Secret Still Observatory

'Sing to the Moon and the stars will shine'

Globular Clusters

A visual comparison of five clusters in the Messier list

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC Between 30 and 60 X 60s per image

Seeing index: Poor (2)
Jet stream: Ave/Good (12 m/s)
Transparency: Good (4)

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 75 X 120s (150m)
    * Total: 2h30m

Seeing index: Poor/average (1/2)
Jet stream: Poor (30 m/s)
Transparency: Average (3)

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 5 X 300s (30m)
    * Total: 0h30m
    

Between the clouds the other day I squeezed in 30 minutes of exposure time on the border between Cassiopeia and Cepheus, a region full of interesting objects. The view in the photo is wide field - 6.6 x 4.8 degrees. Due to the short exposure the H alpha clouds are mainly colourless (e.g. the Lobster Claw Nebula) and the resolution is somewhat poor but I thought it quite an interesting exercise to point the…

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 365 X 60s (365m)
    * Total: 6h05m
    
    Integration time target
    * Target: 6 hours
    * Progress: 100%

Notes

Seeing index: Excellent 5/4
Jet stream: Poor (32m/s) Moon phase: 80%
Transparency: Poor

Mark

2 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 139 X 120s (278m)
    * Total: 4h38m
    
    Integration time target
    * Target: 12 hours
    * Progress: 39%

The bright supernova SN2023IXF currently visible in M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy.

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 11 X 120s (22m)
    * Total: 0h22m
    
    Integration time target
    * Target: 2 hours
    * Progress: 18%

This is another experiment on the feasibility of using an F12 scope for deep sky imaging. I have deliberately chosen an object close to the zenith which should remain visible for some time with the aim of completing a multi-night image before the end of galaxy season. The altitude will decline as we enter the month of June so the next two…

M3

Mark

2 minute read

    Integration time:
    * OSC 33 X 120s (66m)
    * Total: 1h06m

This evening was unexpectedly clear though with a thin layer of high, semi-tramsparent cloud which affected guiding and visibility. Around half the gathered frames were discarded. The clouds got thicker around 1 am so I closed the observatory roof and left the calibration frames for the morning. As has been the case recently, calibration frames have been very problematic but I did finally resolve two outstanding issues:

Recent posts

Categories