Ande

What mount did you use? For 5 minute exposures the starfield looks beautiful and sharp. I would be overjoyed with that image.

I have no issue with FLO. They are fully transparent with their stock situation.

There would be nothing stopping you from having an additional tripod for other times. Just a thought. Edit: Or just go with the tripod idea, as you originally planned, and see how much of a pain it may or may not be. If it turns out a nightmare, you could then think about mounting a base on the balcony.

Cheers @Davey-T I’m in no hurry, as I’m waiting for equipment which could be weeks or months. I’ll keep an eye out for a future offer

Can you not fit a mount directly to the steel balcony? You wouldn’t have to worry about tripod legs, and precious space quite so much then.

I must admit that I am drawn more towards purchasing Affinity Photo. At £50 to own it outright, it seems the more attractive of the options. If I can subscribe to Photoshop for just 1 or 2 months, without having to commit to a longer plan, then I may just do so. Just so that I can follow the aforementioned book to the letter until I have a better notion of what I’m doing.

If the planets appear in your viewing window, then you’ll certainly get a look at them. However, even when conditions are much more favourable, planetary viewing can be tricky. Beyond the moon, which is always spectacular, the planets can be a little awkward, appearing to be little more than small disks that require a fair bit of effort to pick out any detail. On the bright side, you have young eyes, which is better than the best gear money can buy. From your balcony, apart from dealing with light pollution, you also have several floors beneath you from looking at the photos you posted. Each of these will be generating heat that will be rising up past you. This can be quite an air disturbance, and it can be quite surprising just how well a telescope can pick this up. Imagine looking through a pane of glass while water gently spills across it. I wish you the very best on your journey. And that your enthusiasm is prepared to overcome such hurdles is highly commendable 🙂

Hi. I, too, have watched this thread unfolding with much interest. I know you are completely sold on the idea of buying a scope, and all of the associated gear that goes with it. It’s exciting and I totally get that. I’m one of the world’s worst when it comes to doggedly ignoring common sense to scratch an itch that won’t go away. There is nothing worse than having one’s dreams stripped away by reality and practicalities. However, there is no getting away from the fact that, due to no fault of your own, your viewing is going to be severely compromised by lack of space, a hugely restricted view of the sky and heavy light pollution. Like a couple of others on here have mentioned, I would seriously consider a decent pair of binoculars. You can still view from your balcony with much more flexibility than a scope and mount would offer you. You can also flick back and forth between you Mom and Dad’s without the inconvenience of breaking your gear down and then trying to lug it about. That gets old fast. And there is nothing to stop you popping it into a rucksack and hopping onto a bus or train that takes you out of the city and to unrestricted, and darker skies. I suspect you have already dismissed the binocular option, because it’s not a telescope. But you would be surprised how effective they can be. Then, with all of the money you would save, you could still go on to buy a second-hand telescope just to satisfy that desire. But I can’t help thinking that however much money you spend on a scope, nothing will afford you much better views from your location and situation than binos. And if you were to buy second-hand, and a scope didn’t work out, you can pass it on at no loss. If you spend a fortune on new gear and it doesn’t work for out you, as many on here suspect, then you will be selling it on at a loss, as it is now second-hand. Just some food for thought..... If you get the chance, have a little peep at this video. You might be surprised 🙂

Ah, Bond Wirral Man, we’ve been expecting you 🙂

Noticed another trend amongst certain retailers too. The habit of showing “low stocks, please call” or words to that effect. And then when you do call, they immediately tell you they don’t have the item, they don’t even need to check as they know full well they’ve hardly got anything. But then they instantly proceed to try and prise your details out of you so that they can procure an order for when stock does eventually arrive. I don’t appreciate people trying to trick then trap me, and will actively seek to avoid those places in the future.

Yes, this does sound an incredibly cool thing to be doing with one’s time and data. What it also manages to drive home is just how unbelievably thick I am compared to the majority of boffins on here. I highly doubt I shall ever get past the “pretty pictures” stage, as much as I may aspire to doing so 😂.

I must admit that I baulked at the cost too. But it was that image of the diffraction pattern that sold me, as it looked clearer, and more precise than others I had looked at. That, and the fact that it is adjustable, so one mask could cover a few lenses or scopes. But I agree that it is way more expensive than it should be.

Funny you should say that....... I took a few test images of the Pleiades before I came in out of the cold. Then realised when I got in the warmth of the living room that I needn’t have bothered 😂. At least it wasn’t a proper session.

I really don’t know about the Kappa-Sigma clipping. That’s yet another variable thrown into the mix of which I know nothing. I guess necessity will force me to come to terms with all of these unknowns come the glorious day.

Well, after some concern that maybe my new Samyang wouldn’t reach infinity focus, I was finally in a position to test it today. My Williams Optics Bhatinov mask arrived this morning, courtesy of FLO. I set the camera and tripod up outside, and located a suitably bright star. At first I was a bit miffed, as I’d never used a Bhatinov mask before, but I had seen loads of the diffraction images that they produce. What I hadn’t realised was that those images had all been zoomed in massively. So when I had a tiny star, and a dinky little diffraction pattern around it, my tiny brain was desperately trying to figure out what I could possibly be doing wrong. Then it dawned on me to just simply take a quick snap and then zoom in. Eureka! A diffraction pattern that resembled those that I had seen. And, more importantly, infinity focus is successfully achieved just short of the stop. My big fear was that I was falling just short. Really happy that I’ve got a properly functioning lens. Also very pleased with the WO Bhatinov mask. It has three small screws that locate in slots, so that they can be slid in and out to accommodate differing lens sizes. These screws are shrouded with a soft, silicon sleeve which pinches in on the lens quite nicely once adjusted correctly for a fairly secure fit. I think it should serve me well for many moons to come 🙂

@The Admiral Thanks Ian Yes, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. I don’t really know what I need or what will work for me until I have some experience. And I will struggle to gain the experience without using something or other, irrespective of whether it’s a good fit for me or not. I guess it’s a mountain I need to climb in order to get a good view of what’s the best route going forward. I have an ASIair Pro on order, and, from my limited understanding, I gather it is capable of handling a fair chunk of the early workload. I’ve got DSS downloaded onto my laptop in readiness, but if the ASIair can make that redundant for no loss in quality then that’ll be a step towards a simpler workflow. I think that once I know where it’s limitations lie, or, more specifically, where my limitations lie using it, and what work still needs to be done once the ASIair has done it’s best, then I’ll have a reasonably good idea of what holes still need filling. Luckily, I have the luxury of a little time on my side, thanks to zero stocks and having to wait for my equipment orders to be fulfilled. I can use this time to have a sampling session of the free stuff that’s on offer, and see if anything seems right. And, if no joy, then look harder at the paid for products. I shall certainly look into Affinity Photo along the way, as it seems to garner quite a bit of love amongst many of you.

@rickwayne Once again, a big thank you. And sorry for not responding sooner. Although I had time to read your post yesterday, I didn’t have sufficient time to pen a reply. I like the way that you have divided the process up nice and neatly for me. Outlying the concepts, and the likely strongest contender for each stage. Although not necessarily the easiest tool for that particular job. I guess until I actually get my hands dirty, I won’t really know which tools I’m capable of wielding. I think I shall just have to take things one step at a time, beginning with data/image acquisition, and then into Deep Sky Stacker. I guess, at this stage, those are the only two absolutes that I shall have. From there on it will simply be a case of what piece of software my little brain is capable of using. I have looked at trying to purchase PS CS3, but even that simple step seems to involve entering the murky world of eBay resellers. No actual retailers seem to sell it. I saw one link for £500, but that seemed crazily expensive for old software. Unless I’m just totally naive as to the cost of this stuff. I need to sit down with more time on my hands and have a proper root about.

Some of those wide-field shots may prove a bit, um, challenging in the jigsaw department. You must be quite the masochist. Unless, of course, you are gonna hand them out as gifts. Then that would be just plain cruel 😂.

That sounds very commendable, and worthwhile. I very much doubt I’ll be able to do anything of a sufficient quality to catapult it into the realms of useful. So I’ll be hovering around the “pretty pictures” stage for the foreseeable. In fact, I can only hope to aspire to pretty pictures, if my last few attempts are anything to go by 😀

.... What will you do with them? All of those wonderful images of nebulae and far-flung galaxies. Wide angle Milky Way shots, and star clusters etc. Do you put in all of the blood, sweat and tears and then just let them reside on your hard drive, or do they see the light of day in some form or other? Maybe get turned into posters, or postcards, or maybe home-crafted birthday cards etc? I am just getting an imaging rig together, and hope to put any pictures I am lucky enough to create to good use. Of course, there will be the obligatory wallpaper and screen-saver for the computer. And, at the very least, a poster or two on the wall. Be interesting to hear what fate awaits the images of other members on here.

Greetings from Kidderminster I’m sure that you will get tons of fun out both your new gear, and new hobby. And this is definitely the right place to get answers to questions.

Thanks @Luke I may yet have a peep at the free offerings, and see if I can wrap my feeble brain around some of the concepts. However, as I said earlier, my main tether is Steve Richards’ book, which I shall be following. I need to keep the cliff face as shallow as possible, and, unfortunately, that seems to point at Photoshop. Just out of curiosity, are there any publications out there that are geared up around any of the free/cheaper packages? Books similar to that of Steve’s? Or, failing that, a good YouTube tutorial that is squarely aimed at muppets like me? I have looked at many YouTube offerings and usually fall by the wayside with some of the concepts and/or terminology. I’m sure much of that will pass though, once I get my hands dirty so to speak.

Thanks for clearing up the PS Elements query Olly. I can now wipe that from the list. I shall have a good look into CS3. Regarding the rest of your workflow, that is hellishly confusing from a beginner’s standpoint. With that many programs, each completing their own little corner of the puzzle, my head would implode with all the back and forth of the data and images. I need to try and keep things under one umbrella as much as is possible. That’s what I am hoping the ASIAIR Pro will largely do for me at the image collection stage of the proceedings. It’s a shame there isn’t one, all encompassing package that could take you right through from polar alignment to final image without compromise, and the need to keep sourcing out to other programs. I’d be first in the queue to snap that up 😀

Thanks again Heather. That’s not a bad idea 🙂. As soon as I get some free time I’ll have a session. I’m not quite in a position to gather any data yet, so have a little time on my side.

Thanks Heather. I did have a peep at PS Elements, but concluded that it probably wasn’t up to the job. I may have to bite the bullet and go the subscription route, although it will really irk me to do so.