alacant

Hi everyone Using this coma corrector which a visitor had brought along. We have the same model but this example gives much better stars. Both look and feel the same and both are unbranded. Quality control? Also tried a moon filter thinking it would remove moon gradient; wishful thinking indeed. It's a little 'milky' and not sure about the colour. As always, all comments most gratefully received. Thanks for looking eos700d 2 1/2 hours

Should be better from tonight onwards; the moon will be less bright and further away from the cluster as it culminates. Good luck and do post your results:)

Hi We used Siril. Not perfect; there's a bit of moon creeping in at the bottom. Maybe we'll have another go. Or just GIMP it. Cheers

Or, perhaps even easier; your 'phone. Cheers

Hi everyone Full moon imaging but this time with a different challenge. Easier gradient, but low over the southern horizon; it transits here at 30º and we caught it quite a way after. Poor guiding resulting from atmospheric turbulence. Anyway, here's a before and after. Even the colour is something like! Don't give up just because of the moon;)

Hi everyone Full moon, so no chance of dslr imaging. Or is there? We had a visitor wanting to learn the ropes. The advantage is the light: you can see and explain what you're doing. The disadvantage is the light; horrendous gradient. Never thought we'd get anything like. Just look at that mess😲 Amazed when the end result popped out. Moral: don't discount moonlit nights. Especially when you're explaining to someone. Cheers and thanks for looking.

I've been around for around for a few years and must say that with the standard of equipment to which I have access that that would be a nice problem to have! This may allow you to see atmospheric dispersion. Cheers and clear skies.

Are you sure that the eyepiece holder (the collar with the two thumb screws) does not unscrew from the female threaded flange? You may need to apply some force to shift it.

Hi If it's like the skywatcher, if you unscrew the eyepiece holder, isn't there a male t thread already for your DSLR t ring? Cheers

Hi. yeah, that's what I found. The gso is perfect for reflectors with insufficient inward travel but works against those of us with telescopes designed for imaging. Here on a 6" and with a good focuser, it was impossible to prevent tilt and very difficult to balance. The tube distorts at different angles with all the weight hanging off and this maybe leads to loss of collimation depending upon the angle. I think you may stand more chance with the 130 as the tube is not as wide. Bresser suggested I change the sensor to cc distance to make the focus point closer to the tube, but by then I had use of a gpu so didn't get that far. As I say, you have 10mm to play with so maybe worth a try? I'm sure it's doable, so here's hoping that someone with the same combination can point you in the right direction. Cheers and HTH

Hi Where's the focus position? Is the focuser tube protruding into the light path or is it a long way from the tube? Anyway, assuming you nailed the collimation, it looks like the camera is tilted; too close at the bottom of the frame, OK centre, astigmatic/too far at the top. It's a common problem with the sw focuser. Quite often, loosening the screws and re-seating the camera in the focuser is all that is required, albeit hit and miss. You can drill and tap m4 at 120º for a third screw to hold the camera more positively in the focuser. More definitively, the gso gives enough back focus to be able to use one of these, but then you're on your way financially to a proper replacement focuser. From bitter experience, these are best avoided;) Also, unlike other ccs, the gso has a 10mm working range so maybe try a further 2 to 3mm away from the sensor too. HTH and clear skies.

Hi No. The focal length remains the same but the point of focus is now further from the telescope tube. This enables you to bring your dslr to focus with or without the Barlow. Aperture: you may lose a little light from the edge of the secondary but you'll not notice it. HTH

Hi No. That's overkill. You simply need this bit... ...from here. No need to fully dismantle the DEC axis, Just remove the counterweight support to reveal the bush which holds the bearing in place. Clean and regrease it whilst you're there. Then follow this for the worm mesh. HTH

Hi DEC is sticking. Loosen the cone bearing at the base of DEC and slacken the worm to gear mesh. That should get you closer. HTH

Hi Easiest: better Barlow Best: move the primary mirror toward the secondary. Either cut the tube or fit longer bolts to the mirror cell. HYH

Hi If you can get the tube supported properly, this one could offer significant improvement. Cheers and HTH.

M1: There is quite a bit of detail. I think I overdid the denoised layer. Here it is with a less denoised layer underneath; it's found some more detail. Next I'll try the colour. Stand well back!

Hi Unfortunately, using this will not enable focus with the sw 0.9 coma corrector mentioned here. Other choices for the clicklok would be the Baader or -even better- the 4 element gso. HTH

Hi. You'll probably find that DSLR dark frames add more noise, so best to shoot only light, flat and bias and dithering a random amount between the former. Much quicker too:) HTH EDIT; Ooops, apologies @cuivenion we were writing at the same time.

Hi everyone This is the last in the series of 6" f8 (at last we hear you exclaim) as the telescope is back on it's way to more northern latitudes. Alas, no hardware acquisition this time around:( Operating remotely over TeamViewer and thanks to some nifty EKOS plate solving, framing and sequencing, we managed two targets. Returning to a dew covered telescope around 06:00 to witness the plough almost overhead. Strange for this time of year. Am particularly disappointed with m108; the owner commenting upon it looking something akin to having been done on his Celestron. He has a point; I can't explain the lack of detail. What did we do wrong? Anyway, thanks for looking and here's looking forward to the 10" f5 becoming available, February time. eos700d nt150l ISO800

Great. Thanks for confirming. It’s a nice, tight view of the two nebulas Maybe turn the camera 90°? IIRC, both clumps of nebulosity extend beyond what's seen on a planetarium preview. Cheers

Hi. It's when you have two... Ooops, almost blew it there!

Interesting observation: Rotation seems to have lost detail and colour. Does rotating a jpg lose information? I wonder...

Hi. Curiosity really. If you take the landscape shot and cover Alnitak, it somehow seems a stronger, less distracting composition (?). Dunno. Good point.

LOL. Too right mate. F8? Get rid before anyone notices! Ahhggghh! You can't say I didn't try😉