Space Oddities

Sorry, I meant Plössl, not Nagler! It's basically the 2 eyepieces (10mm and 25mm) sold with most entry level scopes nowadays. I assume they're also entry level, but it's hard to say, having never peered into higher end ones! In terms of budget, it's hard to say... Maybe 200-250£ max in total. I'll probably try to find used ones anyway. I don't mind investing in something that will last a few years, but my focus being imaging, I can't justify spending a lot on eyepieces. Guess I'm looking for the best bang for the buck!

Since I recently moved to a new apartment with a rooftop, I wanted to get a new scope for planetary imaging, but also observing. There's nothing like showing Saturn's rings to friends coming over for diner! So far I've been using a 4" Maksutov, which is very nice to get started, but I think it's time to upgrade. So the other day I purchased a 8" Classical Cassegrain telescope, after much deliberation. I really can't wait to use it, but I'll need some additional equipment first. I only have (and looked through) the basic eyepieces provided with my cheap 102mm Maksutov. Can't say they're bad, since they showed me things I'll never forget! But I'd like something worth mounting on the new scope. What eyepiece(s) would you recommend? A bit of context: - I'm mainly an imager, so my knowledge about eyepieces is close to non-existent - I have a 2" William Optics diagonal, a 28mm Sky-Watcher eyepiece (from my Newtonian), a couple 1.25" diagonals (90/45) (the cheap ones), a 2.5x 1.25" Barlow from TS Optics (a mid-range one, from what I've read) and a couple entry level Plössl (10mm & 25mm) - My goal is mainly to observe planets, the Moon, double stars... and perhaps look at some bright DSOs if the scope allows it, but that's secondary - I live in a Bortle 7, but in the future I might join some folks in the country side for star parties - I'm looking for 1, maximum 2 eyepieces to get started - I don't want to break the bank (said everyone in a his hobby...) - I'm 32, so I guess I'm starting a lifelong collection - I'm wearing glasses I'd love to hear your recommendations! Also if you have some articles or documentation about eyepieces for beginners, feel free to throw them in! Thank you!

I made a quick HaRGB version, using the same process overall. Colors are just 5x3 min each, mixed with about 30x5 min Ha (3h45). Those stars look better to me! I'll try to make a new SHO version without the stars, and reintegrate the RGB afterwards. I'm starting to understand how PixInsight works now

Very impressive! This 2nd version looks fantastic!

Here is my first SHO image! I'm very happy with the result Nights are short here in Nantes, but I still wanted a complete set of images. So this is just a stack of 20 Ha, 15 OIII and 15 SII, minus a few rejected subs, all 5 min long. About 3.5 hours of exposure in total. Plus a bunch of darks. Gear used: William Optics RedCat 51, ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro, with Baader SHO 7nm filters, riding on the RainbowAstro RST-135. Controlled via the ASIAIR Pro from the comfort of my bed! I stacked everything in DSS, then edited the most part in PixInsight. I compensated the lack of integration time with the excellent NoiseXterminator plugin, and once again I'm amazed at how good this is. The SHO combination was (I believe) R = 100% SII + 20% Ha, G = 100% Ha, B = 100% OIII + 20% Ha. The final touch and color management was done in Lightroom on my iPad. I have to admit the color management is PixInsight still looks very obscure and not user friendly to me, but Lightroom makes an amazing job with selective color adjustments. It's not perfect, and there's a weird halo on the Garnet star, but well, post-processing is where I have the most to learn! Last night I imaged a few subs of SHO and RGB to add to this image. I plan to make a V2 with more integration time and better stars. Maybe create an HOO version too! Critics and feedback welcome! Pierre

Hello! you have to set the guide camera up as the main camera first, do the polar alignment, framing/plate solving, and then you simply disconnect it (in the ASIAIR app) and reconnect as a guide camera. The ASIAIR can work without a main camera connected, but you'll need one if you want to use plate solving and the polar alignment routine 🙂

I usually setup the scope early, but in winter that might be an issue indeed. Good to know thanks!

For anyone interested, I recently ordered a 3D printed copy of this mask, designed to block the stray lights coming from the back. It fits perfectly! The material I selected might be a bit fragile though, perhaps I didn't select the best material and density for the job, but I don't know anything about 3D printing... Let's see if it holds! Skywatcher 130PDS Primary Mirror Back Cover by RolandKol - Thingiverse

Haven't had a chance yet!

I hesitated between the TS GPU and the TS MaxField 0.95x, and finally went for the latter. I have yet to test it, but I heard it's as good as the TS GPU. It is also sold by Altair under their own name. https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/altair-maxfield-corrector.html Some real world pictures here: https://www.astrofotoblog.eu/?tag=maxfield-coma-corrector Also more infos on coma correctors here. The TS GPU (same as Sky-Watcher Aplanatic ?) seems like a popular option and more mixed feelings about the Maxfield:

You won't be able to use the ASIAIR with the Fujifilm camera, indeed. It only works with ZWO, Canon and Nikon cameras (and not all models). Perhaps it will be compatible in the future, but it depends on Fujifilm sharing their API. The only added benefit you would have, is that if you get a ZWO guide camera & guide scope, you can use the ASIAIR to goto/plate solve, guide, dither and polar align. What you'll have to do on your Fuji camera is focus, set the exposure, launch a sequence of photos (internal or external intervalometer). You'll have to check your pictures on the camera's screen. I think the ASIAIR is a great addition if you want to stay mobile. If your imaging camera is a Fuji, you'll have to get a small ZWO guide camera to use the ASIAIR's main functions, but honestly the ability to polar align accurately, guide and plate solve is a huge help. Especially if you want to try narrowband imaging with a dual band filter, like I did above, and keep everything portable. The current ASIAIR Plus is the 3rd generation, but your can pick up a used ASIAIR v1 for about 100€ here. It still works great, especially if you don't need to power up a lot of equipment. They also sell fast, if you ever change your mind!

Absolutely. I use a travel router mainly because the Pro's Wi-Fi is very weak, but also because I might add a 2nd rig. This way I have only one Wi-Fi to connect to, and can run 2 cables from the travel router to the 2 rigs. But if you have an ASIAIR Plus and only one setup, then yes!

Great captures nonetheless!

I setup my ASIAIR on my terrace, which luckily isn't 100m away from my bed but still, the Wi-Fi signal isn't very strong here. Not to mention that the Wi-Fi signal of the ASIAIR Pro is really bad, even when I'm standing next to it. I basically had 2 needs, I suppose you have the same (just with a little more range): Have a fast Wi-Fi connection from the ipad to the ASIAIR while doing the polar alignment, focusing, etc. Have a fast connection from the house, so I can control it from my bed, computer, etc. So what I did is that I run an Ethernet cable through the walls, from my home router to a wall socket, next to the terrace door. From here an ethernet cable to a box, under my astro setup, in which lives a small travel router (as well as the electric stuff). From the travel router, I run a 3rd ethernet cable to the ASIAIR. This works great for me, because when connected to the travel router's Wi-Fi outside, I can control the ASIAIR on my iPad. It's really fast and there's no connection issue like with the ASIAIR. My 26 megapixels image download in just a second. When I'm back inside, the travel router is connected to my home network via Ethernet. So my PC, phone, iPad, connected to the home Wi-Fi, are therefore also connected to my ASIAIR. And everything is fast thanks to Ethernet, as if I were standing next to the mount. I only have to switch my iPad from the travel router's Wi-Fi to the home Wi-Fi, but usually it does it automatically due to the better signal. Ethernet is great because it works on long distances. The maximum range of Ethernet cable is ~100m, so that could work for you. You can also use a range extender somewhere in the middle, or a small router, if the range/speed isn't enough. I powerline adapters, but I got mixed results. The download speed wasn't great, sometimes it dropped. Upload speed was terrible for some reason. I guess it really depends on your electrical installation. If you were to reproduce what I did, you would need: A Wi-Fi repeater, in or very close to your house, that will be used as some kind of antenna: it connects to your home Wi-Fi and broadcasts its signal to the ethernet port. A 100m cable, preferably one that is designed for outdoor use (example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Tronic-Ethernet-Network-Weatherproof-Black/dp/B0816GP5FC/ref=sr_1_3). You connect the 100m cable to the Wi-Fi repeater's Ethernet port. A Wi-Fi router near your telescope, to which you connect the 100m cable (WAN port), and when you connect to its Wi-Fi, you should be connected to your home network. Any Wi-Fi router would work really, even a cheap 2nd hand one. I went for a small travel router, powered via USB, because it takes less space and I only have 3 power plugs. A 2nd Ethernet cable from the small router near your telescope, to the ASIAIR. This way you discard the ASIAIR's Wi-Fi completely, and everything is much faster. It's optional of course, but since you already run a power cable to the ASIAIR, why not add an ethernet cable. Hope that helps

I just spent a couple hours flocking the inside of the tube. It wasn't easy to align all the pieces properly, but I managed to get it done! I'm happy with the result, the inside of the tube is so much darker now. Perhaps this will improve the contrast. The flocking material is good quality, it's very black and the adhesive doesn't look too bad, but just in case I added some glue. Hopefully it will stay in place, it wasn't an easy task! I tried to make a before/after picture, but with the complex lighting situation, it's not a very scientific comparison. But I think the 2nd picture speaks for itself! The scope was facing the window 🙂

Hmm true. And I also just noticed the flare seems exactly parallel to the spikes. Could the spider be involved in this reflection, somehow? I had an interesting read regarding modifications to the bigger brother, the 150P-DS. I already upgraded the dovetail to a Losmandy one, which is very convenient to put the scope on the table, for instance when collimating it. The green dovetail has 2 protruding screws that prevent you from doing that... The Bob's knobs I picked up will definitely help as well, it's so much easier now. I ordered some flocking material, as suggested in this blog post. I realized the inside of the tube is more like a dark gray than a black... And the sides of the secondary mirror aren't painted, so I'm wondering if adding some paint there and on other parts could improve the contrast a bit? Can't be worse, I guess! Finally I need to find something to cover the bottom of the telescope, there is definitely light coming through... Too bad the 3D printed cover shown in the blog post doesn't exist for our 130PDS, it looks great!

Could it be a scratch in the glass of the flattener perhaps?

Welcome Karol! I've been following your blog since I started AP a few years back, I find it very interesting. And your images are excellent!

Hello! So I just came across this video, where Shawn praises the new RC Astro plugin for PixInsight, NoiseXTerminator. The result seemed excellent, so I went ahead and purchased a license. I made a few tests on a barely processed OSC image of the Rosette nebula from a few months ago. I basically stacked, auto stretched and calibrated the colors, but no noise reduction at all. 25x5 min, ZWO ASI 2600MC, Antlia ALT-P dual band, 72mm f/5.5 doublet. I tested a few different settings to see what works best. The default option (0.90 noise, 0.15 detail) is already very good, but overall it looked slightly too plastic for my taste. So I decreased the noise and increased the detail. The result is truly fantastic! I'm really impressed at how the details are preserved, while the noise is eliminated very efficiently. I can't say if it's much better than other options in PixInsight or Photoshop, I'm still discovering the software, but from what I see, that's all I'll ever need. The processing itself is very simple and it took about 15 seconds to process on the full 26 megapixels image. The plugin costs $60, so it's not cheap. I already had the excellent StarXTerminator, so in that case it's only $40. Worth every penny, IMO! Here are a few comparisons shots, to give you an idea. I believe you can see the 1:1 PNG if you click on the image. No noise reduction: Default option (0.9 noise / 0.15 detail): 0.75 noise / 0.30 detail: 0.75 noise / 0.50 detail: And here is a before / after of the overall image with the last settings (don't mind the back focus issue...):

USB doesn't have a very long range indeed, but luckily you could use Ethernet to transport your USB signal. You'd need something like this to convert USB to Ethernet and back to USB: https://www.vtop.shop/products/nt100

Here's mine! Tiny but mighty RST-135, with the Sky-Watcher 130P-DS. Always makes me smile to think I put a 160€ scope on a 4000€ mount 😬

I'm using the relatively new Minisforum GK50 : https://store.minisforum.de/products/elitemini-gk50 https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINISFORUM-Pentium-Silver-N5030-3-10GHz/dp/B0963T2LTW?th=1 It ticked a lot of boxes for me: inexpensive fanless design (doesn't make a sound!) runs off 12V, directly from a classic 5.5mm power cable (5.5x2.5mm), and doesn't consume much power (about 0.8-1 amp when idle, 3 amps max) has 4 USB 3.0 ports, all facing the same side, which can be convenient You can add a 2nd SSD (2.5" SATA) inside, perfect for backup or if you need more space has 2 ethernet ports, which can be useful if you want to use it as a switch of some kind, or relay the wifi into Ethernet (I think it's possible in Windows) comes with Win10 Pro, so very easy to RDP into it comes with a VESA mount, so easy to attach to your rig or in a box like I did. It weighs only 400g There's also the similar GK41 from the same brand, which runs with the Celeron J4125. I think they're both very close, the GK41 might be slightly faster, but the GK50 wins on the power consumption side. The recent Intel N5030 is very efficient! Of course it's not the fastest PC out there, but compared to PC sticks I tried, it's much better. It's really fluid and runs fast enough for the usual astro software. This brand has a good reputation from what I hear, with a nice community behind. I believe they're based in Germany. Really happy with my purchase. Hope that helps!

I think you're using the wrong spacers between the camera and the flattener. The one with 3 screws is designed for an eyepiece, not a camera. I'm pretty sure this is causing the coma. This is what you need to reach 55mm of back focus: Tip: you might want to place the 21mm before the 16.5mm spacer, unlike the diagram above. It will work better with the Askar's rear T2 mount! Some documentation: http://www.askarlens.com/index.php/class3/186.html https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/tutorials/best-back-focus-length-solutions-55mm.html

Superb! I just received this filter, but my new apartment is still full of boxes and I haven't had a chance yet to set my equipment up. This filter looks like an excellent companion for the 135, and seems to be dealing with halos pretty well too, compared to similar filters!

Superb capture! Any plan to add some color?