pi_co100

I did not think the 1.5 drizzle could make such difference. Very good indeed.

Absolutely beautiful. I look forward to see more of your work!

Thanks!

13 hours ago, CraigT82 said:

I have both the 2x and 3x ES focal extenders.... really pleased with them both though the 2x gets much more usage. Heard good things about the Baader VIP too which is more versatile and cam offer different powers in different configurations. 

Cant really comment on FC correction as my 1620mm FL newt doesn't have much.  Is your camera chip that big it picks up the edges of the field? 

Hi I have an ASI1600 which using a 2x Barlow I would need a 2 frame mosaic for an half Moon and 4 frames mosaic for a full Moon.

13 hours ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

I have the Meade Series 5000 2x and 3x TeleXtenders which are optically the same as the ES 1.25 focal extenders, I am told. I also have the Tele-Vue 2.5x and apart from magnification, I cannot really tell them apart. The combination of Meade 2x TeleXtender, APM 80mm F/6, and   and ZWO ASI183MC got me this lunar shot:

Which isn't bad, I would say

No, I would say it is really good for a 80mm, very sharp. It is similar to the one I had taken with my 10cm Takahashi.

12 hours ago, Merlin66 said:

I have the Meade 5000 x3 extender and the ES x3 version and they look and perform the same.

I also regularly use the x2.5 PM for solar and hoped that these x3 versions would reduce the Newton Rings I experience with the ASI 174. No such luck!! Still need the T2 tilter.

 

Are the Newton rings due to small misalignment between the optics the extender and the camera? Do you just get that with Sun imaging?

Thank you all for your responses. I will probably go with the ES 2x. It is £78 compared to £287 of the TV (and an additional £44 ring is required for the TV)...

I am looking at a 2x Barlow or Extender for imaging of the Moon (mosaics given the size of my camera) so flatness of field would really help. There is one obvious choice (2x Powermate) but it seems really expensive. Are the cheaper alternatives out there that would give a flat field?

A shortlist may be:

ES 1.25 focal extender

Baader VIP 2x Barlow

Altair Lightwave 2x Flat Field APO

I am imaging with an Esprit 150. I would be interest to have thoughts from someone who owns the above. Thank you,

Piero

Your images are just incredible. Well done!

Very nice!

Spectacular images! Congratulations.

Hard to believe but the sky was clear here in Letchworth at 11pm when Jupiter and the Moon moved away from my neighbour's trees. It was also great just to see with the naked eye. I have taken a quick snapshot with my Canon 6D attached to the Takahashi FC100DF at f4.8. I over-saturated the colours - just personal taste.

No HDR used (stack of 20 images all at 1/200) however can clearly see the little disk. I think Jupiter is 1700 times further away from the Earth than the Moon at the moment... 

Piero

Great image! What NB filters are you using?

Piero

I was able to store the Takahashi 100DF in a cabin bag and I have taken it to the US for the 2017 eclipse (https://www.astrobin.com/327922/?nc=user). I am sure the other two scopes are also fantastic but the 100DF is a great telescope too I am sure you will not regret your choice. It has a longer focal length compared to the other two so it is longer but you can also get a reducer if wide field photography is what you want to do. I looked to other options back in 2017 but this one was the only scope in that class readily available to buy. I am sure you will enjoy it!

16 minutes ago, PeterCPC said:

I quite liked the second episode but I wish that the background music wasn't so overwhelming. Also he seems to tells us what he is going to say then he says it and then he tells us what he said. Bit repetitive I thought.

Peter

Welcome to a BBC documentary!

Thanks - I will give it a go!

It is just two cables. But if they snap for whatever reason I guess I will know what to do...

Many thanks. I need something like 10-20 cm long as I did see someone else  (https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/294691-from-horizon-to-horizon-and-beyond-with-the-avalon-m-zero/) moving the StarGo on the mount itself and it looked a very neat solution. The cables already made I can see one could buy are >1m so that is why I will have a go at diy. 

I am looking for some help from this very knowledgeable community on how to make the cable that connects the Avalon StarGo to the Avalon M-zero mount. The reason for that is that in my current setup the cables supplied with the mount are too long and would like to make some shorter ones. A picture of the cable and the connectors in question is below (the connectors are the same at both ends). I have researched the internet and that appears to be a 4p4c connector (RJ22?) used for telephone headsets. 

I have looked around and from what I can see what I need is:

some connectors

https://uk.farnell.com/mh-connectors/mhrj224p4cf/plug-rj22-flat-4p4c/dp/3938220?st=4p4c

flat cable

https://uk.farnell.com/pro-power/gc5041/cable-fcc68-4core-black-per-m/dp/1461483?st=flat phone

the tool

https://uk.farnell.com/klein-tools/vdv226-011-sen/crimp-tool-ratchet-28-22awg-terminal/dp/2839565?st=cable for rj22

Is there anyone with experience on network cables to check the above is correct please. Many thanks!!!

Piero

Great pics!!!

In the right hands the C9.25 delivers stunning results! For some reason I was never able to deal properly with the dew that scope attracts.... 

Thanks for sharing! Beautiful pics!

Very nice! 

Very nice. I wish I could see the Moon... It is all clouds here!

Thanks, the seeing that night was good for a change. The challenge I had with processing that image is that the areas near the terminator are darker than the areas near the limb so one needs to brighten the areas near the terminator without losing contrast in the areas near the top, e.g. the Mare Undarum which it is really the first time I was able to capture in this detail.

Piero

This is 500 R G and B stacked together taken using a Takahashi FC100-DF and ASI1600. Blue was oversaturated to show the titanium rocks on the Moon. Comments and feedback are always welcome.

Higher definition here: https://www.astrobin.com/full/402887/0/

Thanks Wouter,

I am not a great fan of photoshop and their fees but will look into that. Clear skies!

Piero

Hi Wouter,

Your last image is excellent. How did you achieve the better balance in the colours in your last image? I am working on a similar image to yours though at a much smaller resolution.

thank you for sharing
Piero

Going back to the article... the author says the C6 gives approximately the same visual as a 4.5'' APO. If I had to buy one telescope at that price I would go with a https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-152l-1200-refractor-ota.html or even the https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-127l-1200-refractor-ota.html at half the price of the C6... unless I lived under dark skies but in that case I would get a 25cm dobson.

Also no mention about the mechanics of the telescope. I am not familiar with the stellarvue SV115T but have you tried to focus a refractor with a 3'' Feathertouch focuser and a Celestron SCT... in the refractor is the focuser moving not the mirror (and the image!)