Tangoringo

One of the perks of the job. Straight out of an iPhone with no editing.

Just wondering if anybody here can answer a question for me. I’m fortunate in that my job takes me to high latitudes and gives me frequent views of the aurora. The night before last we had done spectacular views of the recent storm but we saw something I’d never seen before- a pulsing Aurora. In addition to the ‘regular’ green/ red curtain effect there was a pulsing effect which seemed to be at higher altitude. I’ve got a poor video taken from my iPhone to show what I meant. Anyway, any info as to what causes this and if it’s a rare or relatively common occurrence greatly appreciated. Videos of the pulsing plus a few images attached below. trim_418AAAB8-07F8-4D53-88E2-D3D79B7586EF.mp4

Thanks Gary. Thats good to hear.

For those folks with the SM90 could anybody comment on the quality of the focusser? I have an ageing WO Megrez 90 which I love but am getting increasingly frustrated with tilt in the optical path due to excessive play in the focusser as well as AF issues so the SM90 could come in to the equation if the chancellor plays ball. 🫣

Just noticed the excellent Russell Croman has been at it again and has launched a new processing tool Blur Xterminator. Although I haven’t personally used it yet I’ve found his gradient and noise reducing tools to be very good. I find the Topaz sharpening product good to a point but it can produce some quite fantastic phantom artefacts. Hopefully RCastro does away with this phenomenon to a greater degree. Linky here…. Blur Xterminator The following sentence is intriguing - BlurXTerminator can additionally correct for other aberrations present in an image in limited amounts. Among those currently comprehended for most instruments are: Guiding errors Astigmatism Primary and secondary coma Chromatic aberration (color fringing) Varying star diameter (FWHM) and halos in each color channel

And another just over the Oxon border near Wallingford. Enjoy SGL and what it offers. Theres a lot of very knowledgable and helpful people on here so ask away if you're stuck.

Thanks for the recommendation Mike. Have just found a copy of the two volume edition. Fascinating to see how things have changed in the century since its printing.

I’m just very glad I have a fellow technotwit in SGL ( no offence intended ) as it sounds like just the kind of thing I’d do! Must admit to taking an age with the belt mod, and loads of photo’s, just to prevent this kind of thing. Hope it’s all working well now though and you’re enjoying the rattle free slewing. Cheers, I

Haha, You’ve given me a good old chortle with your post. I share your pain!!

Welcome. I spend a bit of time in Nevada with work but alas mostly in the city but am hugely envious of your bountiful clear skies. Not quite the same as the good old uk!! Enjoy SGL.

Nice images….and welcome btw. You’re in a lovely part of the world but you don’t need me to tell you that!

And another Oxon’ite here down in the SE corner. Welcome to SGL and also the 50 club (2 years of membership here ) This is a great place to hang out, ask questions etc when not cursing your scope, your tracking, your frozen fingers or the weather in general, or any multitude of Astro frustration. There’s a huge wealth of knowledge here so please do make the most of it.

Have just been doing the same over the last few, very pleasant, nights. You’ve captured some nice detail in the trunk. Top stuff.👍🏻

Thanks @Budgie1 for this. You’ve just cured a big bout of head scratching for me!

…. and to follow on, hopefully I’ll have more time to troubleshoot tonight but thankyou again to everybody for the help and suggestions.