Lagoon Region

Taking the AT6RC tube off and installing the Televue 76mm on the mount changes the game a bit. Lower magnification, wider field, a setup I find more appropriate for Waikoloa skies.

The average seeing in Waikoloa is 2 or 3 arcseconds, or worse… Not the 0.5 arseconds typical at the summit. This leads to mushy stars at higher magnification, fuzzballs rather than pinpoints. Lower magnification sidesteps this problem.

Still using the borrowed ASI2600MC color camera for a few more days, seeing just what it is capable of. The slightly larger sensor is nice and the data easier to process, but still I am seeing limitations that annoy me in the fine details. The color balance is difficult to deal with as well.

I will be going back to the ASI1600MM and filter wheel soon enough. I do need to up my processing game, the software side has changed substantially over the years and I need to transition. Will be giving PixInsight a spin over the next month.

The Lagoon Nebula Region
The Lagoon Nebula Region including M8, M20, M23, NGC6544, IC 4678, Bochum 14, and much more

Postcard from the Universe – Lagoon

Another product of this last new Moon star party at the MKVIS. An easy target, suited to checking the performance of the new setup. As usual, click on the image to view the larger size…

The Lagoon
The Lagoon Nebula, NGC6523, in Sagittarius, 11 x 8min exposures, Canon 20Da and AT6RC