Owmuchonomy

Thanks for your reply but that just gives me the option to change black or white. I'm trying to false colour a mono solar image as I used to in PS using the Tint function.

Sharing the view with a visiting group at the OBSY on Saturday...

They are rather splendid Charl. Thanks for posting.

I have ditched Ps in favour of Affinity Photo for my Astrophotography. However, I cannot fathom how to false colour my mono solar captures. It was so easy in Ps, just use the tint mode but I cannot figure out how to do it in AP. Anybody out there able to guide me? Many thanks.

Saturday was so beautiful up at the Obsy that we decided to introduce the visitors to Solar viewing before the presentation. Here are a few shots. The Solar images are using my Lunt and ASI174MM with and without a 2.5 x TV Powermate. The visitors were a large group from the local Glamping Village and we received a lovely review following the session. Today, it's snowing here!

The Az-Gti is definitely the mount you should go for but in your shoes I would put this on it and upgrade the diagonal/EPs: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-120t-ota.html

Coursera is an excellent resource. If there is an Astronomy course still available from Duke University in their library it is excellent (and free).

As @Mr Spocksays, known as the 'Mean Sun and 'True Sun' difference. Clocks are set to the Mean Sun.

I'm a big refractor fan (I own three) but just be aware that whilst the MAK folded design is very forgiving to your EP position, a longer refractor (like my ED150) can soon get you in an awkward position, particularly for higher altitude targets. You may need to consider a tripod extension depending upon which refractor you opt for. For outreach events my ED80 is by far the favourite scope for general viewing.

Here's a complementary thread to this one from 2018:

There is no substitute for "Turn Left at Orion". It is an excellent beginners book and after 14 years observing I still use mine. I used it last night to plan an event up at Lime Tree.

Yes, I saw him in York a few weeks ago. A great insight into an amazing career and adventure. He displays a lot of his own images which adds a real sense of being there. You will definitely enjoy it.

Hi, what targets are you trying to image? Your target will specify what equipment you need to attach. A DSLR has a relatively large chip too. If you are trying to image Jupiter for example you will need to crop your sensor right down.

Jupiter is a bit low in altitude in the UK at the moment and this will affect the ability to gain good images especially without an ADC. What is the pixel size of your camera?

Hi BobJC, welcome to SGL. You will get lots of advice here. My personal advice would be to stick with what you have for now but look to upgrade your mount first. Doing that will significantly improve your ability to capture deep sky targets especially if you are mounting a guidescope as well. Also, seeing as you have a zoom lens, you need to adopt a method of locking the zoom to avoid 'creep' during long exposures in the British climate. Loads of other suggestions will come from others.

Great images Charl. The close ups look a bit 'ghost' like.

No, standard DSLR.

Big Bang by Simon Singh as Olly says plus The Magic Furnace and The Ascent of Gravity both by Marcus Chown; The Glass Universe and Longitude both by Dava Sobel; Meteorite by Tim Gregory.

Great stuff.

Hi Adele, welcome to SGL. Regarding lightweight for a backpack, don't discount a good pair of binoculars. If you are happy to use resources such as the book Turn Left at Orion to find targets then it may be a good starting point. Enjoy.

Whichever camera gives you the most appropriate resolution and field of view to get it all in. What scope are you using? There is no advantage to using a modified DSLR (assuming it is modified for Ha sensitivity) with that particular target.

That's a super image from just down the road.

Very nice purchase. You say it's front end heavier than the ED150? Thats heavy! The ED150 could do with a composite hood instead of the metal one to reduce that issue. Enjoy.

Mars is pretty small now; about 5" so will be quite underwhelming. It should be just discernible as a disk using your 9mm EP though.

All good advice above. I'm not as clever as those guys so I use a simple formula whereby the ideal focal length is 5x your chip pixel size. So if your pixel size is 5 microns you need to aim for f/25; for 3 microns, f/15. That said there are other factors I also find critical, predominantly defeating the seeing conditions. That is all about collecting frames during the best seeing so I aim for at least 80fps and use an IR pass filter where possible. As @vlaiv says aim for very fast shutter speeds and a high gain setting. I use flat frames but never bother with dark frames for lunar with my cameras (ASI174MM and ASI290MM). Lunar imaging is very rewarding so have a go and enjoy the results. Below is an example using the 'widescreen' format 290 chip.