M16 Eagle Nebula

I was able to capture guided 2 minute images of the Eagle Nebula tonight. Here's the results.

Just a note the dark "spire" in the middle of the photo is the "Pillars of Creation".

NGC6826 The Blinking Nebula

Finally had some clear skys tonight, so had a chance to fine tune the alignment of the mount to the new pier. Figured I would give it a quick test. Found the Blinking Nebula and snapped of 15 mins of images.

From Wikipedia:

NGC 6826 is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Cygnus. It is commonly referred to as the "blinking planetary", although many other nebulae can exhibit such "blinking". When viewed through a small telescope, the brightness of the central star overwhelms the eye when viewed directly, obscuring the surrounding nebula. However, it can be viewed well in the peripheral vision (averted vision), which causes it to "blink" in and out of view as the observer's eye wanders.
A distinctive feature of this nebula are the two bright patches on either side, which are known as FLIERs, or Fast Low-Ionization Emission Regions. They appear to be relatively young, and moving outwards at supersonic speeds. According to Bruce Balick (University of Washington), "some of their observed characteristics suggest that they are like sparks flung outward from the central star late in the very recent past (a thousand years ago). Yet their shapes ... seem to suggest that they are stationary, and that material ejected from the star flows past them, scraping gas from their surfaces. Future Hubble observations will monitor any changes in the positions of FLIERs to resolve this issue. In either case, the formation of FLIERs cannot be easily explained by any models of stellar evolution.

M65

While I was out doing some 'testing' of the software and mount I decided to try to image something. I was on the "other side' of the meridian  (I normally shoot everything on the east side) and just picked something bright.
Here's my 1st attempt at M65. (only 5 images stacked / 30 seconds each).

NGC7023 The Iris Nebula

Here's my first attempt at the Iris Nebula. Guiding and polar alignment are getting easier. 2 minute images (15 each) total 30 mins of data.

from Wikipedia:

The Iris Nebula, also NGC 7023 and Caldwell 4, is a bright reflection nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cepheus. NGC 7023 is actually the cluster within the nebula, LBN 487, and the nebula is lit by a magnitude +7 star, SAO 19158.^[1] It shines at magnitude +6.8. It is located near the Mira-type variable star T Cephei, and near the bright magnitude +3.23 variable star Beta Cephei (Alphirk). It lies 1,300 light-years away and is six light-years across.

M57 Ring Nebula

Here's this years attempt at the Ring Nebula. I finally found the program to help get the polar alignment nailed down. "Alignmaster" does the trick and is easy to use. After about 5 minutes, the mount was ready to go. The autoguider only has to make minimal adjustments and I was able to get nice round stars. Took 40 minutes of data (40-1 minute images) captured with Nebulosity and minimum final processing in PS elements.

New Project

Well,
I started my new 'project'. Planning on creating a permanent pier out of concrete. Then placing a decking around that. Once that portion is finishing, I'm going to make a "dog house" to enclose everything. So far the hole is dug. (only going to do this in little bits and pieces.)

I added the concrete to the hole and base. Also placed a 5 foot long piece of galvanized pipe in the middle and 4 pieces of re-bar. Will get an 8 inch diameter "Sonotube" for the upper portion of the pier, along with a top plate and pour that when funds become available.

Friday I built the forms for the "sonotube" to pour the upper portion of the pier. Got everything level and created a template to place the "j-bolts" to attach the top plate for the mount. Filled the tube with concrete and leveled the template with the "j-bolts" in place.

The concrete has set. I completed the drilling of the holes in the 1/2 thick aluminum plate I'm using for the top plate. I installed the mount and checked clearances for the weights. So far everything is moving right along. Next I have to do a polar alignment with the polar scope and then drill the hole in the top plate for a centering post for the az adjustment screws. I'm planning on doing that tonight (Sunday June 6th.)

I completed the flooring around the pier yesterday (6-20-10) (using "free" materials donated by friends of the observatory) Next step is to add the 4x4s that the "dog house" will roll on. (see casters in photo below) The casters are 330 pound weight rated so I know I won't max them out. Keep in mind this mount and scope are only used for imaging so the "floor" doesn't need to be very large. In fact it only has to accommodate the dog house.

6-30-10
Here's a shot of the "dog house" framed and the front door hung. This is with the house opened as though it was in use. Still have work to do but it is coming along.

Here's a different angle with the "dog house" in the closed position.

Blackeye Galaxy with Meteor

During my imaging last night I discovered that I had captured a meteor in one of the images. I posted it on Astronomyforum.net and one of my friends there (Thanks Eric) did a final process and re-posted it. Here's the final shot.