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groberts

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Posts posted by groberts

  1. After more than 10-years away from observing, I recently decided to get a mid-range refractor to mostly dedicate to observing again: (a) for something to do whilst imaging (b) for the occasional gaps in the clouds that might permit observing but not long or clear enough for imaging (c) to take to dark sites and (d) to share views with my family, in particular my grandchildren.  After looking around and with the help of others on this forum I purchased a Starfield 102 ED f7 and after the ineviable wait for clear skies last night was First Light for the Starfield and I wasn't disappointed.

    This scope is a step-up in quality from what I'd used before and the impact was obvious with my views of the Moon, which was crystal sharp; it's easy to take the moon for granted, or the enemy when imaging, but last night it was a real joy to view.  In the time available I then went on to a few popular winter stars that ares still about with equally good results: Sirius, Betleguese, Alderbaran and Procyon. Finally moved back to Orion and had an excellent view of M42 and some of it's components.

    Alll together it was a good return to observing and bodes well for more ambitious objects in the future.

    Graham

        

    • Like 10
  2. It’s been 8-years since I last dabbled with imaging this exciting object and for good reason.  From my position, this bird flies at a maximum 28o low on the southern horizon and, furthermore, spends much of its time behind houses, trees, and tall hedges, thus providing just two short windows for imaging; combined with this winter’s terrible weather it made for a tough but ultimately rewarding target.  Despite the difficulties posed, each of the Ha, OIII and SII wavelengths are strong, making for good data acquisition and a pleasing final image.

    Graham

     

    Imaged over 4-nights between 18th January & 12th February 2024 from Redhill, Surrey, UK 

    William Optics GT81 + ZWO ASI294MM camera

    Ha 16 x 10mins

    OIII 13 x 10mins

    SII 14 x 10mins

    Total Integration 7hr 10 mins    

    Seagull_FinalX (Large).png

    • Like 15
  3. Located northeast (left) of Pleiades, south of California Nebula and north (above) of Aldebaran, spanning more than 30o of the night sky is the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC), a rich area of dark nebulae punctuated by bright areas of new star formation.  The image captures numerous, complex dark nebulae across the field-of-view, including Barnard 10 & 214, LDN 1495 & VdB 27, together with bright reflection nebulae LBN 782 & 785 and the odd galaxy – if you look carefully.

    Captured over x4 night from 6th November to 15th January between the otherwise unrelenting cloud & rain!

    Graham

    William Optics GT81 & ASI294MM camera

    Redhill, Surrey

    Total Integration 11hr 30m

    L 50 x 5m

    R 30 x 5m

    G 31 x 5m

    B 27 x 5m

      

      

    Barnard 10 FINAL Jan 2024.jpg

    • Like 10
  4. 19 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

    If you are not imaging and observing at the same time why not just use the one scope?

    Because I like to have each rig set-up dedicated, so I just have to take it out + clamp it on the mount + connect and I'm imaging / reverse when finished, also my calibration library for each rig remains good for months.

    I'm liking what I see with the SW 102 but will this really get good results with the planets?  An SCT is a possibility to get more aperture but I do find refractors just easy to use.

    Meanwhile , been following the thread on Small aperture APO for Visual on SGL but surely these are just too small for good planetary viewing? 

    A slight diversion - seen elsewhere somethting like a Panoptic can have a positive impact on viewing (particularly as I wear glasses), I realise it bumps the budget up somewhat but maybe a price worth paying if it helps get the result I want.  

    Graham               

  5. I started my astronomy journey +10 years ago, initially observing with a Skywatcher 150 newtonian but soon thereafter sold this and moved to an Apo refractor + AZEQ6-GT mount for imaging, which has been my passion ever since.  I've just bought an AM5 mount which I eventually intend to combine with a new dedicated apo refractor (100 - 120mm) and camera but am also thinking of occasionally using it with an inexpensive refractor (a) to re-awaken my oberving interest (b)  for those times when there's a sufficient  clear sky for observing but not imaging = much of the time (c) to take away from time-to-time for casual observing in darker skies (it's Bortle 6'ish here at home) i.e. portable and, in particular (d) to share views with other family members, especially the grandchildren who already show great interest in grandad's images!  Bearing in mind the latter (granchildren), I feel it needs to produce decent views of the planets and moon + (for me) maybe larger DSO's and variable stars etc.

    For ease-of-use I'd prefer a refractor  but what sort (aperture) is going to deliver the aforementioned objectives?  Given my other astronomy plans, budget is maybe up to £500 new or second-hand if something suitbale came up.  I already have a set of plossl eyepieces (6 / 10 / 20 / 32mm) and a x2 Barlow and x2.5 Powermate + light pollution. moon & UHC 1.25" filters.  Looking at other reviews on SGL and online I wonder if something like the SW 102 would do the job?

    Graham

     

     

         

     

                  

  6. Following the corruption of my SSD hard drive I'm having to reinstall and recover all my files and programmes on my laptop for processing. 

    At the moment all the folders default to Read Only so when I run a pre-processing stacking programme it cannot write the processed subs and stacks to the relevant folder.  Is there an easy way to remove the Read Only either for each folder or better still globally?

    Graham

      

  7. I need to get dew straps for (1) my WO GT 81 - circumferance 330mm, and (2) a WO 50mm guidescope - circumferance 185mm, and wonder how exact the fit needs to be?

    FLO have recommended this Lynx Astro 30cm for the GT81, which of course is 30mm too short, does this matter / is there an alternative elsewhere that will fit better? 

    Staying with  Lynx equivalent for the guidescope would be either be 150mm or 200mm - same question, which one or is there a better fit?

    Graham

     

      

     

  8. 7 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

    On the ASIAir (apart from the first version) the power ports can be set to control the dew strap power style, they just need a 2.1mm connection instead of a phono plug. I don't believe there is a non ZWO controller that can be controlled from the ASIAir.

     

     

    Thanks, I thought about that - so you just vary the amp setting via the ASIair?  I wonder oif there's a maxium limit?

    Graham

  9. For years using my rig near to the house and just adding a dew shield, I manage to avoid dew 99.9% of the time. 

    However, I'm now intending to venture down the garden with a new AM5 + ASIair set-up to get a view of the north sky (my house is otherwise in the way!) and that will mean much more dew.  I can of course plug the dew strap directly into the ASIair plus but would like to have some control over the heat with a controller but they generally seem to require a dedicated DC power supply, which is just more 'stuff' and would prefer to avoid.

    Can anybody recommend a dew controller that would work directly with the ASIair plus?

    Graham    

  10. OK I now have the ZWO ASI120 MM and the William Optics 50mm FL200mm guidescope which are connected up fine with the USB 2.0 port on the rear of the ASI294MM and seems OK, they're certainly 'talking' to each other - inevitably there's also been weeks of clouds (sorry guys!) so am just learning my way around the AM5 and ASIair plus indoors. 

    Whilst I appreciate this may vary with sky condtions, what's the best gain setting for this camera when used as a guidescope?

    Graham   

  11. I've always used the excellent Starlight Express Lodestar X2 camera for guiding in the past but currently putting together a new rig built around the AM5 mount and ASIair, so have to go full ZWO!  I have therefore purchased a  ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono camerea paired with a William Optics 50mm for guiding. 

    Just want to check:

    1. That the camera only needs to be connected via the USB-C port on the camera to a USB 2.0 port i.e don't use the ethernet cable supplied too?
    2. Does this have to be a USB 2.0 port on the ASIair or can it also run through one of the spare USB 2.0 ports I have available on the back of the ASI 294MM Pro imaging camera being used?

    Graham   

     

     

  12. 21 hours ago, Elp said:

    If it's a new air you need to register the unit, this sometimes causes people issues as they don't have WiFi and cellular connection on at the same time (you need WiFi to connect to the air, and cell to register). Took me one or two tries but a quick internet search and all was good.

    Sorry but what do you mean by 'cell connection'?

  13. Just about to embark on using the ASIair plus using an Android tablet and wanted to ask:

    1. What is the newest version of the app I should be using - seems to be v2.1 on the ZWO website but doesn't say which in the Google Play app library? 
    2. Anythiung else I need to know / problems others have encountered dowloading and setting up the app?

    Thanks.

    Graham

     

  14. I need to purchase a suitable ZWO guide camera to go with a WO UniGuide scope and ASIiair plus.

    The ASI 120MM mini seems to do the job ad is popular but from personal experience, is this camera OK for this purpose or are there other contenders to consider? 

    Graham 

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