Vroobel

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!

Hi, Recently I purchased Ortho EPs manufactured by Masuyama to use with my A80M and binoviewer. They have 33.95mm diameter. I think a winged eyecup designed by me will also match Fujiyama, Kasai, Antares and other Japanese Orthos. If not, you can adjust a Horizontal Expansion (which I set as -0.25) or simply stretch it in Cura or other slicer. A vertical stretch is also possible. All details are provided on the project website: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5492218 It may be important that some factory made eyecups may cost 14$...

Oh, I'm sorry for so late reply. The Halfords writes: The Yuasa U1R Specialist and Garden Battery is designed for ride on mowers, kit cars, garden tractors and specialist applications. Its rugged construction resists vibration and deep discharge damage,the L-type terminal allows quick and easy installation. This battery is supplied charged and ready to fit, it is fully maintenance free with advanced safety features. So I hope, I can easily work till the voltage doesn't drop below 12V. The voltmeter, which I used, has buzzer set on the 12V threshold. But my experience says that once fully charged I can play 2-3 nights, depending on the heating need. The stepper motor used for the moto focuser get's the Enable state switched off 1sec after its use, so the power consumption is really minimal.

Hi guys, Thank you all for very interesting thread. Orginally I wanted to buy the ASI533MC, but I'm not sure now. I have Bresser Messier 254 Newtonian: 10", 1270mm, F/5 cut to 9" F/5.5 because of not nice shadow of the main mirror holders and focuser tube. Doesn't matter, 230mm is still a big diameter. Now I use EOS 6D with Baader MPCC Mk III and it works well. I have pic scale 1.06 "/px. I have also SW Evoguide 50 ED + FF with 3.2 "/px scale. Their ratio is 1:3.01 and I am happy with that. You may think how I swing the 17kg OTA, around 20kg with all accessories? I have 100% ATM heavy fork mount, 70+ kg load capacity. Its accuracy is now around 0.1-0.2", as I use stepper motors without encoders. My best RMS was 1.2"/px, but the seeing was around 2.4" (according the meteoblue). I expect it to be much better, when the seeing allows. Recently I wait... Well, regarding the ASI533MC, I thought I want it, as I aim in small DSOs. Presenly I have 1.06"/px scale, but with the 533 I should have 0.61"/px that is not too good. I don't want to pay £1k and stuck with the lucky imaging, what do you think? Adam J , exactly two years ago you wrote "don't touch the ATIK414XE OSC", why? I finally smiled for a while, because it would give me 1.05"/px that is exactly same as my EOS 6, but it has smaller smensor, additionally cooled! Look, how huge is the M13 in my setup with that ATIK! I know that I can get the same size by cropping pics from the EOS 6D, but I cannot get the cooling this way. Moreover, I think I wouldn't need the CC with that! I want exactly the OSC, because I live in Liverpool and I have no good weather and not enough time for spending it playing with mono and filters. I have Optolong L-eXtreme and IDAS LPS-D2 and they must be enough for now. So, why not the ATIK414XE OSC? Thanks in advance for expanding this subject. Tomasz.

Thankfully it's not a DS astrophotography, the lights around are not working too bad for planets.