Imaging telescopes or lenses: TPO 8" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Carbon Fiber Astrograph
Imaging cameras: FLI Microline CCD 16200 Monochrome Grade 1 Sensor
Mounts: Paramount MyT
Guiding telescopes or lenses: William Optics ZenithStar 61 APO f/5.9
Guiding cameras: Starlight Xpress Lodestar Autoguider X2
Software: SGP · Software Bisque TheSky X · PHD2 · PixInsight 1.8 Ripley PixInsight
Filters: Baader 3.5nm Ha filter, 2"
Accessory: Optec 2" TCF FocusLynx
Dates:Feb. 24, 2019 , Feb. 25, 2019 , Feb. 26, 2019
Frames:
Baader 3.5nm Ha filter, 2": 5x300" -30C bin 1x1
Baader 3.5nm Ha filter, 2": 17x600" -30C bin 1x1
Integration: 3.2 hours
Darks: ~15
Flats: ~40
Flat darks: ~15
Avg. Moon age: 21.16 days
Avg. Moon phase: 60.28%
Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 6.00
Astrometry.net job: 2552061
RA center: 2h 34' 30"
DEC center: +61° 27' 11"
Pixel scale: 1.574 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 179.203 degrees
Field radius: 0.552 degrees
Resolution: 1982x1563
Locations: Beevo Dome [home observatory], Louisville, CO, United States
Data source: Backyard
New setup. Learning to use the 8RC and FLI Microline 16200. I am unwilling to run the RC at its native f/8, so I installed my AP CCDT67, knowing it will throw a 29mm image circle, mismatched to the 34.5mm diagonal of the 16200. But imaging time is the most critical variable for me, so I am cropping out the center to use, ~ 40%. Using the formula on AP's site I figure I am runnning at about f/5.8 and an effective focal length of ~1200mm. This setup is a bridge to a fast Modified Corrected Dall-Kirkham I have my sights on, shooting for next year.
That said... Pretty happy with how this is shaping up as the Ha component for SHO. I want 6-8 hours per channel. With the MW so low these days and a relatively short window for nebulae imaging, this may take a while given the recent and predicted weather, but if I can snag a couple hours here and there...I'm good...well, I'm at least not completely dejected!
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