silentrunning

It is a fantastic book Mark. I can't imagine you being disappointed. I actually contacted Prof Kaler after having finished a second reading of it which I started almost straight after I first finished it! So much wonderful information and beautifully written. He wrote some very kind replies to me. Based on this book I bought this book of his https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0716750759/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i7 and I can say it's just as astonishing. It maybe getting on a bit but there is nothing in it which has fundamentally changed.

"Stars and their Spectra" by James Kaler is the best book I have read on the mechanisms behind stars and their evolution. It contains next to no equations but digs in very deep and is one of the most readable books I have ever picked up. I paid £29 for the hard cover so I've no idea why it is currently £160 on Amazon. Maybe it's popped out of print for awhile. Here's my Amazon review of it. ---- As an amateur astrophotogragher looking for additional pursuits related to astronomy I have been toying with the idea of a buying a diffraction grating to attempt some very basic spect

It hasn't got WiFi. The PC running Octaprint connects to the printer via the USB cable.

I learnt to design stuff with Freecad and then switched to Fusion 360 which is also free and a stunning design environment. I was using Cura as a slicer but have switched to PuraSlicer. I don't use the SD card, I have Octaprint running as a server on my Windows 10 PC which talks to the Ender 3 via it's USB port.

Got into 3D printing a few weeks ago and have completely immersed myself in it. After doing loads of research I bought the Creality Ender 3 Pro and it's superb. Not a lot of difference to the one you are looking at and with the upgrades mentioned I would consider it a great buy.

Superb Carol. Great processing.

Well I've never used an SLR before for anything but one turned up yesterday. It was a stunning evening last night and the comet was perfectly placed for viewing from my back garden but unfortunately not accessible from the Obsy. Having recently purchased a Samyang 135mm F2 lens that is currently bolted to the mount in the Obsy I decided to splurge on a Canon SLR so I could potentially get into 'normal' photography and make more use of the lens. Anyway after a few hours reading the manual - the camera seems to have more functions than the space shuttle - and a quick look at the set

I found this a tricky object to process as well. If you do a Google search for NGC6888 thousands of images come back very few of which appear 'right' to me or give me something to aim for. Strange object.

After a mad 2 or 3 weeks getting to grips with a new hobby 3D printing (or rather and adjunct to astronomy!) I managed to build a couple of adapters that have allowed me to get to focus with the new Samyang 135mm F2 lens bolted onto a SX filter wheel and a QHY11 Camera. A couple of nights ago I got to run the lens in and out on an adjustable adapter I had made and once I felt I was bang on that elusive 44mm I quickly printed off a non adjustable more sturdy adapter giving the same lens to chip distance. This is 10 x 10min exposures binning at 1x1 in Ha. Hopefully get some O and S to add

Superb image Carol, hope you get the Samyang back in action ASAP.

Hi Adrian Yes this imaged was cropped as I did a meridian flip half way through and didn't bother centering on the previous images. The full field of the frames obtained before the flip is shown below. I just adjusted the distance until I got the flattest frame so I assume I'm at the quoted 44mm for this lens. and the corners via the AberrationInspector script in Pixinsight.... I'm not used to WF imaging and was surprised at the under sampling of the stars, something I don't have to worry about with my usual setup using a 12" GSO RC. I registered using drizzle

Well the adjustable adapter allowed me to get the QHY11 near to if not bang on the focal plane of the lens. The field on this image is so much flatter than with the previous adapter.

Well it's built, appears to work and is now in situ! It maintains the Canon bayonet on the lens. Outside of the canon connector is an external thread of 58mm diameter 1mm pitch that threads into an equivalent female thread built into the custom FW adapter. This eats into the space available for the screws that connect the flange to the FW so I had to print my own tiny screws with 2mm heads!!! I can now achieve minute, <0.05mm adjustments to the lens to chip distance and hopefully get close to the ideal 44mm. Next clear night I'll have a play and see what effects this distance has on the var

Finally got my hands on one of these lenses. Been a lot of work learning a new hobby 3D printing to get the FFD down towards the optimal 44mm. I've built adapters for both sides of the SX FW I have. One connects the Lens to the FW, actually bringing the lens into the FW slightly and an adapter for the QHY11 Dew Heater and camera connector on the other side. This one actually mounts inside the wheel although it's all very tight in there, just a 1mm flange and no screws to hold it in place. After reading this excellent thread I am probably going to go ahead and build an adapter that removes

Thanks fozzy bear that clears things up! What a strange stance for Baader to take. I understand their reasoning for producing something that presumably fits as many non-standard bits of kit as possible but not telling us what they pitched for in the the end is crazy- sorry for the pun!