wimvb

Then the ASI294MM should be very interesting. It has about the same sensor size as ASI1600/kaf8300. When it was released it was hard coded as bin 2x2 with 4.6 um pixels, giving it 0.95"/p at 1000 mm. But since then, ZWO have released an updated driver, unlocking the 1x1 state (but with less impressive specs on paper). So now the camera can be used with 0.95"/p at 500 mm and 0.95 "/p at 1000 mm.

You could of course do what Marcel Drechsler does: (If you need me, you can start searching in the woods 😉 )

You should definitely set it a fair bit past the meridian, or ekos may flip back during the post flip platesolve. This has happened to me. Check first how far past the meridian your telescope can move without hitting anything (at any declination, remembering that 15 degrees correspond to one hour). Then set it to something inbetween the meridian and that value. I have set mine at about 20 - 30 minutes, even though I never have subs that are that long.

Arcsinh stretch followed by curves transformation shows plenty of colour. The reason why the star colour in the cluster is less obvious in your images is most likely due to the difference in telescope. Your telescope has a focal length of 430 mm and is a refractor with minimal diffraction. The reference image was taken with a 650 mm reflecting telescope. Reflectors create star spikes and diffraction due to the central obstruction. Both will bring colour into the image. Atmospheric differences and tracking differences, degree of (de-)focus and collimation play a role as well, because they affect how stars appear in an image.

Unfortunately the link in the original post isn’t a permanent link; the web page’s contents are updated daily (nightly), with the latest apod. Confusing if you wish to link to a specific image.

All else being equal, 120 s @ iso 200 should be equivalent to 30 s @ iso 800, and a good as choice as any for a first try. The best exposure time depends on many factors, including optics, tracking accuracy and sky conditions. As long as stars sren’t overexposed in your subs, you should be able to get colour in your final image.

Have you tried arcsinh stretch as the first stretch? This process is best, imo, at keeping star colour.

I don’t know about APT, but in Ekos it’s best to let the mount track to past the meridian (15 - 30 minutes for me), or the platesolving may flip the mount back. Happened to me a few times.

It's a typo by @Grant, because the thread was started in august 2021. Hence my emojis

Darned. I thought I was in time with my image. 🤔😉

Aim the camera at an evenly lit wall and take an exposure to get an average ADU count of 20 000 - 40 000. Load the image in gimp/ps/pixinsight or whatever software you have, and increase contrast. Any dust bunnies will show up. This can be done any time of day.

I've had a similar experience with an ASI120, where the front plate unscrewed from the body when I tried to unscrew the whole camera. You have to hold the camera and front plate firmly when unscrewing from a focuser/scope/imaging train.

Mission accomplished, I’d say.

Very nice. I like that "fluffy" look that you achieved.

Thankfully we know where the judges stand:

We've all been there. Glad it worked out ok.

1st version (just to keep this post consistent): Here's my attempt, easy on the IFN I think this will be my final version, more ifn

That came out very nice. I've seen this galaxy tagged in star charts, but never an image of it. Thanks for sharing

An f/2 system is more sensitive to internal movement than an f/10 system, so another solution for the mirror is probably needed. Unless the mirrors move in opposite directions (which is unlikely), I wouldn’t expect this to be more problematic in a dual scope system than in a single scope system

I downloaded your image and played a bit with it in PixInsight. Reduced the green bias in the galaxy and boosted colour saturation.

To all RASA owners out there; in for the category "fun to have, but easily self built" you can find this https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/buckeyestargazer-cable-router-for-scopes-with-front-mounted-cameras.html

Like most Astro kit they are also expensive.

Yes, it's the one item that you lack in your arsenal: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/misc/zarkov-cloud-gun.html 😋

Weight by itself isn't always the problem. It's more where you put that weight. If too much weight is too far from the mounts rotation axes the moment of inertia becomes too large, and this will cause problems when any movement starts/stops. So you may need to keep the slew speed low. You also have to be careful with guiding. And finally, there will be flexure between the scope and the counterweight bar. It's similar to what you see with weightlifting. (Remember, we're talking about arc seconds here.) People have overloaded their mounts, and still got good tracking. As long as you know what you're doing.

Nice. If differential flexure turns out to be a pro lem you may have to add a bar at the top also, connecting the two scopes there.