matt_baker

It's housed in a dome. Would there be a way around this?

At our observatory we too have a C14 (non-edge) and it is an incredible piece of equipment, however I feel like I'm getting some underwhelming pictures of the moon in comparison to others I've looked at. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on how to improve with the C14? I have an ASI120MC that goes on a visual back. I also have a 2x barlow but seeing conditions are terrible to even attempt to use it I've attached my most recent attempts, I feel as if the focus may be slightly off as I find the focuser to be terrible especially with the shift. Surely they would've come up with something better for a scope so expensive? I used AS!3 for stacking and deconvolution on Pixinsight with unsharp mask and MLT The sampling would also be okay with the barlow, but it's impossible to use with the seeing conditions again. Thanks, Matt

Reprocessed my old M42 data from last year. Learned a lot since then and it's safe to say it wasn't the best in the world to work with noise wise, especially the walking noise If I get a chance this winter, I'll be sure to get a much nicer image in terms of noise this time around

What typical gain, exposure and white balance do you use with your 120mm?

They do have a desiccant absorber on the eyepiece holder itself and pouches to soak up the moisture I'm not too sure why either that there's that much moisture in there either, I'll check next time

I think a lot of the dew I had was forming on the inside, so position 3 makes sense in this case

Okay, I'll do just that, thanks

Yes it is, will that do?

Just like this position 3 on this image but I don't really want to take the scope off the mount since it's very heavy

Only issue is that the C14 has a losmandy plate that extends all the way up the tube and the gap is too thin to wrap the strip around the scope

Where is the optimal place for a dew heater to go on a C14 with a dew shield as well? Over the dew shield, just behind the corrector plate? Over but a bit further behind the corrector? Under the dew shield, behind the corrector? Or Over the dew shield and in front of the corrector to stop dew forming on the shield itself? Matt

That's what I was thinking. When I get back I'll have a look at it properly since there's different things that you trade off when you edit it. Like: brightness, but you lose overall contrast, especially in the dust lanes and the opposite It is also an old set of data from last year so I could add to it and make the signal even better

Okay, I've had another go and I think this one is alright, what does everyone else think? The gradient across the top to bottom I can't seem to get rid of either Or there's this version:

The new one I think is a lot more natural looking (the top one) What could I do to make it look even better?

What would be a good exposure value to start with then adjust gain? 10ms?

I followed the full disk tutorial on daveys link. Think it looks much better now There's no flats so it looks much darker in the middle It's weird how one set of data can vary so wildly, just by changing the processing

Okay, gotcha

This has been my best shot at processing it. Have cropped substantially for the out of focus parts

Okay since I've now polar aligned, how would I go through with calibrating the mount? I read the manual and followed their instructions but nothing seemed to happen and there was no improvement in pointing accuracy Edit: Also, I think there is some issues with DEC backlash, but I'll have to check up on that

I'm using sharpcap then AS!3 for stacking then registax and PS for processing I think without a barlow, it's very undersampled and blocky but it's just so hard to focus with the barlow and no sunspots

Worked on it a little more, not sure if it's an improvement

Seems like a bad image, I know but this is my first ever solar image with a Ha scope I was wondering if any of you could give me any tips to improve these images? I'm using a Lunt LS60THa and a ASI120MC (I know I should have a mono) I did a quick stack and edit on PS to get this and I've noticed that it's out of focus. I do find it hard to determine when it is in focus properly too

Update: went out last night and successfully polar aligned with sharpcap and 50mm finder Probably too short of a focal length but it will do for now Here's an image of how accurate I could get it

Update: Finally fixed it, just need to check next time it's clear and I'll polar align Basically it was just a case of taking off the telescope and CW, then slackening off the centre screw that holds the mount down. I turned it clockwise about an inch and kept the az bolts centred so there's a little bit of leeway to account for any error. Thanks everyone for their help Matt

I think I've gathered at this point that the only solution to this is to take down the telescope and CW. Then loosen the centre bolt located underneath the pier plate at the bottom and see if we can move it a fraction.