Demonperformer

Looking for any tips/tricks to help when trying to image NGC 404, which is darned close to Regulus. I'm guessing there aren't any filters that will let galaxy light through, but not star light (galaxies being primarily made up of stars!). Is it just a case of having to bring it out in the processing or can I do something at the time of capture? Just one thought ... putting Regulus out of the field is not really an option as that would put the galaxy right on the edge of the frame. Thanks.

Thanks for the (early) notification. Given reasonable conditions during the last third of March(!), that could make an interesting sequence (animation?) showing Mars travelling between J & S, as it passes within 43' of Jupiter on the 20th March.

Sounds like a great session, BD.

Hi, Apollo, and welcome to SGL. We endeavour to please. Enjoy the journey.

I just plug my power leads into a long extension lead with no shoe box. I do have an old plastic sweets tin (the sort that are prevalent at this time of year) which I place the end of the extension on to keep it off the grass when it dews up so a shoe box would probably be adequate. The whole lot even survived Friday evening's downpour without frying all the house electrics. I have never had any problems with running the system like this, but your gear must be in good condition (no cracked plugs!) and be aware of how dangerous mains power can be. If conditions turn dodgy, your first port of call should always be the plug inside the house, to disconnect the power before unplugging anything outside.

Neither of me SE purchases came with any sort of power supply.

Welcome back, Robert. Many people on here can attest to periods of inactivity, and there is nothing wrong with walking away for a few months if that is what it takes to regain your mojo. I believe that is what psychologists call 'rationalising'

That should do the job nicely. Be aware that there is a well-known issue with the connector on these scopes - they can be a bit loose and wobble when you slew, resulting in power cutting off. You may need to "open" the connectors in the socket on the scope. If attacking your new scope with a screwdriver is not your idea of fun, an alternative (which is the one I used) is to secure the power cable to the mount (I used electricians tape) so that there is no movement in the cable at the plug when the scope moves.

Well, the rain held off just long enough for me to get set up and aligned. Just about to slew to Mars and the heavens opened. Mad dash to get everything back in as quick as possible. Now in the process of drying everything. Still, not a total failure. For the first time I got the automatic positioning in Sharpcap working (did a 2 degree adjustment on Deneb, putting it right in the middle of the screen). So slowly but surely I am making progress. Congrats to everyone who is having more success with the conjunction than I did.

All ready to set up as/when it stops raining ...

Respectfully disagree. I think the framing of this is great ... it puts the galaxy in context, which so many photos with larger instruments don't. Thanks for sharing.

Using a 3D printer to make bits for a 3D printer ... I have visions of the machines starting to replicate themselves and taking over Can I ask, how accurately can a 3D printer print? If I had an object that needed to be printed to 0.1mm accuracy, would it be able to do that? (Sorry if that is a silly question, but I really have absolutely no idea.) Thanks.

I have been watching clearoutside throughout the week increase the cloud levels for 6pm tonight. It has now risen to just under 20%. Mind you, it's telling me that the probability of precipitation right now is 81% and that is 19% out, so still hoping ...

Nice one, Dan. I have been considering something similar, but the cost is putting me off a bit. Still the possibility of being able to do tricolour narrowband imaging (one scope using a "duo" filter and the other using the third wavelength) in one go is appealing. Don't forget: to image simultaneously requires not only "multiple" scopes, but also multiple cameras!

I don't know this camera, but any camera that can be attached to a tripod can be attached to an astro mount: piece of dovetail bar with a countersunk hole drilled in the right place and a screw/bolt through the bar into the tripod hole in the camera. Your camera is now attached to the dovetail bar which can be put on your astro mount. I use this method quite a lot.