Orion ST80 + Mallincam = great fun!

I am really, really enjoying this Orion ST-80 short tube refractor. I had no idea how much I would enjoy a grab-n-go scope. This little scope when paired to the iOptron SmartEQ mount provides an immensely fun little package. I just grab the scope on the mount, take it outside, point to true north with a map compass, and switch on. I slew and sync on several bright targets and nothing but enjoyable viewing for the rest of the session. I love the wide FOV that this scope provides with an astro-tech 15mm plossl. Chromatic Aberration is minimal and certainly does not distract from the view. Moon filter kills CA fringing as several online reviews state, and does so very well. I cannot overstate how pleased I am with the views that this little cheap scope provides. I can see the whole sword region of orion in the 15mm FOV. It is a very satisfying view, and I would not have thought so given the fact that it is a measly 80mm of aperture. Despite that, I find myself glued to the eyepiece for long periods of time enjoying the razor sharp views of M42. Am I becoming a refractor convert? Possibly a little bit, but I do enjoy a big dob as well. I am just saying that this little mount/scope combo is really fun and provides tack-sharp rewarding views. It has really put the fun factor back in astronomy. In fact, if I am not imaging, I can be setup, aligned, and observing in about three minutes. Just fantastic.

I know this little cheap scope won't be an imaging superstar, but I was curious what it would look like with the Mallincam Color Hyper imager. Video astronomy is fun, no doubt about it but I wanted to see what it would do with some screen grabs. Lazy man's astrophotography, if you will. Yes, I knew there would be star bloat, yes there were telltale purple halos that come with chromatic aberration, but you know what? The images were pretty cool and really can showcase what can be done with a cheap scope, mount combo.

I setup last night in hopes of catching Panstarrs, but no luck as it was too low and trees obscure my western horizon. I decided to swing the scope over towards Orion's sword, and here are the results. I look forward to trying this again during a new moon and with a Baader IR filter to help contain some of the star bloat. All in all though, I was very pleased.

The above image is the result of 8x2 second exposures (sens-up setting 128x) stacked in DeepSky Stacker. Curves, levels, saturation adjusted in PS, as well as a few passes in the astro tools action panel.

The above image is the result of 4x2 second exposures and the on-camera zoom function on at full zoom. DSS stacking and curve/level/astrotools action panel in PS.

The above image is a stack of 2x7 second exposures. Overexposed to show some detail in the gas cloud surrounding the trapezium. Core is blown out but cloud details are present. You can even see a hint of the "Running Man" nebulosity below m42. Heavily edited in PS just to be even somewhat presentable.

It took longer to fire up the laptop and setup the mallincam and video capture software than to get the scope setup and aligned. Much fun and I think this will be a hit for a portable outreach setup. I am anxious to see how the cam performs with this scope when using a LP filter, I hope it helps without degrading the images too much. I also tried to image the Pleaides, M45 but the starbloat was too bad and the image was completely washed out by light pollution. 

Until next time...

Fun with Orion ST-80 and SmartEQ

Being disappointed with my images of PANSTARRS comet, I decided to try to put together something with a little more ooph. I didn't relish the thought of lugging my C8/Sirius combo to my spot south of town for a brief window of imaging the comet, so I wanted something a lot more portable. I took the Orion short tube 80 achromatic refractor and mounted it on a spare dovetail. I tried it out last night with the iOptron SmartEQ mount. Haze and thin clouds made the comet a pointless target, I couldn't even see it with binos, but I did take the rest of the evening to enjoy the little refractor before the clouds and wind shut me down. 

I have to say that I really had fun. I didn't expect to enjoy the little el-cheapo refractor as much as I did, and despite the chromatic aberration present as expected, the views were really impressive to me. I have no experience with APO or semi-APO ED refractors, but I did enjoy this cheap little scope. I didn't spend too much time polar aligning (just pointed north and threw caution to the wind). Visual tracking was great and after syncing on the moon and M42, goto's were surprisingly good, even on the other side of the meridian without any sync'd targets to the east. Mizar was dead on after slewing from m45. Oh yeah, m45 and m42 kept me glued to the eyepiece for over an hour. So much fun to have a scope setup that doesn't herniate me to setup and can be setup and slewing in about 3 minutes. Really put some fun back into astronomy for me.

I hope in the next several days that I have some luck with using it with the mallincam (focus with extension tube) and comet PANSTARRS. Of course I will post up results!

Let me again take the opportunity to praise the iOptron SmartEQ mount. It is so much fun, and it just works. It's light weight and super quick setup makes it a blast to use. The short tube 80/ SmartEQ combo is wonderful and means I will be able to observe and possibly do some minor imaging on a whim vs. a 1 hour setup. 

Comet PANSTARRS C/2011 L4

Here are my results on March 11/12 2013. Equipment used: Nikon D-60, 18-55mm kit lens, standard photo tripod.

Closeup of first image, gamma/cont. tweaked in PS

Quick 10 sec. exp. of Orion before packing it in on the 11th. No tracking, just DSLR on tripod.

Although I am happy that I did capture the comet with the 18-55mm kit lens, it is of such low resolution that I can barely make it out. Use what you have....and I did, however I crave the nice images like I have seen around the internet. With that in mind I have repurposed my Orion guidescope package for use with the smartEQ mount from iOptron in hopes of getting some good up close comet shots. See next blog entry for details.