Jupiter, a few weeks after its 2022 opposition.

The Great Orion Nebula, M42, in narrowband. Two processing versions, using HOO palette (more natural looking) and SHO (more detailed, as it also includes Sulfur).

First proper attempt at narrowband imaging and processing.
This started mostly just as a test session, since the first part of the night was cursed with passing clouds right in front of my target. I also had some problems with the autofocuser (that just stopped working at some point), and balancing issues.
All things considered, not too bad...
I processed the image in both HOO palette (more natural looking) and SHO.

First proper attempt at narrowband imaging and processing.
This started mostly just as a test session, since the first part of the night was cursed with passing clouds right in front of my target. I also had some problems with the autofocuser (that just stopped working at some point), and balancing issues.
All things considered, not too bad...
I processed the image in both HOO palette (more natural looking) and SHO.

Mars getting smaller, a few weeks after its opposition.

Another attempt at Mars, as it's getting far away from us, and visibly smaller.

Images taken with my SkyMax 180 and ASI178MM with RGB filters.

A couple of close up of the Moon, around the craters Copernicus and Plato.

Moon, Copernicus crater, one of the most prominent of our satellite.

Nearby is also visible the crater Eratosthenes.

Shot with my SkyMax 180, ASI 178MM

Moon, the area around Plato crater (the biggest in this image, with an "ear" to its right).

Above it, slightly to the left, there's Cassini, a medium sized crater with two smaller craters inside (Cassini A and B).

Separating the two, the Montes Alpes, with the Vallis Alpes within, then Mont Blanc.

To the far left, another two big craters, Aristotelest (the biggest) and Eudoxus.

To the top/right, the vast plain of Mare Imbrium.

The Red Planets a few days before its 2020 opposition, one of the closest in years.

The target of the month, in two versions: a RGB combination (left), and with an IR-pass filter (right).

Jupiter, a few weeks after its 2020 opposition.

Finally got a decent night for imaging Jupiter and Saturn, very low here in the UK (just around 15 degrees above the horizon).

Seeing was terrible, but I'm still relatively satisfied with the results, given how difficult these planets are this year from this latitude.

Visible Jupiter moons: Ganymede (left) and Io (right).

Saturn a few weeks after its opposition, August 2020.

Finally got a decent night for imaging Jupiter and Saturn, very low here in the UK (just around 15 degrees above the horizon).

Seeing was terrible, but I'm still relatively satisfied with the results, given how difficult these planets are this year from this latitude.

A few years ago I began to introduce myself to astrophotography. I had some fairly nice equipment back then: a SkyWatcher HEQ5 mount, a Meade ACF 8", guide scope and camera, a borrowed reflex, laptop, 12v car battery.

Although this is pretty much entry level equipment, barely sufficient to getting started, it had been already quite expensive (almost 2000€ just for scope and mount, even though the scope was second hand), bulky and heavy. I ended up barely using it, both because of a relatively steep learning curve and because I honestly was getting tired of carrying around 20/30KG of equipment with barely any tangible result.

Then a few things happened: the mount was stolen, I sold the optical tube, and ended up moving to London, where I embraced a new "astronomical philosophy": the lighter, the better.

Last saturday, after lots of garden testing and software checks, I've finally been able to drive to a dark place for a few deep sky shots.

The driving part itself was the most "scary", as I'm still new to driving in the "wrong side" of the road... Getting the hang of it, though..

I chose to go observing with the HantsAstro stargazing group.. they met in a quite dark site (at least for being not too far from London), and their website and facebook pages really did inspire me. I'm really glad I joined them, as it was a really pleasant evening, with lots of nice people.

My target for the evening was the center of the Cygnus constellation, between Deneb and Sadr. It's an area full of nebulae, perfect for a wide field lens. Technical data, together with stars and object names, can be found in the astrobin technical page.