Ant

Source: Sgl - How To Use The Blogs

You will receive much more advice if you post this question in one of the equipment help boards and not in your blog... Also some more information on the type of object that you would like see (Planets/Moon or Galaxies/Nebula).. as this will make a difference... Cheers Ant

If you guys need any help in finding your way around - please just shout. There is always a mod or two around to help out. If you want to have a private conversation then the PM (Private Message) system is best, but you can chat with each other here in the blog section or out on the main forum. If you have a question to ask then out on the main forum is best as thats where most of the traffic is and you'll get a quicker response. Welcome to SGL :) Ant

You'll not get too many views (or replies) by posting a wanted add in your blog. I've moved your post about wanting a power tank into a new thread on it's own in the wanted section. Cheers Ant

Congratulations on the results - I bet you're chuffed! Can you ask for the Chemistry and Physics to be remarked - just in case!

Very nice image, the blogs don't generate a great deal of traffic. You'd do better posting a new thread in the imaging section. Cheers Ant

You'll be telling me next "there is no spoon" :) Great entry! Sorry about the wood (or lack off...)

I had a really nice evening last night. I set up the Skymax and HEQ5 combo allowing it to cool for an hour or two before going out. I ate dinner, played Star Wars Lego with my lad and put him to bed. Just before 9pm I ventured outside with the laptop to find everything covered in ice already. Connected all the leads to the PC - confirmed that the new lead that Roger gave me worked ok (it does - cheers Roger!) and started to image the moon. I've imaged the moon many times before but one of the settings in the IC Capture software that I never altered was the "Gamma", having no real idea what it did, I left it well alone. Someone asked me a while back what the Gamma was set too.... So I thought that as I wasn't rushed by clouds, the moon setting or guilt (family wondering if I'd left them and moved in with the telescope) I decided to throw caution to the wind and have a really good experiment. All I can say is WOW, I wish I'd found this setting a long time ago. It does have an affect near the terminator, but the terminator I can usually image OK. Where the Gamma has a massive effect is the rest of the lunar surface. In the past my lunar shots have been quite sharp on the terminator but really flat and bland and generally rubbush else where. Not any more, almost immediately the craters appeared 3D (like they should I guess), so the further I moved away from the terminator the lower the Gamma was set. So the moral of the story for me is to try more stuff, do not just continue to do stuff because it works OK - you want it to work great. A slight downer for the evening was looking at Saturn. It was nearly midnight by this time and I was cold, but I just couldn't seem to get Saturn anything other than a blob. I could see on the laptop screen the edge on rings, so I guess focus was close (should have been as I focused on the moon and just swung the scope around), but none of the settings, gain/brightness/gamma /exposure, made any improvement to the image in the screen. Not sure what I did wrong, but I'll give it another go another night. I really should have put in an eyepeice and looked at Saturn! Ant

Nice one Jon, I've seen some cracking images with them. I look forward to seeing the results.

I hate to say it but if only the rich can afford it, only the rich will survive... Over the whole globe I think that the amount of water falling remains roughly the same - so I think the way forward will be the whole world pulling together and those countries with lots of water piping it to those without. It will take power and wealth away from those that are currently rich (due mainly to oil/coal reserves) and give it to countries with water! Ant

I read it :)

Hopefully today is the day that SGL moves over to the new software that we bought recently. A huge thank you once again to Grant for all the hours that he's put in getting it all to work. I'm pleased to have been able to contribute to the move over by checking various settings and permisions. So far it's looking really good!