Success in autoguiding with the Meade LX200GPS 8" mount & M 64

M 64 aka the Blackeye Galaxy (cropped about 50%)

Taken last night with the Moon starting to flood the night sky with light. One hour of imaging with my Meade LX200GPS 8 inch telescope (12 images @ 5 minutes each = 60 minutes). DSS Live. Canon T3i @ 3200 iso. Image is cropped about 50%. Guided with ZWO ASI120MM-S, Meade 50mm scope and PHD2.

After some failure to get my computer to control the Meade mount, success at last!

The issue/problem was that I could get the mount to receive instructions/commands from one program (Cartes du Ciel) OR PHD2 (guiding program) but not both at the same time.
It turns out that the mount has two RS232 ports and by connecting (via serial/USB) each to the computer and having each program use a separate COM number, it works like a charm!
In fact, I have never gotten flatter PHD2 graphs... EVER! AWESOME!

A Lunar Conjunction with M 44, The Beehive, open star cluster

 Moon and M 44 (HDR & desaturated)

Moon and M 44 (HDR & in color)

Last night the Moon passed in front of an open star cluster known as "The Beehive" aka M 44. Those on the east coast of the USA (if they had no clouds) were able to capture it from beginning to end as the Moon moved from right to left. But for us here on the west coast of the USA, the Sun was only just setting.
However, I attempted to capture a few images of it though the sky was still not dark (about 9 pm PDT). By manipulating the exposures and finally by stacking them in HDR I was able to at least get a shot of the Moon existing the area of the cluster. The star cluster are those very faint stars to the right of the Moon. Enjoy!
Data: Daystar 480mm f/6.5 scope, Canon T3i (unmodded), Celestron AVX mount, ISO varied from 100 to 800, exposures varied from about 1/600th sec to 4 sec. Post processing using GIMP to layer, stack and adjust image.

The individual frames:

SUCCESS with Meade LX200GPS tracking! M 3

M 3 globular star cluster

DATA: One exposure, 7 minutes, 1600 iso, Canon T3i

UNCROPPED !  NO STACKING!

It may not seem like much but I was able to get my largest telescope to track it for this single shot for 7 minutes! And I could have gone much longer, only it would not have helped this subject matter.

First time ever being able track accurately with with my Meade LX200GPS 8" scope, prime focus for astrophotography!

I was also surprised by the high level of contrast which I did not expect from this kind of telescope.


I did encounter a problem getting the needed two computer programs to communicate simultaneously with the Meade mount. Turns out I needed to use TWO separate RS232 cables, one in each RS232 port, to connect to my laptop computer. Then I have each program use a dedicated cable COM port and WALLA! No problem!

New Celestron AVX mount Gives Longer Exposure Times

My old Celestron goto mount did fine for a number of years but now it was time to invest in a newer mount... especially since Celestron was have a $200 off sale on it!
While I have not yet given the mount a "dead on" alignment to the North Pole, the mount is doing great, especially with a new ZWO b&w guiding camera and the PHD2 program. I am easily getting 3 minute "subs" (individual shots that will be stacked later with DeepSkyStacker)... and sometime even longer!
With clear skies I headed out to the obs (even though I was fighting a cold) and, using the CATE telescope (480mm refractor) and a Canon T3i camera, I imaged a few galaxies.

M 101 galaxy

DATA: 19 minutes total stacking time

6 subs (about 3 minutes each)

ISO 6400

Image cropped in

M 102 galaxy

DATA: 23 minutes total stacking time

9 subs (about 3 minutes each)

ISO 6400

Image cropped in

NGC 5907 galaxy

DATA: 17 minutes total stacking time

6 subs (about 3 minutes each)

ISO 6400

Image cropped in

Oh, and one more thing...

I use a focusing mask to help get a precise focus. It is placed in front of the telescope

and is to be removed when focusing is done... unless one forgets to remove it.

That's what happened in the first image I took and this is what it looks like:

If you look closely you will see that the stars have 6 points to them

instead of being round as they should be.

It happens... LOL!

Attempt at the Leo Triplet galaxies under poor skies

The Leo Triplet of galaxies

It "cleared up" for about an hour last night just before the next storm system came in, still mucky skies.
Here are three galaxies in the constellation Leo, NGC 3628, M 65, M 66, form what is known as the Leo Triplet.
Due to poor weather conditions and other issues I was unable to pull out the delicate colors of these galaxies... maybe next time!
Data: Daystar 480mm scope, Canon T3i camera, ISO 6400, 20 frames at about 35 sec each, stacked with DSS for a total of about 13 minutes integration, image slightly cropped. Unguided as PHD2 seemed to have difficulties last night, too.

The Rosette Nebula: Before and After

Before star removal...

So... what is "behind" all the stars that sometimes get in the way of seeing the full extent of nebulas or the Milky Way? I just found a program called StarNet (freeware) that is capable of removing stars from an astrophotography image so all you see in the nebulosity!

Here is the Rosette Nebula looks like after the program removes the stars!

If you click on the first image you will be able to toggle between the before and after.

It gives one a whole new perspective of it! Can't wait to try it out on a Milky Way image!

My Secondary Roll-off Roof Over My Observing Deck

A while back I added an 8x8 foot observing deck to the side of my roll-off roof observatory.
It became apparent that more needed to be done to make it useable year round (as we have a lot of snow in the winter months that even make moving the main observatory roof nearly impossible to move.)
After much thought (and a few trips to my local Ace Hardware store) this is what I came up with.
Positioning this new roll-off roof under the supporting beams that hold up the main observatory roll-off roof, I was able to construct this for about $225 for materials.
I am not a carpenter or a mechanic (nor am I an athlete) so the plan was simple as was the construction and the operation.
Perhaps you will get some ideas from my project and make your own without having to spend $1,000 to do it!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me in the "comment" section below.