patricmooriamnot

58 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Unfortunately the AZ-GOTO mount doesn't have the corresponding ST4 port for the autoguider to connect to. The way autoguiding works is a separate camera (guide camera) connected to a guide scope sends a continuous video feed back to some software on the computer which continually monitors any drifting of the guide star. The software then sends corrective commands back to the mount through the autoguider port on the camera. Equatorial goto mounts and some high end alt-az goto mounts have the autoguider port, but not the Skywatcher AZ-GOTO. 
Your best option is to use  the camera for lunar and planetary imaging, which is what it is best at. You can try DSO imaging with the camera but you will be limited to what can be achieved by the size of the sensor and the limitations of the mount.

Thanks for the info I`m learning all the time. I won`t waste my time trying to work with auto guiding. Still its all good fun.

20 minutes ago, Freddie said:

True but the OP is clearly new to all this so I don't think the lack of auto guiding should be something to bring up at this stage as a tracking mount will be fine for some initial work and I wouldn't want to see the OP put off getting started.

I have just been looking through my ZWO manual and it seems it has a auto guilder built in. I have no idea how to use it. It needs other software. Will this guider control my goto mount? I imagine I would have to use the mount control first to slew to the region of sky I want and then disconnect the control and connect the camera guider. The more I look into this the more questions I have. Trial and error seems a good option at the moment. Thanks for all your input.

12 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

The mount won't actually "track" a star, you need a mount with an autoguiding setup to do this. After the mount has slewed on to your chosen target the mount will then revert back to sidereal tracking. The mount doesn't have any idea if the target then starts to drift out of view. 
 

O Dear. and I thought my mount was all singing all dancing. ( for a beginner) 

2 minutes ago, edjrgibbs said:

Looking at the sharpcap pages it looks like you can take long exposure video. Maybe try 15 second frames and see where you get to.

I think that is where I am going wrong. I think the guy on u tube said something like that. He says he can get good DSOs with his ZWO.  Great help guys Thanks

1 minute ago, edjrgibbs said:

Just to jump back in. If you're taking videos its very unlikely you'll get any DSO's coming out in them. Video is for planetary only where you have a really bright object that needs really short exposures but lots of them. DSO work needs much longer images. With M42 you should see something from 15+ seconds. Rotation will be the problem on an Alt Az mount as might stability. 

ok thanks for that, I wonder if the software can get my zwo to take a long exposer snapshot. I will try.

24 minutes ago, edjrgibbs said:

Hi Phil

A few things jump out. The first is the type of mount you have. The mount is the most important part. The second is the camera itself and its suitability for DSO imaging. I'll deal with them in order:

> Mount. Do you have an AltAz or Equatorial mount? If not an equatorial then tracking DSO's will be problematic due to field rotation. That being said, its possible.

> Camera: the ASI120MC-S has a pretty small chip which might be more suited to planetary imaging. I'm not sure how it will fair on large DSO's like Orion but I guess only trying will tell. You'll need some software to run it either in DSO mode or planetary. Planetary you tend to take video in a programme like sharpcap then stack the individual frames with software like registax (both pieces are free). If doing DSO imaging you're into longer exposure territory but depending on the mount your exposure times will be limited (i.e. no Eq tracking will mean much shorter exposures, especially with the size of the imaging chip). I use APT (Astrophotography Tool) with my DSO camera's and find it a decent piece of software. You can then stack using something like Deep Sky Stacker. 

Another issue you'll likely encounter is focus. A bahtinov mask (available from most astro shops) is the best way i've found to focus. You might need spacers etc to achieve focus. 

It might be worth trying to find a local astro group or alternatively trial and error. Over the years I've found searching these forums provide a wealth of info. AP can be frustrating but don't give up!

Hope this helps. 

Ed

Thank Ed. I will keep working at it. I do have an AltAz goto scope and when aligned I thought it might track a star in the nebula. Focus is a major issue yes. again I try and focus on the star I`m tracking. I have made a cap with two holes in to place over the end of the scope and this helps. Thanks once again for your input and lets hope for more cleer skies.

20 minutes ago, MARS1960 said:

You and me both. Iv'e had 4-5 attempts on M42 and still come away with nothing.

Darks are easy, after you have taken your lights just put the lens cap on and take a few shots using the same settings, i have been taking around 10% darks to lights.

Are you taking long enough exposures? and enough of them.

Thanks for you reply Peter, I will try taking much longer videos and see how that goes. I still can`t get my head around the stacking bit I have downloaded deep sky stacker so will have to just practice using it. Dark skies. 

Hi Guys. I am very new to this subject and would appreciate any help I can get. Orion is nice and high in the southern sky at the moment and I would love to take photo`s of the horse head nebula and the great orion nebula. I have a skywatcher 130 goto scope and a ZWO ASI120MC-S CAMERA. I don`t understand about darks and lights. I have watched a video on u tube and a guy there has explained how he gets sharp images and what settings he uses but I have had little success copying he settings. Unfornunatly I do not get very dark skies where I live so perhaps this is my problem. Any help would be most appreciated. Phil.

Since I've had my SW130p Alt Az Goto scope for almost a year now I thought I would write a little something for anyone thinking about a similar GOTO scope as their first step into astronomy.

My thought process when I got the scope was probably fairly typical. I figured that the GoTo system would allow me to find my way around the sky fairly quickly without having to learn every inch of the night sky manually. I also had limited time for observing and thought that this scope would get me going much quicker from the start.

Neither of these things turned out to be true.

So before you make the choice to Goto or not to Goto here are a few things they don't tell you in the manual.

1. Mount set up.

Stability is the key here - don't fully extend the legs (keep the scope low if you can. It must be level - I can't overstress this - buy a spirit level and triple check that it is level - with the scope on and balanced. Rotate the scope all the way round and check that it stays level.

2. Handset set up.

Entering the LAT and LONG - These coordinates have to be correct. Also make sure you are not using decimal coordinates found on some websites. Get the correct ones for your location - Don't enter them the wrong way round - Most sites give you North then West buy the SynScan wants West then North (made that mistake a few times!)

Get the right timezone. +00.00 for the UK

Be accurate when entering the time.

Daylight Savings - can't tell you how many times this confused me - for clarity this means British Summer Time (when the clocks go forward) so for right now the answer is NO.

Then you can begin alignment (I use 2 star align)

This is where the fun starts. The handset will list possible alignment stars. At this point you will realize that you really don't know enough about the night sky and may not be able to locate Mizar or Alioth without a star chart. Also the handset assumes you have an uninterrupted 360 degree view. So when the Handset suggest Dubhe (front tip of The Plough) and I'm at home on the patio - that is behind my house and obscured from view.

So then I had to use Stellarium on my laptop or starwalk on my iPhone to work out which star is which.

Having located a star which I can see I then line up the red-dot finder on it and then get it centred in the EP - It will inevitably then suggest a second star which is either obscured by houses or trees or list some that I just don't know.

Suffice it to say that this takes some time. If it takes too long between the first and second star alignment things are not great form there on in.

So Quick set up? - NO not at all

Easy to find my way around with no knowledge of the sky> - NOPE

Don't get me wrong - when it is all set up and working it is great. (providing you don't get overexcited and accidentally kick one of the tripod legs causing you to have to do the whole alignment again!)

But I have only been able to get up and running quickly by being very prepared in terms of having the right coordinates before I go anywhere with the scope and being very careful when entering data into the handset.

In addition I have had to learn the night sky so as to be able to locate various stars for alignment. So I bought a good star atlas and also a copy of Turn Left at Orion. Knowing the night sky really does make things easier.

Other issues.

As I said - it assumes a 360 degree clear view. So if you go on the Deep Sky Tour and choose Andromeda - it might still be behind a tree or house.

It also does not know what scope you are using. So some of the DSO's it is listing may be well beyond the resolving power of your scope - The 130p is great but some targets are beyond its power.

Batteries - Don't use rechargables - the power output drains and the scope goes out of alignment. Invest in some kind of PowerTank if you want a full night's observing.

Try and find a 360ish clear viewing point if you can - it makes a world of difference.

Plan your observing session - I will use Stellarium (free to download for Mac or PC) to plan the night's session - choosing targets and times before hand. I will use a star chart to make sure I know where the scope should be pointing.

In many ways (bad weather aside) it has been great getting to know this scope and it certainly forced me to learn the night sky. If I could have a "Do over" I would have bought an 8" Dobsonian but there is still a lot to recommend the 130p Goto.

My next purchase will be a SW250px Dob - but without learning the night sky first I would be as out of my depth with that as I was with the 130p.

Hope that helps someone in making the right decision on a scope - or if you bought a Goto scope maybe it will be useful to you.

Clear Skies - Nigel

Hi Nigel, just read your post. how true I have just bought a SW130p goto scope and have no idea how to set it up. How do I set up home position for parking? because I can alter altitude by hand,. how does it know where it is. How should I position the mount before tuning on power? I have not been able to do a star alignment yet as the skys have been cloudy. Ive tried stting skewing limots but that doesn`t seem to work. I am most confused. Can you help?