2013-03-01 20:00-23:00
Faint clouds in the west, windy, -1 degrees C
NGC2264
Exposures:
18x180s LIGHT
16x180s DARK
20 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
2013-03-01 20:00-23:00
Faint clouds in the west, windy, -1 degrees C
M35
Exposures:
10x120s LIGHT
10x120s DARK
20 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
2013-02-28 20:00-22:00
Clear, many thin clouds, hard wind, rising full moon, -1 degrees C
M42
Exposures:
8×30+5×60+7×120+4x180s LIGHT
16x180s DARK
20 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
2013-02-02 22:00-01:30
Very clear, perfect seeing, no moon, -5 degrees C
M1
Exposures:
15x180s LIGHT
10x180s DARK
20 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
2013-02-02 22:00-01:30
Very clear, perfect seeing, no moon, -5 degrees C
M45
Exposures:
19x180s LIGHT
10x180s DARK
20 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
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
