November 15, 2024

Waning Crescent Moon – 12/9/2020, 6h30m EST

Waning Crescent Moon – 12/9/2020, 6h30m EST

Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Exposure: 2x(64×0.015sec), saved as FITS

Seeing: poor, 2/5

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Registax, Photoshop, Panorama Maker

This is a 2-panel mosaic taken of the waning crescent as dawn brought an end to my first night of imaging with this new to me Meade 12” f/8 LX850 ACF.  The seeing conditions were pretty rough and there was a bit of haze, but I am very happy with the result. Merging the two panels of the mosaic showed that this telescope produces a remarkable flat field providing a uniformly sharp field with almost no distortion. This is a large, fairly heavy telescope that pushes the Atlas to the edge, but it performed brilliantly all night long.