NGC 6888 from the balcony

[orly_andico]

Flew in from Jakarta and arrived around 10 p.m. The sky was hazy but I could see stars, so figured might as well.

First light for my Frankenstein newtonian (with extended, riveted tube).

17 x 5 minutes, guided, AT8IN imaging newtonian with Type 1 Paracorr (cheap!), ST8300M @ 3 Celsius, guided with a 50mm finder guider.

[kimo]

very nice image. St8300 is now working?

[orly_andico]

It still is dewing up. Shows up as cold pixels. I discovered an option in Deep Sky Stacker to remove cold pixels and replace with median.

Anyway I should be collecting my two large bags of molecular desiccant from Sigma-Aldrich tomorrow or next week. That should be good enough for several years.

I had to extend the tube of the AT8IN so that the focuser doesn't need to be racked out so much:



So now, no more need for an extension tube or the Feathertouch focuser base extension. I may put the base extension back in so that the drawtube isn't extended so much..



Before I lengthened the tube, the focuser stack looked like this (very ungainly):



Thing is, the AT8IN (and 6- 10- and 12-inch versions) seem to have been designed for a DSLR without any coma corrector. So with a CCD and Paracorr, an extension tube is required and the focuser has to be racked out a lot. This causes instability. So my mod improves stability, but makes the scope incompatible with a bare DSLR (it still reaches focus with a DSLR and Paracorr).

Something to keep in mind if you're planning on getting one of these imaging newtonians and will use it with a CCD.

[cataclysm]

Nice pointy stars!

[orly_andico]

Thanks.. The Paracorr even though it's a lowly Type 1 that I got used for less than $150, is amazing.

[Barry]

Looks like a giant Brain in space! Tough one to capture?

[orly_andico]

Tough due to haze, frost on my sensor, and horrible light pollution. But it is a fairly bright object and imaging is never a headache with a good mount.

[Airconvent]

Very nicely down Orly! And that Balcony looks very convenient...Stars above, scope on target, beer, snacks and toilte within reach ...haha.

[Gary]

Nice DSO and AP setup pics! Looks like cabbage to me!

[PETER LOO]

Nice shot, nice set up & nice balcony Orly,