My astrophotography 2021

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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hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by hhzhang »

2021-Jan-20/21

The night of Jan-19 saw overcast all the time, contrary to what the forecast told me. Clear skies finally came upon Singapore in the Jan-20 dusk, also to my surprise since the forecast said differently.

Shot a few targets before clouds rolled in. Biggest lesson learnt today is that the dew heater on camera isn't an appendix. In the end, the damage to the data could not be fully repaired -- I had to learn and practice new techniques to fight the uneven images.

It turns out the Rosette nebula data were relatively easier to handle -- probably due to its brightness and localised feature in the image.

I guess despite my blunder the result is still better than expected.
Image

The Gemini gems image is a different story. Fainter, features in different locations. Difficult to correct. Very disappointing that the jellyfish nebula is badly visible.

Image

Lastly, I revisited the idea of shooting some asterisms. However I had to shoot between the clouds. Today's pick is the Canis Minor asterism. I just managed to shoot 3x1min before the skies all turned overcast.

Image
celeron787
Posts: 113
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2020 2:30 pm

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by celeron787 »

The clear night seems well utilised with these shots!
I was also imaging last night, but only on M42.
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by hhzhang »

2020-Jan-21 Rain stopped in the late evening and viola! What a joy seeing the conjunction of Moon, Mars and Uranus -- nothing beat the view through my pair of binocular. Anyway, let me take a few photos and hope for some nice composite image after heavy editing. Turned out not bad.

Image
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by hhzhang »

Missed Mercury rendezvous with Jupiter and Saturn around 10-Jan as the weather was non corporative.

Jan-23 saw Mercury approaching east elongation (reaching greatest moment on Jan-24 morning). The storms in the late afternoon turned into scattered clouds at dusk times, allowing me to have a glimpse at the fastest planet. First spotted through binoculars.

Visually, this bright point and the faint and featureless starfield (Cap) in the surrounding is nothing spectacular. But this is Mercury, the fastest cum the smallest planet that is worth a photo recording, isn't it?

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Which bright spot is Mercury? Simply, the one that outshines others.

The high-level light pollution kills any hope for a starry sky image. The above is the result of efforts that blend star-tracking photos and stationary photos in order to make the stars better visible. Not so well. Maybe a soft-focus filter can be somewhat helpful.
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by hhzhang »

Two weeks of no sky watching feels rather depressing. Last night it finally lent me some clear skies to shoot -- while actually I was learning and tunning the SmartEQ set-up. Turns out I have got to spend more sessions to tune up this cheap mount before it behaves well.

Anyway, my primary target was NGC2451 and NGC2477. The two neighbouring gems in Puppis. The two open clusters display quite contrasting patterns. The young, shiny and dispersed NGC2451 and the perfect example of unusually-concentrated-and-old open clusters by the name of NGC2477.

Image
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by hhzhang »

Also experimented with a wide-angle lens to shoot groups of constellations. Unfortunately the mid-high clouds were destroying the images, and my post-processing could do little but remove some of the defects.

Argo Navis rising over Changi sea.
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Winter's most prominent asterism -- albet a few brillant stars could not fit into the view -- 16mm on APSC is just short of the needed FOV.

Image

By the way, my soft focus filter on the lens did help to bright out the prominent stars.
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by hhzhang »

Hmm. A galaxy photo from a remote observatory. I am not sure if it is my photography or only the product of my post-processing.

Image
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by hhzhang »

Has anyone watched the lunar occultation of beta 1&2 Scorpii? A rare phenomenon for two reasons:

--occultation of a bright double star
-- crescent moon
-- morning's clear sky -- particularly in Singapore -- LOL

Unfortunately, I missed the moment of entering occultation when I was sound asleep. But I waked up in time to witness the double star exiting the occultation and rising from the Dark Side limb of the Moon

Image
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by hhzhang »

A moment during the double-star eclipse by the moon.

Image
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: My astrophotography 2021

Post by hhzhang »

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