wesdon1

1 minute ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Phone number removed. It is never a good idea to give out private contact details in a public forum. If you start getting unsolicited calls, don't blame us.

Hi, i'm so sorry! I didn't know it's disallowed! Thank You for informing me.

Kindest regards, Wes

Hi all. Could someone please recommend a reputable, trustworthy person/company to astro-mod my Canon 600D DSLR. Also, I am confused about whether I need the full spectrum mod or just filter removal?? All I want is for my DSLR to allow the red Ha data through, because they block a lot of Ha with the special filter they have as standard. I would greatly appreciate any advice and guidance.

Many Thanks, Wes

Here's my mobile number, just incase any here who sees this post is an actual reputable DSLR astro-mod'er themselves <private contact details removed>

* I have been informed it's a bad idea including private phone numbers in public forums, so the moderators have removed my number. Please PM me if you can help. Many Thanks, Wes

17 minutes ago, IB20 said:

Right now my circumstances mean I can only have really opportune short sessions, plus throw in this summer’s weather and small grab and go scopes have been invaluable. I’d have done next to no observing without my 40mm PST and 76mm frac.

I love planetary observing through the 76mm, I get a great deal of satisfaction and joy from using it. I still hope to have a shoot-out with the 4” at some point when I get the chance but it might roll over to next year with the demands of two young terrors.

@IB20 Reading your comments makes me want to start allowing myself some time for visual astro again. I have been obsessed with imaging for almost 1 year now, and have totally neglected the part of the hobby that got me hooked on amateur astro in the first place...just looking up through a telescope and enjoying the beauty, as is, to the naked eye. Thank You for reminding me this my friend...

Wes

Hi all. So last night I was so happy to be outside imaging again after couple months endless clouds. 

About 1 hour into my session, literally minutes after finishing a really problematic star alignment and PHD2 teething problem, finally getting the camera ( DSLR ) to start firing away taking 4.5 min subs of NGC6992, the damn power box ran out of power! Now normally, that box managed to run my HEQ5 for 3-4 hours on one full charge, but last night, the mount was picking stars for alignment that weren't visible from my location, so I was constantly slewing to new stars etc, draining lots of amps of power from power box in the process. I only got 3 x 4.5 min subs then the session was over. Gutted.

Anyway it finally convinced me I need a serious bit of kit to power my rig henceforth. People had warned me about using such a low amp hour power box when I first mentioned I got it many months back, and I didn't listen, unfortunately. 

So to any fellow newbie out there, please learn from my ignorance and make sure you spend the money needed for an adequate power supply for your individual rig/equipment because trust me, it's so disheartening and gutting when you have a rare clear night ruined because your power let you down!

Clear Skies

8 minutes ago, Xilman said:

Modified Newtonian Dynamics, or MOND, is just such a theory. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_Newtonian_dynamics

It explains somethings really rather well; other things not so well. That is true of all theories.

So your "scientists have stay blindly loyal to Einstein's theories" is rather harsh in my opinion.

@Xilman Hi xilman. I accept my comment "scientists staying blindly loyal" do come across rather harsh. My counter argument to this, is impo scientists literally need to "rip up the whole book" and start from scratch, because impo, and it is only my opinion, they are wasting time trying to reconcile GR and QM. 

10 minutes ago, saac said:

From gravitational lensing to time dilation if I recall it has held up fairly well to testing. What areas about GR do you think need re thinking?

Jim  

@saac Hi saac. I think the best way I can describe my thoughts regarding the problems with GR is like the following...

remember many many centuries ago, when the greatest minds of the day believed the earth was at the centre of the universe. And their observations fitted very well with their theories. I mean, they looked up, and it was "OBVIOUS" the earth was at the centre of the cosmos because all the stars and planets were orbiting around the earth in the night sky, even the Sun during the day! Their theories fitted very well, but not perfectly! But there were anomalies that they couldn't explain, notably the retrograde motions of the planets orbits. Well I feel a very similar phenomenon is happening with modern day scientists. I feel they're blindly loyal to GR because it explains a lot of what they see so so well. But just like in ancient times, there's anomalies with their theories, notably when you get down to the quantum level of mass and energy, and gravity etc. 

I hope this explains well enough where i'm coming from regarding GR my friend!

4 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

The big bang theory is exactly that, a theory. A theory consists of a number or observable phenomena and facts. It may. or may not, have more value than other theories - until something better comes along. A theory isn't a proof; a proof is when a theory is shown to be true by a number of methods and beyond a reasonable doubt.

All I can state as a proof is that I (and the whole of humanity) am (is) not intelligent or knowledgeable enough to determine where the universe and all the matter in it comes from. I find some of the explanations in theories like the big bang to be inadequate. 

I'm not going to strain my brain over this. I am content to understand what I do not understand. If I have a revelation about the origin of matter I'll let you know 😜 

@Mr Spock I liked your comments regarding our inability to answer/understand such incredibly complex questions regarding the universe etc. I would say this...

Think of a Dog, our beloved little bessies. They don't understand a lot of what we tell them to do, they have no clue about science, the cosmos etc, it's just wayyy beyond their brains ability to fathom. But they're still as happy and go-lucky as a kid at Christmas! They still obey our commands, despite not having a clue why were telling them to do something, they simply live in the moment and to hell with what they can't understand! And therein lies an important lesson for us humans...Don't get too hung up on our inabilities to understand certain things, just enjoy the things we do understand, and see what new knowledge and exciting adventures tomorrow brings!

( forgive me, I know that comment was a bit random/eclectic n out there! LOL, but i hope you get where i'm coming from! )

3 hours ago, michael8554 said:

Yes I'll accept that was a poor example.

But my other examples, Dark Matter and Dark Energy for instance, are currently just theories to explain anomalies in our observational understanding of the amount of matter in the universe and why galaxy groups don't expand.

Given time all will be explained, like Black Hole are.

Michael

@michael8554 Hi again Mike. Yes the dark matter and dark energy theories are basically scientists admitting " we literally have no clue what it all is!?" Tbh Mike, I have have always wondered about whether the reason scientists can't explain what dark matter and energy is, is because the fundamental Einstein theory of general relativity, which beautifully explains a lot, very precisely, is actually totally wrong, and if scientists worked out a new "Einsteinian type theory of general relativity" that accounted for all the so called unknown mass and energy, then there would be no need for dark matter and energy theories? I feel scientists have stay blindly loyal to Einstein's theories, instead of ripping up the book and starting from scratch, so to speak. 

As you rightly say Mike, given time, all will be revealed.

On 22/08/2023 at 13:55, michael8554 said:

So much of cosmology is unproven theories.

Do Back Holes exist ? We don't know, but the evidence suggests they do, but they are unproven.

Do Dark Energy and Dark Matter exist ? We don't know, they are just theories.

Same with the Big Bang.

Michael

@michael8554 Hi Mike. My friend, as far as I'm aware, we have already proven that Black Holes exist, not only that, we have actual photographic images of them. Furthermore, we have also detected indirect evidence for their existence with LIGO, the gravitational wave detector. It detects gravitational waves in the fabric ( spacetime ) of the universe. Please google "proof that black holes actually exist" and you will find 100's of academic papers related to the subject, not to mention thousands of scientific articles, stories, images, etc etc etc. 

Unless i'm mistaken/have misunderstood what you were actually saying my friend? If so, I'm sorry.

One question I am DESPERATE for an answer for is ... 

Where did the universe and everything in it actually come from?? Who or what, if anything, created it?? I would give anything to know the answers!! 

all that considered, it does make me wonder if there is indeed a God that created the earth, the universe, because surely all this beauty and majesty of the cosmos couldn't have simply "appeared" from nothing and for absolutely no reason?? My goodness it's a tough one! 

46 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

I picked up the svbony equivalent.  Only managed to image with it the once, but was impressed with the images it punted out.

Also makes a handy Oiii filter for visual for when there isn't enough time to get to imaging.  Or I'm just lazy.

@Ratlet Hi again Ratlet. You know, I have always been reticent about buying SVBONY filters because I just assumed they wouldn't be very good? ( probably unfairly ) But if you are happy with their performances then I will definitely give one a try some time in future mate.

Oh really?? A visual O111 filter too? Wow, I'll bare that in mind and give it a go when I get a chance mate! Thanks for the tip mate!

1 hour ago, Elp said:

Definitely worth it, I had all three at one point (now there's a forth one the Ultimate), but now if required only have the Extreme. Some people do complain about star halos though, but I haven't seen it with mine, yet.

@Elp Hi again Elp. Oh right? Awesome mate! I'm hoping to eventually own all 4 Optolong LP filters, I currently own the L-pro and L-Enhance. Tbh Elp, although I'd obviously read and seen vids about narrow'ish LP filters being really good for blocking out unwanted sky-glow, LP, Moon glow etc etc etc, it wasn't until I actually used one and seen for myself, just how good they are. My goodness I was amazed at my east vale neb subs, the contrast, filamentary detail etc is sooo much better than when I was shooting emission nebs with just a broadband LP filter ( L-Pro ). In fact, when I was doing my max sub length subs using my L-Pro, 180secs, I could barely make out on DSLR screen if I'd even got the nebula in the FOV, it was just so faint, plus the background night sky was really bright, awful, tbh. And all this with an unmodded DSLR. It's been a revelation for me Elp.

Tbh Elp, at this stage in my astro-imaging journey ( 11 months ) I don't mind if I get halos. I imagine I will be more concerned with them when I'm more experienced and thus much more critical of my data/images.

Hi all. So I recently got a chance to get some Emission Nebula ( East vale Neb ) sub-exposures with my new Optolong L-Enhance Filter ( fitted to unmodded DSLR ) and I was amazed at the difference it made with my subs compared to a regular LP Filter!? ( namely the Optolong L-Pro )

I was able to substantially increase exposure time, while maintaining a dark night sky background. Now bare in mind, this was with a cheap unmodded DSLR Camera, and yet I still got lovely detailed subs, and they were only at ISO 800 for 4 mins. I was blown away! At the time I only got 5 x 4min subs before clouds stopped me, but it's made me even more excited about getting a full nights worth of subs on this target asap! 

It's made me really look forward to buying and using an even narrower filter like the optolong L-Extreme, but not for a while, I still have lots of enjoyment ahead with the L-Enhance!

Highly highly recommend any fellow newbie like me to go out n buy one, they're worth every penny!

Clear Skies

3 minutes ago, sinbad40 said:

The cloud just drags you down, sorry you were not well, but i am sure we will get better skies soon.  I use the L-pro on reflection things like Iris nebula (currently fighting to get more data on that one).  I also have the L-enhanced which like you have found to be excellent.  Not thought about the l-extreme yet, wasn't sure if i wanted to try get others to do the hubble pallet, need to read up more on that.  Like you, happy to just get something when i can.  One of the reasons i went for the OSC camera.  Used to have a mono many years ago, but always struggled to get the time in for each filter.

@sinbad40 Thanks mate, I have ongoing problems with my stomach ( long story ) and when it flares up I'm stuck in bed sick. Thanks for kind words.

Yes the L-Pro is great for relfection nebs. I actually had a go at the iris neb a couple months back but I only got about 50 minutes on it before clouds came in. I think it's a beautiful mysterious nebula, and looks awesome with enough hours of subs. Definitely going back to it at some point.

I'm not very knowledgeable on Hubble pallette except i think it's a colour matching thing for narrowband channels?

Yes I love OSC too for the same reasons you mentioned, plus I live on 2nd floor of flats, so I have to carry all my gear downstairs, and stay outside all night while imaging ( a local theif would steal my gear in a second, unfortunately ) so I have to make every second count, and narrowband imaging would be too difficult. It's hard enough doing OSC! Plus, as you rightly mentioned, clear sky time in uk is vanishingly rare so narrowband is really difficult. 

On 18/08/2023 at 09:14, sinbad40 said:

I could see it was going to cloud over, so went for M13 Wednesday with a full 1 hour of usable sky  .  Last night was a little better, managed around 20 ish - 5  min subs on Iris before the cloud started to stuff the tracking, not checked the subs yet, but sure some will be a waste.

Either way, better than nothing

@sinbad40 Aww well I'm glad that you managed atleast some time outside my friend! If nothing else it helps you/us not forget our workflow setting up and imaging outside because multi-month dry spells causes us to to start forgetting our setup regime! LOL

I actually finally managed about 1 hour myself last night. The night before I was super unwell so missed the first clear night for over 2 months! Gutted! Anyway I got outside last night and got an hour or so of data before, you guessed it, the clouds rolled in! I was/am super happy still though because it was first ever time using a narrow'ish tri-band filter ( L-Enhance ) and I just could not believe how much better my east vale neb subs were with the L-Enhance compared to a regular broadband LP filter ( specifically the L-Pro filter ) The subs were so much cleaner, the signal to noise was drastically improved because I was able to do longer subs with the L-Enhance ( 4.5 mins, compared to around 2 mins with L-Pro ) and obviousely the L-Enhance blocks much more LP and lets in specific much narrower wavelengths of light ( Ha, Hb, O111 )

So all in I am so happy with the new filter, and in a few months I will go even narrower with an L-Extreme filter. But for now I want to just enjoy using the L-Enhance.

*So sorry for such long rambliong message! I got/get carried away sometimes! LOL

13 hours ago, WolfieGlos said:

Haha I wasn’t serious, it’s our first break this year. We’ve actually come up to rural Northumberland (bortle 3 according to ClearOutside), so fingers crossed the forecast is right for clear skies later this week…I brought the Star Adventurer just in case ! 

@WolfieGlos Haha sorry, my bad! I should have known you were only kidding! haha! 

Incidentally, the weather / clouds ruined last night yet again! GRRR I think I need a holiday too! haha! 

Clear Skies my friend!

On 15/08/2023 at 10:27, Robert7980 said:

It’s been the same here in North Carolina USA… Just one or two partial nights per month for more than a year now. Had a good week with a few days in a row of clear, but wildfire smoke from Canada made imaging impossible. Been frustrating.

@Robert7980 I feel your pain, my friend! The frustration is awful! I don't want to jinx myself, but tonight, FINALLY, is looking 90-95% probability i'll be able to get outside and image for first time since around 11th June, if I recall correctly! I really hope you get more clear skies ASAP my friend.

On 14/08/2023 at 22:08, sinbad40 said:

Not far from you Wesdon, just over in St Helens area.  Think i have had 2-3 hours of messing before having to cover up again since the start of July.  Fingers crossed we get some clear skies soon.

@sinbad40 Oh right, so you have had identical cloud probs as me during these last 2 months or so. Tonight ( Wed. 16th august ) is looking almost a certain opportunity, FINALLY! LOL. I really hope you are able to get outside too tonight! 

Clear Skies!

On 14/08/2023 at 18:47, WolfieGlos said:

You’re right…even down here, and depending on what forecast I look at it’s predicted to be clear all week now!

How typical that we’re going away midweek… is it bad that I want to cancel to take advantage of clear skies 🤨 

@WolfieGlos So sorry for late reply! I wouldn't say it's bad that you flirted with the idea of not going away because in the UK, as very well demonstrated recently, the chances we get to do Astro are rare and impossible to plan ahead for more than a few days in advance. So it's no surprise you're thinking that way imho! 

LOL it turned out I couldn't get outside in the end, the forecasts were way off! Typical!

Ironically, tonight is looking even more promising! ( I dare not get too excited though! The let-downs are awful! LOL )

14 minutes ago, AstroMuni said:

At this rate I will forget how to use my scope 😞 As a fairly recent entrant into this hobby, its all newly learnt stuff so not yet ingrained into my brain -

@AstroMuni yes I too am worrying i'll have forgotten my workflow after so long without doing it! I too am new, just 11 months into astro-imaging, after years of visual astro. Hopefully the weather will improve soon! 

20 hours ago, Elp said:

I felt the same, thought it was a 6 week gap but ended up being 4 weeks and had two sessions this week. Managed to get enough data to potentially finish a new image, my third this year when normally I would be at number 6-8.

@Elp Funnily enough, tonight is looking promising! Fingers crossed I get a chance to go outside. I'll update the post if I do! 

I think because i'm less than a year into imaging journey, and this was/is my first experience of a very prolonged lack of cloudless night skies.

Clear Skies my friend!

19 hours ago, alan potts said:

If it is an consolation I have not fared much better down here. May I had one clear night, the night of the full Moon. June was a massive 3 again clear  for Full Moon. July wasn't too bad but with temperature of 40c the nights were very turbulent and rather hazy. Though August has cooled down a lot there is a lot of patchy cloud around. This would be OK for visual but I like it clear to use the cameras. That's not to say the sky hasn't cleared in the early morning but I am long past getting up at 2 am. Hope things get better for you all.

Alan

@alan potts Thank you for supportive words Alan. I think tonight I might just get outside for the first time since mid June! Fingers crossed! 

My goodness that 40c heat is unbearable! I recall last summer ( or maybe the one before? ) we got 40c heat here in Liverpool and it was dreadful, it was difficult to breathe, so i totally sympathise with you if you found that heat difficult like I did.

Clear Skies my friend

6 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

You are not alone. I also haven't had any cloud free nights in two months so I have total empathy with you. I have a new pair of 15x70 Helios Apollo binoculars and a 150PL reflector still awaiting their first light. I will be miffed if I miss Saturns opposition as I have been eagerly awaiting the planets return to our evening skies. This has been the longest drought since I rekindled my astronomy journey 3 years ago.

@bosun21 My goodness, that old saying in our hobby about buying new gear jinxes the weather, really does seem have some truth to it?? LOL. I bought my 224Mc and L-Enhance Filter in mid June and like you i'm STILL waiting for their first light!?

Hopefully we'll all be treated to a really good spell of weather at some point soon!

Hi all, another rant, I'm afraid! LOL

I just cannot understand how it's now been over 2 months since I last had cloud free night skies here in Liverpool?? I'm roughly 11 months into my astro-imaging journey, after many years doing visual astro, and this recent endless cloud filled night skies has really took me by surprise. Obviously I know the british weather is often cloudy, but even by our Uk's awful standards, this recent bad spell seems excessive? normally you get atleast 1 single night in a month where you have cloudless skies? Or at the very least, an hour two break in the clouds? Saturn reaches opposition in 4 days, and it's looking unlikely i'll get a chance to image it with my new 224MC camera? 

All this being said, I won't let it put me off the hobby, because I know EVENTUALLY i'll get a chance to go outside and do what I love. Seriously, my only regret is that I didn't start this hobby many years earlier...

Clear Skies to all ( Please! LOL )

2 minutes ago, moggi1964 said:

Thanks! I had a good education from a few talented astroimagers.

I hadn't considered the mechanical variety and I'll certainly take a look at the Skywatchers. A friend of mine used a small iOptron for wide field so I'll probably have a look there as well.

I feel like the tech has probably moved in some since my imaging days back in and around 2010-2013.

@moggi1964 Yes the tech nowadays is amazing. The only issue ( atleast for me personally ) is the tech can be really difficult to master. I'm only roughly 11 months into my astro imaging journey, after years of just visual astro, and i've had a terribly hard time learning how to use astro software, and other astro imaging related processes. 

Yes the Iopton trackers look great too. As you will well know, there's tons of videos on YouTube showing all the star trackers in operation. Best of luck with your searching n research.

Clear Skies!

8 minutes ago, moggi1964 said:

I sued to do some imaging with my WO110 and Tak mount and a small SBIG camera. These days I don't have any imaging equipment and am not looking to go back to the 'good stuff'.

 

I do have an Olympus M4/3 camera and would mind doing some planetary and wide field stuff on a lower budget than the Astro mount type setup.

 

I've seen a few different options on the market and had a browse through the threads here but is there a preferred option?

 

Here's my first ever nebula shot.

@moggi1964 Hi Moggi. have you seen those mechanical star trackers? They look great for DSLR and lens astro imaging. If you go for a electric powered star tracker then i'd suggest an older second hand one from skywatcher. They'll be cheap and they'll do a great job. 

BTW that nebula image is awesome for your very first attempt!