TerryMcK

Not to have any resolutions. Failed already.

I’m looking at an expansion/extra mount to my existing rig and see the IOptron CEM70 with its higher capacity would probably suit me. I believe the CEM60 works on Astroberry/INDI but anybody using the CEM70 on it? Same driver maybe?

A 45 day trial is not sufficient time to properly evaluate PixInsight. I don't know if you bought it or not. I appreciate life gets in the way sometimes and one cannot always get to grips with a complex program in that period of time. I use both PS and PI finding them both easy to use. PS I use professionally, have done for years, was trained in it and as a general purpose tool it is excellent. Affinity Photo is almost, if not, as good (IMHO). PI is a recent addition for me and I decided to take training courses in it to make the most of the modest initial outlay - a good way to spend evenings in UK lockdown! The live courses (via GotoMeeting) are given by Warren Keller and Ron Brecher who are both excellent teachers - mastersofpixinsight.com - have been invaluable. Rather than just relying upon books, random internet workflow PDFs or anonymous talking heads on Youtube videos I decided to learn it properly. Yes I agree that the interface is unusual but you soon get used to it. Have you looked at AstroPixelProcessor? An equally odd looking interface but fantastic program. As is NINA with its odd interface but excellent results. So if anybody is considering PixInsight have a look at Warren and Ron's website to factor in some online training as well as the initial outlay. If you are struggling finding a used version of Photoshop PS3 then download Affinity Photo. It is really cheap and the interface is the same as Photoshop. Some plugins work on it too like Topaz DeNoise, Gradient Exterminator and HVLG. If you want a free general purpose image editing program then GIMP is a multiplatform tool that is similar to Photoshop But for £9.99 per month you can get the latest version of Photoshop - some people baulk at the cost as if you carry on paying for it for 10 years then that is thickest part of £1200 and you never own it. That could have been a couple of AstroDon's So 230 Euros for PixInsight, written by AstroPhotographers for AstroPhotographers, starts to look a little more tempting as it includes lifetime updates and feature enhancements. Hence why I bought it. An interesting debate.

It's a faint object so you need much more time on it. You have stretched a lot of sensor noise. Try 3 minute subs although I'm not familiar with that mount. I think from the description it is an alt azimuth so you will get field rotation and it is therefore very limited for long exposure deep space work.

An 8” Dob is a great choice for a first scope. Along with a decent book like “Turn Left at Orion” users will then learn the sky.

Dr Rebecca Smethurst aka Dr Becky. She is an astrophysicist at Oxford University. Her bio states “MY RESEARCH IS FOCUSSED ON LOW-REDSHIFT GALAXY EVOLUTION STUDIES; PARTICULARLY THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE QUENCHING OF STAR FORMATION. I AM CURRENTLY WORKING WITH SDSS-IV MANGA DATA TO DETERMINE WHETHER NEGATIVE AGN FEEDBACK IS OCCURRING ON A POPULATION WIDE SCALE. COMPLIMENTARY TO THIS, I AM ALSO INTERESTED IN THE GROWTH AND POWERING OF AGN IN GALAXIES WITH MERGER-FREE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORIES.” Her YouTube channel is excellent, very informative and entertaining and you can contact her through her website https://rebeccasmethurst.co.uk

I understand the Ha but what is HO?

Use AuroraWatch.uk on a tablet or smartphone.

It looks like Sky Safari to me

There’s a ZS61 including flattener for sale on here

If your goal is to solely to process astrophotography then buy PixInsight instead. It's a one off fee and you get updates for life. It has a learning curve like any substantial piece of software but after a short while you can get decent results from it. If you want a universal picture editing tool then Affinity Photo, as others have said, does much of what Photoshop does with the exception of some 3rd party actions (Astronomy Tools for instance). GIMP is ok too but not my preferred tool. I use Photoshop professionally and have no issues with the £9.99 per month. I also have the other two tools, PI and AP, too.

The thing about concrete block work structures is don’t overthink it and don’t worry about thermal retention as it will soon cool down with the lid off.

Santa brought Cosmic Clouds 3D, Mission Moon 3D and a couple of packs of Owl-3D stereo cards. The books are co-written by Brian May and David Eicher. Cosmic Clouds 3D also it authored by J.-P. Metsavainio a Finish astrophotographer and visual artist who has created wonderful 3 dimensional images of many of the objects we try to capture. A pair of goggles are provided in each book and when I saw the 3D images of the Elephants Trunk it blew me away. The book is full of regular images and also 3D stereographs. The other book is the story of the quest to get to the moon again accompanied with 3D stereographs. There is input from Charlie Duke and Jim Lovell both of which travelled to the Moon on the Apollo program. However as we all know Jim didn’t land on the moon due to half the spacecraft being missing due to a critical failure. The stereo card packs are also astro related and are easy to see the images.

I also have the WO rotator for my ZS103. It takes all the guess work out although I was surprised it was not fitted as standard. The ZS73 has an integral rotator built in but sadly without a scale. Like all WO hardware it is well made and I didn’t quibble at the cost.

To get the Mure settings you need two uncalibrated flats and two darks (or bias) frames. Drag them to the relevant fields then click Estimate Write down the Gain and Gaussian Noise. Yes pen and paper! Click Dismiss as you are done with this bit now. Next execute MureDenoise It works great and here are the settings I use: Gain and Gaussian noise are the only parameters I change but enter yours into the two fields. Offset is not the offset from darkpoint and should be left at 0. I never use flatfield but you can use a calibrated master flat if you want. Select the calibrated mono image you want to denoise normally something like an Ha for instance. You can play around with variance by making it less than 1. Keep cycle spin at 8 and that's it. You should only run the DemureDenoise on linear mono images BTW. The settings may change for different filters but on my Ha, SII and OIII filters there is no difference with my mono camera.

I managed to coax a bit more out of it by fiddling around with your xisf file. I used the Dark Structure Enhance script. I also used Photometric Color Calibration based upon your camera pixel size and scope focal length, using CFA Harvard as the database server to plate solve after putting in the RA and Dec of the object. This has changed the star colours. I think I have brought out the wispier outlying areas. However PI is such a complex program with many things that can be altered that sometimes one can go a little too far! I tried applying a MLTSharpen (Multiscale Linear Transform) to sharpen the stars but it looked a little too processed then so undid that.

I suppose it depends on how much saturation and contrast is given to the background nebula. I've seen plenty of tadpole images that are similar but pop because of the contrast. Very nice data though. You look as though you have sorted the problems you had with the F4.

I was referring to the OPs camera the ASI 2600MCPro. Is the 2600M a colour camera too?

The IDAS D2 will help even in your Bortle 8/9 skies and will work fine for broadband images with skies polluted with LED, mercury, tungsten and sodium . No filter is perfect or a substitute for less light polluted skies however. As you have a colour camera capturing narrowband is less effective as you have to image for 4 times longer due to the RGGB Bayer matrix in a colour camera. The camera is less sensitive due to the RGGB Bayer matrix than the equivalent mono camera. If you do want to go narrowband then a 7nm Ha filter (or even slightly narrower) will be the best option for that camera. Add the Ha as a luminance layer to the broadband data and it should make the images of emission nebulae for instance pop. It won't work with everything as not all objects emit Ha. If you want to try bicolour or tricolour then there are other filters which capture Ha, OIII at the same time but they have wide passbands. I have one for my OSC and it is okish but not brilliant - Ha on mine is 12nm and OIII is 35nm as it is supposed to let through Hb in the same passband. Those filters are all a compromise. I wouldn't really bother with separate OIII or SII filters with that camera, good as it is, but invest in a mono camera, filter wheel and narrowband filters later on. The IDAS-D2 is available in 2" (M48) and 52mm only at the moment as far as I am aware so make sure whatever you buy will fit into your imaging train.

I noticed this issue ages ago on the HEQ5Pro. I only ever use the setting circle to get the counterbalance bar roughly level prior to polar aligning. I agree that it is either poor design or meant to do something else SW have kept secret 🖖

I have the exact same binoculars that I bought brand new in about 1979. I can’t remember how much they cost back then but they are really good and have given me years of pleasure. Built like a tank nothing has gone wrong with them and have needed no work apart from occassional cleaning.

It needs a regulated power supply of 12v with at least 3 amps to be reliable.

Haha 😅

Is there a INDI driver available for linux systems? I have a look around for something but a can’t see anything.

Clear cloudless skies