Hals

It will of course be hidden by the observatory floor in due course, I only put the gravel on to hid the concrete and mud ! Speaking of which I roughly marked out the base before the inevitable rain. The obsy isn't going to be large, 7ft x 7ft, a compromise that I had to make. It will be a converted shed, yes I know the general consensus is it's easier to scratch build but with my building being on par with a drunken chimpanzee it has to look reasonably tidy. So the shed\summerhouse obsy it will be. The impending lockdown will likely have an effect too, with regards to building materials, plus work considerations etc but I'll do my best.

It's a layer of gravel on top of some rocky clay, tamped down, with the bottom block set in and levelled then concreted in, and some more gravel over the top of the concrete.

Very, very nice Ruz, integration time is the key to this one.

Very cool ! The last one...I'm reminded of Carl Sagan's quote from his Cosmos book "Poised on the Edge of Forever, I would leap off..."

To echo everyone's sentiments already, its been great to follow this build and personally I'm finding it an inspiration for my own.

Got the brake disc pier adapter drilled out to attach to the top of the mount, aligned North and fitted. I've direct mounted it because the top of the pier is bang on level. I've fitted an M8 bolt as an azimuth pin and tested it with the mount head - works as advertised! No pics yet because just as I finished the heavens opened. I've covered the adapter over to prevent any rusting prior to priming and painting because it's mild steel. As it stands now, at least I won't have to faff with a tripod and the next clear night I can get the mount polar aligned so I'll leave it attached from then on.

It's going to be nothing fancy but I'll finally have an observatory. It will be a lift off roof initially but I will convert it to a roll off next spring when the weather turns. Started on the pier, I've gone for a Todmorden pier on cost grounds. Purchased the blocks, dug out the base and concreted in. Built the pier, fixed with bolts and adhesive. It's as solid as a rock. Next step is to fit the pier adapter, brake disc type for my HEQ5, after I've drilled out bolt holes in it. The paving slab is only there because I was using it to stand on as the garden was soaked after a lot of rain. Pier faces North with the picture facing South. I have good views all around apart from some trees in the South which can't be helped. Cheers, Pete.

NGC6992 The Eastern Veil Nebula. Unmodded Canon 80D via William Optics Star 71. x25 180 sec subs plus calibration frames. ISO 800. Stacked in DSS, processed in PS.

29 x 300 sec subs, x10 darks, x10 Bias, no flats. 150 PDS with unmodded Canon 80D & Altair Quad-band filter. Battling with next door's security light all session so happy with the result.

A cropped LDN 1265 captured over two sessions, one night 88 x120 sec subs with Quad band filter and the other night 40 x 120 sec subs unfiltered to get the star colours. Darks, flats and bias on both sessions.

Great feeling capturing something for the first time isn't it !

26 x 240 sec subs, darks and bias, no flats. ISO 800 Canon 80D via SW 150/750 PDS, Altair Quad band filter, 97% Moon. Slightly out of focus plus needs much longer integration time but I'm happy as a first go on this target.

I foolishly tried to image the Wizard Nebula during the recent 94% full Moon, DSLR even with a Quad band filter the result lots and lots of noise, likely caused by over-processing too. Plus I was a tad out of focus...It's a learning curve for sure, but a fun one.

RIP. A legend.

Excellent ! Much better cheers !

IC 1396 Elephants Trunk Nebula. 24 x 180 sec subs, with calibration frames. WO Star 71, Canon 80D with Altair Quadband filter. Poor seeing and warm temperature but it has been the only clear couple of hours I've manged to catch so far this month !

Superb 👍

Beautiful star colours and the dark nebulosity in the background gives it a magical almost 3D look. Very well done.

This 👍

Never ceases to amaze me what can be captured from your own back garden, today's images rival and surpass the images from the "great observatories" that I grew up looking at. Just think what will be do-able in another twenty years. Truly wonderful.

Both are excellent bits of kit. The Samyang will give a wider view at 135mm to the Redcat's 250mm. As far as I can see that's all that's in it, personal preference.

Nice one Stuart. Funny thing is I've noticed this effect but only during one imaging session. I've had many since with no changes to the equipment barring slight focus changes and my stars have been all ok, displaying no artifacts.

You need something like this...

Restacked and it's definitely the K-S clipping that's caused it. I used Average this time and it's much better and wow, that is one fast moving comet. Even taking 30 x 4 second shots the movement it showed in this short time has really surprised me. Thanks again Kyle Allen for pointing me in the right direction. 👍

Cheers Kyle, I believe I did use K-S. I will restack and see what happens !