Starting Imaging for 2023

[Note added 5/18/2023: The weather and smoke from Canadian fires led me to cancel this first attempt at state park imaging. I'll try again for the June new moon, if not sooner.] 

Here comes Spring! (I hope.) The May new moon is on the 19th, so I'm gearing up for this as a warm-up for using state parks this year in lieu of going to the Nebraska Star Party. The first "expedition" to a remote in-state site will have some fairly simple targets for refreshing my skills with NINA and all the hardware.

Before Midnight: 

• M44 (open cluster; big and bright, AL list member)
• M67 (open cluster; sort of a toned-down, more compact version of M44, AL List member)
• Collinder 463 (open cluster, AL List Member)

After Midnight:

• IC 4756 (open cluster)
• NGC 6633 (open cluster, same field of view as IC 4756, AL List member)
• NGC 6823 (bright nebula and open cluster, AL List member) 
• NGC 6882/6885 (open cluster and AL List member)
• NGC 6940 (open cluster)

I'm tempted to use my 200mm lens for IC 4756 and NGC 6633 to put them in the same field. It would make a pretty picture and look like this (per Stellarium) and might remind one of the well-known double cluster of NGCs 869 & 884.

This might make a pretty picture is reminiscent of the well-known double cluster of NGC 869 & 884. 

This long list assumes I'll have clear sky, which is doubtful in Minnesota in May. (Mid May sky is clear only about 1/3 of the time.)

One part of this exercise is finding a set of minimum exposures for imaging open clusters. The goal isn't super pretty pictures, but only passable images that capture the essence of the clusters. Yes, I'm still thinking about doing the AL Open Cluster list by imaging. I'd like to image them all using the same system and if possible the same exposures. I'm not sure if that's even possible, but it's worth a try.

The field of view of my FSQ and ASI is big enough for the largest clusters on the list, but the small clusters may get lost. Some are only 3 arcminutes across!

I'm going drop use of the L filter and use only short exposure RGB frames, perhaps 12x60s per channel for a start with dithering every 4th frame or so. I hope that keeps the brighter stars from saturating and still gives me enough sensitivity to harvest the dimmer stars.

The other thing I'd like to become proficient at is setting up NINA for multi-target sessions. Last year I fumbled around quite a bit with unnecessary slewing, centering, and autofocusing. 

And if by some miracle there's more than one clear night I'll finally test my ability to do solar power recharging in the field.

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The winter watch hobby is not shutting down entirely as the weather warms. I did attend a watch-enthusiast's show and swap meet, but it was a bit of a disappointment. About 4/5 of the tables were dedicated to modern (new) wristwatches and their collectors. That's not really my area of interest, so it was a short visit. I'll have to search somewhere else for inspiration.