Archives for August 2023

Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” ZWO IR Cut Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 72x60sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/125s sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency, haze

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.1 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

This is the second of 3 bonus images that I grabbed as part of my latest imaging run with the 510. I was really curious to see how well the scope would frame this field and I thought that it turned out rather well. This is the full, uncropped field and does a good job showing just how flat the field of the 510 is even across a full frame sensor.

For a long time there was some debate as to whether the two clusters that make up the Double Cluster are actually associated with each other or just happened to appear in the same line of sight with one lying behind the other. It now appears that they are indeed lying next to each other, each about 7,000 light years away and about 100 light years apart. However, there is some evidence that the two clusters are of different ages, so while they may have formed separately from each other, they are now traveling companions.

The double cluster is currently low in the northeast during the early evening. Note that these two clusters lie on an east/west line as shown, however as they rise they will appear along a vertical line relative to the horizon. (Photo credit; John Graham, 8–18-2023.)

Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” ZWO IR Cut Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 29x60sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/125s sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency, haze

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.3 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

I wasn’t planning on taking any more images with the 510 for a while, but the forecast predicted 2 consecutive clear evenings, so I decided to use the 510 for a very special target set (more on that later). While I am processing those I’ll share a couple of bonus images that I took just to fill out the evening. This is M2 revisited from my first night out imaging with the 510 (7/14/2023), this time taking advantage of everything that I have learned since then. This does a nice job highlighting the 510’s ability to produce sharp, high-resolution images.

Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” Baader Fringe Killer (Minus Violet)

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 18x120sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/125s tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, very poor transparency, haze, smoke, full moon

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 17.8 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

Visually, the Ring Nebula appears as a ghostly smoke ring about the size of Jupiter. The nebula itself is not actually a ring, but more likely a torus or a short hour-glass, we just happen to the looking down the long axis, giving the nebula its characteristic shape.

This is the second of two images taken to evaluate the performance of Unitron 510 for imaging and the Baader Fringe Killer Filter. There is still just a tad of violet fringing around some of the brighter stars, but it is much reduced as compared to an image of the same field taken without the filter. This field is a 100% crop of the center of the original frame showing a nice amount of detail in the structure of the nebula.

M57 is currently well placed high overhead the east in the early evening. (Photo credit: John Graham, 7-30-2023)

 

Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” ZWO IR Cut Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 26x60sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/10s sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

NGC7789 is a large and wonderfully rich open cluster located just west of Cassiopeia. It was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1782 and is sometimes called Caroline’s Rose. It is a delicate object in small to moderate scopes, but blossoms into a rich field in large telescopes. When viewing this cluster I like to spend some time with the field. At first all I will see are the foreground stars and perhaps a soft glow in the background. As my eye adjusts, the first faint stars appear, and then it slowly blooms into a beautiful patch of stardust.

This is the last of 5 test images taken with my Unitron 510. Caroline’s Rose is currently low in the northeast at sunset and is high overhead after midnight. (Photo credit: John Graham, 7/14/2023)

Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” ZWO IR Cut Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 11x120sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/10s sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, fair transparency, haze, smoke

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.7 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M27, the Dumbbell nebula, is an expanding shell of gas that was ejected from a sun-like star as it exhausted its hydrogen fuel. Swollen into a red giant, the star shed its outer shell while its core collapsed into a white dwarf. Fierce UV radiation from the collapsed core sets the surrounds gas aglow with the blue/green light of doubly ionized oxygen. The diameter of the nebula is about 1 light-year with an estimated age of 9,800 years. Located between Sagitta and Cygnus, M27 is fairly easy to find with a small telescope. Visually, it shows two lobes connected by a neck of nebulosity, giving the nebula its characteristic dumbbell shape.

This is the third of 5 test images taken with my Unitron 510. M27 is currently high in the east as the sky darkens. (Photo credit; John Graham, 7/14/2023)

Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” ZWO IR Cut Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 50x30sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/10s sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency, haze, smoke

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.1 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M22 is a large, bright, class 7 globular cluster in Sagittarius. With an estimated distance of 10,600 light years it is one of the closer globulars in our galaxy. In many ways M22 should outshine M13, but it can get a bit lost among the stars along the Milky Way near the Sagittarius star clouds and its light is dimmed by dust along the galactic plane. Still, it is large, bright, and easily resolves into this beautiful glow of stardust even in a modest telescope. In a large telescope it blossoms into a glorious sight. This is one of the gems of the summer sky in the northern hemisphere.

This is the second of 5 test images taken with my Unitron 510. M22 is currently rising in the southeast as the sky darkens. (Photo credit; John Graham, 7/14/2023)