Fun facts
Distance: 9,800 +/- 2000 light years
Apparent Dimensions: 9’ x 6’
Constellation: Perseus
Designations: NGC1491, Ced25, LBN704, LBN706, SH2-206
{From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1491}
Capture & Processing Notes
We cancelled our Thanksgiving trip to Cincinnati because of Zeus – he had been bitten by a horsefly who, apparently, had deposited a worm into his paw. On Monday afternoon (25Nov2024), before our Tuesday departure, he started limping, by Monday night he could barely walk, and when I got up early on Tuesday morning to take him for a trail walk before leaving for DEN, we discovered the bloody paw – and he would not walk more than a few feet before sitting or laying down. After cancelling the Cincinnati trip, we briefly thought about driving down to Albuquerque on Friday-Saturday. But then rethought that, and decided that since it was still a holiday weekend it would be better to just stay home. I suggested a dark skies trip, since both Comanche and Kiowa National Grasslands had clear skies forecast – that idea was vetoed, we weren’t ready and it was still a holiday weekend, it would be better to stay home. So, I decided to set up Big Bertha and capture some data from the front patio, so as not to completely forego the clear nights of and surrounding the New Moon.
I started the weekend’s imaging on Friday night (29Nov2024) with CTB1 Garlic Nebula, while I waited for SH2-308 Dolphin Head Nebula to rise at about midnight. The start (at 1824) and meridian flip (at 1930) both went well. But something shut down SGP after the last image was captured at 2154MST. The mount was still tracking and the laptop was still on, but none of the software was running, so no images were captured for the ~2 hours prior to the planned target swap at midnight. That marked the beginning of a week-long struggle with DSO-CTRL2 shutting down randomly in the middle of a sequence.
Sunday night (1Dec2024) again was clear, so I decided, even though it was a “school night,” to image to explore what was going on with the laptop. NGC1491 Fossil Footprint was the first image of the evening. The sequence ran for 3:12 hour, then the laptop shut down. I didn’t discover the shutdown until I came outside to switch targets and picked up imaging with SH2-261 Lower’s Nebula at approximately 2210MST.
Sequence Plan (1Dec2024): Gain: 158, Temp: -0°C, offset=30. 37x300sec. Total: 185 minutes (3:05hrs). Captured 1Dec2024, 1757 – 2109 MST.
Processing summary: Captured in SGP, stacked in APP (Adaptive Airy), star removal with Starnet++, processing with LR/PS
Equipment
Equipment: All equipment controlled by DSO CTRL2 HP Probook running Sequence Generator Pro v4.4.1.1441.
- Imaging (ASI2400-BB-FF-LPro): ZWO ASI2400MC imaging camera on (Big Bertha) Orion 8″ f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph Telescope, Teleskop Service (TS) 2.5” Rack and Pinon Focuser M90, Teleskop Service Flattener 1.0x for RC Telescopes (TS-RCFLAT2), Optolong L-Pro LP filter
- Autofocuser: ZWO EAF Electronic Automatic Focuser (EAF-5V-STD)
- Mount: Rainbow Astro RST-300 (controlled by iHubo ASCOM driver)
- Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster for polar alignment)
- Autoguiding: Orion 60mm Multi-Use Guide Scope with Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono Astrophotography Camera (controlled by PHD2)
Summary
Captured: 1 December 2024. 37x300seconds; total: 185 minutes (3:05hrs)
Shooting location: HCH, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Equipment: ZWO ASI2400MC, Big Bertha, Rainbow Astro RST-300
Processing summary: Captured in SGP, stacked in APP (Adaptive Airy), star removal with Starnet++, processing with LR/PS