Vroobel

Hi, This is test of my brand new ASI678MC camera with 2um pixel. Today (28/10/2022) was a cloudy day with around 2h of partly cloudless sky. It seems like the pixel is just perfect for the 102ED F/11 lens, no Barlow at all! The #3131 Sunspot has area around 450 mln km2 that is 3x the area of cross-section of the earth! Here is, how the sunspot looks (i hope they keep data of the old sunspot forever): https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/solar-activity/sunspot-regions.html#3131

Hi, It was a hard battle and I'm not sure why. I approached the data four times. Thankfully I had a backup on external hard drive, because after third attepmpt I removed entire folder. I'm sure that next time will be better. Data collected on 01/09/2022. 79 x 150s, ISO1250, 3x20 callibration frames, crop of the full frame. Newton 9"/1270mm, IDAS LPS-D2, Baader MPCC III, EOS 6D mod.

This is a result of around 80% of 5000 frames recorded on 29th September 2022 at 21:44 by SharpCap using Altair Starwave 102ED F/11, Baader Q-Barlow z2.25, ZWO ADC and ASI224MC camera on 1-axis driven SW EQ5. Place of capturing: backyard in Liverpool, 53* 25' N. Bortle 6-7. Stacking and sharpening performed with the AutoStakkert!, final cosmetics with Affinity Photo. The Stellarium says, that Saturn was 20* 06' over horizon then, so very low, even if it was its highest position. Titan is visible under the planet.

Hi, My picture is a result of around 80% of 4500 frames (2.5 minutes in total) recorded on 30th September 2022 at 00:06 by SharpCap using Altair Starwave 102ED F/11, Baader Q-Barlow z2.25, ZWO ADC and ASI224MC camera on 1-axis driven SW EQ5. Place of capturing: backyard in Liverpool, 53* 25' N. Bortle 6-7. Stacking and sharpening performed with the AutoStakkert!, final cosmetics with Affinity Photo. The Stellarium says, that Jupiter was 35* 34' over horizon then, so quite low. Moons respectively from the left: Callisto, Europa and Io.

I found a fun playing with layers.

Before I performed the first picture of Jupiter, I tried it with Saturn. It was much lower (around 19 degrees), so the picture has lower quality. Starwave 102ED F/11 + Baader Barlow x2.25 + ZWO ADC + UV/IR Cut + ASI224MC. Ratio of the Barlow is x3.3.

To be honest, it would be better. The ADC often requires opposite order in the light path than the producer suggests. My configuration was: Starwave 102ED F/11 -> Baader Barlow x2.25 -> ZWO ADC -> UV/IR Cut -> ASI224MC, so ratio of the Barlow was unfortunatelly x3.3, that was too much. I checked it later in daylight with photos of distant object. Now, with the ASI678MC I hope to forget about the Barlows.

Hi, Apart from the astrophotography of DSOs I also have some plans related to planets. My plans are based on Altair Starvawe 102ED F/11 (1122mm) on the SW EQ5, ZWO ADC and several cameras. This picture of Jupiter was taken on 29th September using the ASI224MC. Now I have a brand new and never tested ASI678MC camera with 2um pixel matching the 102ED F/11, so I don't need any Barlow, but we will see what the future holds. Respectively from the left: Callisto, Europa and Io.

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Hi, Today I bought the StarXterminator plugin for my Affinity Photo. It's awesome! 😲

Thanks Two other revisions of the same scene: stacked respectively in Siril (OSC_preprocessing script) and in DSS, stretching in Affinity Photo. I don't know, why the Sirlil made it like in SHO, but it looks also interesting. Previously I used the HLVG plugin, so it removed too much green from details. Now, the last is better.

Thanks Not entirely downtown, it's around 2.5 miles from the very city center (from Lime Street station). Far enough to have Bortle 6-7 sky.

Hi all, I'm happy to share my recent success that is a photography of the Eastern Veil performed last night on my ATM equatorial fork mount described wider there: So, it's 45x300s, ISO1250 and 3x20 of calibration frames. Subs are taken with modded EOS 6D attached to 10" Newtonian OTA (reduced to 9") with Baader MPCC III and Optolong L-eXtreme. An Evoguide 50ED, FF, 850nm IR Pass filter and ASI224MC worked as guider. Seeing was around 3.5/5 last night. Please bear in mind the 1270mm focal length and around 1 arcsec/pixel scale, it is very demanding setup. Both stacking and basic post processing made with the Affinity Photo. There is still small problem with back focus that I have to correct next time. https://astrob.in/9u0s15/0/

The only unwanted artifact was the pinkish cast at the ASI224MC cam without the filter. Today I realised that I have also 2" Baader UV/IR Cut filter which already landed in my 2" barrel. I'll report a difference ASAP. The small one was bought just for a guiding purpose and I used it for planetary imaging unnecessarily.

Hi, I can confirm that the SvBONY UV/IR Cut filter brings the green cast. This is picture taken during poor seeing with Starwave 102ED F/11, Baader Barlow x2.25, ASI224MC and the filter. The scope gives rather pure images with no extra cast.

I already checked what I can see through the 102ED, a BV with x2 OCS and 9mm Abbe Orthos (249x) on Jupiter surface. It was of course more than through the Vixen using the same configuration (202x). Seeing wasn't good then, so I couldn't use Fujiyama Ortho 7mm (321x) for Jupiter, but I did it for the Moon. It was unbelievably sharp view, lot of black darkness and detailed surface, with the same average seeing. And everything with no CA at all! Unfortunately I was sick, so didn't look at the Moon too long.

Hi everyone, I began my adventure with longer scopes (and my first refractors) totally accidentally thanks to @Franklin, who sold me his Vixen A80M Japan (F/11.4) in June this year. It is wonderful achromatic refractor allowing me to see even 4 biggest craterlets of the Plato with negligible CA, while the seeing was average. Less than three months later I bought a new Starwave Ascent 102ED F/11, which is just enough for me at this moment. They are only two, but the two make a collection now. I'm preparing to test of general performance and comparison of both thanks to doubled every eyepiece, as I use binoviewer. This is how I'll do the live comparison: The 102ED doesn't have extended dew shield, so it looks similar to the Vixen, but it's much longer. I'll add pictures of single slopes soon.

Absolutely impressive! 😍

Thanks! I consider creating a home F/11 club 😊

Thanks, but I want it there. I aim today in 249x and 321x magnification. But seeing is poor tonight and clouds are passing. 😕

It is, indeed! Look please at the star test Out and In. 😳

Hi everyone! 🙂 Tonight my brand new Altair ASCENT 102ED/1122 F/11 gets its first light. Some optical test, including the start test, shows that it's really Planet Killer. Let's check by looking at Jupiter and Moon tonight using Japanese Genuine Abbe Orthos 9mm (249x) and Fujiyama HD Orthos 7mm (321x). 😎

Do you mean something like in the picture? Or like egg chair? My eyecup has 2mm collar over 1mm diaphragm to allow eyeball go into the eyecup slightly. Eyebrow, nose and cheek protect 3 other directions from the side light. For me it's very comfortable and working well.

I've no idea. Falcon 10? 😏

I'd be happy to know an exact outer diameter of other Orthos'. I think they are the same 34mm (33.95). Great idea about the bicycle inner tube! I like it!