M16 – IMT3b Observatory

Viewing Report 3rd July 2026

23:30 – 01:40

Luke and I setup the S30 Pro with the Antlia Triband RGB filter to see what difference it makes.

Meanwhile I have taken the Telegizmo cover off the 180 Mak ready to go after the Moon at midnight and Saturn again after 2:30am.

After waiting for the majority of the “night” as it is, at 10 past 1 I slewed to the Moon and started to image using SharpCap 4.1. The image was not great as the seeing due to the Jet stream being overhead was not ideal, but it gave me a start on re-imaging pieces of the Moon. I managed to at least grab a single stacked image of the 3 large craters at the edge of Mare Nectar’s, namely Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina.

Bottom left to top right of the crater chain – Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina

I must admit to having problems with remembering how to use the ADC so I will watch a video over the next few days.

Meanwhile the S30 Pro also struggled under the not dark skies but again produced an ok image given the lighting conditions.

Viewing Report 24th June 2026

22:50 – 03:05

I setup with the 150 Esprit in the dome and both the Seestar S30 Pro and the S50.

I set about using the S30 Pro to capture M16 and M17 in a single frame. This was really my first time using the smart scope in earnest.

Meanwhile I setup the 150 Esprit to capture M13.

I stayed with this until the light started to increase and then went to bed. The final unprocessed image straight from the S30 Pro is below.

Once I had processed using PixInsight from the S30 Pro it looked so much better.

On the S50 I took some data on IC 1284.

S50 stacked image of IC 1284 processed in PI

Viewing Report Thursday 30th June 2022 Tenerife – Parador

21:30 – 06:30

First of all tonight I have taken darks for 300s that are needed for the earlier data. However I am still suffering from the QHY168c disconnecting from the laptop, this time in TSX. I have upgraded the software yesterday but this has not made a difference, so it must be something to do with the way there USB cable is connecting. I will attempt to troubleshoot when I get home. Right now I have switched to Ezcap again which seems to be ok.

I have setup over by Mark and will see what this location is like behind the pool building. I have found that the WiFi is weak or non existent. Also the staff room is nearby and the light is constantly on so maybe not the best place to image from.

@00:03 NGC 6352 30s -20℃ I took a single exposure of this.

@00:19 LDN 10 30s -20℃