Stargazer33

That's really nice, especially with the planets being so low at the moment. Very nice set-up too. Good luck with the new camera. Here's to a good season with lots of clear nights!!

That is surprisingly large in the frame for not using a multiplier! Such a shame about the focus😞.

Hi, looks like this is a common problem with most Win10 updates dating way back. The updates seem to corrupt or remove the USB drivers. Go to Device Manager and click on the USB listing, then click update drivers. Let Windows search for the latest drivers on line and you should be okay.

West Sussex Library Service does the same. I have the printed mag through a gift subscription and download the digital version just in case I have to hang around somewhere with nothing to read.

I'm not familiar with your 'scope or goto system, but are the alt/az clutches tightened, if it has them? I would think that the foam ring you removed was there for a reason, unless it was packing to stop parts from knocking together during shipping. Is there anything in the setup instructions/manual about removing packing from that area?

Yes, it's nice and heavy. My intention is to use it with my ST80 for a quick setup. I've got an old Slik 88 tripod but it won't lock properly. I get it on target and lock but then it drops and the target disappears from view. I tried the Yashica out with my scope when I got it home and it holds perfectly. I hadn't thought about a bino mount; good shout!

Dropped off some clothes and an old conservatory sofa and chair at a local charity warehouse and, as you do, I had to have a look around! 🙄😁 Just inside the door sitting on top of a shelf unit was an old wooden tennis racquet in a wooden racquet press. On top of that was what looked like an old tripod in a plastic zip up case. I took it down and got the tripod out to check that everything was working okay. It had a label on it saying made in Japan, so taking its obvious age into consideration I thought it must be of good quality. Everything seemed fully functional and the locking mechanisms all held beautifully so I bought it for £12.50. Upon getting it home I noticed YASHICA embossed into the case. I'm not sure if all the knobs are original as I can't find too much information on line but it looks like it was originally made around 1962, so it could be up to 57 years old!

Thanks Geof, unfortunately I think I'm a planetary kind of guy, so it's either persevere 'till the planets reach a more sensible elevation or do nothing. I have dabbled in DSO imaging, but the planets are so much easier to find! 😀

Is there something loose in the TS reducer/flattener that possibly causes slop when you're imaging near the zenith?

Final reprocessing of this data! The three derotated images above were resized to the smallest image (307 x 307 pixels). They were then stacked in AS!2 with a drizzle of 1.5. Wavelets tweaked in RS6 and then PS CS4 for final manipulation. I think I've now done this data to death, but I learnt about Winjupos (thanks to YouTube video tutorials) and I refreshed my memory re: processing. So all in all a happy bunny with my first serious attempt at imaging for a long time. 😀

I think the saturation is fine. The bigger/brighter stars have burnt out, as they do, but there is still colour around the edge. I can't remember off hand how you do it, but there is a technique where by you reduce the bloated stars size and spread the colour which survives around the edge into the middle. I'm desperately trying to remember where I read it, but it's not coming to me at the moment! Either way I would be very chuffed with an image like that. 😁

Lovely detail. Some nice star colour too.

Thanks Pete, I'm just really pleased to have actually managed to get outside and do some imaging. At the moment, to get any usable data is a bonus! Here are a couple more images. They are from 2 videos, 4 videos and 4 videos respectively. These were run through PIPP, AS!2, RS6 and then de-rotated in Winjupos. A final bit of tweaking was done in PS CS4. Posting these, I've just realised; I can stack these three images too. Hopefully that will increase the SNR even more

Thanks Neil. I've got some more .ser and .avi files to process. I was using FireCapture, SharpCap and ASICAP, trying to find the one that works the best for me. I also need a good clear night to check my collimation; my scope rolled off the bed a few months back when I was moving stuff about! I just about managed to stick my leg out to reduce the impact, but I have noticed a small crack about 30mm long in the aluminium collar on the front of the 'scope! I didn't remove the cap for ages as I didn't want to see a cracked corrector plate. Then I thought, 'well its not going to change anything if you look or don't look. So you might as well look!'

That's very impressive Neil. I thought I was doing well with my Saturn from the 25th but your Jupiter beats that hands down. I'm going back to have another go at processing my captures and see if I can't get them a bit clearer.

Thanks Knobby. For once proper planning prevented 🙊 poor performance. The next thing on the agenda is an observatory so I don't have to spend an hour or so setting up and the same again packing everything away!

Thanks Ron! I'm quite pleased with it as I've been having loads of trouble getting time under the stars and when I do things haven't been going too well. It was nice to get Saturn on the chip. Being able to make out the Cassini Division on the laptop screen, I knew I had some video that I could work with.

Hi, can't remember the last time I did some serious imaging. This is a stack of four images from four .ser files of about 1400 frames each, using the best 10% of each. Equipment: C9.25, CGEM, ES 3x teleconverter, ZWO ADC, ZWO ASI385MC, Baader neodymium Moon skyglow filter. Processing: AS!2, RS6, PS CS4 Not my best, but not my worst either! 🤔

P.S. As magnification increases the range of outside focus - FOCUS - inside focus gets smaller and smaller until just a 1/4 to 1/8 of a turn, or less, on the focus wheel goes from being outside focus through focus to inside focus and vice versa. Also, as you increase magnification, the seeing conditions effect the view more and more. If for example you look at the Moon with a 32mm eyepiece and the view is wobbling a bit and you swap to your 6mm ep then the view would be like trying to see a mosaic on the bottom of a swimming pool. Add in a x2 Barlow and it would be impossible to see anything useful. Under very good or ideal seeing conditions we all like to push the magnification, especially those who do high frame rate imaging. These cameras can take upto a couple of hundred frames per second. They can therefore capture the fleeting moments of good seeing. These moments captured over a couple of minutes can then be stacked in software to form some of the images you see on this forum and unfortunately on various advertisements for astronomical equipment; especially from manufacturers with lower scruples.

Hi, here is a simulation of what you can expect to see of Saturn with your scope and a 6mm ep (as Peter says 150x magnification, with your scope having a maximum practical mag of 140x).

Nice images David. I'm wishing my life away, waiting for when the planets are at a decent altitude again from the UK!

In that case, can you put a heater tape around the collar of the focuser and turn it up to '11' 😁 to warm and hopefully expand that in order to unscrew it? A pair of those bright orange rubber freezer gloves might help with the grip too.

If you have a soldering iron, holding that against the screw head for a couple of seconds can help to remove stubborn screws. If the screws go into plastic, then it would probably be prudent to try something else.

Agreed. There is definitely more of a wow factor about seeing something 'live' as opposed to a picture, even if one has taken it oneself.

I did wonder if that would be the case. Indeed, a great memory. Just goes to show what a magnificent match our eyes and brain are; that we can see two objects of vastly different brightness exposed correctly.