Secret Still Observatory

'I saw the crescent, you saw the whole of the Moon'

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 10 X 300s (50m)
    * Total: 50m
    
    Integration time target
    * Target: 3 hours
    * Progress: 28%

An unexpected clear couple of hours gave me the chance to check the recalibration of backlash on the EQ6R Pro which now seems to work nicely having guided at around 0.7"/px consistently last night. By way of as test I shot some 5 minute frames on M64 followed by some flats and flat darks in accordance with my new calibration frames…

Mark

2 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 231 X 300s (1155m)
    * Total: 19h15m
    
    Integration time target
    * Target: 20 hours
    * Progress: 96%

The main observatory mount needs a strip down and re-grease to rectify poor guiding. While this work is undertaken I have switched to the fantastic HEQ5 Pro and the 80mm refractor which consistently guides at an RMS of 0.2 - 0.3"/px and sometimes lower. The Tadpoles and Spider Nebula is a brand new target which should remain…

Mark

2 minute read

    Integration time 80ED (running total):
    * OSC 41 X 300s (205m)
    * Total: 3h25m

    Integration time 200PDS (running total):
    * OSC 206 X 300s (1030m)
    * Total: 17h10m
    
    Integration time target
    * Target: 10 hours
    * Progress: 171%

Notes

15th December 2022 Another superb clear night which was warmer than yesterday reaching -4.5°C. One of the very best imaging nights with a total of 20h30m data gathered with two rigs! I have plenty of data now so time to process the…

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 13 X 120s (26m0s)
    * OSC 11 X 30s (5m30s)
    * OSC 11 X 10s (1m50s)
    * Total: 33m20s
    
    Integration time target
    * Target: TBC hours
    * Progress: TBC%

This is really just the start of a project which might run of of darkness and altitude this year and have to be finished next year! What is remarkable is the result from just a little over half an hour, made possible by the QHY268C camera and the power of BlurXterminator and…

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC best 15-25% of 500 frames
    

Last night was beautifully clear and remarkably timed for the occultation of Mars. At 1.5°W this took place at 04h58. The exit from the occutation exactly one hour later could not be imaged from the observatory because the Moon and Mars had disappeared behind the large oak tree in the West-North-West direction.

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 100 X 300s (500m)
    * Total: 8h00m
    

Still experimenting with the QHY268C. This image was much harder to process than anticipated with data from two nights.

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time:
    * 174 x 60s (2h54m)
    * Total: 2h45m

Notes

19th November 2022 The current long run of cloudy skies has freed up a bit of time to catch with some processing and experimentation. The latest image is properly calibrated and processed with Bill Blanshan’s Pixinsight script for Hubble pallet images using OSC data.

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