Starpoint Australis

Sunday Skies ✦ Captured by Chris Boyd | Christopher Boyd

NGC 6188, often called the Fighting Dragons of Ara, is a striking emission nebula located along the edge of a massive star-forming region in the southern constellation Ara.

The sculpted ridges and flame-like structures seen here are being shaped by intense radiation and stellar winds from young, massive stars embedded within the surrounding clusters. These energetic stars are steadily eroding the dense molecular clouds, carving out the dramatic ionisation fronts that give the nebula its dragon-like appearance.

This image was processed using the Foraxx palette, an adaptive blend of HOO and SHO that emphasises whichever signal is strongest in each region. The approach allows the often faint SII data to contribute more strongly to the final result, helping reveal subtle structures throughout the nebula.

Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED / Black Diamond 80ED
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro | Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro
Antlia 3nm OIII | Antlia 3nm SII | Baader Blue (B-CCD)
PixInsight | N.I.N.A.
Foraxx Narrowband

Total integration: 40h
Ha 300s × 113 | SII 300s × 194 | OIII 300s × 155
R 30s × 60 | G 30s × 60 | B 30s × 60

The 9-position filter wheel had done its job.

It had proven the concept worked, survived its first nights under the stars and taught Brendan a huge amount about what worked well and what could be improved.

But one thing quickly became obvious.

It was massive! It weighed a ton and there were so many things that needed to change in the functionality of it.

So it was back to the drawing board to shrink the ideas and create the Vela 7.

These are the first 3D drawings of Brendan's vision that would eventually be taken into the workshop and brought to life.

After months of learning, workshop testing, redesigns, machining, coding and more than a few moments where this project could have gone sideways the giant 9-position filter wheel finally had its first night under the stars.

These first light images of the Horsehead Nebula and M42 Orion Nebula were captured using Brendan's 18" Newtonian and the prototype filter wheel that many of you have followed throughout this build series.

For us these images represent far more than just another night of astrophotography.

They represent an idea that started as sketches on paper, progressed through hand-cut prototypes, 3D printed test parts, machined aluminium components, software development and learnings, electronics design and countless hours in the workshop.

Seeing photons from deep space pass through a system that was designed and built from scratch is a pretty special feeling.

And then came the moment that honestly felt a little surreal…

The giant 9-position filter wheel that had spent months spread across benches, covered in aluminium shavings, tangled in cables and constantly being redesigned was finally bolted onto Brendan’s 18” Newtonian and sitting outside under the night sky.

Not on a test bench.
Not half assembled.
Not running temporary parts.

Actually operating as a complete working system.

After all the machining, coding, redesigns, test fitting, electronics work and countless workshop hours the “USS Enterprise” was alive and well.

And for the first time the project was finally doing exactly what it had always been designed to do… capture the night sky.

Stay tuned for Sunday Skies to see what came out of its first night under the stars…

The final pieces were starting to fall into place.

With the machining work complete, Brendan moved onto final assembly fitting the filters into the carousel, painting the housing black to avoid unwanted light reflections and bringing the entire system together into one functioning unit.

For the first time, the project was beginning to move beyond the “Tupperware and cables” phase and actually resemble a finished instrument.

The oversized 9-position filter wheel that had spent months spread across workshop benches was now fully assembled with operational filters, working electronics and functioning software control all inside a complete housing.

It was no longer just individual parts being tested independently.
It was now a working filter wheel.

Let’s take it to the skies…

Sunday Skies ✦ Captured by Luke Shepherd | Desert Astronomer

A little over 12 months has passed since Orion the Hunter last graced our night skies, and this year Luke decided to take a different approach to one of the most photographed regions in the sky.

Combining natural colour data captured last season with false-colour narrowband data captured this year, the image blends traditional RGB with Sulphur II, Hydrogen-Alpha and Oxygen III emissions. By isolating specific wavelengths of light, narrowband imaging reveals structures and detail that would otherwise remain hidden within the nebula.

Captured over two nights for a total of 9 hours, the dataset demonstrates just how much information can be gathered even during the short summer imaging season. While clear nights can be hard to come by at this time of year, the result is a unique interpretation of one of the southern sky's most iconic targets.

Sky-Watcher 10" f/4 Quattro CF
QHY268M | Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Hypertuned by Starpoint Australis
Antlia 4.5nm SHO | Antlia LRGB Pro 36mm Filters

SHO Narrowband blended with Natural RGB
Total integration: 9 hrs