Image of the day

Captured by
Erwin Forbragd

M33 in Triangulum

About Astromart

My Account

New to Astromart?

Register an account...

Need Help?

Posts Made By: Charles Hakes

June 25, 2010 10:13 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Cooler CCD and Sombrero

Posted By Charles Hakes
Here is a link showing the fancy new camera cooling water pump at the Fort Lewis Observatory. Details are there too:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=213

It works great, and I hope to be able to post some interesting results of bias frames at different temperatures.

M104 was a target of opportunity. Only got 21 minutes, but it had reasonably good tracking with the new AO-8. There is also a link to a previous version of M104 (in color) from 2007.

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=211

June 25, 2010 10:21 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

First light 3nm H-alpha M16

Posted By Charles Hakes
We have had this 3nm Astrodon H-alpha filter for a while, but have not had a chance to try it. I did get to swap it for the 6nm last month, but had too many other new things going on to try it until a couple of nights ago. I had planned on finishing the M17, but the guide star for M16 was too good to pass up. This is "only" 90 minutes, and I haven't decided if I should add more time, or just move on to different objects or filters and call this one done.

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=212

Thanks for looking.

Charlie

July 16, 2010 09:33 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M101 closeup

Posted By Charles Hakes
Hi all,

Back from backpacking so now I can get back to "play". I guess this one is mostly finished (for now), but I did find another hour of L on a different night that I haven't decided if it is worth going back to add. Lots of nights and telescope configurations, but total ~6 hours of data here. Details and a higher resolution version are here :

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=214

I thought about increasing contrast and saturation on the final version, but didn't want the "cartoon" effect to show up on half the monitors. Comments on that would be most appreciated.

Thanks for looking.
Charlie

July 17, 2010 09:56 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M20 - Trifid 2010

Posted By Charles Hakes
Another clear night, so got to add some more RGB to data from last month. And even had time to process it. Image and details are here:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=215

Charlie

July 25, 2010 12:46 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M98 puzzle

Posted By Charles Hakes
Someone directed me to a puzzle, so I thought I would pass it along. I have my own ideas, so don't want to influence. Especially if someone already knows the "right" answer. (Since he asked me if this was an asteroid, I guess I should throw that question in.)

He sent me the attached image from some "newer" sky viewing product. Apparently there is a dark blob near M98 that doesn't show up in most images. Turns out to be scans from the POSS I survey. The link they sent to a more original had a good negative image, so just look up M98 here.

http://aps.umn.edu/catalog/skybox

So what are your thoughts on what the dark spot could be, and why?

Charlie

July 27, 2010 11:58 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M101 reprocessed

Posted By Charles Hakes
Stuck in monsoon season for now...

I included the 50 minutes of Luminance that I "found" and re-combined everything from scratch, increasing the "percentage" used, so more dim details are showing up. Spent more time fixing stars around the edge, and then did increase the contrast a little over last time. The color is from the same file, but I minimized the stars on the red channel so they matched a little better. I hope y'all like the change. Anything else I should try with this? Thanks for looking.

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=216

Charlie

August 6, 2010 05:10 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Highpass filter overlay reprocessing

Posted By Charles Hakes
More playing during the monsoon...

Similar to the way Floyd suggested, I reprocessed the M101 data from scratch using an overlay layer with a highpass filter applied on the Luminance. I like the improved contrast, but need to figure out a better way to do the stars. Here is the problem. They all get bigger and have sharper edges. But when you process them separately, the highpass filter will darken rings around them that don't flatten very well. I tried several techniques, and it would help if the stars near the edge had been rounder to start with, but they are what they are. Definitely more detail shows up in the dim areas, but I wonder if the brighter stuff now looks "too" processed. I also fiddled with the color balance. Feedback?

The newer M101 is here:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=218

Charlie

August 14, 2010 12:35 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M16 OIII

Posted By Charles Hakes
Finally had a couple of clear nights and I got some data on one of them. Here is 90 minutes of [OIII] from last night:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=220

Just for grins, I did a really quick combine with the H-alpha from a few weeks ago. The registration needs another tweak, but I will wait until I get some [SII], maybe tonight. That image is here:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=221

Charlie

August 16, 2010 12:58 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M16 narrow band done = star wars

Posted By Charles Hakes
We finally got some [SII], but the seeing/wind was less than optimal. OK, it was bad. However, I did use it with the H-a and [OIII] to "finish" the image. That's where the "star wars" started - trying to equalize between channels. Any suggestions as to further minimizing the star size would be most appreciated. (Maybe spend more time collimating and re-take on a calmer night?) This version adds ~40% layer of L to sharpen up the stars as described on the linked page. Anyway, I hope you like it, and thanks for looking.

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=222

and the [SII] is here:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=223

Charlie


August 26, 2010 02:32 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M22

Posted By Charles Hakes
A target of opportunity only ~25° up. Turns out this cluster is bigger than the FOV, so this is just the core. The high-rez version is at ~.53"/pixel. I was pleased with the color combination this time. Details are here:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=225

Charlie

Funding Member

Sponsors


View all sponsors

Search