daemon

34 minutes ago, hyak said:

Do you guys have cookies? I was told the dark side would have cookies, that's why I'm here. 

I think you need to "accept cookies" and my cookies are simply unacceptable!! 😝

As an exiled Geordie I'm not sure I should be welcoming a Smoggie! 😉 But here goes........

All the best on the journey....it certainly is a great hobby....The Esprit scope is a dream of mine and a good aspiration to have if you can afford that range.

Wave bye bye to that severance money!!! 😜🤣

Welcome to the dark side! 😉

I should also have mentioned that in "M" mode you also need to take full control over FOCUS as it won't be done for you. There is quite a bit to take into account if you have not used a DSLR before. Try looking at the book "Making Every Photon Count". It's probably the best starting point for all things related to Astophotography for beginners.

I have a Nikon D5300 but not familiar with your model - I can't imagine there is a lot of difference. Bulb mode is normally selected by putting the camera into "M" (Manual) mode when you have full control over ISO, Aperture and Exposure length.

If just using a tripod stick to relatively short exposures (maybe 5 to 10 seconds) to avoid star trailing. But it really depends on the target you are after and what size scope you have. Good luck and clear skies!

3 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Half hour ! That's a great image for such a short time. Loving the purple/ copper combo.

Cheers Mark! Well, half hour each filter - maybe an extra 10 mins on the Ha. Can't recall the subs I ended up stacking! 😜

I'm in Bortle 5, probably trending 4 though so sky was pretty good. The NB filters obviously help.

Glad you like the colours - I'm usually not very good with them!

That looks fab to me! Can't comment too much on the colours, being colour blind myself... 😜

Detail is great though and especially for just 90 minutes if I am right.

Heading to Spain myself soon hopefully and will seek out that target.

Cheers!

Here's the result of a VERY short session on the Western Veil from a couple of week's ago when the night's were even shorter.

I only managed about a 1/2 hour each of Ha and OIII (15 x 120" subs on each filter). Maybe a few more on the Ha. I only just got around to processing it and may have rushed it a bit.

Criticism and comments are welcome. It's probably too saturated for some people's taste but hey ho.

S/W 150 PDS and ASI1600MM on EQ6RPro.

Thanks for looking.

Steve

1 hour ago, MarkAR said:

Looks good to me, colour wise it's all down to personal choice. Most people go for pink/blue combo.

Thanks Mark! Yes I agree about choice. I may try a re-process with alternate colours and in Pixinsight when I get a chance.

Just 2 hours from last night on Pickering's Triangle in the Veil Nebula. 

20 x 180" Ha - 20 x 180" OIII - Darks and Flats - ASI1600MM on S/W 150PDS. Astro Pixel Processor & GIMP.

Not sure about the colours. 

Thanks for looking.

Steve

Doh! I realised the last version was far too contrasty….so here goes with a definite final attempt with this data. Tried to be a bit mores subtle. Enough now.

Well, I tried to produce an HOO image with the data I had and to be honest it didn't really work this time. I tried various PixelMath adjustments in PI but it did not seem to make a lot of difference. So I just went back to my original SHO integration and tweaked the post processing a bit. I've probably sacrificed some of the more subtle data for contrast and a darker background, but hey ho. Not sure I can do better with this data.

Once I fix the Coma Corrector spacing issue I'll try again on this target. Cheers!!

Even better! That's a great M13! I like the star colours and the way NGC6207 stands out even more.

7 hours ago, alacant said:

Hi

Lovely shot. I find colour by far the most difficult part of astro processing. 

The Baader MPCC needs 57.5 mm from the shoulder of the m48 thread on the corrector to the camera sensor. I suspect you have only 55mm.

FWIW, I found the t2 route a bodge. Get a proper 48mm adaptor and eiether a 3mm or 4mm m48 spacer. A low profile filter ring without the glass is fine.

Cheers and HTH

 

This is great info alacant!! Really helpful. Thanks for posting it! 🙂

1 hour ago, steppenwolf said:

I am a great fan of HOO and I suspect that you will find it an interesting way to image. Your first (green) image colours are typical of those of 'original' Hubble palette images and many astronomers manipulate the colouring to produce what is generally termed the 'gold and turquoise' palette which many feel is more attractive. One of the great things about 'false colour' narrowband imaging is that anything goes, there is no correct way!

I agree Steve. I do think I will become a big fan of narrowband. I love the flexibility that you mention. Especially as I am colour blind! 😁

I have both your books by the way and I am a big fan! Always dipping into them!

Cheers,

Steve

Thanks everyone for all your comments!! Really appreciated!! 

Yes, I certainly think the spacing is the issue - I was imaging without the CC early in the week and definitely had significant coma. I installed the CC for Wednesday's session but installed it straight after the EFW and plugged the assembly into the draw tube. No difference to coma.

So my imaging train was:-

ASI1600 - EFW - MPCC - drawtube  

--- so I will try:-

ASI1600 - EFW - Spacing adapter/s - MPCC - drawtube

Once the skies clear again I'll experiment and maybe I'll post a sub here to show the difference.

As for experimenting with the colours I may try again with this data and may try an HOO combination (this was SHO - Hubble). May try with some PixelMath tips for PI that I have learned about.

Thanks again all!

I tried a crop to reduce the coma, and also adjusted the colouring.....maybe too much.

Sorry, no real suggestions on the guiding issue, but it doesn't seem to have hurt the result much! Really nice....and Sharp!!

Hi All, This is my first real attempt at narrowband imaging (apart from a couple of test exposures).

This is about 2.5 hours from last night (Ha, OIII, SII). Mainly 40 x 180" subs in Ha. Fully processed in PixInsight. SW150PDS - Baader MPCC - ASI1600MM on EQ6R-Pro. Guided with PHD2.

My main issue here is my Coma Corrector, which I am told may not be spaced correctly - any further advice on this gladly received! 

The stars in the corners (even when cropped) are really elongated - almost as if the CC was not in place. I really need to fix this!

However, I am sure there are many more issues so...…….Criticism and Comments welcome!

Clear Skies!

Steve

Just 3 x 180sec Ha subs from last night - The Longest Day! Not the best time for imaging but couldn't resist a try. Sneaked this in after a session on M57 which I may post at some point if I can sort the processing.

Unfortunately I had to wait until around 1 AM before the nebula appeared above my trees. Looking forward to longer on the veil complex once the Milky Way arches a bit higher over us.

SW150PDS - ASI1600MM - EQ6R-Pro 

I have various similar issues with APT (and the 1600) - which is a real shame as on the whole I love it.

As yet I have been unable to determine whether it is the fault of APT or some other culprit (maybe USB connection issue).

I have found that APT will sometimes have issues acquiring an image from the camera. It sends a message saying it has been waiting for the camera for 30 seconds. Then sometimes it will hang altogether - with the camera (ASI1600MM) sometimes cooled to -20c!

I have had no alternative other than to disconnect everything and pray for no thermal shock to the sensor!

Based on my experience I have a few recommendations - but I'm happy to be corrected if anyone has deeper knowledge:-

1) I think +15c is not really necessary for a target warming temperature. Regardless of what the current ambient temperature is I usually only warm to +3 or +5 degrees. I think that if you can reach that temperature then thermal shock is probably much less likely - CAVEAT: THIS IS PURE LAYMANS LOGIC AND NOT BASED ON SCIENCE!

2) If I get the message that it can't reach the target temperature I just ask it to cool again and it often can reach it with another try. Usually it cools in steps with pauses and not in one go, so this is not usually an issue. 

3) I think that USB connections are the key issue here. I have a 4 port hub attached to my mount, which is powered so that does not seem to be the issue, but despite that it is sometimes flaky. I most often find that as long as I connect the same equipment to the same ports each time and I go through all my usual checks (check USB status in Device Manager - Windows) then things can be pretty stable. Make sure you are comfortable that your USB setup is stable.

Finally, one thing that I find weird - if anyone can help with - is that APT always seems to want to warm the camera to +100c! God forbid! I have to adjust the target temperature each time.

Good luck!

Steve

Love it! The resolution of the stars in the core is really impressive to my eye! 

Thanks to all for your comments! I'm sure I'll be going ahead with the belt mod before too long. These replies have helped confirm that it's worthwhile despite the relative newness of the mount.

Clear skies!

1 minute ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

I modded mine within weeks of taking it out of the wrapper. 

Cheers! That's a nice clear opinion. 🙂 A plus point for the mod! 

33 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

I wouldn't be without the belt mod, one of the best upgrades you can do. I had noticably less back lash and worth the £100 for the peace and quiet. 

Cheers Anthony! I guess I was wondering mainly whether it was something that people only consider when the mount starts to degrade (i.e  milk it for now) or whether it was an upgrade to be considered from the get go. From your reaction I guess it has benefits regardless of how old the mount is. Cheers