mackiedlm

Really nice. Well done.

That's a super picture. The stones ad something unusual. Where about are these DS sites? I'm in the South and planning to visit the Mayo Dark Sky Park this winter.

On 21/09/2019 at 22:51, Stub Mandrel said:

HI David,

That's not bad at all for an unmodded 1100D. Main improvement would be to experiment with curves and gamma to bring our more of the background nebulosity:

 

Next step up is removing the blue-green filter to make the camera more sensitive to Ha.

If you save your image as a PNG file it will display in the forum as a more quickly displayed [review (and folks can right click it to see the full image).

 

Hi there, thanks for that. So Ive gone back and tinkered as suggested. also removed some of the worst trailed subs. Got more of the nebulosity but the stars look worse I think. But then they were not brilliant to start off with. A good exercise for me though to see how much difference pushing things a bit further can make.

rgds

David

Yes, making do with what you have is challenging but adds to the satisfaction. Can I ask what your kit is? I'm planning to start guiding later this year and am torn between OAG and Guide scope. I've read about flexure using a guidescope but also about not being able to get a guide star with OAG.

Thanks again

 

David.

9 hours ago, ebdons said:

Hi very nice definition, I would be pleased with that considering that you might have had some wind that night. well done sir!

Thanks, I know, I really should avoid the Baked Beans if I'm going out imaging!🤣

But you are right, it was quite gusty that night and I think the scope was definitely moving a bit.

 

My first image of M27.

Conditions were not brilliant but at least I got something!

8" LX200 GPS, wedge, F6.3 FR/FF Canon EOS 1100D (un modded),
30 x 60s, 15 each darks 7 Flats
Stacked DSS, processed in Photoshop

rgds

David

Hi Folks,

This is my first effort with polar alignment of my 8" LX200 GPS on its wedge. Un-modded canon EOS1100D. Wind was gusty which did not help at all!

I know the stars are bloated but I think that could be partly down to the wind moving the scope, partly to not perfect PA. Possibly focus may not be spot on either though i had a FWHM of 4-4.5 in BYEOS though its showing higher than that in DSS. No guiding yet either (Boy do I have lot more I need!)

28 x120s lights (The Eagle dropping into the skyglow and the moon coming up pretty much curtailed efforts to get more time on it. Full sets of flats and darks applied.
Stacked in DSS, processed in Photoshop.

All in I'm quite pleased with it though I do know its not fantastic.

Suggestions to improve (with the kit I have please) would be greatly appreciated.

Rgds

David.

M16 first effort.tif

That's excellent! Well done.

So, my second night out with StarAdventurer mount, Canon Eos1100d, Kit 18-55 EFS F3.5 lens at about 24mm and F4.6.

Clouds were tormenting me again so 9 X 90 second ISO1600 darks and bias applied (no flats because I screwed them up !)

 

Stacked in DSS (first image) and Sequator (second) and minimally processed in photoshop - curves, levels some Carbonis actions.

 

I feel that there is more in the data than I'm getting out (please tell me if you think thats not the case). So, some questions

 

1.     Is there anything i can do in DSS to get a better output - I tried all permutations of White balance, black point etc but this is the best I could get to

2.     Can I do anything to reduce the blue in the sequator one (M39 looks ridiculous :crazyeyes: )....

3.     .....and pump up the red without making the noise even worse

4.     Any tricks for doing flats on such a small lens - i used the same as i do on a larger scope (white T LED panel) but it came out with a horrible criss/cross pattern (the weave of the T)

5.     Any other suggestions on how to make this better.

 

Anyway, here y'go, enjoy!

 

Thanks for any assistance.

 

David

Thanks for this Michael .

 

David

I have just got a wedge for my LX200 GPS and have read up the manual on how to polar align. I think I get most of it but would appreciate if anyone could help clarify a couple of things I'm uncertain of;

Once it s in "Polar Home" is it going to turn the scope around so I can use the finder?
Once I've centred Polaris is it going to slow to another star to complete goto alignment or is that centering on Polaris going to be good enough.
Should I do another 2 star align at this stage or is that one star polar going to give accurate enough goto's
If I want to then do precise polar align, probably with PHD2 or Sharpcap, at which point in the process should
I do that

Also, I've been reading about polar alignment so understand that you need to have Polaris off centre in a polar scope. So how is centering on Polaris going to work? Is it just that its "close enough" for visual and subsequent precise align (drift or other) is needed for astro photography.

Thanks in advance. I just want to have it all clear in my head so that if I ever get another clear sky I can hopefully get the wedge set up with minimal trauma.

David

I'm planning to try some first time planetary with

8" Meade LX200 GPS, Canon EOS 1100D Backyard eos and a New 2X barlow.

Setting up today during daylight hours to practice set up and check out connections I find that on BYE frame and focus there is a definite lighter patch in the center of the FOV. The target is in focus. The light patch does not seem to be there when I visually use a 40mm eyepiece instead of the Camera. Also camera seems fine using other lenses or even my f 6.3 focal reducer

Is this just an artifact of using the set up during the day or does it indicate a problem with the barlow or incompatibility with my system.

Really appreciate any comments as Clear outside is predicting my first clear night in 3 months!!

thanks

David.

Thats a super picture. Was that your C8 and was it on the CGEM mount?

47 minutes ago, Filroden said:

That's a fraction of the cost of a decent filter or eyepiece or other accessary per year

I hear ya! And I agree that its actually not that expensive when taken in context and considered on a monthly basis - thats why I've taken it out and I am glad I did. Its just the principle of paying a subscription for software that I struggle with. But maybe thats just the dinosaur in me!

On 02/08/2019 at 18:28, Manners2020 said:

I've oo'd and arghed  for a long time over paying for a software and the subscription  has put me off ps, the price has put me off pix. Startools 

My tuppnce on the software thing - I'm really new at this and went around the houses looking at various software. I tried GIMP, and while its free there is nowhere near the level of tutorials etc which I needed (I really had no clue what I was doing). I tried startools and found it to be a bit hit and miss - I did not really understand what the programme was doing to the image so somtimes it came out good (very good even) but others were awful. I could just not consistency or steady progress. I tried Paintshop pro and again could not find my way around to do the functions needed for AP (I'm sure they are there I just could not find them). All this because I HATE the thought of recurring payments on software. But, after months of struggling with various cheaper or free options,  I finaly bit the bullet and took out the PS subscription. And I can honestly say I've not really looked back or regretted it. There is so much available in terms of guidance online and in books that its easy to find various work flow examples and step by steps so its makes the learning thing that much more possible. On top of that there are the plug-ins which are also very useful.

I still REALLY HATE the subscription idea though.

HATE IT!

David

So, my very first (M104) and second (M13) DSO's. Taken earlier this year;

Meade 8" LX200 GPS, Standard forked alt-az mount - autostar GoTo, f6.3 focal reducer

Unmodded Canon 1100D

M104 was 21  X 60s @ ISO1600 (Low in the west so minimal field rotation)

M13 was 30 X 30s @ ISO1600 (relatively low in the east for the same reason)

Full sets of calibration frames applied to both

Stacked in DSS, processed in Photoshop. 

I use Stellarium. I find it simple and intuitive to use and the FOV calculators are really helpful 

 

Hi and welcome. You'll find this a great place for help and advice. I sure do.

David

There is a short reference article in this months Practical Photography magazine about a Photoshop plug-in called "Astro Panel 2"

The aricle is pretty short and deals in a fairly cursory way with adjustments to a Milky Way image.

I'm wondering if anyone has used this plug in, what for (DSO?) and what your thoughts about it are. I'm pretty new at image processing so am interested to hear if it may be wort the I £30 price tag.

Rgds

David.

 

 

Thanks Michael - I'll have a bit of a play with the Antibacklash setting.

8 hours ago, michael8554 said:

You need to redo Train Drives - Appendix D in the Instruction Manual.

This sets the amount of push-start to every slew, to take up backlash. 

Easiest done during the day with a reticle eyepiece. 

Switch to Terrestrial to stop RA tracking. 

Michael 

Hi Michael thanks for this, but, as I said at the start of the post, I found this while I was retraining the drives and it was still there after I finished doing the retraining. Do you think there is value in doing it again?

Rgds

David

2 hours ago, WicklowSkies76 said:

Welcome David. Also in Ireland and starting the planetary imaging journey!

Hi and thanks. I'm planning to try some planetary imaging myself. Jade the scope ot last weekend to show daughters boyfriend Jupiter and Saturn. Remarkably good views considering the moon and the time of year.

 

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome.

 

David

I've just patched my Autostar because of the GPS Rollover issue. When retraining the drives after doing that I have noticed there is a very slight delay (fraction of a second) between pressing the slew button and the scope actually moving (although the motors do start immediately). It happens in both Alt and Az. It may be that I had just not noticed this previously but I'm not sure. Any ideas on why this is happening and if it will impact on goto accuracy or tracking. Any suggestions on if or how this can be adjusted.

Thanks

David

Thanks for this - I'll have a look.

That sounds like a splendid idea. Thanks Michael.