Exploring the Suffolk Virginia Night Sky – Astronomy, Astrophotography, Telescopes, EAA – Planets and Stars and Nebula and Galaxies – Looking, Learning, Sharing… Let's see what we can see…
Nice clear, cold night. Little bit of a waxing Moon (30% or so), not yet bright enough to cause to many issues. Uncovered the scope in the early afternoon and cooled down the camera. After the Sun set I did a quick three point polar alignment and checked focus. The target, IC 443, was just peaking over the horizon at sunset so I had to wait for it to get high enough to frame up.
After getting the Jellyfish and the other associated molecular dust framed up in NINA’s framing assistant, I set up the sequencer to kick off at 8:30 PM and run through the night. I collected 7 hours of light (140 x 180 seconds), but I ended up not using the first half hour. The Jellyfish was still pretty low in the sky and there were a lot of weird gradient caused by the light pollution, these disappeared as it rose higher in the sky. The sequence finished up just before 5 AM (around 4:54 AM) and the scope parked in the ScopeDown position.
I requested the PixInsight Free Trial, so I am working through learning that (and there is so much to learn). Very steep learning curve, but I have a pretty basic workflow that is working pretty well. Will continue to build on it as I learn more. I stacked the 130 frames and calibrated with a master dark using Sirilic, then did all the processing in PixInsight.
IC 443 or the Jellyfish Nebula is a galactic supernova remnant in the constellation of Gemini. This large supernova remnant is located approximately 5,000 light years from Earth. This is 130 x 180 second exposures (6 1/2 hours total) stacked with Sirilic and processed in PixInsight.
Lots of interesting clouds and dusty filaments in this FOV. The Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) is down left of center and looks a lot like a Jellyfish 🙂 Sh2-249 is the nebula up towards the top of the frame and to the right. The blue nebulosity to down right from center is small reflection nebula IC 444.
There is probably a way to fix up the two bright stars in PixInsight. I am still learning and tinkering with it, so stay tuned.
My focus tube on the AT66ED is slipping a little from the weight of the camera. I need to adjust the screw to increase the drag on it. Suppose to be clear again tonight, so not sure it will get tore down and fixed today. It is not that bad, but it needs to be fixed.
