BrendanC

Hi, Last night I took over 500 subs of M66, the Leo Triplet. After a lot of wrestling with DSS, I realised why it wasn't playing ball: about 80% of the subs were out of focus. The first load of subs are pin-sharp until suddenly, the stars go blurry. The rest of the subs are useless. It's very vexing! Nothing had changed - I'm not guiding or anything, my AZ mount (I know, not ideal, but I'm having fun with it) was just tracking, my camera (a modded EOS1000D) taking subs of 30 seconds. Go through them and you have sharp, sharp, sharp etc, then suddenly, blurry, blurry, blurry from then on. I use the Skywatcher autofocus (not with the actual auto focuser module, just the hands-free DC focusing device), so there's no active focusing going on either. Any ideas what could cause this?

Thank you. I've confirmed it is the older model as it doesn't have the XLT coating. I currently have a Skywatcher 130PDS so if I do acquire the Celestron, I'll be doing plenty of comparisons between the two.

Excellent stuff, thanks both of you.

Thank you, that's very useful to know.

Hi, I have an opportunity to get my hands on one of these - an older model C8, not the orange one but not a recent model. It's just listed as a C8. Are they any good, for observing and/or astrophotography (ideally DSO)? Or are older OTAs really not up to the standard of newer models? Thanks, Brendan

Thanks!

Hi, I have an oppo to get my hands on a second-hand HEQ5 Pro Goto mount. I believe it's been kept in pretty good condition, but I expect that different models throughout the years might have different capabilities, particularly with regards to the Synscan handset. The very first thing I'll want to do is update the firmware to the Relay version so that I can connect it to a laptop. So, are there any pitfalls? Any questions I should ask the vendor? Any peculiarities or capabilities missing in older versions of the mount or handset? The last thing I want is to get this thing set up, get all excited, then realise I can't connect it the way I want. Ta.

... sniff... Thank you... sniff...

I only used Registax for the wavelets, which might have caused this. I actually created it by recording an avi, panning across the Moon's face, then importing that into Microsoft ICE which stitches the video together nicely to create a mosaic. Then it was StarTools, Registax and Photoshop for post-processing. Here's another version that might have removed those artefacts. I'm still going to cry.

No idea. I was really pleased with it until you pointed that out, now I think I'll go and have a little cry to myself instead.

A supermoon looks very like a non-supermoon unless there's something to compare it to that makes it look super!

The latest - 3.82. I've had advice from the ATP forum that it could be to do with the USB cables or the power supply to the camera. Anyone else had a similar problem? In the meantime I'm going to replace the USB cable and try running the camera on batteries (I'm using an AC adapter), see if that helps.

I've been running a Light plan in APT in which the subs are all supposed to be 30 seconds duration. However, every now and then, a sub just doesn't stop after 30 seconds, it just keeps going on, and on, and on... This is with a Canon EOS1000D. I've definitely selected it as a Digic 3 camera. It's a real problem for me and I can't continue to use this superb software unless I can find a fix. Any ideas?

Makes perfect sense! Very clearly explained, thank you so much. I totally get what you're saying about the problem. It's like when you're watching a plane overhead and it goes over you until your neck aches. What do you do? You turn around 180 degrees and continue watching it fly away from a more comfortable angle. I just wondered whether software like ATP could be smart enough to realise it's dealing with an AZ mount and do something clever about it. The solution is as I thought: just be careful with my timings, make sure any plan I put together stops when I expect to reach zenith, then basically restart a few minutes later, pointing 180 degrees the other way. The only problem with that is I would then need to realign the scope with two stars, I think? Otherwise it wouldn't be tracking properly. Still, if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. The other method is simply to stop the plan when it reaches zenith, then maybe pick a different object that is more convenient, and do two plans in one night, then the next night I do the same, so that I get the same amount of exposures but in two lots, if you see what I mean. Or, I could just buy an EQ mount! It's on the list, but I just need to wait for the apocalypse to be over before I can think about buying one.

Hi all, I have a Sky-Watcher AZ Synscan Goto mount - not ideal for AP, I know, but I'm having fun with it so that's ok - and last night, when imaging M101 using ATP, I got an error saying the mount couldn't move. Popped out to see what the problem was, and the scope was pointing directly overhead. So, I understand the problem ie no more room to move, and I *think* I understand the solution - a meridian flip. Now, ATP can do this automagically, but I'm far from sure this is a suitable manoeuvre, or even a possible one, for an AZ mount. Can someone advise please? I can think of ways around it this time, for example stopping the plan around the time I think it'll get stuck, then starting a bit later when the object is on the other side (kind of like a manual flip) but I can see this happening in future and if I can/should do a flip, even with an AZ mount, it would be good to know. Oh, and I realise the simple answer is 'try it' but I'd rather get informed opinions before I risk the mount again! Ta.

To take photos...? And control the mount...? I've tried trailing a big long USB cable into the house but it's just very fiddlesome and not reliable. I figured it made more sense having the laptop where the rig is, so I can get everything aligned and plate solved nicely, then go into the house and monitor proceedings inside, on my PC, using Chrome Remote Desktop via wifi. As the laptop takes the photos, it uploads them to OneDrive, so I can see what's coming through at the other end on my PC. If I need to fix something, I can dash out and sort it out at the laptop end. I guess I could use an intervalometer for the camera and the Synscan controller for the mount, and not involve a laptop at all. But I do like to control everything through APT, and I think platesolving is a miraculous thing. And I just like mucking about with technical things, is all. I'm even going to try and get my old netbook to control everything tonight, just because it'll be interesting to see if it can handle it.

So last night had very similar temperatures. I placed the netbook in a thermally insulated picnic bag, together with the outdoor extension cord, and zipped up the top. Left it overnight, checked this morning, all good. So, that's my fix. I'm glad I didn't have to find out the (very) hard way.

Ah yes, sorry, should have said, subs were 30 seconds each, ISO1600. This is the other story of the night:

Given I spent several hours in the cold the other night getting 2 hours' worth of exposures of M81, M82 and the Garland Galaxy, I thought I'd share it. 50 darks, 50 biases, no flats, taken with a Sky-Watcher 130PDS, on a Sky-Watcher AZ Goto mount, with a modded Canon EOS1000D and coma corrector, stacked in DSS, post-processing in StarTools and Photoshop.

All very good suggestions, thanks! I think the key is basically to keeping the machine in an enclosure of some sort so that the heat it creates can be retained, and it should also keep the frost off. I also think the power plan for the laptop is important, so that it stays awake after the photo plan has ended rather than going to sleep, and therefore keeps generating heat. I've actually got a very slow, old netbook that I'm going to test some of these ideas out on (tonight for example looks like another chilly one). Rest assured I'm never, ever going to risk freezing my laptop again!

So, last night was wonderful - clear, not too cold, a great time for me to do my first ever full-on, all night imaging session. Once I was sure everything was set up right and working, I took myself to bed, leaving the heavens to whirl above me and my kit to capture them. Woke up early, noticed it was a bit parky outside. Frost. Everywhere. A bit panicky, I ran to the setup. Looked ok. Ah, there's frost on the laptop. Started the laptop, it went 'crunch'. Not good. Got everything in, mount is fine, camera is fine. Laptop still goes 'crunch'. I leave it on the radiator for a bit. Now it goes 'swoosh' and does nothing. Leave it a bit longer. Now it goes 'whirr' and shows a message about Windows not starting, and I can try to autofix it. Against all hope, it turns out my system has in fact been backed up automatically - yesterday - and I gingerly start the restore process. It actually works. It actually, actually works... So let this be a lesson both to my stupid self, and everyone else: don't ever assume your equipment will be fine, especially if it's nippy out. I did cover the electricals and actually decided against covering the laptop, because I figured if it was ticking away it would generate its own heat and be ok. I was wrong. I'm never going to assume that ever again. I'm usually extraordinarily careful with backups (do full system backup with Macrium Reflect every few months, and had forgotten I'd set Windows to do a system snapshot each week), everything is on OneDrive with offsite backups etc. So, I was never really in danger of losing data. Just expensive hardware and my own self-respect. So, any recommendations for keeping laptop frost-free overnight...?

Nice! Although it's pretty much telling me what I suspected - that I'd have to drive quite some distance, plus I'm going to have to recce for viable locations to set the kit up beforehand. It would be ideal if anyone actually knows of a publicly accessible location rather than trawling around to find one. Good site though, thanks for this.

There's a lot going on in the UK morning sky currently - Jupiter, Saturn and Mars all just peeking above the horizon just at the last few minutes before astronomical twilight, and they're going to be joined by the moon in a couple of weeks. I'd love to try and capture this, but where I live, I just cannot get good horizon views south-easterly. North is no problem, but the Chiltern Hills pretty much obliterates anything below a certain point when looking south. I've looked around on Google Maps etc trying to find a good vantage point, but cannot find anywhere. Any recommendations?