First Image with Solar Setup

Well, at long last I finally got my first image with my new solar set up.  It is not great, looks slightly out of focus to me but that could be due to bad seeing, it was hot and humid and there were high clouds and I was imaging between waves of low clouds. But I am happy I got something.  This camera much faster than the QHY5-II that I was using.  I processed it combining methods described by Cuiv the Lazy Geek and Chuck's Astrophotography.

I was hoping to be much further a long at this point with solar imaging as I ordered this stuff at end of May in the hopes of imaging during the summer when I had time.  Covid19 delays no doubt, but it is finally here.  OPT is probably sick of me calling them, but then again I was rarely able to get anyone. Many people in this hobby are retired or semiretired and can spend a lot of time imaging and processing, I have a few more years before I can join the seasoned crowd.  With that said we started our school year on a hybrid model so I will be extremely busy at least for the next month or two so astrophotography will have to take a back seat for a while. I do have a couple other images in the Que but don't know when I will have time to process them. 

Solar Setup:
Telescope: Orion ED80 F7.5 Refractor
Camera: ZWO ASI178 MM

Filter: Daystar Quark Chromosphere

Tilt Adjuster: Daystar Interference Eliminator

Mount: Orion Sirius or Orion Atlas Pro

Sun & Solar FlaresHome Monroe, CT
Date: 9-4-20
Camera: ZWO ASI178 MM
Telescope: Orion ED80 F7.5 Refractor
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 600
f/7.5
Focal Reducer: None
Mount: Orion Sirius

Filter: Daystar Quark Chromosphere

Tilt Adjuster: Daystar Interference Eliminator

Exposure: 0.00145

Best 300 of 1000  

Gain: 369
Processing: SharpCap, PixInsight, Photoshop.

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1

Sh2-132 - Lion Nebula (SHO with RGB stars)

Well this Nebula actually does resemble a Lion, who would have thought.  Sharpless-132 (Sh2-132), a.k.a. the Lion Nebula, is located approximately 10,000 light-years away in the constellation of Cepheus and about 250 LY across.  I have been doing a lot of Sharpless objects lately because they do seem less popular.  I haven't found much information about the nebula other than very hot stars are responsible for ionizing the gases that make it up, this includes two Wolf-Rayet stars.  Also located in this image are two dark nebula, LDN 1161 and LDN 1163 located above the Lion's back.  This object has not been imaged much in years past, however, it has become much more popular these days among amateur astrophotographers.  Cataloged as a Sharpless object hydrogen is dominate element but there is plenty of Oxygen and Sulfur.  I really like the HOO images of this and was planning on doing this with Ha and OIII but decided on SII at the last minute based on weather conditions and the moon.

Normally I would use a model someone's image as a model, however, this time I adjusted the colors to see what gave the most detail but looked cool to me.  The hard part of processing this object was the stars. I tried to keep the stars and process the nebula at the same time but eventually ended up going starless.  Of course StarNet did not work in PixInsight since the new update so I did it using the Windows version.  I actually combined a couple of different methods for adding the RGB stars.  I was not totally satisfied with the stars and after seeing an image from Rodd Dryfoos where he made an HaSHO version, I did that on this image in order to add back some more stars and soften them a bit.  I like the HaSHO a little better but some might prefer the SHO.  

Date: 8-22-20, , 8-23-20, 8-24-20, 8-25-20, 8-30-20

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1 

SHO

HaSHO

Sh2-132 - The Lion Nebula
Home Monroe, CT
Date: 8-22-20, , 8-23-20, 8-24-20, 8-25-20, 8-30-20

Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805
f/7
Focal Reducer: AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO Ha, OIII, SII, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 130 x 240s, OIII 91 x 240s, SII 83 x 240, R 20 x 90s, G 16 x 90s, B 19 x 90s
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: 22 C
Processing: APT, NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop.

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1

Sh2-114 - Flying Dragon Nebula

Bilbo Baggins said something like there hasn't been a dragon around here for over 1000 years, that's because they went looking for swans.  The Flying Dragon Nebula or Sh2-114 is located in the constellation Cygnus (the Swan) at an unknown distance which is surprising to me.  It is a very faint nebula in an extremely rich star field which is probably why it is not imaged as much as other objects in the vicinity.  Similar regions typically are a result from a supernova, however, no remnants have been detected so the cause remains unclear.  

I first saw an image of this two years ago and loved the look but I wanted to wait until I had better equipment.  One of my favorite parts is the swirling filamentous clouds that make up the dragon.  The dragon sits in a surprisingly dense star field which is bittersweet as love stars, however, they make processing the nebula quite difficult.  I did a lot of star reduction in PI but did not use Starnet this time. The stars turned out nice and colorful after getting them to a manageable level. 

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1

Sh2-114 - Flying Dragon Nebula
Home Monroe, CT
Date: 7-31-20, 8-4-20, 8-5-20, 8-18-20, 8-19-20, 8-20-20
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805
f/7
Focal Reducer: AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO Ha, L, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 158 x 240s, L 84 x 90s, R 43 x 90s, G 39 x 90s, B 42 x 90s 
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: 22 C
Processing: APT, NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop.

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1

Milky Way Vacation Shots 2020

This image is looking south on the Twin Beach dock at Lake George in the foothills of Adirondack Park.  The skies are bortle 4 here as opposed to 5 in Monroe so a little better.  There were some low lying clouds but I was still able to get an image.  Jupiter and Saturn are in the center left with Jupiter being the brightest.  This was captured with the cheapo standard 18-55mm lens that comes with Canon and Nikon cameras.  I can't speak for Nikon but the Canon lens is not bad for astrophotography.  I have to thank Trevor Jones from AstroBackyard for bringing Topaz DeNoise AI to my attention - it works well!

Milky Way
Location: Lake George, NY
Date: 8-12-20
Camera: Canon T3i/600D modified
Lens: Canon 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6
Focal Length: 18mm
f/4.0
Mount: iOptron SkyGuider Pro on a Manfrotto Tripod
Filter: none
Autoguiding: none
Exposure: 15 x 30s (7.5min)
ISO: 1600
Processing: PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1 

Addendum

This image from the same location as the previous image only two days later and with a different lens.  This time I used the the Opteka 6.5mm F3.5 Fisheye to capture the Milky Way.  This lens is a good price at just under $150 and other brands such as Samyang also sell a version of this for not much more money.  These lenses are well suited for astrophotography as well as other uses and are great additions especially if you are on a limited budget - compare this to normal wide angle lenses which cost $500 or more.  Although it is manual, focusing is easier because it has an infinity setting unlike automatic lenses which go beyond the infinity setting.  So what is the downfall of these lenses?  Because they give a distorted view around the edges, under close up view the stars show elongation and suffer more chromatic aberration.    

At first glance 6.5mm image may look like the image I took with the 18mm lens, however, it is a much larger FOV.  The bottom of 6.5mm image starts closer to the dock and passes Deneb (and the constellation of Cygnus) whereas the 18mm image starts farther from the dock and ends just after Altair.

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1  

Milky Way
Location: Lake George, NY
Date: 8-14-20
Camera: Canon T3i/600D modified
Lens: Opteka 6.5mm F/3.5
Focal Length: 6.5mm
f/5.6
Mount: iOptron SkyGuider Pro on a Manfrotto Tripod
Filter: none
Autoguiding: none
Exposure: 4 x 60s (4min)
ISO: 1600
Processing: PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1  

Sh2-155 - Cave Nebula SHO (RGB Stars)

This is Sharpless 155 (Sh2-155) located 2400 light-years away in constellation Cepheus.  It is listed as an ionized region of Ha gas where star-formation occurs and is located on the edge of the Cepheus Molecular Cloud.  The nebula is being illuminated by the nearby hot stars with the largest component coming from the large bright blue star in the upper center.  The name Cave Nebula came from Patrick Moore who likened the nebula to an opening of a cave.  There is another object in Cepheus, a small reflection nebula named Ced 201, also known as the Cave Nebula.  My favorite part of this object is the bright gold rim of the cave and the orange knot (HH object) on the lower right.  

This object did not want me to image it for some reason.  You will see the last time I published a DSS was July 5th and I actually started on this the end of June.  This has to be the worst July I remember for lack of clear nights.  I tried to image every night that there was a 'thought' of clear weather - most ended with clouds.  Also, I have been using using N.I.N.A. for auto-focusing but it seemed to not work for a couple of nights so I had to do it the old-fashioned way - the reason it stopped working was I uploaded a new version and it rest the gain to zero.  Finally, I ended up with condensation on camera sensor or glass plate (ASI1600) probably caused my trying to image on tremendously humid nights.  Whatever the case I had to learn how to take my camera apart and rejuvenate the desiccant tablets - it is actually quite simple in case you ever have to do it.

Overall I am happy that I even captured something, I was getting concerned I would never finish this thing.  I used StarNet++ in PI and did most of the color adjustments in PS.  I am happy with the how colors turned out, however, I was hoping for more nebulosity and detail. This is a dim object though so if you image it, prepare to be on it for a little while, hopefully you will have an easier time than had. 

Date: 7-4-20, 7-5-20, 7-13-20, 7-14-20, 7-18-20, 7-19-20, 7-20-20, 7-20-20, 7-21-20, 7-25-20, 7-27-20, 7-28-20, 7-29-20

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1

Sh2 - Cave Nebula
Home Monroe, CT
Date: 7-4-20, 7-5-20, 7-13-20, 7-14-20, 7-18-20, 7-19-20, 7-20-20, 7-20-20, 7-21-20, 7-25-20, 7-27-20, 7-28-20, 7-29-20
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805
f/7
Focal Reducer: AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO Ha, OIII, SII, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 128 x 240s, OIII 148 x 240s, SII 130 x 240s, R 32 x 60s, G 29 x 60s, B 31 x 60s (28.6 hrs)

Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: 22 C
Processing: APT, NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop.

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1

More Comet Neowise F3 Picts

If you are imaging the Moon, the Moon is your friend.  If not, the Moon does bad things like makes gradients.  Anyways I shot the comet for one last time with the widefield 18mm Focal Length lens.  In hindsight I probably should have gone for a larger lens with a small FOV so the gradients would not have been so pronounced but I wanted to get the Big Dipper. Oh well, good by Neowise...

Addendum:
I went out again the next night (last night) as it cleared briefly at my house.  The was brighter, however, the sky was a bit less hazy and I used a 200mm lens rather than the 18mm lens.  There were still gradients but they were a bit easier to deal with.  It is still not great better than the previous night.  I found it difficult to process at it was very noisy but that was to be expected with 4.8 min of total exposure (19 x 15s).  I tried to preserve the ion trail but was only left with a hint of it.  It is definitely greener than a few weeks ago and this was the color of the exposures.  Anyway I am done with Comet Neowise I just wanted to finish off better than than image from the previous night.

Guide to Buying Your First Scope - My First Telescope & Second & Third...(2020)

Intro

Been asked a lot about getting telescope. 

Figured I  would Show what scopes I have and make buying guide for starting out.

Important to look at up-to-date videos
Rosewell Astronomy
Testing the new Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LAmx6Ict3M&t=552s

Wido Oerlemans
Best affordable telescope to start astrophotography in 2020?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmX0OkXHoSY&t=610s

Three Main Types

Refractor (1608)
1608 in the Netherlands, when a patent was submitted by Hans Lippershey.

Durable, Low Maintenance

Very expensive with higher aperture
chromatic aberration

Newtonian Reflector (1668)
Isaac Newton
Best bang for the buck 

Must collimate before use

Cassegrain Reflector (1672)
Laurent Cassegrain in 1672 described the design of a reflector with a small convex secondary mirror to reflect light through a central hole in the main mirror
Compact, in between price

Telescope	Specs	Includes	Price
Orion FunScope	Obj: 76mm FL: 300mm	-FunScope 76mm -20mm eyepiece -6mm eyepiece  -1.25" 2x Barlow lens -Red-dot reflex sight -Orion MoonMap 260	$69.99 Link
Celestron FirstScope	Obj: 76mm FL: 300mm	-FirstScope 76 mm  -20mm eyepiece -4mm eyepiece	54.99 Link
Orion SkyQuest XT8	Obj: 203mm FL: 1200mm	-25mm eyepiece -EZ Red Dot Finder  -2" Crayford focuser -2"-to-1.25" adapter	$399.99 Link
Sky-Watcher Classic 8”  Dobsonian	Obj: 203mm FL: 1200mm	-25mm eyepiece -10mm eyepiece -8x50 Finderscope  -2" Crayford focuser -2"-to-1.25" adapter	$405.00 Link
Orion ED80	Obj: 80mm FL: 600mm	-2" Crayford focuser -2"-to-1.25" adapter	$449.99 Link
Sky-Watcher Evostar  80ED	Obj: 80mm FL: 600mm	-8x50 Finderscope -2" Diagonal -25 mm eyepiece -5 mm eyepiece -Tube Rings  -Metal Carrying Case -2" Dual speed   focuser -2"-to-1.25" adapter	$825.00 Link
Orion CT80	Obj: 80mm FL: 400mm	-2" Crayford focuser -2"-to-1.25" adapter	$99.99 Link
Meade Infinity 80  Refractor	Obj: 80mm FL: 400mm	-Alt-Azimuth Mount -Red Dot Finder -2x 1.25" Barlow -26 mm eyepiece -9 mm eyepiece -6.3 mm eyepiece	$149.99 Link

Telescope	Specs	Includes	Price
Orion StarBlast 4.5” Reflector	Obj: 114mm FL: 450mm	-25mm eyepiece -10mm eyepiece -Orion MoonMap -Equatorial mount -EZ Red Dot Finder	$179.99 Link
Celestron AstroMaster 114 Reflector	Obj: 114mm FL: 450mm	-25mm eyepiece -10mm eyepiece -Orion MoonMap -Equatorial mount -EZ Red Dot Finder	$169.99 Link
Orion StarMax Table  Top Mak-Cass	Obj: 90mm FL: 1250mm	-90° diagonal -25mm eyepiece -10mm eyepiece -EZ Red Dot Finder -tripod attachment	$199.99 Link
Celestron NexStar 90  Computerized Scope	Obj: 90mm FL: 1250mm	-Computerized    Alt-Azimuth Mount -EZ Red Dot Finder -25mm eyepiece -9mm eyepiece -1.25" Star Diagonal -Hand Controller	$359.99 Link
Astro-Tech AT115  Refractor	Obj: 115mm FL: 805mm	-dual-speed 2.5"   focuser with 10:1  -hard sided case -rotatable focuser -camera angle     adjuster -retractable lens   shade/dew shield -dual hinged split   tube rings  -Vixen-style dovetail	$1399.99 Link