Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

CCD vs Film? Lots of time vs no patience? Alright, this is your place to discuss all the astrophotography what's and what's not. You can discuss about techniques, accessories, cameras, whatever....just make sure you also post some nice photos here too!
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ivan
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Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by ivan »

Hi folks!

Last weekend, I along with 3 other singastro-ians made a crash trip down to Mersing due to a sudden clearing in the weather. Since we were having consecutive days of clear skies, we wouldn't resist making a last-minute decision to head down to Srikandi resort from 16 Jan to 18 Jan. Although we had to battle with lots of fast-moving low clouds and a constant strong wind, the occasional clearing still allowed us to capture usable data. Here's a collection of some of my images taken with a TPO 8" f/4 Newtonian, Losmandy G11/G2 and a modded 400D DSLR:

1. Eta Carina Nebula
(Integration: 10x300sec)

Image

2. Horsehead Nebula
(Integration: 9x300sec)

Image

3. Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)
(Integration: 5x300sec)

Image

Some of the images are still clearly lacking data, so hopefully I'll be able to get better integration times next month.

Cheers!
Last edited by ivan on Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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PETER LOO
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Re: Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by PETER LOO »

Ivan, all your images are super nice, i now then believe that a faster system (bigger aperture scope at lower F ratio) under dark sky, produce much better images than a small refractor although the later is more resilient to light pollution in urban & sub-urban environment. Other elements are still important too, eg. superior knowledge in processing, good mount & polar alignment skills etc. [smilie=blocked.gif] [smilie=blocked.gif] [smilie=blocked.gif] n.b. Very tempting to go Malaysia after seeing these ..
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Re: Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by Airconvent »

Awesome photos Ivan...was hoping to turn you into a "Visual" guy but looks like astrophotgraphy is your forte..:)
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Re: Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by kochu »

Nice pleasing photos Ivan
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Re: Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by ivan »

Thanks Peter, Airconvent and Kochu.

Peter: Certainly having a dark sky is a very essential element to gather RGB data for objects with lower surface brightness. Whether a reflector or refractor is preferable is an object of contention. A quality refractor with the same focal speed with arguably produce superior images with stars having smaller FWHMs, and won't lose as much light to the central obstruction. Reflectors (and particularly newtonians) are a cheap way to get a moderately fast speed, for those who are budget conscious. There tends to be more to fiddle around with, however. With whatever optical system, the fundamentals of aiming for the longest exposure (both in subs length and total integration) and choosing a good dark site are still of paramount importance.

Rich: I am actually planning to foray into visual, even if my primary engagement is in AP. There is still a sense of wonder seeing a faint galaxy with one's own eyes through a giant dobsonian under dark skies! :)
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Re: Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by starfinder »

ivan wrote: Rich: I am actually planning to foray into visual, even if my primary engagement is in AP. There is still a sense of wonder seeing a faint galaxy with one's own eyes through a giant dobsonian under dark skies! :)
Excellent images, Ivan! Hope they don't get pilfered...

Yes, do rem the bright side too. Make visual your primary!

Actually, we can approach the visual/AP division this way: when one is still young, one should take full advantage of good vision/eyesight and delve mainly in visual astronomy. Then when getting older, can focus more on AP.
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Re: Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by PETER LOO »

Actually it is very easy for an APer to cross over to Visual, but i am not sure the other way round [smilie=blocked.gif]
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Re: Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by rcj »

try to use a unique watermark
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Re: Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by ivan »

Gavin: Thanks! While I probably won't be making visual my primary yet, I'll certainly delve more into it.

Peter: I'm not too sure about that! Both do require different skill sets.

Remus: Noted on that
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Re: Catches from a Crash Trip: Mersing 16/1/15~18/1/15

Post by Bergkamp_ »

Nice work! =)
Wee Ern aRmeD wiF Telescope reAdY tO taKe ovEr thE skY .. wIF jUst mY naKed eYEs .
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