wesdon1

I've seen the core of Andromeda Galaxy from home. And even then I was having to use the averted vision technique to really brighten the core up. It says I live in a Bortle 7 location, but that Bortle scale doesn't count for anything if you have white LED street lights shining down your telescopes OTA! LOL

@neil phillips Yes Neil it makes sense what you're saying. I am only 8 months into my imaging journey, and have a lot still to learn! Wes.

Oh right I understand! So that really proves that a dark sky is so important for resolving/seeing faint DSO's. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the council would turn out all street lights for a couple of hours every evening, say from around 12midnight to 3am? Most folk are fast asleep in bed at that time anyway!? I doubt they ever would though because they're too afraid of someone being attacked in darkness and council getting blamed for turning out street lights!? Impo though, if someone is sick and twisted enough to attack someone else, then a silly street light isn't going to stop them!? LOL

@neil phillips IMPO Neil, the extra details/craters etc give it a much more "in-depth" feel to the image. It appears as though you have took a carving knife to the Moon and cut/shaped every perceivable rim and crater! Very impressive! Wes

@neil phillips My goodness! You can actually see all the much smaller craters, that are never normally resolved in images with 'scopes of around 8inches of aperture or less! Incredibles! One of the best Lunar images I've yet seen Neil! Wes, Liverpool ( Bortle 7 )

@Franklin May I ask Frank, what size aperture 'scope did you view the Virgo Super Cluster through? Normally at Star Parties, there's usually atleast one person with a +20inch aperture behemoth, and that is my dream, to be at a dark sky site one day and look through a very large aperture 'scope, +20inches, and see DSO's like Galaxies and Nebula etc

*REPOSTING THIS TO DEEP SKY IMAGING SECTION, AS KINDLY SUGGESTED TO ME SOME WEEKS BACK, BUT I COULDN'T WORK OUT HOW TO DO THAT! LOL Posted April 23 (edited) Hi all. I just wanted to share my latest, best image of a Galaxy. It's M51 whirlpool galaxy. I only managed around 45 minutes total integration after most of my subs were ruined by strong winds. I'm still very happy with the final result though, because i'm still learning. *Target - M51 Whirlpool Galaxy *Canon EOS T3i unmodded *SW HEQ5 Pro Mount *SW 200P newt. reflector *Skytech CLS Filter *ZWO 120MM Mini Guide Camera / PHD2 *119 x 65sec sub-exposures ( I didn't want to attempt longer subs due to awful wind ) ( Only 42 subs were usable due to wind ) Processed in SIRIL and GIMP. Lots of room for improvement, I know, but i'm content with how i'm doing for now! Laptop - LENOVO IDEAPAD 1 ( rubbish Laptop, btw! Super slow! lol )

@wookie1965 Hi again Wookie. Sorry for such late reply, I've been unwell with my throat and other health issues. I just read your reply and you mentioned travelling to Brecon Beacons the following weekend? My goodness the clouds/weather these last couple of weeks have been the worst I can remember in around 7 years visual astro and the whole of my small 8 months of imaging astro!?? The clouds just will not sod off!?? Did you still go to the Beacons? Any joy with weather? I believe it's that damn Jet Stream pushing weather system after weather system into the UK, and there seems to be no end in sight, at time of writing!? Mate I have exact same blazing LED lights like the one in your pic. I have often seriously considered opening up their servicing box and sabotaging them! LOL. The broadband white light they emit is a nightmare to filter out without affecting imaging data. As soon as this weather allows, I'll do what I planned to and see how I fare viewing galaxies visually and let you know mate. Clear Skies my friend!

@Chrissyfbpe Hi Chrissy, welcome to SGL. I would suggest you watch some astronomy related YouTube vids to start learning about the hobby. Also, there's a brilliant book titled "Turn Left At Orion" which is great for beginners. Over time, with experience, you will get a good understanding of the basics of owning and using your telescope. Seeing as you own a GoTo telescope, I would also, if I were you, prioritise learning how to setup that telescope to use it's GoTo function, so you can then easily find any target you wish to see, quickly. Then you can go from there, and see how far you wish to go in the wonderful hobby! Clear Skies! Wes, Liverpool UK.

Hi all. I need some advice from more experienced members if possible please? Basically, I can't remember if this sound has always been there from new, but recently, when slewing my mount, I notice a regular but intermittent "rattling" sound coming from what I assume are the gears in my mount? It sounds like the gears are somehow slightly loose or something somewhere isn't meshing perfectly as the drive/mechanism is rotating? Now, just for context, my guiding seems ok, my GoTo seems ok, and 3 star alignment is bog standard typical of what you read about other folks experiences with SW HEQ5 Pro mounts, and is as follows... "1st star, quite a ways out. 2nd star, almost spot on centre. 3rd star, practically perfect dead centre" It's just I'm concerned that if the rattling sounds are a sign of a problem, I want to address it now rather than later when it could develop into a catastrophic failure? If anyone does believe it's something they know of, would you be so kind as to suggest/advise what I should do to address the issue please? I have done multiple online searches to find help, but there's nothing coming up in searches that even partially matched my specific issues? Many many thanks in advance for any and all help! Wes.

@wookie1965 Thanks so much for kind words Wookie! Aww that saddens me! Surely with a 10" dob you would atleast make out some of the cores of M51 and M101? Tbh though, I haven't ever seen them visually through an EP, I've only imaged them. Now that you've brought this to my attention, and we don't live far away from each other ( I assume? Merseyside? I'm in Merseyside. Wavertree Liverpool, more specifically ) I am going to take some low power EP's outside during my next imaging session and see if I can make out any details of said Galaxies mate. I'll get back to you and let you know how I get on. Bare in mind aswell, my largest 'scope is 8inch aperture, and I have hideous LED street lamps blazing down onto the gardens, so if I manage to resolve ANYTHING of either Galaxy, then you should definitely be able to too my friend! Clear Skies! Wes. ( Bortle 7 )

@wookie1965 Hi wookie, did you mean you haven't been able to view M51 from your home/location? and was the "wow" a reaction to my pic? If yes then thank you so much for such kind remarks my friend! It would have been a lot better if the wind hadn't ruined about 70% of my subs! lol. @happy-kat very kindly made some really helpful suggestions to tackle said issues with my subs so I'm going to try them all out at the first opportunity! Clear Skies! Wes ( Bortle 7 )

@happy-kat Oh wow thanks so much for those tips/advice happy-kat! I never knew the "kappa sigma clipping" helped make stars more 'round? And the highest scoring reference frame, that sounds so so helpful and makes total sense! I wish I'd have thought of that myself months ago! And yes I think cutting the sub exposure times will help my keep rate in future windy conditons. It's horrible having to bin so much of your very hard earned subs! Thanks again so much! I'd be lost without this forum! Wes ( Bortle 7 )

@Stu1smartcookie Hi Stu. I have the Altair Lightwave 66/400 ED Doublet Refractor, which I believe has the same optics/glass as your larger Starwave? ( I could be mistaken? ) I have found the optics to be great quality and little CA that I can see either visual or photographic/astro. I am actually looking for a larger aperture refractor because I need more "reach" and light gathering ability for certain smaller DSO's like Planetary nebs and small galaxies etc. I would love to get the same model 'scope that you just got, obviously because I know the optics are great. I look forward to seeing any reports you post about your future adventures with the new 'scope! Clear Skies! Wes, Liverpool UK ( Bortle 7 )

Hi all. I am just putting this out there, because I have tried reading online, but there's so much conflicting advice! Basically I am asking, will anyone who has plenty of experience imaging galaxies from light polluted city, recommend a good filter for predominantly imaging Galaxies? I currently own and use the Optolong L-Pro 1.25", and was wondering is there a better filter for aforementioned imaging targets? Finally, would you say that a 2" version of my L-Pro filter would yield better results than my 1.25" version? ( I image using a SW 200P newt. reflector, and a ALTAIR Lightwave 66/400ED Doublet refractor ) Thank You in advance for any advice and recommendations Wes, Liverpool ( Bortle 7 )

Hi all. I just wanted to share my latest, best image of a Galaxy. It's M51 whirlpool galaxy. I only managed around 45 minutes total integration after most of my subs were ruined by strong winds. I'm still very happy with the final result though, because i'm still learning. *Target - M51 Whirlpool Galaxy *Canon EOS T3i unmodded *SW HEQ5 Pro Mount *SW 200P newt. reflector *Skytech CLS Filter *ZWO 120MM Mini Guide Camera / PHD2 *119 x 65sec sub-exposures ( I didn't want to attempt longer subs due to awful wind ) ( Only 42 subs were usable due to wind ) Laptop - LENOVO IDEAPAD 1 ( rubbish Laptop, btw! Super slow! lol )

@Neil_104 My goodness all that data and you only had 25 minutes left that wasn't ruined! And SNAP! I totally understand your desperation to get something, anything, because I too felt the same way, after not seeing clear skies for so long! LOL. Next time I'm not even attempting to use my big 8 inch newt if it's very windy, atleast I won't do until I get a much bigger stronger mount, like a Skywatcher NEQ6 or EQ6R-Pro. The HEQ5 Pro I currently own is at it's imaging/payload capacity limits with my big 'newt, especially in high winds. Atleast that's my personal opinion about it anyway. Yes Venus is looking beautiful at the moment.

That wind played havoc with my setup a couple nights back. I was trying PHD2 for the first time and the wind kept ruining my subs. I was using my largest scope, the SW 200P mounted to my SW HEQ5 Pro. I should have used my tiny ALTAIR 66/400 ED Doublet Refractor, because I think that would have been much less vulnerable to the wind, being "over-mounted" on the big strong HEQ5. Never mind, I've learned my lesson! LOL

LOL I recall with sadness, about 2 months ago, I spent almost 5 hours in the freezing sub-zero cold gathering data on the Leo Triplet, only to discover the next morning that I had accidentally deleted all my data from my Laptop!!?? I was devastated!! Haha!! I was trying to delete older files because my Laptop was running so slowly after my imaging session ( I was starting to look through my subs in anticipation of processing/stacking them all the next day after work ) and somehow, such the dope that I am, I managed to delete the whole nights data!! ( and I couldn't retrieve them from the Recycle Bin because I have the settings on my Laptop to permanently delete when I delete things, just to save me having to delete stuff twice, and to try help Laptop stay fast, because it's a slow Laptop in the best of circumstances, it only has a crappy processor and 80GB total storage space ( I recently purchased extra storage space by way of a SONNICS SATA 500GB storage device ) What a monumental IDIOT I am!! haha!! Wes Liverpool ( Bortle 7 )

@Dazzyt66 Hi Dazzy! Would you be so kind as to tell me where I can get the plans to make my own cardboard Bhatinov Mask please? I know they're relatively cheap to buy but I haven't got around to buying one yet, and your idea/inevntion of making your own from cardboard is a brilliant idea! Thanks! Wes, Liverpool ( Bortle 7 *apparently?? More like Bortle 99'000 with the damn white LED street lamps that blaze down on my gear! LOL )

@Les Ewan Les I totally understand your frustration with fog and dew probs. I too am constantly battling dew! I was outside imaging last night, having a near perfect evening, when out of nowhere the clouds rolled in. Gutted. So long story short I packed all my gear up and started heaving it all up all the stairs to my 2nd floor flat, and when I got inside, I looked out window and the damn clouds had disappeared!!?? And it remained clear until sunrise, I'm told!! I was fuming! LOL. I was actually doing guided images using laptop and PHD2 for the first time ever, and was so happy seeing pin-point stars after 2 minute subs ( I dared not push my luck with longer subs, I've had too many disastrous nights when I've tried to push the envelope and messed everything up! LOL ) Never mind, I just cannot wait for my next opportunity to do guided subs again! Clear Skies! Wes, Liverpool UK ( Bortle 7 ) *Here’s my setup outside. Because we have a drug addict theif who stole my brother’s bike, living in our flats, I literally have to carry everything you see in this picture, except for the chair, all the way up 3 flights of stairs IN ONE GO, because of my fear of my neighbour stealing something from my very expensive setup! It’s infuriating Les!

Hi all. I managed to do 120 second guided images last night. ( It was my first time, and I was just super happy everything was working ok, and I dare not push my luck so early on! LOL ) I cannot tell you the joy I felt at seeing those pin-point round stars after 2 minute subs! After really struggling with the tech side of hobby, it's becoming such a joy now that I'm getting good at it all! Juxtaposed to that success, my damn DSLR's sensor took the knock and was giving me black n white sub exposures only!? LOL. But my new DSLR arrived yesterday ( Canon 600D, AKA EOS Rebel T3i ) so I'm not moaning! ( anymore! LOL ) Clear Skies To All !

@Timboland Gazer Hi Timbo. A very warm welcome to you. You are incredibly lucky having such dark skies! I absolutely guarantee you, every single member of this forum would kill for skies like yours! LOL. *I would suggest watching YouTube videos to learn some basics about processing and stacking Astro images. It's hard at first, but I promise you, if you stick with it, over time you will learn and get good at it, and enjoy the journey immensley! I look forward to following your astrophotography journey! Clear Skies Wes, Liverpool UK ( Bortle 7 )

Hi all. I just wanted to say how incredible the weather/conditions were last night! I was planning on imaging The Whirlpool Galaxy, but I miscalculated where it would be in relation to very tall Trees in my front garden, so I settled on my backup target which was Bodes Galaxy. My goodness the skies were absolutely pristine clear of clouds, and the seeing seemed ok too. I managed almost 2 hours total exposure on my target. In fact, when all my battery Packs for DSLR had run out, and I had to pack up and go back upstairs to my flat, I actually wanted to wait to recharge batteries and go back outside again! It was 1:45am!! LOL. ( I haven't got work today ). But I figured I was just being greedy, and my chest was bad from cold air, so I stopped myself and just put everything out to warm up and de-humidify before packing them away in air tight containers. ( I always let my gear re-warm up after imaging if it's been cold, because the dew/moisture can cause terrible corrosion to equipment if you simply pack it all away whilst still damp ). This data will go towards my image for the SGL DSLR Galaxy Imaging competition. I have ZERO chance of winning, but I am just so happy that I'm able to enter it in the first place! LOL. I am still to process all the data, but I will obviously update the post with final image when completed! Wes.

@Bogmonster Oh definitely, just start out with big bright targets like the Moon and brighter planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Mars ( Jupiter and Saturn aren't currently available, but in a couple of months they'll start being available in the early morning skies, and then as time passes they'll rise at more favourable hours i.e. night time after sunset and so on. And yes I think you'd be wise to keep just learning your way with visual astronomy, and with time you'll be much better prepared for imaging. The Moon is an incredibly rewarding object to image, and best of all, it can be as simple as "point and shoot" and you're pretty much finished! There's no need for long exposures, or recording videos of it and then processing the video frames etc. Thank You again for such kind words! I'm here if you ever need any help! Clear Skies! Wes.