zcdawson

I've been super happy with my Atik 414ex OSC. Pair it with an IDAS lps-d1

posted the tattoo in the lounge..

Freaking Awesome!! I would love to hang a print of this on my wall. This is the very area of the sky that got me into this hobby and I have gone as far as tattooing the orion nebula on myself. It is nice to have friends to tackle the immense project that had to be. So now the question....How do I go about getting one to hang on the wall?

I'll look into the ZWO cameras. Thanks everyone!!

I'm trying to find a excellent planetary camera and am having trouble finding reviews on them. Any thoughts here?

I would get the 11" edge SCT. It would keep your options open as far as being able to add the Hyperstar and go F/2. So kinda the best of both worlds. The thing is when you swap the secondary and the Hyperstar you may need to collimate every time. I added a sleeve to the locating pin on the secondary and have not had to collimate that because the sleeve takes up the slop of the pin. The Hyperstar is a little more picky. A temperature change of around 10F can put it out of collimation and taking it on and off for sure. Right now I have mine dialed in at around 32F or so. It only takes me three i

I'm also new to AP. My answer was to throw money at it. At about 7k into it I'm learning that nothing replaces experience. I spent 9 hrs last night to have a bunch of images that are going to need alot of processing. To start i would spend just a little time every chance you get on the calibration frames. You can build a library of exposure lengths for the darks. Make a master flat (works as long as you don't change your image train and pay attention to the timing of your thread on attachments). Bias are easy. Me, I have a cooled CCD so i don't need darks or bias most of the time. I made a fl

I'm also new to AP. My answer was to throw money at it. At about 7k into it I'm learning that nothing replaces experience. I spent 9 hrs last night to have a bunch of images that are going to need alot of processing. To start i would spend just a little time every chance you get on the calibration frames. You can build a library of exposure lengths for the darks. Make a master flat (works as long as you don't change your image train and pay attention to the timing of your thread on attachments). Bias are easy. Me, I have a cooled CCD so i don't need darks or bias most of the time. I made a fl

Can you tell us what your equipment is?

Here is my first horsehead attempt. 20, 60 second subs

I have a 414 and get the same li n especially on the left. How do I get the firmware update?

Orion ultra block and celestron uhc/lpr.

I have 3 LPS filters and the idas d-1 is by far the best and worth the money. It let's in more light than my other 2. You can look at my DSO images to see what I mean (My albums). From where the images were taken I can not see M31, just barely make out polaris and no milkyway. In the summer the Milky way is faint.

I'm trying to decide on a new scope. I would like it to be as versatile as possible. I'm very undecided. I like newts and SCT's so far. I've never used a refractor but am looking for one to try out. At this point I'm thinking a Celestron CGE pro 1400 HD but the price is just enough to make a gut swallow hard. Next would be the CPC deluxe 1100 HD and that price is much easier to swallow. There is also the Obsession 18" Classic....you see what the dilemma is? The Celestron's would get a Hyperstar for sure and feather touch auto focusers. I already have a wedge I could use on the CPC. The Obsess

I have the same thing going on. For a couple of reasons. I think Mars is hard for me because at the time it was low on the horizon and I think it is getting farther away. From research and comments from people at the astro club I'm pretty sure I have to wait something like 2 years. I'm not positive about the timing or the reasons Mars was a fuzzy red dot but "I think so".

Reflection?

For a "beginner" you sure do get some nice images!

I'm open to suggestions

My 10" dob VS my 8" sct for planetary video imaging and the dob is best even tho I can only get 30 seconds of video. Add a Barlow to the F/5 dob and I have the magnification I need for the video. Take the Barlow off and I very much enjoy just looking threw it while imaging with the 8". I would upgrade the 8" but I don't think I'm ready for that yet.

I am looking for a big DOB around the 14 to 16" to be use for visual and planetary AP. I could do a bunch of research or I could ask you guys. I'm looking for a top notch one because I don't want to keep upgrading all the time. Can someone point me in the right direction? Zac

I have the Evo 8. I find that it is easy to use. However the tripod will not work with the wedge. It's to small. I upgraded to the CPC 11 heavy duty tripod, added a wedge and walla a robust set up. I use it for AP now and can take unguided 5 min exposure. It tracks on target very nice and I tested it with a 2.3 mm eyepiece over 20 minutes (ate dinner). The battery does not like the cold and will only last 2 hours or so, I expect to be normal for any lithium battery. Keep in mind the mount is only rated for the scope and 20lbs, the tripod that comes with the 8" only 14 lbs. The payload specs

You can go to a star that is close by and focus on that.

Thank you Matt. You can put it on Dropbox if you like and send me the link. I think I will even use PI because it to seems to be a sound program. Thanks, Zac