Update: Take #2 of the front patio framing experiment
I’d added CTB1 Garlic Nebula to my target list last year and planned to capture it this year starting in October. But when I planned the sequence in SGP’s Framing & Mosiac Wizard, I couldn’t see where the nebula was within the star field. So, I built a sequence as best I could, guessing at where the garlic head-shaped nebula was located. As I was doing the trip planning for our October dark skies trip, I decided I didn’t want to spend precious dark skies time capturing the area around/near or just a portion of the DSO. So, I deferred the target from my October dark skies trip’s plan until I could validate the framing during an imaging session from the front patio. This is the result of that framing test…Take #1 (that validated the need for this experiment!) and Take #2 (that dialed in the location!!)
October dark skies adventure: 2^3 targets!
After a crazy month of September spent crossing the globe on business travel – a week in DC, two weeks in Australia, and a week in Boston – and looking forward at the (equally crazy) calendar for the rest of the year, we decided to take advantage of the October New Moon weekend. I got home late Friday night from Boston and we took off as early as we could get packed up for the dark skies of the Comanche National Grasslands in Southeastern Colorado. We’ve been focused on Base 2 math – with my 2^6 birthday in October 2024 – thus the 2^3 theme of this blog. Two nights of imaging, with two telescopes each planned to image two targets is two raised to the third power, or eight images!
The Final Puzzle Piece in the Auto-Focuser Saga Falls into Place!
Since returning from my March 2024 Atacama Desert imaging trip, I’ve been struggling with hardware and software issues. The GPS card in my Rainbow Astro RST-135 mount seems to have been the final malfunctioning piece of hardware to be identified, diagnosed, and fixed in early June. Mid-June provided the first clear skies to give the full set-up a test run. …and it seems apropos that I would chose to image M8 Lagoon Nebula!
Exercising and experimenting with the focuser and auto-focuser
I spent from mid-August through early September working to overcome the issues I’ve encountered with the ZWO EAF autofocuser. Running (inside) in/out movement experiments to determine the various telescope’s movement in response to the EAF’s commands and (outside in clear skies) exercises with the SGP EAF algorithm. I don’t yet have a full data set across all my telescopes and filters – but I can say – I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel and I have prevailed over that pesky little red box!!
Crayford vs. Rack&Pinion focuser – time will tell…
We finally had a clear night at home, to give me the chance to run the autofocuser exercise with my new rack&pinion focuser…which is still being elusive. Nevertheless, when patience ran thin with that process, I was able to gather data on NGC6888 Crescent Nebula.
Powderhorn July 4th dark & clear skies!
We finally had a forecast for clear skies at a dark skies location during the New Moon weekend! (You may recall that the last time we had that was in January – for one windy and cold night!) So we packed up the Beast – with both the Southern Cross and Big Bertha (and all their paraphenalia), all our camping equipment, gourmet meal fixings, and Zeus – and headed to the Gunnison, Colorado area. We camped for three nights over the 4th of July long weekend very near to the spot we camped last June on BLM land near Powderhorn. We had windy days, but gloriously dark and still nights allowing me to capture data on seven (YES – 7!!) targets.
The Final Errant Piece of the Southern Cross Equipment Falls into Place!
Since returning from my March 2024 Atacama Desert imaging trip, I’ve been struggling with hardware and software issues. The GPS card in my Rainbow Astro RST-135 mount seems to have been the final malfunctioning piece of hardware to be identified, diagnosed, and fixed in early June. Mid-June provided the first clear skies to give the full set-up a test run. …and it seems apropos that I would chose to image M8 Lagoon Nebula!
The Flying Bat obsession continues
May brings the return of visibility of nebulae to the Northern Hemisphere skies! With that returned visibility, comes my return to the obsession I started last year (with our dark skies trip to Powderhorn, Colorado in June 2023) of imaging the SH2-129 Flying Bat and OU-4 Giant Squid Nebulae. This image still isn’t great – but better than the one I posted last year, so stand by for more with this teaser now!!
Aurora Borealis tint the clouds over Colorado Springs
“Americans as far south as Alabama and Northern California are being treated to a show of the northern lights this weekend from a powerful geomagnetic storm which reached Earth. “The aurora is when we get energized particles that have left the sun in more quantities than usual, and they interact with Earth’s magnetic barrier,” Shawn Dahl, senior space weather forecaster for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, explained to CBS News. The geomagnetic storm reached Earth Friday evening as an “extreme” G5, according to the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. Geomagnetic storms are ranked from G1 to G5.” (From: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/maps-northern-lights-forecast-us-aurora-borealis/)
Total Solar Eclipse collage
The Great American Eclipse, visible in totality from Texas to Maine, was an event not to be missed! We, like many others, put our bets on Texas weather being clearer in early April than anywhere else in the country. But…in a weird twist of fate, those in Ohio and Maine had clearer weather. From our vantage point in San Saba, Texas we had clear skies right up until a big cloud rolled through about 15 minutes prior to totality! But it wasn’t completely dense, so we were able to see and photograph all the major phases of totality, get some interesting “eclipse in the clouds” images, and have another fun-filled and amazing adventure!