The Great Orion Nebula

[Starman]

Shot this last night. Poor tracking and Singapore's bright sky made this difficult, nevertheless it's a good first try using 10D on super-dim deep sky objects in Singapore



this object is 1,500 light years away

and here is one in B&W. Kind of nicer



Here are the ones taken at ISO3200



and its b&W version

[MaGixShOe]

how to identify this thingy?

[Starman]

Originally Posted by MaGixShOe how to identify this thingy?

u mean where to find it?

[djork]

what mount are you using?

[Starman]

Originally Posted by djork what mount are you using?

Meade LXD55 mount. Here is the picture of the mount and scope :

[MaGixShOe]

Originally Posted by Starman u mean where to find it?

yah.. how to see that it is this M42?

[frisky]

Originally Posted by MaGixShOe yah.. how to see that it is this M42?

Looks like his scope is a computerised model.
If so, then he just have to align it, and then key in the objects he
want to see, and the computer will point there.

If you wanna do it with a non computerised scope, get a star chart,
and point it to the sword of the orion at low power. Then magnify it
as neccessary.

Or are you refering to how to identify that this picture is indeed that of the M42?

[frisky]

Nice shots. But looks like the ISO 3200 not quite usable.......

How much did you pay for the scope, and where did you get it from?

[Wai]

Originally Posted by frisky Nice shots. But looks like the ISO 3200 not quite usable....... How much did you pay for the scope, and where did you get it from?

stacking suppose to average or cancel the noise because noise is a random thing...

i think it is because never stack enough to show the details...

first pic was a stack of 50 shots and the 2nd only 8 shots

[Ian]

Quote: Originally posted by StarmanShot this last night. Poor tracking and Singapore's bright sky made this difficult, nevertheless it's a good first try using 10D on super-dim deep sky objects in Singapore

Not a bad effort, but I'd hardly Call M42 a super dim object as it's naked eye visible.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by Ian Not a bad effort, but I'd hardly Call M42 a super dim object as it's naked eye visible.

True, it's a naked eye object at mag. 4 , but you have to consider how bright is our night skies. Our skies make a lot of visible deep sky objects, invisible.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Starman True, it's a naked eye object at mag. 4 , but you have to consider how bright is our night skies. Our skies make a lot of visible deep sky objects, invisible.

Lol true, however it's still a mag 3.7 for the inner loop actually or mag 2.9 for the central core which is the naked eye section in most urban locations. Using an appropriate LP filter may help.

[frisky]

Hmm...... I was looking out for Mar almost everyday for a week before
I saw it. That was how bad the sky is........Most days it is covered by clouds.......

[Starman]

Originally Posted by Ian Lol true, however it's still a mag 3.7 for the inner loop actually or mag 2.9 for the central core which is the naked eye section in most urban locations. Using an appropriate LP filter may help.

Problem with LP filter is that it cut away star lights too..leaving the stars behind dim.

Then the picture will come out with a very unnatural looking Orion Nebula.

UHC filter will bring out even more details on the nebula, but the stars behind will be totally gone. It will be a compromise somewhere.

Taking deep sky in Singapore is one of the worst thing you can do. Andromeda Galaxy is also at mag 4, but it is hardly visible that night and we tried 15 seconds at it. Totally no go except the core.

[Ian]

Hehe I never need any LP or UHC type filters .. the benefits of nice clean *dark* skies.

As for the Andromeda Galaxy it's a massive ask from my latitude as it peaks at 11 odd degrees above the horizon, right in the middle of the skyglow and rubbish seeing region.... ARGH.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by Ian Hehe I never need any LP or UHC type filters .. the benefits of nice clean *dark* skies. As for the Andromeda Galaxy it's a massive ask from my latitude as it peaks at 11 odd degrees above the horizon, right in the middle of the skyglow and rubbish seeing region.... ARGH.

Wow..I didn't notice you are in Australia. *envy*. Surely nice and clean dark skies there!

M31 would be really low for you though, but hey, you have loads of nice southern sky objects overhead! (Eta Carina nebula, 47 Tucanae, M8, M20, M17, M22 and the really nice Omega Centauri, just to name a few)

By the way Ian, if I ever go to australia, where would be the best place for me to stay for astro imaging? I know the desert is good, but I need to have a place that have proper accomodation facilities too....

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Starman Wow..I didn't notice you are in Australia. *envy*. Surely nice and clean dark skies there! M31 would be really low for you though, but hey, you have loads of nice southern sky objects overhead! (Eta Carina nebula, 47 Tucanae, M8, M20, M17, M22 and the really nice Omega Centauri, just to name a few) By the way Ian, if I ever go to australia, where would be the best place for me to stay for astro imaging? I know the desert is good, but I need to have a place that have proper accomodation facilities too....

Not really, the skies around Sydney (and Melbourne) for example have a light dome that covers the better part of 100km after you leave the periphery of the outskirts of the built up area.

On the East coast there's only one location worth going to and that's the Budget Motel at Coonabarrabran. It's roughly a 5-6 hour drive (for a hardened Aussie driver, allow a whole day for you SG types hehe as it's near 550km drive from Sydney each way). The motel is a 2-3 star joint, cheap and has a big back lawn where you can setup a scope. The only down side is dew is a big problem there pretty much year round so dew heaters are a must. The bonus is that the site is 3km out of town there's NIL light pollution and it's 20 or so Km from the Siding Spring observatory. The seeing there is as good or better than most high altitude US sites.

Over here in the West side of Australia I'd recommend somewhere out East of Goomalling or Wyalkatchem which is a 100-200km drive North East of Perth. Both sites have pub/hotel type accomodation which is basic but liveable. My normal dark sites by the way range from 50km out of Northern Perth to 350km south. Normally I sleep in the car as snakes can be a bit of a worry.

[wacko]

Originally Posted by Starman Wow..I didn't notice you are in Australia. *envy*. Surely nice and clean dark skies there! M31 would be really low for you though, but hey, you have loads of nice southern sky objects overhead! (Eta Carina nebula, 47 Tucanae, M8, M20, M17, M22 and the really nice Omega Centauri, just to name a few) By the way Ian, if I ever go to australia, where would be the best place for me to stay for astro imaging? I know the desert is good, but I need to have a place that have proper accomodation facilities too....

but wouldn't going to australia for astro imaging mean bringing all your heavy equipment there? *wince*

[Wai]

Originally Posted by wacko but wouldn't going to australia for astro imaging mean bringing all your heavy equipment there? *wince*

not suprising for a hardcore like him....i am sure when he retired he will migrate to Hawaii or US.....where telescope are cheap and easily available...and the sky/location also great for astro

[Starman]

Originally Posted by wacko but wouldn't going to australia for astro imaging mean bringing all your heavy equipment there? *wince*

well, if the sky is dark enough, you dun really need big scopes for imaging. A modest 3-4 inch scope will do. But need the tracking mount though....