Comets

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="13ea11c3.png"> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://members.lycos.co.uk/peterjgarbett" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.lycos.co.uk/peterjgarbett"><B><IMG SRC="14f64510.png" border=0 width="100" height="81" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.lycos.co.uk/peterjgarbett" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.lycos.co.uk/peterjgarbett"><B>Home...</B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>Observatory and Equipment</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="00758020.png" border=0 width="600" height="2" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The observatory is located at our family home in the village of Sharnbrook (population </div> <div> ~3000), 10km north of Bedford (England). The levels of light pollution are moderate </div> <div> but have increased markedly in the lower half of my southern sky, with a typical </div> <div> naked-eye moonless limiting magnitude of 5.6 at the zenith and on the best nights 6.0.</div> <div> I was attracted to astronomy very early on in life, inspired by images in books and </div> <div> the Apollo missions. I have always been drawn to the beauty of the night sky and am </div> <div> amazed that nowadays from a humble back garden one can produce images to rival </div> <div> those in the books I so admired as a child.</div> <bR> <div>  <IMG SRC="16b90150.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="533" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Trebuchet MS" >C14 on G-11 mount</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="16d90150.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="533" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Trebuchet MS" >C14 with run off shed</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Recently I have acquired a C14 (Fastar compatible) on a G-11 mount. (Ronchi testing</div> <div> suggests it is optically excellent.)  It is a wonderful instrument! I also frequently use a </div> <div> portable 20cm Meade LX200 for a wide range of observing and imaging. An 80mm </div> <div> Megrez triplet fluorite apochromatic refractor (Strehl ratio 0.97) is used for the </div> <div> purpose of wide-angle deep-sky imaging and an optically excellent Orion 80mm ED </div> <div> apochromatic refractor for both deep-sky imaging and full disk imaging of the Sun.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="15d98710.jpg" border=0 width="152" height="113" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Trebuchet MS" >Megrez 80 Apo</FONT>          <IMG SRC="15f96830.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="131" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Trebuchet MS" >Orion 80 ED Apo</FONT></div> <bR> <div> I also own a 22cm F6 Newtonian Reflector on a Dobsonian mount, made by my late father, </div> <div> John Garbett and I back in my school days, with expert advice from James Muirden and </div> <div> the late Horace Dall. This is ideal for use by children.</div> <bR> <div> I use a mixture of drawings, 35mm photography and CCD imaging. In my opinion each </div> <div> technique has its merits. The CCD camera is an SXV-H9 model from Starlight Xpress Ltd. </div> <div> I use filters and a motorised filter wheel by True Technology Ltd for colour imaging. </div> <div> A Lumenera SKYnyx 2-0M camera is used for planetary imaging, where the quick </div> <div> acquisition of many frames essential. I also have a double-stacked SolarMax 40 hydrogen </div> <div> alpha filter manufactured by Coronado to enhance my observations of the Sun - this gives </div> <div> remarkable views of the solar chromosphere. Image acquisition and processing employs </div> <div> various software including Starlight Xpress, MaxIm DL, Streampix, Photoshop and Registax.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="16096860.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="134" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Trebuchet MS" >SXV-H9  CCD</FONT>   <IMG SRC="16fdcbf0.jpg" border=0 width="220" height="191" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Trebuchet MS" >SKYnyx 2-0M</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="16196820.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="130" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Trebuchet MS" >True Technology Filter Wheel </FONT>        <IMG SRC="16496950.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="149" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Trebuchet MS" >SM40</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> With this broad range of equipment I am able to study a very wide range of astronomical </div> <div> objects which I can share on my web site. I hope it encourages you to have a go for </div> <div> yourself, whether it be with the naked-eye, binoculars or a telescope!</div> <bR> <div> Peter J. Garbett</div> </td> </tr></table></body>