I though that this rainy season would not end. Yet, last Wednesday night at home was a surprise in many ways. Firstly, it was unusually clear-no big thick clouds. Secondly, Polaris was clearly visible above my northern horizon where its perennially smoggy and lastly, we have a new dog which was not taken into consideration in my imaging set-up. As I gazed the sky, the temptation to bring out my gears from long storage was simply overpowering. Heck, why the wait? At least I will know if I can still tighten my mount's altitude bolt properly! As expected, it took me more than an hour in setting up after a long time of no imaging practice. Much of the delays were due to our beloved dog who obviously enjoyed pulling off the dangling wires from the mount.
I had to overlook the beautiful Orion beaming that time. Deciding on what H-alpha target was difficult as there were plenty of worthy choices. I settled on a relatively obscure IC443 and nearby SH2-249 nebulae. Framing both of them in my 3 degree field necessitated orienting the camera to north-is-up direction which was new to me. Clouds briefly interrupted a few shots but I was able to gather a 2-hour total exposure which was enough to quench my astro-imaging thirst.
I immediately processed the subs and in my eagerness, I was not careful in controlling some highlights and noise. Well, re-processing it sometime together with color data will be my project soon. But, it was definitely a good fun under the stars after long while.
GPD2 mount is already in its maximum load capacity. It has been carrying 
the Megrez 90, the Zenithstar 80ED, guidecam and the DSLR plus the mounting plate and rings. A friend even commented that the Zenithstar 80ED is an overkill for a guidescope as it could be a respectable imaging scope. So, with all these overcast skies and rains, my hands were itching to do something that can relieve the heavy guidescope. After a quick inventory of my astro toys, I noticed that I have a William Optics 7X50 finderscope that was seldom used. My challenge was to adapt the QHY5 guider to the tube. Dismantling the finder, I found out that it had an M42T thread so all I need to look for is a M42T to 1.25 inch adapter. Fortunately, I had a Vixen flip mirror which have two M42T to 1.25 inch adapters. I quickly set up the finder with the QHY5 camera, focused a distant building and measured the required distance of the adapter. Without any hesitation, I got a hacksaw blade, wore my gloves and goggles and started cutting the adapter tube to the desired length. I used a fine file to grind the rough edges and finished it with a sandpaper. The finished adapter mated smoothly with the finderscope half. I inserted the QHY5, and tested the whole assembly. To my pleasant surprise, the finderscope focused perfectly to the distant building. Now, I will just have to wait for a clear night to test it on a star and see if it is worthy to be renamed "guidescope"!
