NGC7635 - Bubble Nebula - First proper attempt with CCD

Dave

The build quality of the ATIK camera is outstanding, the only gripe I have is rapid cooling can cause ice which does disappear over time, however I have seen people complaining about other makes/models having the same issue. So to counteract the ice, I cool down to +5 straight away, and then drop it down by 5 degrees every 5 minutes until I get to -25C

Cooling performance is also really good, and the camera is quiet, much quieter than my Cooler I built for the DSLR, software and drivers, well I use Maxim DL for imaging, so the drivers and the ASCOM drivers work great, never had an issue with them.

I would highly recommend anyone going for the 8.3MP MONO camera to go for the ATIK 383L+, if I was upgrading to a larger sensor camera, I would more than likely stick with ATIK, unless there was some specific reason to not do so.

As for the price, the QHY9Mono was slightly cheaper, but it also looks "Cheaper" compared to the ATIK 383L+, and Bernard in Modern Astronomy was honest with me and told me about the issues on the QHY9, so that persuaded me to pay slightly more for the ATIK

Another thing, the ATIK camera doesn't seem to use much power, even when cooling percentage is up above 90%, so I was impressed all round (Apart from the ice which isn't really an issue)

I do have a question for the wider audience, I understand the need for "Luminance" for when you are binning the other channels / filters, but if I am doing 1x1 on all frames, do I need to shoot luminance?

Simon

Thanks Simon - that's very useful user info.

Does the ice form on the CCD? If so, perhaps some moisture has gotten in and a recharge of silica gel is required? (if it has a sealed chamber etc.).

I have the FLI Proline which is specified to -70 below ambient, though I only tried it once when I first got the imager. The CCD is in an inert sealed chamber (nitrogen I think) and I've never had a problem with ice at all. I typically only go to 25 below ambient but I think this season I'll experiment and see what I gain by going lower.

As for luminance, I'm really not sure. That would be one I reckon Carl O'Beirnes and others could answer of the top of their heads. I've only mainly shot luminance (unfiltered) frames but last season started to shoot B and R (Johnson-Cousins) filtered images for photometry. I did toy with the idea of using the BVRI filter set to give some kind of pseudo RGB image but lost interest when I realised the amount of processing required for the photometry alone. A pseudo RGB image of an asteroid is probably not the most interesting in the world...

Thanks
Dave

Yep the Ice formed on the CCD, I took out the original Desiccant tablets out of there and put in the fresh spares ATIK supplied with the camera, haven't had the issue since but I cool in stages now too

Nice cooling delta with the FLI Proline

CarlightExpress wrote:
Nice cooling delta with the FLI Proline

Nice price too...

But no icing either

I've often read on the FLI groups that icing issues are completely resolved by changing out the dessicant. Just order another set of spares from ATIK next time you see it happening - hopefully not for a good long time with new tablets and staged cooling.

dmcdona wrote:

CarlightExpress wrote:
Nice cooling delta with the FLI Proline

Nice price too...

But no icing either

I've often read on the FLI groups that icing issues are completely resolved by changing out the dessicant. Just order another set of spares from ATIK next time you see it happening - hopefully not for a good long time with new tablets and staged cooling.

No longer getting any ice on the camera, found a technique of using the "Warm Up" button before packing up for the night is recommended, but now I can cool straight down to -25 with no ice

Hi Simon,

The photo is fantastic, you should be very proud! I had an unrelated question from your FLICKR photos. I see you built a pier in your garden, I'm thinking of doing the same, but space is a premium and a shed with roll off roof is not an option. How do you protect your mount & optics from the elements? Do you roll a shed over it or do you have some other solution?

thanks


Dave