Test image of IC417 in Auriga with
new flat field box and the 10" f/3.9 Astrograph
Uploaded 2/3/16


This flat field integrating box illuminates the full field of the new 10 inch and has adjustable brightness. It is lit internally with four white LEDS that have had the top lenses sanded flat for a diffuse light to the inside of the box. Here is the box, made from white foamboard on the bench in the house lab:

 

Here you can see the adjustable power supply, with an internal 9 volt battery for power:

 

Night view of lit diffusing screen, made from lexan with the white plastic covering still not peeled off:

 

Here outside fit onto the telescope as it will be used at night. Exposures with the CCD are 2 seconds for Bin1 and around 1 second for bin2 color filters.

 

IC417, 9 minutes exposure with flats applied. Very bad seeing - no guiding possible.

Instrument: 10" f/3.9 Orion Astrograph Newtonian Mount: Astrophysics 1200 QMD CCD Camera: SBIG 10XME NABG with Enhanced Water Cooling Guider: Meade DSI Pro w/80mm piggyback refractor Exposure: 9m Lum, 9 min RGB AstroDon RGB Combine Ratio: 1: 1.05: 1.2 Location: Payson, Arizona, Elevation: 5150 ft. Sky: Seeing FWHM = 3 arcsec , Transparency 9/10 Outside Temperature: 25 F CCD Temperature: -20 C Image Processing Tools: Maxim DL: Calibration, deblooming (Starizona Debloomer), aligning, stacking PixInsight: Curves, Deconvolution Photoshop CS2: Curves, Color Correction, Gradient removal (Grad Xterminator), Cleanup HOME GALAXIES EMISSION NEBS REFLECTION NEBS COMETS GLOBULARS OPEN CLUST PLANETARIES LINKS