:00

First time ever!
I joined a team of AA's hunting down asteroid Roma in its path in the night sky, luckily for us, right in front of Delta Ophiuchi.
We got together in Alentejo by 7:00 pm and there we were given David Dunham's own gear, so we could take it to our own observing spots. Yeah! you got it right! David Dunham himself!
Boy what a thrill, being able to be part of it.
We got debriefed and then we took off to our 4 separate spots. Two teams of two and one team of four were put up and off we went, each one with one of David's gear. For the record: #1 Pedro Ré & Carlos Saraiva; #2 Luís Santo & António Silva and, Filipa & Rui Branco; my cousin Sérgio Bernandino and me; Rui Gonçalves (the project leader was all by himself).

Spots:
Ré's - 38° 37' 1.3152"N, 8° 4' 50.0694"W
Santos' - 38° 30' 17.77"N, 7° 35' 44.35"W
mine - 38°59'19.74"N, 7°12'21.24"W - 20kms west of predicted center line.

My setup:
FS102NSV + DMK21AF + G11

So, time to prep everything and check it twice. The hardest part was making sure David's camera was pointing at the right spot. I guess it was, but maybe, we'll never know...
Well, time went by just like that. When we realized it, it was time. Boy, it was so funny!
We hit the record button at 22h59 to make sure we would capture the occultation on both setups. We didn't see it coming.
After 5 minutes, we were so desperate since he haven't had seen a thing...
Time to call out project leader to feed him with the "bad" news; to make it even worse, he had seen it... man, this would turn out to be a very embarrassing situation for us :-)
We then decided to play the AVI file and... YES! There it was. It had been recorded! 3 seconds of a partial occultation, just after 1 minute we hit the "go" button. But only on my PC did we check; we didn't want to mess around with David's camera. We just hope it is there too.
We had nailed it! :-)

Time to pack up and meet the other guys to check how they did. We had 3 out of 4 occultations. Two full and one partial (ours). Now we need to gather all the data to make it useful.

This was one hell of a very exciting experience and being part of it was just crazy.
We even met David and his wife face to face and all of us were given a "souvenir" to remember this moment: a Nasa/Space Goddard key chain, that I'll treasure forever.

Left to right: Luís Santo, Sérgio Bernardino, Rui Gonçalves, Carlos Saraiva, Pedro Ré, Juan Gonçalves, David Dunham, António Silva, me, David's wife - Estremoz intersection N4/N245, July 9th @+- 1:30am

Oh, BTW, did I mentioned the great dark skies? You got it!
And the original spot I had in mind didn't work because it was chain locked... No prob: Easy enough in Alentejo, just a few kms away we made it quite nice, despite some wind blowing.

IC5070

2010-06-22T19:32:00.004+01:00

IC5070, the Pelican Nebula, Jun 22nd, 2010
10x 900"
Astronomik 6nm Ha
Imaging: FS102NSV f/6 + ST2000XM
Guiding: SW 70mm + PHD + DMK21AF

Quarter Moon

2010-06-18T22:44:00.003+01:00

Some time before nailing M27, I paid Selene a visit in Red channel.

M27 in Ha - Jun, 15th, 2010

2010-06-15T21:36:00.004+01:00

M27 in Astronomik's Ha 6 nm.
FS102NSV + ST2000XM + Orion OAG + DMK21AF
8x 600"

Satrun, Astrostakkert reprocessed

2010-04-20T22:53:00.004+01:00

Saturn, reprocessed on just released Emil's Astrostakkert.
This shot was taken on March 13, 2009.
C11 + DMK21AF + RGB Astronomik IIc.
500 frames each channel.
CS4 for Levels and Noisware.

M109 - Apr 11, 2010

2010-04-11T19:59:00.004+01:00

Still working out the AO8 unit.

13x 600" @-20ºC
darks, bias, flats (borrowed)

M97 and M51

2010-04-09T14:39:00.006+01:00

Another try with AO8 unit under a still somewhat hazy skies, though not as wet as the night before.
Main goal was to check how the AO8 would handle and not so much about the picture itself.
It seems I still have to work on the setup since the stars are not perfectly round. Reasons for this could be decollimated optics, misalignment of imaging train on the visual back...

This time I aimed at M97 and M51.
Setup:
C11 + 0.63x FR + AO8 + ST2kXM/CFW10
Losmandy G-11

M51
1x 1200" @-20ºC
Darks, Flats and Bias

MaxIm & CS4

M97
6x 600" @-20ºC
Darks, Flats and Bias
MaxIm & CS4

AO8 first light

2010-04-08T11:47:00.008+01:00

April 8th, 2010
AO8 unit first light, despite the haze and the frequent need to handle a hairdryer to remove the dew out of the CL.
I did it on my C11 with a Celestron's 0.63x FR and ST2000XM/CFW10.
I targeted M13 and M64 .

M13
2x 150" & 1x 120" @-30ºC
No Darks nor Flats.
MaxIm & CS4

M64
1x 420" @-20ºC + 3 x 600" @-30ºC + 1x 180" @-20ºC + 1x 300" @-20ºC
Borrowed a Masterdark from another shot, no flats.
MaxIm & CS4

M81

2010-03-20T00:01:00.005Z

Reprocessed M81!
FS102NSV @f76.8
ST2000XM
CLS Astronomik IIc
12x 600"
Darks (and flats from another photo)
MaxIm & CS4

Not yet the way I'd like it to be!

M101

2010-03-19T22:50:00.008Z

Another shot at Pego do Altar's Messier Marathon, on March 13, 2010.
FS102NSV f/6.8
ST2000XM selfguided
CLS Astronomik IIc filter
6x 600" @-20ºC
darks (flats from another picture... :-p)
MaxIm DL & CS4

Pego do Altar Messier Marathon, March 13, 2010

2010-03-14T23:29:00.005Z

Long awaited Messier Marathon, scheduled some 4 months ago and threatened by one of the most rainiest winters I can recall in a very ling time.
Nice time along with some fellows AAs and big time to get away from downtown city lights sky.
This proved to be a much appreciated place and I'm sure we'll get back there in the future.
I had, however, some energy shortage... my vehicle battery ran dead just after some 1h30'. Unbelievable; I didn't even hear the inverter's beep, letting me know it was time to start the motor on, for some minutes... Well, I had to jump start it with the help of someone's car...
I took advantage of Pedro Ré's expertise and knowledge to setup my Maxim's routines. Guiding was very good and I was able to integrate M101 for some 60' and also M81 for another 120'.
Didn't take flats nor darks.
This is just a first processing routine:
image: FS102NSV, f/6.8, selfguided
mount: Losmandy G-11 Gemini
ccd: ST2000xm, CLS Astromomik IIc filter
MaxIm DL and CS4

http://astronomy.fm/aapod/2010-02-03_Plato-and-Alpine-Valley.html

AAPOD - February 15, 2010

2010-02-20T14:29:00.001Z

AAPOD - February 3, 2010

2010-02-03T14:38:00.005Z

I am glad and proud I made it again: one more AAPOD (http://astronomy.fm/)!

JC/2010

Mars, Feb, 1st, 2010 f/30

2010-02-03T01:01:00.004Z

Before seeing deteriorated, I was able to snap this Mars.
Stack of some 800 frames per R&G channel and 600 B.
C11 @f/30
Registax 5 & CS4.
Seeing 5/10.

JC/2010

Mars, Feb, 1st, 2010

2010-02-02T21:38:00.003Z

Seeing has gotten a little better and allowed for a couple of tries at f/30.

First off, I didn't push hard to f/30 but rather to f/20.
It looked promising and seeing was quite nice for my local standards - 6 story roof top building, with scattered fireplace chimneys, though none was burning at the time.
I got the following picture, a stack of some 1000 frames per channel, in Registax and CS4.

Since it looked so nice, I tweaked collimation and pushed up to f/30. Boy, I could see fine detail on the R channel image on the laptop screen. I was glad that it was worth the waiting... only to become evident that seeing was only getting worse...
This is the best I was able to get, just some 50 minutes later...
C11 @f/30, DMK21AF, RGB Astronomik IIb
Registax & CS4.

Got to keep waiting for better skies...
JC/2010

Plato & Alpine Valley

2010-01-24T21:06:00.004Z

Leiria, (PT) Jan 24th, 18h26 UT

After such a long time under clouded skies I was finally able to set my gear up and shoot some pics.
Though it was not perfect, it was ok to get rid of the spider webs and dust LOL!
This one was shot right after the C11 had been taken outside, so no thermal equilibrium was achieved. Nevertheless, I made the attempt.
C11 @f/10
DMK21AF, Red Astronomik IIb.
stack of 450 (out of 3000) on Registax & CS4.

OAG & Robofocus 1st Light

2009-12-16T22:54:00.006Z

We finally got a break from the long lasting cloudy nights over here, which made it possible to give it a go and try the new equipment.
Boy, does it look promising!

FS102NSV + G-11 + OAG + DMK21AF + ST2kXM (H-alpha filter)
Dec, 14th/15th, 2009 (23h28/00h57 UTC)
Guiding with PHD on a different laptop (still waiting for the Firewire Express Card for my new laptop...)
1x 1800" @-30ºC
2x 90"" @-30ºC

No other processing other than:
- Align, Stack & kernel filter in MaxIm DL
- Levels, Curves & High Pass Filter in CS4
No Darks, no Flats.

M31 - Andromeda Galaxy

2009-10-15T22:31:00.005+01:00

The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way and is some 2.5 million ly away. Andromeda is believed to be moving towards us to finally merge with the Milky Way in around 3 billion years from now, leading to a new galaxy: The Milkydromeda :D
Image setup:
FS102NSV @f/6.2 + IDAS 2"
SBIG ST2000XM self-guided
MaxIm DL & CS4
4x 900"
9x 300"
Leiria, Oct. 14th 2009

full resolution

full resolution

NGC253 - Sculptor Galaxy

2009-10-15T17:18:00.007+01:00

The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC253) lies about 10 million ly away from Earth, in the Constellation Sculptor, discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel.

Imaging setup:
FS102NSV @ f/6.2
SBIG ST2000XM - self-guided
IDAS 2"
18x 300"
darks
flats
bias
MaxIm DL & CS4

Leiria, Oct. 13, 2009 @22h29m/00h07m Oct. 14 UT

Amateur APOD October 7, 2009

2009-10-07T20:08:00.003+01:00

This is my first AAPOD ever.
This is a nice feeling... ;-)

http://astronomy.fm/aapod/2009-10-07_Jupiter.html

Jupiter, Sep 22 2009

2009-09-23T14:53:00.010+01:00

Same setup as usual, other processing techniques.
C11 @f/20; DMK21AF; RGB AStronomik IIc.
Registax, Astraimage; CS4.
I have conducted a CCD window cleaning but it still seems to need some more working on that.

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full frame image

Now in H-alpha

2009-09-13T15:26:00.003+01:00

A few days (should I say nights) later, I targeted the Bride's Veil again, only this time in H-apha (6nm).
Image: FS102NSV @f/6.3 + ST2000XM + Astronomik Ha 6nm
Guide: SW 70mm + DMK21AF + PHD
Aug 31, 2009

NGC6960 - The Veil Nebula

2009-08-27T11:32:00.004+01:00

The beautiful NGC6960 sight I had last weekend through my C11 amazed me to the the point of nailing the Veil.
So I did, just after the Eagle Nebula went out of sight on the night of the Aug. 26th.
FS102NSV @f/6 and ST2000XM autoguided on a Losmandy G-11.
24x 300" @-20ºC/-4ºF
Dark and Flat frames registered and calibrated in MaxIm DL, processed in CS4 (Astronomy Action Tools (r)).
Aug. 26th, 0h16/2h39 UT
Leiria, Portugal

M16, 25 Ago 09

2009-08-26T13:57:00.006+01:00

The Eagle Nebula and the Pillars of Creation.
This is my first M16 image.
The picture was taken with my Takahashi FS102NSV and SBIG ST2000XM, autoguided on a Losmandy G-11. Stack of 7 x 300" frames shot at -20ºC/-4F. Calibrated in MaxIm DL and CS4.
Used Flat and Dark frames from other shots.
Couldn't shoot more frames due to a haze that rolled in and there were no more guiding stars...
Luckily I'll be able to add more frames some time soon.

Full Resolution

Astromania StarParty at Redondo, Alentejo

2009-08-24T14:39:00.015+01:00

August, 22 - A very pleasent evening, with a lot of AAs; a perfect time to gather again with the guys and to get to finally meet some others only known trough forums and stuff alike.
Very good location and weather conditions, despite the blazing temperature felt in the afternoon.
The sky was very good but not as good as I'd like it to be, since I drove downunder with the specific goal of testing my beloved C11 away from my heavy polluted sky and poor weather. Jupiter didn't feel like it and I could not snap it higher than f/10. This was a setback I had to put up with...
I did manage to shoot 3 avis (one for each RGB channel) at f/10 mainly due to the fact that a very nice young couple cared to ask a few questions about imaging capturing and processing. We had a nice chat over it, along with the process which was really nice.
This is the image that "we" came up with:

Anyway, the icing on the cake was the beautiful sight through my FRed (0.63x) C11: the Veil Nebula (NGC6960). This was a super catch that was shared by some of the fellows that were close to me at the moment.
We tried a view with and without Astronomik's UHC filter, but it was much better unfiltered. Gosh! What a great sight!
It turn up to be really worth it all the buzz&fuzz of getting there and not being able to get those much wanted Jups.
A memorable image in my mind.
The picture below shows the supernova remnants and the Veil Nebula part that we had a glimpse on. Move your mouse over to check the area we had a look at.

Credit: Dean Jacobsen
Direct link to original picture:http://www.astrophoto.net/veil.html
picture resized and modified for animation purposes only.

All in all, it all came down to this:

PROS:
- great atmosphere among the AAs, as usual;
- meeting "old" and new friends;
- nice dark sky with lots of stars to make you feel lost :D
- great patch of Milk Way;
- M31 clearly visible in naked eye;
- NGC6960 view.

CONS:
- unable to shoot Jup at high power;
- lack of power (car battery for power inverter failed to give my laptop enough power...) even car engine running... for the first time :(

Jupiter, Aug 20

2009-08-21T03:08:00.003+01:00

Finally no clouds in the sky.
Though seeing was not perfect, still I was able to capture at f/20 with my C11.
Io is just leaving the planet's disc and it's shadow is almost gone too.
Stack of some 800 frames per R&B channels and only 200 for the G one (what did I say about seeing?).

The face of Zeus...

2009-08-20T03:19:00.005+01:00

Orwell's BB?
What on Earth have we done to make the mighty Zeus so puzzled?

Jupiter w/ GRS and Moons

2009-08-20T02:48:00.008+01:00

On Aug. 19, 2009 at 23h15m UT, just before it clouded in I was able to catch Ganymede and its shadow, along with Europa and Io, while the GRS was rising.
No different than usual, the sky shut down just when the fun was about to begin, and no more pictures were possible.
Hopefully this Autum/Winter will come to an end.

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full frame image

Near Europa Occultation by Ganymede

2009-08-12T23:43:00.017+01:00

It's Perseids time!
It promised to be a thrilling night when one thinks that at the same time there was a Galillean event taking place: Ganymede was about to occult Europa, a first time ephemerid for me.
Scope set up and cooled, it was time to wait for the occasion.
Well, do you know a certain Mr. Murphy? No clouds, but seeing could be a lot better. The moons looked like they were dancing a celestial waltz. Focusing was so hard it turned the all experience into a nightmare.
I was able to snap this picture, a few minutes before the occultation took place.
We can see Ganymede, Europa and Io's shadow on Jupiter, whereas the GRS is about to "rise".
Move your mouse over image for labelling.

C11 @f/10 + DMK21AF.AS + IR Astronomik IIb (C)
exp: 1/120; 60fps
Leiria, Aug 12th @2h09m UT

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