Moon
No filterfilter
Any monthbest at 10pm
Aim it yourself: centre it in the wide view, switch to tele, press autofocus. The Dwarf sets itself. Half a Moon shows the craters best.
From a real night: Very short exposures, low gain, no filter. Shoot along the line between light and dark.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Galaxy
Astrofilter
78°highest
Mosaictele
Oct, Novbest at 10pm
Another galaxy, 2.5 million light years away. Bigger than the frame: get the bright middle in first.
From a real night: Astro filter, never Duo-Band. One run was lost to Duo-Band by mistake. A 2 view mosaic fits it.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Star cluster
Astrofilter
61°highest
One frametele
Decbest at 10pm
The Seven Sisters. Bright blue stars; a long run shows the faint blue haze round them.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
32°highest
One frametele
Janbest at 10pm
The brightest nebula in the sky, low in the south in winter. Short exposures keep the bright middle from burning out.
From a real night: 15 seconds keeps the core from burning out.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Globular cluster
Astrofilter
73°highest
One frametele
Jun, Julbest at 10pm
Hundreds of thousands of old stars in a ball. High on summer evenings.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Star clusters
Astrofilter
86°highest
One frametele
Nov, Decbest at 10pm
Two clusters side by side in Perseus, high all autumn and winter. Fits the frame well.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Star cluster
Astrofilter
57°highest
One frametele
Feb, Marbest at 10pm
A big, bright cluster in Cancer, best in late winter and spring.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Galaxy
Astrofilter
68°highest
One frametele
Novbest at 10pm
A face-on spiral, faint and wide. Wants a dark sky and several nights.
From a real night: Faint, so a dark site and several nights.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Planetary nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
60°highest
One frametele
Augbest at 10pm
A dying star that has thrown its outer layers off. Small, bright, high on autumn evenings.
From a real night: One frame, Duo-Band, gain 70. Nearly 3 hours stacked so far.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Galaxies
Astrofilter
74°highest
One frametele
Marbest at 10pm
Two galaxies in one frame, near the Plough, high all year from Britain.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Galaxy
Astrofilter
84°highest
One frametele
Maybest at 10pm
A spiral with a small companion. Small in the frame, but the arms show with time.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Galaxy
Astrofilter
89°highest
One frametele
Maybest at 10pm
A big, faint face-on spiral, high in spring.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Supernova remnant
Duo-Bandfilter
59°highest
One frametele
Janbest at 10pm
What is left of a star that exploded in 1054. Small, so it sits in the middle of the frame.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Star cluster
Astrofilter
61°highest
One frametele
Janbest at 10pm
A rich cluster in Gemini, with a smaller, older one beside it.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
81°highest
One frametele
Aug, Sepbest at 10pm
Shaped like the continent. Nearly fills the frame; a sliver clips top and bottom.
From a real night: Duo-Band, gain 80 to 90 on the first run. Too big for one frame for the whole of it.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
82°highest
One frametele
Nov, Decbest at 10pm
In Cassiopeia, high all autumn and winter. Bigger than the frame: frame on part of it, or a mosaic.
From a real night: Mosaic 2 views, Duo-Band, gain 90. In alt az the field turned 75 degrees over 4 hours, so set EQ mode first.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
73°highest
One frametele
Decbest at 10pm
A long red cloud of hydrogen in Perseus. Too long for one frame.
From a real night: Mosaic 2 views, Duo-Band, gain 70. In EQ mode start it within an hour and a half of due south, or the Dwarf stops.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Planetary nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
70°highest
One frametele
Jul, Augbest at 10pm
Tiny in the frame. Needs steady air and good tracking to show the ring.
From a real night: Wait until tracking is good: on one run every other star smeared.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
86°highest
One frametele
Oct, Novbest at 10pm
A glowing cloud in Cassiopeia, high on autumn nights.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
82°highest
One frametele
Octbest at 10pm
A bubble blown by one hot star. M52 sits in the same corner.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
85°highest
One frametele
Sep, Octbest at 10pm
A nebula and cluster in Cepheus, high all night in autumn.
From a real night: One frame, Duo-Band, gain 70. Over 5 hours stacked across nights. In EQ mode the Dwarf flips when it crosses due south.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
71°highest
One frametele
Janbest at 10pm
In Auriga, rising through winter nights.
From a real night: Mosaic 2 views, Duo-Band, gain 90.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Supernova remnant
Duo-Bandfilter
69°highest
One frametele
Aug, Sepbest at 10pm
Fine threads from a star that exploded thousands of years ago. Evenings, dropping west through autumn.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
42°highest
One frametele
Jan, Febbest at 10pm
A big round flower of a nebula, low in the south in winter.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
35°highest
One frametele
Janbest at 10pm
Dark dust against glowing gas, low in the south. A short slot before dawn in autumn, evenings in winter.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
86°highest
One frametele
Sepbest at 10pm
A dark trunk of dust in Cepheus. Frame on the trunk: the whole complex is too big.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings
Planetary nebula
Duo-Bandfilter
88°highest
One frametele
Aprbest at 10pm
Small and faint, near the Plough, best in spring.
Will it fit, tonight's heights and settings