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Posts Made By: dan kowall

March 14, 2003 11:12 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Mounting curiosity

Posted By dan kowall
Help:
I need to get a new medium duty equatorial mount that will be pier mounted and used mostly for ccd imaging. I've rounded up the following suspects: HGM Titan, EM200, MI-250, and CGE but I have no personal knowledge of any of these mounts; You people do. Could you share your reccomendations or additions to the list with me?
Thank you,
dan kowall

June 8, 2004 01:48 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

IC 1318 in Ha

Posted By dan kowall
Good viewing nights have been rare here in the Northeast in 2004. While experimenting with some guiding parameters I took this quick shot of IC 1318, The Butterfly Nebula, in Cygnus.
FSQ 106 with ST 2000XM
Schuler 10nm Ha filter
15 x 4 minutes

Thanks for looking,

dan kowall

July 21, 2004 09:37 PM Forum: Home Observatories

My clear night home

Posted By dan kowall
Hi all,
My observatory is pretty much done now so I thought I'd post some pictures of it.
It's an 8'x12' oak post and beam stucture with a roll off roof. There is a small heated computer room and the viewing area has two piers for scopes.
I made it in such a way that should I ever want to move it, except for the roof, the whole structure can be disassembled into the individual oak members and a bunch of 4'x8' panels that can be reassembled some where else.
I built a passive ventilation system that draws cool air from underneath and exhausts it through a functional cupola on the roof.
It's extremely weather tight; I've never had a drop of rain inside.
The ability to walk out of the house and be observing/imaging five minutes later makes life so much easier and pleasant.
For you woodworkers out there, I used half lapped dovetails on some of the knee braces:
http://members.cox.net/my_astro_images/framing%20details.jpg

dan kowall

August 10, 2004 09:34 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

First Perseid Image

Posted By dan kowall
While imaging last night I caught a meteor on one of my raw frames. It's probably a Perseid. ST2000XM on an FSQ 106. A single raw frame with no calibration. I also saw a couple of meteors and a satellite visually. These are much more interesting than the cloud bottoms I've been seeing this past month.

dan kowall

August 27, 2004 10:10 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

IC 5070

Posted By dan kowall
Hello all,
I haven't posted here recently; I've been woodsheding, trying to get things working together nicely. I know I should be dithering my images, it's next on my list of procedures to add, but I thought I'd post this one anyway.
This is a section of The Pelican in Ha (12 x 10 min, 1x1). ST2000XM on an FSQ-106. Sigma combined, level and curves in Photoshop.
Comments and advice welcomed.

dan kowall

August 29, 2004 04:42 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

M 33

Posted By dan kowall
I'm having color alignment problems, so I had to align this manually. The alignment software that I used couldn't do subpixel alignment so this isn't the best color alignment.
I'm not one to let pride get in the way of posting, though.
LRGB 80:16:10:12 (RGB binned 2x2) ST2000XM on an FSQ-106

Comments and advice welcomed.

dan kowall

September 1, 2004 07:17 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

NGC 7822?

Posted By dan kowall
This is first light for a new camera. Ha was in order since the moon was almost full. I thought I was dialed in on NGC 7822 but I can't seem to match my image with the one on SEDS. Oh well, at least I bagged something.
ST10XME on an FSQ-106 at f/5
Ha (10nm) 30 x 5 min,1x1

Comments and advice welcomed.

dan kowall

September 3, 2004 06:08 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

IC 1318

Posted By dan kowall
Hello all,
This is The Butterfly Nebula from last night.

ST10XME on an FSQ-106, 10nm Ha, 23 x 5 min; darks, no flats, levels and curves in Photoshop.
A larger version is here:
http://members.cox.net/my_astro_images/IC_1318,Ha,3%20sept,med.jpg
Comments and advice welcomed. Thank you,

dan kowall

September 6, 2004 10:41 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

IC 1396

Posted By dan kowall
An image from the other night:

ST10XME on an FSQ-106 at f/5
Ha, 10nm, 26 x 5 min. Sigma combined; darks, no flats; levels and curves in Photoshop.
Comments and advice welcomed.
Thanks,

dan kowall

September 28, 2004 06:35 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Mirror Evaluation

Posted By dan kowall
Can someone interpret the attached numbers and image for me?
Dumb it down, please.
Thanks in advance,

dan kowall

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