This post is backdated to April 10, 2023 the day on which all my April imaging occurred. Setup: Celestron 8 SCT, Starizona Night Owl f/4.0 focal reducer, ZWO ASI294MC Pro cooled camera, Orion Magnificent Mini Auto-guider. Processing: Autostakkert!3, Paintshop Pro 2021.
 |
| IC447 |
 |
| NGC2175 |
 |
| Sharpless 274 |
I recently acquired a Celestron Motorfocus. What a great accessory. Aside from allowing more precise focusing there is no need to touch the scope (causing shake) or reposition one's self to access a focus knob. One can also enter previously determined number to get close to the focus for a particular optical configuration. Cool.
For the first time I visited one of my choice darkish sites it Maryland i.e. McCoy's Landing. It's not as dark as I had hoped thanks to increasing excessive LED street and security in nearby cities but it's better than trying to image from champion light polluter Frederick Maryland. The main target for the night was NGC2359 (Thor's Helmet ). The result below is a start that I hope to improve on when Canis Major returns in late 2022. Also, imaged that night were M48, M67, M81 and Sharpless 274.
 |
| NGC2359 (Thor's Helmet) |
 |
| Messier 48 |
 |
| Messier 67 |
 |
| Messier 81 (Bode's Galaxy) |
 |
| Sharpless 274 |
