The sun on 27.10.13

Taken with the DMK31 and the new SS solar filter on the Skywatcher 80ED, a stitching of 3 frames. Still playing and getting to know the kit by taking pretty pictures. It's a very busy subject. Marvellous filter, made by Mark Wagner. Thanks Mark! I must try with a DSLR for the larger chip and small pixels. The .avi files were processed in Registax, and finally stitched and fiddled with and coloured in Photoshop.

 

The Sun in H Alpha

This was taken on the 27th of September 2013, using the new solar filter from Solar Systems on the Skywatcher 80ED. The camera used was a monochrome DMK. The day was hazy and this was my first attempt at photography with the filter, but I'm pleased with the result, far more detail than I'd been able to get with the Coronado PST we'd been using before.
The processing was done in Registax6 and Photoshop, colouring by Photoshop, by order of Lesley.

M45

This was taken from the Austerfield Observatory as a test for the new Focal Reducer to the 106FSQ, on a clear night with the malevolent moon looking on through some haze and heavy dew, not the best of conditions, but it was a test for acreage and composition, and in that latter the cluster looks a bit lost, but perhaps because I'm used to seeing it fill the frame more.
I used the 106 with a .73 focal reducer and an M25C. The guiding was with the H9C in the Vixen260L and an AP .62 focal reducer, to gain a wider field for easier choice of fatter stars. All this sat on the AP900GTO mount. The exposure was 15x300sec. Calibration in Astroart with masterflat and master bias and stacked by sigma average. Finally processed in Photoshop.

NGC 7538

An exciting emission and reflection nebula in Cepheus, namely NGC 7538. It is the host to ongoing star formation and includes the largest known protostar. This is, apparently, embedded in a collapsing core of 85-115 solar masses on the way to becoming a high mass B star.

Taken by Rhys Owen from Hatfield on the 8th of September, using a modified Canon 600D on a Takahashi 106FSQ. Guiding was done with a Celestron Nexstar8 controlled by PHD. The exposure was 3x500sec., captured in Nebulosity, calibrated in Astroart with darks, no flats, and finally processed in Photoshop.