SA and other new kit

Hi John, sounds like you have a great set-up. And it's neat how it all fits into the fishing bag.

Best of luck in Wexford and hopefully you'll capture some nice photos next week for us to view. 

Clear skies, 

Darren. 

Thanks Darren -
I managed to get a couple of hours practice on Sunday night. The mount and kit worked better than I had expected. I got a very good polar alignment done in very quick time. The Astrokraken polar illuminator allowed me to do a polar alignment with all the gear mounted, so I didn't have to touch the mount after the alignment. After a couple of hours use, Polaris was still in the circle and in the right spot. This was also evident in the RAW files in that every frame was practically identical right out to the edges and very few frames had to be discarded. The intervalometer also worked a treat, for less than €20 this is one piece of kit that is essential, I was able to start imaging and come back every 30 mins or so to check on things. The lens warmer also worked brilliantly keeping the lens free of dew for the whole evening. The power bank also did the job using less than 20% to power the mount and the lens warmer for the 2.5 hours I was out. 
Now, if only I was better at post processing, pretty dismal effort . This is something that is going to take time, practice and a whole lot of reading and on-line tutorials. The shot below was pre-processed in DSS with lights, darks, flats, dark flats and bias frames. About 30 mins total integration - ISO1600 51 sec frames @ F4.5 (I think I can push this to 90 sec next time as the mount is behaving well). The shot is cropped.

M45-2020_03_15  

Click on the image for a better rendition and zoom-in on Flickr.

After a bit of work on the second image of the evening I think I may be heading in the right direction. Bear in mind I am only using Lightroom for post processing. This is a an uncropped image which shows how well tracking etc was performing, and how well the lens operates stopped down to F4.5, from F4 max. Check out stars in the corners. I am a bit happier with processing on this one, though I know I have a long way to go

Alnitak a, Flame & Horsehead Nebulae by John Murphy , on Flickr

Spectacular image of M45 Pleiades, John!
Including the Merope nebula.
I greatly admire the spikes around the bright stars.
What a start!
It's all been worth it.

Clear skies,

Aubrey.

Hi Michael,

Very many thanks for posting the first image with your new set-up. It's a really nice shot of the 'Seven Sisters', and as Aubrey said the nebulosity surrounding Merope looks fantastic.

Congrats, and clear skies,

Darren.

@Darren, @Aubrey,
I posted a second image above of the Flame Nebula, have a look, I think this one's better, and may redeem my processing shortcomings, though I know I have a long way to go........... Thanks for taking an interest, and maybe we'll meet up sometime again in the Wicklow Mountains or at the Sugarloaf

Hi John,

Very nice image of the Flame Nebula - I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to astrophotography, so it is difficult to judge things like post-processing work,but to me both images are great.

Meeting up at the Sugar Loaf is a wonderful way to get to know other people in the community. Not only are they a wealth of knowledge, but they're also only too happy share their knowledge. I can't praise them enough. They have helped me develop my interest in the hobby, and are a constant source of inspiration.

Once this whole thing passes, I'm sure we'll all be eager to get back under the dark skies of County Wicklow.

All the best,

Darren.

BTW, apologies for calling you Michael in my last message - I really need to go to bed a bit earlier!