Andy R

Nice Image Adam, how are getting on with Sharpstar 94? I bought one about the same time as you. Due to the weather mines only been out the box for the occasional admiring glance and daydream. 

Have a play around with the system settings bottom right on the game pad confirguration screen uncheck  POV ENABLED and have a try, let me know how it goes.

Andy

5 hours ago, Simon Dunsmore said:

Hi, I unfortunately only have two of the same controllers. The default settings didn't work. 

Have a read of this link it covers issues with this type of controller towards the bottom EQMOD MOUNT CONTROLLERS (sourceforge.net)

Game Controller continuously reports "POV_N"  as being pressed.

It looks like you’ve selected the same button POV_N for each configuration you want. Can you confirm that you are selecting the individual button configuration on screen then pressing the desired button on the controller to assign that button to it?

1 hour ago, Simon Dunsmore said:

Thanks for this. I watched the tutorial, really helpful and it almost worked. I have attached a photo of the hand controller I'm attempting to use. I followed the steps and can get the directional controls to work with the telescope orientation. Unfortunately I cannot assign any of the other buttons to other functions. I've tried two different controllers and two different laptops but no joy. Any thoughts?? 

Have you tried just using the default settings to see if there’s any better functionality. If not what other game controller did you use, was it the same type? I think maybe the usb cabled Xbox or PlayStation type controller would be the type to use as this has more buttons. I’ll have a quick look at the video again

I’ve seen colour when observing the blue snowball planetary nebula (NGc 7662) with a 6” SCT. I think it’s in the constellation of Andromeda so it’s still visible in the early evening sky. It was one of the first DSO’s I observed and was blown away by it. 

2 hours ago, Scooot said:

Thanks, I always wonder what method people use to combine as it’s not always that easy with the moon.  You’ve done a very good job as the bright full moon retains a natural look amongst the clouds.

Thanks Richard, have you seen the Alyn Wallace youtube video of how he edits his HDR moon images. I didnt use his method on this but may try it on the raw files to see how it comes out. If you havent have a look at his channel, he posted it about 5 months or so ago.

Andy

1 hour ago, Scooot said:

Lovely image. I presume you took different exposures? 

Yep I was experimenting that night it’s either exposure bracketing with high speed continuous shoot mode or two different exposures manually set. Blended in photoshop and tonight in Lightroom I changed it to monochrome, 1:1 crop and radial filter to add a vignette. 

Going through Lightroom the last few days editing various pictures from last year (clouds, snow, rain and lockdown what else is there to do). I completely forgot about the shots of the super moon taken back in April, I was hoping to image it rising behind a few village buildings but as I recall the clouds rolled in just as it was due to rise. Anyhow, I kept my camera setup and shot the following a few hours later.

Canon 6D mkii & WhiteCat 51

the game pad install 

@tooth_dr“I’ve a0.8x FR also on order.” May I ask where you’ve ordered it from please. 

Andy

15 minutes ago, FLO said:

It would, wouldn't it 🙂 

We contacted Aston's parents when Skipper Billy bought him to our attention. His book is now available to buy at FLO. 

The Solar System by Aston Smith

Steve

Top job @FLO, top job indeed 👏

I feel your pain! Had my first  clear night last night, well without 30mph winds, since the middle of September. Alas I was totally unprepared, I went outside to get logs at 7pm and it was raining, went out again 3 hours later to walk the dogs and shut the gate and it was completely  clear. I’ve got back focus issues I need to resolve and I’ve been hoping to get a bit of footage of Mars.  Probably be another two months again, I did have a mooch around with the bins and dslr thou and it was exceptional seeing. 

Well done to the winners and all entrants very nice images all round. 

1 hour ago, FenlandPaul said:

Great shots Andy.

Wish I could rewind to then. It was Neowise and the NLC season that really got me out experimenting with the dslr. If could I apply to them what I’ve since learned!!

Yep me too, I’m just hoping for clearer summer nights, they were far and few between where I live and I missed a lot of great NLC displays. As for Autumn😭

4 hours ago, happy-kat said:

Do you remember what it was that caused the mega bright star trail?

Neowise, always a pleasure to see again.

Yes it’s was Venus, back when it was an evening planet

double post

A few images i never processed, taken over the last six months or so. Star trails over an isolated farm. Moon, Bee Hive cluster and Venus conjunction back in September (probably one of the last clear nights I've had of late) and a couple of Comet Neowise, one imaged over Moel y Gaer and the other on top of Moel Y Gaer looking out towards the River Dee and Liverpool way back in the summer.

Camera Canon 6D mkII, Lenses Samyang 14mm F2.8, Canon 24-105 kit lens and Takumar 200mm F4.

Well done, cracking image. 

Just placed an order, thanks skipper for bringing it to our attention👍  Would be great if an astronomy supplier would jump on board. 

HOO version photoshop curves, selective colour, masks and cropped.

Cracking image, lovely depth well done to you sir👍

Lovely neck of the woods where you are and great skies too I seem to remember all to well. 

Something like this with  the focal reducer might fit your budget  I’ve seen some good results with this scope on YouTube and interweb 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-evostar-80ed-ds-pro-outfit.html

The scope is reasonably light as the mounts payload is roughly 10kilos  so ideally you want to be fairly under my this weight  

have you thought about auto guiding with a guide camera and scope(the finder scope can probably be adapted)  

anyway im sure when the UK wakes up there will be a more varied and better responses  I’m currently up helping my dog with her whelping  all good fun  

E2a: a star tracker might be better option with a smaller refractor. There’s lots of different options and SGL is a great place to ask questions and research. Good luck

1 hour ago, Adam1234 said:

I may investigate SGP and NINA at some point, are these paid for software?

Nina is free you can use Nina and apt to focus alongside each other as shown in astroquest1 video

Sgp has a free version, I gunk, with limited functionality.  Good luck with the wind 

SHO palette, selective colour, curves, camera raw and star reduction - Photoshop