Ohgodwherediditgo

This is my first attempt at an intended target, really just to prove that i could actually 'drive' the telescope at long last. It is the Pacman Nebula. There is 34mins of integration with 90 second subs using a Vixen VC200L with a Canon 1000D ( modded ). Tracking wasn't great, hopefully because i calibrated PHD on the target rather then nearer celestial equator. Why are the stars with defraction spikes diamond shaped ? Any suggestions on exposure time on this target ? Noise reduction ? I would have had longer on target but i attempted to plug in a dew heater on low power into my usb hub and heard the camera shutter close immediately so i called it a night.

Focusing and camera cooling was Cuiv, maybe more. I had a look at the ASIair when my laptop let the smoke out about a month ago and I couldn't find stock anywhere. Same story with Stellarmate.

I just did a sanity check in Stellarium and it would seem that the difference between a 5D II and 6D is a moot point. If i was to buy either of those two then i would be at 0.73''/px ( close to where i am right now ), if I am to go for the classic 5D then it's 0.94/px , and if i was to stay with the 1000D and buy the focal reducer (£320) 1.03''/px. If i binned 2x2 with the 5D it's 1.8''/px. In conclusion I'm thinking that the 5D is actually the better choice for what I'm trying to achieve!? I did look into a APS-H sensor because of the flexibility of being able to use the focal reducer without significant vignetting, but the 1D and focal reducer is hideously expensive.

Fortunately I do have a decent gaming PC to process on. Do you have a suggestion for good binning software to use? I'm currently only using Siril as its free and I'm still getting my head around the very basics of processing.

I did a bit of searching and found this: Along the Reducer HD 0.79x focal reducer, the Vixen VC200L astrograph become a powerful and versatile optical system for astrophotography with two different focal lengths (1800 mm F/9 and 1386 mm F/6.9) corrected also on larger sensors. Correction is granted up to 24x36 mm, the full-frame format. We suggest however to limit sensor size to APS-H (35 mm image circle) when Reducer HD is used in combination with the VISAC in order to keep vignetting at acceptable levels. I'll check stellarium again later but if I recall correct, the reducer didn't offer a much wider field of view in addition to a full frame sensor, and the aps-c size plus a reducer was a smaller field of view than just using a full frame sensor. On binning, it looks like you're right. There is an old post on here suggesting that DSS has a 'super pixel' process that can bin without effecting colour. I can appreciate that the 6D is a better camera than the 5D but I'm not sure the increase in price represents a similar increase in image quality. 😵

I bought a Vixen VC200L as a first imaging scope earlier this year, lets call it ambition and move on. It's mounted on an NEQ6 Pro and guided using an Altair Maxiguider 80mm with an Altair GPCam 130. I have been using a Canon 1000D and I'm concerned I may be oversampling at 0.65''/pixel. If i bin 2x2 then that comes up to 1.3''/pixel ( i have never tried binning), but I'm not sure how well the 10.1 MP sensor would cope. My proposed solution is to upgrade to a Canon 5D or 5D ii. There is a big difference in price between the two. The 5D is 12.8 MP and the 5D ii 21.1 MP. Ideally I'd like to save some cash and get the 5D, but not if binning at 21.1 MP would be far superior. Also with the 5D series being full frame, my FOV is increased quite substantially, and with the addition of a reducer later down the road i could frame the complete Horses Head, which is where i want to be in terms of max FOV. Does this make sense?

Do you have your co-ordinates entered in to EQMOD ?

Cuiv, the lazy geek is a Youtuber that has made a lot of videos on N.I.N.A. I would advise watching him if you're new to N.I.N.A, as i am.

FFS

I too suffered with the dew last night. I'm not sure if the dew was responsible for not getting focus with my DSLR or the exposure was too short to pick up the stars, PHD was really struggling so i gave up. Lessons were learned though so not a total loss.

There is hope after all.

If you don't have any joy with Bruce's suggestion, you could download ontopreplica which will overlay any region of the screen you select over any other open window. Edit: The direction keys may not function with ontopreplica as it only replicates the view in the region selected. Hadn't thought of that before I posted.

I'm inexperienced in this hobby so not sure if there is a shop capable of replacing the damaged part. The crack, from what i can make out appears to be through a piece of alloy that has been cast in a mould. There are alloy wheel welding specialists that are capable of welding the crack but that may require some disassembly by yourself to remove the mirror, and also possibly remove the ring from the tube, i imagine that it is riveted with 3.2mm pop rivets which are easy to drill out. With the mirror removed you should have good access to the inside of the dent to hammer it out while holding a dolly on the outside to prevent the surrounding area from becoming deformed and then re-protect with paint. I hope your mirror is OK and I hope this is somewhat helpful.