Fernando Schuindt
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Mineral Moon with the Askar FRA400 and a Canon T3i

I took this picture in early November 2022, but only now I’m posting it. It’s the best Moon picture I took so far, the Askar FRA400 really speaks for itself.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: BCF-1 modified Canon T3i
Lens/Telescope: Askar FRA400 400mm f/5.6 quintuplet apochromat
Composition: 98x Light Frames, ISO 100, 1/1000”
Other Gear: Meade LX85 GEM unguided (Two-star basic alignment)
Processing: Capturing with APT, pre-processing with PIPP, stacking with AutoStakkert, stretching with RegiStax 6 and editing with Photoshop
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°57’30.0”S 37°02’30.0”W
Timestamp (Local Time): 10-11-2022 from 23:30:51h to 23:31:08h
Timezone: UTC-3 (No daylight saving time)
Theme: Moon
Outdoor temp.: 27° C
Outdoor humidity: 77%
Backup Images (On Google Photos): https://photos.app.goo.gl/u8faTtVy5mKNXz2H7

(Click to zoom)

Picture

48x 12s ISO 1600 on M42

Finally, a brief moment of clear night sky. I’m hoping things will start to get better up to the summer. But anyway, this is my first stacked picture using the FRA400 telescope. No guiding, really crude alignment and super short exposures. But even so, I’m happy with the result. Looking forward to improving data gathering and processing techniques.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: BCF-1 modified Canon T3i
Lens/Telescope: Askar FRA400 400mm f/5.6 quintuplet apochromat
Composition: 48x Light Frames 12” (9.6’ total) ISO 1600, 25x dark, 25x flat, 25x bias
Processing: Stacking with DeepSky Stacker, Photoshop Levels adjustments and Camera Raw Filter
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Bortle Scale: 7
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°57’30.0”S 37°02’30.0”W
Timestamp (Local Time): 10-23-2022 from 00:54h to 01:16h
Timezone: UTC-3 (No daylight saving time)
Outdoor temp.: 28° C
Outdoor humidity: 73%
Theme: M42
Center (RA, hms): 05h 35m 47.375s
Center (Dec, dms): -05° 44’ 44.402”
Legacy Surveys sky browser: Click here
Other Gear: Meade LX85 GEM unguided (Two-star basic alignment)
Astrometry: https://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/6636562#annotated
Backup Images (On Google Photos): https://photos.app.goo.gl/YWpmThGFRFDU1hBt9

(Click to zoom)

Picture

Annotated: Picture with notes

Jupiter and the Galilean moons with the Kugelblitz 210mm f/6.62 handmade telescope, a ZWO ASI462MC, a Meade LX85 GEM and an Optolong UV/IR-cut filter.

For long, I was willing to try to use the big 1390mm focal length ATM scope into my LX85 mount. I knew it was sketchy, but it being well under the maximum mount payload, I decided to give it a try. Also, these days with Jupiter so close I thought it would be a good moment. So I called my buddy Leandro, and we began to set up everything. Many thanks to him.

It is fun to see that huge scope with that GEM. The wind shook the hell out of it, but it was a nice experience.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Lens/Telescope: Kugelblitz handmade telescope (210mm aperture, 1390mm focal length, f/6.62, Newtonian)
Camera: ZWO ASI462MC (Color)
Mount: Meade LX85 GEM
Other Gear: Optolong UV/IR-cut filter, Redlab x86 homemade weather-resistant computer
Distance: 3.956 AU
Magnitude: -2.93
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°57’30.0”S 37°02’30.0”W
Processing: SharpCap, PIPP, AutoStakkert, RegiStax 6, Photoshop
Full Resolution Images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zMKvb51DQPHMqVAS7

Theme: Jupiter and the Galilean moons

Jupiter with notes (Click to open full resolution)

Theme: Jupiter and the Galilean moons
Composition: 2000 frames captured (11.8GB .avi file), 600 frames stacked
Timestamp (UTC-3): 30-09-2022 23:21:27

Jupiter with notes (Click to open full resolution)

Jupiter with notes (Click to open full resolution)

Theme: Jupiter and the Galilean moons (with Celestron 2x barlow lens)
Composition: 1262 frames captured (7.8GB .avi file), 450 frames stacked
Timestamp (UTC-3): 30-09-2022 23:29:55

Jupiter with notes (Click to open full resolution)

Jupiter with notes (Click to open full resolution)

Gear & Bonus

Jupiter with notes (Click to open full resolution)

Camera Settings

Without 2x barlow

[ZWO ASI462MC]
FrameType=Light
Pan=0
Tilt=0
Output Format=AVI files (*.avi)
Binning=1
Capture Area=1936x1096
Colour Space=RGB24
Temperature=36
High Speed Mode=On
Turbo USB=100(Auto)
Flip=None
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Gain=179
Exposure=3.2030ms
Timestamp Frames=Off
White Bal (B)=58
White Bal (R)=66
Brightness=95
Auto Exp Max Gain=300
Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000
Auto Exp Target Brightness=110
Mono Bin=Off
Background Subtraction=Off
Planet/Disk Stabilization=Off
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
Display Black Point=0
Display MidTone Point=0.521367521367521
Display White Point=1
Notes=
TimeStamp=2022-10-01T02:21:27.7696808Z
SharpCapVersion=4.0.8395.0
StartCapture=2022-10-01T02:21:27.7667114Z
MidCapture=2022-10-01T02:21:41.4127114Z
EndCapture=2022-10-01T02:21:55.0595507Z
Duration=27.293s
FrameCount=2000
TimeZone=-3.00

With 2x barlow

[ZWO ASI462MC]
FrameType=Light
Pan=0
Tilt=0
Output Format=AVI files (*.avi)
Binning=1
Capture Area=1936x1096
Colour Space=RGB24
Temperature=35.3
High Speed Mode=On
Turbo USB=100(Auto)
Flip=None
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Gain=223
Exposure=9.0760ms
Timestamp Frames=Off
White Bal (B)=58
White Bal (R)=69
Brightness=80
Auto Exp Max Gain=300
Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000
Auto Exp Target Brightness=110
Mono Bin=Off
Background Subtraction=Off
Planet/Disk Stabilization=Off
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
Display Black Point=0
Display MidTone Point=0.521367521367521
Display White Point=1
Notes=
TimeStamp=2022-10-01T02:29:55.1520307Z
SharpCapVersion=4.0.8395.0
StartCapture=2022-10-01T02:29:55.1482424Z
MidCapture=2022-10-01T02:30:05.2302424Z
EndCapture=2022-10-01T02:30:15.3125747Z
Duration=20.164s
FrameCount=1262
TimeZone=-3.00

Total lunar eclipse with an ATM Dobsonian and a modified Canon T3i

During the night of May 15th 2022, I went to the SEASE event for the total lunar eclipse at the CCTECA Planetarium Galileu Galilei, in Aracaju - SE, Brazil. I brought with me my homemade 210mm f/6.62 Newtonian Dobsonian telescope and some equipments. The Moon’s FOV on the Canon T3i with that telescope is almost the entire frame, perfect for full-disk single frame photography. That was my first time photographing a lunar eclipse, so I wanted to keep things simple.

The event was really nice, a lot of people went to watch the Moon during its transformations for the night, and I spent a lot of time handling the telescope to the public. People of all ages saw the Moon through my telescope, and I was pleased to make some friends on the spot.

Many thanks to my friend Leandro who was with me all along and helped me during all the tasks, he was super. Also thanks to the SEASE for the space and reception.

Fun fact is that a few days after my picture appeared at the local news along with some others, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ834A3z2Bc

Thanks to Augusto from SEASE for sending the pictures to them.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: Modified Canon T3i (Baader BCF, by Jordan Patrick)
Camera Settings: ISO 1600~3200, 1/5~1/2”, f/6.62*
Lens/Telescope: Kugelblitz handmade telescope (210mm aperture, 1390mm focal length, f/6.62, Newtonian)
Processing: Capturing without software, Photoshop camera RAW filter, crop, resize and arrangement
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°56’39.0”S 37°03’21.0”W
Theme: Total lunar eclipse
Composition: 4 single frames, one for each moment of the eclipse
Timestamp (Local Time, UTC-3): 15-05-2022 00:29:18 ~ 16-05-2022 01:16:44
Full Resolution Images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/5dNkmo72mZEEFyir7

Result (Click to open full resolution)

And here goes a bonus picture I took from the event:

Picture of the event (Click to open full resolution)

My telescope is the one being observed at the middle.

My first Moon mosaic

Experimenting with mosaics I think that the IR-pass turned out to be a better approach. Sadly I have missed a bit from the Moon during the IR-pass capture.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: ZWO ASI462MC (Color)
Lens/Telescope: Meade ETX90 (OTA-only) (90mm aperture, 1250mm focal length, f/13.88, Maksutov-Cassegrain)
GEM: Meade LX85
Other Gear: Redlab x86 homemade weather-resistant astronomy computer
Processing: Capturing with SharpCap, pre-processing with PIPP, stacking with AutoStakkert, stretching with RegiStax 6, editing with Photoshop and mosaic creation with Microsoft Image Composite Editor
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°58’31.0”S 37°04’26.0”W
Full Resolution Images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6xuYX1aYLu6xFsim6

Theme: IR-pass waxing crescent Moon mosaic
Filters: ZWO IR 850nm pass filter
Composition: 8 video files (sections) for a total of 15.9GB
Timestamp (Local Time): 10-10-2021 19:52:26
Timestamp (UTC): 10-10-2021 22:52:26

IR (Click to open full resolution)

Theme: Waxing crescent Moon mosaic
Composition: 9 video files (sections) for a total of 53.6GB
Timestamp (Local Time): 10-10-2021 19:41:06
Timestamp (UTC): 10-10-2021 22:41:06

Light (Click to open full resolution)

Jupiter and the Galilean moons with the Kugelblitz handmade telescope and Saturn on a Meade ETX90

The wet season is still bringing lots of rain to my region, but once in a while there’s a good night sky and good opportunity to perform observations and also to take some pictures. As both Jupiter and Saturn are close to the zenith around midnight on a moonless night I thought I’d go for them.

I could say this is my first real planetary image using the ZWO ASI462MC color camera. I’ve performed the following experiments:

  • Jupiter, no barlow, ETX90
  • Jupiter, no barlow, Kugelblitz
  • Jupiter, 2x barlow, ETX90
  • Jupiter, 2x barlow, Kugelblitz
  • Saturn, no barlow, ETX90

I was focusing my attention over Jupiter, so the Saturn picture is really a bonus. The next time I’ll try Saturn, and I’ll also experiment using the ZWO 850nm IR-pass filter.

Even so the ETX90 was taking advantage of a LX85 equatorial mount against a Dobsonian mount of the Kugelblitz, the Kugelblitz images turned a lot more clear. I think that was mainly due to the f/6.62 of the Kugelblitz against the f/13.88 of the ETX90.

I’m also planning to build a Bahtinov mask to aid in focusing, as I was using manual/visual focusing, which makes it pretty hard to achieve good focus.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: ZWO ASI462MC (Color)
Other Gear: Redlab x86 homemade weather-resistant astronomy computer
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°58’31.0”S 37°04’26.0”W
Full Resolution Images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZzZtCWdpbauMmmZz9

Theme: Jupiter and the Galilean moons with notes
Distance: 4.039 AU
Magnitude: -2.85
Lens/Telescope: Kugelblitz handmade telescope (210mm aperture, 1390mm focal length, f/6.62, Newtonian)
Composition: 2698 frames captured (16.7GB .avi file), 700 frames stacked
Processing: AutoStakkert for stacking, RegiStax 6 for stretching and Photoshop for processing
Timestamp (Local Time): 06-08-2021 22:19:21
Timestamp (UTC): 07-08-2021 01:19:21

Jupiter with notes (Click to open full resolution)

Theme: Jupiter and the Galilean moons without notes
Distance: 4.039 AU
Magnitude: -2.85
Lens/Telescope: Kugelblitz handmade telescope (210mm aperture, 1390mm focal length, f/6.62, Newtonian)
Composition: 2698 frames captured (16.7GB .avi file), 700 frames stacked
Processing: AutoStakkert for stacking, RegiStax 6 for stretching and Photoshop for processing
Timestamp (Local Time): 06-08-2021 22:19:21
Timestamp (UTC): 07-08-2021 01:19:21

Jupiter without notes (Click to open full resolution)

Theme: Saturn
Distance: 8.938 AU
Magnitude: 0.19
Lens/Telescope: Meade ETX90 (OTA-only) (90mm aperture, 1250mm focal length, f/13.88, Maksutov-Cassegrain)
Other Gear: Meade LX85 GEM (unguided, two-star alignment)
Composition: 1002 frames captured (5.94GB .avi file), 500 frames stacked
Processing: AutoStakkert for stacking, RegiStax 6 for stretching and Photoshop for processing
Timestamp (Local Time): 06-08-2021 23:06:00
Timestamp (UTC): 07-08-2021 02:06:00

Saturn (Click to open full resolution)

Gear

ETX90, LX85, 462MC and the redlab. (And Zig on the background) ETX90, LX85, 462MC and the redlab

Kugelblitz, 462MC and the redlab. Kugelblitz, 462MC and the redlab.

Inside the redlab. Inside the redlab

Setup pictures. Setup picture 1

Setup picture 2

Zig is always around s2. Setup picture 3

Camera Settings

Jupiter:

[ZWO ASI462MC]
Pan=0
Tilt=0
Output Format=AVI files (*.avi)
Binning=1
Capture Area=1936x1096
Colour Space=RGB24
Temperature=36
High Speed Mode=On
Turbo USB=100(Auto)
Flip=None
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Gain=114
Exposure=0.003776
Timestamp Frames=Off
White Bal (B)=63(Auto)
White Bal (R)=53
Brightness=102
Auto Exp Max Gain=300
Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000
Auto Exp Target Brightness=130
Mono Bin=Off
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
#Black Point
Display Black Point=0
#MidTone Point
Display MidTone Point=0.521367521367521
#White Point
Display White Point=1
Notes=
TimeStamp=2021-08-06T01:19:21.7457571Z
SharpCapVersion=3.2.6482.0

Saturn:

[ZWO ASI462MC]
Pan=0
Tilt=0
Output Format=AVI files (*.avi)
Binning=1
Capture Area=1936x1096
Colour Space=RGB24
Temperature=31.1
High Speed Mode=On
Turbo USB=100(Auto)
Flip=None
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Gain=264
Exposure=0.015104
Timestamp Frames=Off
White Bal (B)=57(Auto)
White Bal (R)=58
Brightness=152
Auto Exp Max Gain=300
Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000
Auto Exp Target Brightness=130
Mono Bin=Off
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
#Black Point
Display Black Point=0
#MidTone Point
Display MidTone Point=0.521367521367521
#White Point
Display White Point=1
Notes=
TimeStamp=2021-08-06T02:06:00.7942288Z
SharpCapVersion=3.2.6482.0

Waxing crescent Moon (26.47%) with the ZWO ASI462MC camera and a Mak90 telescope

Close up on the Moon using the ASI426MC camera with a 1250mm focal distance / 90mm aperture (f/13.88) telescope on top of a Meade LX85 computerized german equatorial mount.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: ZWO ASI462MC
Lens/Telescope: Meade ETX 90 (OTA-only) (90mm aperture, 1250mm focal distance, f/13.88, Maksutov-Cassegrain)
Mount: Meade LX85 GEM (Two-star alignment).
Software: SharpCap 3.2, PIPP, AutoStakkert, RegiStax 6, Adobe Photoshop CC 2015.
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Bortle Scale: 7
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°58’31.0”S 37°04’26.0”W
Timezone: UTC-3 (No daylight saving time)
Outdoor temp.: 26° C
Outdoor humidity: 98%
Backup Images (On Google Photos): https://photos.app.goo.gl/C6m7Ebpt6Qj83VSCA

(Click to zoom)

Picture 1

Composition: 1000 frames captured, stacked 63.
Timestamp (Local Time): 06-16-2021 19:38:22
Theme: 26.47% Moon

CameraSettings.txt:

[ZWO ASI462MC]
Pan=0
Tilt=0
Output Format=AVI files (*.avi)
Binning=1
Capture Area=1936x1096
Colour Space=RGB24
Temperature=35.3
High Speed Mode=On
Turbo USB=100(Auto)
Flip=None
Frame Rate Limit=120 fps
Gain=64
Exposure=0.032
Timestamp Frames=Off
White Bal (B)=65(Auto)
White Bal (R)=53
Brightness=78
Auto Exp Max Gain=300
Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000
Auto Exp Target Brightness=130
Mono Bin=Off
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
#Black Point
Display Black Point=0
#MidTone Point
Display MidTone Point=0.521367521367521
#White Point
Display White Point=1
Notes=
TimeStamp=2021-06-16T22:38:22.0496841Z
SharpCapVersion=3.2.6482.0

Picture 2

Composition: 1000 frames captured, stacked 70.
Timestamp (Local Time): 06-16-2021 20:09:05
Theme: 26.47% Moon
Other Gear: Celestron 2x barlow lens Multi-Coated, Optolong UV-IR Cut 1.25” filter.

CameraSettings.txt:

[ZWO ASI462MC]
Pan=0
Tilt=0
Output Format=AVI files (*.avi)
Binning=1
Capture Area=1936x1096
Colour Space=RGB24
Temperature=34.6
High Speed Mode=On
Turbo USB=100(Auto)
Flip=None
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Gain=364
Exposure=0.016
Timestamp Frames=Off
White Bal (B)=76(Auto)
White Bal (R)=53
Brightness=102
Auto Exp Max Gain=300
Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000
Auto Exp Target Brightness=130
Mono Bin=Off
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
#Black Point
Display Black Point=0
#MidTone Point
Display MidTone Point=0.521367521367521
#White Point
Display White Point=1
Notes=
TimeStamp=2021-06-16T23:09:05.1548647Z
SharpCapVersion=3.2.6482.0

Sirius with 300mm focal length on a Canon EOS 600D

A wonderful night with essentially no clouds and no Moon. For a long time I’ve been planning to image Sirius A, the brightest star of our night sky. A main sequence star on Canis Major.

I’ve set up KStars on my notebook to wireless control my camera and mount using INDI on my homebuilt science station, so I programmed the set of exposures and left it running over the night while I enjoyed other targets with my dobsonian.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: Canon EOS 600D
Lens/Telescope: Lens Zuiko Olympus 300mm f/4.5 Manual-Focus OM (Film)
Composition: 42x Light Frames 28” (19.6’ total) ISO 800 f/8, 25x Dark, 25x Flat, 25x Bias
Processing: Stacking with DeepSky Stacker, Photoshop Levels adjustments and Camera Raw Filter
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Bortle Scale: 7
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°58’31.0”S 37°04’26.0”W
Timestamp (Local Time): From 11-23-2020 00:00:00 to 11-23-2020 00:33:10
Timezone: UTC-3 (No daylight saving time)
Outdoor temp.: 26° C
Outdoor humidity: 96%
Theme: Sirius
Center (RA, hms): 06h 45m 28.570s
Center (Dec, dms): -16° 44’ 31.236”
Legacy Surveys sky browser: Click here
Other Gear: Meade LX85 GEM unguided (Two-star alignment), OM-EOS adapter, homebuilt INDI wireless control station, KStars connected to INDI running on a Manjaro Linux x86 notebook. Astrometry: http://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/4171943#annotated
Backup Images (On Google Photos): https://photos.app.goo.gl/c2LqFysiHfPPEwbs7

(Click to zoom)

Picture

Annotated: Picture with notes

Equipment: Gear 1

Gear 2

Gear 3

C/2020 M3 ATLAS Comet with 300mm focal length on a DSLR

That’s my first stacked picture taken since my first polar alignment, I’m super excited!

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: Canon EOS 600D
Lens/Telescope: Lens Zuiko Olympus 300mm f/4.5 Manual-Focus OM (Film)
Composition: 19x Light Frame 40” (12.66’ total) ISO800 f/4.5, 25x Dark, 25x Flat, 25x Bias
Processing: Stacking with DeepSky Stacker, Photoshop Levels adjustments and Camera Raw Filter
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Bortle Scale: 7
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°58’31.0”S 37°04’26.0”W
Timestamp (Local Time): From 11-13-2020 23:25:24 to 11-13-2020 23:54:30
Timezone: UTC-3 (No daylight saving time)
Theme: Comet C/2020 M3 ATLAS
Center (RA, hms): 05h 25m 58.341s
Center (Dec, dms): +03° 59’ 31.651”
Legacy Surveys sky browser: Click here
Other Gear: Meade LX85 GEM unguided (Two-star alignment), OM-EOS adapter, homebuilt INDI wireless control station, KStars connected to INDI running on a Manjaro Linux x86 notebook. Astrometry: https://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/4145606
Full Resolution Images (On Google Photos): https://photos.app.goo.gl/ePXtc8o39rtynfs28

Picture

Annotated: Picture with note

Equipment: Equipment 1

Equipment 2

Mars occultation by the Moon video with Meade ETX 90 and Canon EOS 600D

This post was originally published on my old blog dedicated to amateur astronomy.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: Canon EOS 600d
Lens/Telescope: Meade ETX 90 (OTA-only) (90mm aperture, 1250mm focal length, f/13.88, Maksutov-Cassegrain)
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°58’31.0”S 37°04’26.0”W
Other Gear: Meade LX85 GEM (unguided, no alignment), Canon EOS to M42 adapter, M42 to 1.25” adapter, Celestron Omni 2x Barlow
Processing: X and Y axis flip using kdenlive
Timestamp (Local Time): 06-09-2020 00:00:00 (aprox.)
Timestamp (UTC): 06-09-2020 03:00:00 (aprox.)

Video:

My first light with the Meade ETX 90, beautiful waning gibbous Moon

This post was originally published on my old blog dedicated to amateur astronomy.

Last week I bought an used Meade ETX 90 (90mm Maksutov), the fork mount was broken so I bought only the OTA to be used with my Meade LX85 equatorial mount. The OTA also had a problem with the 90° flip mirror mechanism to change the focuser image position, it was stuck on the upright 90° position, which is not only a bad place to fix a DSLR but it also makes the visual/AP change process a complicated one. I’ll manage a way to fix this mechanism ASAP, but in the meantime I’m using the DSLR in the upright position.

Another issue I had was my LX85 counterweight is way too heavy for this kind of payload. I had an old EQ1 mount with a smaller weight ideal for it, but the shaft role was smaller than the size of the LX85’s shaft. So I went to a local metal workshop (Acej) and asked them to enlarge the shaft hole for me, they couldn’t do it better, I got it as a perfect fit for the bigger shaft and then was able to balance the payload. Thanks to Andre Figueirêdo for helping me with subjects around 90mm Maksutovs and for giving me the Acej reference. He’s a really talented local astrophotographer.

That aside, I can say it’s superb equipment for planets and the Moon. Had an incredible night with Catarina gazing between Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon. I got really happy watching her faces and expressions while gazing through this scope, I think it’s a night I will never forget. The weather was also surprisingly comfortable.

She went to sleep around midnight, this time I was switching from visual to photography.

I also had brought my notebook to the garden and I was willing to use it to control the camera and the mount, but the Camera->Computer connection is a tricky one. 10m long USB cables are far from the ideal, but it works. Unless you’re passing through the USB device to a virtual machine. The problem is that my notebook runs Linux, and I haven’t yet got lucky with DSLR/mount controls on it. I always do it on my Win10 desktop, but it’s a desktop, I can do it only inside my office, not in the garden. So for that I had a virtual Win10 running on my Linux notebook. Controlling the mount from it works OK, but the DSLR will keep disconnecting every minute.

I’m yet to manage a solution for this,  but for the night I ended up not using the computer, just the DSLR itself and the mount handheld controller.

No fancy/cool techniques were used in the shots, just straight-forward single light frames and Photoshop editing, so definitely those equipment can do a lot better. Also mind that even larger magnifications can be achieved when using a 3x barlow lens, which is a plan for the future.

When I was about to wrap up for the night, my neighbor  appeared and we started talking about telescopes.  I soon invited him to come in and observe (keeping safe distance, as we both observe Covid-19 quarantine) and I think he enjoyed it a lot. He told me he owns a small refractor and that he’s studying astronomy, how cool? He said he’s starting his career on software development but programs since 2014, so we also spent a lot of time talking about IT.

Then I packed the stuff and got up back to the office, performed a really quick/crappy edition and called the night.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: Canon EOS 600d
Lens/Telescope: Meade ETX 90 (OTA-only) (90mm aperture, 1250mm focal length, f/13.88, Maksutov-Cassegrain)
Location Name: Aracaju - Sergipe, Brazil
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 10°58’31.0”S 37°04’26.0”W
Other Gear: Meade LX85 GEM, Canon EOS to M42 adapter, M42 to 1.25” adapter.
Full Resolution Images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GG4DzQkPTRJuuFJQ7

Picture 1 Composition: 1x Light Frames @ 1/160” ISO800 f/13.88
Processing: Photoshop resize, Camera Raw Filter
Timestamp (Local Time): 07-11-2020 01:19:51
Timestamp (UTC): 07-11-2020 04:19:51
Theme: Waning gibbous Moon 78.06%

Picture 2 Composition: 1x Light Frames @ 1/100” ISO3200 f/13.88
Processing: Photoshop resize, Camera Raw Filter
Timestamp (Local Time): 07-11-2020 01:11:47
Timestamp (UTC): 07-11-2020 04:11:47
Theme: Waning gibbous Moon 78.06%
Other gear: Celestron Omni 2x Barlow

Picture 3 Composition: 1x Light Frames @ 1/160” ISO3200 f/13.88
Processing: Photoshop resize, Camera Raw Filter
Timestamp (Local Time): 07-11-2020 01:13:18
Timestamp (UTC): 07-11-2020 04:13:18
Theme: Waning gibbous Moon 78.06%
Other gear: Celestron Omni 2x Barlow

Picture 4 Composition: 1x Light Frames @ 1/25” ISO3200 f/13.88
Processing: Photoshop resize, Camera Raw Filter, crop, manual background noise removal
Timestamp (Local Time): 07-11-2020 00:58:06
Timestamp (UTC): 07-11-2020 03:58:06
Theme: Bonus picture, Saturn
Other gear: Celestron Omni 2x Barlow

Gear: Gear 1

Gear 2

Improvised DSLR single shot of the Southern Cross (Crux)

This post was originally published on my old blog dedicated to amateur astronomy.

It’s Brazilian carnival once more, one of the biggest local holidays around here. It’s a time of parties and lots of people in the streets. For me it’s being a time of retirement and relaxation. And by that I mean being alone in my house spending the entire holiday on the internet, or with friends and family in some not crowded small city with some good nature, away from all the craziness that is the carnival. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun, but taking the time to enjoy nature and relax is too. So I did.

The oldest friend I have (He’s son of my father’s best friend, so I know him long enough to don’t even remember when we first met) invited me to spend the carnival in his family’s estate, 1 hour driving from the town. A really nice, beautiful and comfortable place. Thank you Iago, for everything.

It was my first time visiting the place, so I asked him about the night sky, and he reported it was heavily polluted. So I decided not to bring my astronomy equipment, just my wife’s DSLR. (Just in case). I haven’t even brought any tripod. Nothing but the DSLR. And oh boy! I should have brought everything, not only the night sky was really nice (probably a Bortle Scale 5) but we spent the first night with very little clouds.

So I decided to improvise, got myself a pillow and placed it on the ground with the DSLR on top pointing upwards and managed to take some shots. After some in-house picking of the best shot and some edition, here’s the result.

I really liked the fact that in this picture we can see not only the Southern Cross but also the Wishing Well Cluster (NGC 3532) and the Homunculus Nebula.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: Canon EOS 600D
Lens/Telescope: Canon EF 40mm 1:2.8 STM Lens
Composition: 1x Light Frame 10” ISO400 f/2.8
Processing: Photoshop Levels adjustments and Camera Raw Filter
Location Name: Salgado (Povoado Turma) - Sergipe, Brazil
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 11° 02’ 11.2” S 37° 28’ 54.2” W
Timestamp (Local Time): 02-24-2020 01:43:12
Theme: Southern Cross (Crux)
Other Gear: None
Astrometry: http://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/3414424
Full Resolution Images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/anvQzjiFkiXSafXC9

Picture

Astrometry

Here’s a bonus picture of M42 with a coconut tree:

Bonus Picture

And some pictures of the estate:

Estate Picture 2

Estate Picture 3

Estate Picture 1

Again, thank you Iago for such great experience, and thank you Catarina, for once more allowing me to play with the camera. I love you honey!

Low budget imaging of NGC 3628 and NGC 3627

This post was originally published on my old blog dedicated to amateur astronomy.

This one took me quite a good time to process, ended up making 3 versions of it and sticking with the latest. It’s the first time I programmed a galaxy themed picture so my inexperience spoke during the whole process.

The plan was to put two or more galaxies in the frame with a low budget plan (the remaining usage time I had on iTelescope). I was aiming to the Leo Triplet, a group of 3 galaxies also known as the M66 group. But I was using a deep field telescope (0.43-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD + f/4.5 focal reducer) so I ended up taking just two of the three galaxies: NGC 3628 (the Hamburger Galaxy / M65 and NGC 3627 (the M66).

The image composition is the following:

  • 4x 30” Luminous frame
  • 4x 30” Red frame
  • 4x 30” Green frame
  • 4x 30” Blue frame

The images were stacked using DeepSky Stacker and stretched using Adobe Photoshop.

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: FLI-PL6303E CCD camera
Lens/Telescope: Planewave 17” CDK (431mm), Focal Length 1940mm (0.66 Focal Reducer), f/4.5
Composition: 4x Luminous Frame 30”, 4x Red Frame 30”, 4x Green Frame 30”, 4x Blue Frame 30”
Processing: DeepSky Stacker image stacking, Photoshop Channels composition, Levels adjustments, Image Mode and Camera Raw Filter
Location Name: New Mexico Skies Observatory (iTelescope), Mayhill - New Mexico, US.
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 32°54’14” N 105°31’44” W
Timestamp: 01-07-2020 11:22:57 UTC;
Theme: NGC 3628 (the Hamburger galaxy) and NGC 3627 (the M66)
RA: 11 20 15.10
DEC: +12 59 24.0
Other Gear: https://support.itelescope.net/support/solutions/articles/231906-telescope-21
Full Resolution Images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/EZGQK49ZGu4b2h719
Picture Information: https://gist.github.com/fschuindt/41f8683fad81136dfd859efff534a1c2
Astrometry: http://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/3312354#annotated

Picture

Astrometry

And this time a courtesy negative gray scale picture. Using the four luminous frames stacked:

Negative

My first picture at the SSO (NGC 3372)

This post was originally published on my old blog dedicated to amateur astronomy.

As I’m studying a lot about AP, I thought would be nice to give a try to iTelescope.net systems, and it was pretty fun. I picked the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia and the T8 telescope, which is a 106mm Takahashi FSQ Apochromatic, 0.10-m f/5 telescope. The target was NGC 3372, the Eta Carinae Nebula.

This is a quite special DSO to me, as it’s the first object that I got in love with and started my fascination for deep sky in general. It all started with a video by my favorite YouTube channel: Sixty Symbols. The video was this one here, with the professor Mike Merrifield.

I never had access to such equipment before, so I got really exited with the filter selection and ordered a 32” exposure for each filter available. I just wanted to see it, haha. So I ended up with some frames that I had no use for.

I used:

  • 1x 32” Luminous frame
  • 1x 32” Red filter frame
  • 1x 32” Green filter frame
  • 1x 32” Blue filter frame
  • 1x 32” Hydrogen Alpha filter frame

Just one short frame for each filter I wanted to use, because that’s a budget project, hahaha.

When the frames arrived I thought I had messed up with something, they looked really dark. But after merging the Red and Ha frames, then the other channels (Green and Blue) and composing the HaRGB image with some stretching in Adobe Photoshop, it looked really nice for my newbie taste. As the CCD on the camera is Black&White, the colors were composed by using R, G and B filters. In this case the Red channel is merged with the Hydrogen Alpha channel, to reveal Hydrogen based structures with more detail.

To give an idea, this is how one of the frames looks like without any processing (the Red frame, smaller size tho):

Red Channel

But after the processing, that’s the result:

Author: Fernando Schuindt
License: CC BY 4.0
Camera: CCD FLI Microline 16803
Lens/Telescope: 106mm Takahashi FSQ Apochromatic, 0.10-m f/5
Composition: 1x Luminous Frame 32”, 1x Red Frame 32”, 1x Green Frame 32”, 1x Blue Frame 32”, 1x Ha Frame 32”
Processing: AvisFV 2.0 format conversion, Photoshop Channels composition, Levels adjustments and Camera Raw Filter
Location Name: Siding Spring Observatory (iTelescope), New South Wales - Australia;
Location Aprox. Coordinates: 31° 16’ 14.52’’ S 149° 3’ 31.32’’ E
Timestamp: 01-04-2020 17:49:24 UTC;
Theme: NGC 3372 (Eta Carinae nebulae)
RA: 10 45 06.00
DEC: -59 52 00.0
Other Gear: https://support.itelescope.net/support/solutions/articles/231911-telescope-8
Full Resolution Images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ULajFc5dyPzvZKqk9
HaRGB Picture Information: https://gist.github.com/fschuindt/996ef63e6cda908f390f8d7c8407b17e
RGB Picture Information: https://gist.github.com/fschuindt/e66a200e3f1e766b46b2f2f4ac66d1bf

Picture HaRGB

I’ve also produced another image without the Ha filter:

Picture RGB

Fun fact is that the NGC 3532 (Wishing Well Cluster) is right there in the bottom right corner, I loved it. So I’m already waiting for my new schedule to happen, I won’t reveal it yet, but I’m hopping to see two galaxies in the next picture.

Again a special thanks to Terry F. for his teachings.