NGC3372 Eta Carinae in Ha (GRAS012)
“Variety is the spice of life” or something… whatever…. anyway, I thought I`d try something a bit different this time, and mix it up a bit. Not only did I choose a target that I will never see from the UK, but I also used GRAS while I was at work (instead of over breakfast like the last time 🙂 ).
(Note: This image has been reprocessed and updated since this post was first creqated).
Global Rent-A-Scope
Remote System: Global Rent-A-Scope GRAS-012 (TAK FSQ 106, SBIG STL-11000M)
Images: 21 x 300s, Ha filter, unguided
Stacked: DeepSky Stacker
Post Process: Images Plus + PSCS2 + Noels Astro Tools
(Click on image for larger version)
With a lot of my processing, if there is any movement in the subs at all over the imaging run, I tend to 2 x drizzle and then software 2 x bin to raise the Signal to Noise ratio. Well, with this one, I did the 2 x drizzle… and it was still so smooth that I worked on that image! The master for this is 8000 x 5200 (or thereabouts).
The GRAS system did “lose” 3-4 subs in the automated upload procedure, which were found and sent to me by the GRAS support team. I will add these new ones into the stack and reprocess ovre the weekend, just to see if those extra subs make any difference at all. I can see a great 20″ x 30″ poster of this coming up soon (orders being taken shortly…. 🙂 ), along with my M16 from the other day. I need a bigger house to gain wall space for the amazing images that keep getting spat out of my machines.
The GRAS system will empty your bank balance very very quickly if you are not careful, but being astronomers, we all know that problem with the temptation of buying new kit. I will attempt to limit my use to ONLY objects I`ll never see from the UK from now on… but expect that promise to go out the window after 3 weeks of constant cloud, or the upcoming “no dark” nights.
Posted by Steve under Astro | Comments Off on NGC3372 Eta Carinae in Ha (GRAS012)
