ZWO ASI224MC Small DSO

[Buckrogers]

Hey guys,

I purchased this camera and I know it's meant more for planetary imaging but it does say it can do small DSO. Trying to figure out what that means.
Can I take pictures of bright stars? Double stars, nebulas? My budget doesn't allow me to purchase a dedicated camera for DSO but I'm wondering if this camera can get me started on doing some DSO ones.

[oopfan]

Hey,

Yeah, "small DSO" doesn't convey much, but without actually looking up the specs on your camera it probably means that the sensor is not very large.

I remember replying to your post concerning Solar imaging. You ultimately had success and you posted an image. Great work! But notice that you were only able to capture a sunspot and not the Sun's full disc. You have what's known as a small Field-Of-View (FOV). There is something you could do about it, but it just means more money.

Here is my advice:
1. The Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn.
2. Small, bright nebulae like the Ring Nebula (M57) and Dumbbell Nebula (M27) are good choices. There are others.
3. Globular Clusters like the Great Hercules Cluster (M13). There are many others of that type in the summer sky.

Let's us know what you have planned. I'm sure we can offer tips to ensure a rewarding outcome!

Brian

[Buckrogers]

You guys are awesome, always give me great ideas. I really appreciate it. So my plan is this:

Moon, Jupiter, Saturn are definitely on my list. I have had success on capturing images for these before.
I'll look into those Nebulas mentioned and global clusters, that would be the goal for me this year is get pics of those.

You are right, I haven't been able to get full disc images of the Sun, I did purchase a .5 focul reducer and it has helped. Question, can these be stacked?
If I get another focul reducer, could I then achieve .10? Just guessing of course. Not sure what else I can do. I have the issue with the Moon cannot get a full disc image.

I set myself a goal of trying to capture all the planets (well the majority of them). I know there is a parade of planets coming later this month.

Thanks.

[turfpit]

Buck

it does say it can do small DSO. Trying to figure out what that means.
Can I take pictures of bright stars? Double stars, nebulas?

Go to http://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ and click on Imaging Mode. Choose an object and select Telescope and Camera from the drop down menus. If the camera or scope are not listed, then information such as focal length, aperture (scope) and resolution, pixel size (camera) can be found from the manufacturer's website. Also a Barlow/Reducer can be selected.

astronomy-tools-FOV.JPG (98.38 KiB) Viewed 2188 times

Here are examples of a small DSO and a large DSO using your camera and my Vixen 81s refractor.

astronomy-tools-M51.JPG (47.52 KiB) Viewed 2188 times

astronomy-tools-M31.JPG (57.47 KiB) Viewed 2188 times

As Brian (@ooopfan) says M27, M57, M13 are good choices. M42 would be a bad choice - unless you wanted to create a mosaic.

Using the FOV tool allows the imager to:

• Take control of imaging by avoiding objects which are not a good fit for a particular equipment combination.

• Avoid having disappointing or wasted imaging sessions.

• Make informed decisions about equipment purchases i.e. not waste money.

You should be able to work down the Messier list and find plenty of DSO's which will fit your camera's FOV.

The FOV tool can also be used with Solar System objects.

Dave

[Buckrogers]

Thanks for the information, so I captured this last night, according to my goto mount, it's the Cat's Eye Nebula, granted it's small but I was so excited.
Now maybe If I used a barlow, I could have gotten a closer image?

[oopfan]

Great beginnings! Give us some info to go on. Describe your scope/mount, camera, exposure, number of frames captured, any software you used. Did you LiveStack?

[Buckrogers]

Thanks. I'm having so much fun. I didn't use livestack, will do that next time but I did use the smart histogram, I love that option. I'm using a Nexstar 4se the camera specs and histogram are attached.

[Buckrogers]

Oh I used PIPP, Autostackert and Registack

[oopfan]

Great! So, PIPP extracted the individual frames from the SER file. Can you upload a couple of those files? Are they PNG files? Thanks.

[Buckrogers]

Sure here they are.