Swoop1

I don't use NINA or Cartes du Ciel together- I have tried both at different times. I use two components as follows- I plug the HEQ5PRO mount into my laptop via the handset port using an eqdir cable and fire up either CDC or NINA- both open GSS when I identify a target and ask the softare to slew the scope to it. I guess they use GSS as the ASCOM programme?

I like the thinking behind that solution👍 I have absolutely no idea if the thinking and maths is sound however😐

I run an HEQ5PRO mount and, when imaging, try to run it via GSS and Cartes du Ciel. My problem is that there are times when the mount goes off and does its own thing mid way through a run- I will get a number of good frames of the selected target and then frames will show elongated streaks as the mount wander off target. This happens with both deep sky and lunar/ planetary targets. Ihave tried lunar without software control, using the hand set and it reduces the wandering to almost nothing. Any ideas what may be causing the unwanted slewing? Thanks.

Don’t do a whole house renovation in one go- instigate a rolling programme by doing one room a year then, when the whole house has been done, start again from the first room (after taking a year off of course).

Hmmmmm- how do I get one of those past the boss?

How do you shoot all colours at the same time? One camera, one sensor 3-4 filters?

Going mono raises another potential problem (for me anyway)- time. Unless I am mistaken, you need to take three times as many frames to stack than with colour? Because I am still working full time, grabbing an hour in the evening before bed is likely to be my imaging routine for the forseeable future.

Bearing in mind that I have certain budgetary restraints at the moment (Head Of Finance looked sternly down her nose at me when asking about kit the other day), I am thinking about the next step for me in deep sky imaging. I currently have a ZWO ASI290MC and a Sony a6300. The ASI id brilliant for planetary and lunar but I'm not convinced on deep sky. The Sony is reasonable on wide field but, exposures in the region of 30 seconds show a lot of noise and glow. 30s is the longest exposure I can use without an intervalometer and I'm not sure an intervalometer would improve things. I have seen product from modded Canon cameras and I already have a Canon T ring so, is there any major advantage on skipping a modded Canon and going straight to a more expensive but better long term prospect of a cooled dedicated astro camera?

That’s the one👍

No, they are offloading unused kit to fund a harmonic drive mount for their rig.

Thanks @Tomatobro. I'm guessing the north bolt will be the shorter one. I think I have some M10 bolts in the shed. i will have to check them out.

Some of the old (and not so old) sci fi comic art was brilliant as well. I remember getting a Dan Dare annual as a young teenager. The colour artwork in some of the stories was fabulous. I was also a big 2000AD fan so love the Judge Dredd, ABC Warriors, Rogue Trooper etc. Edit Found the annual. 1974 edition- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dan-Dare-Annual-1974/dp/B00JNMPXNU

Playing with the new to me RVO Horizon ED72 to sort out dovetail positioning etc I found that the noes of the dovetail catches the north side altitude bolt on my HEQ5PRO when rotating the scope. I know it is very rare that I will be pointing the scope at the ground but, if I found myself in a capture where a meridian flip was needed and I either wasn't with the scope or forgot about it, there could be a disaster. I would like to swap the bolt out for a) something shorter and b) maybe something a bit less flexible so thet my PA is tighter. Thanks.

get a smaller case? 😉

I intend to Grump- it is on the list of things to find.

Sci Fi art from that era was Sci Fi art at its very best. I had a really great Roger Dean book which I leafed through on an almost weekly basis when I was a teenager. I loaned it to my girkfriend who dumped me a week later and kept the book😪

Not delivered but collected after an Astro Buy and Sell find. RVO Horizon 72ED plus a box of accessories including a flattener, a 2" diagonal, a 1.25" diagonal, a 2" Barlow, a 1.25" Barlow, a mobile phone holder, an extension tube, a Cannon T ring, Polarizing filter, Light Pollution filter and various EP's.

Where is Pac Man going to live when the bar is shortened?

200P on HEQ5PRO for me. I already have a 150P so bigger light bucket every time.

I have had a look at the Rother Valley Optics site and the ZWO EAF and can't find any mention of compatibility with this scope. I have lodged a question with RVO but had no response yet (not complaining- they always get back to people after a few days). I am just putting the question out there in case someone has experience of the scope and an EAF. Thanks.

Needs must though- better a heavy roof that keeps the innards cool than a lighweight roof that allows the contents to cook.

The dew shield you need should be marketed as suitable for 6" or 150mm scopes. Eyepiece wise, if you find you do need to replace them, you need to look for 1.25" eyepieces. This relates to the diameter of the barrel. Go for a better 25mm and maybe a 10mm for higher magnification. I find that with my C6 SCT that the 25mm is the sweet spot for detsil when I am doing lunar visual sessions.

Hi @Xxjrhxx Is your scope a newtonian or the Schmitt Cassegrain? Either way, with a 25mm eyepiece, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn should show a discernible disc and, depending on seeing conditions, some detail. I'm not certain I've bagged Neptune and Uranus so can't comment on them. A 10mm ep will show a bigger disc but detail will start to drop off. What can let a scope down is collimation if it is a reflector or just the quality of the supplied ep's. Consider looking for better quality ep's if you are going to continue visual observing. One final thing- check the alignment of your finder scope- thinking you are looking at Jupiter when a misaligned finder has you pointed at an adjacent star could be something to eliminate. Regards, Matt

Those are a couple of stunning images. The Double Helix image is particularly pleasing to my eye.

Thats why I love this forum! I didn't know that is how the Register Settings in DSS works👍