astrolulu

Thanks Jeff, the telescope seems quite decent, although it requires careful attention to collimation, and the standard coma correction turns out to be a bit insufficient with a large sensor. Even in my ASI 183 camera, it happens that the outer parts of the frame lose precision due to coma.

Thank you very much, it was an exceptionally nice night and good conditions. I took more shots, but unfortunately some of them turned out to be spoiled due to the strange striped pattern that appeared on the stacks - especially in places with less varied textures. I'm trying to identify the source of the problem - the only hardware difference from previous sessions is the use of ADC...

Quality optics and a good logo can be valuable during visual observations. When stacking hundreds or thousands of frames, they become meaningless - what matters is the aperture.

Thanks so much Graham! I'm very happy to hear that my map is being used. It is true that this is an "analog" project in a sense and does not allow for development along with the progress of technology - as is the case with interactive maps. Well, that was the idea - to do something that is available with one click, without having to run the software. Of course, this significantly limits functionality, so it's good to know that someone still sees a reason to use such a solution 🙂 An here the next image, extending slightly further north, covering Tycho's neighborhood:

Hi Patrick. The models you mentioned have definitely too large pixel size (3.75), which will prevent you from using the full resolution resulting from the 8" diameter of the telescope. In the case of SCT with a focal length of approximately 2 m, the 2.4 pixel, used in models such as the ASI 178, is much more optimal. To get closer to the optimum, you would have to use a Barlow lens, extending the focal length to an absurd size of 4 m. Please have a look: http://www.wilmslowastro.com/software/formulae.htm#CCD_Sampling

The moon in this phase is considered unattractive due to the modest chiaroscuro. And yet it can be beautiful!

Thank you so much for these inspiring comments! It's time to post something to revive the thread. The first frames from the memorable Tuesday, March 19. The night near Krakow was beautiful, unique compared to what had been happening since the beginning of the year... As for technological innovations - I used the ZWO ADC corrector, although the Moon was so high that there was no special justification for it. But that's what I meant - I wanted to check whether the ADC would not worsen the effect even when it is clearly not necessary. It doesn't seem to worsen the picture. NexStar 8SE + ZWO ASI 183 MC camera with Baader UV/IR-cut L filter.

Perfect details, nice natural color. I like it 🙂

Great - the scale of the photo perfectly matches the actual resolution.

Hello Michael. If I can give you any advice - first try to reduce the size of the image to the smallest one that does not result in the loss of the smallest details, and only then sharpen the image.

Beautiful picture Mandy, congratulations!

Beautiful, delicate color - closer to natural than the effects of the "mineral" series.

The weather is so miserable that there is nothing else to do but reach back to last year's arrears and finish processing the autumn photos. For example, I came across this... Technically it's not exciting, but the lighting of Copernicus and its surroundings turned out to be so interesting that I decided it was worth presenting. September 9, 2023 by NexStar 8SE:

Even worse - it's hard to talk about art here, rather a temporary stylistic trend... 🙂

I worked on the tripod for days. I removed the original varnish, then applied 4 layers of shellac and protected it against moisture with 2 layers of yacht varnish. As a result, the color of the wood returned to the dark tone in which it originally came to me, while also retaining its high gloss, which surprised me a bit, but it seems that these old tripods were painted in this way by PZO. It turns out that at the moment this model of an old tripod has become very sought after in Poland as an element of "loft" style interior design. Heavy stage spotlights are mounted on it, which contrast well with the light, openwork structure. On advertising portals, such a tripod in the interior design section can cost many times more than the entire set with the telescope in the astro equipment section 🙂

Thanks Mandy, you're right - armored construction is a typical feature of Eastern Bloc equipment, especially since it was usually produced for public use. Anyone who has tried to lift a Zeiss Jena Telementor knows what I'm talking about 🙂 People who are not prepared for this experience sometimes think that the tripod is permanently attached to the floor... In the case of the T50x70 it is not so bad however - the telescope and the tripod are relatively light and comfortable to carry. P.S. 'perestroika' is a Russian, or rather Soviet, term meaning 'reconstruction'. In Poland, no one believed in the possibility of "reconstructing" the communist system - it was clear that it simply had to be overthrown. 🙂

I'll tell you honestly - I've found out that when it comes to this type of photography, diameter is king. Nothing else makes any noticeable difference, no quality of optics, etc. What you can see in photos taken with an 8-inch telescope is due to the 8-inch diameter and is very similar for all 8-inch instruments I have used. I think this is the basic conclusion from the comparison I am showing here, which includes both photos taken with the expensive Meade LX200 ACF and the simplest, old Newtonian telescope or an ordinary SCT. Unfortunately, there is no magic trick or price to overcome the limitations resulting from the diameter.

I would like to share information that I have completed my material devoted to the Polish Mak PZO T50x70 developed in 1958. I've never felt any particular sympathy for it, and although I've been close to buying it a few times, usually quite worn-out examples, motivated more by a sense of duty than desire ("my friends in America have it, but I don't...") - so far we've passed each other by. Finally, I received a "turquoise gem", and I spent some time working on it, mainly renovating the tripod. And as we chatted, we liked each other so much that I started collecting some information about T50x70. And I started writing an article summarizing what I had found out. Due to the completely incomprehensible decision of the then communist authorities to export almost everything that was not sent to schools, this only Polish telescope from those times remains largely unknown in our country. Paradoxically - it seems to be much more popular abroad, mainly in the USA.... I decided that it would be a good idea to at least try to collect materials about it and put them in one place, so that those interested have something to refer to, and then to translate this text to English. So I did. I invite you to read the preliminary version of this material. I am very much counting on comments and corrections from anyone who has any knowledge about the history of the T50x70. If you have illustrative materials worth showing, I will be grateful for sharing them. I am sure that there are many errors and inaccuracies in the text and I hope that there will be a chance to eliminate them thanks to the help of "eyewitnesses" who had the opportunity to play with this small instrument. I apologize in advance for any linguistic clumsiness - my qualifications in this regard are very limited, if you have any comments on this subject, please feel free to send them to me. My direct e-mail for matters that you do not want or do not make sense to discuss publicly: lulu@astrostrona.pl The article, which was also created thanks to the kindness of colleagues from the CloudyNights and Astropolis.pl forums, can be found on my blog: https://astrostrona.pl/na-ziemi/graciarnia/pzo-t50x70-polish-school-telescope-of-the-millennium/ Thank you for your time, attention and help.

Hello, thanks for your comments and reactions. Each photo is described in one of the corners, where I indicate what instrument and camera it was taken with. For short focal lengths - such as in the Newton telescope - I use a 2x, 2'' ED Barlow, while for SCT telescopes, the 2.4 nm pixel size of the cameras I use (ASI 183MC, ASI 178MC) fits well to a focal length of about 2 m, so I do not use any additional lenses . I take all photos using simple EQ-5 mounts - EXOS-2 or Celestron Advanced GT. Due to short exposure times used in planetary photography, the quality of the mount does not matter much - it only matters that it can carry the telescope and that the object remains more or less in the field of view within a few minutes 🙂

I think a more accurate description would be "fooled by the poor quality matrix of the HP ProBook's monitor" :-)

Thanks! The brightest parts are a bit too burnt out. I always try to stay slightly below this limit, but this time something tempted me to brighten the image too much 🙂

One step back - to September 9. In the foreground the Sea of Moisture, with the Gassendi crater. The two large craters on the terminator's edge on the left are Longomontanus and Wilhelm, and the bright central object near the edge of the shield is Byrgius. This usually inconspicuous crater, in this light, begins to show ambitions to take over the function of capo to tutti capi. Ambitious considering it is only 19 kilometers in diameter...

Thanks! Unfortunately, it happens with DSLR cameras that their pixel size is too large in relation to the diameter and focal length, which results in the loss of fine details. I use cameras with a 2.4 nm pixel and it fits quite well into various configurations that I use around 8" - e.g. SCT with a 2-meter focal length, or Newtonian with a 2x Barlow lens. You can check the sensor requirements here: http://www.wilmslowastro.com/software/formulae.htm#CCD_Sampling The second thing is the scaling of the image - I always reduce it in relation to the original and only by sharpening the appropriately reduced version can I get the impression of full sharpness of details.

Thanks Mandy, I went to bed after 6 a.m., but I'm glad I made it this far because the opportunity to photograph this area in such light doesn't come around often. This time the Moon was quite high despite the phase. And the second hemisphere, with a view of, among others, on Reiner Gamma. As we know, it is an albedo object with no special relief, so it seems that it will be less visible in such flat light. However, photos taken in the previous days show that it is quite the opposite and that only in such lighting conditions did this formation become visible in a clear and contrasting way.

After a long vacation from Photoshop, I'm back to processing materials from September. 10th of the month, 5:30 a.m. Only 20% of the disk is illuminated, which allows us to see objects on the western edge in different lighting than usual when we observe the Moon during more civilized hours.