Image of the day

Captured by
Douglas Rollain

M20 Trifid Nebula in LRGBHa

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Posts Made By: Richard Keppler

February 1, 2007 05:53 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Sharpless 2-240

Posted By Richard Keppler
Thanks for posting that image. You have been doing some really nice work lately and it really shows in this view of Semeis 147. I have never tried imaging it myself but I have observed some of the brighter filaments with my 16" Newtonian.

February 1, 2007 06:03 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

IC405 Flaming Star

Posted By Richard Keppler
Roland Christen said:

It was finally clear (and very cold) last night, which gave me the opportunity to do some testing on a telecompressor for the 155EDF refractor and STL11K camera. IC405 was very near the almost full Moon, but with H-a filter there was minimal problem capturing this nebula. Exposure 7 x 5 minutes @ F5.3

Rolando

Excellent image Roland! Wow, a telecompressor for the 155! From what I can see of it on my laptop screen, and the so-so resolution fo the image, the stars look good from the center into the corners. Is this a new dedicated telecompressor for the 155 or a test of the 160 telecompressor used on the 155? I am very interested as you can probably guess and likely already know.

February 1, 2007 06:12 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M42 HaRGB

Posted By Richard Keppler
Hi Rob,

That looks quite amazing. I have never seen M42 look so etherial! I really like it.

Rick.

February 3, 2007 07:54 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M1 "The Crab" in Color

Posted By Richard Keppler
Looks good Rob. Maybe a tiny bit weak on the blue component. The whiter stars seem have a greenish tint. Maybe it is just my monitor. Looks like the AP130 is working nicely. Are you doing this locally or heading to the east and darker skies?

Rick

April 25, 2007 05:03 AM Forum: Astro-Physics

Re: What is it worth?

Posted By Richard Keppler
Oh dear, and all this time I thought I could look through it too ;-)

I'm working on getting the adapters made to my FLI filter wheel/camera. The TCC arrived today, very pretty and surprisingly quite large! I'll be forwarding it off to my amateur astronomer/machinist friend if he requires it so that he can get the threading right. I hope he can get away without using the TCC and can use the 2" ST8-10 adapter alone along with the thread info supplied by Howard. Having the male thread to test things with is usually handy and the only sample of that I have is on the TCC.

Rick.

June 13, 2007 09:14 PM Forum: Astro-Physics

NGC6888 with 140mm refractor

Posted By Richard Keppler
8) 8) Cool. I'll be waiting for the notification! You are using the 155TCC?

Rick.

July 5, 2007 02:36 AM Forum: Astro-Physics

If your gonna have a dilema....

Posted By Richard Keppler
What a nice position to be in. I am a long ways off on the 130 list having signed up just recently. I will likely get in on the 140 since I signed up just a day or two after NEAF ended when the notification list was updated with the 140, prior to it becoming common knowledge. It is not the scope I really want though. I would much rather have the take-down 130.
I can tell you first hand from comparing my 155 with a friends 130 that visually you will prefer the brighter image, slight increase in focal length for the moon and planets and the slight increase in resolution in the 140 to that of the 130. It won't be a huge improvement, but the 140 will be a better visual instrument. It also can be upgraded to or possibly ordered with the 4 inch focuser to take advantage of the large field flattener and telecompressor, something that the 130 will not be able to do. I have a Traveler which is a joy to use but I really want a larger scope for traveling with to certain places I vacation. Maybe we can arrange something?

August 18, 2007 06:52 PM Forum: Astro-Physics

Mach one Clutch release knobs

Posted By Richard Keppler
Robert Howe said:

I am very much enjoying my Mach 1, it is the perfect mount for a 5 to 6 inch refractor or Mak-Newt. I have two issues, though. One is the loud noise it makes when slewing--I presume this is because the motors are more exposed than they were on my AP600. The other is the difficulty I have loosening and tightening the clutch release knobs on the DEC and RA axes. Does any after-market manufacturer make a larger, easier to grab knob, like the heavily studded knobs that Losmandy sells?

I haven't seen any mention of after market knobs. They would get too large and start to interfere with the mounting plate. I find that I can adjust the knobs somewhat tighter with a hex key after hand tightening if there is not enough friction.

Agreed, she be a noisy one slewing, especially at 1200! Even at the 600 speed it seems very noisy, but I wouldn't trade mine in on anything. It is super accurate, has excellent capacity, is relatively lightweight and appears to be bulletproof, by far my favourite mount for a 4 to 6 inch instrument.


September 10, 2007 09:02 PM Forum: Astro-Physics

Will 140's affect aftermarket sales of 130's?

Posted By Richard Keppler
I seriously doubt that the few 140's being released will even make a noticeable blip. There is WAY more demand than there is product. That is why the lists go back to 1999 or 2000. Even the 140 list is now being described as "quite long" by Roland and Marj.



September 21, 2007 01:49 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

I didn't know you can see the moon in the daytime!

Posted By Richard Keppler
Pretty cool images. I like the daytime moon shot of course but the higher res version of the transit "video" is outstanding. Thanks for sharing!

Rick.

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