iTelescope Newsletter: Reservation Update Live!

We are extremely excited to announce that the new Reservation System is now live and available for use!

The new system is Phase 1 of our Reservation Overhaul, which will add a new calendar visual interface, and includes new features like the Moon Cycles, Roof Open/Close Times, the ability to drag and drop reservations, the ability to update your plan without having to first cancel and remake a reservation, and much more.

With this update, we found that our old video and FAQ tutorials were outdated, so we are also happy to introduce the new iteration of the video tutorial series, iTelescope: Launchpad Series. If you are familiar with our services and the Launchpad, then I suggest you jump right in to the new Reservation System Tutorial.

Video Tutorial Updates

A couple of years ago, we created a few video tutorial series to ensure that our newest members had an easy and accurate way to understand how to use our systems.

Unfortunately, as time has passed and systems changed, these tutorials have begun to lose their accuracy and usefulness, so it is time to update them.

The update will begin with the Re-launch of the iTelescope.Net: Launchpad Video Tutorial Series.

This series was first created in 2012, prior to the opening of the Siding Spring Observatory, and has become outdated on a number of levels. The update will be released over a one month period and when complete, is planned to contain the following Video Tutorials:

Part 1: Launchpad Overview
Part 2: Taking an Image
Part 3: Making a Reservation
Part 4: Using the Launch-a-Plan System
Part 5: Downloading Your Images
Part 6: Knowing the Weather
Part 7: How Much Does it Cost
Part 8: Upgrading Plans and Buying Points
Part 9: How to Find Support

The first group of updates are available now and include Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 listed above, covering the Launchpad, Taking an Image, and the new Reservation System.

The second group of updates will include Part 4 - Part 9 listed above and will be released one by one over the next month. We will announce their release on our web page and facebook as each becomes available.

We hope you enjoy the new iTelescope: Launchpad Series video tutorials, and if you have any suggestions for other tutorials, please feel free to let us know by clicking this link: support@itelescope.net and giving us a short description of what you would like to see.

Nicole's Universe

Nicole Morillaro is an experienced and valued member of the iTelescope community.

Here she writes about her experiences with iTelescope as well as general astronomy observations. Nicole lives in a not-so-dark-sky site north of Toronto, Canada.

Nicole's Universe is available on the iTelescope.Net website and was introduced in the newsletter a few months back. We would now like to catch up on some of the past stories she shared and will be including her new articles as they become available.

This month we take a look at Stacking Software:

Stacking software: Finding what's right for you

KISS.

Keep it simple, stupid.

That is sound advice when it comes to post-processing images in astrophotography. Because, god knows, post-processing is enough to drive a beginning astrophotographer insane. Or was that just me?

When I joined iTelescope I knew that, in order to get the best images, I had to stack multiple images. My first attempt was to find something free. I know that the old "you get what you pay for" adage and I was quite worried about it at first. However, there are a few stacking software packages out there are quite good.

But what I discovered is that you need to find software that works for you.

Let’s list some of the freebies:

R egistax

Nebulosity

DeepSky Stacker

Keith's Image Stacker

The costly ones:

CCD Stack

MaximDL

Pixinsight

(I know there are others, but I'm just listing some of the more popular ones.)

Now, on top of the issue of cost versus free, there's the Mac vs. PC issue. And if you’re a Mac owner, you lose. Most stacking software is made for PCs, unfortunately (she says as a Mac user). But there are ways around that, like running Windows inside virtualisation software, like Parallels, Fusion or Virtual Box. If you can't do that, then the best bet is to use Nebulosity

I used that and found that its simplicity worked for me. Though, admittedly, after using some other software programs, I discovered that it can be quite limiting. I tried using Keith's Image Stacker, as well, but really didn't like it. It just wasn't for me.

I did end up purchasing CCDStack, which I immediately fell in love with.

M101 processed with CCD Stack

But this isn't meant to be a review of programs.

Basically, when looking at software, the thing you need to do is look for what works for YOU. I like to keep things simple. I like CCD Stack's simplicity, but then again, so is Nebulosity. I can't have anything too technical, though I'd love to try MaximDL as I hear very good things about that software.

What about you? What software do you use?

Member Showcase

The member showcase was created to give iTelescope.Net staff a chance to share members images with the entire community. The purpose is to show all members just what can be done with the robotic telescope systems and we absolutely love sharing the images our members posted on the iTelescope.Net Member's Club our Facebook group page. We hope you enjoy this edition of the Member Showcase!

This month we look a variety of images captured on iTelescopes in North America and Australia.

First, we visit NGC 6357 with Antonio Schiavone. NGC 6357 is most known for the fact that it is producing some of the largest stars that have ever been discovered by man.

This image of NGC 6357 was created by Antonio Schiavone on T12 at Siding Spring Observatory. It consists of 2 x 600 seconds of Hydrogen-Alpha, and 1 x 300 seconds of Red, Green and Blue.

Our second image this month is from long time member, Seiichiro Kiyota, and is a fantastic shot of NGC 6726. Also known as the Corona Australis, NGC 6726 is a very interesting target, offering a variety of deep sky structures from variable stars, stellar outflows and amazing dark nebulae. In this image, Seiichiro gives an additional treat with the globular cluster NGC 6723 just to the upper right, and the dark nebula Bernes 157 to the lower left.

This image of NGC 6726 was captured by Seiichiro Kiyota on T12 at Siding Spring Observatory. It consists of 3 x 300 second Luminance and 3 x 60 second of Red, Green and Blue.

Our final, amazing image this month comes from another long time member, Rolando Ligustri and was taken with T14 in New Mexico. C/2012 K1 (PANSTARRS) began its 2014 journey as a northern hemisphere target and will be making its long journey toward the sun for the rest of the northern summer. It will come to perihelion on the 27th of August 2014 and will become a southern hemisphere target soon after as it crosses the celestial equator on 15 of September, 2014. Its peak magnitude should be reached in mid-October 2014, where it may be visible even to the naked eye.

This image of C/2012 K1 (PANSTARRS) was captured by Rolando Ligustri on T14 in New Mexico. It consists of 2 x 600 second Luminance and 1 x 120 seconds of Red, Green, and Blue.

We hope you enjoyed these fantastic images taken on iTelescopes. If you would like to see more of our Member Showcase winners, please take a look at our Member Showcase Image Gallery!

Next Months Showcase

Each month we hold a contest to show off our members amazing images! To take part in the contest, all you need to do is join the iTelescope.Net Member's Club, our Members Only Facebook Group, and post your images there. Please include which telescope, the number of exposures, filters used during exposures, how long each exposure lasted and the tools used to process the image. The deadline for submissions is 31st of July, 2014.

iTelescope Staff will then pick winners from submissions near the 31st of July and showcase them in the next newsletter. The winning submission will be awarded 100 iTelescope Points and have their image highlighted on our web page and newsletter. Backup winners will be chosen if the winners do not claim their prize when notified by email from aron@itelescope.net.