alan potts

Not saying I have imaged or done any visual in it but about 6 years ago it was minus 28 here one morning and I went outside in a T shirt and was not cold, though had the wind got up my arms would most likely have dropped off. It can be very dry here and as such the cold is not really a massive issue. I have often been outside in minus 10 with the Dob and not felt cold though well wrapped up.

My friend who is all knowing in the IT area tells me minus 10 and below is danger area for laptops and other computers as the solder can be affected with prolonged long term exposure, though mount use a different solder and are not affected but it. As he solved a problem no one else was able to do that I had, I am listening to him, he knows his stuff. I bring mine in of a night now just in case.

Alan

1 hour ago, tooth_dr said:

Thanks Alan. I think the fast scope helps. What scope are you using?

Ah yes, didn't think that far ahead, mine is only F 7, though I have a reducer for with it being so big I can't get a Ir/UV filter in the light path. That is without getting a in-line sliding filter draw from TS and a .3 spacer at 165e, which I think is a massive amount for what it actually is, sadly FLO don't seem to be able to offer me a solution. I may just try using it without the filter and see what happens.

Alan

That is a better result than I got with longer, not a lot longer but longer nonetheless. I only got 6x240sec subs last night at a target before one of my walnut trees got int the way and then cloud had a say in the matter. Set to improve a bit the next few days but turning cold.

Alan 

A lovely image you have taken there, I like the colours too.

Alan

The last time I looked, which was some time ago the TEC was about 5,000 quid, I am sure it's more now as this one is priced at almost 4,000e, so not exactly free with Cornflakes. Looks a very nice scope but I can hear my wife sharpening knives.

Alan

1 hour ago, GiorgioF said:

Thank you Martin. I was looking for the delicate colours but also to get some more details.

The filaments of this nebula are so amazing that deserve all the care. Let's wait next year for more data.....

 

Hi Alan, 52Cyg has a so strong light compared with the nebula that gave me a lot of headache without having any good result. Same as GammaCas and the Ghost: never been able to have good result on them.....

If you remember some trick, will be my pleasure to learn.

There is a trick for sure i did it on Alnitak last year, there is a better way still but I was unable to follow the tutorial even though I tried several times. I must have a look through the Net to see if I can find it, tried a few over the last couple of years.

Alan

Lovely shot Dave, I must have missed this one, very nice detail right to the heart of the galaxy.

Alan

That very nice Mr Kirk, love the star centre stage with it's little neighbours.

Alan

I like it, not over coloured like so many are, maybe even mine, I found the star sitting in the middle very difficult to control when I took this and had forgotten all the masking tips I once knew.

Alan

Well said Martin!!

Alan

Lovely image and processing, it's a week since I had a clear sky, can you believe that.

Alan

I think it is a very nice image indeed, most tend to be heavier on the blue in this target but apart from being soft on the blue, and that's not a fault in my view, it is a beautifully taken image.

Alan

One of the nicest Heart images I have seen, the thing that annoys me with stars is I have found plenty of tutorials to remove stars but never found one that allows me to put them back. I actually found a way to do it myself but didn't write it down and forgot what I did, so back to the drawing board. Great image.

Alan

Well I do have both but my Dob is 18 inches. I would say that apart from the fact that the Mak is on a guided mount which at least stops the need to nudge, that's where any advantage ends. My Dob gave me the best view of Jupiter I have ever had showing so much more than even my 12 inch SC. The image was bright, sharp and so much deatil. Don't get me wrong the 180mm Mak is a good scope but for me is maybe sort of a match for a 5 1/2 inches area refractor but no match for a 16 inch.

This getting fussy could be cool down of the mirror or local seeing, I have often used X400 on my Dob and X300 on my Mak on planets though I tend to stick to x180-200 on Jupiter and up to x250 on Saturn, I often find on any scope less is more.

Alan 

Thinking strongly about an in-between scope that would take my 071MC without causing sampling issue, both are around the 420mm F/L mark so nothing much in it there, however the WO is almost twice the price of the SW. The simple question is, is it worth the extra money or am I better going over the top of both for a triplet at 72ishmm.

I do have a 72mm CF scope but it is not good as it was bent when I bought and had problems with the supplier, so tried to reset it myself and didn't quite get it right and don't wish to waste time using it, sooner buy another that is right from a reputable outlet.

Any advise gratefully received.

Alan

Very nice image you have taken there, many of my friends years back lived in Rochester, as I went to Highfield Sch and lived in Chatham, in touch with a good few now.

Alan

That is very nice indeed Dave, I had a go on a getting worse sort of a night a few days back and sadly only got the middle bit and was rather disappointed. The scope is a bit too heavy for me move at the moment ( I can easily pick it up with one hand but shouldn't) I want to get the Borg mounted up and have a play with wide field, at least I am sure the Heart will fit. Didn't have much luck with the soul either, took a lovely image with the camera 90 degrees out, would just fit if correct.

Alan

7 hours ago, adamphillips said:

Here is the old version. I also used to shy away from the reddish hues in the yellow. I liked yellow better.

one big difference is I used to go crazy with noise reduction giving a way too smooth look, you can only really tell if you zoom way in. but a trick I learned is color noise reduction. you can crank that all the way up in camera raw with PS, and it really smooths out problem areas. I think it bring down saturation just a hair too but it works wonders.

I use select colour etc and mask then the Camera Raw filter I believe you do, great tool and so much can be done with it. Know what you mean about the fight to over do the colour though. Even whilst it is always in my mind not to over saturate the end product often is, great work though!!

Alan

Really nice images Adam, rich colours without in my view over doing it.

Alan

3 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Going back a few steps in the conversation I keep things simple by capturing onto two PCs. I know I'd tie myself in knots if I tried to run both cameras on one PC and I have more screen space which is good.

How precise your second scope alignment needs to be depends of the relative FOVs of the two rigs. The original dual rig had identical kit on both sides so it had to be close to perfect. The solution came, at staggering expense, in the form of a second hand Cassady T-GAD alignment system but FLO now do a good alternative. If one FOV is much larger than the other you might get away without anything. (The T-GAD has no difficulty holding two TEC140s still at a highest resolution of 0.9"PP.)

I don't dither but I do take a lot of data and the noise patterns of the two cameras are not the same, which I think helps. (One guy on the French forum insisted that 4 + 4 hours from two cameras gave the noise of a 4 hour capture while 8 hours in a single camera gave the square root of that amount of noise. I don't think he's correct.)

Is a two mount solution easier? Sara automates her capture while I don't. In her case I can see that it might be easier but in my case the dual rig works like a charm.

Olly

I was only really interested in running two scopes so I wouldn't have to chop and change so much, I wasn't interested in mixing the data, though I know you do. I could do it with two laptops as I have a few of them all the same and decent machines, albeit a few years old now.

Raining at the minute but that won't last long, for the ultra keen clear sky will be about 10.30, but I dare say like where you are with tomorrow being decent, I personally will not bother, especially not long after my operation.

Alan

All this talk of cone error make me feel the need to have a spanner in hand. The cradle of the M/N 190mm actually has small screw like adjusters to deal with this but as far as I see the Vixen rails on all my APO's is basically not adjustable and I imagine would require shims of some kind. Even though the mounting bars are pressed tight against the mount I do wonder if the scope it ever true to the PA of the mount, close yes, exact I doubt. I do see an improvement in pointing over he AZ EQ 6 though. Feel these CEM mount are decent quality for the money.

Alan

I tried a meridian flip last nigh on the back of all this talk about the subject and mine was a small distance off, my PA is only about 1.5 arc minutes so even that may account for it, it's no big deal to me as i don't normal image both sides as we tend to get runs of clear nights, unlike the UK.

Alan

Lets first say they are both really nice shots but the HSO for me has more impact and for that is my favourite.

Alan

20 minutes ago, Ceph said:

Thanks Alan.

Yes it is huge, if I turned the camera 45 degree (Fish head right bottom) maybe all of the heart would have been in the picture.

Had a little problem with striped background on this one and found it was mainy present on the stacked OIII pic, nothing on HA and just a little on SII if stripes at all, maybe it was a coincidence.
I will get some darks and add them on the OIII just to see if I can get rid of the stripes. I will certainy check if same thing happens next time I gets a chance to take some pictures.

I actually tried it last night, not a good night with a bit of haze, sort of managed the middle bit with no resemblance to your shot at all, back to the drawing board.

Alan

Carole, cone error to me is when your ice-cream drops off.

Alan