Details
- Rig: ASI294MC Pro + Askar FMA180 + AZ-GTI
- Software: NINA/PixInsight - Software Set 2
- Filters: Optolong L-Enhance 2"
Integration time:
* 291 x 120s (9h42m)
Notes
16th September 2022 Whilst monitoring the observatory imaging this evening I had the chance to process the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula from last month. Processed as SHO from an OSC image.
10th August 2022 The initial stacking finished overnight. It required 130GB of drive space and took eleven hours to complete. Post-processing still to be done.
6th August 2022 Another clear night with several hours' data gathered and immaculate guiding from the AZ-GTI. The transparency was not perfect, certainly not before midnight, but the occasional very thin cloud cover appears not to have hindered. Now that 12 hours of integration time has been reached it is time to start processing and choose a new wide-field target.
5th August 2022 After a couple of weeks of cloudy nights we now have a forecast run of several nights of clear skies. Gathered 145 x 120s frames last night with none dropped. The little AZ-GTI mount in equatorial mode is exceeding all expectations in terms of guiding around the 1" mark which on such a wide field view gives beautiful results.
9th July 2022 Last night I added one(!) frame to the project having scrapped two hours' worth due to high clouds spoiling the contrast and in some cases the entire nebula.
2nd July 2022 While the observatory continued the M13 imaging I set up the Askar 180 outside. PHD2 will not, for some reason, send guide pulses to the mount which I will need to resolve. However the unguided performance with 60s exposures was superb with an HFR of around 2.8 and perfect tracking. Unfortunately being tired from the return holiday journey I omitted to put the Optolong L-Enhance filter in so imaged in unfiltered broadband. There was no moon so although the nebulosity will probably be fairly dim I hope that I will have some good RGB stars for the final narrowband image. What will cause these subs to be scrapped will be fixed-pattern noise if the lack of guiding, and hence dithering, causes this to be obtrusive.
I have attempted to find the cause of the inability of PHD2 to send pulses to the mount. This link has some clues to follow.
