tomato

Yes, the fact that the spikes have different orientations rules out a single wire, so it’s more likely branches of a tree. Was your scope pointing near to the horizon? You can check if this is the cause by imaging somewhere near the zenith.

I can get these spike effects on a refractor if the scope starts to be occluded by the dome aperture edge. The other way this can happen is if a power line or washing line is across the field of view, or branches of tree perhaps?

You might be ok piggy backing the smaller scope on the MN 190 but I would go with the side by side option if it is doable, and keep the guidescope on the MN190. The sharpstar/428 has a significantly larger FOV so you wouldn’t need an adjustable saddle if you are going to work with the MN190/460 FOV. If you are keeping the MN190 just for Lum and Ha, you could just screw or fit the filters into an adapter, that’s what I do rather than run two filter wheels. I therefore capture 3x more Lum than the RGB channels, if I dither I run two instances of NINA on the same machine and use the synchronised PHD option. This waits for both subs to finish before performing the dither. I have combined RGB from a OSC CMOS with L from a CCD with reasonable success, but I managed to get the FOVs and imaging scale reasonably similar. APP combines the data, no problem. I can’t guarantee success with your proposal, but I reckon it would be fun to try, although I guess it depends on how much tinkering you like to do.

That’s really nice, I like the colder hue to the image, wonderful crisp detail.👍

Do the radial set of lines indicate not only correct focus but also good collimation? If so, then IMHO they are a step up from the the original, but it would mean you’ll spend time collimating before focusing whereas with the original you would focus in blissful ignorance…

Great result, looks like a mini M33.

I agree the second image is better, a first class Rosette. You won’t go far wrong with @vlaiv’s suggestions for improvement.

That’s a cracking Hidden Galaxy, for me the colours are spot on and captured with a supposed “old tech” CCD. Spot on framing as well, with this combination.

Congratulations, well deserved.👍

And this is the last one, honest. Somewhat underwhelmed by the addition of 8 hrs of OSC data I went back and culled the poorest 80 x 2 min subs and processed again. I think I have more detail back in the core but the Chroma level is up which has made for a more coloured background.

Well, I’m the opposite I take in the overall image first and your heart and soul is superb, lovely framing, depth and detail, and yes, your corners are great too.👍

Very impressive.

Here is a further instalment with another 8.4 hrs of integration added on the 'widefield' data. Is it any better? I'm not sure, but processing fatigue has set in so that is it for now, although I might try a 4 panel mosaic with the ASI 178 cameras, if the weather is kind over the next couple of months.

At the end of the day you spend what you can comfortably afford on a hobby (and I’ve been through a few, I had an octopus as a pet many years ago) and if the hobby is of the high tech variety, it is going to limit the level of kit you acquire. I have a set up which would be considered by a lot of folks to be high end, but there is still kit out there that I have a hankering for but will never be able to afford. But when it is all performing as it should and I go outside and look up, that sense of wonder that I always feel doesn’t cost me a penny.

It was my own fault really, I saw the juddered frame come through on NINA, so I knew it was in there and I didn't see it in the frames I removed, so I should have gone looking for it before starting the normalisation and integration steps. It just never occurred to me that it could be the reference frame. It was the reference frame, I'm not sure how well APP deals with pseudo stars, it might not see them as outliers. I banged my head on the scopes while adjusting the dome controls, so it was a one off event (until I do it again!)

I'm trying to process six hours of data captured last night and I couldn't figure out why the stack had weird artefacts around the stars. I checked the ones with a low quality score and removed them from the stack as I usually do and so I had no choice but to check every one of the 350 frames. And guess what, the best quality frames from each scope looked like this: I remember banging my head against the scopes in the dark so this must be it. I guess APP has identified the juddered stars as separate and hence the star count has gone up compared to the rest of the subs and this has made it the top scorer? Moral of the tale is don't take the analysis for granted, check your subs visually, even if you have 350 of them.

That's about as good as I got my 8" F4 SN collimated back in 1990...🙄

Very nice, the characteristic RASA spikey flares around the bright stars have gone and the stars generally are a little tighter(?), but I'm not an avid pixel peeper either. I can either put my SY135 alongside the RASA or the 102mm APO, I will definitely give the latter a go once galaxy season is over.

Looks good, just one point, have you thought about lifting it on and off when you have the scope inside, presumably in the middle somewhere, or will you move the scope to one side for the roof lift? Of course I might be wide of the mark if the scope was inside when you made the video, but that’s the only concern I can identify.

Sorry, it’s a typo, now corrected.

For the instant two frame mosaic, do you physically align the scopes to cover the two panels? I could try this with my Esprit’s, now that they both have OSC cameras on board.

Yes, I keep trying, but my head gets in the way. Maybe an inspection camera on the end of a FO cable?😉

I could see how the geomagnetic storm would put them out of action but not cause them to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. However, the storm causes the atmosphere to become denser at higher altitudes, that’s something I didn’t know. His rockets need more umph…

That's a great rig, I like to see Mesu mounts earning their keep.😄

Still no break in the clouds, and the moon is getting bigger and earlier with every night that passes, so I have had a go at blending my 'close in' ASI 178 data (captured at 0.94 arcsec/pixel) with the IMX571 OSC data @ 0.714 arcsec/pixel. These were combined in APP, using 2nd degree LNC, 5 iterations, and MBB set at 20%. I have cropped the FOV to give the galaxy a bit more prominence, no software binning applied. If my records are correct, the central portion of the image has around 25 hrs of integration, but the ASI 178 data didn't extend to the outer spiral arms so there is quite a bit of an imbalance between the regions, integration wise.