M81 with the ST7

Continuing my current fixation on Ursa Major, I re-shot M81 again, this time using mt C6 sct and ST7 CCD. This image is 14 ten minute images median stacked and deconvolved, all shot at F6.3.

A Deeper View of Messier 82

This image is 1 hour and 48 minutes of eight minute exposures with the Orion CCD and my 8 inch newt. A lot deeper than I normally go, but worth it. The strange Hydrogen tendrils are clearly visible in pink, along with the strange edge on spiral-like galactic form that makes up the main part of M82. A very interesting object, which no one quite seems to know what is going on with it. It seems to be the result of a collision or massive explosion, and the core seems to be ejecting massive amounts of synchrotron radiation in the pinkish hydrogen tendrils.

Another Shot from the 8 Inch...

I know I have done this one before, but it was an easy target in the cold, to help work the bugs out of the new scope. It is a color view of the Crab Nebula through my 8 inch newt, shot with the Orion DSCI. It is a stack of 10 eight minute images. The focus was off a bit, so I had to overcorrect and re-sample a bit.

First Image with 8 inch Astrograph

Here are the first two images from the new 8 inch scope. They are of spiral galaxy M81, taken with the Orion DSCI 1 CCD. The color image is a stack of 18 five minute exposures. The mono image is a stack of a dozen 5 minute exposures shot binned 2x2. The focus and collimation could be better, but all in all, it is not too bad.
All images shot guided with the SV Nighthawk II and a DSI Pro.

Focus on Eye Candy

One more shot from the new scope. Here is a close up of the focuser. I can't speak better of it. It is totally custom machined by a fellow in Utah. It was about $160 total, but I would have paid much more for an item like this. It rotates, and has compression rings built into the drawtube. It can also support camera weights beyond 4lbs, from what I understand. The only thing it is missing is a hook-up for a focus motor. May not be a Moonlight, but the coolness factor is definitely up there. That and the fact it looks plain mean and nasty on this black scope. The photos do not do it justice.

You can get one too buy emailing them at wyorock@comcast.net. He also sells on Ebay. If you order one, remember you are buying from a person, and not an assembly line business, so it may take a bit for it to be assembled and shipped. It is well worth the wait, though.

Bedliner Astrograph Project Completed

I just this week finished up a project I have been working on for a while. It was the re-furbishment and modification of an 8" project astrographic telescope. It is not really a true astrograph, like a Takahashi Epsilon, but it fits the bill close enough for me. An astrograph is a scope designed primarily for photography. As such, visual use is normally not an intended function, or is secondary in nature. I built this scope to replace the 10" Schmidt Newtonian that I recently sold. It was my wish to get a slightly smaller scope that rode a bit better in the crazy New Mexico wind, but still be big enough to seriously image small faint objects.

At it's core is an old Coulter 8" F4.5 mirror, which is not too bad optically, unlike a lot of larger Coulter mirrors. It has a custom machined Wyorock focuser, which is basically a work of unpolished aluminum art. And the tube is from an older GSO scope, cut down to size. I am not sure of the size of the secondary, as it came with the tube, but it works very well. I have a larger one I am planning to install for better FOV illumination, but have not done so yet. And to top it all off, the scope is finished in a coat of rubberized bedliner (from a pickup truck) to make it completely indestructible. Gives it sort of a mean, black scope from the Underworld look.

I hope to get it in use in the next few days.

M74 with the ST7 CCD

Here is spiral galaxy M74 with the ST7 ccd taken through the 6 inch SCT. It is a stack of 16 six minute images shot guided at F6.3.