First ACP-Controlled imaging session: NGC 660

[Jonas Grinde]

Hi guys!

The name's Jonas Grinde, writing from Sweden.
This my first photo shot using ACP, and also my first image for this season since the summernights at N63° are too bright for imaging

Long story short, after seeing the scheduler-video from NEAF11 this summer, I decided it'd be epic to be able to fully automate my first & new(ish) observatory (finished february 2012)...
I bought ACP + Scheduler (+ cloudsensor, all-sky cam, roof-controller & relay-box) in Juli & have spent hours & hours installing trying to learn all the new gear & procedures. In my younger days, I spent all the school-breaks in the skateboard-ramp instead of in the computer-hall(newer thought that'd come bite me in the ass 15 years later), so I had to start from scratch learning how programming works & to write startup/shutdown-scripts , but man, I'm having so much fun with this!


That's it for the introduction, here's my first image with data shot with acp being controlled through the web-browser! (although not hands-free automated, but I'm slowly getting there)
It was almost like sci-fi to see acp focus the image, slew to the target, refining the slew so I ended up within 5" (!) of the target coordinates...

Image-scale: 1.11 arcsec/pixel
L: 20*5min
RGB : 3/3/3*5min for R/G/B
All exposures unguided

Scope: Skywatcher 190MN (not bad for a 1000£ scope)
Camera: QSI 583 wsg-8
Mount: 10Micron GM2000 HPS

Click here for 100% resolution version of the photo , or here for a annotaded version with most of the galaxies named
8033662427_cc3dd63758_b.jpg




Thanks for watching!
Jonas Grinde
http://grinde.zenfolio.com