ShrewView

Think it prefers jpegs? Great start though if that's your first mars.

I had this one the other day. Try in the object detection boxes changing the values. I found changing the object detection threshold value sorted it. You need to see something like below when you click test detect threshold. Around 40 worked for me.

I was quite happy looking at the moon half an hour ago. Then a big cloud came over and something told me to bring the scope in. Just as well i did, as it started tipping it down not long after.

Yes I use that camera and I'm using just one of the 1 inch rings. I do use a 2x barlow or extender as well though to add a little more scale. Seems to work for me. Just need the conditions to improve now.

Wouldn't be what I'd have done. I only recently got rid of the box for a scope I bought over 30years ago! but then I am a hoarder.

Looks overpriced. You don't even get the original box 🙄

Thanks. I thought it worth the effort just in case things were better then predicted. We won't have too many more weeks before mars its back to being a tiny dot so I'm going to try get out as often as life permits. 😀

The seeing here was pretty bad last night but since its been a while since I raised my pencil in anger I thought I'd still try a quick sketch of Mars. Although the conditions were mostly poor with the disc shimmering and wobbling, a few fleeting moments allowed me to get something. I usually sketch with a red light head torch for lighting. This time I hung it off the scope with the paper just beneath and with it shining brightly on the paper got the impression when I looked back in the scope each time that the planet was more of a blue/white colour and the darker features stood out a little more. Does anyone else find this? It seemed to help anyway. After I'd done, around half an hour later, I popped the camera in to do a quick image to check what I'd seen. By and large pretty close. The camera picked up a little more but not that much. Most of the difference I think lies in my poor art skills. So it just shows how much you can see even on a poor night.

Got one just like it. Still going strong. 🤞

That's really nice.

In an infinite universe it has as good a claim as anywhere else. 😁

If you have a uhc try that. i thought it helped last time i tried it.

Same here and even when i could see them they were all over the place.

Looks like AS hasn't aligned them quite right. I tend to use around half a dozen manually placed points on the edges of whatever strong features I can see within the disc. Don't know if that's the best way but seems to work. As mentioned above maybe pick different point size. i last used 48 and that worked out.

Fantastic set of images, and very very useful. Thanks!

Much better than my first go at Mars. A bahtinov mask will improve the focus though, which should help things. It could just be the seeing on that night though, as that makes a big difference.

It may be new to NASA but I think I have an idea?

Nothing here for days I'm afraid. I'm still waiting for a handle for mine as they seemed to be out of stock when I ordered. I hear a chap in the Derby area may have a garage full though? 😁

Yes if you've got a few video files then add them to pipp and there is an option on the first screen "join mode" that should then put all the images from those into one output file that you can then put through As3 to select your best from. Select the tick box for planetary. I've only merged a set of files that are about 15 or 20mins apart in pipp and that seems ok but 2 hours would be too much. There is another piece of free software winjupos that can derotate and stack separate files and I think I read you can probably get about an hours worth on mars with that, but I've only used it once and wasn't convinced it helped in my case. If you've got data taken over several hours you could always separately process those files an make an animation showing the rotation of the planet? There's a good video that someone recently posted (apologies i can't remember who) by Damian Peach about how he goes about planetary astrophotography which does include a bit about processing which is definitely worth a look. There should be a few things on youtube about pipp too if you want more detail on that.

That's a good image. There's certainly some nice surface detail there; you can definitely be pleased with that. Can you combine your files in pipp before running through AS3? That would give you an avi file with more good frames. You might try stacking more than 10% too. Worth experimenting as I sometimes find more can improve things. I often try 20 or 30%. I haven't seen mars for weeks it seems with the constant cloud, so its good to see.

For me, binoviewers do greatly improve my viewing experience when it comes to the moon and planets and on the moon it is more immersive. I find it much more relaxing to have both eyes open than it is using one, and either covering the other to keep out stray light or closing it. I think this is key to why they appear to show more detail. Anything you can do to make your viewing more comfortable allows you to concentrate on what you're looking at. They don't suit everyone though, and you do have to tweak them a bit to get both eyes right, but this isn't difficult. I think the reason for the low power eyepieces is that the corrector fitted to the binoviewers acts to magnify the image, so with the william optics ones I use, the supplied 20mm eyepieces act more like 10mm. The image you get is less bright than a single ocular though, so for me they are a much poorer thing to use on deep sky stuff. They also add weight to the setup and alter the balance point and I've heard that some scopes don't always have enough focus travel for them to reach focus, although all mine do. Best to try before you buy if you can.

If its planetary imaging you should be ok. My exos2 copes ok for visual but it looks a bit undersized for the scope. Not tried imaging yet but think the heq5 can take a couple more kg than mine.

I've had my 8cc out a couple of times now. The first was a pretty damp night with lots of dew on the outside of the tube after around an hour or two and the finder was completely dewed over, but there was nothing on the mirrors. I'm guessing dew straps would be a good addition if you're planning a long session in this climate though.

Gorgeous looking scope. like others, keen to know how it goes.

That's what I did and it looks much better. Amazed how sensitive the secondary screws are, so only tweaked them slightly each time. just need some clear sky now!