Yawning Angel

I’ve had success which freezing / flash heating stuck spacers in the past: -Spray with a can of spray air, upside down so it’s the liquid coming out, enough to chill it -Warm on a hot surface for a few seconds, to expand the outside ring -Unscrew, gripped with rubber cloth (the jar opening type) -Clean with isopropyl alcohol Obviously, not easy if there are optical elements

Clear at the moment, so maybe...

As a number of excellent recent posts will attest, this target looks amazing when rendered in the Hubble palette - However, that means a new filter wheel and a couple more filters snuck under the radar! So, here's the Elephant's trunk nebula in Ha. Pretty much the full frame after the stacking edges had been tidied up. I'd never noticed that the Elephant has a head too, on the right, but I showed this to one of my children and he spotted it right away. Silly Daddy Skywatcher Evostar 80ED w 0.85 reducer 19 x 300 sec exposures, Baader 7nm Ha filter ZWO asi1600mm-pro @ -15 degrees & unity gain Celestron AVX put in a good show with about 0.35 RMS Stacked in DSS with master dark, flats and dark flats I would say "Processed in Pi", but my random button pushing didn't yield any significant improvements, so I left it with just a stretch, curves and a light touch of noise reduction. I'll revisit it with a tutorial in hand when the nights are grim Comments gratefully received

I've found the asi1600 will hang on downloading if 2 different bits of software are connecting to it at the same time. Try these steps: Ensure that PHD2 hasn't picked the 1600 for guiding, as it doesn't clearly distinguish between cameras from the same manufacturer (click the railway junction icon, next to the camera in the connect screen) Close ASICap Disconnect the 1600 from the link icon in SGP. GIve it a sec then hit the link icon in SGP again to reconnect. All should be well

Btw, you should update your location, unless you really are at FLO HQ in Exeter?

It’s called ‘Scope Nights’

It's currently wind, wet and 'orrible, but tonight 2 weather apps agree! We shall see

Oh yes, a rain storm earlier in the day...I knew I bought a dehumidifier for some reason!

Managing a quick session, before the ick rolls in again. Live stack (Folder monitoring SGP's output) from Sharpcap looks clean enough - 5 x 5 min, Ha Elephants Trunk Nebula

Personally, I found all the off-the-shelf piers where too short for my requirements. What I did buy was the adapter plate suited for my mount, allowing me to swap it in future if I upgrade. At first I commissioned a custom one from an astro supplier, however, they hashed it up 3 times with long delays between - so I built my own, if only to progress my obs build!

Same here. It's interesting that our moon stats are noticeably different

After a bit of a false start, I managed to grab some time on M33 before closing down with a few frames on the moon. Sleep now

I've been meaning to write this sort of post for a while, so here are my thoughts on 'Lessons from a Roll-off build'. Some I learnt the hard way, others I caught early enough Before breaking ground, take panoramas of your chosen sites horizon (your phone can do this!). Review the site at night for lights etc Make sure your scope fits. Imagine you have your dream scope...make sure that'll fit too! Water finds a way! Roof rail should fall ever so slightly away from the rolling section, to prevent ingress along the rail Stainless annular nails are awesome, unless you need to pull some Good screws are worth their weight - Reisser Cutters where my choice End grain treatment for sawn wood! Season your cladding! Until it's sealed, it's a sponge and will shrink Construction softwood cares not for your 2mm tolerance. Run your power (and data) early in the build! Having mains in the under-construction obs is invaluable. You don't have enough wood Budget for insulation - it isn't a cheap afterthought Build in standard sizes where you can. Sheet material is usually 1200mm x 2400mm (yeah right, plus at least 5mm - don't trust the sizes!) Building materials are not square unless you check it. Timber isn't straight and 100x50mm (2x4) is 95x45ish Don't forget you need to lock it...build the door frame with this in mind Commercial grade stainless fittings are great for outside That hole in the ground is big enough, STOP DIGGING! Concrete don't fill as much as you think. Use a calculator for your volumes Just because the roof rolled yesterday, don't mean it will today. Test after any major changes, it's easier to fix before you've moved in Don't underestimate windlift. Secure the roof from both rolling off and lifting off Snow is heavy! Plan where your rainwater is going. Drain, soakaway etc Things will live under your obs if you let them. Things that like power cables for lunch and insulation for dinner. Stainless or copper mesh is cheap It will take longer than you ever imagined Set a budget! You will overrun your budget Unless you're know someone, are qualified or particularly cavalier, you'll need to pay an electrician - budget for it Good ventilation will help, but a desiccant dehumidifier might be on the cards too if you get lots of humidity / dew. Plan where it drains, plan where it is powered from You haven't planned for enough power sockets Do you want Wifi? If not...are you really sure? Security shouldn't be an afterthought Insurance! You can get specific cover, or extend your 'outbuildings' cover. Either way, tell them if you want cover Do you really need an external window? If you have a warm room, you need an internal window! Choosing lights will consume time...so much time! I hope this helps someone - please feel free to add to the list Happy building!

Unexpectedly clear tonight, but with a very bright moon again. Testing some replacement filters, so went for a ‘mineral’ moon, which has never been very successful for me 25% stack of 3000 each for RGB. Stacked in AS!3, wavelets in Registax and RGB combine and edit in Photoshop Subtle saturation: Enthusiastic saturation: but no ‘argh, my retina!’ saturation

It is a little bit of a faf with grub screws. I think I was up and running from unboxing to working in about 40 minutes edit: If you download the software, the hardware instructions are in the zip - you can then see how it hangs together