The "Hyperdrive" F/2.8 on Pons-Brooks Comet
The first 2-3 days have been amazing! I just had to change it up a bit and test something that I need to get comfortable with at some point:
Comets! They are moving. In relation to the rest of the sky background, they are moving fast.
It makes things a bit tricky. They are dynamic with eruptions and activity that changes not only the tail, but also the core. They move through the sky and can be framed with other targets if one is lucky. There are much to work on here. Planning and technique to work get nailed.
Maybe I learn the trade of a comet hunter in some distant future.
This time it was just a target of opportunity to test the camera and system without filter.
A quick look at the Pleiades with and without the filter gave a clear image of what is lost. Both signal and noise.
The target to kick off the evening was Pons-Brooks comet. Tonight it was just by the Andromeda constellation, but too far from M31 to get it frame. I managed to grab a bunch of 10s and 30s frames between the trees.
Since I had tested the system without the filter, I thought I’d use that to finalize the evening on something best done without a filter: Galaxies!
The best, uninterrupted sky is to the south, where only galaxies is of real interest at this time of year. Perfect!
I know just the patch of galaxies to start out with. The Markarian’s chain!
300s exposure while yours truly got some shut eye! It’s an awesome target. Just wish I did a better job on those flats, but still result was better than the Comet.
0:00 – 0:16 Intro
0:17 – 0:57 Uncovering the rig!
0:58 – 2:22 Pleiades with and without filter
2:23 – 2:51 Comet hunting!
2:52 – 3:44 10s exposures! Lots of them, but will it be enough?
3:45 – 4:21 30s exposures! More details?
4:22 – 5:58 Results! Images!
5:59 – 7:44 Surprise target! Markarian’s chain!
7:45 – 9:22 Praising the Hyperdrive F/2.8!
9:23 – 9:57 The end