x6gas

Agree - a really nice start.

Two nice captures. It never ceases to amaze me just how many stars there are in the field of view for the veil nebula...

Sounds like you learnt a lot during that session! I'm not completely clear on why you couldn't balance the scope properly...

Second version is really getting there in my view.

Excellent result given the kit.

If you are looking at deconvolution in PI then I thoroughly recommend Jon Rista's tutorial. Be aware, though, that deconvolution will tidy up the data a little but won't do much to sharpen detail in the nebula.

Original ad on the bay said it is inverted image...

Yes very nice Mick. I have data for this 'in the can' and waiting to be processed and seeing this might just spur me into action!

Very nice image. The background looks tad red to me but that may be my screen.

Nice processing - just a shame that your framing crops either end of the broom slightly.

Fantastic image Ken - thank for posting...

Olly"s spot on and this is exactly the trouble I have when imaging with my SCT... Lovely image nonetheless...

Nice job especially given how low this is...

Thanks @ramdom, thank @morimarty Appreciate you taking the trouble to comment. Cheers, Ian

I've come to expect a lot when I click on one of your threads Brendan and this one doesn't disappoint. Very nice. Ian

That's a cracking rendition Martyn - well done. Love the colour scheme which gives a familiar target an ethereal new look.

Nice capture - well done.

Great stuff! Hope that clear sky does materialise.

Wish I could retire at 55! The refractor would, in my opinion, be a much better bet for astrophotography. Come and join the dark (and stretch the histogram to make it light) side!

Ah well I have to thank you too, Robin, for your encouragement and thoughts on the various iterations - always good to have an independent opinion on whether you're heading in the right direction!

If they say they are manufactured in Germany then doesn't EU law state that's where they have to be made or at least assembled? My guess - if they are indeed labelled as made in Germany - is that the parts are supplied form China but they are assembled in Deutschland.

In my view Affinity Photo is terrific value - it really is - but it's not really on a par with Photoshop... at least not yet. A couple of immediate limitations for astro work are that it's sample point function only samples single pixels not an average (which is a pain when working to specific background values) and the macro functionality is hugely inferior to PS's actions (added to which you can get a large number of pre-canned actions for PS - both free and paid). AstroArt is a hugely powerful and underrated package, though I must admit that I haven't upgraded from AA5 (and it stuck in the claw to pay so much to get the latest version) and instead I've switched to PI for pre-processing now - though the jury is out as to whether the results in PI are better (it sure does take longer in PI!)

Oh don't spoil our fun! But it really does depend what you want to use it for. Visual of faint fuzzies then it's difficult to look beyond a big, fast Newtonian. I didn't realise when I started, but I got the bug for imaging and since I had to tear down and set up every session it quickly became apparent that collimating the scope and ensuring that the imaging gear was orientated exactly the same (so that the diffraction spikes were exactly the same every night) was too painful and I quickly settled on refractors (but not before I'd spent money on two Newtonians).

+1 for that! Nice kit, I'd say. So if you're in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, I'm guessing you must be on trail of the lonesome pine?

Well hold on there! The kindly members of SGL can save you both time and money and generally are so friendly, helpful and (collectively at least) knowledgeable and wise that you don't have to learn by your own mistakes - least not all of the time! Your equipment choice suggests you have done your research and that kit will serve you well and give you the flexibility to do visual or start imaging. You have certainly gone for a popular and reasonably capable mount (very capable for the price point) which makes good sense. So welcome and I look forward to reading more posts on your journey! Clear skies, Ian