wimvb

The comparison isn't a fair one, as Alan's data has longer exposures (x3) with a larger aperture, and a different pixel scale. All this on a rock solid mount. Add to that the very important aspect of location, and you're really comparing apples and ... (well, anything good but fruit). Edit: somehow I assume that Alan is at a dark location, but rereading, I can't see where I got that from.

I've only used the PixInsight routine, never the one in dss, but saw that it was there. The PixInsight version works as it should.

I actually found these recipes/tutorials of good use http://www.pixinsight.com/examples/M81M82/index.html http://www.pixinsight.com/examples/M81M82/index.html Adding a luminance mask to protect the background, helps keeping the noise down. The trick is to find the best settings for deringing and regularisation.

Great image! There's even more dust hiding in the background. Another 15 hours, perhaps? That certainly explains it. But, what camera was used? (can't see the signatures from my phone)

Nice first catch! I use the baader cc with my 150pds, and it works fine. I also found that it takes the focus a bit further out. A Bahtinov mask is a good investment. If you make your own, try to make the edges as clean as possible; it will improve the diffraction spikes. A motorised focuser is also a good investment. I found that focus can shift slightly when I tighten the focus lock. Have fun with your new scope!

My first thought was to recommend phd on linux, which, as far as I know, has support for qhy 5. But since you probably haven't got the knowledge, this isn't a realistic option. Can you get a (cheap) computer that runs win 7? Since you'll only use it to control your gear, it doesn't have to be state of the art. You can have this computer control the guiding, the mount, and the camera.

In dss and PixInsight there is a routine called cosmetic correction that can remove this walking noise (hot pixels). To be used after calibration but before debayering/registration, it removes the hot/cold pixels that were not removed by the dark frames. If you put all your registered light frames in the PixInsight routine called Blink, you can see an animation of the hot pixels moving across the frame. It can be a real eye opener. To avoid these patterns, with a cmos ALWAYS dither.

For this adapter, I don't know. Shaving off a bit? If you have access to the proper tools, machining might be an option. For future acquisitions, I would definitely spend my money somewhere else.

As in real estate, it's very much about location. When I imaged M45 last year from my dark site, I could pull out faint dust without too much effort. But from my home front yard in the suburbs, no such luck. Even with more total exposure time, my images are drowned in noise after applying DBE. Location, location, location.

You folks in the tropics.

While the az eq6 is serious overkill for a dslr with lens, it will futureproof you for a long time. I can only second @TareqPhoto's advice. The mount is a real joy to work with. If you want to view stuff, you can use it in easy alt-az mode, and for imaging you use it in eq mode.

Nice! Mine is due on monday, with the zwo lrgb filter set. And astro darkness will return soon. Hopefully I can get a few clusters in as well. What gain/offset/exposure time did you use?

Nice! I think that polar alignment should only be out a tiny bit. Too much will mean the guiding will have to work harder. When I used Lin_guider, I let the mount drift for a while until I saw in which direction the DEC would guide. Then I switched on guiding in that direction only. This would quiet down the dec guiding, almost independent of how good PA was. Sometimes I find Lin_guider to be more Push Here Dummy than PHD. (Also note the 'Accumulate frames' settings which let you average corrections over a number of frames before applying.)

Usually it's frost and water level that causes movement in the ground and shift of the block and pier. I would aim for getting the block deeper than frost will get during the winter months, and have the immediate surroundings filled with draining gravel, rather than sand or clay. A local builder should be able to give you advice on the best way to make the block and pier. It's better to over-engineer a pier than to 'under-engineer' it, but over-engineering will most likely also mean over-budget. Good luck with the build

With your equipment and location (dark sky), you have all that is needed to make great astro images. The only item I would add is a coma corrector for the scope. To get the best out of this equipment, you will also need to look at software that can transform the data into stunning images. Mastering the software and image processing often is the hardest part of this hobby.