Science562h

Looks great, tons of detail; the galaxies are pretty close too. I plan on 100 lights x 20-30 sec, 20 darks & 20 bias; at 55mm & then fiddle, with the 75-300mm lens. Image. Galaxies M81 and M82. 55 mm widefield pretest; 20 lights x 10 sec, before tackling it. 2020.

Here's mine. This is a first test for the Canon EF 75-300mm lens @ 75mm. I was hoping to, atleast keep 50%, out of 120 exposures but 5, 8 & 15 sec is just too long @ 75mm, on an SLT alt-azi mount. I have to drop back down to 18-"55mm" & max, at 8 sec for M42. Well, 20 sec is possible @ 55mm but the keep rate is too low. I need to be able to keep 50-60%. M42 is tricky, unlike M31, where I can snapoff 20-30 sec exposures and just keep the bulk. I'm not doing that though, with M42. I have to drop back to 55mm & I'm taking: 200 lights x 5 sec, ISO 800 ... keep 50-90% 200 lights x 8 sec, ISO 800 ... keep 50-60% Stack 'em individually & then stack 'em together Once it clears, I'm layering a-bit & doing, around 250 exposures @55mm: 50 lights x 3 sec 150 lights x 5 sec 50 lights x 8 sec 25 lights x 10 sec 25 lights x 20 sec and just keep the good ones. All-in-all, 300-400 frames or so. Below is a 100 stack; 100 lights x 5-15 sec, ISO 800, using a 75-300mm lens @ 75mm. None were keepers. I just wasted 160 exposures, to find the SLT's 75mm limit. Image. 75-300mm Canon lens test of the M42 Orion Nebula. Image resized to 614x480 JPEG. Canon T6 mounted on the SLT, no 'scope None of the 100 frames were keepers, at 75mm, using an SLT mount. 5, 8 & 15 sec is simply too long, using 75mm. They all have to be thrown out, even with a 2 star alignment to Betelgeuse & Rigel & then a synch to M42. The nebula is there & I was able to extract colros. Structure & hyrogen is present.

How much weight does that EQ hold? Will it hold a full size 8" 203-1200mm DOB?

It's like that.

I'm starting DSO too, much fun. With GIMP, my little trick is, if I can't create a good black background to rid of light pollution, by layering & merging down, I go to "Colors," "Levels," and under All channels, I choose "Pick all black points for all channels," that's the black dropper. I then right click, what I want to clean up on the image, usually red. That gets rid of vingetting instantly. It allows for more curves. I blew out the core & colors but I got my colored spiral, that was the trade off. I do have elongation but this is a widefield test, not a best image possible. My next test is 200 light frames x 30 sec, @ 55 mm, with an intervalometer, 20 darks & 20 bias. I'll probably throw out 40%, due to SATS, airplanes & elongation but my alt-az is good for 56%+ keepers overall. I simply have to shoot more. Image. M31 Andromeda Galaxy. Point & shoot widefield. Canon T6; 18-55mm, @ 55 mm; 50 Lights x 30 sec & 5 Darks, ISO 1600. GIMP & cropped to 670 x 480 JPEG. Celestron SLT alt-az mount. January, 2020. U see, what I did, to get color, to come out?

Did you finish the mosaic?

Those are superior images. They're better than the local confederate ASTRO club & observatory.

Where's the color, did you desaturate & loose it? That's good data. I did 100 lights x 30 sec & 10 darks.

Your Andromeda pic looks best. Image 1. Widefield of M45 Las Pleiades. No 'scope, just camera. Canon T6 18-55 mm. Celestron SLT mount. 10 light x 15 sec, 3 darks. Location B5 red zone. January 2020. Image 2. Widefield of M31 Andromeda Galaxy. No 'scope or flter, just camera. Canon T6 18-55 mm, 55 mm. 94 light x 15 sec, 11 darks. B5 red zone. January 2020. Image 3. Widefield of M31 Andromeda Galaxy cropped. Settings from image 2. January 2020. I'm going to try 20 & 30 sec exposures next, take a trip to the country. I'm surprised my alt-az mount didn't elongate my stars. I'm only supposed to be able, to do 5 sec exposures @ 55 mm, using the 500 rule. Other than that, I will have to zoom out to 18-35 mm or so, for 20-30 sec exposures. Any Tips?

That's good. I captured 20 GB, worth of frames, with my Neximage 5, at 100-115 fps, with ROI. 1 min produced 6,900 frames, 2 min 15,000 frames. Image 1. Capturing planet Venus, with the Neximage 5, using a 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain. O-III filter, at 115 fps, RGB32 & ROI. 2020.

Here is an old sketch, during the Messier Observing Program. I noted, about 100 stars, with my 8" DOB. I used a dim red Orion key chain light, during this one. Image 1. Pencil sketch of M42, with 8 inch dobsonian classic; original & color inversion (B&W). Sketch 1 of 3. 2015, H.F.

How do you have an observatory & image, with an unmodified DSLR? You sure, it isn't your backyard? In the U.S, private observatory cameras are still $10-$30K & those 'scopes still use spectrometers. 2-4 hr continuous recordings, at minimum, for private amateur non-sponsored state observatories. They wil still not be sponsored, by the state or nation.

DSLRs, without 'scope, would still be an upgrade to a G3, just by being able to take widefield exposures. The G3 & G4 are too narrow field & you can't snapshot, with included software. I'm looking into upgrading my Sony CCD DSLR, which I prefer, over the G4.

Sort it out? I have the Neximage 5 & it's a basic widefield camera, not narrowfield. Option 1 I found your problem, you are starting, at too low "Resolution." You can leave auto on, for gain. Go ahead & max out your resolution, at 2592x1944. You just have to get Saturn displayed on screen somewhere first. Center it, with hand controller, move it 'till centered & focus it. Now, lower resolution to 1920x1080; center it. Now, lower it, to 640x480 and center it. The planet should be centered, if you are tracking. Record. Option2 Start, at 2592x1944, use binning & decrease view to 20%. Saturn should be there, with the Neximage 5. Center Saturn, with your 'scopes tracker. Repeat, at lower resolutions, 'till you reach 640x480. Record. The Neximage 5 has a basic FPS Max of 52 FPS, at 640x480, not 30 FPS. Max it out. This is the N5's resolution chart: 640x480 50-52 1024x768 27 1280x720 25 1280x960 19 1920x1080 13 1600x1200 13 2048x1536 9 2560x1920 6 2592x1944 6 You can increase the Neximage 5's FPS, by choosing "Region of Interest (ROI)." With ROI selected, Jupiter records, like this: N5: 328x264 1 min @ 115 FPS.............6,900 Frames 1:30 min @ 115 FPS.......10,350 Frames 2 min @ 115 FPS.............13,800 Frames With ROI selected, Saturn records, 136x108, at 316 FPS. This is the quick chart: 1 min @ 316 FPS..........18,960 Frames 1:30 min @ 316 FPS.....28,350 Frames 2 min @ 316 FPS...........37,800 Frames That's a-lot of frames for a USB 2.0 camera. N5 users are not limited to 640x480, at 50-52 FPS. You can get 100-315 FPS or so, if you ROI planets. If you still need more, get the Neximage 10 (N10), which is twice as good & faster. Basically, double the N5's FPS, per above chart. That's 37,000 frames for Saturn, not 750, 1,000 or a few thousand! You must master your Neximage 5 & iCap to its potential.

I finally tested the CAM yesterday, anyone on the forum know, why the G4 keeps disconnecting & not being able to reconnect, not recognized? It does it, while loop binning 2x2 and with Sharpcap. It must be able to bin, to find & center, like other cameras. This thing is supposed to work, out of the box. There is no dedicated support page for troubleshooting or chart.

To this day, CCDs are still better overall. For filter, a light pollution. The G4 records for 60 minutes & it's "Sequence" programmable. It's a dedicated DSO camera, not a light filtered DSLR, that records for 30 seconds, uncooled, with noise. With the G4, the cooler drops temp. from 70° F to 24° F & you don't have to edit noise in photoshop. As for compatibility, since you have a Skywatcher, your price & match is the Orion G-series of cameras anyway, not a Nikon DSLR. You would be downgrading to a non-astro camera. Like placing a non-astro camera on a good imaging telescope. It doesn't match. To be a professional astronomer, & raise your rank, a person must use dedicated DSO cameras, no-matter what anyone says. You can never make rank or get a promotion, uing a DSLR, as your primary CAM. No professional observatory uses DSLRs, no matter what & your cameras are going to all be CCDs, with up to 100 watercooled & programmed to record. Last year, I setup meteor sensors, throughout Texas; from Houston to Dallas. Readup on Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). My college teachers were from NASA's actual & real flight safety control room, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U. My astronomy teacher earned his MS, at the Australia observatory overseas. I had already observed his thesis on active galaxies. The G4 is alright, it lets me see, what I need to, at home. Image. Orion Starshoot G4 camera.

Orion Starshoot G4 To connect & disconnect the camera, it's specific & the correct order has to be followed. To connect the Starshoot G4, in proper order: Plugin camera via USB cable Click "Connect" Plugin 12v fan power Click "Cooler On" Ready! To disconnect the Orion Starshoot G4, in proper order: Click "Cooler Off" (Let temp. rise back up to ambient/normal) Click "Disconnect" Unplug 12v fan power Unplug camera USB cable Yes, with a room temperature of 70° F, the cooler fan lowers the camera's temperature to 24° F, at 100% power. It's steady. That's a 45° F temperature reduction. 70° F is, where Hubble's mirrors are kept at. The software is downloaded in order, ASCOM then Orion Camera Studio. The installer will tell you, that there is an available update. I updated, without problems. Like, with Celestron's Neximage series & iCap recording software, you can't go around disconnecting & connecting cables, like a crazed mad man. You will have to restart all of those apps, by closing & opening them again. The cameras are different but the same software can be used. The Orion G4 has a much much higher QE, 1 hr recording exposure and the cooling system is way different. Image 1. Orion Starshoot G4. 2020. Image 2. Orion Starshoot G4. Fan cooler operating, at 100% power. 2020. Autoguiding Telescope: Celstron SLT Mount and Orion Starshoot G4 Camera Telescopes Tested: Celestron 90 mm MAK-CASS & Orion 127 mm MAK-CASS 127 mm MAK-CASS The Celestron SLT GOTO mount, 127 mm MAK-CASS & 60 mm guidescope combo does not work together. It's simply too off-balanced & heavy. The motor isn't strong enough & slips completely. Guaranteed to reach the breakout point. The Orion Starshoot G4 camera is also too heavy. At any altitude past 60' or so, it will slip. You could maybe image but it has to be, at very low altitudes, 45' or less. No Autoguiding! 90 mm MAK-CASS The 60 mm guidescope still off-balances the SLT mount. Balancing results were basically the same, too much rear weight. You can not autoguide correctly. The motor reaches its friction release point. However, the Orion Starshoot G4 camera can, yes, be used, with the 90 mm MAK-CASS & SLT mount only. You must use a red dot finder though. No Autoguiding! You would have to use a mini guidescope, not a 60 mm and then use the the lighter Orion G3 camera, a mini-mini, very light small combo. You are going to have to be lighter than my 90 mm. You are not going to be able, to use a dual finder bracket, at all, in a any combo, with either 'scope, if you plan on, using an actual guiding 'scope. SLT MOUNT: G4 WITH MAK 90 MM ONLY! RED DOT FINDER OR VERY LIGHT FINDER 'SCOPE.

You doing real good job, you have way better DSLR than me & your Moon looks nice, with smooth seas & neutral color. That's a good gray. I'm fighting the autofocus from my Sony 20.0 MP DSC-H300 Cybershot, I can't turn it off because it's fixed, even in manual. I cant changeout my lens. I could never stack these anyway because there was 95%+ cloud cover, bad weather & I know, I had some thin atmosphere cover during snapshots. It was a real drag: wait & luck out for maybe a 10 sec window of opportunity. I finally called it, after 2-4 hr. You right, Moon doesn't require filters, if using a DSLR. I change ISO & shutter speed for my contrast but with this 12" 'scope, I have way too much light. It can blind me permanently. Even these are over exposed, with filters. I have to use polarizing filters, that reduce light pass to 1%-13% for the correct contrast. 13% won't even dim it enough.

For Celestron's SLT GOTO mount version 5 NexStar+ hand controller (HC), the firmware update is: Firmware Update: HC:NSX 5.31.9200 ... MC: 5.18 5.18 Factory Version: 5.25.4320 ... MC: 5.18 5.18 There are patches & bug fixes but none are mandatory, only if you have serious problems, with the HC. It looks, like motor control remains the same. I had to re-input my customized settings, such as, time, date, location, adjust scrolling speed -, turn GPS back "On" and Sun "On." You don't have to manually put the hand controller in any programing or boot mode. The CFM application will automatically detect connection & place the HC in correct mode. Image 1. Nexstar+ hand cotroller update version. Image 2. CFM application

Yes, the AUX jacks on the motor, hand controller & GPS are good for autoguiding, CPU cable & GPS. In total, 3 AUX jacks. Also, there are wedges available for aligning to "EQ-North." You just have to find them in stock. To aid in tracking, you replace stars, as you go, atleast once or realign the ones you originally aligned & then you have to specifically synch, to the object you are imaging. You synch to your object, right before you image but even before that, pick 2 stars, for your 2 star alignment, that are nearby. For example, for viewing & imaging M42 & M43, I start, with Capella & Rigel, in Auriga & Orion. "Yeah close, it' only 1 constellation away but it's in the same area of sky & it reduces tracking error." While I'm at M42 or Rigel getting setup, I have Rigel nearby, to replace & align Rigel again quickly. You will still align. Then, I replace Capella, with Betelgeuse. Now, I have Betelgeuse & Rigel, as my alignment stars. "Yeah close, it's a constellation star alignment but it places M42 & M43 in the middle (You know), that being my second, "Two-Star Alignment." Just before viewing & imaging long term, I do a 3rd; replace & align Rigel again, as a nearby alignment star. GOTO M42, center it & synch to it. Perform a 2nd synch, to have it nice & centered, just before imaging. That's even, with using my Celestron GPS. I disagree, a-lot of the info previously posted is just wrong & incomplete. Image 1. Celestron Nexstar+ SLT, with Orion Apex 127 mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope. I have the CPU cable connected to my hand controller because my SKYsync GPS always goes, with me. The SKYsync itself also has an AUX jack. The unit is powered, with an AC adapter. Image 2. The AUX jack on the SLT's motor. I use it for Celestron's SKYsync GPS component.

Full Moon=Do Moon to me. You lucky, I only had degrees to work with & 98% cloud cover. I had to shoot the 2020 Full Moon, through mess, picking open spots, maybe 10-15 sec available. In 4 hr, I had maybe a few minutes worth of total seeing. I tend to neglect the Moon, since it's common but I'm making it a habit, to concentrate on our nearest moon-planet more, since it's, what we have readily available.

One of my 'scopes is an Orion 127 mm MAK-CASS on a Celestron SLT & I have a few CAMs but here is my very first planetary test, with the Neximge 5, from many years ago. 1 min recording, no barlow & no drizzling. The Neximage 10 is way better & the ZWO ASI178MC is even faster but costs more. Planets don't require expensive cameras at all but the ZWO 178 & 183 really are superior performing CAMs. Depends on, how much $500 means to you. Worth a CAM? For your 127 mm, you will, eventually need atleast a 0.5x barlow for planets, unless you drizzle, during processing & 0.5x focal reducer for the Moon & Sun. The prospectus for the Neximage 5 & your combo is very good, you will beat that linked Jupiter pic very easily, with a color CAM. Just record once in color & don't worry about debayering & alignment problems later, like he had. Contrasting is, about likeness. His Jupiter turned out blurry. You can always contrast the color later. Remember, our alt-az mounts suffer from field rotation, which will mess up your captures (Look in-to Celestron's new autoguider for a bit more). You might not actually have time to capture in all LRGB colors & then make darks, due to Jupiter's rotation. You can caputure for a bit more & equal the light, all at once. CAPTURING TECHNIQUE & PROCESS EDITING. I'm perfectly round, no blurring & no misalignments. This is with a MAK-CASS though. Image. Absolute first test, with defauts. 90 mm MAK-CASS & 1 min. Neximage 5.

I'm testing my new 0.5x FR, for my 90 mm & 127 mm MAK-CASS' but it fogged up, with low 30s F temps. That's, with 2 dew heaters & now the weather is bad.

Good pic 😎, good 'nough. It's on my list, not much better alt or sky here either: Little Beehive Cluster (S 38°, 11 pm -12 am) OC

Super good picture. I use Neewer LRGB & the Orion G4 'Color.'