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cloudnine

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Everything posted by cloudnine

  1. Thanks. I know the images are in the raw compared to the results from some of the accomplished people here, but I like the aesthetics. When I got the Esprit I also got the field-flattener with it, although I wasn't sure it would have much impact on the corners of a 15mm sensor. Given I haven't imaged without it, I thought round stars everywhere was normal 🤣 The 533 is ace. Totally agree about the square images. The lack of amp-glow is a game-changer for me. I also have the 385 (uncooled) for planetary which I tried for deep-sky last month but was immediately frustrated by the amp glow. Am not getting any younger so took a punt on the 533 ... dead chuffed with how it's turning out.
  2. Despite the visibility being forecast as poor all night, the local sky didn’t agree. I’m still in the exciting discovery phase of my relationship with the ASI533MC-Pro, and am enjoying the experimentation with the toys to hand. I’ll be posting raw (not stacked or processed) shots for the time-being as I don’t have the set up just yet. I quite like the lazy ‘natural’ look. Rest assured I’m taking multiple subs and multiple exposures so I can do computer work in the future. Here are two shots, M42 with middle blown out (I have shorter subs for future merging), and M1. M42: single 600s exposure, auto guided, gain 100, esprit 120 + flattener, uv/ir cut filter. Air temperature -2degC, camera cooled to -10degC M1: single 300s exposure, gain 360. With a field of view 0.9x0.9 degrees, and a whole sky of over 41000 square degrees, I need to get a move on if I want to start a cloudnine deep-sky survey!
  3. Thanks for the kind comments, and thoughts. I’m happy with the natural look, even if some stars are blown out. It was my first time taking long exposures so when I liked what I saw on screen I just went for it. I think the lack of amp glow allows one to push the limits. I reckon brighter nebula would burn out much more quickly. More objects to image, any recommendations?
  4. Your image is really nice. Nought wrong with that. Have you increased saturation on the colours a little?
  5. There’s the question! Is there a secret recipe? According to Clear Outside app, my sky is bortle 4, which I assume is a bit better. But I would guess, and it is only a guess, that a single 600s exposure will lift the low-surface-brightness galaxy well above the noise floor of the camera compared to 60s. Whilst I was imaging I sent a mate updates by taking photos of my iPad screen ASIAIR app. I attach two here, the first is 300s, the second is 600s. I’ve marked in red the ‘auto’ adjustment limits for on-screen viewing. The actual scale is off-camera, soz. As you can see, the upper ‘limit’ is about 50% full saturation for the 600s exposure, and maybe 25% for the 300s. That’s the only thing I can think of. Not sure if 120mm (f/7) refractor gathers the same light as your 130pds (f/5). Does this make sense? I also attach my horsey iPad screen showing the saturation scale for a 600s exposure. Looks like my gain was set to 360 for the evening, not 300 as previously suggested.
  6. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out. I haven't done any processing yet to combine subs and remove darks ... I currently don't have the software to hand. But thought I'd share two unprocessed subs of 600 seconds each. I haven't even turned the horse head round. Soz if this offends. Set-up: Autoguided EQ6, Esprit 120 + Field Flattener, IR-cut filter, ASI533MC-Pro cooled camera, ASIAIR controller Settings: exposure 600s, gain 360 (max, edited from 300 given new evidence since originally posting), sensor temperature -10degC. 😊
  7. I might need a week or two to get round to tidying it up. I'll let you know once it is fit for human consumption. You'll likely need python3 and the ability to pip install modules, otherwise it may not work. 😃
  8. I’ve just started planning my astrophotography as I want to be prepared as possible for the next clear night. Using freely available Python libraries I’ve written some code (bus man’s holiday I’m afraid) that allows me to plan my evening. It’s very heath robinson but does the job. It uses my lat lon position. Below is a sample shot for tonight. If I stay in the green I don’t have to flip the mount. It also knows my horizon az/alt (hence the gaps), when the moon is above the horizon, and the radiants and timing of meteor showers. The list of items are my potential targets sorted by RA. Also, for fun, added diameter of Mars and Jupiter. I don’t mind sharing the code, but can’t advise on Python setups 🙂
  9. Deleted my comment as I now realise you have a different mount to me. I have an AZ-EQ6 GT Pro with auxiliary encoders which need to be switched off for good pointing, I have no idea about the AZ GTi. Soz.
  10. I'm a bit late to the party, but my pulsar dome was installed just over one month ago on a DIY concrete base. I love it! It has transformed my observing as (a) I am naturally lazy, (b) the equipment is set-up and ready to go, and (c) being shielded from the breeze make for more comfortable and hence longer observing sessions! Based on the evidence of reading the temperature inside the dome at the start and end of observing sessions, where the temperature drop over the course of a couple of hours is only about 1 degree C, I reckon that the dome is thin enough and the concrete shielded enough from direct sunlight that reaching thermal equilibrium isn't a major issue... It could be just the time of year... maybe in the depths of winter it might be more noticeable. As others have mentioned, sealing the concrete base is important, primarily to avoid the surface dusting up resulting in concrete dust settling on your nice polished surfaces ... not a good combination when it comes to cleaning optics. Attached is an image showing my non-permanent cable routing ... The channel is back-filled with pea-shingle to avoid mice entering the building! The channel is also handy in case of flooding. Notice the differing levels of concrete... an example of my poor handiwork! The obsy copes well with this. Martin
  11. I'm late to the party, but great thread, great build. I've made a lot of notes My build should start next year, or when I've finished reading all the threads, whichever is the later! Martin
  12. I'm a bit late to the party, but Clear Outside looks good. Not sure what I'll do with the ozone info. Does that impact visibility? Martin
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