Mark2022

Don't worry. When the countryside is totally off limits to us 'plebs', nobody will have the pleasure of any dark skies whatsoever (except those caused by geoengineering).

Not boring. Looks 'windswept and interesting'. Nice shot.

Sorry Kon, I'm not following. A stack of 120 seconds or 120 subs? If seconds, a single stack from a single 120 second video? If subs (i.e. frames from the original video) how many frames in total were taken? i.e. What percentage is 120? So derotation isn't all it's cracked up to be? What was the gain and exposure you used and how high was Jupiter at the time? Regain and exposure: I guess you use firecapture or sharpcap whereas I'm using AstroDMx for the moment so my guess is that gain, at least, may not be measured precisely the same in each software. I've been reading up on pixels and well depth, QE etc as well as gain and exposure and how they interact so I'm beginning to wonder if I'm just not 'filling the well' enough or filling too much with my gain/exp settings. I noted a very calm, clear night last night at about 2am. If I'd known earlier it was clear,I'd have been out but, at 2am (and the moon and Jupiter were about 60 degrees I estimate) I was flailing having been up at about 7am. Also, within the hour, I'd lose Jupiter behind my house wall/roof.

The new one is definitely improved. So what did you do differently, Kon? I see a touch more detail in the Southern Polar hood and a little more saturation overall.

Does anyone have a good handle on the costs of getting couriers to deliver things like scopes and mounts (i.e. the heavier stuff) up and down the country? I've just been quoted 2 vastly different sums from a courier for a £350 second hand scope (OTA only) with estimated box dimensions of 50x50x50cm = £138!!! Not even including insurance!!

So what do you use now? I was thinking how I might build one but I don't have the tools and skills but I'd give it a try. It doesn't look that bulky. I'll give you a laugh: I was even looking at how big you can buy "Lazy Susans" because I've just built (built isn't the word really - it's just laying one brick on top of another) a "Todmorden" pier in a flip top roof 'shed' I built and I thought "Wouldn't it be fun to have an observing chair on top of a Lazy Susan so, when you slewed to a different object, you don't have to move your bum an inch!"

Is that a dIY chair I see there?

Beautiful!

Big difference Nigella. Love that crisp detail on the good seeing one though it does have that slight look of the pencil drawing effect I mentioned to Mandy earlier. I'd be mighty pleased with that however.

John, do you have a pic of your Astro Systems 14 inch? I bought an 8.5 inch way back when when i was just out of uni at about 21. The wife was so happy when i sold it! I won't curse! I won an Astro Systems caption contest soon after and had a choice of a Celestron SCT and £1000. I took the £1000 because it would pay for the honeymoon and I'd already bought the Reflector. Patrick Moore handed me the cheque when he was in Edinburgh! Good times!

Is ELP an Emerson Lake and Palmer fan? For all you proggers out there (me too), the "Lunar Musick Suite" for your enjoyment and thanks for the help (not) - Only joking! 👍

Yes I just had calculator on that. Well, damned good result for being so oversampled(?).

The scope has been out there for about 2 hours so far waiting on me. I already have a UV/IR filter screwed to the camera so I don't think I can screw the barlow to the UV/IR filter. I'll see what I can do about that.

Ok I hear you! Can I leave the naughty step now?

Yes, I've recently been checking out the jet stream and the crap that came over from Canada with Storm Agnes. I lived in SE Asia for 10 years - wish I was back. They don't live under a jet stream! You say (as Mandy does) that F15 is the right focal ratio and that could be correct but I don't have a 1.5x barlow and my best results are with the 2x. Then again, if that were the case, how does the 14 year old achieve what he does with a 3x barlow? 3.75 microns with an ASi 224 rather than 2.9 with the SVBony?