A new year a new you......thanks 2013 you have been a good year.....

"M17 The Swan Nebula in Sagittarius"

A little bit late in putting this blog out, but as they say better late than never. Since I made a list of astro resolutions last year, and that pretty much kept me on schedule, I figure I should do one every year so I don't lose sight of the bigger picture. 2013 was good to me in terms of astro. I made great strides in many aspects of my hobby, not just acquiring new/old gear, but also transitioning from a purely visual astronomer to an beginner astro-imager. In fact I got so immersed with this new aspect of the hobby, I acquired a second CCD camera (Orion StarShoot Deep Space Imager II, which has approximately double the size of the Meade DSI I's chip) just over the new year to see if I can push further the boundaries of what can be imaged with my limited astro imaging gear (and to get better images of my faves, pictured here). I might at some stage decide to splurge on a better and more precise EQ mount (i.e. iOptron SmartEQ Portable GOTO mount) for my wide field imaging scopes, but as of now, I will stick with my NexStar 102GT alt az GOTO mount (this is still a big question mark as I am first and foremost a visual astronomer so I might just decide to go with a Meade 16" Lightbridge instead......but then again that is dependant on the CFO of the family ;).

"M42 The Great Nebula in Orion"

So to review what I achieved in 2013:

"M13 The Great Hercules Globular Cluster"

• My 1st resolution of 2013 was to use my big scope more. Tried as much as I did, due to our current living arrangement and a shared garage that is not lockable, this scope was just too big and bulky to use on a regular basis (too much carrying of heavy components up and down two flights of stairs). I ended up getting rid of my 10" dob and replacing it with a used Celestron C8 OTA (very comparable in terms of DSO brightness and resolution. I actually compared them on similar objects from my light polluted playground and the difference was very subtle if at all detectable). I now use my biggest scope on a more regular basis as I can carry everything in one sitting (C8 on Vixen PortaMount), so resolution one was met.
• My second resolution was to plan my observing runs better. I did have a plan of attack for each session. It helped greatly to use my iPod Touch notepad function for this, especially for my imaging sessions.
• I did not adhere to my sketch at least 5 new objects at every session. I did start off the year sketching a fair bit, but ended up getting deep into imaging so that tapered off. I might still do the odd sketch here and there if fancy takes me, but for now I am going to concentrate on imaging full on.
• I hit my target of doing more equipment reviews and writing them up...and I must confess that I enjoy this tremendously. Not sure if that is feasible this year as I put a cap on buying equipment, with the exception of smallish gear such as accessories.
• Since I replaced my biggest scope with an 8" SCT, I did succeed in trying out a SCT....and I am pleased to report that I like SCT's. Did not like the focal reducer field flatterner for visual so I might have to imvest in a good wide field 2" eyepiece at some stage.
• This year was severely lacking in the good scope deals. The best deals I got were floors stocks at Orion (got a 130mm f/5 Orion Star Seeker II OTA for cheap. Costco had a 90GT NexStar for $179 this year in place of their 102GT from last year for $199 last year, and I missed out on this deal as I waited too long).
• I blogged heaps this year. As I observed more too, there was more to talk about, and hope to continue the trend this year.
• I am also happy to report that I used ALL my scopes this year, including my most recent addition, a nice red Edmund Astroscan. Still my most used scope is the 102GT as I use it almost exclusively for imaging. I also tried out the Travelscope 70mm for wide field imaging and it worked fine.
• I used my Meade DSI I color every opportunity I had and have pretty much mastered most, if not all of its functions in the Meade Envisage capture software. I also spent heaps of time learning the intricacies of post image processing with Adobe Photoshop and applied dark subtraction to most of my images. Next stop more faint DSO's and master the Orion StarShoot Deep Space Imager II CCD cam.
• I failed in my final 2013 resolution. I did observe the moon and planets....but still did not observe as much as I should have.

With that in mind, here is my list of new year astro resolutions for 2014:

"M57 The Ring Nebula in Lyra, my all time fave planetary nebula"

• Use my bigger scopes for visual from suburbia so I get out even more and not just once or twice a month.
• Fully use all my existing equipment and refrain from buying new gear this year. I need to fully immerse myself in all the gear I have right now, which is more than enough.
• For visual, try not to avoid open clusters as I generally find them boring.
• Focus more on imaging. I know I know I am selling out and not doing visual as much as I should, but the feeling of fulfillment and accomplishment that comes with pulling out those faint wisps of nebulosity, or the spiral arms cannot be described. That means seeking out and trying fainter fare and experimenting with filters, trying to master more imaging tricks and testing out my new Orion StarShoot Deep Space Imager II. Also doing more wide field imaging with the Travelscope 70mm.
• Try to get better shallow sky images. I really have to invest time in imaging the moon and the planets at high mag.
• Try a Mak......

So there you have it.....my astro resolutions for 2014