Neil_104

Nice! You saw more than me - totally clouded out. At one point I was out putting something in the bins, and there was a gap in the clouds. I followed that gap from the North west to the South east hoping to see something, but nothing.

Bear with me and I'll check it out in my 60mm next time I'm out 😂 Enjoyed your report, it's always fun going on little adventures like this 👍

Well, where needs must! The necessity of doing this though has resulted in a very dramatic image, and an image of the Veil that is a bit different to the more standard presentation. I'm all for that!

Striking contrast, really impressive👍

Ah yes you are quite correct - that's an extra double going on my list!

and how about this - I was just reading up on the double star SHJ 282AC (https://bestdoubles.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/dsc-60-three-wide-doubles-in-lyra-to-get-you-started-zeta-ζ-beta-β-and-shj-282ac/) for my next double star session (whenever that will be given this weather lately...) when I remembered your image. So I had a check for it and there it is, I think, top left in the widefield image

Great image and an interesting take on a familiar object - really nice to see M57 in context of being positioned between Sulafat and Sheliak 👍

An unexpected clear night last night so I pounced on the opportunity to get some doubles bagged. Being that double star observing is a relatively new interest for me, I'm starting with some of the more well-known ones. Also with one hand slightly tied behind my back as my highest power eyepiece atm is a 7mm, which in a 360mm FL telescope isn't exactly setting any magnification records at 51x! 61 Cyg =>Easy split at 32" separation but I wanted to observe this to make a sketch. Given its high proper motion, I'll return to it at various points in the future to chart its progress. Alpha Her (Rasalgethi) mag. 3-4/5.3, sep. 8.8" =>Close split in 9mm (40x), clear split in 7mm. Both stars looked orangish to me. Xi Boo mag. 4.7/6.8, sep. 4.7" =>Clearly split with 7mm, yellowish primary, orangish secondary. I could just about split it with the 9mm also - the atmosphere served to sometimes display a clear split with dark sky between both stars and at other times I could see one slightly elongated star. Kappa Boo mag. 4.5/6.7, sep. 14.1" =>This wasn't in my plan (but it was in my Nexstar hand controller so I had a go at estimating based on what I'd seen so far. I guessed mag. 4/6 and a separation of 8", so not a million miles off. This double looked very nice, I saw it as a bright yellowish primary and an also bright but slightly fainter blueish secondary. Very nice and my favourite of the evening. Zeta Lyr mag. 4.4/5.6, sep. 44" =>Another estimate from me as mag. 4/5 and separation of 20", ok, I was a bit out on the separation this time. I saw a whiteish primary and blueish/white secondary. Epsilon Boo (Izar) mag. 2.5/4.8, sep. 2.9" =>FAILED to split! But nothing to do with the ability of my 60mm and everything to do with the aforementioned magnification limit. Must do something about that Btw, to pick out these doubles I used the Observer's Sky Atlas by Erich Karkoschka. The 4th edition is just out and the star charts are very clear and well-designed. The colour scheme has been chosen so that when viewed under red light, the pertinent information stands out (stars, nebulae etc) and the less important details (such as chart boundaries) disappear. On the subject of doubles, it gives really nice diagrams on faster orbits up to the year 2050 so it's good for keeping track of such orbits for the coming decades. If there was one negative I think the book could be bigger, and for field use it would be better if it had been spiral bound. But in spite of this I can definitely recommend it!

I have the 533 and really like it. My favourite thing about it is indeed the square sensor. I find the square images it produces are a refreshing and striking difference to the more familiar 16:9 format. Absolutely no amp glow on mine (not that it's difficult to deal with anyway really). Cooling is effective, though I tend to stick to -15C in Winter and -10C in summer to ensure I get a stable temp. I've no experience with the 294. I did consider it when looking for a new camera but in the end I was won over with the 533's square sensor, just to be different 😄

Great idea, love it. I will happily accept your invitation and join in the fun with my 60mm refractor. It's not quite a Tak but it still gives great views. There's just something about small scopes if you ask me. I find that "just a bit better than binoculars" view very appealing for some reason. I can't promise to give the dedication you've described so far (too many objects to image and planets to view, well, soon at least!), but double stars have really captured my imagination recently. So thanks for posting and supplying all these doubles for us to track down 👍 STF 2816 next on my list!!

Can I ask which planets you were looking at? A dew shield, while definitely important and highly recommended (I never use my C6 without one), wouldn't immediately solve your issue with seeing no difference between stars and planets. I use this one: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/astrozap-flexible-dew-shield.html for the Celestron C6. It's a tight fit with a dew heater strap but it's doable. You describe the Moon as crystal clear so that's good. And so long as stars look like burning points of light and are not curved in shape it sounds like collimation isn't the issue, though it's not a bad idea to double check. The Celestron website will give you a good guide to collimating an SCT. It only needs to be "good enough" at this stage. Even the 25mm eyepiece isn't the issue - I know the one as it also came with my 6 inch SCT It gives decently sharp views, it just shows a little chromatic aberration (red/blue borders around bright objects). But really it's fine to get started. One thing to keep in mind is that the planets through a telescope are very small and at first glance can just appear as a washed out disc. Of course, you'll only see definite detail on Mars/Jupiter/Saturn. Even the largest, Jupiter, at first glance just shows a couple of bands. It takes some patience and dedication to start to see fine detail, and of course it won't be anything as detailed as you might see from an image. Every time I observe Mars for the first time in a season, all I can see at first is a pink disc. But as I sit with it, gradually the detail reveals itself. Plus it's important to consider the seeing conditions. If the planet is over a house then all you're likely to see if a wavey, blurry mess! Dark skies aren't really necessary for the planets, but a steady atmosphere most definitely is! HTH along with the posts above - stick with it! A Telescope is an instrument like any other, it can require time & patience and practice but when it comes together it's more than worth it !! Keep us updated on how you go 👍

It's an interesting idea. I can sense a "SGL Deep Field" coming on 😄

Really interesting scope - don't get to hear about these too often so keen to see and hear more about your adventures with it! Can see that image has gone pretty deep already 👍

Good post - and a key topic for all astronomers! Maybe something to consider - instead of focusing on total hours of sleep, try to increase the quality of sleep. This will then allow extra observing time. So things like: No blue light exposure 1 hour before bed (if imaging, turn on you laptop's blue-light shield/use a physical screen) Ensure bedroom is completely dark (black-out blinds, think curtains etc), cool and quiet Consider a white noise machine if neighbours/family members keep you awake, or if noises wake you in the night. Also good for masking the dreaded dawn chorus if you wake too early! Limit caffeine after mid-afternoon. Limit alcohol (Boo!) as it also reduces quality of sleep. My sleep was pretty bad a few years back and I eventually took an online course called Sleepio. It really helped (and was where I learned about the above). I can now fall asleep within 5 mins of resting my head, whereas before I'd lie there for 30/60/90 mins, getting ever more frustrated, before dropping off. The course is not easy though! But I do recommend it and it'll give you permission for some very late nights because...well, you'll see if you take the course! If I'm imaging, I'll get my whole night-time routine done prior to setting up (teeth, everything switched off, check under the bed for monsters etc), so I know that I can go from last checking PHD2 to bed in 5 mins, and then be asleep within 10 😴 I do need to improve on the alcohol thing though 🤪

Nice image! Thanks for posting - good to get an idea of the rings' appearance for this season👍 I looked for Saturn as I left my scope imaging M81 & M82 for the night at about 1:30am but it hadn't quite come out from behind my neighbours house.

Wow that really is night and day. A massive improvement, especially in bringing out the faint out reaches of the galaxy. Great colours as well. What did you use to process the original 2022 version?

Such amazing colours in this area - stunning images! I'm having a go at Antares and M4 myself at the moment - I get 2 hours imaging time per night of this target atm, that's the time it takes to appear from behind next door's house, to disappearing behind a tree 😂 But the extra challenge makes the final result mean so much more.

It most definitely looks to me that you are headed in the right direction 👍

Simply stunning. You've got a great sharpness to the images. Also like the 2nd image best, really does give a sense of perspective. And the first/third, well, almost feels like being in the lunar lander 👍

I can definitely recommend the L-eNhance - it'll allow you to image up to about a 2/3 full Moon, so gives a much wider imaging window during the Lunar month and removes the need for dark skies to get some astrophotography done. So you can also image before midnight! You can produce great HO false colour images if you use a stacking program like APP to separate the H alpha and OIII channels. I also have the 533, I chose the 2 inch filter to ensure it fully covers the chip and to also allow a future upgrade to a bigger imaging chip some day (though that will be some time, I really like the 533 and its square image). I usually take 90s exposures, though this will of course depend on the tracking capabilities of your mount. Focusing and plate solving can be an issue as stars appear much fainter on screen. I sometimes take the filter out of the filter draw to get aligned on the target, then put the filter in before fine focusing. I was weighing up between the L-eNhance or L-eXtreme but went for the former to avoid the star halos and the requirement for longer exposure lengths due to the extreme blocking more light. BUT there is one major downside to these Optolong filters to be aware of - having to wrestle with spelling their name properly 😂 Joking aside, I'd say go for it - as someone said to me when I was asking Qs about it, "You'll love it!" 👍 And I'm sure you're aware but just to mention, your UV/IR cut filter will still be used for broadband targets like galaxies. The L-eNhance is for nebulae as it'll block too much light for imaging galaxies (though it can be used to image H alpha regions in the larger galaxies to add to your luminance images).

That's terrible Glad to hear you have plans to move though, always helps once you know it's not forever👍 Yep, I probably take my ease of getting outside into the garden for granted these days. But you know what it's like - as soon as one issue is solved, the next makes itself known in short order!

I thought "M101 Supernova" sounded strangely familiar - just dug out an old image of SN 2011fe I took back then. M101 has been busy recently (on a galactic timescale at least!) Really quite interesting to look at this old image knowing that the star that's just gone pop had just under 12 years to live...

Got it. Pretty bright, thanks for posting!

I really sympathise with you there - I used to live in a 1st floor flat and had a similar trek up & down stairs. I'm very fortunate today to have patio doors straight out into the garden - I shall never complain about setting up again!

I've considered this before, having looked into the telegizmo covers, but was afraid of rust due to evaporation of rain up inside the cover. You've never experienced this then? Maybe I should take another look into it, though I'd need to work out another place to dry the washing as the mount will be in the way 😂