AstroMuni

Generalised Hyperbolic Transformation aka GHT 🙂 ... Here is a video by the author

If you are a Windows user then Kstars has a limitation when it comes to managing the devices. It uses INDI drivers which work on Linux, Mac or RPi

Your image is good 👍 perhaps if you reduce the black point and stretch using GHT you may get more nebulosity to show up. I have deliberately not increased the black point as the background sky is never really black and in this image there is a lot of nebulous matter out there in the background which would get obliterated. The sensor on my ASI533 is obviously smaller than yours hence the cropped look. Didnt understand what aspect of the diffraction spikes are being made worse by Siril. In my case I know that the vertical ones are spread out due to the vane being a bit bent. Its not easy to fix though 😞 Glad you like my choice of colours...I was debating whether to show off the electric blue and then decided to mute it a bit as that brings out the nebulosity too. Here is the electric blue version

I set magnitude around 10. Because I use Kstars I have also mapped my horizon so altitude is taken care of. HTH

I am not aware of a site that has a ready reckoner for what you are asking. As the equipment I have is limited, I go about it like this. First get a list of objects that are visible for the period. Make a shortlist based on FOV, magnitude etc and narrow it down to a single object for the night. As an example a faint nebula with Ha is likely to take more subs and this may not fit into a single night. I also set aside time to setup and dismantle scope, sort technical glitches like guiding not working, camera not connecting, the list is endless. HTH.

I have been learning AP using a Celestron Astromaster 130 during the pandemic and I recently purchased the SW130pds. Here is my take on a part of the Pleiades star cluster taken on 16th Jan 23 using the ASI533mc pro/ZWO UV/IR cut filter/Baader MPCC. The SW130pds is mounted on a HEQ5 pro. The image is comprised of 90 subs of 60s using gain 240, offset 70, -10deg, no flats or darks taken. Capture done from my garden in Bortle 6 skies & managed thro Ekos and processing done using Siril. Final tweaks done in Mac Preview. I posted the image on beginners forum and then decided I will take part in the competition for the very first time as I was feeling lucky 🙂 Thanks for looking. EDIT: What I love about the M45 is it has a lot going for it. You can see a variable star, a multiple star system, reflection nebula, asterism and if you look deep there is even a galaxy peeping through this.

Here is my take on a part of the Pleiades cluster M45. Image taken with my recently acquired SW130pds, ASI533mc pro on HEQ5 pro. Images captured in Ekos and processed in Siril. No flats or darks. Comments welcome

I finally got a chance to do some imaging last night and experiment with spacers, tilt and collimation. Here is an image of the Perseus Double cluster and coma correction seems to be a lot better. Comments welcome.

It seems to have gone quiet on the next compile of Astroberry using the 64bit capabilities. @RadekK is there any update please?

As close to the sensor as possible

Siril has a tool based on GraXpert

And by then there will be a few more software out there that do a better job 😉

We have all been there and done that. I inadvertantly got rid of my partition on my HDD which had all my old images etc. Had to reinstall Linux Mint all over again. Like yours its an old laptop with 3Gb Ram and 256Gb hdd. I had similar problems with DVD and in the end had to use a USB stick to boot Linux.

If its just one filter then it fits neatly next to the ASI533mc Pro sensor. The camera comes with the necessary adapter (T2 to 1.25") for that and thats what I have used to attach the UV/IR cut filter. But the uncooled version doesnt come with these, is my understanding. And if you need to change filters in the middle of an imaging session then you would definitely need a drawer or wheel.

Perhaps some setting thats different in Ekos. Have you tried asking on the Ekos forum https://indilib.org/forum/index.html

Thats a good idea. 👍 I would have thought just common bathroom sealant would do the trick, which looks like what Alacant's image suggests.

Take a look at this too..its easier to make https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/224593-better-alternative-to-bahtinov-focusing-mask/

What software did you use to get this tilt map?

It may have something to do with sensor size. I have trouble using ASTAP & Stellarsolver in some areas of the sky using the ASI224, but thats both on RPi & Linux Mint.

I like the 2nd image better than the first one. And for 15mins worth, thats amazing.

Is there a reason you are not using the internal Stellar solver?

Would suction help? Perhaps using the vacuum cleaner?

Doesnt seem to be tilt

Thats looking a lot better. 👍 What did you do different this time? EDIT: Its actually looking great viewing on a laptop screen instead of phone 🙂

Could you not attach it to the UNC bolt thats there on the tube ring for the OTA?