Nearly forgot about this one!
I was using the Canon EOS 1000D on the 6" R-C scope and trying out the Planetary Mode of BackyardEOS. Using this mode of the software lets me make .avi files which can then be frame-stacked by other software such as RegiStax. The colours are natural, all I've done is to increase the saturation using Photoshop. The result's rough & ready but at least it's a start:
Last time we were at Coventry Tesco we noticed that MoGo Insect Repellent Fabric Conditioner was on offer.
Has anybody out there tried the stuff, and if so was it any good?
Another "find" was this huge krab:
I'd no intention of buying it, I was just intrigued by the ambiguous packaging blurb -
"Parent Organiser... Keeps your bags organised!"
Seems a tad disrespectful, IMO.
"Parent's Organiser" or "Parents' Organiser" might have been better.
Having brought the observatory back to full operational status after replacing the roof that was trashed by the hailstorm, I thought I'd better get out there and actually use it. I managed a couple of sessions of observing during a run of four clear nights, and used them for some experimentation and equipment tests. I'd fitted a better focuser to the 6" R-C, the new one's a monorail or linear-bearing focuser, it has much better stability than the original Crayford which means less flexing of the optical train under the weight of the coolbox-clad camera. This in turn means better auto-guiding and hence a much-reduced tendency for stars to appear elongated.
Anyway, less of the techy stuff. Visual targets were the Moon and Jupiter, both were putting on a fine display in the clear skies. Imaging-wise I managed to bag a couple more Messier Objects - M47 and M76. Both presented problems - M47 was so low that for some of the time I was imaging through the topmost branches of a tree that belongs to a neighbour three gardens away; and M67 is such a dim and small thing that I didn't take enough pics to capture all of the detail, so I'll have to gather some additional subs sometime soon. Pics and details as follows:
M47 (aka NGC2422), an open cluster in the constellation Puppis.
Subs: 18 light @ 300s, darks and bias frames, ISO800.
1000D on the 6" R-C, guided with PHD.
M76 (aka NGC650/651, The Little Dumbbell Nebula), a planetary nebula in the constellation Perseus.
Subs: 18 light @ 300s, darks and bias frames, ISO800.
1000D on the 6" R-C, guided with PHD.
As above, cropped and enhanced.
Looks like a great idea, I wonder if it could work this side of the pond?
I'm thinking of giving this stuff a try:
I bet it'll taste awful. Bitter, I'd imagine.
Shouldn't "Nit Picking" be hyphenated?
You may recall a recent exchange of comments on here in which I said that "the RM around here are not exactly held in high regard".
Well...
One of their staff has been collared for stealing the stuff he should have been delivering.
I know this to be true because the Royal Mail's regional Investigations Manager has sent me an opened and empty package, addressed to me, that was recovered from a member of the Royal Mail staff. The original contents of this package have not been recovered, as far as I'm aware.
This package should have been delivered to me way back in September. At that time I contacted the sender who kindly sent a second item to replace the first one that didn't get delivered.
The criminal investigation now in progress should see the sender compensated for that first item, which is a good thing. It should also see the offender fined, jailed and/or being made to do community service (which, hopefully, won't be helping out the Royal Mail during the Christmas Rush).
What it probably won't do is compensate for any items stolen for which there is no proven link to the sender or to the intended recipient. I was lucky - they found the empty package and it had my name and address on it. I wonder how many other such empty packages have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of, thus breaking the thread of traceability.
I do have a fair old list of other stuff that's been declared "lost in the post" during the last couple of years. I'll be sending that list, and the evidence that backs it up, to the Investigations Manager sometime soon. Hopefully he'll be able to find some of the stuff, or evidence of it having been stolen instead of delivered.
I'll keep you... erm... posted
