Stuf1978

Well the thread has certainly prompted some discussion on the merits of astrophotography as a whole but I think we can all agree when it all comes together there's nothing more rewarding. There's opinions going both ways so it hasn't really helped my dilemma 😂 I guess I should really see what this winter brings and take it from there unless I have an overnight epiphany 😂

There's some great responses here chaps, it's all greatly appreciated. I've never know a hobby that's so equally rewarding and frustrating in equal measures. As others have mentioned this year has been particularly awful which hasn't helped with my mojo in the slightest.

Love it 👍 That's really good going. I'd consider a good 6-8 hours per night on a single target a success so managing 194 for the year is a fairly healthy number. Kudos 👍

Mark that really is a great post, thank you. I still am passionate about it and still find it incredible that we can image what we do in our own back gardens with relatively modest equipment and I knew full well the weather was crap when buying all the gear but seeing it sitting there not being used is disheartening. However, maybe I do need to be more relaxed about it and learn to play the long game. Family life has taken over in the last couple of years which has lead to guilt in missing out on the occasional clear night.... but do you know what, it doesn't really matter. If I miss out on shooting something one year it's not like it won't be coming back round the year after 😄

I don't want to throw more money at the problem if I'm honest. This year has been woeful. Unfortunately I don't have the space for an observatory so setting up and dismantling is a necessity.

Yeah doesn't take too long. Maybe 45 minutes as everything needs to be set up from scratch everytime. Set up time doesn't really concern me when I only get 4 imaging sessions in a year 😂

Thanks Steve, good to hear the interest is starting to return. Maybe I should look at alternatives, remote imaging could be one solution to plug those cloudy gaps as I still do enjoy the processing side of it 😄

Yeah I've found that over the last couple of years too. Oct to Feb seem to be ok(ish) but the rest of the year is a write off

I can count on one hand the number of imaging sessions I've had this year and non at all in the last 6 months. It's either constantly cloudy or other things getting in the way (which isn't anything to do with geography) but, it's got to the point where I'm considering selling up as I'm sitting on several thousands of pounds worth of equipment that barely gets used. It would be fine if you could guarantee several clear on the trot on a regular basis but this just never happens and I guess I'm becoming a little disillusioned with it all. Does anyone else ever get like this and how have you managed to snap out of it? Or has anyone sold up their gear and regretted it or conversely found selling up has liberated them from the need to not waste a clear night? Guess I'm just venting my thoughts but would like to know what others think. Thanks Stu

Stunning, not an easy target at all

Brilliant work, looks great

Thanks 😁

Thank you, really appreciated 👍

Shot over the course of last week from my bortle 8 garden, combining 14.5 hours of narrowband data with 1.5 hours of broadband data for the stars. WO Redcat, HEQ5 Pro, ZWO ASI294MC Pro, Optolong L-eXtreme and UV/IR cut Critique welcome :)

That is exactly what I found, I had the basic structure at 5 hours with OSC but I had to really push the data and it looked awful. I reckon I'd need to gather 20 plus hours of OSC data from my location to get a presentable image which I just wasn't prepared to do. Tough target for sure

That is spectacular, great work I tried shooting the spaghetti nebula with a OSC camera (from bortle 8 )and gave up after collecting 5 hours of data due to having very little signal to play with (and clear nights being at a premium). This image highlights the power of mono!!

Good luck. I can sympathise with the weather, this winter has been awful so far for imaging. That looks brilliant, with narrowband you lose all that dust and reflection nebulosity below the horse head.

Why not shoot both and combine. The HH area is indeed rich in ha but there are also reflection elements too. I always think a combination of both narrowband and broadband data suits this area well. A bit like M42 when people shoot it in narrowband, I think it loses some of its charm. I'm convinced m42 works best as a broadband target.

I agree and don't normally obsess over star shapes too much, as long as they are round(ish) I'm happy. However, these are truely awful 😂

Thank you, but it's definitely an image to be appreciated by not zooming in 😂

I'm using APT and the flats aid and target an adu of 25000, with my L-eXtreme I usually get flats between 4-5 seconds. I then just do my dark flats at the same exposure time as the flats and it calibrates first time every time. I shoot flats/dark flats every imaging session as my equipment needs tearing down so don't know whether that's relevant. The 294MC Pro really is very capable for the price, but given no budget restraints then I probably would have gone for the 2600MC Pro.

The 294MC Pro gets a lot of bashing for this and it's mostly unjustified. Mine has calibrated perfectly evertime, you just need to ensure your individual flats are over a few seconds long and jobs a good'un 😃

Following on from this thread: Thought I'd try fiddling with the set up of the lens on the dslr adaptor to see if could improve the star shapes by taking some of the lens weight off the bayonet by packing out the space between the lens foot and dovetail. Well it did sod all 😂 more investigation required. Not wanting to waste a clear night I just let it run anyway and ended up with 6.5 hours of 5 minute subs. Sigma 150mm F2.8 macro at F3.5 ZWO ASI294MC PRO HEQ5 Pro Star shapes are awful but this lens can't half collect photons 😃

This looks great, nicely done. Hoping to give this one a go next if the weather ever plays nice.

The short side of the sensor is facing the dovetail in this configuration which suggests that the weight of the lens may be the issue. I'll try bracing the lens against the dovetail so the bayonet isn't taking all the weight and see what impact that has. 🤞