Ozone

If your talking about the zwo ir cut filter, I have one. It was used on the top image.

Sorry about that. Just frustrated. Picture quality from the Orion 150mm mak. Planets are riding low right now, so I am assuming it's atmosphere causing my problem. Moon hasn't looked that great either. This was taken with the asi224mc and the above telescope. The 2nd (better) was taken with my DSLR and a 6" Celestron reflector last year.

It's not the settings (tried all kinds of recommendations,) not the collimation (star test) focus ( I use a bahtinov and used focus help in sharpcap) I am going after a ZWO ADC. Hopefully trading this in for an 8" SCT Edge around Christmas.

As far as focus I do use a bahtinov. I will try sharpcap. I always use firecapture. I will have to do the star test, I don't have anywhere far enough to use an artificial one. I have a 2" collimation cap, everything looked good there, but nothing beats a star test.

Can a chesire or collimation cap be used on a mak?

Good point. Not recently. Check that tonight.

Thanks. Like I said, I'm pretty sure (90%) that the good images of the moon were taken with the 6" reflector, not the mak. That was my main reason for asking about the adc. Even images of the moon with the current set up, are lousy. Seems to me that with the different focal length etc. That the mak is alot more sensitive.

I take part of this back. I have some good images of the moon from December 26 last year with the asi. I don't think I had the mak yet as it was ordered on the 17th.

Yeah it's definitely low. I'm just trying to figure out if something I'm doing wrong. I was able to get more detail with my unmodified Canon t2i and 6" reflector. I've had the camera since Xmas 2017, the mak since Xmas 2018. I never have gotten a good image yet with the asi. I read they were alot more sensitive then the standard cameras. I have kept the histogram pretty even in firecapture, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong (they have been getting better. This is from my reflector and t2i and a 8-24 zoom at 640x640 which is 60fps. This was taken in January of 2014.

Is an ADC necessary when using a Maksutov ( I have a Orion 150mm) or Schmidt? I think this may be the problem I've been having here in Ohio... After doing extensive tests with different camera settings (ASI224MC) and firecapture, I have all but given up. My planetary images all seem to lack sharp detail. The moon doesn't look bad, but Jupiter and Saturn, all the bands seem to blend/smear together. I have checked collimation, and focus with a bahtinov.

Thanks. Talked to my State farm agent, she said get her a list and prices of the items and she would check to see if they were or could be covered under my auto or homeowners. (God forbid, tree falling on the garage, fire, or auto accident.) Yes, I keep them locked up. It would be easier to cut through my garage than cut the lock. I also have nest security camera and motion detector lights on/near the garage. This is the lock in case anyone is interested. https://www.amazon.com/American-Lock-A800LHCD-Security-Shackle/dp/B00373RPV4/ref=mp_s_a_1_16?adgrpid=55444714029&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy97qBRDoARIsAITONTJAuksCNc_LQC2QTlCiZ5tF5PDH1BdDzSWBcGkZTjbUy2WluEUf-N0aAq3zEALw_wcB&hvadid=274742484430&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9015705&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5831661546523510225&hvtargid=aud-647006051489%3Akwd-300350260692&hydadcr=14658_9386348&keywords=american+lock&qid=1566076027&s=gateway&sr=8-16

Is anyone on here located near Cincinnati, Ohio? If so, I would like to know where/how to get an appraisal. Thanks.

Asi224mc recorded a video of Jupiter as a color avi in firecapture. When I ran it through winjupos, it output it as b/w? Processed in as3, still b/w. Am I missing something?

Didn't realize firecapture had a time stamp setting for winjupos until after. So, which time do I need to use from the firecapture log file? The one that says UT or the other, or am I doing something wrong? My output video shows up on the far right edge of the frame, even though the original is centered.

Can this method also be used on filters and EP's? To clean correctors, I have several large ones, I use one drop of washing up liquid to a cup of warm water as a cleaning agent. I dip a cotton wool ball into it and then drag it across the corrector with the telescope inclined downwards to avoid water getting inside the tube. Repeat this until clean. Afterwards repeat with just distilled water then dry off and gently wipe with a microfibre cloth if necessary. If you are concerned about doing this, don't bother, if you could see or image dust on the corrector then the large central obstruction would also be seen. As already posted, the problem lies either on the eyepiece, diagonal or the camera sensor (most likely). A Barlow lens will make the appearance worse.

Any recommended settings for Jupiter and Saturn? Ask 224mc, 6" mak

I have the Orion 150mm model. Still figuring it all out😉

Nice! Just wish this scope had two finder scope dovetails. One thing about my finder, it's a large one (can't remember the size 50mm?) It doesn't adjust far enough inward to be spot on with the scope, I have to remember how far away from center the star needs to be!😁

Thanks. I just found out about sharpcap focus routines and I am going to try this next time.

When you guys are setting up for imaging, how do you find your perfect focus? What programs etc. Do you use? Finding focus with my newt seemed a lot easier than with my mak.

After thinking about it, would the telescope not being outside long enough for temp to equalize mess with focus at all?

I realized after over sharpening I could see the central obstruction in the image. Color settings and USB traffic settings wrong color bad, got that taken care of this week, now the focus was off. 😉 Some days I can't win.

Well collimation is definitely not a problem as I check it slightly out of focus. It was also very clear last night, although it was quite humid. This was also the first time using these settings which were recommended online but after checking the scope the recommendation that the scope came from was a 9.25 sct, which I think would make a huge difference? In hindsight, I wish I had shot some without.🙁

When using an asi224mc and 150mm mak, would an IR cut filter be a good idea or no? My images are coming out lousy on Jupiter, I should have tried it without also! these are the settings I used in FC. What did I do wrong? FireCapture v2.6 Settings ------------------------------------ Camera=ZWO ASI224MC Filter=L Profile=Jupiter Diameter=43.78" Magnitude=-2.48 CMI=111.5° CMII=324.3° CMIII=305.4° (during mid of capture) FocalLength=1750mm Resolution=0.44" Filename=Jup_005231.avi Date=210719 Start=005101.921 Mid=005231.921 End=005401.922 Start(UT)=045101.921 Mid(UT)=045231.921 End(UT)=045401.922 Duration=180.001s Date_format=ddMMyy Time_format=HHmmss LT=UT -5h Frames captured=35595 File type=AVI Extended AVI mode=true Compressed AVI=false Binning=no ROI=304x300 ROI(Offset)=144x72 FPS (avg.)=197 Shutter=5.046ms Gain=308 (51%) AutoGain=off SoftwareGain=10 (off) USBTraffic=80 (off) HighSpeed=off AutoHisto=75 (off) FPS=100 (off) AutoExposure=off WBlue=50 (off) Gamma=50 (off) WRed=50 (off) Brightness=1 (off) HardwareBin=off Histogramm(min)=0 Histogramm(max)=84 Histogramm=32% Noise(avg.deviation)=n/a Limit=180 Seconds Sensor temperature=35.8°C Jup_005231_lapl6_ap37_conv.tif

Thanks