SteveNickolls

Thanks for posting Johnathan, very pleased to view your work. Certainly time has vindicated that Alt-Az mounts can produce decent images and are a great, relatively low cost way of seeing if the hobby is right for a user. Every best wish for the future and do keep posting. Cheers, Steve

Interesting summary but I can't afford to buy the full article, where I live that's around 8 CME's ,that's 6 Chinese MEal equivalents he, he.- Cheers, Steve

Well this is the reply I got today from my MP on the matter of light pollution, its a summary of the present controls etc. that have us in this mess and he along with his Government chums feel it's ok and for the most part there's no plans to revise them. I will be writing back to say something along the lines of it's not nearly good enough and it's losing him votes. Seems there will be some review of the national planning policy framework this year. Cheers, Steve Dear Steve, Thank you for writing to me about light pollution. The Government recognises the impact light pollution may have on people’s health and wellbeing, as well as the environment. Ministers have put measures in place to ensure that light pollution is managed effectively. These include controls in the planning system, the statutory nuisance regime, and improvements in street lighting. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning decisions should limit the impact of light pollution on local amenity, dark landscapes and nature conservation. The statutory nuisance regime requires that local authorities take reasonably practicable steps to investigate complaints of artificial light emitted from premises which could be damaging to human health or a nuisance. The management of street lighting in England and Wales is the responsibility of local highway authorities, which have a duty under the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Central Government has no powers to override local decisions in these matters or intervene in these types of local issues. The Department for Transport recognises that light pollution, and excessive use of lighting, can pose some social, economic and environmental problems. Local authorities are encouraged to consider best practice when making decisions about lighting on their networks. Our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have some of the best dark skies and attained some of the earliest official Dark Skies designations in Europe. Seven of our parks have secured protected dark sky status, and the Government is committed to conserving and celebrating this wonderful experience for all. The Government’s consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework focuses on delivering the right homes in the right places and giving local people a greater say on where to place new development. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities intends to undertake a fuller review of the framework later in 2023, and I look forward to considering the proposals in due course. The Government considers that existing measures are sufficient to manage any problems caused by artificial light and there are no current plans to revise them. Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

Yes it was the March 2022 edition of the Sky at Night magazine and they created a 'Drake equation' to try to estimate the number of 'productive nights per year'. N=Y.fc.fm.ffr.fbw.fbt.fe Where- N=number of productive nights per year Y=total nights in a year (365 or 366 or 365.25?) fc=fraction of clear nights fm=fraction of nights that are Moon-free ffr=fraction of free nights fbw=fraction of nights with bearable wind fbt=fraction of nights with bearable temperature fe=fraction of time that all equipment works properly There's a few holes in this but the article went on to give values expected for various 'set ups'- The article suggested four levels of activity as having different values for each function-for portable visual, portable imaging, permanent imaging and remote imaging. And a likely estimate for the number of nights spent for each- Activity Number of nights in a year Portable visual 50 Portable imaging 14 Permanent imaging 43 Remote imaging 148

I've been keeping records of my observing/imaging for the past eleven and seven seasons respectively. I try to get out observing/imaging whenever I can and so apart from being ill or unable to get outside due to another social commitment the numbers reflect the opportunities here in the suburbs of Nottingham. We can have weeks of poor skies but relish the chance to use binoculars to capture half an hour of observing if conditions allow. In one of last year's Sky at Night Magazine, I think the March issue there was an article quoting figures on the number of sessions with various set up's, the outcome being that having an observatory or performing remote imaging were the better options for increasing opportunities. Of course if you are at work or have to get up early the next day your opportunities are going to be a trade off, there are also other demands on time that can mean you miss an otherwise decent night. I have no observatory but have over the years taken more to binocular observation of the sky and have worked my imaging set up to be lightweight, portable and quick to set up/take down and controllable from indoors. Unless on holiday I don't travel far to observe or image. When conditions aren't ideal for DSO imaging I will try imaging the Moon and this year intend to branch out to try solar imaging in the daytime all to get the most out of the opportunities that present themselves. One aspect of the hobby that can be enjoyed virtually all year round and not recorded below is the detection of meteors using the back scatter provided from objects caught in the radar radiation from GRAVES near Dijon, France. With a home built antenna and software defined radio device such as the FunCube hours of interest can be had. Very interested to hear the views and experiences of others. Cheers, Steve Comparison Monthly Observations (Seasons 2012-2013 to 2022-2023) Year Month J J A S O N D J F M A M Total Av 12-13 1 3 4 5 7 4 6 6 4 2 0 0 42 3.5 13-14 3 4 9 8 8 7 6 4 4 2 2 3 60 5 14-15 0 2 9 9 6 8 10 9 5 5 7 3 73 6.1 15-16 5 2 7 11 10 10 8 5 6 5 4 3 76 6.3 16-17 2 2 6 6 4 3 3 4 4 4 5 3 46 3.8 17-18 3 1 13 8 7 10 6 11 5 3 6 9 82 6.8 18-19 10 7 11 12 7 9 14 15 15 5 5 4 114 9.5 19-20 0 5 13 13 8 9 4 6 7 8 8 7 88 7.3 20-21 4 8 5 11 7 9 10 6 8 6 10 3 87 7.25 21-22 4 7 6 9 5 9 7 12 7 8 8 4 86 7.17 22-23 8 6 16 5 11 8 11 11 9 3 Total Monthly Imaging Sessions (Seasons 2016-17 to 2022-2023) Month Number of Telescope/DSLR and Lens/DSLR Imaging Sessions 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20 20-21 21-22 22-23 June 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 July 1 1 3 0 1 5 0 August 6 7 8 5 2 2 11 Sept 3 6 4 8 9 5 2 Oct 2 2 5 2 2 0 4 Nov 1 2 4 0 3 2 5 Dec 3 4 5’ 1 5 2 6 Jan 1 4 6 4 3 10 7 Feb 0 1 3 4 5 2 5 Mar 4 1 1 3 0 4 2 April 5 2 1 4 3 4 May 2 3 3 1 0 5 Total 30 34 44 32 33 42 44 Sessions/ Month 30/12= 2.5 pm 34/12 = 2.83 pm 44/12= 3.7 pm 32/12 = 2.7 pm 33/12 = 2.75 pm 42/12= 3.5 pm

All signed. Good luck.

I have access to YouTube and enjoy watching existing live events by Wido, Starman and others. Hope you get more response from SGL members. Cheers, Steve

Thanks for the heads up. 👍The Shetlands site is one I often visit to check for auroral activity. Cheers, Steve

Hi, thanks for posting. This is a question you have to decide on after balancing things in your own mind and jump one way. Plenty of folks seem to have no trouble leaving kit out, albeit protected in every weather, though after Cuivs recent calamity there were plenty of viewers who admitted to having had similar issues. The obvious advantages of having kit ready or almost ready and deployed outside for you are there to explore. I am of an age where I want my gear to last me out so I have gone the route of devising an invisible, dispersed observatory (joke)- I built an imaging pad at the bottom of the garden with markers for the tripod to quickly polar align each session, purchased a light imaging set up (GEM28, Samyang 135m lens, ASI533, guide scope and camera, Pegasus power box micro and StarTech USB over Ethetnet device) that I can carry all set up to the pad, wires connected ready. I just connect up to a Cat6 Ethernet cable laid in conduit outdoors and roll out a rcd protected mains power reel. Apart from a nightly quick polar align using SharpCap Pro I can then return indoors to control the whole session. Packing any takes a few minutes only. I store my gear indoors and leave no trace of the invisible, dispersed observatory outside. SWMBO is happy too with that. 👍 Good luck deciding which road you want to travel on, there's no right or wrong just cost. Cheers, Steve

The Golden Rule-"When it's clear-image". Cheers, Steve

That is a nice thought but when as an example you have two large new housing estates with more than 1500 homes being built around you the present legislation and controls do little to help retain or lessen sky glow. You may have heard the one about no hope and Bob Hope? Unfortunately the road ahead is more light pollution for more people as conurbations spill out to the once more rural areas.

Thanks for this, I will sign too. However legislation and guidance must be for all locations not just for the countryside. Cheers, Steve

In the final paragraph on page 149 of, "Deep-Sky Companions Hidden Treasures" he goes on to say that it was the narrator in, "My Aunt Margaret's Mirror" who was commentating on his Aunt's superstitious tendencies. She avoids looking into a mirror when alone in her chamber for an evening. I would not blame or make fun of her. The black space in a mirror in a dimly lit room is a perfect analogy to making out the emission nebula clouding Orion's head encompassing Cr69, "And amidst such shadowy and doubtful light...imagination frames her enchanted and enchanting visions, and sometimes passes them upon the senses for reality." Cheers, Steve

You will likely find it has, it's very likely down to the different ways different software read the Bayer array sequence. I had that issue when I'd used SCPro on the Moon and inverted the image forgetting to return it back the next time I did DSO work. I was surprised many others hadn't fallen foul of that little problem. Best to rotate as a final image after processing. Good luck. Cheers, Steve

Hi as others have mentioned USB over Ethernet could solve your requirement. I use these to control my mount, main camera, guide camera and Pegasus Pocket Power Box Micro unit at the bottom of the garden. https://www.startech.com/en-gb/cards-adapters/usb2004extv More details on my GEM28 thread- Hope this helps. Cheers, Steve

Licking a juicy thigh bone maybe? Cheers, Steve

Thanks Elp for this information glad you were able to get some data when the seeing was more settled. Well done imaging the comet too. 👍 I have found the mount isn't the easiest to balance but more in the z axis. I wonder if that's why the iguider is located on the opposite side to where the iPort (GPS) is found to help with balance? I only have the GPS unit and have Velcroed it onto the housing above the iPolar to help balance things better. Sometime I will use my RedCat and 500mm FL StarTravel on the GEM28 and see what guiding performance I get. Cheers, Steve

Hi, I'm pleased it is of help. I'm still very much learning about guiding and given the short focal length I use don't anticipate issues and certainly the mount is providing round stars which is the real purpose for guiding not to get lower and lower RMS values. The standard guiding values 'out of the box' with PHD2 seem as good as any others. I realise that there will be a need to adjust the looping duration depending on an individual night's seeing conditions. I'd be pleased to hear the guiding results from other GEM28 owners as that will help in turn more people deciding on this mount. Cheers, Steve

Thanks for posting Ian, especially moving into blending of data. Would you try a different balance of using more Ha another time too add more detail? Well done. Cheers, Steve

Thanks for your post. There's a lot to take on board when you are new to a hobby that can go many ways. While £4k is a lot of money it can be eaten away very quickly in this hobby, so caution. I'm sure members here will be able to give you steers where to go that you can think over. I would raise the question of considering security for your equipment outside especially if it is positioned and viewable from a road or other property. Cheers, Steve

Thanks for the heads up on this. Hope to be able to listen. Cheers, Steve

Hi, thanks for posting and a warm welcome to SGL. Cheers, Steve

Thanks for posting Ian. Will enjoy seeing the blended data. Cheers, Steve

Thanks for the +1 Ian over the images. The top image of Auriga had the stars dimmed using StarTools and adjusted to 50% using the LAYER module to reduce the distraction of the many stars in the region. This is the original image before separating the stars for treatment. I only have a 12nm Ha filter right now but my intention is to purchase a 12nm OIII filter later this year then add OIII data to these images as weather allows. Thanks once again for your comments. Cheers, Steve

January 2023 Update-Guiding, GPS and Images. January has been a very good month for DSO imaging this year in the UK and I was able to obtain a fair amount of consistent data on how the GEM28 mount performed when guiding. My DSO imaging equipment has a modest focal length comprising a Samyang 135 lens (used at f/2) + Astronomik 12nm Ha filter + ASI533MM-Pro but I have been happy with the images produced. Session 1 RMS Session 2 RMS Session 3 RMS Session 4 RMS RA 0.72" (0.11px) 0.73" (0.11px) 0.74" (0.11px) 0.86” (0.13 px) DEC 0.52" (0.08px) 0.53" (0.08px) 0.63" (0.10px) 0.50” (0.08 px) Total 0.88" (0.14px) 0.89" (0.14px) 0.97" (0,15px) 0.99” (0.15 px) PA Error 1.0' 0.2’ 1.5’ 0.1’ I ran two instances of Guiding Assistant, one reproduced below. I also received an iOptron GPS unit for Christmas and was able to connect the device and use it during the imaging sessions. The unit worked fine straight out of the box and makes set up time a little less, no longer do I need to set the hand controller time each session. One outcome of having several consecutive clear nights was developing a set up procedure that was robust. I was able to set up in the afternoon, leaving the equipment powered on with only polar alignment being required each evening outdoors. Images stacked in DSS and processed using StarTools, all taken at f/2 in Bortle 6 location- Nebulae and Open clusters in Auriga (Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405 Caldwell 31, Sharpless 229), Tadpole Nebula IC 410) Spider Nebula (IC 417)and Fly Nebulae (NGC 1901) and open clusters NGC 1907 and M38. Total of x388 ninety second light frames (9.7 hours)+ master dark + master flat frame. A friend produced this ghostly starless image for me using Star Net ++- California Nebula in Perseus, x165 ninety second light frames (4.1 hours) +master dark frame + master flat frame- Cheers, Steve