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Hi, Pelican and the North Anerica nebulae in Cygnus. Photographed over two nights 20 ten minute subs with darks and flats. Stacked in DSS, pre-processed in PixInsight, finished off in Photoshop. I like the curly dark nebulosity, haven't managed to pull that out as much on previous attempts at this target.

Spent time on this again last night but decided to add some previous data as well. All taken with 150 PDS Hypercam 183c NEQ6 Guided and dithered in APT and PHD 2.6.8 all given the same treatment, DSS and PS6 First, last night. 10 x 120s at gain 500 + Darks and Flats. Next, added previous, so 40 x 120 at gain 500 + Darks and Flats (I did not use the HLVG on this image) Then I added some Tri Band filter sub, so 50 x 120/240 at Gain 500 + Darks and Flats I'm not sure the above is a lot better than just the 10 x 120 I took last night?? Comments welcome Ron

Taken just over a week ago, 28 x 300 seconds in Ha with darks, flats and darkflats applied. Processed in PixInsight and Photoshop.. ZWO ASI183Pro cooled camera at -10deg. HEQ5 mount, controlled by Sequence Generator pro and PHD2. (FULL RESOLUTION LOWER DOWN). I've always wanted to try to share at a better resoloution, so here is my first attempt at using the free version of Astrobin. Click on the THUMBNAIL below for FULL RESOLUTION . Let me know if it works please..

Went to Bempton on Thursday, weather was pretty bad driving up there but once we arrived the sun came out. We left about 15.30 for the two and a half hour drive home and after dinner I looked at Birdguides and was gutted when it said there was a Black Browed Albatross at Bempton at 16.30. Apparently the last one was in 1982 so I have a long wait for the next one. There was loads of birds at Bempton and Flamborough, I have never seen so many Gannets. Hope you enjoy the photos. Guillemot Puffin Gannet Razorbill Puffin Gannet Razorbills Tree Sparrow Bridled Guillemot and Common Guillemot to show the difference Rock Pipit Gannet Guillemot Puffins Rock Dove Gannets

For a bit of light relief I decided to have a go at building an Orrery. This one comes from Sweden, made by Induku. Instructions are well organised, well illustrated, thorough and in English English. The most difficult bit was making the base. It could really do with a jig for this because you finish up trying to hold too many bits in place before it clicks together. I failed with this, and spent an hour or two sorting out the mess later. Then you get on to the main mechanism. What you are effectively doing is constructing a plywood gearbox. There's a reason why your car doesn't have a plywood gearbox, and you need to bear this in mind: there has to be some slop in the system otherwise it won't turn, but tighten it up to remove backlash and you either bind it up or destroy teeth. I used a lot of paste furniture wax to lubricate things before they ran smoothly. Scientific accuracy: 3/10 Entertainment value: 11/10 Pride at getting the thing to work properly: 15/10

We went to Pleasley Pit Nature Resrve this morning on a grey, dismal and wet day. It's near junction 29 on the M1 .. and an excellent place for orchids. We were lucky to find a white pyramidal orchid. These are normally bright pink. Cath's a huge wild orchid fan and we have travelled over the country looking for them. We have seen white versions of many, including early purple orchid, common spotted orchid and fragrant orchid, but in all of the years we have done it, this is the only white pyramidal we have ever found.. The normal is pink..

Hi everyone - hope you're all well. I'm swapping some kit around in my home obsy at the moment but given the weather I don't think I'm missing much being out of action. So I bought some scope time from iTelescope.net and grabbed this image of NGC6357 aka The Lobster Nebula in Scorpius for an SHO composite of 3x10 min subs. Hope you like it

I started out trying to run run NINA and it failed to connect the ccd so I tried APT instead to make sure the old cam still worked and managed to grab just the 4 subs. Taken wih the TS 71 and the old SXH9 and the 7nm baader filter. I have since got NINA to connect so that is one for next time.

Finally visited Rutland Ospreys ,wasn't dissapointed both parents at the nest ,bit of a distance to nest but the nearest i have seen compared to the Lakes Osprey nest and glasyn valley nest took a few photos ,worth the trip best hides are the two furthest to walk too ,and not a massive walk Shallow water hide i think is the furthest hide and probobaly the better one .

A quick June Witch's Broom, light sky and very warm (in shorts!) 25 x 90s Canon 1000dm 150PDS NEQ6 Darks and Flats added. APT, DSS and PS6

Several panes stitched in ICE taken with 7D and 500mm lens at 2 UT Behind the brick pillars are a couple of very annoying street lamps. Do the clicky thing but it is big even though its reduced to about 30% of original.

Very windy and quite a few rain showers today at Frampton but managed a few shots today. Heard some Turtle doves but couldn't see them unfortunately. Not many waders at all but the water levels are very high. Hope you enjoy the photos.

The IC1318 image turned into a 9 pane mosaic of 5 x 300sec with the SX H9 and the 12nm ha filter plus the 27 x 300 I took the other day. Obtained using NINA stacked in APP and tweaked in PS Do the clicky thing for full res.

Canon 200D with 50mm at F2.8, ISO1600, 30 x 60s. Stacked using DSS, processed using IRIS and Starnet. Captured more likely targets for the coming couple of months than expected and will probably repeat this with a longer integration once the sky gets a bit darker.

51 frames stacked Ha with Lunt 60mm and D/S Chamelon cam Cak with ED 80 Lunt reducer and chameleon cam do the clicky thing for full res.

I was very pleased with this, considering how low in the sky it was. 5 frames. DSLR at usual settings.

Nice to see one of these on my walk this morning around Darley park. At first i thought it was a Great White Egret due to its Heron like size, but on closer inspection, i was wrong. The yellow feet give it away, as well as some crest plumage. This is a 'Little Egret' I've not seen one locally before ; at one time they were a rare visitor from Mediterranean areas and only found on the south coast of England, but they are more common now further north. Not the sharpest pic : full 10x zoom on my iPhone (11 Pro Max)

Going through my RAW file archive today, I came across some images of the Rosette Nebula taken back in March but had never been processed, so I've spent the evening trying to drag some detail out of the noise. An unmodified DSLR is probably not the best imaging device to use on this target and I could have done with an hour or two more integration. Still, here's the result, 35 x 180s with my canon 200D and 400mm lens at F5.6, ISO 1600. stacked using DSS and processed using IRIS.

I have been using my obsy for a while with a lift-up roof, but for a number reasons I need to change it, not least because we get freak blasts of wind even on dead calm days! Last Sunday morning at 1.30am it suddenly banged shut with a heavy and loud thud!! Luckily I was imaging in the other direction so no harm to the kit was done, so a re-think!! Anyway I decided to alter it to a roll off roof design (as Phil suggested last year!!) So having got the time (only doing part time at work atm) and the materials I set too..... Roof removed. Runners added. Rear supporting framework and edging added. Front valance fitted. Started painting but there was a storm brewing! I still have the runners to fit when Screwfix get them in stock but at least it's watertight for the moment! More to come when I finish it! Ron

Hi everyone - hope you're all safe and well. Just 2 hrs on this one from last night's i,aging session. Redcat 51 and ZWO 178 MC Cool processed in Pixinsight and PSCC - cheers

The last three days have been torrential here, garden and greenhouse flooded.. Difficult to imagine that it was only Monday I snapped these poppies near the Belper Dark Sky Site.. What will next week bring??

Found something new on the Lavender this afternoon! I can't seem to see it the insect books I have, perhaps someone can help identify it? Mick?

Just checked the camera for the first time in a couple of days and found this one from 14/06/20 Comparing it to the background stars and the street lighting, it must have been an extremely bright one.

Slightly different process on the ROF image to bring out the faint prom at 9 o'clock

Weather wise this month has certainly had variety, from the clear nights and hot days at the beginning of the month to the traditional wet British summer we are more used to. So the images this month have reflected this turn in the weather so well done for all those who gathered photons whilst the skies were clear. Comets, Asteroids, Meteors Derbyshire Dave was tracking the ISS, not an easy job https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17939-the-iss/ Deep Sky A nice Crescent in Ha from Redwarf https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17960-crescent-nebula-in-ha/ and his belated M13 here https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17972-m13-lrgb/ A smooth image of M51 from Jonathan Nicholls https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17967-m51-whirlpool-galaxy-attempt/ Ibbo gave us a really detailed image of M101 https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17973-m101-lrgb-with-dual-rig/ and the Sadr Region in Ha https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/18034-sadr-region-including-ic1318/ Silentrunning gave us a close up of the Butterfly Nebula https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17971-the-butterfly-nebula-finished/ A nice M27 from RonC https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/18009-m27/ plus he gave us a nice image of the Veil https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/18041-a-june-witchs-broom/ ChrisP gave us a view of the Veil Nebula https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/18022-eastern-veil-nebula-in-cygnus/ plus a Lobster Claw from daan unda https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/18059-ngc6357-lobster-nebula-in-sho-from-siding-spring-obsy/ Derbyshire Dave went for the Pelican https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/18030-pelican-and-north-america-in-ha/ Lunar Matt Baker gave us a mosaic of the 69% disc https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17940-90-panel-140mp-lunar-mosaic-69-phase-310520/ and Ibbo gave us a mosaic https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17957-luna-1-6-2020-6-pane-mosaic/ Even I got a scope out on the moon https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17954-brushing-up-my-lunar/ Solar Ibbo has been busy this month, here are a few https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17936-sol-31-5-2020-ha-cak/ https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17982-sol-8-6-2020-hacak-wl/ https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17992-sol-13-6-2020-ha/ https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17999-sol-15-6-20-ha-cak/ Widefield There was some Noctilucent Cloud activity this month and Ibbo and Clive captured some of it https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/18024-noctilucent-cloud-22-06-20/ https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/18025-noctilucent-clouds-22-6-2020/ Clive also gave us a Cygnus widefield https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/18048-milky-way-in-cygnus/ Despite the weather there have been some great images, thanks for posting folks. There is one image I keep going back to and thats Ibbos M101 taken with his dual rig. The depth of detail and colour really make this image, add to that subtle processing and it's a corker, well done Steve. https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/17973-m101-lrgb-with-dual-rig/

I was rather pleased with this effort and think it is the best I've done without using a telescope. It was using my usual methods (available on request!). In between doing other things, I am literally and metaphorically going through a stack of images from last night.

I bagged another imaged Messier for the list last night, M107. That makes 90 imaged so far!

First eastern loop of the Veil this year, a very light midsummer night but I was out to bag some 'M's' (only got one because of the wind!) 20 x 120s + Darks and Flats ISO 800 Canon 1000dm 150 PDS NEQ6 guided and dithered in APT ans PHD2.6.8. Need to get more Blue but it was a very bright sky!!

All belted up now and just the controller to go.

not the best but seem to have some rubbish data, calibration frames not good either but i had a go at the processing.

Not completely finished, but well on the way. The purling’s supporting the roof structure and runner rails have been fitted, a few minor adjustments to make, then the roof will slide a full 3 meters without bolts snagging under the existing roof. The pier has been fitted, levelled and roughly pointing to Polaris. Weather brush seals being fitted atm and the front door painted and brickwork, looks like a brand new garage with a sunroof 😂 I’ve still 3 weeks left before my new scope arrives via boat, so plenty time left 👍

I’ve recently created a custom landscape and it’s been really helpful, allowing me to see the stars and planets like they would from my observatory (i.e. the garden!). It’s fairly straightforward, so I’d like to share the process. There are several stages. STAGE 1 INITIAL SETTINGS FOR STELLARIUM This is personal choice, but I find that the most useful view of Stellarium is when the daylight visualisation is off (i.e. you can see the stars during daylight hours), and the background is always visible (i.e. doesn’t go dark when time gets to night time). Press F4 on the keyboard. The View Menu comes up. “Atmospheric Visualisation” is normally ticked, note the sky normally shows daylight. I like to untick this showing the sky as dark during the day.. The other setting I like to change is on the View Menu, landscape tab. It’s the Minimal Brightness check box, which I like to have ticked. If this is left unticked, when the sky goes dark, so does the background, and you can’t orientate yourself. When it is ticked you see a light rendition of your background, so you can see what you see things relative to the background. Look carefully below, you can just see my background, it would otherwise be totally black in this night view. Having changed those two settings, make sure they are saved. Press F2 to get to the configuration menu, then on the “Main” tab, press “Save Settings”. These two steps will make getting your landscape working much easier. STAGE 2 CAPTURING YOUR LANDSCAPE. You need to capture a 360 degree landscape, taken from your observing site. This can be done as a series of shots with an SLR, but I found that the easiest method was to use a mobile phone set to panorama mode. I took two panoramas, each of slightly greater than 180 degrees. However many photographs you need for the 360, stitch your photos together, I used Photoshop, but you could use Microsoft ICE, or whichever software you are familiar with. After stitching you should carefully crop the photo at the edges so that you have exactly a 360 degree view. I found it useful to look for the same object at each side to help with the crop. STAGE 3 EDITING YOUR LANDSCAPE The first thing to be aware of is that the file needs to be capable of having a transparent background. You can’t do this with a .JPG file. So use your imaging software to save as a .PNG file, with a transparent background. The resolution of modern cameras means that at this stage the file will be quite large, much larger than when it will be used later, in Stellarium. This is good though, because the extra resolution makes it easier to carefully remove the sky. Use your software and an eraser tool, or a brush tool, and eat away the sky carefully, leaving a clean as possible break between the sky and the background. Here’s my landscape, with the transparent background shown as a checkerboard pattern. STAGE 4 GET THE IMAGE THE RIGHT SIZE. 1640 wide x 1024 deep Having used the extra resolution to get a nice clean ‘cut out’, use your editing software to make get the image the correct size. Keep a copy at the original size just in case! Reducing to the correct size can take a bit of doing. You don’t want your software to distort the image during the reduction. I reduced to the correct width, and then played around adding and subtracting to the height to get the exact size. The area above the sky can be added as transparent area, the area below I have filled with green, so can be extended or cut as necessary. Most of the hard work is now done! STAGE 5 LANDSCAPE.INI FILE CREATION I create a folder on my desktop, this time called “RonsHouse”, but whatever you like. In there put your PNG file, named as landscape.png Also in that folder, with a text editor, create the file “landscape.ini” and paste the following (blue here) lines into it.. [landscape] name = Ron, Lynn and Daisy's House in Newark description = Shedatory + Man Shed type = spherical maptex = landscape.png [location] latitude = +53d03'00" longitude = -0d48'00" altitude = 20 angle_rotatez = 180 a)Change the name to the name of your site b)Change the description to describe your observatory c)Change the latitude and longitude to describe your position. The convention on longitude is that minus is West. The latitude and longitude of Ron’s house is approximately 53 deg 3 mins North, 0 deg 48 mins West Save the file. STAGE 6 FOLDER COPYING The folder on your desktop needs copying to your Stellarium/landscapes folder. This will normally be C:\Program Files\Stellarium\landscapes. It doesn’t matter what you call your folder, the name showing in Stellarium will come from your .INI file Keep the copy of the folder on your desktop. If anything is not correct it’s better to edit there and drag the whole folder again, keeping yourself a backup. You may have to give permission to create or overwrite the folder. STAGE 7 TWEAKING. Go into Stellarium, Press F4 for the View Menu, and go to the landscapes tab. You should now see the option as described in the “name” tab in the INI file.. with it’s details. Once you are happy with it, you can tick “Use this landscape as default”, then save settings. Hopefully things look OK, but maybe at the wrong angle. You need to play with "angle_rotatez", the angle of rotation of the landscape. Play with the “angle_rotatez” in landscape.ini file IN THE DESKTOP FOLDER, then copy the whole folder again. This can be a bit fiddly, persevere, it’s worth getting it right. Don’t try and edit in the C:\Program Files\Stellarium\landscapes folder, it won’t let you save it.

I had a spare autofocuser laying around so I am currently fettling a bracket to fit all seems to work just need to add a washer into screw on eyepiece holder to take up slack caused by thickness of plate material , will update, need to test with the camera once spacer arrives. .

Ha with Lunt 60mm and D/S Chamelon cam Ed 80 reduced & Lunt 600 Cak bf do the clicky thing for full res.

Ha with Lunt 60mm and D/S Chameleon cam 200 frames stacked do the clicky thing for full res.

Well about finished other than adding a few shelves. Finished the floor in heavy duty click tiles, painted the walls with Sandtex, added a few brush seals, levelled and polar aligned the pier, sold the ED 80 and purchased a Mak150 for planetary and still awaiting the F2.8 150 sharp star, it’s about 2 weeks in a long boat trip from China.

Soz folks, a bit rushed here so I will give it my undevided attention this weekend, promise

I can't see that this has been shared already (and if it has... Oh well!) View in at least HD:

Ha with Lunt 60mm and D/S Chameleon cam 200 frames stacked do the clicky thing for full res.

Morning walk around Rutland water left camera at home stopped at a gate, 30ft away end of a branch ,a blackcap singing his heart out for ages damn it ,ahhhhh.

A very poor handheld shot of the noctilucent cloud at 11:36 this evening, 50mm, F2.8, ISO12800, 1/6s.

Just posted a thread of my first 3D print effort on SGL and I think i'm addicted... https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/357030-first-3d-print-adventure/

A rosemary leaf beetle Ron you must have some rosemary nearby.

Usual method. A sporadic:

51 frames Ha with Lunt 60mm and D/S Chamelon cam do the clicky thing for full res.

Cath and I went out to meet two friends for a socially distanced walk near the Belper Dark Sky site this morning. Just after crossing Whatstandwell Bridge I spotted a badger cub lying on the side of the road. Fliipping awkward place to stop, but stopped and it looked uncomfortable but not actually in pain. So I picked it up in a towel and very shortly it was in a supermarket carrier bag. Delivered it to a friend we know with badger connections .. we'll let you know the outcome..

I caught one in the early hours of 25th.

Nice shots Mick. There were turtle doves heard last time I went but not seen, do you reckon they have a speaker in the bushes?

As a visual astronomer i didn’t understand a word you said. But nice shot thanks