No light pollution filter

For the first time since acquiring the Starizona Night Owl 0.4x focal reducer I decided to image with the Celestron F/6.4 focal reducer without a light pollution filter(LPF). These images were acquired in 14 to 15 radiance area in increasingly light polluted Frederick, MD vs the 0.5 to 1.0 radiance darkish areas where I image in Harvard MA and in Northern Maryland. Except for the NGC6946 which was imaged with 30s subframes all imaging was done with 15s subframes. I'll be revisiting many of my DSO favorites imaging without the LPF to see if an improvement in signal to noise can be achieved.

Messier 13

Messier 15

Messier 27 

Messier 56

Messier 92

NGC6946

The Kit as the Brits Call It

I listen to lots of science podcasts while imaging, especially ones from the BBC, The Guardian and Nature; thus my kit comment. Above is the setup just after taking flat frames for the coming night session. Celestron 8, Celestron AVX mount, ZWO ASI294 MC Pro color camera, Starizona Night Owl 0.4x Reducer/Corrector and Orion Magnificent Mini Auto-guider, For power, partially hidden by tripod leg, a Westinghouse iGen160s. Also available a 12v Centech jump starter. During twilight the auto-guider is temporarily swapped for a 50mm visual finder to do the all star polar alignment. Then the auto-guider is swapped back in, wired up and calibrated using stars near the celestial equator.  Update: The Centech is no longer used. The  iGen160s has more than enough juice to handle all the night's power needs.

7-30-2022 Summer Favorites

All of these were acquired with 30s subs. NGC6946, NGC6888 and NGC6823 are averages of 120 subs while NGC6992 and NGC7635 are averages of 60 subs. NGC6823 is actually a new summer favorite that I will return to in the future. I'll be returning to NGC6946, NGC6888 and NGC6823 acquiring 60s subs in hope of bringing out more nebulosity or galaxy.

NGC6946 (Fireworks Galaxy)

NGC6888(Crescent Nebula)

NGC6823, NGC6820

NGC6992 (Eastern Veil Nebula)

NGC7635 (Bubble Nebula)