First Light Peltier Cooled
Modified Canon Digital Rebel XSi (450D)
& Astro-Tech 127mm Triplet
NGC 6960 - Veil Nebula
August 25, 2008
This was the first deep sky image taken with a Peltier Cooled Modified Canon Rebel XSi (450D). Imaging was done on my backyard deck observatrory with moderate light pollution. There was a short window between cloud cover and the rising Moon for imaging. Ambient temperature ranged from 71 to 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature of the peltier cooled camera was below freezing for the imaging session and reached a low of 17.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The chart below shows how the peltier cooled camera maintained about a 40 degree drop in temeprature below ambient over time:
Telescope used for imaging was an Astro Tech 127mm ED APO Triplet refractor using a Celestron f/6.3 focal reducer for Schmidt-Cassegrains. The Astro Tech 127 and ED80 refractor guide scope were mounted on an Orion Atlas EQ-G mount. The EQMOD ASCOM driver was used to drive the mount directly via an EQDIR interface module. Image is Full Frame.
Equipment used:
NGC 6960 - The Veil Nebula - Full Frame:
23 four-minute exposures at ISO 1600 were combined using DeepSkyStacker and reduced in size for display: