Ade Turner
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Everything posted by Ade Turner
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Hi Folks With clear sky a rarity in the UK I’ve only just had chance to chase the comet C-2022 E3 ZTF. I caught it on 6th Feb under a full moon, bortle 7/8 sky, light high cloud and in front of a very crowded star field all of which is making it tricky to process and I’m hoping for some advice please. I use Astro Pixel Processor, Affinity Photo 2 and StarNet v2. Although I know it’s very powerful I know I’m not going to get PixInsight - waaay to complicated for me. I followed the basic procedure in this video: My efforts are in the attached photo sequence. I’ve done little additional processing to it beyond removing light pollution. My main issue is to find a way to minimise the ghost star trails on the comet plate (4). I used APP’s LNC MAD rejection set to 8 and 1.5 as suggested in the video, but honestly I’m not even certain what that means… Any suggestions which might help me improve this image? Thanks 😊
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Thanks very much Mike for taking the time out to give me such a detailed breakdown 😉 I’ll work through it and definitely give it a shot. I’m using my 120 mini in the oag at the moment - it’s OK, it works reasonably well and I’ve had decent guiding but the sensor is tiny. It’ll be good to get the 178 on board and focussed. Cheers, Ade.
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Thanks Stefan, that’s an idea, thanks. I unscrewed it but I don’t think the thread is standard. It’s smaller than M42, around 38mm I’d reckon.
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I’ve just bought a Celestron oag to use with my Edge 8 HD, 0.7 reducer, ASI 533MC-Pro (image) and ASI 178MM (guide). I’m having difficulty getting an equal distance between the cameras and the prism. I can easily achieve the required image camera back focus of 105 to within a gnat’s whisker (104.8). The distance from the main sensor to the centre of the prism is 65mm. However, my guide camera sensor is 78mm to the prism, a 13mm difference. I’m assuming that’s too great a discrepancy? With the helical focuser already fully screwed down I see only two ways to reduce it: a) Remove the screw in IR filter and the nosepiece to gain about 2.5mm. I’m reluctant as then I wouldn’t be able to orient the guide sensor to the prism. b) Swap the 178MM for my 120MM mini which is only 8.5mm to its sensor. That would make the sensor to prism distance 74mm saving 4mm making the difference 9mm . But again I’m loathe to do this as I want to use the better 178MM to guide. I’m still setting up in the house atm so nothing’s been tested. Any suggestions please? Thanks.
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Cheers Olly, I didn’t realise that.
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Thanks Geoff I’d always assumed/read that the camera’s sensor should always be as close to the recommended back focus as practical. Does it not make any difference then? You’re right about the 3x Barlow, it was a mistake I made a couple of years back but unfortunately I haven’t the funds to buy a replacement any time soon. My usual set up is for DSOs with the 0.7 reducer, chasing planets is pretty new to me and I’m at the bottom of the learning cliff 😉
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Does anyone have any recommendations for a short SCT/1.25mm visual back please? While Jupiter’s favourable I fancied trying my hand at planetary on my 8 Edge HD. Problem is my image train is about 30mm greater than Celestron’s recommended back focus of 133.35mm. The only element I think I can change is the visual back which accounts for nearly 60mm. My train: ASI 224MC > ZWO ADC > Celestron X-Cel LX 3x Barlow > Celestron Edge 1.25mm visual back TIA
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Trouble focussing on artificial star
Ade Turner replied to Ade Turner's topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
Sold! Thanks for the recommendation 😁 I’ve watched a few videos now and can see how it works. Looks so much easier than fiddling on a freezing night with an unstable star image (bortle 7/8 round here, seeing is mostly abysmal). And bye bye artificial star 😂 -
Trouble focussing on artificial star
Ade Turner replied to Ade Turner's topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
That should work but it would need to be precisely aligned - not sure I’m capable of achieving that, and I don’t have a mirror of suitable quality. Thanks for the tip about the Ocal though. Not come across it before. I’ve seen other more expensive solutions which rely on lasers but couldn’t justify the cost. This might do the job! Cheers 😉 -
Trouble focussing on artificial star
Ade Turner replied to Ade Turner's topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
Inward I think. The numbers on my EAF are decreasing so I assume inwards. An extension tube sounds like it could work to reduce the distance required, thanks, but wouldn’t that screw up my required back focus? -
Hello. I’m looking for suggestions please. I bought an artificial star so that I could collimate my Celestron 8 Edge HD in comfort during the day. I have a pretty long garden and set up my scope at one end and initially a bright target light on a step ladder at the other to get everything lined up. This was about 120’ away from the scope. I got tantalisingly close to focus, but it would simply not rack out any further. Sadly, I can’t increase the distance between scope and target. Is there anything else I can practically do to make this work please? TIA. Image train: 8 Edge HD > 0.7 Reducer > ASI 533MC EDIT: sorted now thanks. Just ordered an Ocal Colimator.
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Thanks for that - a great idea 👍 I like it because it’s less likely to suffer from accidental triggering. I’d probably attach it to somewhere on the scope with a pull wire into a ground anchor or the tripod. Maybe try and disguise it somehow so it just looks like another bit of Astro kit with a wire coming from it.
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I’m always on the lookout for stuff I can subvert to do tasks it was never meant to do 😉
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I’ve Reolink PoE cameras covering most of the garden backed up with Arlo wireless. The Reolink images are great, very clear but their detection protocol is rubbish. The Arlo’s are the reverse - terrible image quality but brilliant detection and they’re well concealed. Together they compliment each other.
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Not seen a combo like that before, looke interesting. At the moment I’m looking at the Switchbot system: Switchbot motion sensor I’m thinking of coupling up their mini pir mounted in a clear waterproof housing on the tripod to one of their mini button pushers to activate a wireless doorbell in the house. I’ve got the bits already for something else so I’ll experiment when I get chance 👍
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You know, I’d love to do just that and I’m pretty sure all would be well. We already have cameras covering most of the garden and in the 4 or 5 years I’ve had them we have never once captured any night visitors other than foxes, cats and hedgehogs. Having said that my paranoia tells me it’s only a matter of time…
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To be fair I struggle to dismantle my EQ6 R Pro in the dark too 😉 As you say, not the easiest thing to fence I’d imagine - and a lot of hassle to take it away.
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Me too on the camera front. A couple are Arlo wireless - awful bitrate and terrible picture but their detection is good. They are backed up by 4 PoE cameras which have brilliant pictures but rubbish detection - loads of false positives. Using them together gives pretty good coverage. I looked at Apple trackers - look useful and not too expensive either. The insurance angle is something I’ll need to look into, thanks for the reminder 😉
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Thanks David. PoE cameras cover most of my garden, some very visible others sneakily obscured, and I do have a bright IR lamp which reacts to motion 10 or so feet of the scope. The ground spike’s a good idea. I might sink a concrete block with a staple in the lawn under the tripod to accept a bike chain. I also like the idea of swapping out hand knobs for hex bolts. 👍 I’m not sure I’ll ever sleep easy whatever measures I put in place, but putting in measures to reduce risk of swiping will definitely help.
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I’d considered burying a concrete block and staple to which I could secure the tripod, but the ota is still easy to remove. That’s terrible luck for your brother. I’m probably over-worrying, but the risk is there.
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That’s an idea, thanks! 👍
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Tbh I don’t mind the dismantling and putting away bit it’s just the fear of stuff being nicked if I leave it out all night, which is why I’ve been thinking about on-rig alarms and suchlike 😉
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Thanks. I have been looking at similar alarms. Are they susceptible to going off randomly e.g. if the rig gets jiggled by wind? My neighbours would love me 😂
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Thanks Peter. Pretty much there on that front and fortunately our garden isn’t visible at any point for the road. However, some neighbouring gardens have easier access to the road than others so there’s always sneaky ways to get into our block.
