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Post by bigeye155 on Nov 4, 2015 23:26:45 GMT
Hi all, The IAA observing group's next planned observing session is this weekend at our usual spot down at Delamont Country Park. The forecast for Friday is for rain clearing from the west with windy conditions but there may be a few clear spells in the evening, I'll check the forecast sometime tomorrow which will be more accurate, so check this forum thread around 6pm on Friday 6th for an update on weather conditions (fingers crossed  There is a possibility of an Auroral display and also the Taurid meteor shower to enjoy  If anyone needs directions to Delamont, let me know, text or ring me on 07808736963 I'd like to take this opportunity to invite any new or non members to join us, if you need any advice on observing or equipment, we'll be glad to help, the Milky Way is spectacular from Delamont! See you there. David (observing coordinator) |
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Post by bigeye155 on Nov 5, 2015 22:02:05 GMT
Hi all,
I've been checking the forecast, and its looking good for Friday 6th, so even at this early stage, I'll stick my neck out and say observing is "ON". I'll try to text all on my contact list tomorrow to confirm, if you want to be included, send me a text to 07808736963.
Looking forward to this!
See you there!
David
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Post by astrom32 on Nov 6, 2015 0:26:39 GMT
Fantastic news; can't wait.
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Post by Ciarán on Nov 6, 2015 13:32:20 GMT
What's a good time to start arriving?
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Post by bigeye155 on Nov 6, 2015 16:56:02 GMT
Earlier the better as it will be getting dark about 5.30pm. See you all there!
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Post by neillm on Nov 6, 2015 23:56:14 GMT
Enjoyed tonight's session - lovely clear skies. Some very nice Taurids on show.
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Post by Theresa on Nov 7, 2015 8:44:00 GMT
I really enjoyed last night, and I'd like to thank everyone for their patience in showing me and my daughters the basics. Eldest twin was enthralled and we have a day's work ahead of ourselves trying to find the answers to her questions.
I was so disappointed at the difference in the sky when I got home, I struggled to find the plough in order to find polaris, so I think until I am a bit more accustomed to picking out stars I'll need to go somewhere a bit higher up, with no houses blocking my view, so I can see as much of the sky as possible.
Great night, thank you.
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Post by neillm on Nov 7, 2015 12:04:46 GMT
Looks like we missed the aurora by around 5-6 hours. Data on spaceweather had it very active around 3-4 am this morning. A bright aurora would have made last night even better.
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Post by bigeye155 on Nov 7, 2015 17:35:40 GMT
Thanks to all who turned up at Delamont last night, great craic as usual! Theresa, glad you and daughters enjoyed it too. Please post a like on my post on IAA facebook See pic attached.........  Weather is looking good for a few hours this evening, so if you can get to reasonably good northern skies, have a look for Aurora, you never know! We will be having another observing session next weekend, weather permitting of course Clear skies David |
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Post by astrom32 on Nov 7, 2015 18:04:22 GMT
Great time last night; I wasn't ignoring anyone last night sorry I was off in my own world with the laptop and was trying to get some images of Andromeda for coursework and was live streaming the telescope's view to the internet while I got advice over the phone, just incase anyone thought I was talking to myself . Was great seeing so many people there. Welcome to Theresa sorry I missed you last night but glad you got out in the end and had a chance to see what was up there. |
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Post by Ciarán on Nov 24, 2015 22:58:56 GMT
Hi guys Thought i'd post a quick pic of M31 which i (only just!) managed to take on Dec 6 when we were all out at Delamont. After fighting with Phd2 for most of the night, i gave up and reverted to the good old original Phd which, as luck would have it, seemed to work just fine. By which time most of the night was behind us, so i could only manage 4 quick subs, 3 x 7 mins and 1 x 6 min, for a total exposure of only 27 mins at ISO 800  Gear used was a Skywatcher 80ED (with field flattener) on a HEQ5Pro, guided with a Finder-Guider & QHY5, and captured with a Canon 60D (not modded). Bias, flats and darks (for hot pixels only) also used. Captured with APT, stacked with DSS, and processed in Photoshop. Image is obviously noisy as heck, but for only 27 mins i don't think it looks too bad. Still have lots to learn! And hoping for a lot more subs next time  ps - Not sure which was more challenging, the actual processing or finding a way to shrink a 26Mb file down to one less than 1Mb   |
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Post by astrom32 on Nov 24, 2015 23:01:07 GMT
You've set me a challenge this year Ciarán. I'll have to match up!
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Post by Ciarán on Nov 24, 2015 23:30:03 GMT
Haha, no problem mate.
I'm very much a beginner myself, but if you need any pointers i'll be only too happy to help.
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Post by Ciarán on Jan 28, 2016 21:58:23 GMT
Hi What with all the wet & windy weather we’ve been having recently, I decided to go back and have another go at processing my Andromeda picture from above. I decided to post it in here instead of the Astro Images section, as this was the night it was taken. The Photoshop skills have come on a bit since time, so I’m quite pleased with how it turned out in the end. I should point out, I did have to cheat slightly in terms of the framing. As I captured it horizontally instead of diagonally, I had to use the clone stamp tool in Photoshop to fill in the top-left and bottom-right of the final image. Not such a big deal, but at least now I’ll know for next time.  |
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Post by bigeye155 on Jan 28, 2016 23:28:37 GMT
Great result Ciaran, well done and worth the effort! Hope we get a chance to get back to delamont this spring and bag a few more galaxies!
D
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