carastro

Nice result. I am planning this target next so good to see. Carole

Wow, stunning.

Short queue of Musk satellites both ways? Rather coincidental though. But isn’t the eventual plan to have then make a grid? Carole

Might well do. Thanks.

Not so sure using a Mak is the best type of scope for imaging, the reducer might help. But I guess you want to step up in stages. I don't really know much about CMOS and colour cameras, so can't advise on that, but all I know is it's an expensive hobby, but good luck with it and hope you get more helpful answers than mine has been. Carole

Iceland might be a better bet for aurora. Went there 10 years ago, and no polar bears there apart from one in a museum that arrived in Iceland on an iceberg and sadly they had to shoot it for safety reasons. The Aurora is pretty much overhead there at times, it certainly was when we were there in February 2012. You'll need to get out into the countryside to see it though, although on rare occasions it has been bright enough to see from Reykjavik, but as an imager I think you'll be doing that anyway. We stayed both in Reykjavik and then travelled to Lake Myvatn where we saw the aurora. Very dark there. It's not over-rated if you don't live in an auroral zone and never get a chance to see it. I think it is on most people's bucket list. But I can see how annoying it could be if you do live in an auroral location and are an imager. Carole

This arrived today thanks to a tip off on another thread. Delayed due to the postal strikes. Tested - it works - it's a long Handset cable for the HEQ5. I can now sit at my laptop and use the cable. Previous cable was half the length and always meant I had to stand behind the chair and peer over the top. Contains Snow this time of the year. 🤣 Carole

Great work. Carole

....and these are just the people we know about. Carole

Number 3 none of the answers really apply to me. Date is less important to me than the name of the target and the kit used I keep mine under "images", which is split as follows Raw/fits files (each having the title and kit used and each having it's relevant flats) N.B. Darks and Bias are kept in a separate library foler. Stacked and processed data (each having it's relevant name) Final images for uploading, go into a PNG folder and only at this stage do the named files get given a year date by sub file. Works for me. All is backed up on back up drives. I also have my final images, posted on Astrobin, Telescopius and my own website. Carole

Thanks Olly once again for your useful workflow tips. I don;t have Star Exterminator (PC not up to is), but I am sure the workflow can be applied to whatever other method I use. Your "Exploiting the Equalise Function" tutorial gets a fair bit of use with fainter tagets. Carole

I'd give it a miss if I were you, it's enough to challenge even the quick IT people. I have never bothered to use it and have no plans to. Several alternatives. Carole

Well this is finally booked, 13 of us going so far, but we decided to book 18 months ahead, so going end August 2024 for several reasons. Firstly the Observatory has been shut for guided tours ever since the Pandemic, and wasn';t sure when it would be re-opening, plus we want to visit the Lava Caves and they too seem to be not available on several of the Tour Operators werb sites, and I wondered whether it was due to the recent eruption. Plus we needed 5 single rooms, and there were only 2 left in 2023 several weeks ago when I enquired, so 2024 gave us a better chance and we got them. Going for one week and planning the following trips once there (fingers crossed they will all be available). 1. Trip up to the observatory and tour inside on Roque de los Muchachos 2. Lava Caves tour 3. Whales and Dolphin spotting boat trip 4. Tour of CALDERA DE TABURIENTE NATIONAL PARK 5 & 6. Two trips out at night to do Astronomy, one will be escorted and 1 will be DIY Hopefully some time to relax too. I found somewhere we can hire Dobsonians. Carole

Crikey Stu, that's a huge amount of targets, I thought I had done a lot, in 12 years but not even sure I have done that many. Carole PS: This post made me go and count them, and it comes to 181 images, (including a few repeats, but excluding the poor images I didn't bother to save).

You sure are picking up some faint stuff with your nice darks skies, kit and skills. Carole

Only just found it. Thought you posted up another on the same image. It's lovely Stu, lots of Oiii which is a real challenge. Well done. Carole

Well done Stu. It’s a large target and needs dark skies so has pretty much eluded me apart from a small bit of it some years ago when l was in the right place at the right time. Carole

I E Mailed Gina’s next door neighbour who we had some dealings with last year when she died. Sadly this is one if the comments he made in his reply. “Alas the observatory along with all the remaining sky watching items in it were destroyed on a rather large bonfire.” So sad when she put so much work into it. Carole

Ah ha, (Jock in Ireland on another forum I do believe). Lovely image. Carole

Excellent result. Nicely processed and good colour. Carole

Well done for persevering. I have been imaging for 12 years or so. It always amazes me how some people seem to be able to cope with everything straight away. I too had a number of struggles but with good help from other imagers l am now giving out advice myself. One such piece if advice is now you are on the right track please please learn to do flats. Imo they are the most invaluable thing to learn as they prevent that bright middle and dark corners as shown in your image and enable decent post processing. Plus they negate dust bunnies, also evident in your image. Takes a little while to get to grips with them but are so worth it. Carole

People have reported companies to the BBC who have investigated, might be worth a try, even if it only suceeds to locate his current address. This is really appalling, and a crime as such maybe the police need to be involved, perhaps those affected should all get together and submit a report en masse. Should not be allowed to continue. If he is bankrupt then he needs to cease trading including his website. Hmmm, tax man wonder if he can help - well the police at least. Carole

Good shout, l could do with a longer cable. Carole

Great choices, must have been hard. Carole

Maybe you could get some 3D printed. Carole