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Campster

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  • Website URL
    https://wpfobservatory.wordpress.com/

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Interests
    Astronomy, Astrophotography, Computers, Photography, Camping
  • Location
    Burlington, Ontario, Canada

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  1. Here is Part Three of my Backyard Observatory Story.  Hope you enjoy the show!

     

     

  2. My recent YouTube #shorts 

     

     

  3. Here is Part Two of My Backyard Observatory Story.  I welcome constructive criticism of my work.

     

     

    Thanks for watching!

    David

     

    WPF Observatory Homepage -- https://wpfobservatory.wordpress.com/

     

  4. How did the observatory get named the When Pigs Fly Observatory?

    Watch Part One-A of My Backyard Observatory Story to find out how and why it got its name.

    Hope you enjoy the show!

     

    Cheers, David

     

     

  5. Happy New Year!
     

    Here is the first video of the year from the When Pigs Fly Observatory.  Learn about the beginnings of the WPF Observatory.

     

    Hope you enjoy the show!

     

    https://youtu.be/0JnpML5wxSk

     

  6. Following from the earlier video, I have now posted the slideshow of images from the observatory as a separate video.

     

    When Pigs Fly Observatory .. Slideshow

     

    Hope you'll enjoy this short video.

     

    Regards,

    David Aylsworth - WPFO - Earth

  7. When Pigs Fly Observatory .. a film

    For those who might be interested, I've just completed a 17 minute video about the When Pigs Fly Observatory.  The story line follows an introduction to the observatory and equipment as well as tracking the development of an image from capture to processing.

    It is not a detailed processing guide, but more of a travelog.  Hope it's of interest to some of you good folks.

     

     

    Cheers,
    David Aylsworth, ... WPFO .. Canada .. Earth

    1. RobertI

      RobertI

      Nice video, a lot of work in that. Lovely obsy and setup. I like the timelapse image processing. 

    2. Campster

      Campster

      Thanks Robert!  It's a labour of love.  I'm glad you enjoyed the video.  Stay tuned, more to follow.

  8. Campster

    WPF Observatory Images

    Here are images taken with my observatory equipment in a light polluted urban location, unless otherwise noted in the comments. All photos are oriented with North to the top of each photo. It's my hope that you'll appreciate my interpretation of the wonders of our galaxy and beyond as much as I do. Keep looking up. Sic itur ad astra .. per alas porci!
  9. Campster

    IMG_4427.jpg

    I pretty much did the same to the CGEM-DX by replacing the stock saddle with the ADM dual saddle. Nice to have the ability to change between mounting plates if the need arises. I mostly use the D-style plates anyway, but there have been a few times when it's been very handy to have around.
  10. Campster

    IMG_4427.jpg

    The mount is a Celestron CGEM-DX with the ADM upgrades that I got in 2012. I hypertuned the mount in July '22 and the improvement in performance was worth the effort and expense. As long as the motors hold up, I'll keep using it. Now that I know how to service the mount I'll be more inclined to perform the service on a routine basis.
  11. Campster

    When Pigs Fly Observatory

    Images of my home observatory ready to take advantage of clear nights from an urban location in Southern Ontario, Canada.
  12. I recently acquired a used TS Photoline 115 APO and flattener for $1,500 Canadian (about £880). The sample I picked up came with the TSFLAT25Del 1x flattener. It was well used with a few signs of wear and tear but the optics are clean and dust free. Functionally it's in excellent shape, although there were a few quirks introduced by previous owners that had to be addressed. I am pleased with the optical performance. as it gives great contrast. The field is flat from corner to corner with the flattener in place using a Canon 5D4. I adapted mine by adding a pair of Vixen shoes on either side to allow for an optical finder and guide scope. This scope is permanently housed in my observatory and replaces a Celestron C6R as my primary instrument. The reduction in tube length is most welcome as I'm now less prone to head-butting the tube while moving around the inside of the SkyShed POD. The other benefit of the shorter tube length is that it is less prone to knocking against the tripod as it approaches the meridian. The reduced weight is also welcomed as it gives me a better payload ratio for the 55 lb capacity of the CGEM-DX mount. The only other factor to be considered is the hole spacing for the tube rings is metric. I'm planning to get a pair of 11 inch D style universal plates to replace the 15 inch imperial scaled plates that were cannibalized from the C6R rig. After using it now for a couple of months I'm very satisfied with it and it's become my main imaging scope. The only "weak" feature is the screen printed logo on the dew hood. After I got it home I cleaned the exterior surfaces with soapy water and the printed logo began to come off. I'm not too concerned about it because it does not affect the performance. I would recommend this scope for anyone looking to move up (or down) to a 115mm class APO.
  13. Campster

    Albireo in Cygnus

    One of my favourite stars. I’ve always loved the distinct colours.
  14. I'm also using the ASI533MC Pro and it's always a good practice to take Darks, Bias & Flats to help attenuate noise in your image. Dark Flats don't seem to be a regular practice with most amateurs though. Glad to see the discussion about Offset here. Being a recent convert from DSLR photography I've been trying to get a handle on the baseline settings. The recommendations of 20-70 help me get a feel for where I should be setting that value in APT. I think I'm going to be using 40 or 50 and see where that takes me. Regards, David
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