wsteel33

Lovely image, well done. ☄️ Hope to be able to get it in my Orion 80ED soon. Here's one I got last night with my Canon 600D, ISO 400 1.6sec at 300mm (single shot)

Thanks for all the advice everyone, decision made.... Decided to go for 8mm and 18mm BST's (managed to get the pair for £80 in total, brand new) as well as the 32mm Celestron Omni Plossl. That should enable me to scratch the visual itch for a while. Thanks again everyone... much appreciated 👍🙂

Actually I do have a 2" diagonal with an adaptor for 1.25" eyepieces but I don't currently possess any 2" eyepieces. Thanks for all the solid advice coming through 👊

Skywatcher 25mm and 10mm stock eyepieces. I understand they are ok (and I find them ok) for "supplied with scope" eyepieces and I have heard the 25mm is not bad for what it is but definitely upgrade time. With me having the 25mm I am thinking i could do with something wider but as this discussion goes on I'm starting to think I might dig a little deeper and get the 8mm and 18mm BST's and a 30mm for a wider view..... down the rabbit hole I go 🥴😆

Thanks for the advice everyone, I am going to go for one or two of the BST's. I have my supplied Skywatchers (10mm and 25mm) and the Barlow so I'm thinking I'll get an 8mm BST. Any thoughts on the other one, I'm thinking possibly 18mm BST but also wondering if I would be better going for a widefield option like the Vixen NPL 40mm

These BST's look great at the price, good reviews... how do they compare to the Vixens? Anyone know?

Blimey.. is that granulation acheived through a WL filter? If so, impressive! There is far more possible than I originally thought (when I figure out how to focus on the Sun 😁).

I am thinking that a continuum filter is definitely in my future

Hi everyone, Any chance of some eyepiece advice from you lovely people. I am looking for first upgrade eyepieces from the standard ones that came with my Skywatcher Evostar 120. I have two scopes: Evostar 120 (1000 mm f/8.3) & Orion 80ED (600mm f/7.5) (I have temporary use of a Celestron 9.25 SCT also) I have a decent (I believe) 2x barlow from Revelation Astro https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/revelation-astro-2x-barlow-lens.htm and about £100 to spend. I'm thinking 2 or 3 half decent eyepieces with the barlow I have would probably do me at this point. I have been looking at possibly a couple of the Explore Scientific Ones https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/explore-scientific-52-ler-wp-eyepieces.html or maybe the Vixens https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-eyepieces-barlows/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html or even 3 or 4 of the Skywatcher ultrawide https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-ultrawide-eyepieces-125.html if they are any good. All advice highly welcome. Thanks in advance everyone 🙂

Hi David Comprehensive and clear reply. Thanks buddy 🙂 I think I'll likely stick to WL imaging for now (in adidition to the night-time stuff I do) and try and get my focussing more accurate and see if I can pick up any sunspots when the sun is a bit more active. I've used the Baader film before too (before the filter I made got damaged) and the Explore Scientific is very similar but gives a yellow tinge to the image rather thatn the true WL from the Baader and I thought I'd give it a go as it came pre-built. Thanks again for your advice. Wayne

Suspected as much, but thanks anyway. Was never planning to "look" through it and have an objective WL filter for the Sun 👍

Thanks David I have a modded webcam and I guide my DSO stuff with a Lodestar Starlight Xpress which I could use as the imaging camera. I have also obtained a Watec Wat120n for EAA which I think I could use for capturing video (and possibly in SharpCap?). I was planning to pick up an H-alpha filter for my DSO imaging, would this not work in conjunction with the white light filter on the objctive to bring out more detail? I know there are specific H-alpha filters for Sun work and suspected the filters for DSO imaging may not cut the mustard for solar imaging.

Hi Nigella Yeah.. I was wondering if that was the case. It was a spur of the moment thing and so I didn't have shading for the laptop/camera and couldn't really see properly so was struggling. SharpCap 👍, Cheers, I'll give that a go.

Nice images 🌗

Hi everyone Just taken this using the Explore Scientific Suncatcher Solar Filter I just received. Is it just that the surface of the Sun is a bit quiet at the moment or am I badly out of focus? I took this with my Orion 80ED and Canon 600D at ISO 400 and 1/500 sec exposure. Took about 300 shots using APT but this is a single un-stacked image Just started imaging the Sun (done some DSO stuff, but still very much a novice and in the early learning phase of Astrophotography). I figured imaging the Sun doubles the time I can spend using my scopes. I would like to invest in some filters (Poss, H-alpha first) to try and pick out more detail but thought it was wise to cut my teeth before I invest in more kit. Any advice and constructive criticism from anyone with experience more than welcome. Cheers 🙂 Wayne

Ok Thanks 🙂 I'm currently using either Orion 80ED or Skywatcher Evostar 120 on my EQ6 with an unmodded Canon 600D and APT. I'm guiding with Starlight Xpress Lodestar hooked up to a Skywatcher 9 x 50 viewfinder scope using PHD2. I've also currently got temporary use of a fairly hefty Celestron SCT (9.25 i think) which I haven't had a go with yet. Looking forward to giving all this a go when we get dark clear skies again

Excellent, thanks Phil. I'll get one ordered 👍

Done some more research, will this need a C-Thread adaptor? Cheers

Thanks Macavity I think I'll get that ordered 👍

Thanks guys that's excellent news, I wonder if I could pick your brains further. I have ordered a video grabber dongle and BNC to audio jack cable to get the video on my computer. Following the advice I got here I am thinking that I could use it through RGB filters to take videos of Mars/Jupiter/Saturn through my Skywatcher Evostar 120 and using Registax to stack the images (after all we have a golden opportunity with opposition happening). Would I be right in thinking that this would be a good camera for this. I've tried this with a bog standard webcam mod previously with ok results but I'm thinking that the sensitivity of this camera could give a massive increase in outcome. Any thoughts? All advice greatly appreciated. Also, does anyone know what size/thread adaptor I'd need to attach this to my scope? Thanks everyone 😃

Hi I've been given some kit and come across this Camera. I believe its can be used as a deep space astrocamera. Anyone had any experience of one of these. Cheers

Seeing as how I have awoken this thread from its intersellar statis... anyone have any recommendations as a good (budget(ish)) replacement focuser for the stock rack and pinion one this scope comes with... as frankly its a bit c**p. Needs to be able to focus sharply and hold a Canon 600D for photographing DSO's. Thanks in advance everyone 👊

Lol..🤣

I have the Evostar 120 and with decent tracking on an EQ Mount you can get some good DSO images. I got this one of the Pinwheel just a week ago with a Canon 600D and only 30 x 60 sec exposures. It’s a decent tube for the price...plan to upgrade the focuser though I’m finding it a bit sloppy.