Clear Skies Tonight - Some Observing

Ah.. Clear Skies tonight. Thought I'd get out first off with the Camera and try and capture Perseus. After receiving some advice to take some flats and darks and puzzling as to what that actually meant for quite some time, I managed to work it out. This basically means taking some pictures using the camera with the lens cap on. Flats are taken at the shortest exposure but with the same ISO settings and Darks are taken at the same settings the picture was taken at. Ok, Now I know. So off I went. Got set up, took a few test shots to work out the alignment as I can't actually see any stars on the screen or in the view finder of my Z2. So all setup. I snapper off 30x30 second shots at ISO200, then 6 darks and 10 flats. Pushed them through Deep Sky Stacker which decided it didn't like my input files and complained that as they were jpg files it couldn't do something, which I ignored as I wasn't sure what it meant anyway and DSS carried out the processing. I then played with the image in Photoshop Elements to try and improve the image. I use the word play deliberately, as if you've read my previous posts, I don't really have a clue what I'm doing with it. And here is the image I produced :



I'm quite pleased with it, I got the Pleiades in there as well. Not sure I got the colours right, possibly overdid something in Elements.

Anyway, whilst I was taking these 30 pictures, which actually took nearer 90 seconds per 30 second shot... I got out my Binoculars and had a good look around.

I started with M45 - The pleaides, I love looking at the sisters such a sharp and pretty cluster to look at. Moved onto look the Hyades then at M42 in Orion, M41, M35 in Gemini, M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga, turned around and had a look at the Mizar and Alcor double that I caught in the picture of the big dipper. Then had a look at the double cluster in Perseus and the Alpha Persei association. Then whilst taking the Darks and Flats had a go at Saturn through the Binoculars. I could definitely see that this wasn't a star, but I couldn't keep them still, hand held, and my tripod still had my camera attached.

At this point, I popped back indoors, swapped the camera for the scope with a 5mm Ortho and a 32mm Plossly in pocket went back for a further look around. I started with Saturn with the 5mm Ortho. As it's there and clear how could I resist. There was at least one moon that I could make out and I make it Titan. I had a good thorough look at the Orion nebula, I could clearly make out M42 and the Trapezium, and just about pick out M43, another lovely sight. Then time for a nice widefield look with the 32mm Plossl at the Sisters again before coming in to start work on processing the Perseus image above.

A most enjoyable evening's astro fun. Just got to defrost a little more now and I feel a drink is in order.