gorann

Filters last for ever, so if you want to be future proof and like many go for an APS-C sized CMOS camera at some point, the 2" will be the way to go and then you do not need to invest in an new filter wheel now.

I finally went for "The Shed Skin Nebula" when I now posted the images on Astrobin😁

I have a Samyang 135 with an Omegon veTEC571 (and IDAS NBZ filter) piggybacking on my dual-RASA rig (so it is in reality a triple rig) but I wait until last to see what it has caught as a kind of bonus, and I do not do anything about its framing, so it is always a surprise. Now I have had a look at that data and this is what it found. It makes me lean towards Wim's suggestion of the Lizard Shed Nebula, since you here can see how it has crawled from it shedded overcoat to its new position on top of the bright red Sh2-126 on the far left of the image.

Yes, right colour but a bit to fat😁

Certainly has the shape. This got me thinking that The Smoking Pipe nebula or The Saxophone Nebula are other possibilities😄

Interesting suggestion - I did not see that one until now😄

Thanks Carole! @wimvb messaged me an interesting suggestion: The Lizard Shed Nebula. It is in the constellation of the Lizard and lizards do shed yearly and this thing looks a bit as a disorganized reptile shed. Now you just have to find a possible PN in the image.

Thanks a lot for the catalogue digging Wim!

Interesting, @wimvb made the same suggestion..........

Thanks a lot Dan, I agree about Lacerta!

Last night it cleared but I had no big hopes since mist was supposed to roll in around 22.00. The mist turned out to wait until 03.00, so with my dual-RASA rig I collected 13.5 hours with the IDAS NBZ filter (and ASI2600MC) of some quite weak but distinct nebulosity in Lacerta. This is a very rarely imaged area in Lacerta and the main object stretching diagonally has as far as I can tell no name or number (not even @wimvb could find one although he tells me the horizontal red nebulosity top left is PLCKECC G092.83-11.03). 1) So any suggestions for a name of the whitish diagonal nebulosity? This is your chance to name a celestial object😆. I am tempting to call it The Snake in Lacerta (a bit fun since Lacerta is latin for lizard). 2) It was Dana Patchick (a PN hunter in California) that suggested to me to image this area since he suspects a PN is to be found there. And there is something in the image that could be a very weak PN. I am not telling you now where it is suggested to be, but if anyone can spot it and it coincides with the suggestion from Dana it would be interesting (kind of a blind test). Cheers, Göran Platesolve in Astrobin: A bunch of galaxies platesolved by Wim in PI:

I am 98% an imager but I do have a set of eyepieces so I got curious reading this thread. For a wide field eyepiece I have a Williams SWAN 40 mm. How is that rated among you connoisseurs?

Sounds good @ollypenrice. One thing I heard to be careful of is not to put all screws back around the bottom after de-forking as some will now protrude longer in and will hit the mirror and maybe chip it.

and what happened to the star spikes????

Woow, that last Pillars image gives me the feeling that JWST has taken off from our solar system and sneaked up on the pillars, taking an image from below. I get the impression that the stars are suppressed and their numbers of are falling - Maybe the team of NASA/ESA processors have bought a StarXTerminator licence?

Sound very reassuring, thanks!

I read or heard somewhere that a reason why Meade SCTs are so heavy (compared to Celestron) is that they have a built in counterweight behind the mirror, thereby allowing a good balance when the fork is attached quite far to the rear of the tube. No idea if this is true or if it is that Meade is just using heavier (thicker) materials for the tube. However, this video shows that at least their 7" Maksutov has an internal counterweight:

What you should have Olly is of course a Homeyer 14" cradle. I was lucky enough to get a Homeyer with my second-hand 14" LX200, but then of course she does not yet have the luxury of sitting on Mesu 200. Unfortunately Homeyer died in 2013 but maybe his cradle could be found on the used market. Apparently Homeyer's cradle takes off all problems with flex in such a big tube, but for visual that may not matter. Cheers, Göran

OK, I thought it would be like in the image, so 130 mm. My suggestion is that you put it all together and use the Steeltrack focuser to get to exactly 146 mm between the back edge of the scope and and the sensor of your camera. Then focus with the mirror-focuser until you get sharp stars. Then you can probably use the Steeltrack focuser to fine focus without loosing the flat field (the movement will probably be within the tolerance of the flattener. I hope that made sense.

Yes, the Meade ACF gets a flat field from the design of the corrector plate, while the EdgeHD accomplish this with a group of lenses, so a built in field flattener.

PS. I see on FLO's site that it says about the Steetrack that it is "Suitable for Celestron C14/C11/C9.25/C8/C6/C5. Also suitable for Meade SCT/ACF telescopes with standard 2" SCT thread. " I think that may mean that is should not be used for the Edge series due to the short fixed back focus.

Why do you think you need a focuser on the back of the Edge HD? My impressions with my EdgeHD 8 and 11 is that their mirror focusers are quite good. The problem you will possibly run into with that extra focuser is that it will change the back focus distance when you focus and then also affect the flatness of your image. My Meade 14" ACF is a different story since it has an optical system that does not have a critical fixed back focus for getting a flat field, so there I have a Steeltrack like you. But with the Edge you cannot deviate many mm before you loose your flat field. I assume you could get it very close and that extra focuser will help you temperature compensate, but the length of the image train you describe (inclusing the OAG) seems much too long for making it work, but you just have to wait for a clear night to try it out.

Thanks, and yes, of course a short UV shot is something quite different. Also, have a look at this thread which is now focusing on NGC4250 after I posted also there:

When I know the ring is there I can almost see it in these images, at least in the central blue one.

It is hard to believe that this is actually the same galaxy. It is both lacking the stars and the distinctly oval core seen in my image. Maybe it is the Earth atmosphere that makes my stars much bigger and therefore more obvious.