NGC 2281 in Auriga

Great image Anthony.
a new nick name for Seanie, "the greek hooker", thats great :lol:

Seanie is giving Greek hookers a bad name ... sort of a low blow. :lol:

Glad you like the image!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Superb photo by the way.

Seanie,

If the skies are clear this evening, I will pursue Berkeley 17 (also in Auriga) ... depending on the source, this is the oldest or the second oldest open cluster in the galaxy at 10.06 billion years of age.

The ambiguity has to do with NGC 7291 in Lyra where some have it just above 10.06 billion years of age whereas others have it just below. Berkeley 17 seems to be static at 10.02 to 10.08 billion years of age.

Anthony - that's a lovely image.

I see the sky background as very dark (black) on my monitor. Is that your intent? I personally prefer a slightly more natural background - black seems almost 'false' if you get my drift...

The diffraction spikes are grand though.

I was trying to see if you'd done any galaxies with the new setup but it seems you have a lot of broken links

Dave

Anthony - that's a lovely image.

Hi Dave, glad you like it!

I see the sky background as very dark (black) on my monitor. Is that your intent? I personally prefer a slightly more natural background - black seems almost 'false' if you get my drift...

I have received quite a bit of feedback and you are the first and only one to make such an observation. I am very careful about my black points and how the background is presented (it is a very slight brown on my screen). Can you please check your monitor against www.perseus.gr/Astro-Monitor-Calibr.htm to see if all of the shades of grey are visible? I can see all of them very distinctly from each other.

The diffraction spikes are grand though.

This is my pride and enjoy and "trademark". They really enrich the overall image and also help highlight the bright member stars as well as the relative brightness between the stars.

I was trying to see if you'd done any galaxies with the new setup but it seems you have a lot of broken links

I feel like a caged animal looking to explode. I have set up COUNTLESS times with the intention of shooting 6+ plus hours for various galaxies and the weather has done me in each and every time. So much so that I am now concentrating on quick targets such as open and globular clusters where a sudden change in the weather will still leave me with a productive evening.

Here are some interrupted results which I have saved (most have been deleted):

M81 ... www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-3031.htm .... please ignore the details to the right of the image

M42 ... www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-1976.htm .... please ignore the details to the right of the image

NGC1435 ... www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-1435.htm .... please ignore the details to the right of the image

NGC1981 ... www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-1981.htm .... please ignore the details to the right of the image

M15 ... www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-7078.htm .... please ignore the details to the right of the image

Bubble Neb ... www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-7635.htm .... please ignore the details to the right of the image

NGC 1977 .... I will upload shortly (Running Man Nebula)

M101 .... I will upload shortly

Abell 21 ... I will upload shortly (Medusa Nebula)

I have MANY MANY examples of partial results due to the weather. As much pride as I take in our weather, last winter as well as this one have been horendous. If something does go wrong and the weather is okay, the moon is either around full and/or the seeing is absolutely garbage.

In part you also see why I was so keen on getting the AP Mach1GTO ... so as to be doubly armed when the weather conditions are on my side and thereby be in a position to have two telescopes running at the same time.

Anthony - we hear you on the weather front...

My monitor shows your greyscales nice and clear and delineated. I guess since you've not had any other feedback that it must be a personal quirk of mine Perhaps I just like galaxies - they always give you a nice backwash of light in the background.

Maybe if you bring up the background level a tiny bit more and post the images side-to-side? Just a thought. But if the weather is bad, it'll give you something to do

Good luck on the Mach1

Dave

Dave,

Just to give you an idea ... in November AND December there were two or three clear nights in total. This is a real nightmare for this part of the mediterranean!

Speaking of galaxies, ten days ago I started on M101 (15-min subs, 6 hrs total) and I packed it in during the second 15-min sub. However, the first sub with transparent skies was STUNNING!!!!

All of this of course adds to my frustration.