JohnSadlerAstro

Hi, My first data this year! I cant believe its been so long, but finally I'm back to imaging again! ? The NEQ6 worked a dream, an average of around 1" total RMS over the night, for 4 hours! I was able to keep around 80% of the frames, too. NGC2403, A difficult target that's probably a NASA copy-paste of M33. ???? 130PDS on NEQ6, Guided with ASI120MC and 50mm finder 1000d, 200sec subs at ISO 800, 3hr 30mins DSS, PHD2, GIMP Star Tools It's a really exciting area of the sky, loads of galaxies and some beautiful colour contrasting binaries. The processing is pretty awful, but there was a really large gradient on each side of the image that was a big pain to remove and took most of the colour with it. I put picture alongside some 100x100 crops to highlight all the little fuzzies. And then compiled them into a table, because the weather was bad. (Square brackets are my data, SIMBAD and the NED are disappointingly incomplete) It's a testament to the miraculous abilities of the 130PDS that I could catch a magnitude 19.4 active galaxy with very newbish processing, a bad camera and a complete lack of experience over the 12 months. Clear skies! John

Hi, I feel slightly embarrassed posting yet another reprocess of this year-old data, but with the lunar illuminations this week and the bad weather I haven't been able to get and quality data with the new mount yet. I feel this is a big improvement over the old version of this image, the noise is still bad but the galaxies have a far more true-to-life colour balance and the stars are waaay more colourful. Unfortunately the short-ish integration time refuses to give the image the "pop" which I'd like, so I'm planning to do a re-run on this pair as soon as they get a bit higher. The stars have got coloured rings around them, this seems to be an issue with most scopes but especially when imaging with a DSLR. I have reduced the effect by applying a gaussain to a star mask--it works quite well but the stars do tend to swell a tiny. 2.5 hours at ISO800 with 1000d (unmodded), roughly 4 min per sub. 130PDS on EQ5. This was the old version: John

I think not. Really nice starfield there though! The Milky Way is so crowded. ? John

Hi, Another quick update, I got the NEQ6 out in a gap between the big Atlantic showers this evening. I did a quick PA with the polarscope and then went through a 3 star alignment which worked really well. I then got 5 frames each on M33 and NGC891. Im planning to get autoguiding up and then get some proper data on 891 later this week if the weather becomes at all cooperative. Noise in this "target preview" is obviously atrocious, as its only 5 mins at ISO1600! Hopefully with 5 hours it will be better. I didnt bother to guide, so there is also some trailing. I've processed in B/W as the noise is too bad in colour. My plan is to rotate 90 degrees and centre on the bright star above the galaxy to get the nearby Abell in as well. John

To be honest ive never thought of it dropping off...?I suppose I could put the strap around the scope. The focuser is very sturdy, as spillage says. I also use the MPCC which is designed for this kind of focuser, so there is an indented ring around it for the focuser screws to lock into. John

Hi, A quick update on my mount issue progress: I found a 2nd hand NEQ6 which I've bought and got set up with the 130PDS. Hopefully it will be able to give good results as soon as the skies clear! The mount seems in very good shape, although there was a bit of dec backlash which ive removed. The real test will be when I try guiding, though. ? This is the mount next to the old EQ5. The Setup. John

I guess I ought to update the 130PDS fanboys enthusiasts about why I haven't been around for a while on this thread, the EQ5 autoguiding kicked the bucket so I'm mid way into the painful process of selling stuff to buy a second hand HEQ5. Hopefully I will be back by Christmas spamming out more sub average shots! This is my latest and most embarrasing result, NGC 7331 and Stephans Quintet. Plagued by massive Dec bounces so only 40 mins went into this. Consider it a preview for next year. However, it did help me solve some big collimation issues, so coma shouldn't be too much trouble when I'm back into imaging. John

Hi, Im not aware I ever posted this one up--M81 and 82, just over 1 hour 300 sec subs at ISO 800 I believe, unmodded 1000d on EQ5 non GoTo, autoguiding. This is the best result I've got so far, as I've been having big issues with every aspect of the setup since then. However, they are gradually being resolved one by one so any day now it will be back into service! John

Hi, Theres a guy down the end of our road who has talked to the ISS. He's got a quite incredible aerial setup, though! I've never been round to see how it's all operated, radio is something I'm ignorant of. ? John

Card and Black Paper.

Wow those images are amazing! I'm really looking forward to the nights coming back. One annoying thing with the 130 is collimation. For some reason I can only get the secondary centred if I off centre the front vanes quite a lot. I guess I'll just have to get some test shots in and see how it does. John

I'm afraid that hint isn't very subtle. @Stu Methinks someone wants to increase their amazing scopes collection...… Of course, I eschew such things. ? P.S. Or are you saying you don't want to? Too many negatives in that sentence. You need to eschew them please. Johns

Tbh I would definitely do this if it wasn't for certain computer games I enjoy which only work with Windows . I don't know what we'll have to put up with by 2050, probably a hologram of bill gates calling out tips and sudden notifications about One Drive being full. ? While I'm essentially a millennial, I do not think that this semi-obsessive ideal of absolutely everything being run by intrusive "smart" technology is really all that smart. Looking forward to the next Coronal Mass Ejection are we??? John

Hi, I believe I posted these in a separate thread a few months back, but as they are all taken with the 130, I though I'd post them here. All were taken with 1000d, EQ5 autoguiding (except M101, which is no autoguiding). I use a cheap SW 2" LP filter. M3, M31, M42, Pleiades, M81 & 82, M101, Rosette, Horsehead & Flame. John

Thank you ? Yes several of the neighbours come out and chat/look at stuff, yesterday evening I was given a mini USB hub which will be perfect for connecting up the guidecam and DSLR! It's nice that other people are interested in astronomy, too. John

Yes it was (almost) night, but the camera decided to do a 1 sec exposure not a flash. Hence the blurring. OpticStar 90S f/8.8 on old EQ2 trampoline mount in the foreground, ready to bounce its way to Jupiter, and then the Deep Sky rig with 130PDS on EQ5 in the background. The brickwork of the front path seems to be suffering a bit under the weight, but hey. ? John