A.S.I.G.N_Baz

My latest telescope upgrade is starting to prove itself. I still have a few tweaks to make and need to improve my processing, but it's getting really exciting now! Picture one is my first complete stack from the new telescope. This is one hour and twenty minutes of exposure on NGC253, Sculptor Galaxy. Distance - 11.4 million light years away. This second image is six and a half hours of exposure on NGC 2070 Tarantula Nebula. Distance - 159,800 light years away. Apparently if this bright nebula was as close to us as the Orion nebula, it would cast shadows.

G'day Tim. I did add flats. Not sure why they didn't work. I had to clone out a lot. Working on it. Thanks Eric too! Baz.

Thanks Ray. Its a GSO RC12. Some pics of it on my site mate. http://asignobservatoryii.com/

A television show in Australia called MANSPACE aired my observatory last night. They did a great job, apart for the part where they called me John.... LOL! It features first up, about a minute and a half into the show. http://www.jump-in.com.au/show/manspace/episodes/season-1/episode-7/episode-7/#autoplay

Cheers guys. The man cave is open for visits if you are ever in Australia. Baz.

For those of my overseas friends that can't view the Manspace TV segment on their website, it is now on the home page of the ASIGN Observatory II website. I wonder how I can edit the video and dub over the bit that calls me John....

Thanks Tim.

If only the sky would clear more often! Here you go. Apart from all my duties as a husband and father with a full-time job and several projects on the go, this is all the sky has allowed me to capture so far. Two measly five minute exposures combined to produce this image of Centaurus A, 10?16 million light-years away. One of the closest radio galaxies to Earth, it's center contains a supermassive black hole with a mass equivalent to 55 million solar masses. This was two subexposures (frames) only. I really need to combine about thirty of them, along with dark frames, flat frames and offset/bias frames. GSO RC12 Truss, Orion Starshoot One Shot colour imager (V1),Off-axis guiding with SBIG STi, EQ8 Equatorial Mount. I'm just starting to get the hang of the new equipment but still got a ways to go.

Thanks mate. I'm pretty excited after seeing this to think what 30 frames of data or more might accomplish. Baz.

Finally! Two years of building - 12 hours of rooting around with video editing programs of which I have no clue how to use - and It's done! I give you the complete construction of ASIGN Observatory II with a spine-tingling soundtrack.

More testing of the new optics. I still have lots of room for tweaking the focus, but I am still fighting a sky full of moonlight and moisture/smoke. Too many people in our bush capital still using wood fires for heating. The first picture is a single subexposure of M82 Southern Pinwheel Galaxy of ten minutes, guided using an SBIG ST-i guide camera and the Orion Starshoot (V1) as the main imager. The second image is a single five minute subexposure of the Carina nebula. Normally I would take twenty or thirty identical exposures, stack them together with dark, flat, offset/bias frames before exporting them to photoshop for final processing, so I'm pretty excited to see this level of detail, brightness and colour at the bottom of the pile. Focus and collimation both need work, but that will come in time.

1. It's been couple of nights of rapid progression at ASIGN Observatory II. First night I got collimation of the mirrors sorted out. 2, 3 &4. Last night I had a fellow astronomer visit and help me through configuring of all the software that runs the telescope and cameras. Here's a few shots of the setup. 5 and finally, here's the first image (60 second single exposure) out of the new telescope through the deep space imager. It should be noted that there was nearly a full moon up and the mist filled the sky with poo. I can't wait to get a clear moonless night on some distant galaxies!

Bless ya Tim. Thanks!

Ok here you go. :thumbup: After 30 hours of cutting, drilling, bolting and painting, ASIGN Observatory II is now sporting a very stylish pergola and banister over the front entrance. And a bonus little screen grab of Johanna Griggs from the Better Homes and Gardens team with me on the observation deck.

Hi Ray, you've sent me a couple of emails/private messages. When I click on the link to answer it goes to the website, but there is no message there. When I click on the message title, it says I do not have permission to go there. Not sure if you are getting my return emails mate but I am having issues with the forum permissions, even though I can still log in. Baz.

Looks like it's fixed now. Thanks Ray. Good work.

Nice clear and well resolved starfield Tim. Well done. Baz.

That's what the internet is for mate.

Welcome back MAS.

That all depends on cash mate. I'll post up a thread on where I'm at so far if you like.

Nice work Ray. I can't wait to give these another shot. Baz.

Whoa. Looks like I've been out of the loop for a long time and things change heaps! I just read through this and most of the jargon means diddly-squat to me! I'll be hitting you blokes up for info and advice on imaging when I get back into it! Baz.

Nothing beats a dome mate. Why do you think all the big observatories of the world use them? Looking the goods Ray! Baz.