reddoss

I have just left a message on the campsites phone answering machine to book my usual pitch. 

Looking forward to it again.

Justyn

On 26/12/2019 at 10:40, estwing said:

anything planned Freff?

3 hours ago, Freff said:

Hi Calvin

I don't have plans for next spring per say, I will probably be abroad for a while.

I had the weekend of 20th - 23rd March penciled in and of course days either side for those who want them.

Pencelli will still accommodate us as usual, but those attending will need to book direct with the dates attending, favourite pitch etc and pay, probably when you leave.

I will post these details on the SWAG forum in the new year.

Tony

 

I am up for it as usual and will keep the dates clear. 

Cheers,

           Justyn

On 20/11/2019 at 11:52, FLO said:

We announced the IKI (Ikarus Imaging) observatory project at the IAS show at the weekend but wanted to share the news here publicly with you all as well.

The IKI Observatory is going to be a remotely hosted astronomy setup in Castilléjar, Spain at https://www.pixelskiesastro.com/. FLO / Ikarus Imaging are sending out a setup in partnership with Optolong Filters and Starlight Xpress. The projects purpose is to provide a community based remote setup that we can collaborate on here on SGL - the data will be made publicly available free of charge and the targets will be chosen here on the forum. Time will be dedicated to scientific projects as well so we will be looking for suggestions for how we can use this and make it available to you all. The project will also be used to test and show case equipment so we anticipate swapping bits and pieces around every so often.

Here is the list of what is going over to Spain shortly:

• StellaMira 104mm ED2 Triplet Refractor & Dedicated Flattener
• 10Micron GM1000 Mount
• Starlight Xpress 694, Lodestar X2, OAG and Filterwheel
• Optolong LRGB / SHO 31mm Filters
• Optec Flip-Flat
• Lynx Astro Dew Controller & AstroZap Dew Heater Tapes
• Astromi.ch Meteo Station
• Lakeside Astro Motor Focus Controller
• Pulsar Observatories Pier
• Software - we are intending to use Sequence Generator Pro but we may trial other solutions as well.

We are expecting to to send over the equipment in the next few weeks and from there it will need to be setup and configured. We then plan to spend 2-3 weeks testing everything and ensuring all is well before we start making data available and accepting suggestions for targets / projects.

This is a new project, so things may need to be tweaked and changed but we welcome any thoughts / suggestions you all may have and hope this becomes a valuable community resource

Cheers,

Grant (on behalf of FLO / IKI)

Is there an estimated time for when this will all be set up and working? I guess there will also be a commissioning phase to test all the equipment.

Fantastic idea, Steve. Well done.

Cheers,

           Justyn

I have had a pair of these special wellies for 10 years which I wear at star parties when imaging.

They are used by the British Antarctic survey team and are guaranteed for temperatures as low as - 60 C . I can thoroughly recommend them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Baffin-Trapper-Wellington-85927-Regular/dp/B002C75IWO/ref=asc_df_B002C75IWO/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=227037794808&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6956481293693385897&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045352&hvtargid=pla-381079807408&psc=1&th=1&psc=1 

1 minute ago, Photosbykev said:

Thank you for the input CJ

My darks are normally very good as I do cover the refractor with it's dust cover and then slide a black fabric bag over the end to make sure the objective end of the refractor is  completely blacked out and the camera viewfinder eyepiece is covered with a custom eyepiece blank. The darks and lights sensor temperature were within 2degreesC of each other so I'm struggling with why they should be wrong. I can reshoot them, and probably will, one evening this week when the temperatures get down to around zero ambient and check the second dark set.

regards

Kev

When I was using a DSLR for astro-imaging sometimes at the end of a long night I would forget to take darks. As a quick fix I would take darks by putting the camera in the fridge at home to get close to the outside temperature as possible.

In space there is no up or down, it's all relative to the orientation of the observer.

On 03/11/2019 at 10:33, michaelmorris said:

I'm thinking about going on a trip to the US to visit the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida and possibly other space-related sites whilst I'm over there.  With the state of my finances, this would probably be a once-in-a-lifetime trip.   Given that I would travelling alone, it would be nice to share the experience other like-minded spaceflight nuts!  Does anyone know of any tour operators who organise such trips for spaceflight enthusiasts?

Thanks

Mike,

          If you get the chance, I highly recommend a visit to the US air force museum at Dayton Ohio. They have examples of all the original  X planes  and a Gemini capsule. It takes nearly a day to get round the whole place.

Cheers,

          Justyn

Blood, Sweat, and Tears..........that's what astroimaging is all about.😁

This weekend seems to be cloudy and raining over most of the UK this weekend. 

If the weather is good, I am thinking of going to Lucksall on the 21st to 24th November. Hopefully the campsite will have recovered by then.

1 minute ago, Photosbykev said:

Could be busy at Fforest Fields, we're there with the dog this weekend to avoid all the firework noise and I know a lot of other people are doing the same.

Kev

Thanks for the heads up Kev.

Very disappointed indeed. I was so looking forward to seeing everyone again. 

I may go the Fforest Fields campsite  near Builth Wells instead.

My sister lives in Cornwall. The skies are quite dark, so long as you are no where near  Falmouth or Truro, both throw up a lot of LP.

On 19/10/2019 at 09:56, carastro said:

Assuming I can come (with Davey T) and we can get all his and my kit into his van, I'll be bringing my dual imaging rig.

WOZS71/Atik428EX

ED80/Atik460EX

HEQ5

Looking forward to meeting some of you I have not met before.  AdeKing I think you bought something off me a while ago.  Teoria, we have chatted on line about imaging, Reddoss nice to see you again. 

Carole 

Hi Carole,

              I will be to catch up with you again.  I will show you my QHY 16200A Camera.

On 12/10/2019 at 20:35, Freff said:

 

My God!!! you are scary at the best of times Tich, 

I wasn't expecting that when I opened the thread. 

Still can't find the cat...

 

I'm still hoping to attend Tich, depends if Cath's sister is still about.😟

Hi Tich and Tony,

                         Will be good to catch up with you both at SGL.

On 23/08/2019 at 13:50, carastro said:

I have a tutorial you may or may not find useful.  It should be similar for a OSC camera as I have already combined my RGB channels into one file.

Carole 

Many Thanks Carole, Hope to see you at a star party again sometime soon.

On 23/08/2019 at 13:38, Space Oddities said:

AstroBackyard has a video tutorial for HaRGB in Photoshop with a DSLR camera. It's a bit different setup, but I guess it's a good starting point  

Many Thanks Pierre 

I would like combine images from my OSC CCD with Lum and Ha taken with my Mono CCD in Photoshop.

Can anyone recommend a good video tutorial?

Cheers,

           Justyn

Thank you for sharing, will catch up with it on the BBC iPlayer.

The new moon in October is on Monday 28th, so the weekend of 25th would be ideal. I would be interested in going as well. Does the campsite have electrical pitches?

I went for the first time last year, it was great fun.

Going again next weekend.

Cheers,

          Justyn

That was my first book as well, but I must have had a later edition as the front covers was different.

I once told a saying from another hobby which applies equally to astronomy and others.

"Fishing tackle shops are not there to help anglers catch fish, they are there to catch fishermen!"

You would not be allowed to use this pointing device at a star party!

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, the BBC have created a series of podcasts from their World Service programs about various aspects of the mission entitled '13 minutes to the Moon'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xttx2/episodes/downloads

I've booked my usual pitch.

Thanks for the Info Grant. Looking forward to it already.