AT80EDT First Light

Last month my buddy Daniel gave me a Meade LXD650 German equatorial mount--basically the GEM version of the LX200 mount that I already use. Catch is, it doesn't work right. I dig into it and find the problem, a gear is turning on a shaft where it's not supposed to. I get that repaired, and $35 later I have a working* mount. But what am I going to do with it? I could de-fork the LX200, but it's non-trivial to get it back onto the forks and aligned. Or I could find a scope that's portable and designed for photography.

So that's what I did. I started researching apochromatic refractors. I've been getting nice shots with the big SCT, but it's limited to smaller targets due to the long focal length, so I'm looking for something with less focal length. I'm also trying to not spend a whole lot of money. So the Tele-Vue NP-101 that I really like is out: $3,700 is way out of my league. The Orion ED80 is a popular choice, and at $600 it's right in my sweet spot. But Barry has one, and while it's a very nice telescope, I want something different. The Meade Series 5000 ED APO triplet looks promising, but I never found an entirely positive review. Finally after a lot of research, I decide on the Astronomy Technologies AT80EDT. It's a triplet design, which means it uses three lenses instead of the usual two. It has a two-speed focuser like the one I added to the LX200, and comes in a nice case.

One Astromart "wanted" ad and a week later I'm the new owner of a nearly new AT80EDT. She's a beauty--white finish with grey, gold and green accents. The views through her are sweet, too. She rides just fine on the big LXD650 mount too. Here she is lit by the first quarter moon:



Friday night was the big night. Barry talked me into going up to the Eagle Eye Observatory for an overnighter, and what a night it was. Fridays are public night at the EEO, and there were about 40 guests there. The observatory operator had his hands full, so Barry & I took up the slack. He had his 10" LX200GPS going, while I put the binoviewers in the AT80EDT and aimed it at the Moon. I love it when someone looks into the scope and exclaims, "Oh my God!"

After the guests left and the Moon set, I hooked up the camera and went to work. I don't have the mount set up for autoguiding yet, so these are kinda rough. Each one is 40 x 30 seconds for just a 20-minute total exposure time. They're enough to get me really excited about imaging with this telescope though. Up first is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy:



Then there's M45, the Pleiades. I somehow managed to pull out some of the blue nebulosity even with the short exposure:



And last is M42, the Orion Nebula. Always a crowd-pleaser:

Punctuation Abuse

Gaaah! I can't decide if I love it or hate it!

Apostrophe Abuse
The Blog of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks

M8, The Lagoon Nebula Again

I shot this 13 months ago, and I'm amazed at the difference. Same equipment, same location, but wildly different results. 17 x 3 minutes, Rebel XT, 10" LX200 @ f/6.3.

Adventures In Selling

I won this spiffy case at Texas Star Party this spring, and have decided to sell it to help fund a new telescope. I figured I'd start with Craigslist, since a local sale wouldn't involve packing and shipping. The day after I put up the ad, I got a nibble:

From: bizebony8080@hotmail.com
Subject: ATA Equipment Case - $300
Date: September 10, 2007 6:38:39 AM CDT
To: imjeffp@mac.com

Just view your advert on craigs web,I am willing to purchase the item asap.I hope its still avaliable for sales?I will like to know your last asking price for it?Please get back to me today so that we can proceed further...

OK, that sounds promising, even if the wording is a little off.

From: Jeff Phillips
To: Barry Johnson
Subject: Re: ATA Equipment Case - $300
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 09:17:26 -0500

Hi Barry

Still available for $300. Let me know.

Then I get this little gem:

From: bizebony8080@hotmail.com
Subject: ok: ATA Equipment Case - $300
Date: September 11, 2007 8:19:20 AM CDT
To: imjeffp@mac.com

Sounds Good.
I will like to proceed with payment asap and will like to handle shipment myself when you must have gotten your cash at hand.I am in no rush to pick up the item till funds are clear at the bank.As there are too many scams on internet as regards buying and selling with large bogus account.My mode of payment will be via Electronic Cashier Check drawn on US bank.(Bank Of America).You will probarbly need a business check paper to print and cash or deposit the check today.The business check paper is sold for $20 at any stationery store,staples or at your local office supply outlet.I will add the cost of supplies to your asking price with an extra offer for accepting my mode of payment.I work with an auditing firm and will not have time to mail a check.Electronic Cashier checks is fast and secure.I will need your name and address with valid email address to send the Echeck to your email which you can print immediately when you must have purchase the supplies at staples or any stationery store.Kindly delete the advert of this item if my mode of payment is accepted.I will await your email asap.

Is this guy on crack?

From: imjeffp@mac.com
Subject: Re: ok: ATA Equipment Case - $300
Date: September 11, 2007 9:28:30 AM CDT
To: bizebony8080@hotmail.com

Don't waste my time, you smarmy lagerlout git. You bloody woofter sod. Cash American, or else bugger off, pillock.

I don't think we'll be hearing back from Barry.

Interstellar Light Collector

You may have seen this on CNN. An Arizona group is claiming they have harnessed the power of moonlight to heal sickness and disease.

Ho-lee crap. I've been beaming concentrated moonlight into my eyes for a while now, and it still hasn't cured my presbyopia.

Interstellar Light Applications is making science fiction into science fact with the first project of its kind in world history. Using one-of-a-kind specifically designed and engineered light tracking and capturing technology, ILA explores the benefits and uses of moonlight’s unique qualities. ILA also facilitates research into the applications of the brightest stars’ and celestial bodies’ spectral properties. Only true visionaries see possibility when others see road blocks and with their state-of-the-art invention, ILA’s creators and researchers are surpassing all technologies of today and are capitalizing on alternative spectrum light research for the future. Their work presents unlimited benefits for the medical, agricultural and industrial fields. With ILA you are illuminating endless possibilities.

Ooh, sciency!I can't wait to see what their "alternative spectrum light research" reveals! That you can get suckers to pay money to sit in moonlight reflected off a mirror?

Lunar Eclipse

Star HIP110580 is about to be occulted by the full moon during a total lunar eclipse early Tuesday morning.

First Day of School

Man, he just keeps getting bigger and bigger, even if he is wearing the same shirt as last year. We've sorta made it a tradition to wear a yellow shirt on the first day. More pictures...

Seeing In The Dark

Coming to PBS September 19, 2007

America's Writer Laureate of astronomy invites millions of viewers to enjoy the wonders of the night sky in a spectacular HDTV special

Stargazing is the subject of Seeing in the Dark, a 60-minute, state-of-the-art, high-definition (HDTV) documentary by Timothy Ferris that premieres on PBS September 19, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. The film, Ferris' third, is based on his book, Seeing in the Dark (2002), named by The New York Times as one of the ten best books of the year.

"Seeing in the Dark is meant to alter, inspire and illuminate the lives of millions," said Ferris. "It introduces viewers to the rewards of first-person, hands-on astronomy — from kids learning the constellations to amateur astronomers doing professional-grade research in discovering planets and exploding stars. I hope it will encourage many viewers to make stargazing part of their lives, and a few to get into serious amateur astronomy."

Another Joke

Two guys, one old and one young, are pushing their carts around at Home Depot when they collide. The old guy says to the young guy, "Sorry about that. I'm looking for my wife, and I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

The young guy says, "That's OK. It's a coincidence. I'm looking for my wife, too. I can't find her and I'm getting a little worried."

The old guy says, "Well, maybe we can help each other. What does your wife look like?

The young guy says, "Well, she is 27 yrs old, tall, with red hair, green eyes, long legs, big boobs, and she's wearing tight white shorts. What does your wife look like?"

The old guy says, "Doesn't matter -- let's look for yours."

Dick Was Right

M17 Revisited

So I made sure everything was tight this time, and man, what a difference! I could have used some flats, but otherwise I'm pleased as punch. Every sub was a keeper! This was the first time I've been able to go all the way to 180 seconds, and it looks like I can still go longer. 30 x 180 sec., 350D @ 1600 ISO, 10" LX200 @ f/6.3.

M17, The Omega Nebula

Info from Wikipedia here.

This is the shot that almost wasn't. As I was was watching the subs being captured, I noticed a lot of trailing in them, like the guiding wasn't working. I fussed and I fiddled with the settings, even recalibrated the software twice. After I finally gave up and was putting things away for the night, I discovered that the locking screw on the guide scope focuser was loose. The guide camera had been moving around with the loose drawtube. Arrrgh!

Anyway, I managed to salvage enough decent frames to put this shot together. I can't guess how long it was, somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half total. Same setup as M16.

M16, The Eagle Nebula

By far one of the most famous pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope is Pillars of Creation. I'm not set up to come anywhere close, but I'm very happy with this shot of the Eagle Nebula. Both guiding and focus seem to have been nearly spot on, and we actually had a nice steady, transparent sky tonight.

40 x 120 seconds, Rebel XT @ 1600 ISO, 10" LX200 @ f/6.3

Star Hopping Through The Teapot

Finally! A break in the weather and a trip to the dam. Barry and another fellow set up scopes as well, and we had a long visit by a fellow who just bought a 10" dob, but didn't bring it out. I was trying out a "lazy susan" bearing upgrade to the 6-inch dob, and set up the little ETX-90 just for fun. The bearings work well, but it's a little too loose. I think I can tighten up the center bolt and slow it down. It's definitely easier to use than when it was sticking on the nylon pads though.

So anyway, I was going old school with my red flashlight and sky chart, finding my way around Sagittarius. You're looking right into the heart of the Milky Way, so it's chock full of goodies. M8, the Lagoon Nebula, is still one of my favorite summertime sights. With the nebula and open cluster together, it's two treats in one. It's a short hop from there up to the Trifid, M20, and the open cluster M21. Head northeast and pick up M24, the Sagittarius Star Cloud. I can't tell where its boundaries are, so I just pick the densest portion of star field and say that's it. Keep swinging over the top of the lid and get another open cluster, M25. Not terribly exciting, so drop toward the ground, and just off the top of the lid is M28, a nice little globular cluster. East from there is another glob, M22, the Sagittarius Cluster. Spend a little time there, that's the nicest cluster you're looking at tonight.

Now for three dim ones. Working right to left across the base of the teapot, get M69 first. You'll appreciate why Chuck thought these might have been comets. Then, almost centered on the line across the base is M70. It might as well be identical to M69. As long as you're there, NGC 6652 makes a triangle with the 2 Messiers. Then head east and up a smidge and catch M54. It's not much to look at until you remember that it's an exogalactic cluster outside the Milky Way.

Finish up with two nice open clusters, M7, Ptolemy's Cluster, and the appropriately-named Butterfly Cluster, M6. Not a bad night; beats watching it rain!

Thank Ya, Marvin

When I was 13, I flew from Houston to Austin to visit my sister. We were late in getting me back to the airport, so I was rushing through the airport as fast as I could (and being 13, trying very hard to keep my shit together over the real possibility of missing my flight).

Anyway, I remember passing a familiar-looking white-haired man trying to get through security. It wasn't until later I realized why he looked familiar--that was Marvin!

All I can say now is that I hope God keeps a clean kitchen, or he's gonna hear about the sliiiime in heaven's ice machine!

Cave Man

I just read where I'm joining the cast of Cavemen; I didn't realize I'd been so busy!

See Threepio

Took the family to Ft. Worth to see Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. Had a bit of a setback getting out of town, but once we got there had a great time at the exhibit. More pictures here.

Jupiter & Europa

Waaayyyy over-processed, but I wanted to see if there was any detail in the GRS.

M5, A Globular Cluster in Serpens

From Wikipedia:

Spanning 165 light-years across, M5 is one of the larger globular clusters known. The gravitational sphere of influence of M5, (ie. the volume of space where stars would be gravitationally bound to the cluster and not ripped away from it by the Milky Way's gravitational pull), has a radius of some 200 light-years.

At 13 billion years old it is also one of the older globulars associated with the Milky Way Galaxy. The distance of M5 is about 24,500 light-years away from Earth and the cluster contains more than 100,000 stars up to perhaps 500,000 according to some estimates.

A Week Late

Supreme Edition Darth Vader Costume From Original Molds Really Wheezes



Well shoot, where was this last week when I had a birthday coming up? Now I have to wait until Christmas, which is like a million years away.

The Supreme Edition Darth Vader Costume is the full package: you get a jumpsuit complete with fake leather pants and sleeves (though the codpiece is real leather), Darth's signature cape, and all of his armor cast from the original Lucasfilm molds. Our favorite part: the suit has a custom apparatus to mimic Darth's breathing. It can be toggled off if you want (but why would you?) And on top of that, it will only cost you $850 and comes with a cool freebie.

Bumper Sticker Idea

Fourth of July

On the Edge of 42

Google: "the answer to life, the universe, and everything"

Jupiter, Io & Ganymede

These shouldn't have even been possible--I was working late and went outside to see what the weather was doing. Jupiter was shining brightly through a pretty good-sized sucker hole, so I brought the 6" dob out onto the driveway for a look. When I saw both the GRS and the shadow transit, I hustled out back and opened the roof on the observatory. The sky actually cleared up enough for me to get several streams shot, and these are the best two:


The black dot is Io's shadow on the planet. If you look to the right of it, close to the limb, you can see the moon about to pull away from the planet. I've never actually been able to see the moon in front of the planet like this, so that's pretty cool.


And here we are about half an hour later. Io has cleared the limb while its shadow is still on the planet. That's Ganymede at the bottom, about to pass behind the planet.

Seeing was pretty awful for these, so I'm surprised they processed up as nicely as they did. I do like the SPC900NC vs. the NexImage for sure.

Dam, That's a Lot of Water

That's 19,000 cubic feet per second of water from 4 of 24 floodgates at the base of Mansfield Dam, plus another 6,600 CFS from the turbines. For comparison, 100,000 CFS go over Niagara Falls during the day, and 50,000 CFS at night.

Irish Bar, Part II

A middle-aged woman stops into a pub in Ireland for a beer. She tells the barkeeper she'd like a pint of draft.

"Certainly ma'am," says the barkeeper. "Anheuser-Busch?"

"Oh, it's just fine, thank you. And how's your pecker?"

Irish Bar

Said the Scotsman: "I still prefer the pubs back home. In Glasgow there is a little bar called McTavish's. The landlord there goes out of his way for the locals so much that when you buy 4 drinks he will buy the 5th drink for you."

"Well", said the Englishman, "at my local, the Red Lion, the barman there will buy you your 3rd drink after you buy the first 2."

"Ahhhhh, that is nothing", said the Irishman. "Back home in Dublin we have Ryan's Bar. Now the moment you set foot in the place they will buy you a drink, then another, all the drinks you like. Then when you have had all you want, they will take you upstairs and see that you get laid, and it is all on the house."

The Englishman and Scotsman immediately scorned the Irishman's claims. But he swore that every word was true.

"Well tell me," said the Englishman: "Did this actually happen to you?"

"Not myself, personally, no," said the Irishman. "But it did happen to my sister."

As Bad As It Gets

I guess I could take up radio astronomy.

Michael

My neighbor's oldest kid.

Ugh

7:05 a.m., 79°, 95% humidity. Welcome to summer.

Traffic

So you think you have crazy drivers where you live?

The Leader of the Free World

Nice socks. They go well with the skirt.

M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy Returns

I added another hour's worth of exposures (12 x 300 sec) and worked over the noise some for a nice improvement. This is the first time I've combined shots from 2 nights, but it was easy enough in Nebulosity to align using rotate, scale and stack.

M13, The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules

Info from Wikipedia:

With an apparent magnitude of 5.8, (M13) is barely visible with the naked eye on a very clear night. Its real diameter is about 145 light-years, and is composed of several hundred thousand stars, the brightest of which is the variable star V11 with an apparent magnitude of 11.95. M13 is 25,100 light-years away from Earth.

Nice to catch a few photons after the long cloudy spell.

10" LX200 @ f/6.3, 20 x 60 sec, EOS 350 D @ 1600 ISO

The Big Guy Is Back

This is going to be a crappy year for Jupiter. It just barely clears the roof, so I'm shooting through a whole bunch of turbulent air.

Carbon Fiber

Finally got around to this little project, and it's cool! The ST-80 looks like a completely different scope. Still need to get a couple of bubbles out, and the photo looks rougher than the actual wrap, but I think it was worth the $12 roll of vinyl from the local auto parts store.

Train Wreck

LONDON (AFP) - The "iconic" logo for the 2012 London Olympics was unveiled here on Monday, but critics immediately condemned it as "hideous" and a waste of money.

Or as my friend Sone put it, "It's a good logo … FORMETOPOOPON!"

I mean, I know I'm not an award-winning logo designer, but come on; you're starting with a logo with 5 rings--including a red one--and your city's best known logo includes a red ring, and the year, 2012, has a character with a circle and you give me a train wreck? WTF?

Follow-Up: BBC News website readers have been sending in their alternative 2012 logos.

Oh Dear Lord

This is wrong on so many levels.

More Space Men

I got to volunteer at the Bob Bullock State History Museum for the opening of Made to Walk the Skies: Texas & Space Travel. The exhibit I worked was a replica of a current Space Shuttle/International Space Station Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). In two hours, I shot 220 Polaroid pictures of big kids, little kids, babies, young adults and senior citizens posing with their heads in the suit. If there's any doubt about the public's support for space, I didn't see it today.


I admit it, I added the background in. The original was the granite wall in the museum--I like mine better.


I don't know who this kid is, but he looks like he's having a good time.

Journey Into Space

From Time Magazine, December 8, 1952:

The probable effect of zero gravity on the human nervous system is far more serious. The nervous system, says Dr. H. Strughold, head of the School of Space Medicine, was designed to work on the surface of the earth in a gravity field of one G. How would the rocket crew feel while the rocket was accelerating? They would lie barely conscious on their contoured G-couches. At this stage the rocket would be under automatic control; the men, weighing nine times normal, would not be capable of any action at all. With the power cut off and the rocket coasting upward, gravity would drop to zero. The men would be expected to rise from their beds of pain (not knowing which end is up) and perform navigation feats that would tax a professor of celestial mechanics. Dr. Strughold does not think they could work at peak form; they would be lucky to accomplish anything.

Texas Star Party, Friday & Saturday

We had a fun trip to the McDonald Observatory, where--guess what?--it rained, hailed, thundered and lightninged. Here's a look at the dome of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope:



And here is the 107" Harlan J. Smith Telescope:


Looking "down the barrel," you can see where a disgruntled employee took out his frustrations on the big mirror by shooting it several times with a pistol, then giving it a couple of whacks with a sledgehammer. Turns out the big hunk of glass is pretty tough: the spots are simply blacked out, and the telescope lost just a couple percent of its light-gathering ability.



Friday night was the Great Texas Giveaway, and I didn't come away empty handed. I won a small red- and white-light LED flashlight, and a super medium-sized equipment case. Apparently it's considered bad form to win twice, but I'm not proud.

We also managed to squeeze in a few hours of observing Friday night. The clouds parted at sunset, and we had fair conditions until about 1:00 a.m. I sprinted through the regular observing program so I could earn my pin, pausing just long enough to view the Beehive Cluster through the amazing Tele-Vue Ethos. The dew was horrendous; you could hear hair driers going on every few minutes as folks across the field tried to keep things dry.

Saturday morning was bright and only partly cloudy. We got everything packed up, ate lunch, and hit the road for home.

So here's the summary. My TSP 2007 memories:

A great Sunday night. Venus so bright it cast shadows. Watching the Milky Way rise. Pointing the scope at Leo-Virgo and the eyepiece filled with galaxies.

A good Monday morning. Viewing all those things in the Teapot that I can't get at home.

High clouds. Low clouds. Fog. Light rain. Heavy rain. Mist. Hail. Lightning. Yet virtually no mud.

Chasing Ian over every rock he came across.

Meeting Steph, Alvin, Glen and the rest of the CN krew. Such a nice group.

Interrupting my sprint Friday night through the telescope observing list to view the Beehive through the Ethos and my 13mm T6 in Al's 5" refractor. Referring to the Nagler 6-3mm zoom as "butt ugly" within Al's earshot. (Not my greatest moment.)

Touring Carlsbad Caverns and the McDonald Observatory.

Meeting a fellow from Houston who sat in Mission Control at the console next to FIDO on every Apollo flight. Front row seat to history.

Looking at a telescope-mount combination that cost not only more than my car, but my and Trudy's cars together. (12" RCOS on a Paramount ME.)

Lots of old, fat, white guys. A few women. Fewer kids.

Lemonade with every meal.

A lot of Canons, a sprinkling of Nikons, and a few others.

Wanting to return.

Texas Star Party, Thursday

Compare this picture with the one from Monday morning. Bleah. Just bleah.


But Carlsbad Caverns was very cool. Ian was a good boy--I'm so proud of him for not running crazy. He stayed on the path, and even held either my or Trudy's hand most of the time. We joined the legions of visitors over the years and ate lunch in the underground lunchroom.


So, no astronomy, and probably none tonight, but I'm hopeful for early in the a.m. or tomorrow. Tomorrow night is our last chance, so we're keeping our fingers crossed. We're scheduled to take the McDonald Observatory tour tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Texas Star Party, Wednesday

What a grey day. It rained all last night, and today has been foggy and overcast. The forecast is for more of the same, so tomorrow we're going to drive up to Carlsbad Caverns.

The day wasn't a total waste. I did get to meet Al Nagler, probably the most influential eyepiece and telescope designer of the last 50 years. His Nagler eyepieces, with their 82° apparent field of view, revolutionized eyepiece design. The 13mm Nagler Type 6 I have in my case is the best equipment purchase I've made.



I also got to look through the prototype of the latest in his eyepiece line, the 13mm Ethos. It has an even wider field of view--100°--and is fully corrected all the way out to the edge of the view. It's a jaw-dropper.

Texas Star Party, Tuesday

I woke up around three this morning and poked my head out the door. "Rats. It's still cloudy." No, it was the Milky Way. I drug myself down the scope, and I'm glad I did. I spent the morning in Sagittarius--the Teapot--which is tough to see well from home where it's usually in the light pollution from Austin. I think the thing I saw that impressed me the most was NGC 6520. It's an ordinary open cluster, pretty enough, but right alongside it is Barnard 66, a dark nebula. It looked like an ink stain against the glow of the Milky Way. Very cool.

It's raining again this afternoon, so I don't know what to expect. I'm looking at the field right now, and it's a collection of covered scopes, tarps and tents. Haven't run into any mud--it's pretty rocky--so at least there's that.

Texas Star Party, Sunday-Monday

Click for full-size.

Here we are at the Prude Ranch for the Texas Star Party. It took us about 7 and a half hours to drive 450 miles, but that included some extra stops for the boy. The upper field is pretty full, but there's still room. The middle and lower fields have plenty of space.


We got set up in plenty of time before dark--and dark is the operative word here. It's a little clichéd, but it really is hard to make out the constellations with all the "extra" stars around. Before it set, Venus was bright enough that I could cast a shadow passing one hand in front of the other. I was out until about 1:00 this morning, cruising around Leo, Virgo & Canopus. Omega Centauri is just a few degrees above the horizon, but still way more impressive than M13. I could see the "bridge" in M51. M104 looked like a single unprocessed image--the dust lane was easy, and there was a nice bulge around the center with averted vision.


Today was Malt Day. We met up with several people from Cloudy Nights and went into town to the Old Texas Inn for chocolate malts. It's fun to put faces to names.

There's some serious astronomy gear set up here. I has looking at a telescope and mount combination this afternoon that not only costs more than my car, it costs more than my and Trudy's cars together. Further up the field is a telescope with a 36" mirror. You can't really appreciate how big that is until you see that big hunk of glass. It requires a pretty tall ladder to reach the eyepiece when it's pointed straight up.

Anyway, I don't know if we'll get to observe anything tonight: We're just sitting here watching the rain fall. There was a pretty good thunderstorm this afternoon, and it's still kinda dreary.

More tomorrow.

An Old Joke That Made Me Smile

A man and his wife go kayaking in Alaska. The wife's kayak flips and she disappears beneath the waves. The next day two grim-faced Alaska State Troopers appear at the man's house in Anchorage.

"We're sorry, Mr. Wilkens, but we have some information about your wife," one trooper said.

"Tell me! Did you find her?" Wilkens shouted.

The Troopers looked at each other. One said, "We have some bad news, some good news, and some really GREAT news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Fearing the worst, an ashen-faced Wilkens said, "Give me the bad news first."

The Trooper said, "I'm sorry to tell you, Sir, but this morning we found your wife's body in Kachemak Bay."

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Wilkens. Swallowing hard, he asked, "What's the good news?"

The Trooper continued, "When we pulled her up, she had 12 twenty-five pound king crabs, 10 snow crabs, and 6 good-size Dungeness crabs clinging to her body."

Stunned, Wilkens demanded, "If that's the good news, what's the great news?"

The Trooper said, "We're going to pull her up again tomorrow."

M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy

A very noisy M51, with one problem solved. This is a stack of 15, 4-minute exposures. I did a freelance job that paid for a new dovetail bar & rings for the ST80 guide scope, and I am very happy with them. Goodbye guide scope flex, hello long autoguided exposures!

Now, about all that noise. I did shoot 4 darks that improved things some, but probably could have used more. I need to read more about bias frames and such, too. Summer's nearly here, and the camera gets noisier as it gets warmer.