CraigT82

Don't forget that ADCs are generally best used with a barlow (ADC in the barlow) as they work best at with narrower light cones. Used in this way the barlow would push the focal point back outwards

Great start! Good luck on your astro journey... you'll get plenty of help and advice on here. Craig

Some really nice detail in there....I know what you mean about the processing, I can spend hours flicking between two images with no real difference between them 😂

Superb!! Great work 👍👍

Well if was was thinking of spending £1,500, and I already had a 150mm F8 and lived in a city... I'd probably buy a Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 to mount the 150p on with tube rings. This would open up the world of goto and dozens of DSO, which may only be a faint smudge in the EP due to light pollution but DSO nonetheless! It would also provide steady and stable tracking for high power planetary and lunar, and it would also provide a good base for starting imaging in the future The 150p is a very capable scope and will go very nicely mounted on the AZ-EQ6 (in alt az mode) to be used as an all round instrument

Unfortunately, what's best for bright urban environments is the planets! And moon. If you're into DSO the best thing to spend your money on is petrol, unless you're happy to see the same handful of bright DSO over and over again.

If you shorten the dolly spars beyond the tripod leg then you'll also need to move the tripod legs and cups inward, which will prevent you from using the tripod spreader. This, along with the narrower footprint, might make for a very wobbly set up. Maybe you could test that before cutting anything... move the cups and the levelling threads inwards and load up the scope and try it out. If it's fine then cut the spars down and move the wheels

Hi John, I dont really know what the bubble level is for... it's pretty useless! What I do is I set up and point the scope at my intended target. Then, with nothing in the focuser, I put my hand in front of the scope and hold it level (making an artificial horizon if you will) and look though the focuser to see the reflection of my hand in the primary. I then put the ADC in the focuser with the null point aligned with my hands reflection. Does that make sense?? I then move the graduated ring so that the nylon screw is aligned with the null point. The graduations then help you to judge whether or not your levers are displaced equally either side of the null point after adjustment. As my newt is EQ mounted, I need to adjust the horizon/null point position whenever I move to a new target. For Alt Az mounted newts you dont need to do this, you can set the alignment once, put a mark on the focuser and use the mark from then on.

You may have already seen this page... but it has some good info on how to position your ADC in the focuser http://skyinspector.co.uk/atm-dispersion-corrector--adc Basically, the null point (levers together) needs to be parallel with the horizon. With your aperture and the low altitudes of the giants this year, I think that maximum correction would be a good place to start (levers 180 degrees opposed). Remember that the image shifts when tuning the levers, so small adjustments are best

How are you getting on with your Fullerscope Mark? I've discovered an issue with mine in that the plastic tube flexes beneath the focuser when the imaging train is heavy (Adc, barlow, cam, and filter drawer). If I collimate the scope with the focuser pointing straight up and the turn the tube in it's rings so the focuser points to the side the collimation changes. This is an issue with my EQ mounted scope but probably not for your dob mounted one. I'm gonna try to get hold of a couple more tube rings to clamp around the OTA either side of the focuser to stiffen it up. I'm hoping it's not actually my focuser that's flexing as that's a more expensive fix! In the pics I've used the heavy body of my APM barlow, without the Barlow cell, to simulate the weight of the imaging train.

Try Nichol Optical: Nicholoptical.co.uk 01642 554699

Latest Samsung update have given us 30 sec exposures in pro mode. S10 and S9 only I think though, not sure.

I agree. You're only 'eye balling' the shadow essentially, unless using a camera to get an image of the defocused star which you can overlay concentric rings onto? I dont like to be wasting precious clear-sky time with star collimation, much better to get it sorted inside in poor weather. If I'm out observing and the image looks rubbish I'll probably defocus on a star to see if anything is wrong but i'm usually looking for thermals rather than collimation

Three words for you... Howie Glatter Parallizer! One of the best astro things I've ever bought

Great set of images.... My favourite is Darwin, don't think I've ever noticed those 'wrinkles' on the crater floor before. Well done for getting out there in the poor weather I cant imagine it's very easy or quick to set up that beast of a scope!

Yes it does, you need more inwards travel to use it, roughly 40mm I think, although using a Barlow can push it outwards again

Really nice work! Love the sinus iridum shot.

Well you can trust CN to bash a £125 product because a £3500 version performs better. I have the ZWO version and I like it. I use it mainly for imaging but have used it for visual and it does help when targets are low, especially in larger apertures.Takes a bit of practice to set up but well worth it for the price.

Same with my Fullerscope. The 1.7m plastic tube shakes around when touched... No matter how solidly mounted. Motor focus is essential and makes an otherwise unusable scope a dream to use!

I think it's the length of the grip that's relevant... that long tool in the OP allows a hand to grip with all fingers, like a bike handlebar.

Really like imppg for sharpening my lunar images... thanks for your efforts! 👍

That article states the FoV of the image with the nebula is 5x5 arc secs... so the nebula itself probably 2.5x2.5 arc secs. Safe to say that would not be visible in your image. It also states that the nebula cant be seen in visible wavelengths. Sorry but have to agree that it's an artifact in your image!

Really nice set of images there👍

Cracker! There's been so many excellent venus captures this year.... I guess the baader venus filter has been a real game changer!

What a beauty! That RC is really producing some great images. 👍