tooth_dr

This is true! It’s a 2.2m pulsar dome I have. Where I’m at it can be windy but also clear, part of the reason I am moving to a dome - hoping it will shield the scope. I’ve been in touch with Bern at MA regarding the dimensions of the pier. This should help me a lot in deciding how to go about this.

What if the dome structure itself vibrates a bit in the wind. Could that be transferred to the scope too? That would be a big concern

Thanks James. There is a few inches of topsoil, then into a solid base. The reason for this base is that I’m looking at a Mesu with a bent pier, and although I’ll still have to work out ducting accurately it means I’m not concerned about where the pier is going to bolted down and also can revert to a straight centre pier in the future.

This is pretty much how I pictured mine. Thanks for sharing

Thanks Derek. That looks interesting. The ground I’m using was compacted by machinery 3-4 years ago, and is naturally very solid, and we have a lot of blue granite. I just order concrete from a local supplier to my spec so there aren’t any issues there.

It’s a base for a dome, it needs to not crack.

Thanks. The large area in the photo is my actual current base, I poured it myself and I didn’t add anything. Thankfully it didn’t crack but tbh I never considered it at the time. Im now wondering specifically about a 2.7m circle, as a new base for a dome. If I pour it deeper will it be more likely to crack? How deep would be enough? Thanks again Adam.

I was thinking of 300mm deep floor. This would mean about 1.7m3 of concrete. Would there be a chance it would crack on setting? Do you think there would be a sufficient base?

Did the tin foil do the trick?

I wonder if you dithered your exposures would this help reduce the circular noise. It looks like the walking noise you see with EQ mounts, but circular.

I have never used Artemis so that looks like the problem.

I totally agree. Lost 2-3 nights due to dodgy filter wheel. I now have an Atik EFW2 and EFW3 and they are totally stable *touches wood*

In both my past observatories (ROR sheds) I dug out a 600mm cube and poured a large concrete base, to which I inserted metal rods and then poured up a concrete pier within a plastic pipe. I then packed 25mm of foam around this and poured up the rest of the foor. I brought the floor a cm above the pier foundation so my wooden shed base wouldn’t contact that concrete. Im looking at buying an offset elbow pier. I’m also relocating my observatory so will be digging out new founds again. My question is - can I avoid the need to dig out a separate pier foundation and just pour a deeper single floor. This time I’m going for a 2.2m pulsar dome. I understand that vibrations etc will be more pronounced but I don’t intend to be in it whilst imaging. I plan on using a metal pier and bolt it to the floor. If a single floor is suffice how deep? And how would I go about calculating the offset of the bent pier to plan for ducting? Thanks in advance Adam.

Thanks David. I’ve bought plenty of stuff off him over the years so will drop him an email.

You can’t go wrong with a nice B33!! And I like how you’ve processed M106, really very vibrant, and the detail in the edge on galaxy below it is awesome! I really like my ED80 too, don’t think I’ll ever sell it. This is a fairly new our camera isn’t it with the square sensor. How long have you had it? Adam.

lol I do Botox so that’s no problem. Just self inject as required. Ive a few more questions 🙈 Bent pier or wedge? Can it be bought without either? as I can get one made locally Can the bought bent pier be bolted directly to the floor or is it a bit over engineered / too large at the base and more suited as a tripod? Could I just pour a deep base for the whole observatory and forget about a large block for the pier base if I’m going for a large bolted down design, since it’s not going to be centred if it’s bent?

Nice image Bob of a target you don't see that often.

I just wanted to bump this thread up rather than start a new one. I figured since I'm moving my kit into a dome this year, and it might be easier just to set it all up around my long term mount plans. I think these two fall into my price bracket: Mesu e2000 or CEM120EC2? The Mesu has double the payload at 100kg, and the CEM120 at 52kg. I could certainly see me wanting to go back to a double rig again, and would expect that to weigh in at around 30kg total. I'm currently at about 13kg with a single scope. Apart from CWs for the Mesu, are there any additional purchase costs? Any recommendations for and against these two options?

Quite incredible work there. I initially thought there was a tad too much noise reduction but the more I look at it, now I’m not sure. I thought my version was good but I just went back and looked at it. This is in a different league.

I’ll check my pc at home later. I can’t remember how much data I got but it wasn’t enough.

If you get APP up and running, post up any issues you run into. It uses all the same files as DSS, it just has a different interface. I still use DSS to do a quick stack on my obsy PC to check progress through the night of my subs, but APP is superior for the main data stacking.

Gradient Xterminator will cause those dark artefacts around the stars. It thinks it LP and tries to correct it.

Very nice, can even see the double in Alnitak.

Fascinating, nice to see this animation, really shows how much it has changed.

Good job there, I've found the tadpoles quite indistinct in RGB, HA would really pull them out.