Pompey Monkey

Most excellent, dude!

6 hours ago, johngm said:

Hi All,

Has anyone successfully installed Starnet + +Pixinsight module for windows 10 ?. I am having issues with Pixinsight  not seeing the module. First, a run down on my laptop.

It Has an intel 4000 series Dual core processor, 8GB  ram, (shared Graphics) and 512GB SSD dirive. From the readme doc, it meets the requirements. Its a Windows 10 64 Bit OS, and my PI is version 1.8.8.5 the most up to date.

Installation procedure. 

I am following the instructions in the readme file. Downloading the Starnet_PI_Windows.zip file, Unzipping this file. Then i open the unzipped folder and copy and then paste the files into the PI Bin folder, as per instruction. Next i open PI, and navigate to Process > Modules > Install Modules. Then when the dialog opens, i hit the search tab, but i then get the message "0 new modules found"

Has anyone else come across this problem ?

Regards in advance

John

 

Did you restart PI after copying the files?

There is always the azeq6 gt if you want to do visual and AP with the same mount.

Skywatcher mounts are excellent value for money, easy to use, and well supported through ASCOM/EQMOD for AP.

9 hours ago, russ said:

Oh no, i packed away too early. Was the comet easily visible from Portchester? I was looking around 1am in Eastleigh but couldn't spot it.

It was, just. A clear horizon to the NNE was needed, so i went up portsdown hill for a better view. 

10 minutes ago, John said:

I'm packing in as well. Totally agree Neil - this is what it is all about. The sky rewarded me with this sight as I packed the scope away - simply breathtaking:

 

Lovely picture and the best comet I've ever seen!

I can see the same noctilucent clouds from Portchester (Hants) Too.

It will be fine. Any dust that might manage to get on the sensors window can be corrected for with flats.

If you want to clean it prior to fitting the CC, just use a puffer:

I don't know how to calculate any of it

But here is a nice write-up of the idea I am trying to convey.

https://darkskydiary.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/twilight-vs-light-pollution/

I think it might depend on your local light pollution.

If the local light smog is significantly worse than the sky brightness for nautical dark, then you might as well carry on...  

15 hours ago, Diddykong said:

200PDS reflector.

 

The temp has been pretty mild was maybe around 10degrees last time though.

As long as the dew point temperature is higher than ambient, dew can form. It is even more likely on surfaces like, wait for it, metal and glass that radiate their heat directly into space (under clear skies). The temperature of these materials can be considerably cooler than the surrounding air.

This is why fans are often used on reflector primaries: passing the ambient air over the surface of the glass is actually a warming process.

So, it could still be dew.

I fhi k you may need a 35 mm extension:

Hmmm.

It might be time to close this thread...

In my eyes, the re-process has too much noise reduction.

I prefer your original. It looks a lot more natural, although the black point is still pretty clipped.

The trick is to leave just a little noise in (not that I'm much good at it myself)

If the pots and pans is confusing,  try to think the of funnels  with the same size small end (eyepiece  or camera) but with different top diameters.

Which funnel will fill a cup with water faster?

A telescope effectively funnels photons into a smaller area to make the photon flux (photons per unit area, per time) greater.

The sky background will keep the same brightness. I'd <suggest> keeping your default exposure times. Maybe someone else has better info/experience on this?

Also, with a 2xBarlow, you'll need 4 times the total exposure to get the same number of target photons per unit area on your sensor.

But, to quote Harry Hill: "There's only one way to find out!"

How do you focus without the filter?

How do you focus with the filter  fitted? If you can focus, then you should at least get some stars on your subs!

1 hour ago, m.tweedy said:

Ditto

Me too.

It's worth paying a bit extra. Cheap USB  hubs have caused me all kinds of headaches over the years, and not just in astronomy. 

I concur with @steppenwolfthat this is a result of drift caused by imperfect polar alignment.

However, I'm a bit surprised that these pixels did not get calibrated out on the stacking. What pixel rejection did you use?

Also, dithering will soon be your best friend.

+1 for the 7-port Startech powered USB hub. The only downside is that the LEDs (like far too many devices) are a bit bright at night.

It's in here, somewhere...

A (plain) t-shirt over the aperture of the scope at dusk or dawn works fine.

1 minute ago, Adam1234 said:

If it is slightly tilted relative to the RA axis though, would it not calculate the centre of rotation incorrectly? No, this is exactly why the software asks you to rotate the mount twice - to determine the axis of rotation (RA).

As an example, if for some really strange reason one decided to attach the Polemaster on its side then obviously the centre of rotation would clearly be wrong (it probably wouldn't even be able to calculate it). Obviously the Polemaster needs to be pointing roughly in line with the RA axis, or it won't be able to find it.

Just trying to determine why I'm finding it hard to get the star to stay on the green circle. It seems that after I have done the 2nd rotation, the star is just outside the circle, and is still off the circle by approximately the same amount by time I rotate back to the home position. If the star starts on the circle, but then is off it after rotating back to the same position, then it suggests that the whole mount is moving while you rotate the RA axis. Are the altitude and azimuth adjustments moving while you rotate the RA axis? Is the ground/tripod solid?

What @wimvb advises ^^

It doesn't matter if the polemaster is perfectly aligned with the mount.

The entire point of the device is to locate the RA axis of your mount (by rotating stars on the green circle), and then aligning this axis to the NCP.

29 minutes ago, malc-c said:

Using a finder as a guide scope has the advantage of being lightweight,  but being a short focal length not a lot of movement would be detected, hence why your PHD traces were good but the resulting image had trails. 

I don't agree with this diagnosis: Although the SW finder has a fairly short FL (about 180 mm), This, coupled with the 3.75 um pixels in the ASI 120m, should guide the 200P adequately. Smooth guide graphs with star trails on the main image is a classic indicator of differential flexure.

I do agree, however, that a 200P on an EQ5 is pushing it for reliable guiding.

On the heq5, the 130 PDS is considered an excellent match. Very easy to attach a dslr to, to get started. Also easy to guide for longer exposures,  as you find your "ap legs"

Check out the "Imaging with a 130 PDS" thread in the beginners imaging section.

On 29/03/2020 at 18:03, discardedastro said:

You can still be at the mercy of flex elsewhere - e.g. the helical focuser on the Primaluce Lab scope will move laterally if you let it, so cable anchoring is a good move regardless. I use velcro and a bit of gaffer tape.

I

This happens with the generic guide scopes too. The fix i used was to add two more locking screws to secure the helical part of the focuser. The holes were already there, drilled and tapped!

Just takes a bit of nerve to tweak them up tight enough without stripping the threads.....