Sh2-308 (Dolphin head nebula) - Forums

Topic starter

Nov 13, 2023

My favourite Nebula is the Dolphin head nebula Sh2-308.

I live in England West Midlands bortle 5 skys.
I have William optics Zenith 73 FL-430mm
F/5.9, Skywatcher HEQ belt mod guiding decent.
ASI294mc pro with a Optolong L-Enhance filter.

The dolphin head usually peaks for 3ish hours in December/January where I am.

My Question is, is it even worth me trying to capture it or would I be wasting my time?

I’ve seen a lot of stunning pictures but they’ve got 20+ hours of integration time and most are monochrome cameras, I only have a colour Camera (ASI294mc) L-Enhance filter to play with and would need a lot of clear nights to even get 10+ hours.

If anyone has captured this with similar set up I would love to see the results and maybe get some guidance?
Thanks Chris

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John Noble

Nov 13, 2023

Chris,

Your set up is fine for this object but the problem it's going to be very low in your sky. I shot this when on vacation in the Caribbean last year in just over 4 hours with a color camera and L Extreme filter so I had a pretty good elevation. That said you should give it a go it's nothing like as faint as the squid or similar.... At least that was my experience.

Good luck

John

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andrea tasselli

Frequent contributor

Nov 14, 2023

Chris Addison:
My favourite Nebula is the Dolphin head nebula Sh2-308.

I live in England West Midlands bortle 5 skys.
I have William optics Zenith 73 FL-430mm
F/5.9, Skywatcher HEQ belt mod guiding decent.
ASI294mc pro with a Optolong L-Enhance filter.

The dolphin head usually peaks for 3ish hours in December/January where I am.

My Question is, is it even worth me trying to capture it or would I be wasting my time?

I’ve seen a lot of stunning pictures but they’ve got 20+ hours of integration time and most are monochrome cameras, I only have a colour Camera (ASI294mc) L-Enhance filter to play with and would need a lot of clear nights to even get 10+ hours.

If anyone has captured this with similar set up I would love to see the results and maybe get some guidance?
Thanks Chris

It'll be a major waste of time and nothing to do with the equipment itself just to damn low in the sky. At least 30 deg of altitude to make it worthwhile, of sorts...

Norman Hey

Nov 14, 2023

Since it's your favorite, why not give it a go when you get the right conditions? The all-time goal scoring leader of professional hockey, Wayne Gretzky, notes that you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Sure, it only gets maybe 15 degrees up for you. It only makes it to 20 for me and I got this from my back yard. Go for it! The taste of the low hanging fruit captured on your own terms is sweeter for the effort involved.

Here is under 2 hours each in Oii and Ha with my 130mm f/6.6 refractor.--it took a few sessions to gather the data, as you can imagine. Clear skies and good luck!

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Chris Addison

Topic starter

Nov 14, 2023

John Noble:
Chris,

Your set up is fine for this object but the problem it's going to be very low in your sky. I shot this when on vacation in the Caribbean last year in just over 4 hours with a color camera and L Extreme filter so I had a pretty good elevation. That said you should give it a go it's nothing like as faint as the squid or similar.... At least that was my experience.

Good luck

John

Thanks @John Noble I’ve just had a look on your profile, Amazing picture of the Dolphin head love all the dust clouds you captured, this gives me hope.
cheers Chris

John Noble:
Chris,

Your set up is fine for this object but the problem it's going to be very low in your sky. I shot this when on vacation in the Caribbean last year in just over 4 hours with a color camera and L Extreme filter so I had a pretty good elevation. That said you should give it a go it's nothing like as faint as the squid or similar.... At least that was my experience.

Good luck

John

Chris Addison

Topic starter

Nov 14, 2023

Norman Hey:
Since it's your favorite, why not give it a go when you get the right conditions? The all-time goal scoring leader of professional hockey, Wayne Gretzky, notes that you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Sure, it only gets maybe 15 degrees up for you. It only makes it to 20 for me and I got this from my back yard. Go for it! The taste of the low hanging fruit captured on your own terms is sweeter for the effort involved.

Here is under 2 hours each in Oii and Ha with my 130mm f/6.6 refractor.--it took a few sessions to gather the data, as you can imagine. Clear skies and good luck!

Thanks Norman.
you are correct I will be giving it a go. Would love a picture as good as yours looks amazing for just so little integration time.
cheers Chris

Arnie

Nov 15, 2023

Hi Chris,

Like you, where I live in the Pacific Northwest, USA, weather often limits wintertime imaging to just a few nights a year. I take advantage of those nights, knowing that I am collecting data but with no expectation of actually producing a finished image anytime soon. But data never expires! I have some images where I have collected data in dribs and drabs over the course of a few years before I felt I had enough to finally process the final image. Get whatever data you can, when you can. No matter how long it takes, you'll be happy with your finally image for all the effort you put in!

Arnie

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Rafael Amarins

Nov 15, 2023 · Edited: Nov 15, 2023

Honestly if it is at 15º it is doable but don't expect to have an amazing result. You're gonna have a few minutes each night. It is an amazing target I agree.
One thing to note is that you should be using at least L-enhance with that OSC camera and if possible L-extreme or Antlia ALP-T or similar. Duo narrowband is a must for this kind of target IMO.
As a reference I happen to have an image of the Dolphin with the 294 chip (svbony) with Antlia ALP-T at a bortle 4 location. The thing is for me it is right at the zenith, 87º actually.
There is a lot of targets I would like to image on the north but at -20º down here in Brazil I just can't.
You just might have a reason to book a trip to Portugal or Spain ;)

Here's my image of it
https://www.astrobin.com/a8hzuz/

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