Owmuchonomy

Camper van to Spain and the Pyrenees.

Planets and double stars, how about a 150mm MAK or an SCT.  You need more focal length.  Of my scopes, the planet choice is my 9.25" SCT.   For doubles, I'm fortunate enough to have an ED150.

Lunt's own zoom EP is very good.  I wouldn't normally recommend a zoom EP but with solar observing the seeing plays a dramatic role.  Having a zoom option helps you find the sweet spot on any given day.  I used one with my Lunt 50.  I also have to hand either my 14mm or 20mm ES 68' EPs.  They are excellent for the price.

That's really nice.

Not yet but with an incoming 400mm ODK I'll put it on the list!

26 minutes ago, Flame Nebula said:

Thanks for this interesting reply! So, do you find the focuser, although basic, is not holding back the optics? Plus, have you run comparative tests on which performs best on tight doubles and very uneven doubles like Sirius? 

No, the focuser standard doesn't affect the optics it's just a bit basic.  No I can comment on comparative performance for double stars.  Sirius is too low in the sky really.

On 12/03/2024 at 14:13, Flame Nebula said:

Hi, I'm very interested in getting your opinion on how the ed150 compares to your C9.25. 🙂

They are two completely different tools, that's why I retain both.  If I'm observing I would probably go to the ED150 every time, although I have imaged with it too. The resolution during a visible observing experience is unbeatable in my set of kit.  It also does not need any collimation, but the downside is the very basic focuser and I also did a post some years ago demonstrating the poor range of back focus. Observing high altitude objects needs some forward planning too just because of the length of the thing. The C9.25 is my planet killer and imaging go to scope for use with my high frame rate planetary cameras.  It also has a Featherlite R&P focuser upgrade which helps tremendously.  Horses for courses but in my book they are two separate entities and each has its place.

I own an ED150 (and an SCT 9.25) and have owned an ED120.  The views through my ED150 are excellent and so were those with the ED120.  That extra aperture makes a significant difference though.  The ED150 is the only scope I have owned where I can definitely say that I have OBSERVED some objects from my location.  For example the Rosette.  The ED150 is not a heavy telescope per se; it weighs the same as the SCT 9.25, but it is unbalanced.  Whatever possessed SW to put a metal lens hood on the end beats me.  Knowing how much glass is located there why not use a composite hood!  The stock focuser is also just that, stock.  As far as I know there is no upgrade available as yet.  That said, the ED150 beats everything I own at the moment for pleasurable observing.  I mount it on an AZ EQ6 for obvious reasons and you need a long tripod!

It's a while since I owned a Lunt 50 so hopefully Lunt has improved the design but imaging with it was difficult for two reasons.  Firstly the helical focuser was rubbish, certainly not capable of holding a camera too well and secondly I couldn't get back focus.  The only way to do it for me was to use EPP (eyepiece projection).  I quickly upgraded to the Lunt 60 which is designed more for imaging.  Hopefully someone will come along with their more recent setup.

3 hours ago, Dunc78 said:

Which cam is the solar pic taken with? I'm.assuming that's double stacked? 

No it isn't.  That's with the ASI174.

If you wish to image just the Moon and Sun in Ha then a mono camera is the best bet.  I use two, an ASI174 and an ASI290.

I have owned a Lunt 50, 60 and 80.  The issue with the 50 is the difficulty in getting prime focus for imaging and the original request was for phone imaging.  I'd be surprised if you would get a decent phone image to come through using a dedicated Ha wavelength scope.  The helical focuser was also dreadful.  The Lunt 60 is a big leap in quality of viewing and focuser.  It is also much more capable as an imaging scope if you go for the bigger blocking filter.  The 80, well that's just another leap in capability.  If you are stuck with phone imaging I would suggest you may wish to go the white light route as discussed above especially whilst the Sun is close to maximum spot activity.

Easy spot on Friday night with the ED80.  I was doing a gig at Broughton Hall and the visitors loved it.  I would estimate mag 6 ish.  Faint tail.

Excellent choice for Planets, AP and Planetary Nebulae.  It's ok for fuzzies too especially if a SN is present (see below SN 2014J type 1a).  Dew shield a must and I upgraded the focuser to a Featherlight R&P.  I have also used with a diffraction grating for simple spec work.  It's the second scope I purchased back in 2007 and I still have it.

You need a regulated 14V bench power supply capable of 5 Amps continuous.  I run my AZ-EQ6 from this when both my ED150 and C9.25 are mounted.  It has performed well for years.  I attach other accessories such as dew heaters too.  The unit I have is now discontinued but was made by Rapid.  They don't seem to have an equivalent when looking at their website.

It took me a year or two but it then dawned on me that life is way too short to do DSO imaging.  I can scrape through on Solar System imaging with the minimum of fuss.  For me, it's way more rewarding to help others enjoy Astronomy hence my place now.  It must work; we have had one BBC News report and BBC Newsround filming us in the last two weeks.  Don't get me wrong, I admire those greatly that heap all their energies onto imaging in its current form but it's so incredibly time consuming for little reward in my view.  There's something about a youngster jumping up to the scope to see Saturn's rings for the first time.

Solar System objects are best imaged using a technique called 'lucky imaging' which comprises taking a high frame rate video capture followed by stacking. Depending upon your system and capture speed these videos can comprise many thousands of frames.  Then, after the stack, you can start to apply processing techniques.  What camera are you using?

39 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Tiff isn't ok, only jpeg or png files can be displayed in the browser.

Doh! Edited.

Hi Owen, note that we can't view a .bmp file unless we download it.  JPEG or PNG is ok. For planetary imaging it's best to have lots of focal length, a high frame rate planetary camera and a laptop capable of handling the data capture.  A DSLR is not ideal unless it has video crop mode to reduce the capture window down to a manageable size (640x480).  Also, the pixel size tends to be a bit too large.  You need metres of focal length if possible (my SCT is imaging at nearly 5 metres fl).  If you look on YouTube for Chris Go's presentations on planetary imaging you will get the full picture.

Yes, it is a bit of a sad demise.  We are very lucky to be the custodians of what was at the time, the largest amateur built telescope in the world. This is the JW24 (John Wall 24"), also the inventor of the Crayford focuser. It will be moved from the dome to our reception as a museum piece of some significance.  A new scope to replace it is currently being built by OOUK.

Yes, I had this set up in the past; C9.25 on an HEQ5.  All that did was make me buy an AZ-EQ6!  It's too heavy for an HEQ5.

Wow 12x8, that's a large roof to roll off.  Hope you've got a strong frame to accept it.  I also did 700x700x700.  Like you, I poured it then poured the extra block after playing with the kit.  I ended up adding another 150 mm to get the desired height.

It's an appalling example of light trespass.  Unfortunately, it's another self satisfying commercial adventure with little obvious benefit.

It's not necessary but makes life a lot easier.  A tracking Alt-Az mount is fine as the stacking software (Autostakkert) will deal with field rotation.  'Long focal length'; it depends how long.  Your object will move rapidly the longer you go.

As above and for imaging the planets you also need loads of focal length.  For the ASI224 camera you need to be around f/15 so use a barlow or similar to get close to that.  Preferably, several metres of focal length is the way to go.  For example, with my SCT 9.25" I am imaging planets at around 4.5 metres of focal length and f/20.