Recipe for Lobster

STEP 1
The celestial Lobster is a species that lives in "high waters" and it is easy to catch most of the year, but the general visibility is best during the fall. Lobster is best enjoyed on clear nights, preferably (but not exclusively) around New Moon. So pick you nights carefully. You will need the finest equipment to prepare this as a delicacy, in order to please your senses. We personally use a William Optics GT81, mounted on an iOptron CEM 40. Remember, your equipment must face exactly North before you start!

STEP 2
For the best result, a well-done celestial Lobster needs to be "cooked" for hours. Let the stars guide you along the way! Most of the manual labour can be streamlined - we use a ZWO ASIAir Pro for that.

STEP 3
Beware however, that a thick soup of stars will make it rather heavy for your eye (by this point you all figured that we aim to feed our eyes rather than our stomach). Also noting that the Lobster (and other poor celestial creatures) today are caught in heavily polluted areas, we suggest to use special filters to make a clear result. We are most happy with our Optolong LeXtreme - it is essential to make sure the Lobster is not contaminated. There are even finer filters on the market that are being considered, now that X-mas is approaching, to balance between life standards and savings.

STEP 4
The parts are collected on a sensor plate, in our case a ZWO ASI533MC-Pro. The sensor plate must be very cold (at least -10 degrees Celsius) and smooth. To get the texture right, a special technique called "flat-fielding" needs to be applied. Please do not ignore this step if you really want to please your consumers!

STEP 5
Just a warning, the Lobster has different flavours of colours that need to be separated and prepared independently. The initial step for this is done by the filter for you, but the follow-up work is just as important. When the components are ready, bring these together in a gentle way. The right combination of these various flavours will make a super delicious-looking Lobster!

STEP 6
Enjoy the result, and share with friends! Next time we will likely go all the way to another galaxy, to try something new we have not tasted before. It will also include adding various flavours of colours to an otherwise broad-band (but not boring!), swirling soup of stars.