Early Messier 23

Stars in this early image are poorly focused. I never really got the knack of the graphical focusing aids eventually resorting to eyeball focusing on an enlarged realtime bright star dimmed by super short exposure times. This image was taken at ambient temperature with an ambient temperature dark frame because I lacked to cooling power cable at the time. 

DSI is mothballed in favor of ZWO ASI174MC COOL

The Meade DSI-C has been mothballed. In July after much research I procured a ZWO ASI174MC-COOL which was on summer sale at Moving High Point Scientific  Moving from the DSI has significant learning curve with a big payoff.

I use SharpCap 2.9 for camera control and acquition. The learning curve can be steep with its many controls and parameters. Fortunately it's well documented. I typically acquire SER video files in 1936x1216 or 968x608 pixel formats. Temperature controlled cooling boosts productivity as one can acquire essential dark frames before a night imaging session. . The Meade DSI-C with no temp control and  plagued by hot pixels required frequent acquistion of dark frames as the ambient overnight temperature changed. Hot pixels have not been a problem with the new camera that I have typically run at 10C and 15s exposure.

ASI174MC is not perfect. Its large pixels 5.86 microns make it a less than ideal solar system camera compared to its smaller pixel cousins or my slower acquiring Celestron NexImager5. Also, there is significant amp glow in the lower right corner, thus dark frames are essential for long exposures.

Over the next few days I will be posting images acquired with the new camera since its June procurement.