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matt_baker

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Everything posted by matt_baker

  1. matt_baker
    Last Tuesday, I managed to go out and image M13 just fine, with only a couple of stars in one corner being elongated due to my focuser tilt. Last night however, I was trying to image the Iris nebula and the stars looked awful. I made sure to collimate and make sure the focuser screws were tightened nicely. Although I did push the mirror up slightly with the collimation screws to try and minimize the drawtube obstruction. Collimation was done with a cheshire eyepiece and collimation cap. My focus was also good from my bhatinov mask. I think I know it's not caused by differential flexure, since the stars look awful even from a 5 second exposure which I've uploaded for all to see. Could anyone help me out?
  2. matt_baker
    Last Tuesday, I managed to go out and image M13 just fine, with only a couple of stars in one corner being elongated due to my focuser tilt. Last night however, I was trying to image the Iris nebula and the stars looked awful. I made sure to collimate and make sure the focuser screws were tightened nicely. Although I did push the mirror up slightly with the collimation screws to try and minimize the drawtube obstruction. Collimation was done with a cheshire eyepiece and collimation cap. My focus was also good from my bhatinov mask. I think I know it's not caused by differential flexure, since the stars look awful even from a 5 second exposure which I've uploaded for all to see. Could anyone help me out?
  3. matt_baker
    Since I'm not very competent at doing this kind of work, could you elaborate how you went about doing it, without making a mess of it? I'm wanting to add an extra thumbscrew on my 130PDS for rigidity
  4. matt_baker
    Is it not supposed to be 55mm spacing for the MPCC?
  5. matt_baker
    How much spacing have you got between the sensor and the mpcc? It should need about 34.8mm
  6. matt_baker
    No problem, happy to help
  7. matt_baker
    Thanks!
  8. matt_baker
    Manufacturers will over tighten the mirror clips so the mirror doesn't go anywhere, when it doesn't need to be anywhere near as tight as they are. By loosening them it relieves the pressure on the mirror which causes the deformed stars and should make them nice and round again. Also, I'm in the process of wanting to tap a 3rd hole on the focuser. Could you tell me how you did it?
  9. matt_baker
    Could either be your focuser sagging ever so slightly due to the weight of the camera or maybe pinched optics? To fix the focuser sagging, thread another couple of holes and attach thumb screws. For pinched optics, you have to take out the mirror cell and loosen the screws holding the mirror clips in place until you can slide a credit cards width underneath Edit: I think you mentioned tapping an extra hole into the focuser, I don't know if that's what you meant
  10. matt_baker
    130P-DS, HEQ5 Pro, Nikon D5300 (unmodded and uncooled) 2 1/2 hours total of 20x180s, 20x120s, 20x30s +darks +flats and bias frames
  11. matt_baker
    Thanks! It really does and I'm glad I tried it
  12. matt_baker
    This is my first proper time using APT + Dithering, and what can I say, except that my noise levels have gone down a lot. Since the moon was out the other night, I decided to stick with a brighter target, M13, since it wouldn't be affected by the moon's glow so much. I also decided to drizzle in pixinsight to make the undersampled stars nice and smooth looking, since I did dither every frame with my DSLR. It does add the extra time but I think it's worth it, especially with an uncooled DSLR. Acquisition: 2 1/2 hours 20x180s, 20x120s, 20x30, +15 darks for all 25 flats 30 bias Any CC is welcome Clear Skies Matt
  13. matt_baker
    Oh yea, I was never intending to use it at it's standard f/10, only f/7 as they have a reducer already. They also have an older CGE mount and if I can maybe put an 80mm scope along with a guide camera, it should make things smoother (I would hope)
  14. matt_baker
    I wonder with the right guiding, how it'd look through a C14 I have access to
  15. matt_baker
    What's the difference in noise like without a cooler on this kind of setup with a slow scope?
  16. matt_baker
    What was the acquisition on this?
  17. matt_baker
    One thing I have stressed to them is that I will have a parent with me at all times so I'm not on my own.
  18. matt_baker
    It was mostly to build the entire observatory which is a decent size with a dome and everything (contractors will charge extra for building on council land probably). Telescope and all accessories were provided by a local astronomy group which have been funded by the lottery since 2000, so a lot of the stuff is pretty old and I wouldn't be surprised if the mount has issues. There are no cameras as of yet because back then, a lot of good cameras were very expensive and using a dslr on a slow scope with no cooling or hyperstar would just be no point, except for very bright objects. I have a 120MC which I use as a guidescope on my personal rig, so I can use that for planetary. A 60mm Lunt solar scope was also part of the package donated so I'm planning to use that in the daytimes. It is a shame because everyone is completely fine with me going up and using it but there's all the 'health & safety' and 'forms' to fill in that they've been saying they're getting round to doing for at least 4 months now
  19. matt_baker
    I never really thought you could get such detailed images of the moons, especially considering how low Jupiter is to the horizon. We have a C14 and a CGE at our school obsy and I'm trying to persuade the powers to be to allow me to use the scope independently, since I'm in sixth form. Especially considering the FPTA spent £25,000 for it and it never gets used at all. Matt
  20. matt_baker
    Do you have any better images of the planets with the same setup?
  21. matt_baker
    I find it very hard to get 50mm guidescope rings by themselves without it being an absurd price
  22. matt_baker
    Where did you get these rings from?
  23. matt_baker
    Always see these figures on planetary pictures and always wonder what they mean. Can anyone explain them to me?
  24. matt_baker
    I'll be sure to check this out and loosen the clips to a business card
  25. matt_baker
    Are cheshires better than laser?
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