All posts by Peter Folkesson

Blog

MY FIRST AUTO GUIDER

2012-12-21 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

SkyWatcher SynGuider

I have now made some tests with the SkyWatcher SynGuider autoguider I have recently acquired along with a Celestron 80mm guide scope attached to my good old Meade 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. My experiences with it so far are pretty good. It can take a long time to find a good guide star to lock on to (up to 1 hour so far) but since the ratio of usable light subs is increased from 10-30% without autoguider up to 100% with the autoguider, it definitely pays off using it. However the added weight of the guide scope and autoguider required me to also purchase a third counter weight for my mount and I’m afraid I’m now at the limit of the mount’s specified carrying capacity.

M52

2012-12-13 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M52

2012-12-13 19:30-00:30
Cold (-16 degrees C), faint fogs followed by clear, no moon

M52
Exposures:
10x180s LIGHT
8x90s DARK
15 BIAS
16 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide scope
Software: PixInsight

M33

2012-12-13 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M33

2012-12-13 19:30-00:30
Cold (-16 degrees C), faint fogs followed by clear, no moon

M33
Exposures:
10x180s LIGHT
8x90s DARK
15 BIAS
16 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide scope
Software: PixInsight

M57

2012-12-08 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M57

2012-12-08 18:00-19:30
Faint clouds, Milkyway invisible, no wind, no moon

M57
Exposures:
16x90s LIGHT
6x60s DARK
15 BIAS
16 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide scope
Software: PixInsight

M39

2012-12-01 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M39

2012-12-01 20:00-21:30
Faint clouds, full moon, no wind

M39
Exposures:
1x60s+1x120s+1x180s+1x240s+1x300s LIGHT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide scope
Software: PixInsight

Blog

FIRST LIGHT WITH NEW MOUNT

2012-11-25 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M27

Must say I’m pleased with the behaviour of my new mount. Here is the first astrophoto with it. It’s M27 The Dumbbell Nebula, a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula. The photo was taken 2012-10-09 (the first clear night since I bought the mount in the beginning of September).15x60s exposures at ISO 1600 (14x60s black, 10 bias and 8 flat exposures were added) and processed with PixInsight.

M31, M32

2012-11-12 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M31, M32

2012-11-12 20:00-00:30
Cloudy followed by clear weather, no wind

M31 / M32
Exposures:
14x60s+13x90s LIGHT
10x90s DARK15 BIAS
16 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: PixInsight

M15

2012-11-12 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M15

2012-11-12 20:00-00:30
Cloudy followed by clear weather, no wind

M15
Exposures:
7x60s LIGHT
10x60s DARK
15 BIAS
16 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: PixInsight

NGC6888

2012-10-11 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

NGC6888

2012-10-11 20:00-22:30
Clear followed by clouds and compact fog, no wind

NGC6888
Exposures:
10x120s LIGHT
10x120s DARK
10 BIAS
8 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: PixInsight

M11

2012-10-11 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M11

2012-10-11 20:00-22:30
Clear followed by clouds and compact fog, no wind

M11
Exposures:
9x60s LIGHT
14x60s DARK
10 BIAS
8 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: PixInsight

M101

2012-10-10 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M101

2012-10-10 20:00-23:30
Windy, clear

M101
Exposures:
16x90s LIGHT
10x60s DARK
10 BIAS
8 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: PixInsight

M97

2012-10-10 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M97

2012-10-10 20:00-23:30
Windy, clear

M97
Exposures:
11x60s+6x90s LIGHT
10x60s DARK
10 BIAS
8 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: PixInsight

NGC7331

2012-10-09 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

NGC7331

2012-10-09 20:30-00:30
Wind, some faint clouds

NGC7331
Exposures:
22x60s LIGHT
14x60s DARK
10 BIAS
8 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: PixInsight

M92

2012-10-09 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M92

2012-10-09 20:30-00:30
Wind, some faint clouds

M92
Exposures:
7x60s LIGHT
14x60s DARK
10 BIAS
8 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: PixInsight

M27

2012-10-09 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M27

2012-10-09 20:30-00:30
Wind, some faint clouds

M27
Exposures:
15x60s LIGHT
14x60s DARK
10 BIAS
8 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: PixInsight

M81, M82

2012-09-07 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M81, M82

2012-09-07 22:30-00:00
No wind, faint clouds, half moon at the horizon

M82 / M81
Exposures:
8x60s LIGHT
10x60s DARK
10 BIAS
8 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS 600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: Meade Standard Wedge and Tripod
Software: PixInsight, DeepSkyStacker

M51

2012-08-14 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M51

2012-08-14 23:30-01:30
No wind, faint fog clouds

M51
Exposures:
5x60s LIGHT
6x60s DARK
10 BIAS
8 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS 600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: Meade Standard Wedge and Tripod
Software: PixInsight, DeepSkyStacker

M96 / M95 with SN1295AW

2012-04-15 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M96+M95 with SN1295AW

2012-04-15 22:00-00:00
No moon, clear, moist

M96 / M95 with SN1295AW
Exposures:
13st 40s LIGHT
4st 40s DARK
4st FLAT
4st BIAS

Camera: Canon EOS 600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: Meade Standard Wedge and Tripod
Software: PixInsight, DeepSkyStacker

M44

2012-04-15 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M44

2012-04-15 22:00-00:00
No moon, clear, moist

M44
Exposures:
8x30s LIGHT
4x30s DARK
4 FLAT
4 BIAS

Camera: Canon EOS 600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: Meade Standard Wedge and Tripod
Software: PixInsight, DeepSkyStacker

M67

2012-04-07 Peter Folkesson Leave a comment

M67

2012-04-07 22:00-23:30
Rising full moon

M67
Exposures:
7x30s LIGHT
4x30s DARK
4 FLAT
4 BIAS

Camera: Canon EOS 600D, ISO1600
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: Meade Standard Wedge and Tripod
Software: PixInsight, DeepSkyStacker

Peter Folkesson's astrophotos