tooth_dr

Hi there! As a uk site, not many of us (still) work in pounds. 2.72kg would not really trouble the SA, as it can comfortably cope with that. The literature states up to 5kg. You don’t count the weight of the CW in this. So there is room to add a lightweight auto guider too.

Thanks Ryan for that. Although it's B+W with the bayer matrix present, it does look pretty good. I think lack of dithering and calibration issues are introducing more noise than removing.

Hi Ryan I downloaded both of those files, and opened them both and the integration time is 1219s and 1238s respectively. Is this a mistake? Normally when I open my stacked files it has the total integration time (for example 18000s ie 5 hours). These files look not dissimilar to a single sub of my own data.

That’s really nice! How much cropping was there Alan?

I’m surprised no one has mentioned APT? This is what I use for synchronised dithering of my 2 ccds with a variety of options to either allow strict or loose activation of the client camera. It also worked for two 40d cameras and had no problem identifying each one. It can run any number of cameras too

Hi Ryan. Ok, straight to the point - if that is what I got after 11 hours of data I have to say I think I would be disappointed. But all is not lost since you clearly have an excellent guiding setup! As advised, ditch the darks, do a large dither and only use bias and flats. I have no idea about the scope you have mentioned buying, apart from just looking it up and noticing the enormous price tag. The ED80 is a fantastic scope and certainly well worth persisting with. A used 0.85x SW FF for £100 will both correct the field issues and speed up the scope. If you search the forum, it is full of images taken with this scope, most of which using the field flattener (myself included). Can you post the raw stacked data TIFF here? I don’t use maxim but do use photoshop to PP. I would be more than happy to try the data, as I’m sure a lot of others on here would too. I’ve learnt so much from the forum

Anyone any experience of any LPF for the big Nikon DLSRs?

Don’t worry I’m a patient man

None taken, I am definitely hangry just ?

Trail run is a spelling error, it should have read trial run. Not sure what you are implying?

Thanks Alan. I found four rechargable AAAs in the house, so hopefully they will do the business. The lead can also be removed from the wireless bit and plugged directly into the main handset so it can be used as a tethered option too. Partially clear skies forecast tonight, so fingers crossed for at least a bit of a trail run.

This remote arrived this morning. Hoping to use this camera on my SA mount with as few leads as possible.

Irish Astronomical Association

Yes. I double checked and it was on my meteor camera at the same time. Pretty lucky!!

Fantastic read. Well done.

At about 10pm I switched to the scope, and had a mare getting all running again. Guiding was excellent last night, with total RMS of 0.9, and then the computer crashed about 6 subs after I left it, shame as I had some lovely subs of M101. As for the F stop - I couldnt get focus, then ended up just stopping down to F8, I do have some at F2.8 F4 F5.6 that I can look at later. It was late last night when I wrapped up and am away doing an outreach even tonight at a local school.

My new lens arrived yesterday, and had some clear skies last night! A few high clouds but Im very happy with this. It was 3 x 150s at ISO400 F8. I am very new to widefield imaging, and it certainly seems harder than using the telescope due to the smaller scale of everything. This is a reduced size but uncropped stack of three subs on a full frame sensor.

Thanks! Clearish night too for first light. Orion and meteor

This came today:

This is really great Francis! I'm debating whether to get me SA out tonight, and try it with a 180mm lens also on a Nikon body, this is convincing me to try it!

Very informative guys. Thank you both for your replies ??????

I did google but thanks. I just didn’t understand James F saying a class 3b is ‘totally inappropriate’ but in fact astro lasers lie within the class 3b range? Obviously I understand you don’t want to be using 499mw lasers ?

For the not so well informed ... why? I’m interested in getting one myself and so am wondering the answer?

Looks great. Nice blue colour and the shelf is useful ?

I just done a public outreach event and the other guy helping me brought his green laser pointer. It was totally perfect for pointing out constellations and m42. It helped to show around 10-20 people simulateously the objects who all then queued to see it in the eyepiece. 100% go for it.