cuivenion

Just trying to figure out a way of using my existing coma corrector and canon 600d without cutting the tube. I wasn't holding out much hope though.

Thanks for the link.

My 130pds has a 2" focuser but the draw tube is bigger than that, I was wondering if it was a similer thing with the evoguide, that the draw tube is larger than 1.25".

Hi, I was wondering how big the focuser is on the inside, it looks like 1.25", I was was just trying to make sure. Thanks for the info an the t2 connection.

Hi, if anyone has an Skywatcher Evoguide ED50 could you let me know what the internal diameter of the focuser barrel is please? Also, is there a female t2 connection as well as a male one?

It depends on the quality of the telescope and the camera lens. Zoom lenses tend to have poorer optical quality than prime lenses. A telescope with a flattener will give better performance than most zoom lenses unless you're spending a hell of a lot of money on the lens. Try having a look on the Astrobin site where you can look up images taken by different telescopes and lenses. https://www.astrobin.com/

This looks great but how did you align the secondary mirror with the primary when you put it back together, as you won't be able to see the mirror clips in the secondary anymore? It does look like a worthwhile mod though, just curious how you got around the collimation problem.

Hi, it's a good image but I've noticed there's black dots all over it when you look at it full size. It's making the image grainy and if that effect can be removed it'll look a lot cleaner. Is it possible your darks aren't matched? Or is the range mask not providing enought protection during deconvolution? My advice would be to use the wavelets settings to protect the background instead of the range mask.

Here's my attempt from the file in the first post.

Amazing image.

Just saw this while bumbling around on facebook, pretty impressive stuff: https://gizmodo.com/star-explosion-video-is-the-most-awesome-thing-i-have-e-1589138376?fbclid=IwAR351BYL_g49u5pfB1mrn1ALSRNfS-sPjFHP98WnxrjEtVpZQ-irvTy6aw0

Cheers Bob, I'll give that a go, I think that might work.

Thanks Dave, I did use deconvolution and that sharpened it a little bit. I did try HDR multiscale transform in Pixinsight but I just couldnt get a result I liked with it.

Hi, This is M101 imaged over four nights in the past week. I've had some collimation woes and it was a bit windy some nights but I'm happy with it. Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Scope: Skywatcher 130PDS Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI224 Guiding: Altair GPCAM colour with finderguider Software: Sharpcap 3.2, PHD2, Pixinsight 837 x 1 minute light frames, Darks and Flats. Hope you like it. Any constructive criticism welcome and comments welcome. Edit: Here is a final version, turns out I wasn't masking very well when using noise reduction, and I was using to much of it:

Fair enough, clear skies.

Hi I'm using AllSkyPlateSolver in conjunction with Sharpcap. I'm wondering why ASPS recommends so many indices for my camera scope combination. My FOV is 26' x 21' but the ASPS wizard is recommending I install indices including 3' to 30', is there a reason for this? It seems like I could install only the indices that cover my fov and have faster plate solving.

I platesolve with the ASI224 all the time using Sharpcap/Allskyplatesolver, are you using dark frames?

Nice, think this might be my next target.

I would agree that the mount is the most important part. You can get very good results with a good mount and an inexpensive scope. I would say go for best mount he can afford while still being able to afford guiding equipment.

EQ35m Pro = £555 Skywatcher Evostar 72ED refractor = £269 OVL field flattener = £72 Leaves just over a £100 to sort out a guide camera and scope, so it will still go over budget but it keeps it in the ball park at least. It just depends if that mount is up to the job or not.

I haven't used it because its a relatively new mount on the block. But what about the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 Pro? About half the budget leaving room for room for a small refractor + flattener or a Skywatcher 130pds + coma corrector and some sort of budget guiding set up. Obviously it only has a small 7kg imaging payload but as long as you stay within it, could it be a viable option for a beginner?

Amazing stuff!

Thanks, much appreciated.

Just going to bump this if thats ok. I don't seem to have any comparable screw or tap tools so I'm not sure what size/pitch the grub screw is. If anyone could chime in that would be great.

Hi, does anyone know the size for one of the three grub screws that hold the puck to the HEQ5. I dropped one and it bounced off to god knows where.