Fossil Footprint (NGC 1491) (estabrook)

Fossil Footprint (NGC 1491)

Although I ordered ZWO's AM5 mount the moment I saw the announcement (last Christmas Eve, if I remember correctly), I wasn't able to put it into action until just this week. It was delivered in mid-July, and it took me another several months to get an appropriate pier extension. But now that it's in use, I've had a great experience with it, and it will likely replace my trusty AVX mount in many circumstances.

In a nutshell, the AM5's strengths are: it's lightweight and simple to assemble, it requires no counterweight or balancing (though I hang a counterweight on the hammock beneath the base of the tripod), it integrates instantly and seamlessly with the ASI Air Pro, and it's so very smooth and quiet. Overall guiding performance is a little better than my AVX. The AM5's weaknesses are: it lacks slew limits and its Alt/Az clutches are not very intuitive. As I said, my first sessions with it have been a joy.

I decided to dedicate my first AM5 sessions to the Fossil Footprint Nebula (NGC 1491) in Perseus. This one doesn't get quite as much attention as other showstoppers in the celestial neighborhood (like the California Nebula (NGC 1499), but I think it's quite interesting, and I hope this portrait conveys a bit of its charm.

This is also the first image I've completed with the IDAS NBZ UHS filter, which is designed for high-speed rigs like my f/2 Hyperstar rig. As you can see, it worked quite well, but I'm not sure that it completely outclasses the Optolong L-Enhance filter that it replaces. In all, I collected about 14 hours of data over two nights with the NBZ filter, and another hour of broadband stars with the Optolong L-Pro filter for the finishing touch.

Original
Final
B

B

Description: Added a judicious amount of BlurX.

Uploaded: ...

ZWO ASI183/QHY183
Light Polluted skies
HyperStar Lens Astrophotography
NOVAC
IDAS NBZ Dual Band Nebula Boost Filter
The OSC Club (One Shot Camera)
Virginia Astronomers and Astrophotographers

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Mix of multiple sources
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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	6839934
PixInsight job	AVELMRZPTNBUTL3ZIKSZMM5VCJ6QTFR9
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	04h03m10s.12
RA (top/left)	03h55m13s.97
RA (top/right)	04h03m11s.96
RA (bottom/right)	04h11m18s.53
RA (bottom/left)	04h03m08s.51

Dec (center)	+51°17′25″.7
Dec (top/left)	+50°41′28″.5
Dec (top/right)	+52°40′28″.6
Dec (bottom/right)	+51°51′15″.9
Dec (bottom/left)	+49°54′19″.0

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