Cats Eye Nebula

Bill, I'm Impressed! How about a crack at M51 so? You won't be dissapointed Well Done..

Keith..

Just to clarify
The laptop gets the image from the DSI using the USB, if the
PC wasnt attached to the telescope/autostar how did it make tracking corrections, or was your tracking bang on without corrections.

I'm afraid thats where I get lost Dave L. Maybe Dave McD could clarify that point. If I connect the laptop to the hand controller this lets me click on points on Autostar Suite planetarium and go to that point automatically with the scope, it would also let me focus from the laptop if I had an auto-focuser in the scope, perhaps the software wasn't doing the tracking, but only keeping a particular part of the image centred so that it can stack as it goes. Maybe it was just good tracking on the scope :oops: I'm afraid I'm a bit of a numbskull when it comes to things like this.
Thanks for your comments Dave G. I think the amazing thing here, is that this is what the DSI produced for an absolute novice and dunderhead like me. What could it do in the hands of more experienced people like you lot who keep encouraging me. I have to admit my disapointment at imaging planets with it, but with a lot of cojoling from Dave McD I did follow his advice and abandon planets for deep Sky. But, having said that, there are a lot of superb planet images taken with the DSI on the Yahoo/DSI boards, so it can do a lot in the right hands.
Bill H.

Bill - I think (but not sure) that those red 'blobs' may be the nebula that is associated with the Cat's Eye. I took a look at some images last night and based on the orientation you have, it seems the most likely candidate.

The image here: home.earthlink.net/~akilla/MAD/NGC6543.htm
is rotated 90 degress clockwise to yours.

Colour settings on the DSI software are a bit of a hit and miss in my mind. You don't get much flexibility during your image taking. Of course, you can paly with the colour at your leisure post-processing. Perhaps that's why Meade decide the DSI Pro was going to be a monochrome CCD... Colour is certainly a major issue for me on anything brighter than mag 6

Dave L & Bill - the DSI software doesn't 'track' in the sense that most of us understand it. The software merely allows you to define a point upon which it will stack all images it subsequently takes. Clearly though, in the case your alignment and mount tracking ability were bang on. The software doesn't compensate the mount in any way - you have to manually move the mount if the image starts to drif off the CCD. Of course, you can connect the Autostar hand yoke and make manual adjustments via the supplied slewing buttons if needs be. It may also have the ability to auto track via the software but I'm not familiar with the Meade guidance systems and if they take guidance signals from the imager. AFAIK, only satrlight express CCD's do this...

That said, the Meade DSI is being used as a guider CCD for higher end cameras. Actually, I've seen at least one person using the LPI as a guider whilst the DSI does the imaging - so don't chuck away the LPI just yet Bill!

Dave G - its a bit of a trade=off really. One long shot is ultimately more detailed than combined shorter exposures of the same duration. *But* shorter exposures can certainly remove any issues to do with tracking. They may also help with gradient issues from light pollution but perhaps a light pollution filter might be a better consideration for that - Hutech or similar?

Finally Bill - this image is way better than anything I've ever done. You really have cracked it and you will produce much better. For sure.

Cheers

Dave McD

The image here: home.earthlink.net/~akilla/MAD/NGC6543.htm
is rotated 90 degress clockwise to yours.

Dave McD

:shock: I've a way to go to match that :shock: But, not being the defeatist, I shall beat it one day :lol: :lol:
Bill H