Lee_P

Nicely done, you've obviously got a lot of good quality data in there. I'd be interested to see a version with the background a little darker -- might make the nebula pop even more.

Good job, and I second Bryan's comment about the framing

I can say for sure that he was still making them in March! I got replies to emails within a few days, fingers crossed he'll get back to you soon 🤞

Nice pics, first one has the edge I think.

I bought a Cygnus Astro cover. Quite cheap compared to alternatives like TeleGizmos 365s. Hasn't let in a single drop so far! The chap makes them to order so can do custom sizes. Thumbs up from me! https://neilross758.wixsite.com/cygnus-astro-covers

My AAP is under the telescope, similar to yours, and I've never had a problem with it accumulating dew. For what it's worth, I do have a dew heater on my guidescope.

Good job, that's one to be proud of. PI does get easier 😛 Adding in some Flats may make removing gradients a bit simpler for you. Looking forward to seeing more of your pics 😃

Nice pic, you've got some good details there.

Not sure I've seen that one before, thanks for sharing it.

I think this is a rare case in astrophotography of things actually being simple! Just leave the camera on, you're more likely to introduce dust into the system by removing it.

Nice pic, looks suitably ethereal!

Yep, I totally agree. I've found a few decent L-eXtreme processing tutorials that lead to appreciably different end results. On my to-do list is to write up an article on my website testing out these different methods so the final pictures can be seen side-by-side.

Such a good collection, well done!

I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but I've written an example PI workflow that I've found to be effective. It's specifically for processing L-eXtreme data, but there might be some handy tips in there.

Haha, that's a good summary of PI -- but it does get easier!

That definitely pops more! Just add in more data and it should be a cracking image 👍 I'd be interested to hear how you rate the Askar400 compared to the SW72.

Hi and welcome, looking forward to seeing more of your images

Nice shot! I'm sure it'll really pop with a longer integration time. As it stands, maybe it could do with the contrast being upped a bit? M16 is always behind my house so I can't image it from my garden, I'm jealous that you can!

So crisp, almost like being in orbit 😃

Hello and welcome!

Hi from another professional photographer who's also into astro 😃 The HEQ5 Pro is a solid choice, good for DSLR work (overkill, really) and also suitable for light to middle-weight telescopes. The mount I use is very similar in specifications.

Thanks Craig, that's very kind. The website is new and I'm always happy if people find it useful More content on the way too! If you ever went to any of the Planetarium Nights shows for adults then we probably did meet, as I presented a lot of those! Feels like a long time ago. I'd sometimes make 1x1 versions of my astrophotos and just blast them up onto the dome -- seeing your images 12-metres across in 4k resolution is a lot of fun 😂

Ok, then I'll leave it to Photoshop users to help with putting the stars back in Nice image though, the nebulosity really pops. I'm not sure what your integration time was, but I suspect that a bit longer will help keep noise levels down and let even more detail come through.

Congrats on the new camera! I use one too, along with an ASIAIR PRO. For what it's worth, I've never worried about thermal shock or anything like that. I just take the most direct route to get to whatever temperature I want. So, before starting an imaging run I'll just tell it to go to -10 deg C. And once the imaging run has finished, the 'scope will return to the home position and then everything turns off automatically. Easy, no hassle, and no issues (so far 😂)

I can't help with the technical side of things -- happy to leave that to Olly! -- but in general I'd say that if your stars aren't showing any trailing then don't stress over the mount / guiding too much. Sure, things can always be better, but there's something to be said for appreciating when things are "good enough" -- this allows you to focus your attentions (and money!) on another area to improve upon which may actually have a greater impact overall.