neil phillips

14 hours ago, Lockie said:

 

It's a tough one, I mean I'm sure both the 642 and 742 give good results. Looking at the QE graph, the 462mc seems to peak around 830nm so it should still be very sensitive with the 642. 

Hmm? I may have to buy both and do some testing.   

On the mono 290. I was getting great results with a Altair planet killer IR pass. (Clavius pbase) contrary to my previous statement. was 685nm Better resolution than 850 nm. which obviously is better for progressively worse UK seeing.  Not sure i am reading your comments correctly. But are you suggesting using 642 nm with the 462 c camera ?

Thanks for the reply guys. A few options here to think about trying. Though i have a large bottle of 99.9% isopropyl alcohol here. But from what ive read so far its safe on lens coatings. But may not clean organic matter as well as other solutions

27 minutes ago, Don Pensack said:

Alcohol is fine, but it isn't as good a solvent for some organic debris as something else.

I prefer a commercial cleaning fluid called ROR.

Its ingredients include alcohol, ammonia, soap, salt, and distilled water.  It's used in the phot industry to clean lenses before they are assembled into camera lenses.

It's the best cleaner I've found for removal of eyelash oil, mascara, and other similar crud.

Not surprising, since ROR stand for residual oil remover.

Alcohol is fine, as in undiluted ?

Not heard of ROR cleaner

Its a great sensitive chip. Been using the QHY version for a while now with small scopes (114 mm and 70mm ) on lunar, at 1/250 s. Gain is very low.

In the low 30%  region.  The problem with the assertion its mono like at 850nm. Is the reduced resolution. Stuck at 850nm Even in good seeing..   But its very very sensitive agreed. a good all round workhorse.

I use Eclipse cleaning fluid for lenses. But its expensive. Could 99.9% Isopropyl Alcohol be used ? Either pure or diluted ?

Does anyone know ? what do you use ?

Just love the resolution Luc. Setting new standards for Amateur lunar imaging. Though at these size scopes. One might think you have one foot firmly in the semi professional camp. Us mortals can only dream of such resolution.  I thought my Sky watcher 300mm Newtonian  had good resolution untill i saw your work. 

Really inspiring

Love that Clavius mosaic good detail

Just trying experiments with reduced frames. More careful process, not sure if its better worse or just different ?

Reduced the saturation a touch

Nice detail you got there

Hope you recover soon Danny. Good that your staying active with the astronomy

Those Maks are wonderful scopes. Had the meade 180 F15 long ago. Wish i still had it. 

Schiller is a lovely crater. A time machine of a impact that must have occured at a much lower angle than many on the lunar surface

A unique and fascinating target for lunar imagers. Nice shots despite the poorer seeing

Hi Fedele.  Nice example of light and shadow over the lunar surface. Excellent

Thanks guys. Hope there is someone starting out, that doesnt have the best equipment. Or doesnt have a big budget to do lunar imaging. Can see whats possible with very modest equipment. Hope it inspires them to try themselves. Its really been therapeutic. Having to sheild for so long. Something positive to focus on. That ive always loved. 

But now going full circle and starting again weirdly. I believe the struggling will pay dividends when i get my Orion 10" running again with a mono cam

Found my love for astronomy and lunar imaging again i think. Its been a wonderful feeling. Have loved sharing that with Everyone on SGL 

Cheers

Celestron power seeker 114 Newtonian EQ2 Mount non handset single economy RA Drive QHY 462C Colour camera

Obviously i need a mono camera. But boy does this little old scope deliver. Persistently avoided increasing focal length. Because capturing by pushing the EQ2 around by hand ( no handset ) And the economy RA drive has way too much drift.  But clearly those problems aside, the little scope is surprising. One wonders what it could do on a decent mount and drive. As i am also limited on the amount of frames i can capture because of the extreme motor drift. Hoping to get a bigger mount relatively soon

But prime focus for the mosaic. And a 2x Celestron Omni Barlow. Drizzle 1.5 Autostakkert for the closer shots

1 hour ago, WestCoastCannuck said:

You have me pegged pretty well Neil as to my style and struggles!  LOL.  I am a life long amateur photographer and the aesthetics of my moon shots is very important to me.  I love the tonal contrasts and depth of things as well as details.   Your wanting a Mono camera again after seeing my work is highest praise..  Thanks so much!   Yes, this night's work was tough for me given how I like to process...  the file just did not have what it takes for the look I really want.  I DID push it further - several times....  and it just did not look right to me.  In the end I satisfied myself with what I posted.  Still good, but not quite what I wanted.   Perhaps I should share other processings occasionally...   here is the "Details over Aesthetics" version done in completely different software.  I expect some might prefer it.   😄

 

 

Clear skies!  And thanks again for your wonderful analysis!

 

Mike 

 

 

 

Looks good untill i open it up. Somewhere in between might have worked better perhaps Bit too pushed. But you can see the hidden detail i am referring too. One extreme to the other there Mike. I kind of meant fine tuning more. But it does show the fine detail lurking. Prefer the softer version

Hi Mike first proper light congrats, Some lovely detail, tones and textures there. Bet your eager for that good seeing. Your making me pine for a mono camera again

As usual like velvet. Everyone has there own style. i tend to push a little more, trying to extract the cutoff point between as much detail, as can be extracted while still looking reasonably natural. It can sometimes backfire, A tendency to go a little too far. When it works the images can take on a dry sandy texture or tone. Down to pin pricks as per the 12" Clavius that i got with the 290m. Your style can have the opposite problem, instead of over doing it. Its easy to under do it. Your style works best under the good seeing we crave.

Both styles have merits and drawbacks of course. Supremely natural. Aesthetically nicer. Is your strength. Your effect on my perception of these things is very strong. As i keep saying. Since i have been watching your work. Ive been craving a mono cam again. Thanks for teasing my eye. And i dont say that to guys often. lol

Cheers Andy not having a handset, having to push the EQ2 around for each mosaic pane isnt fun. But in a weird sort of way, going back to basics has been very fulfilling 

Hoping to get a EQ5 in a few weeks. The return of jupiter to us all in the summer is a milestone. Admittedly low to start with

Hey thanks Cozy. Getting back into astronomy is really helping. This pandemic is awful, hope everyone is coping out there

Seeing was a bit shakey tonight. But at this resolution it just doesnt matter as very sharp images can still be got

Celestron powerseeker 114 F8 Newtonian SWEQ2 Mount single economy RA Drive QHY462C Camera

I miss hi res cant wait to try my bigger scopes real soon, One upgraded. One new. The grey Newtonian on the left is the powerseeker. My 10" Orion with cap held together with tape belies what i have done to it inside recently

Could see seeing was superb its nearly always when theres mist. Lovely shots. 

Usual recent gear. Thought greyscale looked better

For sure Craig. we all push too hard on occasion. What matters is we realize this the next day hopefully. 

Some excellent detail in that. Not sure if you have tried microsoft ICE

Very Nice and very sharp