michael8554

"I am using live view to keep the mirror up and avoid shutter vibration/delay." I'm not sure it's a good idea to have LiveView on, continuously, that may heat the sensor ? Are the downloads faster with LiveView off ? Michael

Hi Phil I'm not familiar with that scope. So I'm guessing you're using the Barlow to extend the image onto the DSLR sensor ? As Ouroboros suggests, can you remove parts of the focuser to allow the DSR to screw directly onto the focuser, and get infinity focus ? Otherwise, the 1.5X Barlow may not extend the image as far as the 2X, you'll have to hope. Michael

Post a jpeg of one of the Lights, so we can see what you started with. Michael

The 150PDS and 183c Pro give 0.66arcsecs/pixel, perhaps a tad over sampled ? So Binning to 1.32arcsec/pixel might be better for UK Seeing conditions. Michael

I'd expect the ad to include a Spectral Response Curve that shows the frequencies it rejects. Michael

If you are using EQMOD then you may have the ASCOM Pulse Guide Setting on i the very low default setting. Michael

The second guide graph shows Dec Stiction occurs at certain positions, not all as the first graph is fine. PHD2 struggles to correct the Dec Dither, taking many seconds to correct. Then Dec overshots and PHD2 again takes many seconds to pull Dec back. If your sensor does not suffer from Fixed Pattern Noise you do not need to Dither. Michael

I switched over after the fireworks to Jules Hollands NY show and thought I saw her in the audience of celebs, bopping away to Sugar Babes etc ? Michael

There comes a point where the usual Stacking software "runs out of range" so to speak, due to planetary rotation. The freeware program WinJupos "derotates", correcting for planetary rotation, allowing you to extend your imaging time by a factor of three or four. Michael

Never to be heard from again........

1. The telescope forms an image beyond the rear of the tube. That position is varied by the focuser. The lenses/eyepieces give different "magnification" depending on their focal length, usually engraved on the eyepiece. For example, a 10mm eyepiece will "magnify" more than a 25mm eyepiece. "Tried connecting my very old DSLR (Canon eos 600D), but capture very faint objects and i noticed there was focus issue" Your 600D is an excellent camera to start with, and is often used with these telescopes. You have to attach it with only enough adapters to allow the sensor to be positioned within the range of focus that the telescope provides. And faint objects require long exposures, minutes not seconds. With your Jupiter shot you got to focus in the end. You will now appreciate that the telescope focuser has a very large range of adjustment, many many turns of the knob. The image is over-exposed, so reduce the exposure. Switch to the Manual setting and adjust the shutter speed to a faster setting. 2. The ASI 183MC Pro is versatile, so can be used for Planetary and Deep Sky DSO imaging. But its small pixels 2.4um are not a good match to the telescope for DSO imaging. Michael

As Mandy said, too vague. For instance, a search for "ps1000" finds Hilti X-Ray scanners ! A search for "ps1000 telescope" finds a Celestron Power Seeker 1000 telescope and mount. No specific Instruction Manual for that, this one is generic: https://s3.amazonaws.com/celestron-site-support-files/support_files/1245780194_powerseekerinst.pdf Michael

Bizarre. Like switching your car off, then finding that pressing the accelerator crashes the car into the back wall of your garage.......... :-< Michael

Made it to space, successful booster and capsule landings, so catching up to SpaceX. Michael

Saw "atlas" and expected a book of charts. But it's just another app......... :-< Michael

Lat and Long can be presented as Decimal, and as Degrees-Mins-Secs. Peter has worked out the Degrees-Mins-Secs for you. To convert the Latitude, take the .6016 part pf 52.6016 and multiply by 60 to change to minutes - that's 36.096 mins. Multiply the .096 part of that by 60 to get the secs - that's 5.76 secs. So your Latitude is 52deg 36min 5.76 secs. Do the same for Longitude. But looks like 52 36N is close enough for synscan. So a quick approximation seems to be good enough, 60 x 0.6 = 36. Michael

The control panel changes from model to model: https://skywatch.brainiac.com/used/used_sct.pdf Michael

Depends on the OTA. Over about 1000mm Focal Length an Off Axis Guiding system is recommended, with a sensitive mono guide cam. Below that focal length, a guidescope/guidecam combination that has a pixel scale of no larger than about 6arcsec/pixel, Up to 3arcsec/pixel is best, according to the PHD2 developers. With a mounting that does not include soft-tipped screws to hold the guidescope, which will lead to Differential Flexture and so elongated stars. Michael

Guiding Rate set to 0.5 Sidereal means: The mount tracks at Sidereal Rate. But if you guide the mount, with a computer, a guide camera, and a guide scope. The tracking is briefly slowed down/speeded up by +/- 0.5 by the guide programme. Michael

So which ASCOM drivers have you tried that don't work ? Michael

Hi Sedna 1) If you did a Ha Mod, by removing only the LPF-2 filter, the LPF-1 filter remains and blocks unwanted IR. So you don't need an external UV/IR filter, which in any case won't give you a daytime spectral response. You can get a good Ha response AND a good daytime response by installing a Baader filter in the LPF-2 position - see vliav's graph. Or get a pretty-close to correct spectral response by using a Custom White Balance. 2) If you did a Full Spectrum Mod, by removing both LPF filters, you will need at least an IR/UV filter, to prevent bloated stars in the case of lens or refractor use. But again, an UV/IR filter will not fix the daytime spectral response. Michael

Hi Nikolai Way back before budget astro cams were available, it was popular to modify a particular Philips webcam that happened to have a CCD imaging chip. That enabled the long exposures that imaging dim DS Objects requires. Most current webcams will only expose up to about 1 second, so are best used for Planetary imaging. As bosun suggests, record video files that can be Stacked in Autostakkert. You will need a long focal length to "magnify" the tiny target that is a planet. Either by a long focal length telescope, or afocal imaging using an eyepiece to magnify the image from the telescope. Michael

Hi Nick I would try this: Place the top of the moveable part of the wedge parallel to the base of the wedge. If the zero on the scale is next to the pointer then the scale is correct. So for Devon set to 50. But you can easily check using Polaris, that should be close enough to allow a full PA if you need to. Michael

It's described as a cooler, as it swaps the "warm" air inside the OTA with cool air from outside, so really it's ventilating the inside of the OTA. Michael

Looks good, but the reviews say the fuses keep falling out - probably easily fixed. Michael