NeonSpectres

My parents brought this over at the weekend as it's been sitting in their loft for a few decades! My old Tasco 49TR bought around 1987 I think? All the bits are there aside from the Moon/Solar System maps and the bracket holding the OTA to the mount has a loose rubber gromet but it's still usable. Field of view is tiny even using the 12.5mm 0.965" eyepiece (didn't even try the 5mm or the 'Barlow'!) and it wobbles on it's flimsy mount even if you breathe too heavily near it! 😄

Certainly a long way from the equipment I currently use!

Saturday evening started out so well... polar aligned just as the stars came out and the tracking was so good that I didn't even need to adjust the position for the second calibration star! Target that evening was M81 and surrounding area (I was using Nikon D7200 with Tamron 100-400mm lens (@400mm)) as it was pretty high up above the LP zone.

Popped out around 2.5 hours later to find that the camera battery had almost run down (no major issue) but that my stars had begun to trail badly in the last few frames (they were fine up until that point!) so maybe the mount hit zenith then had a bit of trouble going over? Big issue however was my pin-sharp(ish) stars turning into donuts!:

First Light Frame

Last (before star trails) Light Frame:

Looks like I was a victim of 'Lens Creep' so I'll try and restrain it with an elastic band next time...

Out of the 250 Light Frame I could use, only 28 were picked by DSS. I did manage to salvage this though and run it through Astronomy.net so the evening wasn't a complete loss:

Learning a little each time I go out so hopefully everything will go right next time I have an imaging session! 😁

Got my money's worth out of M42 last night as it's almost gone by testing various exposure length and ISO settings using Nikon D7200 and Tamron 100-400mm lens (@400mm). Although it was lovely and clear there was a chilly wind gusting across the back garden which didn't help so I'll have to do some more at the weekend when it's hopefully clear AND calm... Processed a 2 minute exposure (ISO 400) in Affinity and quite pleased with the result considering the most I've previously done is 30 seconds at ISO 1600:

Great images! How many Light Frames did you use?

Great Moon images; I'm looking to do some this year so you've given me something to aspire to! 😁

Currently doing a wide-field imaging session (D750 + 50mm Lens @ f/8, ISO 1600, 30s exposure) centred around M81.

Whilst that's clicking away outside for the next couple of hours I restacked (and removed loads of plane trails! 😡 ) and processed (in Affinity Photo) last night's Star Trails shot:

Tonight I did my first Star Trails image (around 2.5 hours). Might process it a bit in Affinity tomorrow but here it is straight out of StarStaX:

3 hours ago, dweller25 said:

Have you added a finder or something else to the OTA - if so check with a torch from the front of the OTA to see if any screws are contacting the mirror when you focus.

This indeed appeared to be the issue, although I'll be able to confirm this evening! I did notice last night that as I turned the knob to the right that is did get a bit treacly (if that even is a word) and I have been playing around with my finder setup recently.

Will see if I have some other, shorter screws to replace these two, otherwise I will just leave them sticking out a bit.

Thankyou both for your prompt feedback which'll get me back imaging again! 😁👍

Currently having fun getting my D7200 DSLR setup for imaging with the C8. Visually (through an eyepiece) I can get stars round and pin-sharp, but with the following setups:

C8 > Baader Click-Lock 2" for Celestron SCT > Revelation Universal 2" T-Adapter > Nikon T-Ring > Nikon D7200

C8 > Celestron SCT T-Adapter 50mm > Nikon T-Ring > Nikon D7200

... as I steadily move towards focus keeping the (round) doughnut in place all is well until it suddenly turns into this (Jellybean) and then shoots off in a diagonal direction!:

Is more considered collimation required or is there something amiss in the hardware?

If I use the following then all is good (so possibly focal distance is playing a part here?):

C8 > Baader Click-Lock 2" Visual Back for Celestron SCT > Baader 2" ClickLock Mirror Diagonal > Revelation Universal 2" T-Adapter > Nikon T-Ring > Nikon D7200

Many thanks 😁 

Great image Rik! 😁

I recently picked up a 2" 38mm Panaview so I could enjoy some visual work although I'm still getting back into the hobby so focusing on the Imaging side at the moment. I guess it depends on what's available to see in the sky depending on location, time of year, familiarity with the objects, etc.?

This evening started off so well... Had a target in mind; mount polar aligned the best it's ever been, everything connected up, until I got to my first calibration star... which was a crescent shape 🤨

Looks like tomorrow evening will be another collimation session with my homemade artificial star... 🧐

9 hours ago, Astro_Dad said:

Stunning - and artistic in “teal”. Nice work. 

Thanks! Might have been because the early Light Frame still had some blue in them? Anyway I've kept it as part of an Astronomy Journal I'm keeping while I get back into the hobby so I can experiment and learn as I go 😀

This evening's target was Pleiades taken using Nikon D750 + Tamron 100-400mm (@400mm). 196 Lights at f8, ISO1600, 30s stacked in DSS then processed in Affinity (yep, it's very 'teal' but my processing skills are still rather limited but I like it artistically 🙃😞

I'm finding the 'PolarFinder Pro' app really useful for excellent tracking just using 'Quick Align' on my CG-5 Mount as there's just a camera and lens attached. I'll have to go back to 'proper' multi-star alignment for the next session as I'm back using the C8 and imaging fainter objects...

This evening's efforts: bits of Orion taken using Nikon D750 + Tamron 100-400mm (@300mm). 181 Lights at f8, ISO1600, 30s stacked in DSS then processed in Affinity:

This actually arrived a few months back courtesy of some bandit using a 'Brushing' scam via Amazon:

It sat in our downstairs cupboard for a while until I got it out to have a look and realised it'd make a great telescope/mount cover as the inside has a silvery UV-resistant covering!

Tested out my new Panaview 38mm 2" eyepiece and did some scope/mount balancing with various bits attached. Hoping to get out and image M42 and Flame Nebula in the same frame using Nikon D750 and Tamron 100-400mm lens this evening (as I'm running out of time before it gets too low).

Great images! I'm also a DSLR astrophotographer although only just getting back into it after a hiatus! 😁

Welcome to the group!

Currently using my Orion GiantView 25x100's for some nice wide-field views. Have also bot a pair of Hawke 8x42 but will have to give them a try, astronomically speaking.

Welcome Rolfe (from another C8 owner!) 😄

Tempted with getting a pair of these for the binoviewer to go with the pair of 20mm Meade 4000's I currently own, as they're a great price and seems to get a lot of positive feedback.

Dug out my binoviewers (with 20mm Meade 4000 Plossl's) this evening, mainly hanging around M42. Also printed out tonight's sky chart (courtesy of Cartes du Ciel) so that I could map out the visible sky from my garden for future planning; aside from trees to the East I can pretty much see anything above 20 degrees everywhere else. Now I just have to re-familiarize myself with the constellations... 🤔

I've got a few Baader Click-Lock items and love them. Funnily enough I was about to order a 'Baader 2-1.25" Click-Lock Reducer' over the weekend!

Hi All,

I'm Spencer from Ashford, down in Kent (England).

I've just got back into the hobby after a long hiatus (nearly a decade?) and have been trying out different setup locations in the garden (we moved house a couple of years back but I haven't had time to dig the scope etc. out!) and getting to know the sky again.

I currently switch between a Celestron C8 and a set of Orion GiantView (25x100) binoculars: at the moment I'm making sure everything is set up OK (took me a while to collimate the C8 as the secondary mirror was rather wafty after the move, but with the help of a home-made artificial star, everything is crisp again) and doing a bit of visual astronomy but I hope to get back into some DSLR astrophotography (currently with the Moon when it's up, but later with DSO's).