Post #3526515

First Light on my new 8" carbon fiber Ritchey-Chretien telescope last night! Conditions were far from ideal -- no clouds, but the air was hot, humid, and hazy. Regardless, I was able to capture three and a half hours of narrowband (7 nm SHO) data towards M16, "the Eagle Nebula" while competing with a very bright full moon and noticeably turbulent summer air. Last night was also the debut of my new SAL-33 mount, which maintained sub-arcsecond guiding throughout the imaging session while running under EKOS/kstars. My bench collimation was nearly perfect, and the optical train delivered round stars across the entire field of view. All in all, a very encouraging first run with this new telescope! Result: The heart of the Eagle Nebula, featuring the dramatic "pillars of creation" rendered in classic Hubble palette. SHO nebula, HOO stars. #astrophotography #astronomy