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Thalestris24

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Everything posted by Thalestris24

  1. Thalestris24
    Hi Rob Yeah, I've watched that video of Dion's and decided I will have a go! I've ordered some accessories and when I've got them I'll start from scratch as per Dion's instructions. If that doesn't work maybe I'll just go back to the 150pds which has always been perfect. The 130pds has been troublesome since I first got it http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/238240-my-brand-new-130pds-hmm/ Louise
  2. Thalestris24
    Hi Rob As I mentioned before, it was ok with the 1100d and gso cc up until I swapped over to the qhy8l and mpcc last week so I suspect it's tilt. However, Perhaps it's showing up with the mpcc which has a tighter spacing. The difficulty is really in making the tilt adjustment. I could be at it forever! Um, there's an allen key screw on the base of the focus tube - might that be relevant? Anyway, it's cloudy at the moment but there's a chance of a clear spell later. Thanks Louise
  3. Thalestris24
    From Last night: Maybe not any better after all Louise
  4. Thalestris24
    Hi Rob Oh ok, no gap there! It was unexpectedly clear last night so did some more adjusting. I managed to improve things a bit more but it still needs a tweak. I'll post another image a bit later. Thanks Louise
  5. Thalestris24
    Hi Rob I'm not sure I understand what you mean by shining a torch... The cc is all the way in the focus tube. All you can see is the variable spacer - plus the qhy8l, of course. Here is a pic of the setup: I can't have the camera in line with the dovetail as I have a 70mm guide scope on the other side so have to balance the two. It's been like that for a while now and didn't cause a problem with the 1100d. Sadly, I don't have any friends - let alone one with a bench drill and tap... I could try doing it with a hand drill but would likely make a hash of it... I might get an imaging window between 2-4am so will maybe have another go at trying to adjust. It can only need a small amount but I obviously need to get it just right. Thanks Louise
  6. Thalestris24
    Hi Rob Here is a before adjustment image: And one I did last night after adjusting: Some improvement, I think but I didn't have the imaging time to try again. That's really why I was asking about any techniques to help me - preferably in daylight... I just (last week) moved the qhy8l over from my 150pds. I didn't have a problem previously with the 1100d + gso coma corrector on the 130pds so it looks like I've introduced it. I didn't have a problem previously with the qhy8l on the 150pds and I just moved the qhy8l+spacer+mpcc en bloc from the 150pds to the 130pds. Unfortunately, I don't think I have the skills or wherewithal to add a third screw to the focuser tube though I can see there'd by a distinct advantage to it! I've downloaded CCDInspector so will have a look with that tomorrow. Louise
  7. Thalestris24
    Hi Well it boils down to how the camera / coma corrector sit in the focuser tube. Louise
  8. Thalestris24
    Hi It's when the sensor/camera isn't square to the incoming image light . This results in one side or part of it having elongated stars. Louise
  9. Thalestris24
    Hi Thanks but that was essentially what I was doing but it was a PIA plus it relies on my judgement... They also mention ccd inspector so maybe that would be better. Cheers Louise
  10. Thalestris24
    Hi all So I finally got around to shifting my trusty qhy8l over to the 130pds last week I took a load of subs the other day and at first glance they seemed ok. However, on closer inspection there was some obvious tilt present - tut! It's painful to have to throw subs away... I tried to correct the tilt earlier but I think there might still be a hint present. I'm using the qhy tilt ring as well as the focuser screws. I'm wondering if there's an easy, foolproof way of getting the adjustment spot on? Is CCD Inspector the way to go or is there another magic technique I can use? I don't want to waste more subs! Grateful for any input/advice/suggestions. Thanks Louise (have also posted this on the Cameras forum)
  11. Thalestris24
    Alas, I don't have a tent and, even if I did, I've no easy way of getting there... Louise
  12. Thalestris24
    Well a misty patch is better than nothing! My neighbour just came back from a trip to South Africa. He visited the Karoo - many miles from any artificial light. Of course, what he saw in the heavens was amazing. He said he thought of me. Very thoughtful of him! Still, I have to make do with pictures Cheers Louise
  13. Thalestris24
    Rob: I note you can see the Milky Way - at least sometimes! I don't think I've seen it since I was a child! Maybe one day...
  14. Thalestris24
    Very nice! As always, Rob! Louise
  15. Thalestris24
    Indeed, though TazG appears to be in Nova Scotia so I didn't mention it!
  16. Thalestris24
    Hi TazG The 130pds is a great scope but unfortunately it isn't all you need and the scope (ota) can be pretty much the cheapest part of an imaging system. Imaging is a money pit! It is also quite demanding in terms of time and effort (and frustration!). I recommend you read up on astrophotography and what it entails before buying anything. There is a lot of info here, of course, but a good up to date book on the subject is a good place to start. Louise
  17. Thalestris24
    I guess so but not easy to fit to my setup and might be difficult to focus. I'm not really a solar imager but it makes a change plus it's good to be able to image during the day
  18. Thalestris24
    Looks like it was this though I'm pretty ignorant about such things! http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/246872-ar2371-close-up/
  19. Thalestris24
    Hiya So maybe the OIII adds a little contrast. Well, solar flares cause auroras several days later but I don't know if there's any link to today's sunspots. I'll have to look in the solar section to see if anyone caught the offending flare! The original frames are auto-cropped to 1500x1500 by Pipp, then I reduced the stacked output image by 50% so the posted ones are half actual size. Louise
  20. Thalestris24
    Ok, will try that next time if I can find something suitable to cover the 130pds+solar filter. Thanks Louise
  21. Thalestris24
    Sun was out this morning so had a go with some solar imaging today Just in white light but also had a quick go with some standard NB filters. I wasn't expecting them to have any effect but there may be some subtle differences - or could just be quality variation? All taken with a fs modded Canon 1100d fitted with a cls-ccd. I preprocessed in Pipp (1500 x 1500) and stacked the best ones in Registax 6. Anyway, here you go: First - plain white light: Using Baader 7nm Halpha: Using Baader OIII: Using Baader SII: Hmm... I obviously need some flats too but not sure how to do them for solar? I'd have posted in the Solar forum but was too embarrassed by the dust bunnies... Louise
  22. Thalestris24
    Added some more data (7x600s total) and made it less red / more blue (and stretched a bit more): Edit: Maybe not so good...
  23. Thalestris24
    Here's a version of NGC6940 taken at the beginning of May with the modded 1100d. It's just 3 x 600s. I have lots more data but, erm, my flats didn't seem to match... I'll have to investigate... Stacked in dss with flats, darks and bias frames. Just for fun I processed in Gimp and I decomposed into separate red, green and blue and adjusted and stretched each separately. I figure this is a bit like mono rgb processing? Unfortunately the current dev version of Gimp has a problem with (re)composing the rgb image so I had to revert to the older non-16bit stable version. Still, it was interesting to do (on a cool, cloudy day). Louise
  24. Thalestris24
    I just made a solar filter (Baader Astrosolar 5.0) for my 130pds Nice little job for a Sunday afternoon. Hope to get a chance to use it in the coming week. I tried last year with the ST-80 but could never get sharp focus. I thought it was either me or the scope but it eventually turned out that I hadn't removed the clear plastic film - d'uh! So more hopeful this time I made it from some leftover original foam packaging from the scope and some cardboard plus a glue gun - real Blue Peter stuff! It has a net aperture of 120mm so just under F6. Can see the sun through it quite clearly by eye Louise
  25. Thalestris24
    ps If anyone's interested there's a useful video here for adding the SW autofocuser to an ED80 - same Crayford focuser. The video maker adds a Hitec usb controller + Focusmax. However, just for fun, I built my own usb interface based on a Motorbee board, and wrote some software to control it . Louise
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