Clouds, WOW, Focal Reducer

The abysmal spring of 2013 continues with clouds, clouds and more clouds. My plan to attend the Wisconsin Observers Weekend this weekend has fallen through because of weather. The first night is being clouded out as I type this, Tomorrow night is forecast to be partly cloudy (at best) and Saturday night is forecast to be rainy (50% chance) and cloudy.

Worst. Spring. Ever.

But anyway, I did manage last week to shoot some test images with my .63 Celestron Focal Reducer.  I fiddle with my adapters until I got a spacing of about 104mm (I think), and here's what I got:

Flat Field test

This is taken using a Celestron 925 XLT and Celestron 0.63 Focal Reducer/Flattener. The camera is an SBIG-ST8300M with filter wheel (total back focus 38mm). Spacing was provided by a Celestron SCT-to-T adapter #93633-A (about 58mm).

The above full-field image is six 10 second exposures (2x2 binned) aligned and stacked, then given a stretch by Images Plus. The scope was not even roughly polar aligned and was unguided. I was also shooting through overhead power lines. Yechh.

I think it's fairly flat, at least flat enough to make me happy. Some vignetting is present, but it's about the same as found when imaging without the FR. I will probably tinker with the spacing in the future.

What's nice is that this setup gives a much more solid connection between the scope and camera. I look forward to using it SHOULD THE FREAKING SKY EVER CLEAR. Really, no, I'm okay, but thanks for asking.

2013: Star Party Bonanza!

My summer schedule is usually all over the place, and if I can make it to one star party I'm doing well. It seems sometimes like all the new moons fall on busy weekends; if it's not that, there may be several star parties at the same time. Then there's the Minnesota State Fair baked goods entry day, the August Sunday fifteen days before Labor Day.

"Fairchild," mascot of the State Fair.
What, you've never seen a gopher wearing a bow tie?

For a few days leading up to that I'm usually baking furiously in preparation. What can I say, I like baking bread, and I like winning ribbons.

The Ribbon is what it's all about.
Disagree? Get your priorities straight.

And on top of all that, there's earning a living. Oh, to be retired and financially secure! Years to go before that happens, if ever. I teach Friday night and Saturday afternoon science courses that typically run through the end of June. That puts a crimp in attending the usual Thursday through Sunday parties.

Amazingly, this year four parties fall on open dates for me:

1. Wisconsin Observers Weekend, near Waupaca, WI. This was my only summer party last year, and I really enjoyed it. In 2013 it's in June, on an off weekend for me!
2. Jeffers Petroglyphs informal party (nee Prairie Grass Stargaze), near Windom, MN. My favorite star party. Hard to do better than the people who stage this and attend, and the setting is made all the more sublime knowing that an ancient Native American observatory has been found nearby.
3. Northwoods StarFest, near Fall Creek, WI, and hosted by the Chippewa Valley Astronomical Society. Never been to this, but it's close and most people speak highly of it.
4. Iowa Star Party. I've missed this for the last few years. This is where I was introduced to real astrophotography by some very nice imagers. Someday I hope to exact my revenge.

I don't know if I can handle all this dark site time, but I'll try.

Next time, some words about Astrobin, where I've started posting images. There's not much else to talk about thanks to the clouds and cold weather.

Another telescope, WOW, images

Yes, I've purchased another telescope, this time a used C9.25. This is something I've wanted for a long time; it fills the niches for long focal length deep sky imaging and planetary imaging/observing. I've been using it so far only for deep sky imaging, and it's very nice, even at f/10. Here are some samples:

Messier 16 (Eagle Nebula) LRGB

M27 (first light image) Ha+OIII full frame

NGC 6820 (full frame) Ha
Sort of looks like M 16, doesn't it?

NGC 6781 (full frame) Ha + OIII

At f/10 it has a nice flat field. These are imaged with an SBIG ST-8300M and Baader filters. I usually bin 3x3.

WOW stands for the Wisconsin Observers Weekend, an annual event that brings together amateurs from all over Wisconsin and nearby states. It's held at the lovely Hartman Creek state park near Waupaca, WI, and features very dark skies. If you're in the MN, IA, WI, IL area and looking for a nice group of people to observe with under great skies, you can't do much better. I had bad luck with a faulty dew preventer, but still managed one night of imaging that got me the M 16 image above.

Next for me is the backyard observatory, the resumption of the school year, and a weekend trip to Jeffers Petroglyphs. More images coming soon, too.