Sh2-108

[somber fulcrum]

One of my favourite parts of the sky. Taken in Sep 2024 using a Redcat 71 and Nikon D810A. ~7 hours of data. 5 minute subs at ISO 800.

[brisk forge]

September 2024

[somber fulcrum]

LOl...2023....getting ahead of myself.

[boreal eagle]

Stunning! Is that orange jelly bean near the top left corner the crescent nebula? This photo is so incredibly detailed Im trying to orient myself on the map.

[tame spindle]

D810A is a beast

[somber fulcrum]

Yes that is the Crescent Nebula. You know, I have multiple dedicated astro cameras with cooling and everything but the camera I love is the Nikon D810A, a DSLR no less. It takes great pictures.

Actually I just ran it through an annotation script and it says that is Sh2-106 (so not the Crescent) and that blue star below it, I think, is V2119 Cyg.

[somber fulcrum]

It is Sh2-106, the Snow Angel.

[boreal eagle]

Thats awesome, you’ve included a lot more faint areas than I thought! They have so much detail in this image I completely ignored that part of the chart. Way to go dude this rocks!

[somber fulcrum]

Thank you. You made me really go back and examine the image and I think I'm going to make a habit of annotating and studying them more from now on. Also adding Sh2-106 to my todo list too. 🙂

[somber fulcrum]

By the way, you can just make out the top of the Crescent Nebula at the bottom left edge.

[boreal eagle]

That's definitely something I am going to get better at too. My equipment will just be getting into the realm of being able to see more faint details and I will have a lot to learn!

[somber fulcrum]

What are you running for an imaging rig?

[boreal eagle]

Currently a full spectrum Canon RP with a FD mount 80-200 F4L on top of an Orion AstroView eq that I made a clock drive for. I just started trying the full spectrum RP after using my R6 mainly and I got a lot of star bloat and red halo so the very next thing I will do is use a UV/IR cut with Ha pass. I also found a William Optics GT81 with flattener today for $850 so that will be the scope I will try and grow into. I think that is going to be a lot of work for my little AstroView so I am doing two things there. I have a couple 100:1 harmonic drives that I intend to make en EQ out of. It should end up pretty similar to the AM5, in fact I think I have the exact same drives. Until that is finished though I will put onstep on my AstroView alongside a used 30mm guidescope and ASI 120mm mini so that I can tame the pretty noticeable periodic error.

All in all I have my work cut out for me for this spring and summer!

[somber fulcrum]

Wow! Very nice. You will enjoy the GT81...at least that focal length. I use the D810A on a Redcat 71 on an AM5 and it works good. I also have an Esprit 100 paired with a ASI2600MM and an EvoStar 120ED Pro paired with an ASI533MM. I'm building out a 9.25 Edge HD paired with an ASI2600 for galaxy season. All my rigs, with the exception of the Redcat, use Moonlite focusers. I've been very happy with the results. Love your Witches Head.

[boreal eagle]

I've heard those auto focusing drives can really help keep sharpness up throughout the night especially if the temperature changes, do you find that the case with your setups?

Thanks for the compliments!

[somber fulcrum]

Yes, I would never go back to manual focusing if I can avoid it. We get wild temperatrue swings and it helps a lot. My autofocus kicks in automatically if it detects a change in the HFR of the stars. Although it isn't necessary I would recommend some sort of autofocus. On the Redcat I use an ASI electronic focuser setup from Deepsky Dad. It works well too. I use to just have a laptop connected to my rigs and sat outside with them, now I have a mini pc mounted on the scope and use NINA to control from inside the house/trailer (if camping) via RDP. With the Redcat I use an ASIAir+ and it's a real game changer but it's meant for the ASI ecosystem...still, works well with the Redcat, ASI focuser, D810A and AM5. That is now my grab and go setup.