BOSS-Backyard Observatory Supernova Search
Gregs CCD images:
Here are some CCD images taken by me with various combinations of telescopes and cameras. Most were taken from my dark sky observatory at Leyburn called 'Leyburn Dusty Downs Observatory', located about 200km south-west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Some images were taken with a CCD camera such as an SBIG ST2000, or ST10XE, and others with a Canon 350D DSLR. Read the text above each image if you wish to see the details.
The photos are arranged so that they are grouped together under a photo of the telescope that was used to take the image.
All image camera control and image processing was done using MaximDL 5.
Please note that all my images are copyright Greg Bock. Please contact me if you wish to use any.
This photo below, shows "Leyburn Dusty Downs Observatory" fitted with my GSO 12" F4.8 Newtonian on a Losmandy G11 mount equipped with an Astrometrics Skywalker control System. The scope normally has a Baader MPCC fitted to correct coma that is inherent in parabolic mirrors. It provides round stars to the edges of the field, not perfectly, but almost!
NGC3372 - Eta Carina Nebula - Taken at "Leyburn Dusty Downs Observatory" on 12 March 2011 with my GSO 12" at F4.8, 63 x 1 minute subframes (to avoid colour saturation of the pixels) Camera Canon 350D @1600ISO, unmodified. Copyright Greg Bock.
M42 - Great Orion Nebula - Taken at "Leyburn Dusty Downs Observatory" on 16 October 2009 with my GSO 12" at F4.8, 30 x 1 minute subframes (to avoid colour saturation of the pixels) Camera Canon 350D @1600ISO, unmodified. Copyright Greg Bock.
This photo below, shows "Leyburn Dusty Downs Observatory" fitted with my Meade 14"LX200R on the Losmandy G11 mount equipped with an Astrometrics Skywalker control System. It only images from here once a year or so, its too heavy to pull down and set up unless I go there for at least a few days. Otherwise, this scope lives permanently at home in my 'Windaroo Lakes Observatory' for supernova searching activities.
M16 - The Eagle Nebula - Taken at "Leyburn Dusty Downs Observatory" on 27 July 2011 with the Meade 14" LX200R at F7, 9 minutes of luminosity, 27 minutes Red, 32 minutes Green, and 14 minutes Blue using 30 second unguided subframes because I had just blown-up the auto-guider in the camera that night, Camera SBIG ST10XE. Copyright Greg Bock.
M27 - The Dumbell Nebula - Taken at "Leyburn Dusty Downs Observatory" on 30 July 2011 with the Meade 14" LX200R at F7, 16 minutes of Ha, 24 minutes each of Red, Green and Blue using 2 minute subframes, unguided, Camera SBIG ST10XE. Copyright Greg Bock.
This photo below, shows "Leyburn Dusty Downs Observatory" fitted with my Intes MN61, a 6" F6 Maksutov-Newtonian on my Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro mount. The optics in these scopes are excellent, they provide round and undistorted stars at all edges of the field of view, and are an absolute joy to use both visually and photographically.
M45 - Pleiades (Seven Sisters) - Taken at "Leyburn Dusty Downs Observatory" on 28 September 2008 with my Intes MN61 6"F6, 7 x 5 minute subframes. Camera Canon 350D @1600ISO, unmodified. Copyright Greg Bock.
NGC4755, Jewel Box (August 2012)|
Three colour RGB image consists of 11 mins for each R,G, and B,
where each colour is 11 subframes of 1 minute each( to avoid pixel saturation and colour loss).
Taken through my Intes MN61 (150mmF6) with an SBIG ST2000XM at Queensland Astrofest 2012.
Processing for this is difficult because of the large differences in brightness between
the bright stars of the Jewel Box cluster, and the faint stars in the background.
Processed in MaximDL.
M7, (NGC6475, Ptolemy Cluster) taken at 'Leyburn Dusty Downs
Observatory' with the Intes MN61 (150mmF6) and ST2000XM Camera on 11 September 2012.
Three colour RGB image consists of 5 mins for each R,G, and B, where each
colour is 6 subframes of 5 minutes each( to avoid pixel saturation and colour loss).
The richness of the background stars is truly amazing, I love the contrast between
the bright bluish foreground cluster and the gold of the background starfield.
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