ApophisAstros

2 frames so far tonight

Roger

I have data for this target i have to reprocess , hope it will be a sgood as this,DSLR aswell.

Roger

WoW😱, astounding. Yes the difference in stars shows in the top right as you said done with different Asi2600,

Roger

i keep my solarscope attached to the focuser so had to cut some foam out , fits perfecto.

Roger

M13 reprocessed after Asttrobin Meltdown.

Astrobin Link for capture details.

Added a cropped less burned out version.

Allsky from last night

cut off the worst bits with the Moon and Sun light at the end.

Map of constellations on previous post.

Pleased so far.

Roger

Managed to platesolve my view.

Thats the bloody Moon on the bottom edge spoiling things tonight,

Roger

1 hour ago, DaveL59 said:

fingers crossed for you on that Roger, here it's clouded over again and was raining a short time ago. Getting focus is the tricky part and for that I have to open the domes and tweak the lens too. Bit of a pain but pretty much once set you can re-seal and forget  Seems easier that trying to rig a means to adjust by motor depending on what you're after.

 

 

Totally clear sky so far and set to continue.

Roger

On 28/04/2020 at 14:28, DaveL59 said:

nice experiment Roger, what's the longer term plan for it?

Ideally you'd want it cased with a dome so its weatherproof and mounted higher to get a better view, so long as you're able to data-link to it of course.

I got a bespoke Dome on it , but i have to manually remove it.🤣🤣🤣

On a more serious note i should have a clear night to focus properly and some sky images tonight.

Roger

Hi karen , Welcome to SGL . Have you joined an Astronomy Society locally as i would recommend this before getting any kit? When i joined my one i had no kit and no knowledge of any, got lots of advice and experience some of the kit available to borrow from the society as they let members borrow scopes. After a while when funds allowed i purchased a Skywatcher 120 telescope with a DSLR camera changed for Astronomical use and an EQ6-r and managed to get fairly good images for a beginner , you already have a great sky for it. Once more funds came on board then i accumulated lots more and would count myself as a slightly better than average imager. 

Roger

4 hours ago, geoflewis said:

Yes, otherwise I couldn’t use the app. It’s a black screen with red writing like this...

You take a dark frame first then point the camera at the zenith to take a sky exposure.

Be interesting to see how it compares next to a SQL meter at the same place.

Roger

15 minutes ago, tingting44 said:

right, well according to the FLO site my home in southampton is bortle 6

my dark spot at the new forest is bortle 4 which is about a 30 minute drive away

 

EDIT, been going through this map, its amazing to see like this how much of the earth we are polluting with light, i can only imagine what them countries with grey bortle 1 look like

 

"its amazing to see like this how much of the earth we are polluting with light"

Thats the half of it.........people, plastic,rubbish,..........

Roger

On 22/05/2019 at 13:57, Paul73 said:

Namibia here we come!

There is no toilets,water and the insects are HUGE🦟and the flies lay maggots in you that you only know about when you get home,  probably eating its way out.

Roger

On 02/05/2019 at 14:23, hadyn42 said:

Hello Guys

Just submitting my pennies worth. I live just on the outskirts of Douglas in the village of Onchan Isle of Man.

 

Regards,

Hadyn - Isle of Man

 

 

amazing i am the same as you on the main land , southern england.Thoght you would be much better being a small island?

Roger

On 02/05/2019 at 09:28, geoflewis said:

I also vote for more clear (and moonless) skies, but not sure if I want to give up my bortle class.....?. Here's a series recent of readings off my iPhone using the DSM app, which average at the lower end of Bortle 3, but with several readings in the Bortle 2 range. I usually take 4 readings one after the other pointing towards the zenith, but facing roughly E,S,W,N in sequence. The actual phone camera angle (90 deg being vertical) is shown, so somewhat less than the zenith and generally tilted slightly in the direction I'm facing.

Is the phone screen on when you do this?

Roger

WoW , looks like one of those ethereal beings from one of those early Startrek episodes...Really great,

Roger

Astrobin Link for other capture details.

https://astrob.in/z6vses/0/

8.7hrs Integration

Altair Astro 66ED-R

Atik460EX MONO (this is great!!!)

EQ6-R

Roger

4 minutes ago, Robindonne said:

Well i meant pointing the polarscope on polaris itself( off polar-alignment) and then center polaris in the eyepiece of the mainscope to align the two.  And to determine the home position.  Ive never tried it.  tonight perhaps.  

But when you align to another star or 2 it will change the mount anyway so no point moving Polaris to the centre before that as its a good idea to align near your target.

Roger

5 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

nice experiment Roger, what's the longer term plan for it?

Ideally you'd want it cased with a dome so its weatherproof and mounted higher to get a better view, so long as you're able to data-link to it of course.

Just get meteor showers or maybe that comet that may be visible to the eye,

I am happy with the view if i make it much taller the bloody pidgeons or sea gulls with perch on it as they do with anything tall in garden,🦅

Roger

3 hours ago, Robindonne said:

Oh and maybe a second question related to my first.  A lot of tutorials tell you how to determine the home position of a mount. By leveling in both directions.   What is wrong with this other method: polaralignment through the polarscope, and after that, aligning the mainscope on polaris?   Shouldnt this “alignment of both scopes”, the polar- and mainscope not give a more accurate homeposition than leveling the axes?

When i am polar aligned i can see Polaris in the scope and guidescope without moving it , are you the same.

Roger

18 minutes ago, JOC said:

I didn't realise the clear outside app. gave sky quality.  @carastro hope you won't be too jealous.  Where I live the app says:

That's not too bad is it?

Its about 1 out i find , so you could be 3 or 5, also i am 4 in worthing ,west susex.

Roger

49 minutes ago, tingting44 said:

Awesome thank you

Its only an estimation as it says here i am 5 but when i measure it with a SQL meter its 20.44 ie bortle 4 ,but its close enough if you havent got one i suppose,

Roger

I have a ZWO ASI178MM with a 25mm lens which screws into the camera and has a 170degree FOV.

First images

This is the setup on a Skywatcher tripod , waterproofed with clingfilm.

Took this while it was raining today.

Taken last night , spots of rain but a bit of sky showed itself , see cropped zoom below.

Zoomed in and found a couple of constellations , just waiting for a clear night , probably have to swap it to a different tripod so i cna image with other kit!

Roger

9 hours ago, richard ashbee said:

Looking back a couple of years ago when we had a very active Aurora in Shetland, at the end of the season now but looking forward to another great Aurora

 

Lovely shot but if it’s dark where is the light coming from to illuminate the church?

Roger

55 minutes ago, carastro said:

Thanks Guys, Well I changed the dessicant.  

Thanks for your generous offer David, but I have about 4 spare tablets.

I left the dehumidifier on in the obsy for a couple of days and tried the camera again, and all those weird swirls have disappeared.

I do however have one stubborn swirl at the bottom, so perhaps it needs a bit more drying out.

Thanks for your help, I will know what to look for in future, or perhaps I should make a point of routinely changing my  dessicant every so often.

Carole 

How often do you have to replace the dessicant tablet on the 460?

I see a large black screw head on it , is that where you put it in?

Roger