Hi Everyone,
Turns out, my IR cut filter was put on next day recorded delivery. Should think so too, the price i paid for it.
I've been using it to improve the view on my NSN broadcasts. Here's a typical shot:-
AR1445 to the left, 1438 lower right and 1444 upper right. Donna was up late enjoying the show, and a new visitor to the site, also impressed by the views. It's fun to turn off the automatic white balance and add some colour.
I've done a decent broadcast with Saturn too, but chasing such a tiny target with no tracking takes it's toll. I'm hoping to broadcast Mars tomorrow too, if this spell of weather holds. I'll only get a little ping-pong sized ball, but 1 last go for Poppa Chris at "Chasing The God Of War" - LITERALLY!!
Last night i had some fun imaging the rin-ged 1. The seeing was about as good as it gets here. So i waited until around transit time at 2:25am BST (UT+1) to start capturing. Silly clocks
At normal size, the planet is no more than a pea in a bathtub, so i used some digital zoom to help.
2X zoomed:-
2 at 3X zoomed:-
I need to back off the gain.
Slightly off focus perhaps.
Not the best you'll ever see, but i think they're OK for a 1st attempt. Any opinions? All welcome.
Also, today i imaged the Sunspots with, and without the IR filter. Please run through the slideshow of 4 images. I think you will agree, there's no contest here. Auto white balance was on.
http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee414/BazPearce/Sunspots/IR_Cut_test/?albumview=slideshow
Many thanks to Aratus for convincing me to buy the right brand. BAADER filters rule!
Regards,
Baz.
British weather don't half suck!
Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ, 80mm utilityscope.
6mm K, Celestron 10mm, 15mm OMNI, 12, 20, 25mm Meade MA EPs. APO 3 speed Barlow lens.
Solar, Light pollution, 11, 12, 23A ,82A Baader ir/uv cut filters.
Philips SPC880NC webam with 1.25" adapter, 0.6 reducer 10X50, 12X50 (BAK-4) sports bino
Pretty cool, Baz!
Hey! did you ever try out that "Debut" capture softwars for the webcam?
---Poppa Chris---
"Second star to the right - Then straight on until morning!" - Peter Pan
Celestron CPC1100GPS (XLT) - 279mm aperature, 2800mm Focal length. (f10) Celestron Ultima LX (70deg AFOV) Eyepieces 32mm thru 5mm, Canon EOS Rebel T2i DSLR, Backyard EOS imaging software, Orion Star Shoot Planetary Imager IV, Celestron Skymaster 15x70 binoculars
Thanks Chris,
I'm hoping to do a bit of a test on it tomorrow. I should have enough clear weather to last for some Solar, and Lunar. I've been so wrapped up testing the new filter, it's been put to 1 side a tad. So far i've noticed it can't control a camera for NSN casting. It's hard drive usage for a 1 minute capture was 35Megabytes. The advanced settings such as frame rate and gain are hard to get at quickly.
I'll try some captures for stacking tomorrow. I've found another 1 to test also if i can, wxastroCapture is it's name if i remember.
Cool stuff Baz!
Mike
12"LX200GPS, 6" Astrotech Imaging Newtonian, 6" Schmidt Newtonian, 4.7"Astroview, Denkmeier Binoviewer,Modified Canon350D,DSI II monochrome imager(used for guiding), handbuilt observing chair, 12x50 binoculars, 8" homemade dob circa. 1982, and way too many ep's and accessories.
Very cool! I need to look into this NSN. I guess it is always night some place in the world. LOL
Celestron 8 SCT F/10 to 7.5 to 6.3-C-GEM Mount-Starizona Power Pack II+-Bahatinov Focus Mask-Canon Rebel XS 1000D 10.1 MP-Nexguide Auto Guider-Orion Short Tube 80mm Guide Scope- Baader Planetarium UHC-S/L-Booster visual/photographic 2"-Capture Software Backyard EOS-Deep Sky Stacker-Adobe Photoshop/Registax 6 for post work
Baz
Nice,that new filter looks like it was worth it,it really makes a differance.
Dennis
Orion SkyQuest 8inch Classic Dob/Phillips SPC900NC Web Cam with IR filter/ Orion 1.25 inch Sirius Plossl sizes 10mm,12.5mm,17mm,25mm & 32mm/ 8.8mm 82 degree Explore Scientific/ Televue 2inch 20mm Nagler Type 2/ Televue 2inch 2x Big Barlow/ Orion 2inch 0111 filter/ 2inch,1.25inch Orion SkyGlow light pollution filter/2inch,1.25inch Orion Variable polarizing moon filter/1.25inch Orion color filters : #80A Med. Blue,#25 Red,#15 Deep Yellow,#58 Green
Last day of the nice spell we've had. An updated shot of ARs 1338,1444,1445 shows that 1338 remains stable. 1444 has lost a few spots but gained another. More have bubbled up in 1445, on both sides of the largest spot. In Registax i increased the initial wavelet layer to 2. Which darkens the spots better, but it's a lot easier to overdo it. Conditions were quite hazy and there was a lot of turbulence due to a South Westerly breeze blowing across my tube at about 70 degrees.
Compared to this from Tuesday.
Today i tested capturing in black and white, and colour too. The colour shots came out better every time. No more automatic white balance for me, except for lunar imaging.
Nice solar images Baz,
Wondering,are you getting your automatic white balance from ManyCam or VLounge?
How much does auto white balance make on lunar imaging?
thanks Dennis
I'm using the Vlounge preferences drop down menu to access the camera settings. That brings up the apparent in-built camera settings. The same menu appears when using when opening the options tab - video capture filter in SharpCap too.
I've yet to really test the new filter on the Moon with prime focus. A-focally, a few weeks back i did some colour Moons for the virtual star party. I'm uncertain if you saw it or not, so i will post it again.
Hopefully i will get a chance tonight with the IR cut. I saw a short broadcast on NSN (Moraga Sky) this morning. Using an IR cut filter gave the Moon a light brown tint. I didn't catch all the details. But i suspect with white balance on auto, the colour will be the usual grey scale. I will try for some close-ups tonight. I want to try and improve my Saturn too if the weather will behave.
BTW thanks for the compliment on my spot images. When i use my own colour prefs, very little blue and lots of red seem to produce the nice orange tones. Once i get beyond halfway with the red, the yellow kicks in. More red = deeper colours.
Easter Moons?
EASY DUDE, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER WAVE
From San Diego, Zhumell Z10 (Bubba is for all around observing)Telrad, Vixen VMC110L on a Porta Mount II, Bushnell 10x50 (for beach) Garrett 10x50 classics (for Sylvia), Zhumell 80x20 on their Pro tripod(cuz they were cheap and sylvia digs 'em), 1.75 readers (so I can find the other stuff)
tower3 Easter Moons?
Chocolate surprises in every egg.