Trying for Vela SNR

[pmrid]

There are numerous fantastic images of this SNR on the web but I have found it a bit difficult to pin down coordinates For the more dramatic bits. To compound the problem, my ASiair lists do not include either Vela SNR or Gum 12 so I have been reduced to a bit of guesswork. Of course the weather doesn’t help nor the full moon this week.

I know this SNR spans about 8 degrees and my FOV with the rig I’m using is just 1.0 x 0.77 deg.

I wonder if anyone has so RA/Dec numbers for the brighter sections of this object. I’m not ready for mosaics because sky time is so limited. I don’t have the patience to do a NB 12 panel mosaic. It would take months.

[AdamJL]

Hi there, Peter

happy to help but before I do, have you tried Stellarium on a PC first?

To see Vela, make sure you

1. Go to Sky and Viewing Options
2. Go to the Surveys tab
3. Scroll down and select something like DSS Colored

This will allow you to see the entire nebula. The default view doesn't show the entire thing.
Then (so long as you've set up the Oculars plugin - if you haven't, I can take you through it) you can pick and choose the region you want based off your equipment and FoV. You will get RA/Dec coordinates this way for your specific view and also a framing angle to input into your AsiAIR.

Cheers

[pmrid]

No. I’ve not used Stellarium at all. I’ll DL and have a look. Thanks for the tip.

[AdamJL]

No problem. I can post some pictures as a tutorial to get you started when you're ready. It's a game changer when it's setup correctly :)

[Stonius]

This is a great site for lining up your images.



https://www.blackwaterskies.co.uk/imaging-toolbox/


Cheers,


Markus

[AdamJL]

^ that's a great site and basically what Stellarium will do when setup right with a few more options for you to play with. Stellarium will be the advanced version of that site.

[pmrid]

Thanks gents. I’ve had a look at both Stellarium and BlackwaterSkies’ site and can see they both do an excellent job visualising targets. Having isolated coordinates from them was able to use them in ASiair to identify a target that is not on their built-in catalogues AND via it’s SkyMap functionality, was able to visualise it as well. And that function also allows you to nudge the image around to get the FOV you want. So I was finally able, last night, to power up the new AM5 with my ASI533MC Pro and an Optolong L-Enhance filter. Trouble was the 90% moon - despite the filter, it still washed out the subject pretty much.

But just to show I did manage tofind it, here's the end result of last night's efforts - 3.5 hours worth in 95% moon.

Still, the mount was great and I can look forward to some cool clear skies - maybe next year!

[ChrisV]

Cool!

It's huge. I had a go once with a 135 camera lens couldn't fit it all in. I'm sure you can point anyway in it and get something nice.

[pmrid]

The size (said to be roughly equivalent to 9 full moons) - raises an interesting challenge. It would be great to have an app/program capable of displaying a wide-field sky view with deep space objects such as Vela /Orion Lagoon, Trifid, Pliedes etc at scale. I saw an Andromeda once but imagine if these all these objects could be made visible and to scale. It would be a mind-blower I think.

[AdamJL]

Very nice, Peter! Glad it all worked out and that you got a terrific image from the effort.