Posts Made By: Anthony Ayiomamitis

Dear group,

Last night I pursued the challenging exoplanet transit of HAT-P-8b in Pegasus which has a depth of only 7 mmag (from 10.170 preingress to 10.177 during mid-transit) and which lasts 216 minutes. Thanks to a high S/N ratio which approached 3000 and with an associated standard error of only 2 mmag, I knew I had a really good chance to nail this difficult transit and which proved to be the case 5.5 hours later. :-)

This particular exoplanet is amongst the largest and most inflated discovered so far and requires only 3.1 days to orbit its sun.

Further details including the light curve based on 5.5 hours data, please see http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Photometry-HAT-P-8-20090827.htm .

I have two transits next week simultanously and I plan to be doubly armed so as to catch both of them.

Clear skies!

Anthony.

Dear group,

Semi-complete results are regrettably common this time of the year due to the flaky weather. The other day was no exception when I sat down to image the reflection nebula vdB 152 in Cepheus which is dominated by the Barnard dark nebula B175.

Anyway, for three hours of luminance using 15-minute subs, please see http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-Nebulae-Dark-B175.htm . I just packed everything up a few minutes ago due to clouds moving in and with lightning visible in the distant backgound. My intention for this evening was to reshoot vdB 152 from scratch but this time with the AP 27TVPH reducer in place and with eight total hours of data evenly split between L and RGB (again 15-min subs but now at f6 and not f7.5).

Clear skies.

Anthony.

Gents,

What a great scope my FSQ is proving to be for landscape astrophotography. Last month I nailed the rising full moon against Lycabettus Hill in central Athens (see http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Lunar-Scenes-Lycabettus-02.htm ) and this evening lightning struck twice but this time with the setting sun.

For three sample photos from this evening's session, please see:

(1) http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Solar-Scenes-Oropos-01.htm
(2) http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Solar-Scenes-Oropos-02.htm
(3) http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Solar-Scenes-Oropos-03.htm

The vignetting was created on purpose so as to add an artistic effect to the overall photo.

Anthony.

Dear group,

Another successful outing a few hours ago where I turned the tables around by approximately 180 degrees so as to pursue the rising full moon due east and against the Church and Monestary of Agios Sotirios on the northeast outskirts of Athens, Greece and, more specifically, the seaside resort of Oropos. Three days ago I pursued a stunning sunset from the opposing side of the church and as illustrated at the following links:

(1) http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Solar-Scenes-Oropos-01.htm
(2) http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Solar-Scenes-Oropos-02.htm
(3) http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Solar-Scenes-Oropos-03.htm

My planning was absolutely perfect, for I did not have to adjust my set-up not even by one angstrom when I had my initial visual contact of the 15-day old moon rising as the Sun was setting. I will eagerly wait for a future full moon rising when the sun is slightly lower so as to have greater contrast and a darker sky.

For this evening's result, please see:

(1) http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Lunar-Scenes-Oropos-01.htm
(2) http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Lunar-Scenes-Oropos-02.htm
(3) http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Lunar-Scenes-Oropos-03.htm (my personal favourite)

Please ignore the time on the clock visible on one of the towers. It seems to be stuck! :-)

Anthony.

Folks,

Did TMB ever produce a doublet? Especially with a 10" diameter? Any experience with such a scope and/or sample results?

Thanks.

Anthony.

Folks,

Here are some samples from my website involving landscape astrophotography.

I hope you like the results: http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Landscape.htm

Anthony.

Dear group,

I jumped on the opportunity last night and the clear skies to pursue the Horsehead Nebula in Orion and in spite of the dominant presence of the 16-day old moon with a phase of 94% and only 30 degrees further north.

I was quite pleased with the quality of the result in lieu of the very bright sky thanks to the nearly full moon. I made the mistake of shooting B33 in portrait rather than landscape mode and this is something I will rectify when I sit down to officially shoot an (Ha)RGB version and under moonless skies.

For a result based on four hours total exposure time using 20-minute integrations an a Baader h-alpha 7nm filter, please see http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-Nebulae-Dark-B33.htm . It will be interesting to see the improvement in contrast when I revisit B33 and without the moon being present.

Anthony.

Dear group,

My second result from last night which also involved four hours total exposure time (12x20min, H-a) involved the two dim and difficult nebulae IC 59 and IC 63 in Cassiopeia which lie within my 40' field of view. Owing to their very close proximity to the variable star gamma-Cas (mag 2.47!), the already dim nebulosity is difficult to tame and good contrast is most-difficult. The nebulosity at the bottom left is IC 59 (a reflection nebula) whereas the triangular nebulosity at the upper right is the emission nebula IC 63.

For a glimpse of last night's result, please see http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-IC-59-63.htm . The image is rotated 180 degrees with north being at the bottom so as to be compatible with third-party existing results. This result is also just a test (photon fix under non-ideal conditions) and will be revisited for an (Ha)RGB result when the moon out of the way.

A search on the internet yielded just a handful of results and which may be explained by the lack of contrast due to gamma-Cas.

Anthony.

Dear group,

Cat and mouse games last night with the partially-clouded skies and where I managed to capture NGC 752 in Andromeda. This particular cluster is very old for an open cluster (1.6 billion years-old) and spans 50' in apparent diameter. It is wel-populated and provides for a most impressive field of view.

For a result based on two hours total exposure time, please see http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-0752.htm ... the image is hyperlinked and which leads to an even more impressive higher resolution version.

Transparency this evening is so-so for now but I hope to pursue the Perseus Double Cluster around midnight when the skies are usually darkest.

Anthony.

Dear group,

Cat and mouse games last night with the partially-clouded skies and where I managed to capture NGC 752 in Andromeda. This particular cluster is very old for an open cluster (1.6 billion years-old) and spans 50' in apparent diameter. It is wel-populated and provides for a most impressive field of view.

For a result based on two hours total exposure time, please see http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-0752.htm ... the image is hyperlinked and which leads to an even more impressive higher resolution version.

Transparency this evening is so-so for now but I hope to pursue the Perseus Double Cluster around midnight when the skies are usually darkest.

Anthony.