steviemac500

HI, no the roof opens up to from a V shape so the water from condensation collects. Hi Peter. The damage is really from rain. We get extremes of heat and then heavy rain and cold in Cyprus so over time the walls have warped.

Thanks for all the advice. The condensation only occurs when the roof is open not when closed so I could do with something to stop that happening. Maybe a different material? Would polystyrene insulation prevent the moisture?

Yes I think that’s the main problem the type of wood. Is T & G tongue and groove?

I live in Cyprus. The weather hits both ends of extreme and I think over the years the wood has expanded and contracted so much. The roof also collects a lot of moisture throughout the night so if I have to close it in a hurry, I can’t as the water will fall into the observatory. I think replacing the walls would be easiest and cheapest but I’d like to do something about the wet roof.

I’ve had an observatory for a few years. Bought off a friend. It’s a solid construction, metal framed with a fold out roof. It’s getting old and very leaky, and to be honest, it’s probably over engineered. I’m thinking of re jigging it perhaps with a sliding roof. Not sure where to start though. I think I’d want to removed the wood walls and perhaps replace the steel frame with timber and keep the floor. I’ve attached some pictures to give you an idea of its construction. Any advice would be appreciated. Steve

The overlap is 10% (a bit tight 😬)

Thanks Olly. I used the mosaic script in PI instead of GradientMerge and it was not only quick but the results seemed better.

This is a 4 panel rendition of the Pelican nebula. 15 hours in each panel for a total of 45 hours. I'm happy with the way the mosaic has come together and I like the palette. Processed in Pixinsight using the mosaic script. Comments and criticism welcomed as always. Hope you like it and thanks for looking. Steve https://astrob.in/dlmoj2/0/

Trying desperately to get my Astro mojo back.....this is still my favourite part of the sky. Tried to streamline the process, 900s subs instead of 1200 & 15 exposures instead of 30. I don't think there is much in the way of degradation or increased noise which is good. I have also tried to quicken the processing - WBPP instead of individually calibrating, cosmetic etc. So taken over 3 nights, 15 x 900s in Ha, Sii and O3. Comments and criticism welcomed as always. Thanks for looking. Steve https://astrob.in/8wccaf/0/

Just to mention, I am thinking of selling my G2-8300. I might be getting out of the hobby, haven't decided yet but I am looking for something new to try in terms of AP. I love my camera, bought it new never regretted it.

Return to NB after quite a while. This is still my favourite part of the sky as there's so much to see. 10 hours in each Ha, Sii, and 03 with 20 minute exposures for a total of 30 hours. Processed in PI and stars de-emphasised at the end of processing. Hope you like it.

Won't win any prizes but here's my recent take on the Leo Triplet. 3 hours in L ,1 each in RGB. Really just getting back to grips after a laptop catastrophe and focuser issues. 5 minute subs, processed in PI. Taken on the 7th and 9th May. Hope you like it. Steve

This is my 1st image in a while as I've had massive problems with my focuser which turned out to be backlash. I've done 3 hours in Lum and 1 each in RGB (half my normal). There's a dust mote that my flats haven't dealt so I'll need to retake them and fairly severe gradients due to moonlight that I did my best to sort with but for a quick process I'm fairly pleased. Processed in PI and I used the script for star de-emphasis (Adam Block) for the first time. Comments and criticism welcomed. https://astrob.in/51lx5i/0/

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I've not processed for a while as my laptop died. I have a new one now so this is data from June. I have been trying to re-establish a workflow as it's been a while and also hopefully to produce a decent image. This is 12 hours in LRGB processed in PI. Comments a criticism welcomed as always. Next step is to try and get the observatory connected again...... https://astrob.in/6wp712/0/

Hi, I have just reinstalled PI into a new laptop. Intel i7 2.2 processor, 8g RAM, 256 SSD which is a big step up from my old laptop. I was expecting a difference in performance but having just calibrated a set of subs, it is actually a lot slower!. I was at 12 minutes into the calibration and not even half done. I asked a friend to check my settings and there was nothing unusual. He also did a test of the same number of subs and it took him less than 2 minutes (slightly faster computer). I have obviously googled and tried all the obvious stuff (including swaps) but no difference. The only thing was a pop up message that came on when I started PI which I then got rid off and can't get back to check its contents. Very frustrating as I'm not new to PI but I feel like there must be something obvious I'm missing? Any ideas? Steve

My version of this popular target. This is my 3rd go since I took up this hobby and it's really interesting to see how my processing techniques have developed/changed over the years. 12 hours in total, 6 in L, 2 each in RGB. I've left it as a wide field but can definitely take some zooming and I've tried to not over do the colour so much I also deliberately didn't go over board with the sharpening as I felt it started to look too over cooked. Comments and criticism welcomed as always. Hope you like it. Hi res link below too. https://astrob.in/8siqlh/0/

Thank you for the great comments everyone. I’m really glad I took the time to reprocess this now.

Hi, I went back to the beginning with this one. Had a good chat with a friend and revisited a lot of basics as well as learning a new thing or 2 along the way. I think I am so often keen to show a finished picture that I don't take the time to be properly critical. Anyway, M106 with 6 hours or L and 2 each of RGB. Hope you like this final version (there have been many!) 😀 Hi-res link: https://astrob.in/tw17gn/D/

My take on M106. Taken with the Esprit 100 so detail in the galaxy is limited but I like the amount going on in the background. 72 L, 24 each of RGB, all 300s subs. Processed in PI. STar reduction using Adam Block's technique. Hope you like it. https://astrob.in/tw17gn/0/

Thank you, very appreciated!

Hi, my take on this iconic target. 6 hours in Lum, 2 each in RGB and 5 in Ha. I blended the Ha with the R and the Lum. Other details on Astrobin. Hope you like it. https://astrob.in/i2l1g6/C/

Re-shot the blue channel last night and did a full re-process. Much happier with the final image.

Thanks for the comments. I’m going to reprocess this, there’s an issue with the blue subs, and I’m going to try an HDR version to try and tame the main stars of the cluster.

One of my favourite targets each year. Went for a subtler approach to my last attempt where I felt the stars went quite technicolour. Happy with the NR in the background using John Rista's method and a slight de-emphasis on the stars with Adam Block's very clever method. 6 hours in L and 2 in each of RGB, processed minimally in PI - all shot from my back garden in Cyprus. Hope you like it - all criticisms and comments welcomed as always. https://astrob.in/9df1od/0/