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Captured by
Lawrence Parchman

Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253)

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Posts Made By: dan kowall

July 14, 2004 04:18 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

vehicle for dob

Posted By dan kowall
Duane,
I use my 'beater' car for hauling stuff. That usually means lumber up to 10' long, tools, trash to the dump, etc. My '86 Volvo wagon has done this well but it's over 300k in miles now. I ended up choosing a Honda Element to replace it. It's cheap, has lots of room, and the engine and transmission have a good reliability record. With windows all around, it's easier to drive than a van and the rear seats fold out of the way (or are easily removable). Just one more vehicle to consider. Or two: a low mileage Volvo wagon might fit your needs, too.

dan kowall

July 21, 2004 09:54 PM Forum: Home Observatories

My clear night home

Posted By dan kowall
Here's a photograph of the frame before sheathing was applied.

September 1, 2004 07:08 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

NGC7662 Blue Snowball

Posted By dan kowall
That is just incredible, Roland. The detail on that image looks like you were shooting through no atmosphere at all. Were you bothered by gradients?
I saw The Blue Snowball once in a 25" Obsession and you captured the color perfectly.
You've made a good case for when the Hubble goes, we should send up your 10" Mak-Cass setup.
Thanks for sharing.

dan kowall

September 15, 2004 03:32 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Ultimate M31

Posted By dan kowall
That is just stunning, Johannes. The incredible detail and beautiful color range are some of the best I've ever seen. I would call this 'The Penultimate M 31' though; the huge size of the STL11K captures the coma in your system.
Congratulations on a wonderful image.

My regards,
dan kowall

September 21, 2004 01:37 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

M31 and M32

Posted By dan kowall
That's quite good, Brian. Well processed. Are you planning on doing a mosaic of this?

dan kowall

October 1, 2004 09:33 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

DWB-111 The Propeller Nebula

Posted By dan kowall
Congratulaions, Dennis. Your color imaging skills are improving dramatically.
Where did you find this catalog?

dan kowall

November 7, 2004 03:31 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

NGC891 with ST-237A

Posted By dan kowall
That is indeed well done, Ralph. It's worth some more exposure time, too, to make it even better. Good choice of image for your camera and focal length.

dan kowall

November 7, 2004 03:38 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

M33-Pinwheel Galaxy & HorseHead

Posted By dan kowall
I don't see the dust donut, Steve, but taking flats will get rid of them in the future. That's a good start that you've made.

dan kowall

November 13, 2004 04:03 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

AO7 Users... A question

Posted By dan kowall
How about a reply from an inexperienced AO7 user?
I just finished puting a 12" reflector on an MI-250 with an AO7 in the optical train. The attached image is one of the first that I have taken with this setup. I haven't played with the setttings on the AO7, just using the default values and the seeing was about 2/5 that night. The telescope was manualy focused so that may be off. The stars were not sharpened or tightened up in processing.
My initial impression of the AO7 is that I'm extremely impressed. I don't have any hard data to give you, however.
If you're getting nice round stars now, the AO7 is going to help but I don't know how much. For me it was money well spent. Upgrading to a more sensitive imager may cost much more than the AO7, too.
I hope this helped you some, Joe.

dan kowall

November 13, 2004 04:09 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

ngc 1491 in Perseus

Posted By dan kowall
That's looking very good for the short color exposures that you have. You gotta love the high QE of an ST10XME. Make sure you post your finished version.

dan kowall

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