As you can see, I was stuck under a hazy sky that got worse and worse. I was using the OAG with the guide camera. The haze was so bad that I had to resort to 8 second exposures with the auto guider. I ended up having to use a "dark frame" to subtract noise. I was a bit skeptical, but I worked my way up from 60 seconds to 4 min to 6 min, then finally, to 10 min on M81.
The conditions were pretty bad, but it wasn't too bad for shooting through a very hazy sky. Single frame, 1600 ISO, 10 min, curves, levels, hue, vibrance in Photoshop.
[Cont'd later]
Setup time was considerably longer. I started setting up around 8 and I wasn't taking my first test images until 11:30. The setup was much farther away from the house. My logic here was that I could use the neighbor's outdoor storage building to block the obnoxious light from another neighbor who always has to have a bright backyard light on. I discovered that while the site location worked in this regard, I was doused with light from yet another neighbor across the street and down a bit. At some point, this neighbor turned off their front porch light. But it was still an annoyance.
Another reason for the longer setup was the Off-Axis Guider (OAG). It was really hard to find stars and just as hard to get good focus. I had to keep increasing the exposure length in PHD2 to get any kind of signal. This problem was exacerbated by the deteriorating conditions. The upside was that I was able to get roundish stars to guide on. I also used a blue marker to note the focus location on the guide camera.
It took a long time to navigate the Astro-Physics hand controller. It's very different than the Synta/Orion controller. And I kept thinking I had to restart the mount to get to some menus when in fact, I just didn't know how to navigate the menus. I ran around like an idiot trying to find the manual, but then I realized I could download it and pull it up on the laptop. Yay for wireless.
A potential problem with the big setup is cable length. To connect the camera and autoguider with the laptop I'm using 6 ft USB cables. It's quite apparent that some slews will pull the cable too taut. I'm going to have to invest in 10 ft cables. Also, the AC power that powers the camera is a little short. I think I'm going to have to run the extension cord up the pier and keep it secured maybe with bungee cords.
Overall, I was suprised by the effectiveness of the guiding. I expected there to be problems with 6 and 10 minute exposure. There actually was a problem with the 4 min. exposure as the stars looked like two connected blobs. I suspect that either I hit the mount or PHD2 lost the guide star for a while. For polar alignment, I just used the polar scope. Because it had taken SO LONG to setup, I decided not to use the "DSLR method" of polar alignment. With the finer controls on this mount, I should be able to dial in some excellent polar alignment next time.
Oh, yeah, the shot of M81 is full frame on the Canon T3i. The FOV (field of view) is obviously excellent for M81. But in fact, there are not going to be many galaxies that large. I did another shot (which I'm not posting) of M51 in the thickening haze, and though it didn't turn out well, it made me think that I really should be shooting around 2000mm FL. The 8 inch f/6 comes in at 1200mm.
Setup time was considerably longer. I started setting up around 8 and I wasn't taking my first test images until 11:30. The setup was much farther away from the house. My logic here was that I could use the neighbor's outdoor storage building to block the obnoxious light from another neighbor who always has to have a bright backyard light on. I discovered that while the site location worked in this regard, I was doused with light from yet another neighbor across the street and down a bit. At some point, this neighbor turned off their front porch light. But it was still an annoyance.
Another reason for the longer setup was the Off-Axis Guider (OAG). It was really hard to find stars and just as hard to get good focus. I had to keep increasing the exposure length in PHD2 to get any kind of signal. This problem was exacerbated by the deteriorating conditions. The upside was that I was able to get roundish stars to guide on. I also used a blue marker to note the focus location on the guide camera.
It took a long time to navigate the Astro-Physics hand controller. It's very different than the Synta/Orion controller. And I kept thinking I had to restart the mount to get to some menus when in fact, I just didn't know how to navigate the menus. I ran around like an idiot trying to find the manual, but then I realized I could download it and pull it up on the laptop. Yay for wireless.
A potential problem with the big setup is cable length. To connect the camera and autoguider with the laptop I'm using 6 ft USB cables. It's quite apparent that some slews will pull the cable too taut. I'm going to have to invest in 10 ft cables. Also, the AC power that powers the camera is a little short. I think I'm going to have to run the extension cord up the pier and keep it secured maybe with bungee cords.
Overall, I was suprised by the effectiveness of the guiding. I expected there to be problems with 6 and 10 minute exposure. There actually was a problem with the 4 min. exposure as the stars looked like two connected blobs. I suspect that either I hit the mount or PHD2 lost the guide star for a while. For polar alignment, I just used the polar scope. Because it had taken SO LONG to setup, I decided not to use the "DSLR method" of polar alignment. With the finer controls on this mount, I should be able to dial in some excellent polar alignment next time.
Oh, yeah, the shot of M81 is full frame on the Canon T3i. The FOV (field of view) is obviously excellent for M81. But in fact, there are not going to be many galaxies that large. I did another shot (which I'm not posting) of M51 in the thickening haze, and though it didn't turn out well, it made me think that I really should be shooting around 2000mm FL. The 8 inch f/6 comes in at 1200mm.
Impressive rig and getting that shot in the haze. Sorry to hear about the neighbors. I suspect you have dark sky rules in the area, but nobody enforces them because they are worried about feuding.
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding. The 6 ft privacy fence would be a lot more effective if it was just 6 inches taller. Except for the neighbor two houses down who has a 25 ft tall "barn" that has a 100 watt bulb near the apex of the structure. If that light goes on, it pretty much ruins the viewing for everyone within two blocks. This year thus far it hasn't been so bad, but in the past that light has been on for weeks at a time. My previous next door neighbor used to park his RV in the backyard and that was a great "shield" for the barn light, but the neighbor who moved in doesn't seem to have anything like that RV.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what I was complaining about. Compared to Payson, it was pure paradise... even with the annoying lights. I know I shouldn't harp on this, but I need to take advantage of clear nights, period.
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