tomato

Interesting, but I am currently grappling with an intermittent mains trip that takes out half of the house so I’ll pass for the time being.

A couple of Esprit 150s and associated kit.🙂

Yes, the website upgrade is a nice improvement. I have a great time trying to anticipate when a clear band will pass over my location and estimating how long it might last, it’s almost a hobby in itself!

My Mesu Mk1 guides around 0.6 arc sec total RMS but it has a big dual rig on it which is tricky to balance and all up weight is in excess of 100 kg.

Sorry for the late response, here is my Master Dark and BPM data from my QHY268M, -10 deg C, 120 secs, 30 frames for the MD. I have no idea if these numbers are good, bad or indifferent, but I have attached the image using the camera and it seemed to calibrate OK. BPM Master Dark

Don’t print those forecasts either, or else you will have to stock up on red ink cartridges.☺️

Thanks for the update and good to hear that the StarSense app is pretty robust. But disappointing about SkySafari, it is a nice app but I purchased it specifically on the back of the StarSense functionality.

I image small galaxies with ASI 178 mono cameras retro fitted with Peltier coolers to achieve better temperature control for dark frame calibration. The 678 is billed as the successor to the 178 so I purchased one to see if collecting RGB data would complement an existing 178 for Lum data. I also want to try it out on my RASA8 but alas so far there have been nowhere near enough clear nights at my location to evaluate it. If nothing else I can use it to try and image the ISS…

All I can say is that I have personal experience of scopes big (Esprit 150, RASA8) and small being safely delivered from FLO over a number of years. They clearly have optimised the delivery process for fragile optical equipment, having had many years of experience and it is their core business after all. I would have no concerns.

Yeah, that’s why I started a thread called “the pillars of frustration”☺️

Nice M16. It barely gets above the neighbour’s rooftops from my location, but on the plus side it is a much brighter target than I expected.

I couldn’t image from Shropshire last night. The first couple of subs were OK but then the guide star SNR dropped by 50% and the target all but disappeared. Humidity in the dome was 98% when I closed the shutter and the dehumidifier had to work really hard to dry it all out.

Many years ago there was a toy figure with a heavy spherical base called a Wiebel, the tag line was “Wiebels wobble but they don’t fall down”. Perhaps they originated in the Netherlands?

Wow, and thought I had a lot cables and paraphernalia on my rig…👍

I also purchased Sky Safari to use with the StarSense unit. I have successfully installed it but have yet to use it in anger on my 16” Dobsonian due to the dire UK weather. I’ll post my findings as soon as I get it out under the stars.

Great job, I take my hat off to you to make a slide in filter using the amount of back focus you have to work with.

Great set of galaxy images👍🏼

I don’t know if you are out with your set up when imaging but maybe the local light conditions have changed, eg a neighbour has installed additional outside lighting?

Just to be clear, the funny emoji was reacting to the comment, the images are superb.👍🏼

You have no doubt noticed the number of threads on SGL bemoaning the UK weather and the very limited opportunities to put our Astro kit to good use. I would seriously be in no hurry to buy AP equipment, especially if it is a budget conscious compromise. Download some free quality datasets (there are some here on SGL, and plenty on the internet, the Hubble Space Telescope data is all in the public domain!) and have a go at calibration, stacking and post processing with DSS and GIMP, both are free to download. I think all of the commercial Astro processing software packages offer free trials in one form another so there is plenty to get into without spending any money. Get hold of a copy of “Making every photon count” and absorb all of the sound advice there in, that’s what I did before acquiring any kit.

After being super impressed with Olly and Paul's 10 panel SY135/RASA8 mosaic of this region I vowed to dust off the RASA and give the H&S region a go in broadband OSC to see if I can get anywhere near their standard, as I have an inkling that Olly's location (very dark sky) is playing it's part in the final image, but how much? However, the UK weather has currently killed any hope of gathering the data so I looked through my RASA8 archive. No OSC broadband data, but I did image the nebulae with the NBZ dual band filter. While processing I realised I had sufficient frame overlap to make a mosaic, albeit with some edges missing, so apologies for the rough framing, the backgrounds aren't consistent either... It doesn't answer my question but gives me something to do while the clouds scud across the sky.

Yes, some of the massive GCs associated with M87 are relatively easy to capture, I collected a few when attempting to image the plasma jet.

Great shot! So many DSOs visible.👍🏼

That's a fine image, well beyond beginner class in my book. You have applied a light touch on the processing which is to be commended, most folks when starting out are tempted to push their data too hard. Hence as has been commented, you could push the data a little further, more subs will help with the noise. Meridian flips are a bit scary at first, but well worth mastering, as you will almost double your available imaging time on the session.

I do believe ahem, that the facility is used to enable reliable communication to at least one remote imaging facility in Spain. It's an ill wind...