tomato

Thanks for the feedback, the psychology towards just processing data is fascinating. On the IKI data I was more in a learning and I suppose a competition mindset, and I could compare my efforts to others, so I was OK with that. I think the problem is I get fired up about galaxies and I once I have chosen a target I kind of form an attachment that starts with planning an imaging session and finishes when I post the ‘final’ processed image. The problem with NGC 1365 is the frustration of not being able to personally fulfil the data capture part of the process, I suppose our friends in the Southern hemisphere could feel the same way about M31 and M81/82? Anyway, I ought to get used to just processing data, as the day will come, if I’m still here, when I’m not able to lift the scopes on and off the mount so then it will have to be either a Seestar or third part data.

When I read the title I assumed you had got bored with the clouds and programmed a slewing sequence into your mount so it played a tune. I was so looking forward to watching and listening to the video…

There is a bit of a story behind this one: When I first started AP back in the 1980's the Holy Grail was to capture an image of the Horsehead Nebula after seeing a photo taken with the with the 48" Schimdt telescope at Siding Springs. I did eventually succeed but it was truly awful. Nowadays, it makes me smile that a Seestar will give you a vastly superior image with the absolute minimum of effort. Fast forward to 2016 and my return to the hobby focused on galaxy imaging and I was again blown away when I came across an image of NGC 1365, surely the most photogenic barred spiral galaxy in the entire sky. Capturing my own version would, however, be significantly more challenging. For a start, it is so southerly it is impossible to image from the UK and even from southern Spain it is a bit of a challenge. With little opportunity to image in the UK due to the permacloud, my thoughts have returned to this target. The only option for now was to process an existing third party dataset, so after looking around I took a punt and purchased a 8.67 hr RGB dataset from Starbase for $20. It was captured with a 12.5" RC and SBIG ST1100 CCD from Chile. TBH, the data was a little disappointing, quite a colour gradient across the combined image and several hot columns in the individual 10 minute subs. Still I took it through my usual workflow. Although I have an image of it now in my collection, the process has been oddly unsatisfying. It does make me wonder if I would feel the same sense of dissatisfaction if I was to get data directly from a remote site, but unless I put my dual rig over my shoulder and get on a plane, I don't have much of an option. There is a 27 hr dataset available for £50 through the Society for Popular Astronomy, I'm not sure...

Tilt adjustment is a chore but is it $695 worth of a chore? It may not be for the purists, but I’m happy with fixing it in processing if it’s not too bad.

Thanks, a 2 hour (becomes 4 with the dual rig☺️) window is forecast for tomorrow, I could sneak in another session before the moon gets too obtrusive.

Sorry to hear that your enthusiasm for imaging has taken a tumble. I try to apply some reverse psychology to the UK weather and get a buzz from extracting any image, regardless of quality, from this almost permanently cloud covered island. It’s adding to your equipment list but if “big AP” is getting you down, why not buy a Seestar? It’s hassle free imaging and the owners who post on here are some of the most enthusiastic on SGL. And you have the added advantage that if your mojo returns you won’t have to decide what next level of kit to buy.

This is a pair of interacting galaxies, NGC 5426 and NGC 5427 in Virgo, some 130 million light years distant. There is some speculation that this interaction is not dissimilar to that which our own Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies will experience in around 5 billion years time. This capture was on the ragged edge for me, culmination occurs at only 31 degrees altitude at my location so I needed to start imaging as soon as it cleared the lower edge of the dome aperture. All was well to start with then the stars started to disappear from the subs and I realised that although the target was clear of my neighbour's garage it was being temporarily obscured behind the taller obstruction of the adjoining house. I had to wait patiently for around 35 minutes before it reappeared. I managed to get 77 x 2 mins Lum and 75 x 2 mins RGB with the Esprit 150/QHY268 dual rig. It really needs at least twice that but yet another front has blown in and the moon will soon be making an appearance. Having said all that, I'm quite pleased with the result given the adverse capture conditions. Thanks for looking.

Thanks very much Dave for your complimentary feedback. I must be out of my mind but I’m going to try and image Arp 271 tonight, I supposedly have a clear but breezy 4 hour window…

Inspired by the 62.5 hr, Deep Sky West, TOA-130 image of the Eyes, which @gorann recently posted a link to, I thought I would see what detail I could tease out from my 8.5 hrs from Soggy Shropshire. This is a close crop of the original Esprit 150/QHY268 image, I tried to add in another couple of hours from data collected from the same rig in 2022, but the colour processing was problematic, so I've stayed with just the recent data. It can't hold a candle to the colour and detail extravaganza image that inspired me to have a go, but it is interesting how much of a crop you can get away with with the Esprit 150/IMX571 sensor combination. Thanks for looking.

Excellent detail, and subtle processing of the colour. I'm always tempted and usually succumb to overdoing the saturation on this galaxy. I agree with Olly that there is a hint of green overall on my monitor, but it's not much.

If ever an image demonstrated that a large refractor can nail an image of a small galaxy, this must be it. But 62.5 hrs from Deep Sky West helps.

Only this? I guess it depends on your point of view, on the one hand you have a lot of featureless “faint fuzzies” but on the other those distant galaxies provide tangible markers on the otherwise incomprehensible depth of space that resides in your excellent image, each one an island universe in its own right. Complimenting these multiple galaxies of all shape and sizes, there are a myriad of super sized black holes, a plasma jet, each patch of diffuse light is made up of countless suns harbouring equally countless planetary systems perhaps some with life on them including civilisations, some maybe hundreds of thousands years older than ours and others which have no doubt turned back to sand. I therefore propose that your image knocks any bit of photogenic gas and dust into a cocked hat, but that’s just my opinion.😉

It will go back on if required, but definitely on an independent power source.

I damaged my RC IMX 571 OSC camera which required it to be sent back to RC in China for an out of warranty repair. Their support was very good, Eddie at RC advised me with details on how to ship it back and kept me fully informed of progress. The whole process took 40 days and cost £154 including shipping both ways, which I thought was reasonable.

Camera arrived back safely today and is once again operational.👍🏼 A 40 day turnaround and £154 total cost including shipping, I can’t fault RisingCam’s after sales service, Eddie kept me fully informed and a fair price for the out of warranty repair. As a post script for those owners of this camera who may be concerned about their reliability, I think the failure may have been self-inflicted: I had retro fitted a ZWO stick on heater to the camera which was wired into the same cable as the power supply to the camera. I think on the night in question as my unsteady hand plugged in the power I may have made and broken the connection rapidly thereby subjecting the camera to an induced voltage from the heater coil which blew some components on the PCB. This scenario will not be repeated.😏

Just my personal view, but although the Ha regions really show in the original version, I think they overwhelm the galaxy somewhat, so for the reasons you have out outlined, I think your new version is much better.👍 Having the time and inclination to reprocess old data is about the only silver lining our clouds possess.

I have used gym weights to good effect, but when I was really desperate I punched a hole through a biscuit tin, filled it full of rocks, taped the lid on then held it on the shaft with jubilee clips. You couldn’t see it in the dark.

When I took mine apart to investigate the fault, the internals were pristine, the bolts holding it all together are stainless steel, the camera body is aluminium and I can’t see much in the way of ferrous components inside to rust?

Great detail in the galaxies and the faint stuff is there too.👍 I have only viewed it on an iPad but there is hint of red in the background?

Skywatcher make a light weight 18” and 20” Dobsonian but I think their 16” is only available as a flextube. All that chipboard and steel tube make it a substantial beast, 80kg, vs 40 kg for the 16” ES truss tube scope.

There is a 16” Explore Scientific ultra light Dobsonian in the classifieds, it is a truss tube design but there aren’t many 16” dobs out there which are lighter and more compact. I have a 16” SW flextube but it is not the easiest scope to to move around.

I've just noticed I have gone through the 5000 posts milestone today, with a post highlighting my inability to Polar Align after 10 years in the hobby. 😏 I joined SGL in Feb 2014, seeking advice, as so many do, on how to spend money on astro kit. Little did I know how this forum would form such an integral part of my enjoyment of this hobby, thanks of course to the diverse, knowledgeable, and above all, thoroughly decent folks who are fellow members. Here's to the next 5000 posts and 10 years hopefully, I wonder what will be a hot topic then?

That would indeed be a problem, but I use mine purely to monitor sky conditions when imaging. Also I found having the sensor exposed to sunlight all the time was generating lots of dead pixels so now the covers only come off at night.

I purchased it used from ENS optical, Birmingham. They always have some suitable ASC lenses in stock: Search - all sky camera lens (ensoptical.co.uk)

Galaxies, or at least a lot of them, are faint objects so you need as many photons from the source as possible hitting your sensor, and a UV/IR filter will let more light through. It's only my opinion, but I find modern software light pollution removal tools (I use the one in Astro Pixel Processor) do a fantastic job on removing even severe LP gradients.