Main Image Gallery Light Pollution Gallery Below is a collection of images not posted to the main gallery. These images are mostly testing images or were taken under less than ideal conditions. (In other words, I'm making excuses as to why they aren't very good!) WOM80 = William Optics 80mm Triplet Apochromat LX200GPS = 10" LX200GPS (f/ratio) DSI TESTING The Moon (imaging) First light image using the DSI Pro as an imager. WOM80 | DSI Pro | 0.03sec (30x0.001sec) The Veil Nebula in H-alpha (guiding) The main reason I bought the DSI Pro is to guide with it through the LX200GPS while I image through a piggybacked refractor. This is especially useful when imaging with narrowband filters, like Ha, since the built-in guider of the ST-2000XM becomes almost useless in these circumstances. WOM80 | ST-2000XM | 5min (1x5min) | Binned 3x3 The Lagoon Nebula (guiding) The guiding went well but, unfortunately, there was a telephone line in the way, which created unsightly gradients and unusual diffraction spikes in this image. WOM80 | ST-2000XM | 5min (1x5min) ASTRODON LRGB FILTERS M16 This image was taken to test my new Astrodon LRGB filters. All RGB frames were 2x2 and used the same exposure lengths. During color combination I needed to back off the blue just a little. WOM80 | ST-2000XM | 28min - L:10min, R:6min, G:6min, B:6min | 2min subexposures | All binned 2x2 M3 LX200GPS (f/10) | ST-2000XM | 16min - L:10min (5x2min), R:2min, G:2min, B:2min | All subframes binned 2x2 MISCELLANEOUS M42 - First light from Ontario First image taken from my new home in Ontario, CA. WOM80 | ST-2000XM | 10min (5x2min) M45 - First light from Ontario This image was taken the same night as the M42 image (above). WOM80 | ST-2000XM | 2min M110 - Comparison Considering the light pollution and relatively short exposure, it compares surprisingly well with an image from Kitt Peak. LX200GPS (f/10) | ST-2000XM | 25min (5x5min) | AO-7 (4Hz) Caldwell 33 - Eastern Veil Complex I took this image to test the autoguiding accuracy of my LX200GPS. Many people claim that autoguiding for several minutes cannot be done with an LX200GPS at f/10. This is a combination of three 5 minute exposures with an ST-2000XM selfguided with the TC-237H, no AO-7. This image was taken from my light-polluted driveway in Arcadia. LX200GPS (f/10) | ST-2000XM | 15min (3x5min) ST-2000XM First Light - M42 This is a first light image from the ST-2000XM that I bought in January 2004. Olympus Zuiko 50mm lens (f/8) | ST-2000XM | 20sec ST-2000XM First Light - M45 This is a first light image from the ST-2000XM that I bought in January 2004. Olympus Zuiko 50mm lens (f/8) | ST-2000XM | 60sec Vesta Asteroid Vesta has a highly reflective surface and is therefore quite bright (for an asteroid). In this image it's passing the 12.46 magnitude galaxy, NGC4701, in the constellation Virgo. LX200GPS | ST-7E | 3min (3x1min) NGC2392 NGC2392 (Clown Face or Eskimo Nebula) is a magnitude 10 planetary nebula in the constellation Gemini. LX200GPS (f/6.3) | 5min (1x5min) and 10min (2x5min) | AO-7 (7Hz) PGC43080 and surrounding galaxies Here you will see no less than 6 very faint galaxies in a small 9' x 13' field. This group is at the north end of the constellation Virgo. LX200GPS (~f/7) | ST-7E | 35min (7x5min) M27 This is a luminance image of the planetary nebula M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, taken on the evening of June 27, 2003, from Bear Valley Springs in California. LX200GPS (f/10) | ST-7E | 40min (8x5min) Pluto On the evening of June 27th/28th, 2003, Pluto was in the constellation Ophiuchus and was at magnitude 13.8. These 2 images show its apparent motion against the "fixed" background of stars over a 2 hour period (first image taken at 10:50PM on June 27th, second image taken at 12:50AM on June 28th). LX200GPS (f/10) | ST-7E | 2 images, each 1min | AO-7 (8Hz using SAO 160349) SYSTEM TESTING Periodic Error Correction Test This image shows the periodic error of my telescope before and after a PEC training session. After several attempts at PEC with different firmware versions, I was finally able to reduce the PE. Seeing conditions were poor so measuring the actual amounts of error was a little difficult but should be relatively accurate. The Appearance of Periodic Error in Images This image shows the symptoms of PE and two other potential tracking problems; seeing conditions and polar alignment. Declination Retrograde Motion Test This image shows the retrograde motion apparent in the LX200GPS's declination axis. The telescope moves slightly in the opposite direction before moving in the intended direction. The image is a 12 second exposure. After about 2 seconds of exposure I simultanesouly pressed the south and east slew keys on the hand controller; the slew speed was set to 2x the sidereal rate. The southward motion didn't come into play until the backlash of the declination gears was removed. South is up in this image. Flat Field Example This image shows what "flat-fielding" does for a CCD image. Flat-fielding is done to remove unwanted aspects of the optical train (uneven illumination, spots from dust and condensation, etc.). The unusual patterns in this image were caused by condensation that formed when the camera's temperature was dramatically reduced. Had I given the chip more time to cool the flat field probably wouldn't even have been necessary. Image taken with a ST-7E and Tamron 28mm lens.