Astrophotography – Lagoon Nebula (M8)

The image is also available in full resolution.

Date2013/05/08
LocationLa Palma / Spain
ObjectLagoon Nebula (M8)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, Lacerta M-Gen autoguider via finderscope
TelescopeMeade LXD55 10" Schmidt-Newton
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance10x 400s, bin: 1x1
Red10x 100s, bin: 2x2
Green10x 100s, bin: 2x2
Blue10x 100s, bin: 2x2
Dark5x
Flat-
Total exposure~1h56m

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 21:51 pm

Astrophotography – Globular Cluster M3

The image is also available in full resolution.

Date2013/04/24
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectGlobular Cluster (M3)
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, DMK31AU03.AS via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance8x 260s, bin: 1x1
Red8x 65s, bin: 2x2
Green8x 65s, bin: 2x2
Blue8x 65s, bin: 2x2
Dark4x
Flat-
Total exposure~1h

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 21:55 pm

Astrophotography – Imaging another galaxy – Messier 106

In July 2012 I already imaged M106 with my DMK31AU03.AS camera (no guiding). Now I wanted to try the same object with the Atik383L+ camera to see the difference.

There are additional galaxies around in that picture – NGC4248, NGC4231, NGC4232, NGC4217 and NGC4226! Here is a full resolution image which better shows the details of the image.

Date2013/04/19
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectSpiral galaxy M106
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, DMK31AU03.AS via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminanceunknown
Redunknown
Greenunknown
Blueunknown
Darkunknown
Flatunknown
Total exposureunknown

For stacking I used DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 with Kappa-Sigma Clipping.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 21:57 pm

Newtonian telescope vs naked eye

I think sometimes it is hard to get a feeling for the magnification of a telescope – especially when you are relatively new to the topic (like me). So I decided to make a test with my naked eye vs my Newtonian telescope (focal length F=1000mm) in combination with my Atik383L+ camera to get a better idea of it’s magnification. The pixel size of the Atik383L+ is 5.4um x 5.4um. So the overall magnification factor should be about 107x.

To me the result is quite impressive. Talking about a magnification of about 100 is one thing – but seeing it is something else. When looking at the sky at night I think the applied magnification is not so obvious. I think this test image helps to get a rough idea.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 22:03 pm

See the Moon through an 1000mm Newtonian telescope

See the Moon through a 1000mm Newtonian telescope. This short video gives a first impression of how it is to look through a telescope. Since everyone already saw the moon without a telescope this is a good object because it allows an easy comparison. My telescope has a focal length of 1000mm. As camera I have use the DMK31AU03.AS from “The Image Source”. More details on the equipment can be found on the equipment page. If you are currently thinking about buying your first telescope, maybe this simplifies your decision 🙂

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 22:09 pm