tomato

I was looking at imaging scales the other night and noticed that my current small galaxy camera, the ASI 178 with a RASA8 gives an imaging scale of 1.24 arcsecond per pixel binned 1x1. So last night I put it on the RASA and went after NGC 891. I scaled 94 mins of subs with the same integration taken with the Esprit 150 and the same camera binned 2x2 so imaging at 0.94 arcsecond per pixel. After the same process workflow, here are the results: RASA8 and the Esprit 150 version: OK, the 6" APO clearly wins (phew!) but wait, as usual with my comparison posts, there is a catch, the retrofitted cooler on the camera is providing quite an additional central obstruction on the RASA: Also I have just noticed that there is now a superior alternative to the 178 available, the ASI678 which has smaller pixels (equivalent to 1.03 arcseconds per pixel), lower read noise and no amp glow. It is only available in OSC, but using a mono camera on the RASA to get a colour image would be tedious to say the least. I think I will take a punt on one of these cameras and see how good small galaxy imaging could be with the RASA. I always thought that if I had to go down to just one imaging scope it would be the Esprit 150, but now I'm not so sure...

That’s great, a huge amount of dust detail.👍

You can use software to plan your mosaic and then let it do all the clever stuff all on its own, but if you are not there yet you can start off in pure manual mode. Pick an object that needs a couple of panels to cover it, e.g. my first mosaic was a two panel image of the Eastern Veil Nebula. Align your field of view for the first panel, then once you have those subs move the FOV so around 10-20% of the first image is still visible either along the top or side edge then take your second panel. I’m not sure what free software will align the two images post calibration but I use APP which makes combining the panels really straightforward and creates a seamless join to boot.

I do quake at the prospect of any mosaic over 4 panels but if you are fortunate to have a set up that goes deep quickly (e.g. RASA) then with modern software to stitch them together, a 4 panel mosaic is IMHO not too onerous. Sure, they will consume quite a bit of clear sky time, but then any serious imaging project will.

Here is effectively a 3 panel mosaic of the Cygnus region NE of Sadr. Taken with the SY135/RC571c/NBZ combination, total integration 411 minutes. Calibrated, stacked and the panels combined in APP, processed in PI and Affinity Photo. Annotated

I had excellent results with an iPhone 11. When the phone was in position it was readily viewable in about 90% of all scope orientations and it only took about 30 seconds to realign when removed from the cradle (this was in July) so I never considered the need for a second, dedicated phone. I’m pretty sure the software version on my phone had a night vision option.

I think the one that @Tomatobro put together for me pulls about 4W, the base plate is just warm to the touch on a 0 to +5 deg C night. One key factor is the seal of the clear dome to the base. The o ring used initially was slightly too small an OD, and ingressed moisture just kept condensing on the inside apex of the dome. A slightly thicker o ring fixed this.

@Tomatobro put me on to this. I always believed the popular story that the LM guidance computer fell over and Neil Armstrong took over full manual control and saved the day, but this talk sheds some more light on this. Once again the guys (men and women) on the ground played a massive part in the success of the mission.

The distinction between the dust and the background sky is one of the best I have seen, the bright nebula region has been balanced in perfectly, and there is just no noise at all, superb. What is the integration time on each panel?

Yes, there is not a lot of power being transferred and it is all at low speed but precision is everything so I’m impressed that everything is still within tolerances after 10 years.

The replies, I think, pretty much reflect the state of play, those who have grown up with visual will no doubt stay with it, but it is the way future generations will embrace the hobby that prompted the original post. It is an interesting observation that a couple of posters have said they would stop observing if LP became too bad, rather than move to EAA. Why don’t more imagers do EAA? My own take on this is I watch the individual subs come in and a quick calibration and stack would give me a more enhanced view than a single frame but then I’m trying to capture an image based on several hours of data rather than minutes, and the rig will stay on the same object all night, so EAA would sort of get in the way of this objective. Of course, I could always set up a separate EAA rig to use while the imaging is on going. Now there’s a thought…

Just read an interesting article in the latest AN about the future trends for astrophotography by Nik Szymanek. I would agree with his views in that hardware development could plateau but who knows what AI based software will be capable of delivering? But it did get me thinking about where the visual side of the hobby is going. Undoubtedly there are plenty of eyepiece only enthusiasts still around but my observations over the last ten years are that amateur astronomers are mostly, how shall I put it, of a certain age and with the arrival of cheaper all in one smart scopes and camera packages, will the upcoming smartphone generation embrace these and eyepieces/huge Dobsonians will go the way of film cameras and become a real niche market. Maybe not, but look how many folks nowadays view a live event through their smartphones rather than take it in through their eyes. Of course, this assumes future generations will have sufficient disposable income in their retirement and a planet left to enjoy the hobby on, but I’ve probably strayed into forbidden territory with that comment so this thread might be short lived.

My Mesu 200 was purchased new in 2014 and by my reckoning has now done close on 3000 hours of heavily laden operation without incident. I thought I would ask Lucas if some sort of maintenance/service of the mount would be needed at some point but his response was if it still running good, just keep on using it, so I will…😎

I remember a thread on this topic, if I recall correctly a bad batch of drive belts were the culprit. However, wouldn’t Olly hear the motor running if just the belt had failed?

That’s a great job on the data. I think the modern processing tools are a real win-win. In expert hands they can reveal so much with deep data sets, but beginners with much shorter integration time sets can get a great image without too much work which can only boost their motivation to progress further with AP. BTW, what happened to the Avalon, if you don’t mind me asking?

That’s one of the brightest images of the Squid nebula I’ve seen and great structure detail in the Bat and a comet in there for good measure, wonderful!

Here are mine, an initial lash up using whatever I had lying around and then a much improved properly engineered version which allows on mount adjustment for camera tilt.

The Moon and Saturn, if they are visible. Easily the two best celestial objects for a first time view wow factor at the eyepiece. In my experience non astro enthusiasts are not usually impressed with barely discernible fuzzy grey blobs.

The Sony lens housing that the astro camera attaches to is thin plastic secured by three tiny screws. Some type of additional camera support is essential.

Yes, the deeper you go the stranger it gets, fascinating.

Inspired and intrigued by @Laurin Dave's recent great image of this object, I managed to get some NBZ dual band data with the SY135/RC571c to add to the meagre RGB subs I had collected previously. Total integration is around 4.6 hrs. I have another version where I blended in some RASA8 data just in the core but I preferred this SY135 data only version. To my eye, there is something strange about this nebula (dare I say alien?). The weirdly defined ribbed like structure is not like other Ha nebulosity it strikes me, but maybe I have been sitting in front of the screen for too long.

Yes you can use them with an astro camera but it might not be as straight forward as using the Canon variety as I’m not sure if anyone sells a suitable adapter for this lens to mate with the camera. Myself and @Tomatobro have gone the Sony route by turning up suitable adapters. I’m no DSLR expert but does anyone sell a Sony to Canon adapter and what does this do to the back focus spacing? Just read the previous post, looks like a non starter.

Stunning image, great detail and colour.👍 Alas, too far South from my location.

Great image, it confirms my suspicions that this is a very dusty region of sky!

Stunning Eastern veil.👍🏼