riklaunim

I got a new setup ready and only a short opportunity for first tests, but still managed to find out I need a smaller counterweight ToupTek ATR3-16000 is a color cooled camera with same Panasonic sensor as ASI1600 (RisingCam on Aliexpress, also branded by ES, Astroshop and others).

Crop, 10s x 200; Baader Neodymium Moon & SkyGlow:

Imaging setup (- helical focuser):

To have more fine focus on the RedCat 51 I used a very short non-rotating T2-T2 helical focuser from Teleskop Express.

More info: https://rk.edu.pl/en/redcat-51-and-touptek-atr3-16000-kpa-lightweight-astrophotography/

I got few astrophotography related books and checked what they offer and how modern they are. Books in question are:

• OpenSource Astrophotography 2.2: Your first low cost astro photo from your backyard; Karl Sarnow
• Scientific Astrophotography: How Amateurs Can Generate and Use Professional Imaging Data; Gerald R. Hubbell
• The Astrophotography Manual: A Practical and Scientific Approach to Deep Sky Imaging; Chris Woodhouse
• Astrophotography; Thierry Legault

Review: https://rk.edu.pl/en/quick-review-few-recent-astrophotography-books/

Dedicated planetary telescopes aren't produced on such scales as your average fast Newtonian so the price gets higher. Add a low volume high quality small company and the price goes even high. f/12 is still good although the aperture could be bit bigger. f/20 can be problematic as planetary cameras get smaller and smaller pixels. There are some Sony big pixel sensors, but those are only in PGR cameras at the moment.

It's only a planetary/lunar camera. For that price I would consider ASI034 or QHY5R-II cameras - as those are proven and what's more important - supported by good capture applications - FireCapture / SharpCap. Those cameras will however require a USB connection with a laptop (or some Windows tablets).

And don't expect to much. Pretty astrophotography is quite expensive and takes "a lot" of processing time to get the final image. Buy after you check what can be achieved with given hardware.

For some reason I never had "stability issues" with Ubuntu releases. And I don't like using old software for pseudo-stability.

Just now, Mak the Night said:

I don't think WINE runs too well on Ubuntu 14.0.4 LTS, although I haven't actually tried it myself yet.

I works since long time, but still it's better to have the latest Ubuntu release for the latest software.

I work daily on Linux, but for astrophotography I use Windows. The Linux alternative are either insufficient or none. Some Windows apps work through Wine, but still I want a stable platform as much as possible and best applications I want to use.

You need c-mount to T2 thread adapter and then it will look similar like the DSLR.

I wouldn't use such camera for general DS imaging.

You will get higher resolution and much smaller FOV. Chech the FOV calculator if it's ok for you and if the resolution is not to high (seeing limit etc.)

It's a CMOS, not a CCD, similar to that in ASI120/QHY5L-II. The difference between DSLR is that this sensor is very small (1/3") and has very small pixels so it will perform "good" only in short focal length and very fast telescopes (not common). The mono version for Solar System imaging is much better.

Looking at the application screen shots they ought to add exposure time as a slider too for planetary imaging, as it's quite handy too. Some FireCapture ideas like storing camera settings per filter are also nice to see in other apps. (and I'm not a fan of multiple "floating windows", one is better for me).

Also, with the choice of use, is it an either / or choice between imaging and guiding? or can it be used as both at same time (am guessing it can't)

It can't do both things at the same time

French Solar System cameras, rather popular there, but the latest cooled version brings the prices close to typical DS cameras. If you want a all-in-one (planetary/lunar/DS) then some models could be interesting. Similar idea will be used in QHY miniCam5s (but you still would need a guider for DS imaging )

Cooled iNovas look like so: http://www.pierro-astro.com/materiel-astronomique/cameras-astro/cameras-inova-serie-nebula_detail

If the HDD isn't fast enough (or busy with other I/O operations) then the frames lag behind cached in RAM.

The f/l of the  Mac 180, is 2700, which  is nearly the

same as the C11. It means you don't need a

barlow for imaging.F15 against f10.Great for

planetry & lunar imaging.

Steve

Depends on camera and object. Either so aperture is the king.

C8 would be even better than a 180 mm Mak - shorter and lighter

And I'm sick 16" f/18 DK

Well, if you will work hard you can even catch exoplanet transiting a star with a DMK and a 60 mm refractor. And you don't have to use "serious" exposure times to catch a lot of DS objects. 8-bit planetary/lunary cameras have insane gain compared to 16-bit DS cameras and allow catching DS objects at short exposures. If you catch a lot of frames - then the image won't be bad... but you will also have to process the image more (educating imaging )

Re the 'Myths' page, and his views on the C9.25: "I like the C9.25. It’s a great telescope. Sometimes I wish I had one." - from that statement it's obvious he's never looked through one!

I prefer to believe my eyes and factual information rather than opinion.

Here's the test (in German) Ein göttliches Gerät - Astro-Foren.de - Die unabhängige Community

That guy knows a lot of SCTs and he surely looked throu someone 9,25" He started in the early days of orage (or even blue) Celestrons on the USA market.

EdgeHD and Meade ACF have mirror locks, but that's for imaging. Additional cryford (or motocryford) is a common solution (I have one), but still some focusing with the mirror has to be done. In the C11 turning the knob changes the focus slowly, but the field of view moves rather quickly so if you use a camera with small sensor - corrections have to be consistently made Smaller SCT are just far less demanding.

IMHO if you want a cool cat >= 10" - look at some open design with fixed primary ODK, TAL Klevtzow, RC, DK etc.

All SCTs have the same optic. There is no magic in 9,25", but there are some myths. Also assuming PV wavefront error like 1/8 on the view it gives isn't accurate. Bad scopes can give "good" views also. But those SCTs tend to keep at least good level of quality.

One thing I read was about someone who moved from C9.25 to a C11 but was considering moving back to a C9.25.

I had C8, now C11 and the C11 is a big change over C8. Also the 9,25" is close to C8 so I can imagine why some people don't like C11 when the get one. It's getting quite big and heavy. Also it has to cool for a long time (or good cooler required), and things like focusing with a big 11" primary mirror can be very annoying.

I've heard gooses but also a lot of bats that fly, squeek and catch insects.

Wre were getting a bit concerned that the scope didn't seem to be giving a pin sharp star image, but I now suspect this is from body heat rising in front of the scope. A de-focussed star image seems to be boiling all over the surface. It's difficult to test the theory as I can't get much out of the way and still see into the eyepiece.

Maybe some sort of heat deflector needs to be drawn up.

Cheers.

Try a webcam or other simple cam - put it in and run away or for deflecting maybe something like light shrouds for dobsonians :

Scrape a tent or a sleeping bag and you have heat deflecting cover or hide yourself in a sleeping bag for observations

Are there any tutorials, hints about LRGB without Photoshop? (like with the GIMP and other free tools)

Simple solution:

Box 1 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!