Nerf_Caching

Hi all. So I'm planning on buying a Skywatcher star adventurer to place my evostar 72ed and dslr on and I'm looking for an inexpensive, travel friendly tripod that could hold the load of the scope and mount. I am aware that FLO sells a tripod for the SA for 55 pounds, but does anybody know of any alternatives? I plan on fitting the tripod in a suitcase if that helps, thanks in advance!

Okay. Since you have a cpc, which is already ideal for planetary imaging due to its long focal length and omission of the need to track well over long exposures, I think you should focus more on deep sky. That being said, I recommend you get the 72ed from Skywatcher or equivalent because it has fast optics and a wide FOV so it doesn't place as much demand on tracking accuracy as a longer FL scope. For the price of under 300 GBP it is a really good telescope. Perhaps you should save some of your budget on stuff like a dslr/dedicated astronomy camera, mount (eg HEQ5) and guiding etc.

Depends on which type of AP you priortize. If you are more interested in planetary, then a 120 or 150 (which do work for deep sky to a certain extent I believe) will work or perhaps an SCT as it's more compact. However, if you priortize Deep sky, then a small refractor like the 80ED or even the 72ED (which I have for DS imaging and is a blast to use; on an alt-az tracking mount mind you!) will be preferable. It will also be more tolerant to tracking imperfections too!

It's freezing though! I managed to take my Canon 650d with the 50mm prime out to take some shots of the Andromeda Galaxy. I had about 30 minutes for that.

Here's my process on Gimp. I've only got very basic processing skills, but here you go.

Never looked through a large dob before, but I could imagine the difference in views from a 4 inch newt😲

Currently trying to process your image with Gimp. Will post results here later. Perhaps more exposure time would help pull out more detail, but I'm still a newb at AP so don't quote me on that. Funny enough BTW, I own the model one step down from yours, the 72ED. The evostar ED line has got lots of potential.

What telescope/lens did you use to take this image?

What about this? I bought this just for my 72ED. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/2-inch-t-adapter.html

Ah, fair enough🤔. Although I do think that it's a bit dodgy using lasers especially in HK where aircraft fly low all the time, so perhaps there are similar regulations here I think.

Okay, so I just had to talk about this real quick. A bit of context here first of all. So protests have been happening in Hong Kong for the past 3 months which have lead people to question the credibility of the Police. Apparently, a student has now been arrested for purchasing a laser typically used for pointing out constellations in the night sky, without any concrete evidence of intent to cause harm with it. Now, Hong Kong's astronomical societies have spoken out against it, and have even considered a public star party with lasers to promote astronomy to yhe public. As a stargazer, this is really concerning as I drag my rig outside onto public spaces whenever I observe, as the Police seen to be biased towards younger people.

Hello all. Lately, I have noticed my nexstar 5se base having a bit of azimuth play (about 1mm of movement) when I nudge it with my hand, picking it up or repositioning it (I sometimes use it as a tabletop scope) . Given, the mount still seems to function as expected and still responds quickly as soon as I press the left or right arrow keys. My question is, is it something to worry about? Will my tracking or goto accuracy be compromised? Thanks for any advice!

Hello! Out of curiosity, has anyone ever been able to image this dim magnitude 13 galaxy called Barnard's Galaxy? If so, is it a difficult object to collect signal on? Thanks!

Actually, my way of extending the focuser is pretty crude. As I don't have any 2 inch accessories, I got a 2 to 1.25 inch adapter off amazon and paired it with a barlow lens with the barlow element replaced with a normal 1.25 inch barrel so it acts purely as an extender. Extension tubes are necessary for the 72ED in order to achieve focus with a dslr.

It's been happening to some of my images as I have to deal with some pretty horrible light pollution gradients. I'm still quite new to editing with GIMP and as such I don't have a concrete solution to dealing with the strange star colors.

Taken with a Canon 650d dslr attached to Skywatcher evostar 72ED refractor. Mounted to Nexstar 4/5se mount using alt-az tracking. 99x30 seconds at ISO 800.

Not that I know of, no. All of my images went through the exact same process: Stack in DSS along w/ calibration frames then transfer to GIMP for processing. BTW, I only know very little on post-processing based on other youtube tutorials, so any help with removing gradients and stuff would be greatly appreciated:)

Here are my first ever attempts at dslr astrophotography with a scope. From top to bottom: M4, 6x30secs@iso 800 w/ 3 dark and flat frames. M19, 24x30secs@iso 800 w/ 7 dark, flat and bias frames. M9, 16x30secs@iso 800 w/ 7 dark, flat and bias frames. All of these were taken with a Canon 650D dslr attached to a Skywatcher evostar 72ED OTA, mounted on a Nexstar 4/5SE mount tracking in alt-az mode.

I think there could be fungal growth in my achromatic doublet as well. Don’t think it warrants a clean yet I think.

Update: So I finally decided to have a go at cleaning the corrector plate today using pec pads and some lens cleaning liquid coupled with a micro fiber cloth to mop up any remaining lens cleaning fluid on the surface. I have to say that the corrector looks remarkably cleaner without a single scratch in the process it seems. What do you think?

Hmmm, not feeling that brave to take apart my optics right now🤨. As with gel sachets, I do have some, although it might need some replacing. I normally store my scopes in the closet with a gel sachet in the closet. If I expose my SCT to sunlight, I have to be careful not to cause internal heat buildup due to the folded light path. Could give it a try, if I even get any clear days.

Hey all, I opened up my scopes today to find fungal growth on both my refractor and SCT lens and corrector respectively. I live in a humid climate but I’ve never paid much attention to mold until now. Does anyone know how, if even possible to get rid of it? I heard that they ruin coatings, so I’m erring in the side of caution here. Thanks!