Lee_P

Yes, this is a good idea. Thanks. I've actually been running things all day and it's been fine. Intermittent issues are the worst 😅

Note that I use mains power, so am not bothered at the prospect of dew heaters being power hungry.

I thought that too. I did ask, but they said that more info is coming tomorrow.

Well I'm sure I could if necessary -- but I've been using the dew heaters like this for years and they've never caused any issues, so I'm not sure they're the culprit. But I'll certainly add them to the suspect list 😂

I think I'm ok on that front. Everything's been fine with this kit for literally years, so it's a head-scratcher for sure.

Yep, the trouble there is that I use my ASIAIR as a power hub as well. So it's a bit tricky. But it's getting to that stage. It actually all ran fine last night. My ASIAIR has two USB3 ports -- one for the camera, one for the flash drive. I swapped these around, in case the physical port is dodgy. It all worked fine -- but this problem is intermittent, so I want lots more flawless nights before I can say that's the root cause with any confidence.

Optolong will be announcing a new filter tomorrow (10 October 2023): the Optolong L-Quad Enhance. They're sending me one to test, so if anyone's interested I'll write a review once I've given it a good try.

I thought that the ZWO cables might be the issue, so I swapped them out for new ones. Alas, the problem persists. Yes, good thinking. A friend is coming over today with his multimeter to do just this! Dodgy USB connections could explain it... The barrel connection to the ASIAIR isn't the best. A light tap does knock the power out -- but entirely, rather than reproducing the specific issue I'm having trouble with. I wrap the cable (Lynx Astro!) around the OTA's tube ring locking screw to take the strain off, and am looking into getting some extra custom support 3D printed. I'd be interested to see your Velcro tie solution, if you've time to post a photo. A good idea, but I've checked and rechecked. All fine. Even tried new power cables.

Hi SGL Hive Mind, I've run into a tricky tech issue and would appreciate some advice! I'm getting error messages about my camera (2600MC) failing; and my EAF dropping out too. I'm using an ASIAIR Plus to control things. I run my EAF through the camera's hub, so I think this points to the camera being the source issue, but don't want to make any assumptions. The problem is intermittent - every other night approximately, and could occur at any point during an imaging run. I've swapped out USB cables and the black power cables, but this hasn't fixed it. My guidecam is also being run through the ASIAIR and is working perfectly. I'm using a Nevada PS-08 6-8A Regulated Linear Power Supply. Everything's run fine for more than a year and I didn't change anything prior to this issue. Any ideas what could be causing this?

Looks great, goob job!

Thanks for posting this image, I've just been using it to help frame my own attempt.

@vlaiv I'd be interested to get your thoughts on this video that just popped up in my feed. It seems that the author is comparing pixel scales and suggesting that the finer pixel scale is better, but there's no mention of matching working resolution to pixel scale 🥴

Ok thanks, I think I'm starting to get it -- slooooowly... I've taken a friend's data to analyse. Their sampling rate is 1.29"/px. Measured FWHM is 3.255. Divide by 1.6 and we get 2.03"/px. So they're a bit oversampled. But if I bin the data, then the sampling rate is 2.59"/px, so they're a bit undersampled. In this case, to bin or not to bin?

👍 Ok, analog / digital is a good way for me to understand it. Converting analog light into digital signal to then process. Is it accurate to say that sampling rate is a measure of a telescope / camera combination's ability to record detail? And then an image's FWHM indicates how much resolution you've actually recorded? You want the two to match, so to do that you divide FWHM by 1.6, then if necessary bin your data so the sampling rate is close?

Thanks vlaiv, insightful as ever. I'm having trouble getting my head around this bit. When I said "potential resolution", I meant if everything were perfect -- my telescope was transported into space, tracking was spot-on, and the optics were flawless. Would I then be able to achieve 0.78"/px?

I've just come across this post and wonder if I could ask for some clarification. Is my understanding here correct: I'm using an Askar 130PHQ and a 2600MC camera. This gives the potential resolution of my system as 0.78"/px. However, atmospheric conditions and mount inaccuracies mean that in reality the resolution is lower. To calculate what would be optimal for my equipment and sky conditions, I can take the FWHM of an image fresh from integration and divide by 1.6. (2.94 / 1.6 = 1.84"/px). So, 0.78"/px is definitely oversampled. If I bin2, then the working resolution is 1.56"/px, which is close to 1.84"/px. And as a sense check, it fits the general rule of thumb that between 1 and 2 "/px is usually good working resolution. The same idea, using old Askar FRA400 and 2600MC data: Potential resolution of 1.93"/px. FWHM of 2.24/1.6 = 1.39"/px. No need to bin.

We're only 45 miles apart -- surely the weather can't be that different? Thanks, I try to make each picture better than the last one, but it doesn't always work out that way 😂 I feel your pain. I use PixInsight, and recently was integrating 2100 subframes (102GB) and it failed after 72 hours of number crunching. It was recoverable though. Normally I'm integrating around 600 subframes, and that takes around 12 - 14 hours. So, I start it in the evening and leave it going all night.

Definitely, I agree. I use a pier, but move the telescope in and out of the shed as needed. So my set-up time is about five minutes. It's like a permanent observatory on a budget!

Thanks! The trick is to have a quick set-up and pack-down routine, then just get into the habit of imaging at every opportunity. Haha, I think of astrophotography as a marathon, but you prefer the sprint approach 👍

Here's The Cygnus Wall, taken using an OSC camera from the centre of Bristol. I collected 18 hours of data using an Optolong L-Ultimate filter for Ha and OIII; 19 hours using an Askar D2 for SII and OIII; and three hours with no filter for the stars and RGB data. So, 40 hours in total. I gave everything a stir in PixInsight to produce this SHO+RGB image. I used an Askar 130PHQ telescope and ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro camera.

Here's another image trying to push what can be done from a city centre with an OSC camera. I used an Optolong L-Ultimate for Ha/OIII; combined with an Askar D2 for SII/OIII; and no filter for colourful stars and RGB data. It's 40 hours of exposure time in total, taken across three weeks. This was the first time I used the PixInsight ScreenStars utility by Bill Blanshan and Mike Cranfield. I found it to be very effective, in conjunction with StarNet2, for removing and later reinserting stars. Imaging details are under the picture, and as ever more info is on my website here. * 25 August – 15 September 2023 (three weeks) * Bristol, UK (Bortle 8 ) * Telescope: Askar 130PHQ Flatfield Astrograph * Camera: ZWO ASI 2600MC-PRO * Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R PRO * Guide: William Optics 50mm Guidescope with 1.25″ RotoLock; ZWO ASI 120MM Mini * Control: ASIAIR Plus * Software: PixInsight, Lightroom * Filters: – Optolong L-Ultimate (Ha / OIII): 540 x 120 seconds (18 hours) – Askar Colour Magic D2 (SII / OIII): 570 x 120 seconds (19 hours) – No filter (RGB): 90 x 120 seconds (3 hours) Total exposure time: 40 hours By Lee Pullen

Great, thanks!

Forget "Silver and Gold", this is the "Powerlord Palette"! I like it, and the idea behind it. Bravo.

I like my pictures to be very sharp -- enough to cut your finger on -- although atmospheric limitations mean I tend to overcook sharpening during processing to compensate. In particular, I'm pretty heavy-handed with PixInsight's UnsharpMask. What I'm wondering is, are there any tips or techniques to judge how much to apply? Or how to know if you've gone too far, other than eyeballing it? For example, I used to apply too much noise reduction. I then picked up a tip from @vlaiv about keeping an eye on the smallest pin-prick stars in an image. If I wipe those out using noise reduction, then I've gone too far. Are there any similar tips for sharpening?

Just out of curiosity I ran the image through PixInsight's CorrectMagentaStars script. I rather like the shade of blue that came out. Just my personal taste! It's a great image either way, congrats to @Gary Clayton