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…

    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…

    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…

    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.

    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.

    Integration time:
    * OSC 27 X 300s (135m)
    * Total: 2h15m

Still testing and familiarising myself with the QHY268C, this time on another dark-sky (or should I say cloudy-sky) trip to Bortle Class 3 mid-Wales.

    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.

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 25 x 300s (125m)
    * Total: 125m/2h05m
    

Test of new OSC camera and filter.

    Integration time (running total):
    * Blue 40 x 300s (200m)
    * Ha 86 x 300s (430m)
    * OSC 71 x 300s (355m)
    * Total: 985m/16h25m
    
    Integration time target
    * Target: 20 hours
    * Progress: 82%

9th October 2022 I switched to use the ASI294MC Pro while the mono camera was being used for testing on the refractor. One or two frames were lost but otherwise a whole night’s imaging with excellent guiding has added some dual-band colur frames to the mix. I’m not…

9th October 2022 After lots of tweaking and testing on Windows 10 and 11, the issues with the focusser finally seem to be resolved. I wish I could say definitively why the focussers hadn’t worked on either of the rigs but the common factor in the solution in both cases was new, high-quality micro USB to USB A cables and connecting to USB 3.0 ports rather then USB 2 ports. The takeaway from this is not to swap equipment between set-ups in Windows for fear of upsetting the flaky and…

    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.