alacant

Hi It's tilted and a little too close. I found that with my -awful- ed80, getting the corners correct will cause the central stars to get fatter. Not to worry though, it's easily corrected in software these days: HTH

Here's a 150mm reflector which comes with a proper focuser (capable of holding a dslr and cc without tilt), much better build quality than the sw, is available now and which just works. HTH

Nooo. You gotta have a go first! E.g. the 200p will focus a DSLR with a 1.0x cc. Just not with the 2 element SW cc.

Hi The primary mirror makes a cone of light. Moving the primary closer to the secondary will cause the cone to be fatter at the position of the secondary; not all the primary light is caught by the secondary. Hence the larger secondary on the 130pds which is supplied with a secondary to collect all the light, despite the shorter tube. HTH

The main difference being that the PL doesn't need a cc. But hey, here's hoping:) Cheers

Use long m5 bolts to move the mirror up the tube say 5mm at a time. I think 15mm should do it. You may want then to cut the tube to make it permanent BUT... if at any stage you contemplate using the sw 0.9cc then add 1cm to whatever value you obtain. You'll also need longer springs or someone with a steady hand to push the primary against the adjusting nuts (remove the knurled adjusters) whilst you test focus. Remember though that the secondary mirror will be too small to cover aps-c. Although flat frames may help, you may want to consider the 130pds instead. A lot less hassle;) - https://www.astrobin.com/gear/14728/skywatcher-explorer-130p/ Cheers and HTH

To get the images the same size, you would have to enlarge the 10" image. Does that help explain? In the end, the only way to prove it is to do it. Not necessarily with 10" and 12" telescopes though! Cheers

@vlaiv maybe able to do it in numbers for you:)

Even better... If the aperture is larger for the same focal ratio irrespective of focal ratio.... On my dslr for example, a 12" f5 would take about half the time to produce an image of m33 of comprable size to that which a 10" f4 produces. A 10" f6 would take the same time as the 10" f4. HTH

Nope If the object fits into the camera chip, the 12" will record it in about half the time. HTH

That would do. Or simply a length of 40mm x 12mm aluminium bar and an angle grinder. Ask that it be shipped from a European warehouse. For guiding, everything must stay put. The nylon tipped steel screws allow movement of the guide telescope relative to the rings; nice oval stars!. HTH

Hi To get a rough idea of what's there: Image Processing -> Histogram Transformation -> Apply autostretch algorithm to image Then go back and try the -same menu- Asinh Transformation Then a combination of the two. Then... etc. etc. You'll soon get the hang of it. HTH

Hi As @jiberjaber's recommendation regarding resetting the calibration (it's your choice) but remember that you must also connect to PHD2 with an indi (os ascom) mount which supplies ra and dec positions. It reuses the calibration. Irrespective of operating system. Get a good calibration once and forget. However I agree with @MarkAR With EKOS' new multistar guiding, GPG PPEC for RA and reusable calibration, we're at the stage where PHD2 is -and I never thought i'd come to say this- perhaps second best. Cheers

Hi That seems an awful lot to pay. Have a look here. When ordering ask for a warehouse near you. The supplied dovetail is as you describe: rubbish. Fix it to a proper 4cm Vixen plate, replace the metal screws with nylon (avoids differing expansion rates), use a heavy clamp to fix it along a third dovetail along the top of the tube rings or, if permanent (as in you have only one telescope), bolt it directly to said. Or use an OAG. Here's ours on a 130pds. HTH

Hi Not sure where you are but from 38° N at the moment you could get m31, the Andromeda galaxy, and whilst you're waiting for it to get high enough, choose a star cluster in Cygnus. Add to m31 each night whilst choosing a different cluster beforehand. Even better with a field flattener. HTH

Hi everyone What happened to all the stars?! Now I'm most likely disqualified but anyway... Here's my go using StarTools' -rather nice- primary and secondary PSF modules. Hubble SHO with Ha at around 60%. Thanks for looking and here's wishing clear skies to all.

Hi everyone Focuser tilt. Still with the 0.9cc but with the usual pain of the tilt. As soon as the camera is attached, droop city abounds. I may get around to drilling a third thumb screw but I doubt it's the attachment which is the culpit. With the gpu cc, which doubles the weight of the dslr. worse. I've also noticed some rubber ring washers between the focuser body and the adjustment screws. Surely, that amount of rubber 'give' can't be right (?). Anyone? Thanks for looking. In fact the tilt is hard to identify, but still... eos700d @ ISO800

I've visited UK a few times, but it's always been raining. I loved York which i think is close to you. I really admire the keep-at-it attitude of the astrophotographers there. Even here in Spain where it's clear most nights, I still prefer to get several targets rather than going all night on one. I began with the oft (ill?) recommended ed80. It's only when you're side by side with the guy with the 6" reflector you realise how slow dim it is -useless for a 20 minute gap in the cloud. With 10" you stand a chance of getting something -even with a Ha filter- as you have admirable demonstrated. Cheers and clear skies

Hi Mmm. Look at what 22 minutes with a big reflector can do. You'd be all night with a refractor to get anywhere near. Unless it was a 10" refractor of course;) Cheers

Hi It does here. Try it.

With the renewed interest in multistar guiding, you may well get away with smaller. Remember to look at the images though, not the numbers! Cheers

Hi How about a better dslr? The newer models with the 18mp sensor are streets ahead of the 1100. Cheers

Hi I wonder is this is a refractor-mirror-image-reflector thing? This is the orientation as shown in kstars:

sh2-132 Hi everyone Not many images recently, so in an attempt to get the ball rolling again... Nice to have the 130 out again after being in heavy f3.9 astrograph territory for too long so far this summer. We needed more FOV for this but not so much that we couldn't use the GPU cc. Someone's idea to use the sw0.9 instead which is second best by comparison but anyway, still got something. This is supposed to be a lion. i suppose we got the head and a -very- faint body and tail. Use your imagination! Thanks for looking and any comments or comparison shots most welcome. Cheers. eos-700d @ ISO800

Yes. It generates the most traffic. Constantly. Make sure it's adequately catered for. Cheers