Veil Nebula

[Astrodoc]

This is a first-light image for a new camera (QHY367C) and narrow band filter (Optolong L-eNhance) designed for one-shot colour cameras. The filter passes Ha, H-beta and O3. This image was acquired under intense moonlight, and I'd expect this filter to also perform well under light-polluted skies.

http://astrodoc.ca/veil-nebula-2019/

Looks like we might get a stretch of four clear, relatively moon-free nights next week! I will probably shoot some more in Cygnus, maybe around gamma-Cyg or the Crescent Nebula region where there is some nice O3 to be found.

Clear skies,
Ron

[Niall Saunders]

Hi Ron,

Looking at your equipment set-up, and very much 'out of curiosity', could you have used one (or more) Raspberry Pi IV single-board computers (each running Linux on a Quad-Core 1.6GHz CPU running on 4Gb DDR4 RAM, and each with built-in high-speed WiFi and Bluetooth V as well as two USB-C ports and full-speed 1GB/sec hard-wired Ethernet and PoE).

I only ask as these are now avalable with this specification, but for only $55 each - not the $2000 price-tag that your PC head is coming  in at (or, indeed, anybody else's commercial offering - I have been keeping a close eye on the system offered by QHY).

After all, if the Raspberry Pi is good enough for the ISS, surely it could be made to perform down here on the ground!! Food for thought?

[Astrodoc]

Sure I definitely could and everything would probably work fine. TheSkyX has a version for the Raspberry PI, and all my equipment is controlled through TheSkyX. I also saw that QHY is coming out with a PC system for astronoimaging. I guess it is just a matter of preference (and budget, of course). I am also fortunate that PrimaLuceLabs gave me the Eagle 3 Pro to demo. Last, and probably least important since I can learn -- I still haven't jumped on the Raspberry PI or Linux bandwagon, and have enough steep learning curves at the moment!

Clear skies,
Ron