Re: [APML] Finally a Clear Night

["Chris Cook" <chris@cookphoto.com>]

Good to hear!  Looking forward to seeing the pics!

Chris

-----------------------------
Chris Cook Photography
www.cookphoto.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Thomas W. Earle" <twade@bmi.net>
To: <astro-photo@seds.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2005 2:20 PM
Subject: [APML] Finally a Clear Night


> I finally was able to do some short imaging last night with nice
> transparency and seeing.  As my eyes dark adapted, I was able to see
> (without aid), North American Nebula, Pelican Nebula, Milky Way dust
> clouds almost stretching to the head of Scorpius.  In fact, I could
> make out faint signs (unresolved background stars) of the Milky Way
> all the way to the head of Scorpius.  It was a pretty awesome night.
> I also saw 7 sporadic meteors, two of which were brighter than 0
> magnitude.  I only had two hours of total darkness before the moon
> rose so I concentrated my efforts on the Lagoon Nebula region.  I
> used the Pentax 67 300mm EDIF at F/4.0 (I sure wish I could afford
> the Pentax 67 400mm EDIF, but at $5800 it's way out of my price
> range).  This sure is a nice lens.  It is very easy to focus using
> the Mitsuboshi KEF.  I took two images: one 45 minutes and one 60
> minutes.  Although it was a "perfect" night, I accidentally loosened
> the camera mount while thinking I was tightening it so I'm sure
> these shots will have some flexure too.  I do have a ring attached
> to the lens so the flexure may not be too terrible.  Unfortunately,
> this will prevent me from figuring out whether or not my system has
> a slight flexure problem with shots over 30 minutes (see below).
> Anyway, it was a fantastic night.
> 
> I finally got my Rho Ophiuchus image back from development.  It
> turned out nicely; however, there is slight trailing which could
> have been from the gusty 15-30 mph winds or flexure.  I'll have to
> experiment more.  However, Provia 100F performed very well.  It
> picked up everything I've seen from other's images of this region.
> For the final result, we'll have to wait for Tony Hallas' digital
> magic.  I would certainly recommend using this film to anyone with
> an F/5.0 system or faster.  I took a 75 minute shot at F/4.0 at a
> new site (Bortle Scale 2).  At my darker site (Bortle Scale 1), I
> probably could have gone an additional 15 minutes or more.
> 
> Wade
> 
> 
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