Nigella Bryant

Okay, so decided to go the windows route and use allsky software. Decided to use my old Zwo Asi 120mm and USB 2 connection to laptop as the simplest route. I'd ordered a new mono zwo asi usb3 camera for my solar imaging so it made sense to make use of the old usb2 camera. Now all I have to do is put it all together now I have all the bit's in place.

This last dimming cycle is quite unusual as the star is at record low brightness, and this dimming is significant enough to be seen by the naked eye. The latest data has the magnitude of the star at 1.5, which is 0.2 magnitudes dimmer than the previous known record of 1.3 magnitudes in 1927 and 1941.

Thought I'd post just in case James, be a mistake of me if I didn't, extra advertising for the person if it's different, lol.

There's someone selling a broadhurst and Clarkson antique 3inch refractor tube only on astro adds, sorry if it's anyone who's honest, just thought I'd post it. Pics taken from the add.

Welcome and hope your new found excitement grows.

Welcome Steve, enjoy the forum.

I'm in North Devon but I think they're others on SGL that live around your area.

Where abouts in Devon? I'm in Devon, lol. The old saying is "where it rains 8 days out of 7" lol.

I use the star analyser 100 with my 12inch f4 Newtonian. Not done much due to regime change (well, house move). Attached is my attempt at Vega with bass project software. I have found the software easy to use for a beginner.

Great start, thanks for sharing. Funny how a lot of us start imaging with the orion nebula, lol. Here's my first attempt too. Lot's of things wrong with it and haven't done much since cus of circumstances. Well done.

Hi Mark, welcome back to the forum. Hopefully hear of your escapades this time round, lol.

Smartphones are getting really good these days. This image was taken with my Huwawei P10 in Pro mode. 30sec at iso800. Orion taken with same settings. I have an annoying streetlight giving the orange glow but Council have shielded it. Sorry if I've high jacked the post, didn't mean too, just shared what my phone can do too, lol. Have fun.

Welcome Barry, looks like you're off to a great start.

Antares 0.5x Focal Reducer 1.25 threaded to a zwo Asi camera nose piece.

Hiya, yes full disk using 0.5 reducer.

I started solar observing with a coronado Pst, it was difficult to get focus plus imaging was difficult too because of the focuser. I then went to the lunt 35mm which seemed to have better disk features and better focus. Last year I went for a lunt 60mm and then doublestack this year. Don't have experience of the 50mm. One thing to keep in mind is that it's much cheaper to double stack a 50mm lunt than the 60mm. 60mm doublestack filter is astronomical in price compared to the 50mm. The only down size is a dimmer image and also limiting magnification. Also you'd need a cover over your scope and head to see a better contrast. So really as with all scopes the biggest is better as far as light gathering and resolution. If I could afford it I would go for an 80mm double stack, lol, but I'm satisfied with my lunt 60mm double stack (pressure tuned). Picking up second hand is a good choice and you'd get a double stack for the same price as a single stack.

Thanks Gina, think I'll go the pi route then. Can the rpi3 be used with windows 10pc? I'm not that well versed in programming. Is it just a question of plugging in to the pi and picking up on a new network on the windows pc? Sorry for all the dumb questions. Just getting my head around running the AllSkyCamera from my pc.

Thanks Gina, think I'll go the pi route then.

Another question. Instead of running usb cable's can I use a raspberry pi3 and use WiFi or Bluetooth with the zwo camera's.

Hi Lee, have fun with your imaging and belated welcome.

I've found the second hand equipment that I've bought has always had little issues which the seller had not disclosed. Fortunately I've been able to correct these by either upgrading items like focuser, etc, if the scopes are cheap enough second hand, also a dew sheild on another scope was sliding when pointed upwards but took this apart to repair. I've had a solar scope with discoloured blue filter but this was replaced cheaply. With this in mind it's a hit and miss and I'd only pay 50% in future.

Brilliant peps, thanks for all the tips. I'll download the AllSkyEye this evening. Might try the lens that came with the camera but I think that is 150 degree's. It might be enough as my North horizon is none existent with monkey puzzle trees, etc.

Thanks Dave, I was thinking a clear outdoor/waterproof silicone cealent. Yeah, going to add stainless steel washers. Lens is going to be the difficult thing. I was thinking £50 tops, lol. Didn't think to cover the dome with something b4 drilling, yeah, dumb, newbie mistake at DIY astronomy.

Hi all, I'm doing an all sky camera (more heath Robinson). Managed to scrape the clear plastic dome whilst drilling. I'm hoping it won't have any detrimental affect on performance but I'll have to see. Can always order a replacement if needed. Cost £50 excluding the camera. It'll be based on the Zwo Asi 224mc which I had hanging around. I've also got a Zwo120mm so not sure to use that instead. It'll be interchangeable anyway which I end up using. I'm finding it difficult to get hold of a reasonablely priced 180 degree lens at the moment so any suggestions would be much appreciated. I tidy things up when I seal the dome with clear cealent. Also I need a 15m length of usb3 cable for the 224mc as against usb2 for the old 120mm. What software are people running on Windows 10?

Thanks, that's very interesting to see.