assouptro

Hi Clarkey Thanks for the comment The first one was my favourite when processing but when I started looking at other renditions I saw many with brighter cores and thought maybe I had done the galaxy some injustice by suppressing its visible unfathomable power!? (I over think sometimes?!!) Thanks again for the comment 😊 Bryan

Thanks tomato! I ended up with a lot of ha data! I also spent some time learning how to introduce that ha into the red and lum channels using pixelmath which helped make it stand out really appreciate your input, it makes me smile to know someone else thinks my image is worth a second look 😊 Bryan

Thank you ONIKKINEN I understand your frustration! As a first subject for my new rig it has been difficult Your comment and compliment are greatly appreciated😊 Bryan

Thanks Vlaiv I appreciate the input i was aware there was a lot more in the data, I am just struggling to eek it out with my current skill set I could bin, I often do at this scale, I would normally use image j on the individual channels before registration and stacking, would binning the stacked masters be as effective or do I need to start again at a base level for the best results? Thanks again Bryan 😊

Hi pixel peepers! I’ve spent the last few weeks putting together my “Galaxy Season” rig for some close up work on some familiar targets My rig consists of an old Meade 12” lx200 coupled with a Starizona LF reducer/flattener, giving me a focal length of 2084 and a f ratio of 6.8 A modified Meade zeroshift focuser with the motor replaced by a Pegasus Astro focus cube keeps the focus under control A newly introduced deep sky dad rotator allows consistent framing A tsoag9 with a zwo helical focuser and 220mm mini guiding the rig snug in front of a QHY CFW3 containing 2” Antlia LRGB V Pro broadband and SHO edge4.5nm filters connected to my QHY 268m that I am still getting to know all balanced on a skywatcher eq8 that is behaving really well since I threatened it with replacement by buying a second hand Mesu! Being in a suburban area I generally Image in Narrowband so I’m not skilled when it comes to broadband acquisition and processing I feel like a novice, starting out again! This project has tested me, I’ve had to learn how to get my rotator to not only work with Nina but share it’s position with PhD2 which took some research I have had a weird conflict between my Pegasus Astro UPBv1 and a new (to me) Pegasus Astro focus cube v2, I have to have the focus cube disconnected when connecting my laptop to the UPBv1 or my laptop cannot see it! I have reached out to Pegasus Astro and so far they haven’t been able to help me so I just have to make sure I disconnect the focus cube before connecting to the switch?! I am also now using the advanced sequencer in Nina so I can take advantage of features such as centre after drift which is awesome! Anyway, we had a couple of clear nights during and just after the last full moon and this gave me the time to sort out some issues and start collecting data I experimented with a few sub lengths, gain/mode etc and settled for mode 1 gain 56 offset 26, 60s broadband and 180s ha Processing has been hard… you get into a pattern with processing, using the same tools make them familiar but a galaxy has such a wide range of brightness from the core to the outer edges it’s a tricky balancing act. I have loads of respect for people producing awesome Galaxy shots, it’s not easy! This is my best attempt so far It’s a mix of 2 versions, one stacked in WBPP the other in APP consisting of roughly 2 hours each LRGB and 4 hours ha (I need more LRGB) One with a tamed core one with a brighter core Sorry for the long post Thank you if you read it, it’s a solitary pursuit and there aren’t many people who would understand let alone care about the hurdles involved Thanks for looking and any pointers would be greatly appreciated Bryan 😊

Don’t know what they are but I hope you’ve found something new! That would be awesome! 😊 Great image Gorann!

Thanks that sounds like the workflow I will be adopting when I finally swap mounts ironically, my eq8 is behaving so well over the last few sessions I’m in no rush! And I recently added a deep sky dad rotator and a new Pegasus Astro focus cube2 (that has some weird problems) to the mix so I’ve had other priorities! I am looking forward to incorporating the Mesu in arsenal though, It’s always a “fun” distraction from real life dealing with these pieces of equipment that frustrate and challenge us yet supply immense satisfaction when mastered! It really is an addiction! 😊

That’s interesting thanks I have the mount at home now and I’ve played with the hand controller it’s a very basic unit (opened it to check the cable connections for continuity) all connections bell out from the cable that plugs into the Sitech box but it doesn’t respond so I’m not sure if it’s a problem with the Sitech box, or socket? as I’m not going to be using a handbox it’s not really that important but it would be nice to have everything working Cheers Bryan 😊

I think so it’s done by the main dsd software I could tell it where it is and synchronise the current position to whatever figure I wanted so yeah. The only thing I found is setting the 0 position I wanted to 90° worked better for me as I was only allowing 180° travel and that way it would rotate either side of 90° without doing a 360 if that makes sense I’m still learning though 😊

I haven’t had enough experience yet but so far, so good 😊

Hi Steve Finally got it nailed! (I think🤔) wow, what a learning curve! it’s not that complicated but there are so many variables and very little in the way of specific instructions It turns out I need to have reverse ticked in the deep sky dad driver but don’t select this in Nina? I’m not sure if this changes with type of ota used as you may have a reverse image or an upside down image or both? But that was the configuration that worked for me! I also tried to synchronise the mechanical and sky position by plate solving in Nina then matching the sky rotation to the mechanical rotation in the dsd software. I’m not sure this was necessary but made sense to me I am working on 180° mechanical range and set the starting point is 90° The other thing I have managed to do is get the rotator to talk to Nina and PhD2 This was achieved by downloading an ascom server called Optec I didn’t even know this tool existed until I reached out to the community on the PhD2 Google form Optec is a Great piece of software that does what it says! I just want to thank you for you help in this, I’m not sure I could have solved this without help Bryan 😊

Superb advice and information Steve! I did buy it new from 365 astronomy and had to load the initial driver from the dsd website following the instructions I will check all the settings when I get home and reach out to Pavle should I still struggle! thanks a million for your time 😊 Bryan

thanks for the reply! The problem lies in calibrating when not pointing at the equator and meridian etc however... ignoring the guiding issue, can you remember how you set the rotator up with nina? Did you somehow synchronize the rotation of the rotator to the actual physical position and do you limit the rotation to 90, 180 or 360 degrees? do you check reverse? I am getting frustrated with the rotator deciding to nearly travel 360 degrees when it only needs to travel 10 I'm not sure if I have a faulty unit or I just don't know what I am doing?? I appreciate your help, I'm a bit lost and frustrated, I dont get enough clear sky to waste on trial and error at the moment! Thanks again Bryan

Thanks for answering!! I have the same rotator, and I use Nina I initially had some issues getting it to plate solve and rotate without searching but I think I have that dialled now (not enough time under stars to be confident!) One thing I have a problem with is connecting the rotator to phd2 as well as Nina I need phd2 to know the rotation as I have an oag in the mix and it ideally has to go behind the rotator so it doesn’t cast a different shadow on the chip of my imaging camera Have you any advice? many thanks again for replying Bryan 😊

Hi Steve did you get this working with Nina? cheers Bryan

There is some lovely delicate detail in there I might be tempted to maybe improve the contrast or colour in the core to prevent it being “lost” in the brightness? But I’m no expert and you’ve handled the tricky subject well 😊 Thanks for sharing Bryan

Thank you for the kind words Bryan 😊

Lovely image Patrik Congratulations on the remote obsy! That must be an exciting project and very rewarding when you get things working as intended! Looking forward to many more images from you! Thanks for sharing Bryan 🙂

Thank you 🙏 I drove 360 miles today to pick up a new (to me) piece of Astro kit today, and the best part was just being able to wax lyrical over the one thing we were both passionate about It can be a lonely hobby! 😊

I saw your post regarding your surgery It was a shock to hear how poorly you have been and you have been in my thoughts It has also made me seriously consider the prospect of starting statins as I too have high cholesterol I am glad you are on the mend! ❤️‍🩹 Apologies @AstroGSfor the hijack of your post 😊 Bryan

Beautiful Image! lovely subtle processing of the useable data! Thanks for sharing Bryan

Hi Dave I have the full set of 2” Antlia filters and so far I have been impressed No significant halos to be seen After being burned by other brands and investing in a full set of 1.25 Astrodon filters I was worried buying the Antlia filters as it was still a significant investment for the 2” versions I opted for the 4.5hd edge version as I had recently bought a Sharpstar 15028hnt reflector that I have yet to use in anger but with my “slower” optics so far I haven’t been disappointed Hope you are well? All the best Bryan

Hi Stella populi Due to the poor weather of late I have been visiting old data This is a rework of 30 hours of sho 15 min subs with my Atik 383 with 3 hours of rgb data for the stars I’ve always been fascinated by these “tadpole” structures in Auriga about 12000 light years away, composed of gas and dust similar to the pillars of creation in the Eagle Nebula I am still impressed with what this old ccd is capable of achieving with long enough subs although there is still a substantial amount of noise to deal with! Telscope: 12” Meade Lx200 with Starizona LF 0.7 reducer/flattener mount: azeq6 filters: Astronom 1.25 5nm ha/sii and 3nm Oiii + gen2 rgb Processed in Pixinsight with a tweak on ps express once uploaded to my phone Thamks for looking Bryan 😊

Hi Scope buddies! I have a confession. I'm sure I won’t be the first or the last to do something stupid like this! I have an old revelation Astro ex 100 doublet that has served me well and is quite good for imaging just recently, I noticed some astigmatism slightly crossed shaped stars on one side, I thought it may have been tilt, so I introduced a tilt juster into the optical train and using Astap I attempted to correct it. I couldn’t correct it and with it being particularly cold, I wondered if it might be pinched optics So I thought I would back off the lens retaining ring. This ring was really tight and I stupidly thought that the four screws round the outside of the cell might have been holding it in position I backed off these screws and undid the ring then realised those screws were for collimating the lateral position of the cells! I had succeeded in making a good scope with a small issue into a useless scope with a big issue I’ve been reading about refractor collimation, and it appears to be “fairly straightforward” especially as it’s only a doublet, and I also understand getting the focuser Square is critical I have used my OCAL camera resting on top of The, Cheshire eyepiece to produce a couple of images of the circles that I am looking at Depending on the angle that I shine a light into the Cheshire, I get varying reflections What I want to know is, should I be looking at the tiny circles in the middle Tiny Circles or the slightly larger more easily defined circles? The second image. Bigger Circles If all else fails, I will just have to send it off to somebody who knows what they’re doing! Thanks in advance for any help Bryan (the numpty)

Brilliant thank you I’ll get my reading glasses on! 🤓 If nothing else, it’d be good when it’s demonstrated, I can at least understand some of what I’m seeing which will help me spot anything unusual! Thanks again for your help Bryan 😊