CCD

I have a SBIG ST-237 CCD camera that I have just begun using for CCD imaging. The Fastar optics on the Ultima 2000 Schmidt-Cassegrain are designed to accommodate this camera, allowing imaging at f/20, f/10, f/6.3 or f/1.95. My first attempt at using this camera was pretty successful, thanks to the help of Scott Tucker at Starizona. The images below were taken from my back yard in central Tucson when the moon was nearly 3/4 full and are only posted here now because they are my first images (follow the link below for more recent images). Additionally, I did not have the telescope mounted on an equatorial wedge which contributed to some field rotation in the images. I know that future images will be of better quality because I can only improve my skills as I gain experience.


M16, The Eagle Nebula. Ultima 2000 @ f/1.95. One 30 sec image minus 30 sec darkframe. Camera temp = -10 C. 0841 UT 05/14/2000 Mid-town Tucson, AZ.	M17, The Swan Nebula. Ultima 2000 @ f/1.95. One 10 sec exposure minus 10 sec darkframe. Camera temp = -10 C. 0855 UT 5/14/2000. Mid-town Tucson, AZ.


M20, The Trifid Nebula. Ultima 2000 @ f/1.95. Three 10 sec images (each minus one 10 sec darkframe) combined. Camera temp = -10 C. 0903 UT 05/14/2000 Mid-town Tucson, AZ.	M8, The Lagoon Nebula. Ultima 2000 @ f/1.95. Three 20 sec images (each minus one 20 sec darkframe) combined. Camera temp = -10 C. 0915 UT 05/14/2000 Mid-town Tucson, AZ.

	Comet LINEAR C/1999 S4. Ultima 2000 @ f/1.95. One 20 sec image and one 20 sec darkframe combined. Camera temp = -7 C. 1117 UT 07/10/2000 Mid-town Tucson, AZ. This image has a lot of noise mostly due to the fact that the light of dawn was beginning to overtake the night sky. Taking only a single 20 second exposure doesn't help matters.