PembrokeSteve

Hi, The weather has been terrible in my corner of West Wales, UK, for weeks now. Wind and unrelenting rain. When the rain has stopped and a clear comes in, it is still far too windy ! Anyway on Friday evening, 8th November, there was a break in the clouds and I thought i would grab half an hour of lunar imaging. Got all set up and then as I viewed the moon through my laptop, I could see clouds drifting across the screen ! ....Yes it had virtually clouded over. Most of my lunar images shot were a waste of time, but during a break in the clouds, I managed to get this. Equipment:- Intes MK67 NEQ6 Pro Mount ZWOASA178MC camera Imaged using Sharpcap, Run through Autostakkert at 20% of 1037 frames (2080x2080 camera resolution selected) Image tweaked and finalised using Affinity Regards, Steve Mare Humorum, showing the large crater Gassendi

Hi, Excellent work, bet Jupiter was a bit higher in the sky that year. The detail you have captured is also showing a bit of shadow on the right limb. Regards, Steve

Hi, Many thanks for your advice, which is much appreciated. The TS Optics 115 APO is definitely a scope which I am very tempted to go for. TS Optics look like they offer superb quality scopes. However, what amuses me is the various differences in price from various Astronomical Retailers, for what is basically the SAME telescope OTA. Are we being ripped off by some Astro Retailers, who are rebranding OTA,s with their retail name ? I suppose it is best to go for the cheapest deal, as it is basically the same OTA in a different brand disguise. (ie) these are basically the same scopes:- Altair Astro (from Altair Astro) 115 APO - £1,699,00 Technosky 115 APO (from The Widescreen Centre) - £1,499.00 TS Optics 115 APO ( from Astroshop.eu) £1,170.00 (their reduced price currently on offer) - I might go for this ! Regards, Steve

Hi, Thinking of treating myself to a new refractor at the moment. I think I will be going for the William Optics Zenithstar 103. However, another scope has got my attention - TS-Optics PHOTOLINE 115mm f/7 Triplet APO. The description of this scope, says it’s objective is made up of two special glasses, lanthanum and FPL51, claiming to be comparable with a FPL53 Triplet objective. Does anyone on SGL know how good this scope is? I suppose I am suffering from the greed for a “little bit more” aperture . DSO Imaging is my main aim. Grateful for any feedback. Regards, Steve

Hi, Those images are sooo good !! Regards, Steve

Hi, Many thanks for your kind comments and good advice concerning setting the exposure against the brightest parts . Regards, Steve

Hi I took this image on 13/09/19, yes... it is the Harvest Moon, again! , using my Intes-Micro MN56 Mak-Newt telescope and ZWOASI178MC camera. I basically shot two 510 frame AVI's at highest resolution of 3096x2080 of the top section and bottom section of the full Moon. I then stitched them together and saved as a JPEG, using the free Microsoft Composite Image Editor (ICE), which i have never used before. I can't wait to have a go at more ambitious Moon Mosaics, using this free programme, which is so easy to use. Amazed with my resulting image. Image tweaked using Affinity Photo Serif. Regards, Steve

Hi, What a SUPERB Image !! Regards Steve

Hi Wouter, Stunning is the word ! Never expected to see an image as good as that when i clicked on that thumbnail !!!!! Regards, Steve

Hi, Took these two images of the Harvest Moon on 13 September 2019. I was attempting to capture the craters in the extreme Northern Edges, not easy due to the Moon's brightness Equipment: IntesMN56 Mak Newt Telescope. ZWOASI178MC Camera. Regards Steve Image 1 Shows the Sina Iridium Area with Plato to the right. Above is the crater Pythagoras. Image 2 Taken with the x2 Barlow - Shows the crater Pythagoras (first on the left), then the craters Carpenter, Philolaus and Anaxagoras. Further craters ( don't ask me their names! ) can be seen behind, going into the darkness.

Stunning Image Brian, Regards Steve

Superb, Brilliant images!!

Hi, Finally took the plunge and purchased Serif Affinity Photo, for £48 over the weekend. I am Very pleased with it so far, it seems easy to use, and I have been putting it into practice with some of my more recent unprocessed lunar images. The results I am getting are really good. I will be keeping GIMP, however Affinity looks like it will become my main Astro image tweaker. Looking forward to using Affinity on my DSO images, after coming through my Astro Pixel Processor. Regards, Steve

Wow, what a fantastic image' Regards Steve

Hi' Another Image from my session of 09/07/2019 ( Blame it on the rainy Welsh weather ! ) Imaged taken using my Intes-Micro MN56 Maksutov Newtonian Telescope. Camera: ZWO ASI 178MC and x2 Meade ED Barlow Lens. Processed via Autostakkert, then Wavelets tweak in Registax. Further tweaks (and text input) with Arc-soft Photostudio 6 trial. Regards, Steve

Hi, Neil Armstrong would have been impressed with your colour moon, i am sure! Superb Image. Regards, Steve

Hi, Avani, Another Masterpiece! Your images are amazing! Regards, Steve

Hi, The below image ( hopefully ! ) is the approximate Apollo 15 Landing site, hidden in the darkness. Imaged on 09/07/2019 with my Intes-Micro MN56 Telescope and ZWO178MC camera, with Meade x2 ED Barlow lens. Image processed through Autostakkert and GIMP, including text input via ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5 Regards, Steve

Hi, Please see below a few Moon images I shot on Tuesday 9th July 2019. My Intes-Micro MN56 is becoming my favourite scope for Lunar Imaging, because it seems to match up very well with my ZWO ASI 178MC camera. The MN56 also seems to have great capacity for my x2 Barlow lens, without too much image degradation (ie) the scope "eats up" my x2 Barlow ! Regards, Steve A few Lunar Images Below from my 09/07/19 session:-

Hi, Got my Intes-Micro MN56 into the garden on Tuesday evening of 9th July 2019 to do some Moon and Jupiter imaging. Just as I was about to end my session, I noticed Saturn really low down in the sky, so I took a few shots of it. Glad I did so. This is one of them. Image Info:- Intes-Micro MN56 Telescope with x2 Meade APO Barlow Lens ZWOASI178MC camera 704 frames taken at 3096x2080 resolution. Processed through Autostakkert with a 30% stack. Tweaked in GIMP.

Hi, What an excellent image - a superb astro-landscape ! Regards, Steve

Hi, Getting a bit frustrated with freeware GIMP and can't afford Adobe Photoshop. A photo processing software called Serif Affinity Photo seems to have excellent reviews on the internet and in respected publications, like Amateur Photographer. Does anyone use Affinity for post tweaking their Astro Images? ... and if so, would you recommend it? It seems a good value at £38.99 (UK) at the moment. I am looking for something that will enable me to reduce the noise in my final "Tiff" Astro Images (ie) there is plenty of free software out there that will do this for "JPEGS" (ie) Neat Image, but not for "TIFFS", unless you dig into your pocket and pay. I always save my final image as a Tiff and a JPEG and am a bit frustrated that my final Tiff looks a little bit too noisy. Any feedback welcome. All the Best, Steve

Hi, Superb Shot - I would be well satisfied with that !! Regards, Steve