Imaging the Helix nebula from the UK

Thought I'd have another go at imaging the Helix nebula this season using the 26C on the RASA 11

[@Astro_Shed]

Looks like some good data there…good session…👍🏻

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

Thanks mate hope to nab some more data throughout the month

[@SimonsAstro]

Hi mate, missed it again!! Hope it went ok👍 Bloody clouds came in for me😬

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

No worries mate I didn't start till quite late as the helix was behind a house to begin with, I'm hoping to get as much data as I can on it though but shooting through the murk it's a challenge for sure.

[@TheBlexican3]

Hello! I purchased a CGE pro with the Chad Gray kit like yourself, and am pretty close to having optimal settings. Would you mind sharing what your PHD2 settings are? I’m using Hysterisis and Resist Switch algorithms, did a calibration with a star in the southeast sky and used the guide assistant, which recommended turning on Dec backlash compensation and adjusting the minmo of the RA to .22 and Dec aggression 90. I had a pretty decent Andromeda imaging session and averaged 1” arcsec peak to peak in PHD2 with the occasional dip down to 2 arcsec. I am running a PEC curve that I trained in SkyPlanetarium. I use Nina 3ppa and got it down to .20 before starting. You’ve got really nice results, and make awesome content. Thank you!

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

Hi & thank you for your comment, In PHD2 algorithms the RA is set to predictive pec & dec is resist switch everything else is set as standard, the looping of the camera can vary between 1 & 1.5 seconds depending on seeing. Other than that everything within PHD is standard I' haven't altered any of the aggressive settings. Depending where I'm shooting guiding can go from 0.15 or lower although I do have some cabling issues I need to address as I keep getting one that snags slightly & cable management on a CGE pro isn't easy to sort. I've also switched to using a Lodestar camera for guiding as that in my opinion has helped with guiding maybe due to the larger pixel scale.

[@RichsMicrocosm]

Do you know what your local ambient light level MPSAS is ? Your image quality is my long term goal!

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

I don't I'm afraid my area is supposed to be a Bortle 4 but with this target being so low down I am shooting through a lot of atmosphere & light pollution so I think the finished image won't be the sharpest.

[@RichsMicrocosm]

@@dumpydalekobservatory thanks. Wikipedia says Bortle 4 is a MPSAS of 20.8-21.3, , so compared to my 18.7 I have to apparently image 6x longer. Its amazing how much a good sky makes in that regard.