ShahGazer Rambling about Astrophotography, Coding and Clouds

I would have to admit, solar imaging was always alien to me. I never could get a decent image using my old Toucam, Mallincam or DBK cameras. In fact I was so frustrated that I sold off my Coronado filters to a good friend of mine. Recently I got the chance to review a camera from QHY, called IMG132E. Check out the detail at QHY website. After a few test shots (on the Sun), I was totally blown away. The image was crisp and clear. Even when viewing live using the software provided, I was really impressed. And these are all through a Baader filter! Here a some of the images posted previously on my Google+. Wow! I could clearly see the granulation on the sun. The 'tentacles' in the sunspots were easily seen. These photos were stacked from a video capture in SER format. I'm not too sure why AVI does work. Stacked using AutoStakkert

In a rare event, I found myself to be extremely active imaging the sun for the past few days. Well, that is until the haze began to engulf the Klang Valley! Previous attempt to have a consistent record on the sun, was mostly hampered by the extreme heat at my home observatory. And it doesn't help with me having to view the DSLR LCD under the hot sun. I decided then, to finally buy Backyard EOS (BYE) , which will help me to control the DSLR remotely. I've already hooked up my EQ6 and Moonlite Focuser to my laptop, and controlling via EQMOD and FocusMax. So, the addition of BYE certainly helps. So, after conjuring a nice setup and with me hiding near the doorstep of my observatory, away from the heat and sun, I've managed to come up with a consistent set of images on the Sun. It so happen that sunspot AR1504 is evolving nicely, and quickly became my main target. So here are my collections. (descending order)

It's been 17 months since I started doing astrophotography seriously. Lot's of learning curve, failed attempt, frustration, joy and tears. Finally, the collection has grown into something worthy to share. Nothing spectacular, just some sim ple shots of 'Earth & Sky' , a combination of CCD dan DSLR imaging, narrow and wide field shots, from my home observatory (ShahGazer Observatory), on expedition and also online via iTelescope.net I hope all of you will enjoy it as much as I have. Dedicated to everyone who's been such a great help in giving tips, do's and don'ts 

I had a rather interesting Venus Transit expedition last week. Since I would be missing the ingress if viewed from Kuala Lumpur, I decided to go eastern, towards a city called Sandakan, in the state of Sabah. However, weather wasn't that promising during sunrise. I missed the ingress totally. Throughout the transit, there was only some occasional clear sky, whereas most of the time, several layers of clouds come and go in a rather chaotic manner. Anyway, I did managed to get some almost clean shot. I photographed using Canon 40D and the Skywatcher Equinox 80ED (F=500mm). Both mounted on the AstroTrac. Luckily I decided to use the Orion Accufocus, as it definitely help to have the image focused spot on. I started using the camera LCD for the earlier shots, and when the Sun was beginning to reach near zenith, I switched to Backyward EOS. So here are some of the photos during the trip. Unless otherwise stated, the photos were taken by me. Below: Yours truly with the imagin...

This is my humble attempt to get the highest resolution photo of the Moon taken from my home observatory. Incredible camera IMG132E. 2X barlowed my 120ED Skywatcher. Moon South Pole, my favorite spot.