A few ASI 294 MC Pro Images

Before getting into the imaging it's valuable to note that ASI294MC-Pro was not recognized by SharpCap 2.9 forcing me to upgrade to  v3.1. To benefit from live dark frame subtraction I had to pay for the pro version only to find the dark frame subtraction did not work properly. I noted this to the developer who has worked with me to fix the issue which I'm currently testing. Recently, clear skies have been the exception. The following images were acquired without the live frame subtraction with dark frames applied during  Autostakkert processing.

Messier 17

Messier 16

Messier 22

Messier 27

Except for the exposure times all of the above images were averaged from 25 subframes using the following settings.  Messier 22 was acquired using 8s images. The other three images were acquired using 15s images.

Well...the ASI174MC-COOL did not work out

Ignore the publication date. This post was written around July 20th, 2018 but only published 8/8/18. I'll try for brevity.

The ASI174MC-COOL camera that replaced my mothballed but still working Meade DSI Color died TWICE under warranty. I suspect this was due to the camera drawing too much current and overheating while acquiring dark images for later use. When it worked the camera was productive and enjoyable to use despite its high amplifier glow. High Point Scientific was classy enough to  issue me a credit for the full camera price after the second failure. Thank you HPS.

I used the credit, plus an additional $311 to procure the popular ASI294MC-Pro. I've only had it a couple days but so far am impressed. I was inspired to get the 294 by the awesome Astrobin images taken by Robin Clark with her 14" Celestron Edge SCT with a 0.67x focal reducer. Although her imager is an ASI1600MC-Pro its pixels are a bit smaller suggesting the ASI294MC-Pro is a bit more sensitive.

I use an 8" Celestron SCT also with a 0.67x. Suggesting the 294MC Pro would be a good match. To my delight on my second night out with the new camera I was able to get this M-13 image, though sadly marred by a dust speck ring.

Update: I was not using flat frames at the time of this writing.

The image is also noisy as I was running at high gain and with short (8s) exposures and dark frames only averaged from five sub-frames. 

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.

Open Clusters: M37, M44, M67

These images were acquired 3/29/2016. Scope used was Celestron Travelscope 70x400mm mounted piggy back on Celestron 8 SCT / AVX mount. Optical train included Antares 0.5x Focal reducer. Alignment: 2 Alignment Stars+4 alignment stars+ All star polar alignment. Exposures: 8-15s with sidereal tracking only. Post processing: Fits liberator with ArcSinh(x) tranform of histograms. Layers colorized and combined with PSP9.

Messier 37

Messier 44

Messier 67

Three galaxies M51, M94, M109 and a globular M3

M51 and M3  are  old  favorites. M94 and M109 were  new targets for the night (3/11/16). Scope  used  was  Celestron 8 mounted on AVX mount. Optical train included Celestron 0.66x field flattening focal reducer stacked with Antares 0.5x focal reducer. Two star alignment with 4 calibration stars and Celestron "All Star Polar Alignment" was use to align with true celestial north. Images were acquired with 25 15-30s  exposure frames in FITS format. Post processing was with Fitsliberator using the ArcSinh(x) transform to TIFF format. Red, green and blue layers were colorized and recombined using Paintshop Pro 9.

Messier 94

Messier 51

Messier 109

Messier 3

The trip to Harvard, MA was a bust

One thing you can be sure of is the more things you need for a sky gazing trip out the more chances things can go wrong. More than once I have trekked 45 miles out to Harvard, MA only to have forgotten a key item or have something fail. Once last year it was the AVX mount. Once, with my previous scope, a Meade 127ED, it was ... arrgghh... the 2" to 1.25" adapter. 

The most recent night, 2/6/2016, it was the DC to AC converter I use to power the laptop off of the car battery. It suddenly stopped working. Lacking a spare fuse or a way to test the fuse continuity I cut my night short trying to image on my aging Acer battery. It barely delivered 90 minutes. The one image acquired was not worth keeping.

Now here's the kicker. When I got home a test of the fuse showed it was fine. I plugged the DC/AC converter into the jump starter 12v port and it worked. Huh? I the tried it in the car and after a couple of plugs and unplugs, well it worked. Well at least the 90 mile drive was on $1.49 gas instead of $3.49 gas from a few years ago.