Peter Folkesson, Author at astrophotos.se

SKYWATCHER ESPRIT 80ED FIXED

After a lot of fiddling with lenses and stray light I have finally made the adjustments necessary to reduce the diffraction spikes that have plagued the photos taken with my SkyWatcher Esprit 80ED refractor. By first removing the dew shield, a soft cloth glued around the lens chamber … Continue readingSKYWATCHER ESPRIT 80ED FIXED

M95, M96, M105

2014-03-24 21:30-02:00 Scattered clouds, moist, no wind or moon, 0 degrees C M95+M96+M105 Exposures: 27x300s LIGHT 20x300s DARKS 200 BIAS 40 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600Da, IDAS LPS-P2, ISO400, ISO800 (mainly), ISO1600 Lens: Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED + Sky-Watcher field flattener Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto … Continue readingM95, M96, M105

M44

2014-03-24 21:30-02:00 Scattered clouds, moist, no wind or moon, 0 degrees C M44 Exposures: 3x180s+3x300s+2x600s LIGHT 20x300s DARK 200 BIAS 40 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600Da, IDAS LPS-P2, ISO400, ISO800 (mainly), ISO1600 Lens: Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED + Sky-Watcher field flattener Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto … Continue readingM44

M35, NGC 2158, IC 2157, NGC 2129

2014-03-12 21:30-00:00 Very clear, no wind, half moon high up, 1 degrees C M35 Exposures: 42x180s LIGHT 20x180s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO400 Lens: Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED + Sky-Watcher field flattener Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm … Continue readingM35, NGC 2158, IC 2157, NGC 2129

M34

2014-03-11 20:30-23:00 Some high clouds, no wind, half moon high up, 1 degrees C M34 Exposures: 40x180s LIGHT 20x180s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO400 Lens: Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED + Sky-Watcher field flattener Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron … Continue readingM34

NGC869, NGC884

2014-03-09 20:30-23:30 Some fog, wind, half moon high up, 5 degrees C NGC 869/884 Exposures: 20x180s LIGHT 30x120s LIGHT 20x180s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO400 Lens: Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED + Sky-Watcher field flattener Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and … Continue readingNGC869, NGC884

SKY-WATCHER ESPRIT 80ED FIRST LIGHT

The weather this winter has been awful. However, I managed a first test with my new Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED (80mm f/5) triplet refractor telescope on Monday 17th of February. Very satisfied with the ease of use and sharp picture quality, at least compared to my … Continue readingSKY-WATCHER ESPRIT 80ED FIRST LIGHT

M42

2014-02-17 20:30-23:30 Mostly clear, some wind, rising moon, -1 degrees C M42 Exposures: 20x180s LIGHT 10x120s LIGHT 20x60s LIGHT 20x30s LIGHT 20x180s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO400 Lens: Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED + Sky-Watcher field flattener Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto … Continue readingM42

NGC7023

2013-11-25 19:00-20:00 Clear, no wind, no moon, 0 degrees C NGC7023 Exposures: 60x240s LIGHT 30x240s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600 Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3 Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide … Continue readingNGC7023

NGC7331

2013-11-24 20:00-23:00 Very clear, hard wind, 0 degrees C NGC7331 Exposures: 41x240s LIGHT 30x240s DARK 20 BIAS 10 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600 Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3 Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide scope … Continue readingNGC7331

IC5146

2013-11-05 21:00-23:00 Very moist, intermittent clouds followed by cloudy weather, 3 degrees C IC5146 Exposures: 15x240s LIGHT 9x240s DARK 20 BIAS 10 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600 Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3 Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and … Continue readingIC5146

NGC6946

2013-10-12 21:00-01:30 Clear, half moon at the horizon, some wind, 7 degrees C NGC6946 Exposures: 45x240s LIGHT 27x240s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600 Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3 Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and … Continue readingNGC6946

NGC6960, NGC6992

2013-10-02 21:00-00:00Faint clouds, 6 degrees C NGC6960/NGC6992Exposures:40x180s LIGHT30x180s DARK20 BIAS20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600Lens: Canon EFS 55-250mm@250mmMount: HEQ5 ProSoftware: BackyardEOS, PixInsight

NGC7000

2013-10-01 22:00-00:00 Very clear, 7 degrees C NGC7000 Exposures: 24x180s LIGHT 30x180s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO1600 Lens: Canon EFS 55-250mm@250mm Mount: HEQ5 Pro Software: BackyardEOS, PixInsight

NGC6888

2012-10-11 20:00-22:30 Clear followed by clouds and compact fog, no wind 2013-09-28 20:30-00:00 Scattered clouds followed by clear weather, no moon, no wind, 7 degrees C NGC6888 Exposures: 10x120s+31x240s LIGHT 20x240s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800 Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch … Continue readingNGC6888

M56

2013-09-27 20:30-00:00 Clear with good seeing followed by increasingly worse seeing and scattered clouds, no moon, some wind, 8 degrees C M56 Exposures: 15x240s LIGHT 20x240s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800 Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher … Continue readingM56

M71

2013-09-27 20:30-00:00 Clear with good seeing followed by increasingly worse seeing and scattered clouds, no moon, some wind, 8 degrees C M71 14x240s LIGHT 20x240s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800 Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider … Continue readingM71

M81, M82

2013-09-24 21:00-22:00 Clear, weak wind, 10 degrees C M81/M82 Exposures: 12x120s LIGHT 10x120s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800 Lens: Canon EFS 55-250mm@250mm Mount: HEQ5 Pro Software: BackyardEOS, PixInsight

SUPERNOVA 2013EV IN IC1296

Took an image of M57 – The Ring Nebula before the fog clouds rolled in this Friday. To my surprise I also caught the supernova SN2013ev in the far away spiral galaxy IC1296 (225 million lightyears) which lies in sight with the much closer M57 … Continue readingSUPERNOVA 2013EV IN IC1296

M57

2013-09-13 22:00-00:00 Faint clouds followed by fog, half moon, moist, 15 degrees C M57 /IC1296+SN2013ev Exposures: 22x180s LIGHT 30x180s DARK 20 BIAS 20 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800 Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Mount: HEQ5 Pro Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide … Continue readingM57

M101

2013-09-06 22:00-02:00 Clear, no moon, no wind, 15 degrees C M101 Exposures: 40x240s LIGHT 25x240s 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 … Continue readingM101

M51

2013-09-02 22:00-01:00 Some faint fog clouds, no moon, no wind, little moist, 10 degrees C M51 Exposures: 34x180s LIGHT 40x180s 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 … Continue readingM51

M13

2013-08-25 23:00-01:30 Clear, half moon to the east, no wind, moist, 12 degrees C M13 Exposures: 12x60s LIGHT 10x120s LIGHT 10x180s LIGHT 10x60s DARK 10x120s DARK 10x180s DARK 20 BIAS 16 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800 Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer … Continue readingM13

NGC4565

2013-04-30 23:00-01:30 Cloudy followed by clear weather, no moon, no wind, moist, 2 degrees C (8 exposures) 2013-05-05 23:30-02:00 Clear followed by fog, no moon, 9 degrees C (24 exposures) NGC4565 Exposures: 32x180s LIGHT 20x180s DARK 20 BIAS 16 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800 Lens: … Continue readingNGC4565

M65,M66,NGC3628

2013-04-08 22:00-03:00 Clear, no moon, no wind, -2 degrees C M65 / M66 / NGC3628 Exposures: 40x180s 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 … Continue readingM65,M66,NGC3628

M108

2013-04-08 22:00-03:00 Clear, no moon, no wind, -2 degrees C M108 Exposures: 20x180s 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 … Continue readingM108

IC342

2013-04-07 22:00-01:30 Clear, no moon, windy, -2 degrees C IC342 Exposures: 40x180s 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 … Continue readingIC342

Comet C/2011 L4 Panstarrs, M31, M32, M110

2013-04-03 21:00-23:30 Faint fog, no moon, no wind, 0 degrees C Comet C/2011 L4 Panstarrs, M31, M32, M110 Exposures: 8x60s+6x120s LIGHT 4x120s DARK 20 BIAS 8 FLAT Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800 Lens: Canon EFS 55-250mm@250mm Mount: HEQ5 Pro Software: BackyardEOS, PixInsight

NGC2403

2013-04-02 21:00-23:00 Clear, no moon, no wind, 0 degrees C NGC2403 Exposures: 26x180s 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 … Continue readingNGC2403

M95, M96

2013-03-31 21:00-01:00 Very clear, no moon, no wind, 0 degrees C M95 / M96 Exposures: 20x180s 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 … Continue readingM95, M96

M81, M82

2013-03-31 21:00-01:00 Very clear, no moon, no wind, 0 degrees C M81 / M82 Exposures: 23x180s 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 … Continue readingM81, M82

NGC891

2013-03-11 20:00-22:30 Weak fog in the west, weak wind, -9 degrees C NGC891 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 … Continue readingNGC891

IC434

2013-03-10 20:00-23:00 Clear, weak wind, -10 degrees C IC434 Exposures: 30x180s 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: … Continue readingIC434

NGC2903

2013-03-09 20:00-01:30 Very clear, small clouds in the east, weak wind, -2 degrees C NGC2903 Exposures: 22x180s 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 … Continue readingNGC2903

M78

2013-03-09 20:00-01:30 Very clear, small clouds in the east, weak wind, -2 degrees C M78 Exposures: 24x180s 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 … Continue readingM78

M67

2013-03-09 20:00-01:30 Very clear, small clouds in the east, weak wind, -2 degrees C M67 Exposures: 7x60s LIGHT 10x60s 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 … Continue readingM67

M48

2013-03-09 20:00-01:30 Very clear, small clouds in the east, weak wind, -2 degrees C M48 Exposures: 8x60s LIGHT 10x60s 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 … Continue readingM48

M38

2013-03-08 21:00-22:00 Faint clouds over south part of sky, no wind, -1 degrees C M38 Exposures: 14x60s LIGHT 10x60s 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 … Continue readingM38

M37

2013-03-03 21:00-00:00 Clear, no wind, -2 degrees C M37 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: … Continue readingM37

NGC884, NGC869

2013-03-03 21:00-00:00 Clear, no wind, -2 degrees C NGC884 / NGC869 Exposures: 8x120s 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 … Continue readingNGC884, NGC869