10 Micron 1000 HPS quick review

        Kindly of the company Baader Plantarium and Horatiu Fluieras from Starmax I had the possibility to test the equatorial mount 1000 HPS produced by 10 Microns on astronomy.ro meeting at Plaiul Lisei from May 23 to 25, 2014.

           This small category mount can carry up to 25 kg and it is addressed to astronomers who make no compromise when it comes to quality and do not want to do astronomy with large instruments.

          The mount comes in a lining that can accommodate to a carrying case and no need to buy the special box for transport that cost from € 155.

          The saddle of mount supports both Vixen and Losmandy standards which is a great advantage especially for those who have several models of telescopes.

At first glance is impressive, materials are very high quality and the design draws you in from the first moment.

          The controller is large and beautifully lit, you can’t miss it in dark, the buttons seem a little too big but respond well to commands and the menu is not complicated, you can learn it quickly.

First night, 23-24  may 2014

          In the first night, I was familiar with the mount, I opened the box, I installed it, I balanced it, but I was wrong the time settings and the mount was set to 2 hours before local time, which gave me some large errors on calibration.

300” exposure unguided

           I also had problems with clouds. They came, they went, they cover the calibration stars and finally come and have never left at all.

Second night, 24-25  may 2014

          Announced clean since the day when it rained a little, then the clouds began to dissipate.

          After several unsuccessful attempts I found the error on local time and after I fix it things began to unfold in the most beautiful way possible .

          I started with rough polar alignment of the mount when I directed her towards the North Star using my RDF mounted on William Optics refractor .

          I continued with 3 stars align procedure where, to my surprise, alignment stars appear ​​in the visual field of the camera wich has 2.87⁰ x 1,91 ⁰ on my setup .

          I refined the alignment with 10 stars and for my surprise the handpad show me the RMS error in minutes and seconds of arc after each refined star centred on reticle with handpad buttons. Well, this RMS error decrese after each refining star added. I have added only 10 stars for refining my alignment because the short time I had at my disposal, but the maximum number is 25.

          Then I applied the polar alignment routine from controller and I realigned with 3-star. The second 3-star alignment was flawless because I didn’t do any adjustments with buttons, the mount put the stars right in the center of reticle. I added another 10 stars to refine the alignment . Finally , I checked the polar alignment error and was somewhere near 10 ' . In those conditions , especially given the limited time I had available, I think I did it very well . I didn’t had time to test Per Frajval’s Model Maker to make the alignment model.

These are the tests:

-          Refractor William Optics 90mm F/6.2

-          Corrector/ReducerTeleVue TRF-2008

-          Ultimate 600D

-          In PixInsight I croped an 1:1 from center of image.

Test 1 – 300” exposure unguided – M106

Test 2 – 600” exposure unguided – M106

Test 3 – 900” exposure unguided – NGC 6960

Conclusions:

          The stars from central part are almost perfectly round. Downright impressive exposure especially for the 900” one.

What I like:

-          Opening and understanding that I received from the company Baader Planetarium and whom I thank this way.

-          Quality of materials.

-          Very easy assembly and ease of use.

-          Balancing routine that helps the mount for a perfect swing.

-          The aligning procedure although it takes a fairly long time is very accurate and the controller lets you know how's RMS error which is very useful for accuracy in astrophotography.

-          Polar alignment is very easy and not necessarily need the North Star.

-          Atmospheric refraction compensation function.

-          Function that correct the tube flexure and cone error.

-          900 seconds exposure unguided think that says it all about what is able to do this mount.

-          Maximum slew rate is 15 ⁰ however mount is very quiet; at normal slew speed of 7 ⁰ you hear almost no sound.

-          The mount controller can connect to a computer via an Ethernet connection, making it ideal for automated systems.

-          I had the opportunity to do an speed test because a colleague own an ASA DDM 60 mount and 10 Micron 1000 HPS did very well, reached the chosen star almost simultaneously at maximum speed.

What I don’t like:

-          The cable between the mount and the controller is too short, I haven’t measured but has no more than 30 cm. I understand that the system is designed to hanging below the mount but at some tripods this is not possible, and some users who have mobile astro systems would want to protect it better.

-          Mount that I tested did not have the power cord, do not know if it comes from the manufacturer or was an oversight. The fact that has no power source like standard I only mention it here, no longer comment, but it seems to me a wrong marketing approach although I understand that the same policy exists and competition.

-          I wanted to find on CD an astrometric alignment software but it was only an firmware.

-          The purchase price is prohibited for the socio-economic conditions in Romania.

http://sabinfota.ro/

M42 varianta 2013

Focalizare si motorizare de la MoonLite si alte jucarii

NGC2239 - Nebuloasa Trandafirul

Locatie: Valea Izvorului, Mehedinti
Data: 29.10.2013, 07.11.2013
Obiect: ngc2239
Expuneri:7x600, 24x480, ISO800
Montura: Losmandy G11
Telescop: Refractor APO William Optics Megrez 90mm f/6.2
               TeleVue reducător/corector TRF-2008
Cameră: JTW Ultimate 600Dac, Dt=-30grade, temp controlled +/- 2grade
Ghidaj: StarlightXpress Lodestar
Filtre: Hutech 2" LPS-v4
Software: Pixinsight 1.8
          BackyardEOS
          Stellarium
          PHD guiding
          DSS Live
          MaximDL

Observatii: un obiect extraordinar de frumos, cu o editare care a durat aproape 1 luna.

IC1805 - Heart nebula

Data: 30aug/04sept./07sept.2013
Locatie: Valea Izvorului/Balacita, Romania

Telescop: Megrez 90mm APO, f/6,2 la F=558mm

Camera: JTW Ultimate 600D controlată de BYEOS, P-FLT4 reducător la F=432 mm, f/4.8 

Filtru: -

Ghidaj: TS 8x50 cu QHY5 controlată de PHD guiding

Montură: CGEM

Expuneri: 58x480" - 7,73h

ISO: 1600
Software: Pixinsight
Obseratii: in ciuda faptului ca am avut probleme cu ortogonalitatea senzorului si multe cadre defocusate, nu am vrut sa renunt la 3 nopti de munca, asa ca acesta este rezultatul.
Cer senin!
Sabin

M8 - Lagoon nebula

Data: 10-11.iul.2013
Locatie: Valea Izvorului, Romania

Telescop: Megrez 90mm APO, f/6,2 la F=558mm

Camera: JTW Ultimate 600D, P-FLT4 reducător la F=432 mm controlată de BYEOS

Filtru: -

Ghidaj: TS 8x50 cu QHY5 controlată de PHD guiding

Montură: CGEM

Expuneri: 7x600 secunde - 70'

ISO: 400
Software: Pixinsight
Obseratii: proiect in desfasurare....

Date: 10-11.jul.2013
Location: Valea Izvorului, Romania

Scope: Megrez 90mm APO, f/6,2 at F=558mm

Camera: JTW Ultimate 600D, P-FLT4 reducer at F=432 mm controled by BYEOS

Filter: -

Guiding: TS 8x50 with QHY5 controled by PHD guiding

Mount: CGEM

Frames: 7x600 sec - 70'

ISO: 400
Software: Pixinsight
Observations: work in progress....

M42, IC434, IC2118 - reworked

imaginea din 2011

imaginea din 2011

imaginea din 2012

After party, everyday astrophotography

     Întâlnirea astronomy.ro a trecut aşa că am revenit la programul obişnuit. Am plecat de la Plaiul Lisei cu un regret şi anume că nu am reuşit să fac mai multe expuneri pentru a profita de vremea excelentă care ne-a însoţit pe toată durata întâlnirii. În prima seară, când am reuşit să expun cele câteva cadre am avut montura neechilibrată perfect iar în a doua seară am făcut o greşeală de începător şi nu mi-a mers nimic bine.
     Aşteptam revanşa, mă pregăteam pentru miercuri seara să ies la stele, dar oportunitatea s-a ivit marţi seara, când, datorită unei  prognoze bune, am ieşit la stele.
    Deşi bătea puţin vântul şi era cam frig, am ieşit să fotografiez M101 pe care am mai încercat să o fotografiez dar din cauza dotărilor necorespunzătoare rezultatele au fost mediocre. Planul era sa fotografiez M101 şi apoi să trec pe nebuloasa IC4592 - Blue Horse Nebula din Scorpion.
     Aproape de miezul nopţii am avut parte de un iridium flare, pe care de altfel am şi reuşit să îl fotografiez, fiind prima reuşită de acest fel. Folosesc un soft pe telefonul mobil, ISS Detector, care îmi arată orele de tranzit ale ISS precum şi ale sateliţilor Iridium şi alte obiecte în funcţie de locaţia aleasă, foarte util, îl recomand cu căldură.
     Am utilizat Canon 50D-ul de pe trepied, cu telecomandă şi ca obiectiv Carl Zeiss Planar T 50mm f/1.8. Am folosit funcţia Bulb, expunere de 60 secunde, 30 înainte de flare şi 30 după flare, f/4.0 şi ISO 400.
Am vrut să expun 1 minut înainte şi 1 minut după, dar mi-am dat seama că s-ar putea să îmi iasă din cadru.

Iridium flare, Canon 50D, Carl Zeiss  Planar T 50mm f/4.0, 60s, ISO400

Luna a apus târziu, după miezul nopţii, pierzându-se între nişte nori rătăciţi deasupra oraşului.

     De altfel nu m-a deranjat foarte mult, aşa că am reuşit să expun 2 ore la M101, galaxia fiind în poziţia cea mai favorabilă şi anume în zenit.

Imaginea din 2011

Data: 14-15.mai.2013
Locatia: Valea Izvorului, Mehedinţi, România
Obiect: M101 - Messier 101 - Pinwell Galaxy
Montura: Celestron CGEM
Sistem optic: William Optics Megrez 90mm APO dublet, f/6.2, 558mm
                       WO P-FLAT4 reducator la 430mm şi corector de câmp
Sistem foto: Ultimate 600D modificat astro şi răcit la DT =-50°C
Ghidaj: TS 50mm cautator cu barlow şi QHY5 mono CCD
Achiziţii: 12x10' , ISO 800
Procesare: PixInsight şi PS6

     Am mai tras câteva cadre cu aparatura la lucru, în unele apar şi eu.

     Planul era ca să trag ceva cadre şi la nebuloasa Calul albastru din Scorpion - IC 4592 - Blue Horse Nebula, dar după câteva încercări mi-am dat seama că îmi trebuie o focală mai mică, aşa că am renunţat, iar la ora 2 am strâns, a doua zi trebuia să merg şi la lucru.

După ce am echilibrat aproape perfect montura şi am aliniat-o polar cât mai precis (metoda grosieră cu contragreutatea spre Kohab şi apoi metoda driftului spre Sud şi apoi spre Est) ghidajul a mers foarte lin şi fără erori prea mari, parcă s-a revanşat pentru nerealizările de la Plaiul Lisei.

     Ultimate 600D se comportă foarte bine, cadrele sunt cu cel puţin 25 de grade sub temperatura mediului, iar softul BYEOS merge excelent împreună cu camera.

     Pentru o ieşire neprogramată în timpul săptămânii a fost foarte bogată în evenimente şi cu rezultate neaşteptat de bune.

Moon - partial eclipse - 25.apr.2013

Am ieşit din nou cu Celestronul C6 XLT, parcă începe să îmi placă din nou de el, deşi l-am pus la vânzare. De data asta am fost singur şi am folosit Canonul 50D. Am ieşit cu gândul să testez şi montura CGEM, dar spre frustrarea mea am uitat luneta de ghidaj acasă, aşa că nu am putut să o testez în PHD şi am folosit PemPro dar nu am fost aşa de mulţumit de rezultate.
Pe finalul şedinţei am testat din nou măştile Carrey şi Bahtinov şi am fost din nou uimit de acurateţea lor.

 La ora 22:36:07 în faza de penumbră

La ora 23:09:40 în faza de umbră

Am tras cu ochiul şi la Saturn

 Arcturus, 5s, ISO800, out of focus - Carrey mask

Arcturus, 5s, ISO800, near focus - Carrey mask

Canon 600D - JTW astronomy mooded

Asta primeşti în cutie. Camera, alimentator universal la 220V şi cablu de date USB.

This is what you get, mooded camera, power source at 220V and USB cable.

Carcasa camerei a fost înlocuită cu o carcasă făcută din aliaj de aluminiu aerospaţial 7075 care este printre puţinele aliaje care poate fi prelucrat la o grosime de 1 mm.
Peltierul face transferul de căldură în 2 etape cu o eficienţă mărită şi un consum de numai 50W, dar care poate răci la ∆T = -80oC. La 15V puterea peltierului este de 85W, la 12V este de 60W.
Its 7075 aerospace alloy, one of the few alloys that can withstand machining to 1mm thicknesses. The peltier is a 2-stage high powered job with a max thermal transfer of just 50W, but we can still cool to delta T of -80 with it. At 15V the power of peltier element is 85W, at 12V is 60W.

Sistemul de răcire, aici se poate vedea radiatorul supradimensionat, care elimină surplusul de căldură de la elementul peltier care este în contact cu senzorul camerei, şi pe care îl duce cu multe grade sub temperatura mediului.

The cooling system, here you can see oversized radiator that removes excess of heat from the peltier element wich is in contact with the camera sensor that leads it to many degrees below ambient temperature.

 Camera are o greutate rezoonabilă de 1117 grame.

The weight of camera, 1117 grams is reasonable.

Camera împreună cu reducătorul/corectorul William Optics PFLT-4 are 1640 grame.

Here is camera and reducer/flatner WO PFLT-4, 1640 grams.

Camera împreună cu reducătorul/corectorul William Optics PFLT-4 ataşate refractorului William Optics Megrez 90mm APO.

Camera and WO PFLT-4 attached at WO Megrez 90 mm APO refractor.

Acum, partea tehnică, am facut dark-uri de 600 secunde şi bias-uri la ISO 800.

Now tehnical part, biases and darks at 600 sec at ISO 800.

Bias, 1/200 sec, ISO 800 processed in PixInsight

1.open file,

2.SampleFormatConversion at 32Bit

3.Histogram Transform

4.Save as .tiff

5.PS6 ->open,

6.resize

7.save for web.

Master Bias 100x processed in PixInsight

1.open file,

2.SampleFormatConversion at 32Bit

3.Histogram Transform

4.Save as .tiff

5.PS6 ->open,

6.resize

7.save for web.

Dark, 596 sec, ISO 800 processed in PixInsight

1.open file,

2.SampleFormatConversion at 32Bit

3.-

4.Save as .tiff

5.PS6 - open,

6.resize

7.save for web.

Urmează testele în teren, când vremea şi-o reveni.

Now i expect the weather to get better to test the camera in the field.

Primele concluzii:

1.Constructia este solida, cu materiale de bună calitate.

2.La acest model conexiunea camera-telescop se face prin intermediul unui inel T2 dar am înţeles că se lucrează la un sistem de adaptare a lentilelor, primul sistem având probleme cu focalizarea, aşa că se lucrează la o versiune mai subţire.

3.Ventilatorul este silentios desi este de dimensiuni mari.

4.Disiparea căldurii se face destul de bine, corpul camerei neîncălzindu-se foarte mult.

5.Camera are filtrul obişnuit înlocuit cu un filtru IR/UV care permite ca 98% din radiaţiile h-alfa să treacă, făcând astfel camera de 4 ori mai sensibilă decât una nemodificată.

6.Camera este sigilată complet, având în faţa senzorului o sticlă transparenta tratată multistrat cu rol antireflex şi de sigilare, fiind asamblată într-o incintă sigilată de asemenea, deci nici-o problemă cu urmele de praf de pe senzor. 

7.O sa vorbesc cu Mark să se gândească la un sistem de protecţie împotriva supraîncălzirii.

8.Nu am reusit ca sa setez bine BYEOS-ul, sunt la primele utilizări, ca să vă transmit şi temperaturile exacte până la care a ajuns răcirea.

First conclusions:

1.Solid construction with very good quality materials.

2.At my model the conection camera-scope is an T2 ring, but they work at an lens adapter, the first system heaving problems to focus so they gonna make another version of adapter, more thinner - then you can use clip-in filters.

3.The fan is very quiet even though it is large.

3.Heat dissipation is good, the camera body stays pretty cool.

4.The IR-cut filter is replaced by an IR/UV filter that permits 98% of h-alfa rays to pass, so camera is 4 times more sensible that an unmooded camera.

6.The camera is completly sealed, it has in front of sensor an clear glass threated multicoated and antireflex wich acts as sealant, it is assabled in an dust-free chamber, so bye, bye dust on sensor.

7.I will talk with Mark to think at an overheating protection system, they are anouncing very hot summer days.

8.Mea culpa, being first time user of BYEOS I didn't make it to show you the temperatures of the frames...it would be very COOL!!!!!

Clear skies,

Sabin

Later edit:

Streched in PI
5:1 from central area cropped

M42 - Hubble Legacy Archive

capture Hubble telescope
processed by Sabin Fota in Pixinsight and PS

JANUARY 11, 2006: In one of the most detailed astronomical images ever produced, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured an unprecedented look at the Orion Nebula. This turbulent star formation region is one of astronomy's most dramatic and photogenic celestial objects. More than 3,000 stars of various sizes appear in this image. Some of them have never been seen in visible light. These stars reside in a dramatic dust-and-gas landscape of plateaus, mountains, and valleys that are reminiscent of the Grand Canyon. The Orion Nebula is a picture book of star formation, from the massive, young stars that are shaping the nebula to the pillars of dense gas that may be the homes of budding stars.

     This dramatic image offers a peek inside a cavern of roiling dust and gas where thousands of stars are forming. The image, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, represents the sharpest view ever taken of this region, called the Orion Nebula. More than 3,000 stars of various sizes appear in this image. Some of them have never been seen in visible light. These stars reside in a dramatic dust-and-gas landscape of plateaus, mountains, and valleys that are reminiscent of the Grand Canyon.

     The Orion Nebula is a picture book of star formation, from the massive, young stars that are shaping the nebula to the pillars of dense gas that may be the homes of budding stars. The bright central region is the home of the four heftiest stars in the nebula. The stars are called the Trapezium because they are arranged in a trapezoid pattern. Ultraviolet light unleashed by these stars is carving a cavity in the nebula and disrupting the growth of hundreds of smaller stars. Located near the Trapezium stars are stars still young enough to have disks of material encircling them. These disks are called protoplanetary disks or "proplyds" and are too small to see clearly in this image. The disks are the building blocks of solar systems.

     The bright glow at upper left is from M43, a small region being shaped by a massive, young star's ultraviolet light. Astronomers call the region a miniature Orion Nebula because only one star is sculpting the landscape. The Orion Nebula has four such stars. Next to M43 are dense, dark pillars of dust and gas that point toward the Trapezium. These pillars are resisting erosion from the Trapezium's intense ultraviolet light.   The glowing region on the right reveals arcs and bubbles formed when stellar winds - streams of charged particles ejected from the Trapezium stars — collide with material.

     The faint red stars near the bottom are the myriad brown dwarfs that Hubble spied for the first time in the nebula in visible light. Sometimes called "failed stars," brown dwarfs are cool objects that are too small to be ordinary stars because they cannot sustain nuclear fusion in their cores the way our Sun does. The dark red column, below, left, shows an illuminated edge of the cavity wall.

     The Orion Nebula is 1,500 light-years away, the nearest star-forming region to Earth. Astronomers used 520 Hubble images, taken in five colors, to make this picture. They also added ground-based photos to fill out the nebula. The ACS mosaic covers approximately the apparent angular size of the full moon.

     The Orion observations were taken between 2004 and 2005.

hubblesite.org

M42 - protoplanetary disk

M42 - protoplanetary disk, little version