PEAK STAR PARTY 2012

Peak Star Party 2012

Following on from the huge success of Peak Star Party 2011, we are delighted to announce PSP2012, from 19 to 22 October.

Even Better Than Last Year!

We have been working hard to make PSP2012 even better than last year and can already promise:

• huge 20m x 20m (60ft x 60ft) marquee to host talks, workshops and stay dry, no matter what the weather!
• all weekend catering. Exact details tbc but we are hoping to run catering from 10am to 6pm, to include breakfast, dinner and snacks.
• Snack and drinks tent available at all times - hot and cold drinks and some snacks available through the night for day visitors

Astronomy Day Part 2

Saturday 20 October is Astronomy Day Part 2. The theme of Astronomy Day is "Bringing Astronomy to the People", and on this day astronomy and stargazing clubs and other organizations around the world will plan special events.
PDDS will be hosting a series of events through the Friday and will be working closely with local schools and other groups to show how astronomy can help make science fun and interesting. We are still working on the details but we are hoping to include solar observing demonstrations, planetarium shows, series of fascinating talks from eminent scientists in the region and more. All visitors will of course be welcome to take part in our already (in)famous bottle rocket competition!
If you are a science teacher in or around the Peak District or if you look after a group of Scouts, Guides or similar and are interested in bringing a group to Astronomy Day, please e-mail info@peakstarparty.co.uk for more information.

Bookings can be made at  http://www.peakstarparty.co.uk/

Recent image's and news

It's been quite a while since I updated my blog. For one, the weather hasn't been very co-operative with producing clear skies. And coupled with that. We still haven't seen Winter.

We've had the odd cold frosty night, which has allowed me to do some astro-imaging. But nothing like as many as I would have liked.

And when those skies are clear for me. We usually see a big fat Moon which, really doesn't help when imaging faint deep sky objects.

Last week-end January 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th. We had a very pleasant run of skies, that allowed me to take a good number of astro images.

These are all taken through, my little William Optics ZS66mm Doublet, and my trusty Atik16ic and 13nm HA filter.

I am now able to control everything from inside my house, through the use of two, 5mtr USB repeater cables and, a 5mtr RS232 mount control cable.

It makes it more relaxing, as I only have the telescope/mount outside, with everything else here in the warm.

My first image for you is no1 on Charles Messier's list of famous nebulae. The Crab nebula or M1.
Messier 1 is a supernova remnant in Taurus, and it was seen as a bright supernova in the year 1054 by Chinese astronomers.

This is my first really long exposure. Three hours comprising of 601 second exposures.

The second image is from Monday 16th, and is a one hour exposure using 300 second exposures.
This is part of IC410 which, is situated in Auriga, and is a huge molecular star forming cloud.
You will see in this picture, two object's that are named the "tadpoles"

The Tadpoles are composed of denser cooler gas and dust, and are around 10 light-years long. They are potentially sites of ongoing star formation. The wind and radiation from the cluster stars, causes their tails, to trail away from the cluster's central region. IC 410 lies some 12,000 light-years away,

My final image is again from Monday 16th, and is a three hour exposure. SH2-235 is a bright nebula in Auriga and is an object which, you don't see imaged.

I was able to begin imaging this object shortly after 1800hrs and didn't finish imaging it for another three hours.

SH2-235 is a kidney shaped HII region at the intersection of two giant molecular clouds. Causing intensive star forming. SH2-235 is 7000 lyr away and 130lyr across.

The Moon meets Jupiter + A Gibbous phase

The skies where I live, in Cheshire were clear for 30 minutes on Tuesday, early evening, around tea time. 

So I dashed out with my Nikon, to snap the Moon and Jupiter conjunction.

The image here is a composite, with one exposure for the Moon, taken with my 55-200mm Nikon Zoom lens (200mm)

And the image of Jupiter. Is with the lens open at 55mm.





















On the following night. Wednesday December 7th. The skies were mainly clear. But with a bigg fat Moon washing everything out, there really isn't a lot you can do.

So armed with my Nikon D40 and a heavy, and very solid, Soligor 254mm telephoto lens, I took this picture of the Moon at F11.

This is a very good lens, built in the day's when things were built to last.  It is a manual lens with a range from f4.5 to f32, and was designed to be used with film (m42) thread cameras and was built in the 1960s

This is a stack of 4 frames, at 160th second at 200 iso. Shot in continuous mode. with lens and camera, tripod mounted.

You have to try don't you.

IC1848 AKA Soul Nebula

I took this image of IC1848 aka Soul nebula. As a test too see, if I have finely nailed my guiding issues, once and for all.

After spending an hour or so, waiting for the sky to clear (it was supposed to be clear, on Friday, from 1800hrs) I was able to carefully polar align my G11 using my polar scope.

My thanks must go too. The helpful advice, from Chesterfield Astronomer, Paul Collins during PSP211

Paul very kindly told me, where I have been going wrong all these years with my polar alignment.
And in a nut shell, told me. "Stop buggering about, with pointing models, as these don't make any difference to my initial polar alignment".

The Soul nebula. is huge. And I can only get the central part, on the Atik16ic chip.

I am saving to buy a 314L+. And I hope to have this next year, if all goes well.

I think this is one subject, that will fit nicely on that larger chip with the 66mm William Optics, focal reduced x.5

Here is 1 hour & 22 minutes guided image. Taken through my, William Optics Zenith Star 66sd, and guided through my 8" with the QHY5 and PHD.

Focal reduced to 400mm at F2, to better suite my guide settings in PHD.

All exposures are in HA and taken using seven minute exposures.

This was taken on Friday tonight, before the cloud rolled in  

Type	Emission
Right ascension	02h 51m 36.24s
Declination	+60° 26′ 53.9"
Distance	7,500 ly
Apparent magnitude (V)	??
Apparent dimensions (V)	40.0'x10.0'
Constellation	Cassiopeia
Physical characteristics
Radius	-
Absolute magnitude (V)	6.5
Notable features	-
Other designations	LBN 667 - Cluster is IC1848

Messier 76. A Planetary nebula in Perseus.

At this time off the year, Perseus is riding high in the North East.

It is a constellation, full off interesting deep sky object's to see. Both visually and image.

On the evening of Sunday 6th November. I was fortunate to have a clear sky, but the Moon was so bright. 

So- I decided to try a spot of narrowband imaging.

My choice was the Little Dumbbell nebula.

This is an interesting nebula. And it is known by too names. The Cork, and Barbell Nebula.

It was discovered by Mechain in 1780, and included in Messier's catalogue as no 76.

M76 is faint, and some sources quote M76, as magnitude 12.1, whilst other's give a value near magnitude 10.

It is there for, quite an easy subject visually, for modest aperture telescope's.

The size of M76 is. 2.7 x 1.8 arcmin. Whilst its distance is 780pc or 2,500ly.

This picture was captured over a period of just under two hour's. And has been combined from fifty-five times two-minute exposure's.

I was using an Astronomik 13nm Hydrogen Alpha filter, attached to my Atik 16ic CCD camera. Which was attached to my Orion Optics 200-800 F4 imaging Newtonian. The guiding was undertaken with a QHY5 and Willam Optics ZS66sd, and PHD software. All this is attached to a Losmandy G11-Gemini L4.

I hope to gather more data, using longer exposure's once the Moon is in the morning sky. 

click the image to enlarge

Using a Nikon D40, for astro-imaging.

I have always been interested in imaging, ever since I owned a very good CCD camera, the MX5 in the middle half of the 1990's.

In 2006 I bought an Atik16ic CCD camera and in 2007- I bought a Nikon D40.

I always use my Atik for long exposure CCD imaging of faint, but also bright, Deep Sky object's.

But, until very recently, I have started to do some test's, to see how good my Nikon D40 compares, for Deep Sky, astro imaging, to the Atik.

For most people, the preferred camera of choice for this sort of work. Are camera's from the Canon stable.

Canon offer a very good range of DSLR's which all have, very good red sensitivity.

So naturally, these were the camera's of choice for imaging nebulae, together with other, fine DSO objects.

There first camera, being, the 350D followed later by the 1000D.

Nikon, on the other hand are not as popular, with digital astro imagers. But over the past year they have started to produce some very good camera's that are suitable, for this type of low light, imaging.

The Nikon D7000 is a very good example. But for some, this camera is expensive.

The Nikon D40 is a 6.1 mega pixel camera, that I use for day time shooting. And until very recently night time, astro imaging.

I am using this camera with an Orion Optics SPX 254mm F4.8 Newtonian reflector, with 1/10^th wave optics.

This set up is all mounted on what I consider to be. One of the best value equatorial mount's affordable.

The Losmandy G11, fitted with Gemini Level 4 GOTO.

On Friday September 30^th 2011, I was very fortunate to be able to image the night sky from by back garden observatory here in East Cheshire, using this equipment.

And for the very first time. I was able to use my Nikon D40.

Searching the internet, I have found very little imaging of the night sky done with this camera. And I wanted to see, just how good it was. Both for color response, but also sensitivity, to low light imaging.

My subject on Friday was the famous Dumbbell nebula or Messier 27.

During early autumn evening's. M27 is still at the zenith, and crosses the meridian shortly before 9pm, so it is there for, very well placed for imaging.

I was able to set my equipment up in reasonable time, to give the OTA plenty of time to cool down. The mount was polar aligned during the early evening, and whilst it was still light. I was able to go through my alignment procedure.

After spending a quarter of an hour. I was finally ready.

The skies above me were very clear, getting slowly darker. I was able to take some test shot's of Sadar (Gamma Cygni) to check for focus, and tracking issue's. I wasn't guiding, as I do not as yet have a suitable guiding scope.

Everything was looking OK. So with heavy heart I slewed the 10” and D40 onto Messier 27. And began taking 10 x120 second exposure's.

To avoid any vibration's, that could spoil each image. I used the self timer, and also a pillow case that I draped over the front of the OTA .

Film user's will remember the “Top Hat” method, where you cover the front objective, and wait for any vibration's to die down before removal.

This I did. And I was very happy with the raw, image's.

These image's were all stacked in Deep Sky Stacker, with final processing done in PS.

I am very pleased with the result considering my exposure's are all unguided.

And. I am also very pleased to see, how much detail, in M27 I was able to capture using this camera UN-modded.

Paul A Brierley

October 03^rd 2011.

I find the taking of CCD image's a big challenge, and with every image taken. I learn something new

Sun-day

If like me, you have suitable equipment for looking at our nearest star, safely. Then I strongly recommend you do so, today.

The sun is positively alive with Sun spot's. There are currently on view. Six large spot group's. And these were visible in my William Optics Zenith Star66 and a Baader white light solar filter, and 25mm Ortho.

 Warning.
The Sun is DANGEROUS. 
Never attempt any solar observing unless you are able to do so safely. Using a Baader solar filter attached to the FRONT of your telescope.