barkingsteve

After 3 years doing lucky imaging and EAA i thought i would start dipping my toes into AP. This is my first attempt so putting this here for posterity   Still allot to learn about processing, settings, guiding, etc. but that is why i visit these forums  

Ioptron GEM 45 with TS  8" F/4 newt

294 MC Pro with Altair Astro tri band filter ( bortle 8 skies ) -10c gain 120

62 x 30 second stack ( unguided ) captured with sharpcap pro ( master flat and dark applied )

processed in Siril.

61 EDPH II @ F/5.5 and 178mm with the 642 ir pass filter. Best 25% of 5k, stacked in AS3, sharpened in registax and processed in photoshop.

15 hours ago, GrahamD said:

Thanks for your reply !  
 

Can I also ask what software are you using to capture with, I’m using ASIAIR pro and the video function restricts me to 1960x1080 so can’t use the full potential of the 294

thanks 
Graham

Hi Graham,

   i use sharpcap pro and capture in .ser then stack in autostakkert , sharpen ( wavelets ) in registax before i finish processing in photoshop.

Hi Graham,

Thank you, I use photoshop to increase the saturation and vibrance then balance the colour. try not to over saturate though  

Edit: supplier contacted again.

C925 with the 294mc pro and ir/uv cut. 2 panel mosaic, best 25% of 2.5k

2 panel mosaic with the C925 and 294mc pro with ir/uv cut. Best 25% of 2.5k

C925 with the 178mm and 642 ir pass, Best 25% of 2.5k

You could try M27 ( Dumbbell ) Which is an easy target or NGC 2359 ( Thor's Helmet ) which is a little trickier. They give a nice colour contrast, here is my M27 from earlier in the year with the altair tri band, 130 p-ds and 294mc pro. This is a 15 second exposure  x 20 frame stack.

Freezing cold but clear, so dusted off the 130 pds. 178mm with ir pass filter, 2 panel mosaic and best 30%  of 2.5k. 

With the 61EDPH II at F/5.5 and a 178mm with a 642 ir pass filter. best 25% of 5k

Another quick test of the new mount, this time with the cannon ( C925 ) on it, balancing was fine with a single 9.5kg counter weight. 2 panel mosaic with the 294mc pro and ir/uv cut filter. Best 15% of 1k, clouds were coming over before the tube had time to cool properly but was almost there, and focusing done by eye ( clouds approaching fast, no time to use the bahtinov ) 

This was more of a quick test of my new mount ( GEM45 ) Thank you @FLO for getting it to me before xmas  this is my first eq mount, so allot to learn    

61EDPH II with the F/4.5 reducer, 294mc pro with IDAS p2 filter ( was set up for eaa but this was just to test the mount ) best 25% of 5k

31 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

For some strange reason people get defensive when talking about EEVA

People have in their minds different definitions and this will never change and cause conflict. If you know what happened on another astronomy forum when trying to define EAA, you know what i am talking about 😅

Somewhere in between visual astronomy and astrophotography ? 🤨 

C925 with 178mm and ir pass filter.  My evo mount decided to develop a fault tonight but managed a few before it died    best 20% of 1.5k

Should be illegal to post such amazing images of the moon, NASA will be after you for copyright   

Hi Mike,

         Smaller pixels would be a better match for the short focal length, although i would be losing a little sensitivity i would be gaining resolution and getting finer detail.

Edit:  Here a few more from the other night, i saved these as fits by mistake, so they have been processed somewhat. Still 20 second exposures but i had an IDAS D2 filter in.

NGC 1520 and NGC 1545 - 26 Frames

M33 - 25 Frames

M31 - 30 Frames

Double Cluster - 30 Frames

Finally got to test this for widefield EEVA tonight after 2 weeks of clouds. Set up on the evolution mount with the reducer ( down to F/4.5 ) 294mc pro and AA tri band filter. All images are stacked 20 second exposures, saved as viewed and resized in photoshop ( down to 50% ) results are encouraging but a smaller pixel camera might be in order next year  

M42 - 25 frames

M45 - 40 frames

NGC 2174 - 30 frames

NGC 2244 - 31 frames

The first time is always memorable   

Then all i can say is good luck and enjoy  

The 8se and 8" evo are the same tubes so there should be no difference in views. The 10" dob might give slightly better views due to the increased aperture but is at f/4.7 natively compared to f/10 with the other scopes. If you are planning to move it around, the evo has a built in battery and wifi which would be an advantage and is sturdier than the 8se.

Your fov will be tiny and the stacking software will struggle to stack frames. I think you have 2 choices, spend big on a full frame camera or use something smaller like a 60mm f/5-f/6 refractor or a small fast reflector. Not to be a party pooper but i think you will have a very frustrating time with this setup.

2 panel mosaic using a c925 and 294mc pro. Best 20% of 1.5k stacked in as3, stitched with ICE, sharpened in registax and processed in photoshop.

Thank you. Just processed a few more i had from last night with the 178....

After waiting 3 hours, the clouds finally cleared for 15 minutes. 2 panel mosaic with the 925 and the 294mc pro. best 20% of 1k, stacked in as3 and processed in photoshop.

And a closer look at Petavius with the 178mm and a 642 ir pass filter.