oymd

and saved as a JPEG as well:

Thanks for that I just downloaded Deep Sky Stacker. I stacked 4 20second subs of the Ring Nebula. It seems there is a VERY steep learning curve, as I have no idea what I am doing. Had a look at the setting, and was hoping for a BIG BUTTON that would say: COLOR.... Anyways, here's the TIFF file of the stacked images. Did not do anything to the settings. How can I give it some color? The 294MC Pro is a OSC? Thanks Ring Nebula.TIF

Good morning everyone Yesterday night was my very first trial at deep sky imaging. I would be very grateful if someone can advise me what to do next? My equipment was: ED80, without the reducer, ZWO ASI 294MC Pro, AZ-EQ6 Pro mount. No bhatinov mask yet. No LP filters yet. I have not bought a guide cam yet, so was doing unguided 15-20 second subs. Obviously NO flats, Bias or Black frames, as I do not even know yet how to do those? I was using Astrophotography tool, and the setup was hard First problem was achieving focus. I used Live VIEW and SHOOT options till I manually fine focused, and stars appeared more or less round Then used the Mount and slewed to various targets, did LIVE VIEW, nothing would show up, but on SHOOT at 8 seconds I would see the target. I would then do 3-5 runs, 20 seconds each, but did not touch any settings. the GAIN was at auto. The only setting I did was cool the camera down to -20C. I took some subs of M3, M13, NGC 7000, NGC 6888, Ring Nebula, Cocoon Nebula, North America Nebula and some stars. Now, all the files are in a FIT format. I had requested a trial licence from Pixinsight back in January, and yesterday I tried to DOWNLOAD the software, but it seems there was a time limit to download? How bizzare? Its expired now. Is there a software I can use to have a look and possibly process the images I took yesterday? I can see them in the preview window of APT, but seems I cannot do anything with them? Many thanks

Agreed...

Agreed, the market is much much smaller....but the industry is to blame for this frankly... Offering the same over and over again....with no future innovation... The big brands with resources need to innovate and make the hobby much more simple and intuitive and that will bring the younger generation on board, and eventually explode the market from a niche hobby to something that younger people can enjoy... That would definetely grow the market.... I attended the Astronomy show in London last month, and there wasn't a child in sight.... My 12 year old loved looking through the Nexstar 8SE during xmas, but was disappointed that she could not EASILY interface with it through her phone or laptop, and got bored of it very quickly.... The ASI AIR and similar should be the norm going forward, and not a very expensive add on... And big brands like Celestron and SW should stop offering pointless products around the £100 mark that serve no purpose but to frustrate the newcomer, and instead innovate on bringing automation into their product line... My 6 year old receives her maths homework on her Ipad, and my 12 year old has a school laptop....yet using those 2 ubiquitous tools is a very complicated endeavor in the field of astronomy at this point in time...

That looks nice... Yes, I agree...and forgive me for going off on a rant here.... I have got into the hobby just since last Christmas....Have been reading astronomy since my teens, but only actually got some gear this very last xmas. I've noticed that the telescope/astronomy world is somehow stuck in the Victorian age!! The whole world is using thuderbold/USB-C/or the very least USB3....yet most of Astronomy gear still deals in "SERIAL" interfaces....and having a USB 2.0 connection on a mount is hailed as a luxury! There is very very little to no intuition or practicality in the products available, for normal prices, and most need modding, adapters, etc from consumers... Primaluce Eagle/ ASI Air/ Pegasus boxes are hailed as next best thing since sliced bread, when they are utilising a basic concept available in every other industry on the planet, and should be the norm, not the exception. £3000+ mounts that do not have native WiFi, Bluetooth AND GPS, is pretty ridiculous....I bought an AZ-EQ6 Pro in January...which needed a silly bizzare dongle to have WiFi connectivity...very silly The whole hobby is about knowing where we are in space, and a £30 mobile phone can give you EXACT co-ordinates, time, location, compass, elevation, cloud cover, etc...yet a massive 25KGs SCIENTIFIC MACHINE that is supposed to track, and pinpoint thousands of objects in the sky does not know where it is, what time it is, and at what elevation or timezone it is? The software looks like it was written in the 70's and targeted towards MIT physicists to use.... etc etc... I rarely see something these days and say...wow...that's smart, intuitive and easy to use.. I realise that the counter argument is that these are mass produced chinese products, but so are laptops, PCs and "SMART" mobile phones... phew... my rants over...

Hi John Thanks for your super quick reply... That's a shame... I thought it can be done as a simple add on... I would have liked to have BOTH options, u see, the straight through option would serve as my Guidescope when I try imaging, and the RACI option for the viewing sessions, which is mostly what I am doing now! WHY ARE OPTICS SO COMPLICATED AND FUSSY!!!

Good morning everyone. I hope you are all well and safe! I have a question regarding my 9x50 straight through finderscope. From looking at the product specs, it seems it is identical to the RACI of the same brand, apart from that small diagonal? How can I converst mine? What do I need to get and fit? Many thanks I want to convert this: TO this:

That night was first light with the Ioptron CEM25P. The tripod comes shipped with thick tight cling film on the steel legs, and I did not bother removing it...

My modest ubiquitous Sky-Watcher ED80 on the AZ-EQ6 Pro And on the Ioptron CEM25P in the garden...

My C11 with some lovely dew....and a bit of drizzle...went inside to make me a cup of tea...seems that I kicked the kettle lead connection of the dew controller to the straps....and it rained for a few seconds....so came back with a nice warm cup of tea....and found the corrector plate all fogged up and rained on!!

Afternoon everyone. I have an ED80mm which comes with the stock SW 2" diagonal. While its obviously not a fantastic diagonal, I think it gives pretty good views coupled with the stock 28mm eyepiece.. Can I possibly use the same diagonal on my C11 SCT using a Baader click lock? I read that refractor diagonals fit on SCTs, but not the other way around? Many thanks Ossi

So, I decided to gove it another go yesterday... Pulled the C11 out, and managed to get it on the mount... The CGE is 74mm....pics attached

Yes. Agreed. Have just edited my post to reflect that.

This is the exact one I have. The 11” inch one. The attached PDF suggests it’s 101mm wide. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dovetails-saddles-clamps/celestron-cge-dovetail-bars.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/user/manuals/celestron_dovetail_bars/Celestron_94219_11inch_dovetail_bar.diagram.pdf but the 101mm width is of the curved part that actually attaches to the underside of the OTA. The diagram does not show a dimension of the distance between the actual rails on the dovetail that get locked into the saddle.

But they don’t have a shoulder or same design? how will I make up for the unthreaded part and fixed washer? thanks

Maybe then it’s the quality of your losmandy doveplate that makes seating the OTA easier? i am using the STOCK orange CGE dovetail with the C11. And it’s very very awkward to get into the saddle. I almost dropped the C11 last week, to the point I have abandoned the idea of using it for now, till I sort this issue out. Currently using the ED80 which has a vixen dove palate and is super easy to seat. Obviously the weight of the refractor helps as well.

Just measured it... Total length from bottom of plastic thumb screw is under 6cm and actual length of metal part is just under 4.5cm. It definetelt falls off when I try to accommodate the losmandy dovetail.

Good morning everyone Hope you can advise on a DIY project I am trying to sort. The saddle on my AZ EQ6 Pro takes Vixen & Losmandy dovetails, but the stock bolts barely catch when a losmandy is used. I have upgraded the dovetail on my C11 to a Losmandy, and I can barely get the bolts undone to get the dovetail to sit in the saddle. Usually they just fall off completely, however, when I manage to secure it, its all rock solid. So, short of completely changing the saddle to a Geoptik or ADM which at this point in time I would rather avoid, as I am still in the process of spending on cameras etc, and would rater save the funds for those at the moment. Can someone advise me on how to get LONGER BOLTS? It needs to be longer by just 1cm. I went to B&Q, and confirmed that the size is M8, and bought a couple of regular M8 12cm bolts to test, and they fit, hoever I'm not sure the thread pattern is similar? I looked everywhere of similar M8 bolts with a large thumbscrew, but cant find any of similar design and length. Many thanks

ahh...I see what you mean now. Had a look at the guide. So, since I am moving my Ipolar from mount to mount, I will need to CALIBRATE every time I use it. Right? And need to click CLEAR CAMERA DATA everytime. I think that explains it. So, my last question would be, if I do that, should the cross hair and red dot OVERLAP in ALL positions or RA when slewing? Many thanks

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have 2 mounts and ONE IPOLAR: CEM25P and Sky-Watcher AZ EQ6 Pro. Both of them have adaptors fitted, and I remove the Ipolar camera from each mount after each session and attach at the start. I polar align BEFORE putting the OTA and CW on, and keep the camera connected and laptop screen visible as I am putting CW and OTA on the mount, and check that everything stays aligned AFTER everything is on the mount and tightened down, BUT ONLY IN HOME POSITION. When I start slewing, I see the crosshairs and red dot moving apart, as you see in the above pictures. Is that expected?

Morning everyone Would like to get some advice please about polar alignment. The mount in question is the SW AZ-EQ6 Pro. Having given up on the awkward positioning of the polar scope, I invested in an Ipolar, and it has been amazing so far. I am sure however that I am doing something wrong? The mount is setup in the HOME position, levelled, pointing north, with the Refractor also pointing north. I make sure RA and DEC are balanced. When I plug the Ipolar into computer, I go through all the steps, and use the altitude lever and AZ bolts to get the DOT & CROSSHAIRS perfectly aligned, then get everything tightened up. I keep the Ipolar connected, so as to see if I am polar aligned throughout my viewing session Now, I remember seeing a video where it was advised that after aligning in HOME POSITION, I should rotate the RA 90 degrees either side, and press CONFIRM POSITION 1 & 2 on the IPLOAR software? I do not do this step, as the button is greyed out? I then turn on the mount, and do 3 star alignment. Everything seems ok, but I have a constant error of the object I am trying to slew to being OFF CENTER by a constant distance? With the 28mm eyepiece, I can see it near the periphery, with my 15mm eyepiece I have to rely on the finderscope to center the object. Any idea why this is the case? What am I doing wrong, or missing here? Many thanks P.S This is what the POLAR ALIGNMENT LOOKS LIKE MID SESSION, with the RA in various positions OTHER THAN HOME POSITION. When it returns to HOME POSITION, pointing north towards polaris, the crosshair and red dot are perfectly overlapping. Is this how it should be, or should the cross hair and dot overlap in ANY RA ORIENTATION?

Have a look at my post regarding the naming schemes. I was confused about the naming as well, before I bought my mount in Jan 2020. The NEWER mounts have a USB port on the mount head, and now it is called: AZ-EQ6 Pro. No "GT" anymore in the branding.

Is the GPCAM3 the Altair version of the ASI290MM mini? Also, is it OK to mix and match brands in cameras? Or should the guide camera and 1ry imaging camera be the same make? Many thanks

Just to conclude this thread and issue, and to answer all questions. The item was bought on UK ABS. The seller has very promptly refunded the money, and has also paid for insured return RM special delivery. He has been very honest, and was surprised and not really informed of what was missing. I am sure he had bought the cameras 2nd hand, tried to get into imaging, changed his mind, and I bought them from him. He did not try to give any funny explanations, or try to have this drag on, and was 100% genuine and honest. All sorted. Many thanks for all your help. Ossi