newbie alert

So you're saying the baader is better than the powermate? Didn't think there was anything near as good unless you go even more stupid price

True..starsense star aligns..

The AVX has a ASPA feature on the handset for a better PA.. Or a £40 polar scope Or sharpcap(free) Or polemaster..

http://astrosolar.com/en/ This is baader solar film..make your own cap..plenty of info on u tube on how to do it...its great fun to fill the gap until we have decent amount of darkness..and of course the clear skies

Don't be afraid to ask..the only way to learn... And others might have the same setup or have done in the past

If it's the same with the cap on then you have light leakage or amp glow.

You do need a fairly dark site to be able to see fairly dim photons ..with 12 inches of aperture its well capable of capturing those dim photons ,you just need to learn where to point and then you will learn how fast the earth rotates to keep it in the eyepiece.. In some respects you're correct but in others I disagree.. take m42 as a example...yes it looks like a big grey cloud through your eyes but as your eyes cannot see the hydrogen alpha end of the spectrum..if you use a camera with the ir filter removed all is now revealed...its not processed or colour enhanced it's because the camera's sensor is more sensitive than your eyes..also your eyes in a dark sky location only see in black and white..something about cones and stalks ..you use one or the other for daylight/nightime use.. For visual..everything is kind of grey..

Thanks for responses..must be me either getting confused or getting mixed up..sorry ! I've since had feedback from darkframe that a eq6 can do guided exposures up to an hour once the mount is tuned..impressive...but again I might of had the mounts model numbers mixed up!.

If you attach the camera after doing the polar alignment then it would throw your alignment out I'd of thought..

Hi all..any tips on imaging Saturn please...im quite at ease with Jupiter but I find Saturn a pain and not at all easy..the only time I got the Cassini division quite bold it disappeared behind a tree before I had time to start imaging.. I use a celestron 8sct with a Skyris 236m..using rgbl baader filters..ive been trying about 50 fps and a imaging time of about 2 mins per channel..i set the gain/exposure to get a whale shaped histogram..any more ideas?

You can get it for less than £300..i paid £250 for mine an feel it's worth every penny..

Interesting,thanks for all replies guys

Indeed the polemaster is very accurate,very fast and really easy to use.. I've also used sharpcap but found it either worked or it didn't.. didn't work on a clear sky dark site but worked with intermittent cloud with l.p. at home! I know,don't understand that one either!! Or the other way is to use a polar scope.. On on a celestron use the A SPA feature.. The polemaster has worked every time I've used it..superb product..

I have a mono camera and use baader filters..the red blue,green and luminance all have different point of focus..the green and blue aren't that far from one another but the red and luminance are ..are you using a crayford type focuser as you will need that fine focus adjustment..red blue and green all scatter and particularly the blue..as with Jupiter the blue is the important one... I start with the red channel and focus on the limb or it's moons,I expand the image to get the best focus I can..touching the scope ,focuser and handset will add vibrations that will distort the image so let it settle down and make sure you have the best focus you can..with Jupiter and Saturn being so low it don't help with atmospheric turbulence.. . I'm sure the way forward is a electric focuser ..im sure some have a counter so say the red is in focus at say number 201 and green is 212,blue is 215.. they can just get on with imaging rather than doing it each filter change..theoretical figures..not actually based on what I do but that's how I understand it..

More than just the moon to image out there