dannybgoode

I like that - you can tell what it is, you can see dust lanes etc and you've processed as very small amount of data well. I have a just over an hour's worth of data on M51 and my effort isn't that much better. Sure there's more colour but I am not convinced there is much more actual detail. My subs were also 5 minutes so definitely more data and you will start getting some really nice results. Do you guide? Guiding made one of the biggest differences to what I was able to do and really isn't complicated.

I'd be well happy with that. Really nice image. Focus looks good and there's plenty of detail. As per @MarkAR you don't often see it at this kind of scale either.

For GPS clock control basically which is usually more accurate than the system clock. From a purely static location the gain is very very marginal at best and there are other (free) ways of getting a very accurate clock signal but hey, if you like your toys. It isn't going to make your images better though I don't think

I've just got one to use with my RPi4 with Astroberry. For the price they are now, imo, it is more a question of why not have one - particularly if you are imaging. For pure visual work in a static location I agree there isn't much point to one.

For imaging where you have to put the long/lat data in some vaguely hidden field (and depending on the software in different formats) and where accurate time is more important then for the sake of £15 for a GPS dongle it is a useful addition, particularly if you go out and about with your imaging rig. Note also this thread was started in 2012 when the availability of small cheap GPS devices was more limited so the arguments against have shifted

@RadekK - My initial testing shows this looks to be resolved - many thanks for pushing the fix. I will keep an eye on it and let you know if it misbehaves again

Thanks Radek Will have a look now and see if it is fixed

This is key. How many people do you know that have done something similar? AP isn't easy, it isn't easy a bit tricky - it is very hard, especially to get a really good image. I have been trying for well over a year (and nearer two) and am only just starting to get results I am pleased with and even then there is a long way for me to go. Just keep at it, keep practicing and you will get better. The things that helped me get better images were guiding, focusing and processing with processing being the area that has made most difference. I bit the bullet, bought PixInsight and have been trying to learn it ever since. I can do the basics and it has improved what I can drag out of the mediocre data I have. Whether you want to go the PixInsight route or not is up to you but definitely spend some time trying to learn better processing techniques and keep revisiting old data to see what you can tease out. As to next kit I would definitely look at guiding and personally, having looked at an OAG solution think a standalone guide scope and camera is the better way forward. I got this kit and it's excellent although you may be able to use your current camera as the guide camera and just get the scope: https://www.altairastro.com/altair-60mm-guide-scope--gpcam2-mono-camera-combo-with-polar-alignment-assist-75-p.asp The 150PDS that has been suggested to you is a solid scope - I have the short tube P version which is very similar and a nice scope to use. Big enough to be useful, small enough to be manageable and I will bow to other people's better knowledge of suitable cameras .

Just a quick note as I can’t see it’s been covered. To polar align you don’t need to rotate the reticule so that 12is at the top rather you just use the top as 12 if that makes sense. It doesn’t matter whether it’s 3, 8, 9.45 or whatever, you just line Polaris up so that it matches the position shown on the app and you can ignore the numbers printed round The reticule.

The Polemaster is indeed a fine but of kit however as an alternative, assuming you are using a guide scope software such as Sharpcap (£10) and KStars/EKOS (free) have a very similar polar alignment routine built in; both of which work very well and make use of your guide scope instead of a bespoke camera. I agree with others, maybe leave the mount out and safely covered but even then over time condensation build up etc may work its way in to the internals. As for leaving my scopes out - I wouldn't chance it for a moment. Risk of theft and accidental damage is just too high for me.

Yes exactly that. So long as it’s on the same WiFi network as the control device you’re not limited to the length of a piece of wire. Also you can power down any computers, go to bed and get up in the morning and the RPi will have done its thing. I have quite a long garden so it’s just hugely convenient to be able to just plonk my mount wherever I want and to control it from the comfort of my desk. It is also preferably, IMO at least, for portable operations. I’d much prefer to take that with me and an iPad than my laptop. For portable ops the RPi acts as a WiFi hotspot so you can just connect the iPad straight to it. And yes, full remote ops are possible as well so the scope could be installed anywhere in the world and controlled. Sure you could do that with a normal pc also but RPi’s are just so cheap

Yes pretty much. The RPi runs what is called headless, ie without a monitor runs as a server. So, you just use a browser and type in the web address (for Astroberry it is usually astroberry.local) and from there you can take full control of the RPi to run KStars, EKOS etc. This is a screenshot of my PC with the browser open and controlling the RPi running in full screen. As you can see to all intents and purposes it is as if the RPi is just plugged into the monitor directly. I would say it acts more than as the middle man also as the computer you are running the browser on does not control the RPi in anyway as such; the RPi runs all the hardware and software directly. So, you could use the PC to set up and schedule an imaging routine then turn it off and the RPi would go about the imaging sequence automatically at a preset time. It will control the mount, find and full align the target, take all the sub frames, control the filter and also the focuser if one is present etc. Really very clever. As for setting up EKOS the second screenshot shows the profile creation tool. Literally just pick your kit off there, plug it all in to the RPi and hit connect and that's it. Way less faff than Ascom IMO.

Highly recommend an RPi4 and Astroberry which includes KStars and EKOS. Very easy to use and leaving a £45 RPi out is much more appealing than an expensive laptop. You can then control it from a computer or tablet and you can now subscribe to EKOS live whether or not you use the Stellarmate OS so remote operation is a doddle too. I have found that a good 20000mAh power bank (such as you would use to charge a phone) is sufficient for me to power the RPi with both the imaging camera + filter wheel and the guide camera also. This is very appealing as I am looking to get my set up as portable as possible so I can escape the light pollution at some point

Let's see the fixed image then as even in red it looks interesting

I have found you need a really nice bright star for a mask to show good diffraction spikes as don't forget the mask blocks off a fair few photons from reaching the sensor. So I find a bright one - something like Vega or one of the others you can see really clearly regardless of light pollution and use that then slew to my target. The alternative would be to invest in one of the William Optics clear masks. Given it looks like I am going to be stuck manually focusing for a time this is what I am going to do. They let much more light through and thus give better, clearer spikes

I've pretty much got my Astroberry/KStars system working and by and large, now it is largely set up I think overall it has been a lees painful process than it was installing Ascom and all the drivers and then trying to get everything talking nicely to APT and PHD. Certainly getting a working profile together was a painless experience - it all just worked and overall I am very impressed with the way everything hangs together. The one thing I am having an issue with is with getting KStars to work nicely with a GPS dongle. I have the dongle working and it updates my location and time as it should the first time round in KStars however each refresh it sets the KStars time back to the time the GPS first got a fix. So, let's say I got a fix at 1210:40 and set the GPS to refresh every 60 seconds. Each 60 seconds it resets the KStars time back to 1210:40. Using the CGPS command I can see that the GPS is working with the clock showing the correct time and the system time appears sync'd to GPS so for now I have just set KStars to use the system clock for the time however I would like the whole things to work as it should. @RadekK - have you had this issue before? Anyone else have any thoughts?

Thanks - yes I just wanted to know which focuser you were using so assume in this case it’s just the standard SW one that comes with the Esprit? I am somewhat back to the drawing board though as I can’t reach focus with the Moonlite in the imaging train so back to the drawing board.

Darn it. Can’t reach focus with the Moonlite. Hmmm, a little frustrating but at least I know it can be done. Just need to decide which route to go as an autofocus unit would be a significant help.

Which focuser share you using it with?

So assuming I can reach focus with my Moonlite SCT focuser and TMB the next thing on the list is an motorised focuser so I can autofocus. Obvious choice would be the Deepskydad however they are not available at the moment so I’ve been looking at a couple of other options; Primaluce Sesto Senso - looks a nice bit of kit but apparently because it attaches to the fine focus control of the Moonlite is apparently prone to slippage as the fine control relies on friction. Anyone confirm whether that is the case as otherwise it looks pretty much spot on. Hitec Astro FocusMaster - looks decent however universal brackets are always a bit of faff. Lakeside focuser - looks similar to the Hitec but with a bespoke bracket Moonlite focuser - looks very nice and of course built for the focuser but £100 more Any I’m missing, any to avoid etc?

I’ve just starting using Astroberry which is essentially the free version of Stellarmate and consequently a little more fiddly. Even then it was so straightforward. Create a new profile by clicking a button, use drop downs to pick your kit and press connect-job done. It was much easier than setting up ASCOM on my Windows 10 machine. Drivers etc were a complete non-issues and completely invisible when setting up.

Well this is potentially quite exciting for me. Whilst the huge CNC focus wheels of my original TMB 105 are things of engineering beauty and do a fantastic job for visual, making ultra fine adjustments for AP is very difficult (though not impossible-just takes time) and any form of autofocus is out of the question without modifying the scope which I really don’t want to do. So the alternatives are something like the Primaluce Asseto or somehow fitting another focuser in the chain. I have a Moonlite unit which has an SCT mount for my Meade 10” and then I remembered the noise piece for my Antares 2” extension unscrews. Hmmm, will the nose piece have the same threading as a Meade SCT meaning I could screw it into the focuser and then plop the Moonlite focuser into the 2” EP holder in the main focuser? And would you believe - it does! The only question is whether the optical chain is too long. I don’t think it is because before without the Moonlite there was the extra bit of the extension tube and the main focuser needed to be an inch or so out but will only know for sure when I have chance to try it out. If it does reach focus though then autofocus becomes a reality . If it doesn’t at least I have proof of concept that an Asseto or a shallower second focus unit will work.

Not done any imaging since mid-spring - usual combination of life getting in the way of doing stuff. However I have been meaning to give Astroberry a go and having bought an RPi4 and promptly re-designating that a Roon endpoint (music streaming software) I had to acquire a second which I duly did and then just left it kicking around not doing anything. I also had to send my filter wheel off for a second repair (hats of the SX though - they had repaired it once as the USB socket had failed. It failed again and second time they just replaced the board for no additional charge - right when lockdown was fully kicking off as well. Super service). Then by the time I had got the Pi's sorted and the filter wheel of course the nights were at their shortest so still no opportunity to really do much. Anyway, fast forward to today; all week Dark Skies, the Met Office, Clear Outside etc were all in agreement. Tonight and tomorrow night were nailed on cloudless nights. Warm as well and no wind and with enough darkness to try and get something. So, Astroberry booted up and working, a few YouTube videos later and I had a sequence programmed in to EKOS, I had even given it a trial run in the simulator, guiding looked like it could work etc. Scope dusted down and set up during the day instead of my usual fumbling around in the dark etc. And... cloud. Wall to wall cloud all night and all tomorrow night and seemingly at least for the rest of the week. Probably the rest of the year knowing my luck. Some things never change

Beautifully done. Lovely colour balance and so much detail.

Thanks - that makes sense. Will run a sequence tonight and have a play. Assuming it stays clear that is - as is usual it’s been forecast nailed on clear skies tonight and tomorrow until I’ve got the kit pretty much sorted and now it looks like nailed on cloud...