geeklee

Pretty much as above: Dell Optiplex 9020M Micro with Intel Core i5 4590T, 8GB Memory, 128GB SSD and Windows 10 Pro - £160.

The EQ6-R mount weighs around 2kgs (just under I think) more IIRC. 15 and a bit (AZEQ6) vs 17 and bit (EQ6R). Just spotted you have a ROR observatory so weight is prob not a factor for you if it's on a pier!

Did you get a chance to check this out? If it fits, does it need one of the additional adaptors? Thanks!

Thanks for this link @Xplode I used this and found a similar item with same CPU, less RAM but an SSD - for well under £200. It was flagged as "has some wear and tear" and I was expecting a lot worse but for sitting on a shelf somewhere hooked up to the scope etc it should be spot on. I've been involved in so much kit going to these sorts of companies but have never thought to actually look items up as a buyer! 🤔 Anyway, if it continues to work as it has been for the last week or two I'll be well pleased.

I've definitely seen similar behaviour. When double clicking a xisf file, Windows launched what seemed like the PixInsight installer. I cancelled this the first time and it got in a right state. One reboot later and same thing happened but I let the installer finish. After a time, PI opened and then told me I had updates (the same updates I'd installed previously). It was like it was running PI as a separate user. I wouldn't have thought Windows elevation would have caused this behaviour but maybe. I've been opening PI first and then opening a project or file / drag drop file so haven't "tested" this again!

Welcome @Sidecontrol Cracking images, thanks for sharing.

Awesome @Ken Mitchell I was hoping to see a few images of the double cluster and comet that i wasn't able to have a go at - and SGL has delivered.

Hi Mike - I think what you've done sounds fine - if you've got the camera -> adapter -> 2" tube of 80ED. Just need to get the adapter length suitable for enough focus extension. Fire it up and test it out 🙂 If you don't have a reducer with a back focus requirement, then - as far as I know - the back focus explanations for 55mm on ZWO site are not applicable.

If you don't want to drill, I got the 11inch version (recommended by FLO) for my 80ED - same challenge - and it was perfect: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adm-vixen-type-v-series/adm-vixen-style-universal-dovetail-bars.html (was also mentioned above)

Just to add (probably the obvious) - make sure you've got a healthy exposure time as well. A well lit moon will be milliseconds but seeing some stars at unity gain (out the box) will be several seconds. Assuming you're using a tracking mount, crank the exposure up to 30s and you'll see something no problem I reckon. Keep going to see more - I can't remember if AsiCap will let you stretch in situ or not but that would help confirm there's plenty out there!

Good info! Thanks for that Mike.

Thanks for sharing the Astra Image config for deconvolution @WestCoastCannuck. I use Astra Image as well for lunar work and always flip flop between "simple deconvolution" and deconvolution. Sometimes certain data responds better to different modes and underlying deconvolution settings. The clarity you've got (and many others too) is awesome. Do you find the filter you used make a subtle/big difference? (Baader 610nm long pass). I've never really used anything outside a UV cut but have read about using a red filter.

The previous image was great, but compared to this it does look a bit "loud" now 🙂 This version is stunning and inspiring (as was the previous one).

Great start, especially considering all the elements you got lined up on your first outing 👍🙂

IMHO much better - eye just goes straight to M82... nice work Mick 🙂

Full resolution was a treat as you said 👍 Thanks.

Nice image Mick. I'm biased when it comes to the spikes (don't like them) but trying to be objective... for me, they detract from the main event as @Adreneline mentions. That wasn't very objective 😅

It all looked good around 7pm, clear skies and a nice high moon. Skyliner 200P was out to cool for some observation. Come 8pm I couldn't resist attaching my ageing Nikon D3100 and attempting some shots. I usually image with a high speed planetary camera so the ad-hoc fast exposures I took with the Nikon to try and freeze the seeing were too fast, so quite under exposed (I should have increased the ISO). Stacking 25% of 40 frames let me run some light deconvolution and push the midtones, white point, exposure & contrast to bring up a decent result. The cloud then rolled in fast and this is what the finder scope view looked like 😁 But an eye piece (ES 82deg 11mm) view with my phone camera (unaltered) caught some detail around Montes Jura, Montes Carpatus, Kepler & Encke

That's fair. In my head I'm not doing a direct comparison, just looking to move to something with more post processing tools (more all-in one). I agree on APP, the LP tool is very good and I've found (with some work) the star colour calibration is also good. I also find all the pre-processing steps excellent too... I think I just clicked with the application and hence found others more challenging. Right now I picture a future where I still use APP just to pre-process 😂. I've only been using APP for 4 months but I've started to get a little frustrated with the lack of documentation and also the slow release schedule of updates (1.076 must be imminent). I know, I know, it's niche (excellent) application with a single developer (if I understand their setup correctly) 😋 Currently I always end up in Affinity Photo after APP but some more advanced layer and mask knowledge would be useful... 👍

Lovely Andy, some great detail in there for the integration time.

Absolutely fantastic image. Thanks for sharing the story behind it too.

Yep, you definitely seem to have got more out of the image in PI 👍 I haven't stacked anything yet in PI, will be interesting to see if I miss APP's "Adaptive Airy Disk" debayering mechanism. @James and @teoria_del_big_bang make good points about the ability to retain the detailed knowledge when you have gaps without processing as it looks like the more you put in the more you get out so those extra tweaks or processes you run - definitely keep your own notes! For me, I thought PI was "above me" and the processes were "beyond what I should be looking at" as a beginner... but the more I read and absorbed, the more I could see (even with a handful of images under my belt) what could be improved and how that might be done. There are other tools out there and I've given some of them a trial but I end up back at APP. I've got a long way left on the trial so once I get some new data to run end to end, I'll be in a better place to evaluate, but it's really impressed me so far (with the help of "Inside PixInsight") 🙂

Absolutely stunning collection of images Richard. If I can obtain a tenth of that in a few years I'll be very pleased.

Funnily enough I've just started a trial too and using "Inside PixInsight". So far, the approach to workflow is very different but so much more useful and efficient. Every time I wander "well how will that work in PI" (workflow, not functions) and it just does it right (new instances, minimising, reusing, the whole object based approach really). As far as "Inside PixInsight" goes, this has been an eye opener so far - not only in PixInsight knowledge but expanding on general AP topics and details that are really enhancing my understanding of processing and data. I am a paid APP user (subscription) as I found it was a straight forward approach to get good results with some useful post processing features that are fairly easy to get up to speed with. The more things I want to adjust in my images (advanced stuff) just isn't possible with APP at the moment although they are all mentioned as coming at some point. It'll be interesting @dannybgoode how you continue to get on with PI and whether you feel you're creating better final images. As I continue learning AP in general, I'm hopeful my next image will be processed with PI and it'll have that extra "quality" I couldn't do previously.

Woh, nice 👍