Saturday, 7 March 2026

The Christmas tree cluster (NGC2264) and associated nebulosity with duo-band filters

Using an Altair Starwave ASCENT 60ED doublet refractor with field-flattener, a Pegasus FocusCube v2 focuser, an Altair Hypercam 533C 14 bit OSC CMOS camera and a PlayerOne Phoenix 2" filter wheel all mounted on a Celestron AVX mount.  An SVBONY SV165 guide-scope fitted with a QHY-5II-M guide camera was mounted on the imaging scope. An INDI server was running on a Linux computer indoors. The guide camera was connected by USB to another Linux computer indoors running PHD2 autoguiding software via the INDI server. The mount and the focuser were controlled by AstroDMx Capture via the INDI server.

One hour's worth of 5 minute exposures of NGC2264 through an Altair HaO3 filter and one hour's worth of 5 minute exposures through an Altair S2O3 filter were captured by AstroDMx Capture running on an Ubuntu mini computer. 

The Data were debayered and stacked in PixInsight, part processed in PixInsight, Gimp3 and SetiAstroSuitePro. The Ha, S2 and O3 channels were separated out from the HaO3 and S2O3 images and used to contruct narrowband palettes. Siril was used for pixelmath procedures.

The Christmas tree cluster (NGC2264) and associated nebulosity

Hubble palette



Classical SHO


HOS (Canada, France, Hawaii telescope palette: CFHT)


OSH


Pixelmath generated palettes

Gendler palette


ForaaX palette


Again, the PlayerOne Phoenix 2" filter wheel was controlled natively by AstroDMx Capture and proved very useful for rapid filter change of the parfocal Altair 2" duo-band filters filters.