alacant

NP. I used StarTools. Mmm. I wonder;) Please post your solution so that the OP can choose which is best. My method took under a minute. Cheers

Hi Nice shot. Love the foreground terrestrial stuff. I don't think you're gonna get a 16mm lens corner to corner over aps-c with anything wider than f8, and even then some. No problem as it's easily corrected in software. Cheers and HTH.

Hi Excellent shots. One thing which may help the guiding... Did you try EKOS' internal guider with SEP and multistar? You'll more than likely be pleasantly surprised, and it removes the need for third party apps. Cheers

Looks good. Post -a link to- the stacked frames if you like.

Hi NP. Around 30 x 3 minute frames. ISO800. Your c8 should get closer. Maybe do loadsa 30s exposures? HTH

Hi JTOL. My advice would be to forget the concentricts, centre spot the main mirror (and if it is already, check it is central) and use a Cheshire sight tube, preferably one with cross hairs, to collimate. Having firstly positioned the secondary mirror, go no further until the cross hairs hit the spot reflection dead centre, after which you can then use the other tools to help tilt the focuser. I've never come across a misaligned camera sensor. Having two misaligned....? Above all, be sure to read the collimation myths. Cheers and HTH

Hi everyone We never thought that this was worth attempting with anything less than a 2000mm telescope and a camera cooled in liquid nitrogen. Amazing what a night on the terrace with a few beers can acheive! The closest of the galaxies here is over 400 million light years away. Just can't imagine... DSLR imagers, do post your shot if you've had a go. Yeah, I know. Thanks for looking. 700d on gso203

Hi It's easily fixed in software. To perfect it, stop down the lens to around f5 (not using the lens diaphragm) and use the app. If you are serious about 28mm, then a cheap way is one of the old Takumars. HTH

Hi The Baader needs at least 58mm so maybe try an extra washer or -better- an 11mm eos t-ring [1]. Bottom left is astigmatism. the extra mm may help with that too. To retain collimation during and between sessions, my advice would be to lose the aperture mask, remove the mirror clips and fix the mirror with three small patches of neutral silicone sealant, fit stronger springs (1.4mm wire), a longer losmandy dovetail and a rigid box section to tie the top of the rings. An oag and shower cap help too. But TBH, that's one of the best frames I've seen with the Baader cc. In the end, if you want small stars corner to corner over aps-c, you're gonna have to go with the gpu or ES cc. Cheers and HTH [1] **EDIT. Ooops, sorry. Just realised it was a Nikon. But you'll get the idea...

IMO, the best way to begin astro imaging. Add an equally economical Takumar or Zeiss 135mm to complete the outfit. Track on your eq5 for some spectacular images. I'd put good money on you using the old lenses just as much, if not more than the 150;) Great moon BTW. Cheers

Hi everyone All well up until around 03:00 when the wind direction changed and damp easterlies brought both humidity and haze. A bit (of a?) void for suitable targets ATM with Cygnus rising too late to start anything decent and the near full moon the other side around sagitario. Messed up the centre of this by believing I understood how deconvolution worked when stars are close. Yet another one back on the try-again list. DSLR imagers, do post your efforts on the same. Very bright; I think it's doable even for those in non astro-dark locations. Thanks for looking and clear skies. eos700d on gso203 @ ISO800

Nice processing and thanks for being honest about it... It illustrates the problem with old style apps. Stretch and you're now no longer working with linear data. Get that wrong and... How many times have we all blown it by over (or under) doing it? Go back, start again and hope you make a better guess next time... In StarTools we perform the important processing with linear data and so always have the opportunity of going back to change the past if we don't like the present. Stuff like stretching and deconvolution which need linear data can now be performed at any stage of the process. Data modelling at its best. Cheers

OMG vlaiv. We almost agree on something LOL!

I'm surprised. Could any of these become your favourite perhaps?

Yes. Which is your favourite?

+1 Change is hard. Many will stay with fossil fuel powered motor vehicles for ever. If there are alternatives, let's have the freedom to recommend them. It's not the 1990s any longer. Let's move forward. Cheers

Hi IMO, it's better by design. You tell it what you want, rather than vica versa. It has an excellent choice of alternative stacking algorithms and comprehensive debayer routines along with some very good background and noise reduction modules. Recommended:)

No problem. Stacking? Siril is free, just as powerful and also has a modern user interface. Cheers

Hi We prefer StarTools. A breath of fresh air after the ubiquitous levels and curves approach which hasn't changed since last century. It keeps your data linear as you process. You are not restricted by having to do things in the age-old correct order. Or bust. You work with a clean screen devoid of a mess of windows. It screams on most hardware with its groundbreaking GPU processing support. You can get a decent image quickly and simply without having to type numbers onto a graph or 'get the background right', whatever that is. You don't need to spend hours redoing stuff. 100 other reasons omitted here... Perhaps best if it's author @jager945 describes his philosophy and why it works so well. Or just have a read: https://www.startools.org HTH

Hi Your effort is fine and fortunately these days we have a choice. Modern software gives us the possibility of moving away from levels and curves altogether. Cheers

Hi Try other software perhaps. You have some wonderful detail captured there. Cheers

Hi everyone Ideas for the next few nights. Full moon, so of course wonderfully clear skies. I think these clusters are of equal size, but one lies at four times the distance from us. The 3 minute limit on the frames may have helped show detail in the centre of m92, but all credit to StarTools' no nonsense HDR module for making it so easy, even though my impatience led to overdoing it. We managed around 90 minutes on 6229 but only an hour on 92 as the Mediterranean haze took hold, from around 03:30 according to the EKOS log. Noisy, but what can you do... Thanks for looking, Do post if you've had a go with a DSLR. eos700d on gso203 @ ISO800 ngc6229 m92

It's easier to attach the filter to the telescope side of the cc. If your camera allows, you maybe able to incorporate it at the camera side. Best to post a shot of the cc, the setup at the focuser and tell us which camera you are using that we nail it.

Hi Assuming the existing ring bears up against the glass, don't tighten any more. If the glass rattles the turn clockwise until the lens is held loosely but without lateral movement. If not... Remove the existing cc retainer then screw in the filter carefully a bit at a time into the now exposed thread. Check to see if it holds the front element by bearing -gently- up against it or, if it goes fully home, rattles when you shake it. If the latter swap the fat ring in the cc for the thin ring in the filter. HTH

Hi Are you sure the light source is even right to the edge? A4 isn't sufficiently large to give even light over the aperture of our GSO 8" of which AFAIK the ts is a re-badged version. A3 works fine though. Until you can test, maybe just use simple t-shirt flat frames. HTH