kirkster501

I highly recommend the Adam Block Pixinsight series. Not cheap at $180 but well worth it. When you think of the thousands we spend on gear and the time we put into getting the data, well worth investing in the soft skills to process it all.

Thanks. Ordered a couple.

How do you define three park positions on the MESU? Great mount OP!

I don't follow? If the power cable (coming from battery or a PSU to the camera or mount) is hanging, how can that effect your camera or - pertinent to this thread - the mount? Sure youd short the PSU but not the mount? What inline switch did you use please? That is a good idea and I may do that too.

Focus with the mirror knob is not accurate enough for AP at such long focal length. You need to be much more accurate and get a proper focuser onto the visual back. This also adds to the FL. https://agenaastro.com/articles/upgrading-the-focuser-on-your-sct.html Until you do, use the "peanut butter jar lid" trick on the mirror focuser.

On my AF rig above this is the pulley wheel: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0723HRQK4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 And this is the belt: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07D916D4T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The pulley wheel had to be bored out very slightly - about 1/2mm I seem to recall - to fit on the SW motor spindle. 2 minute mickey mouse job with a bit and a drill.

Just like there is no perfect car that can do everything, i.e. family, pick up truck, roadster etc, telescopes can't either. Which is why many astronomers have two or three (or more) for different purposes. For planets and lunar the CPC1100 is a great scope. But deep sky AP with a CPC1100 is extremely tricky and having owned one, I speak with experience with them. The long focal length makes it difficult to guide and so smearing of your images occurs. So you start getting into focal reducers and all that faff and it quickly becomes more trouble than it is worth to a beginner. Also the image scale is very small, ruling out many deep sky objects, many of the famous ones of which are large. Look for an HEQ5 and ED80 scope. A tried and tested combination that can yield superb results.

^^^This.

Agreed Olly (if I am qualified to agree). I find this an extremely difficult target to process. How bright the core? How red the HII regions? How bright should the arms be? What colour balance? Grinde's effort here takes this to another level altogether. Masterclass. His Schumacher to my Miss Daisy.....

Here is my guided autofocus rig - Samyang 8300 with Moravian 8300 camera. It works brilliantly with SGP and I get perfect V curves. A Skywatcher motorfocus unit and a DC focus HiTec Astro. Available as bundle from FLO, about £120 I seem to recall. Add to that a 3d printer pulley wheel and a belt from Amazon.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/wp-content/uploads/documents/Flatfields+Mar11.pdf Well worth a read.

Holy thread revival.... Inspired by this I am starting on my own multi-month project on this with the TEC140 and ATIK 460. I'm just doing luminance to start with, 15 panes of 9 x 10 minute subs each. Got one pain done so far. Will add RGB 2x2 later.

http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/ANDROMEDA_Atlas/frames.html Very detailed but useful to bookmark.

Thanks for the kind comments. M13 is a favourite of mine. The data set was very good and I only had to throw out two or three subs. The 1x1 RGB was great before the addition of the L. I am still struggling for colour in this a little bit and will have another look.

It can look pretty good with a large SCT and a Nagler 12mm EP on a good night. Not far off the image.

I run W10 on my machines with no issue whatsoever. The "only" issue I had is that my Altair Astro Prolific serial adapter stopped working in W10 since in W10 they have a much stricter driver policy. Turn the Internet link from said laptop into a "chargeable use" connection and it will never auto apply updates.

Thanks Wim, I will check into that. I am struggling with this problem of blown out stars in may of my images.

I am going to start to put my LRGB masters on my website for all my images so if anyone wants to play around with the data themselves they are welcome to. I am an engineer, not an artist, so others will fare better with the data than I ever will.

This was the last picture I did with the Baader LRGB filters. I have Astrodons in that rig now. I think I would have got more colour with the Astrodons. I love this object. So sad we never get to see Omega Centauri from these shores. I hope one day I get chance to image that. I have seen it with my eyes but never imaged it.

I know, one or two there mate.

TEC140 and Atik 460. Two hours L and an hour each RGB.

Wise. if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.

Think I am going to hold out for a CCD camera, probably a QSI or maybe a ATIK 383. Thanks for your thoughts.

How to repair the stars Wim?

Yeah, the linear image.... I don't mind going back Olly. Have to learn this stuff or else I won't get anywhere.