AstroMuni

As others have said a picture would help. But from what I am reading it sounds like you are attaching the cable with the plastic box at the mount end. Have you tried it the other way around ( box end of cable attached to the controller so the clean end will be at the mount end)?

You could hyperlink your images to the astrobin ones perhaps? Another option is show details in a mouseover -name etc.

Are you able to link to the astrobin image on smugmug? That would help the AP geeks to get their info. The Smugmug site looks great and easy to navigate and once you have added names to all the images then you can rest 😉

I call this Bubble & froth 😉 lets hope that name catches on too

Great find. Looking forward to seeing more images of this Wim.

I like the image & the name. Very appropriate

I have deliberately accentuated the nebulous areas that can be seen in your image, so if you gradually stretch the original image then you should be able to get a lot more detail out that is not stark like what I have done but more soft and natural. You can clearly see the running man nebula too. I used a software called Siril (tutorials are here https://siril.org/tutorials/). Good luck.

Nice shot and a great one for a first attempt. My only suggestion would be to reduce the black point so you can see the cloudy nebula around. What software did you use to process the image?

Thats lovely 😍

If you are not using a UV/IR cut filter then get one. This helps improve focus. You could swap the ASI224 with the ASI120mm as they both have similar FOV and focus requirements and give it a try

As others have said back focus is not relevant in your case. If you have attached a field flatner or Coma corrector then its relevant to help calculate the adjustment rings you have to put in between. Have a go at focusing during daytime and then you can tweak at night to get precise focus.

+1 from me.....I had a similar mount from Celestron and used to hang milk bottles filled with water from the central part of the mount. The plastic tray is quite flimsy on mine, so didnt want to risk breaking it.

So the recipe seems to be a mix of Bortle 4, higher gain and exposure. I will have a try with higher gain & exposure to see what I get. The 130/f5 should in theory get more photons as compared to a 120/f7 all else being equal.

For just 600s that IS awesome ! Using my guided 130pds with ASI533mc pro + UV/IR filter on HEQ5 pro mount, after taking around 1.5hrs worth (60s subs at 240 gain, -10deg) from a Bortle 6 garden, all I managed to get was this. So whats your secret recipe please 🙂

Thanks. Sounds like it would need to be badly out of focus to create 2 distinct images is my guess. And it would help if there was only 1 star in the FOV. As you approach closer it would create close overlap and diffraction spikes? You have piqued my curiosity and I have to now try it out and see what it looks like vlaiv. 🙂

And thinking a bit more, the number of openings should NOT create multiple images (in theory). I am just theorising here and someone with more knowledge of optics will probably prove me wrong. EDIT: They might create diffraction lines

Atleast thats what I use it for 🙂

I learn something new everyday 👍 So this could do the trick without need for a Bahtinov mask? I have always wondered about the 2nd opening which seems to be sealed.

I have friends in Shinfield area who seem to enjoy clear skies when the rest of us are clouded 🙂 @GeorgeP welcome to SGL. I live just south of you in North Hampshire. As far as Astro societies go Basingstoke also has an active one.

I am sure that folk can help with getting the frame rate up, But could you explain the reasons why you want that higher frame rate? I recall Firecapture has an option to tune the USB rate and it will automatically reduce it if there are dropped packets. Are you noticing dropped packets? This post might help

I was keen on buying this and then I saw posts about how much the drawtube needs to stick out in order to get focus etc. How far out is it in reality? Pictures would also help please.

I keep seeing posts about the turbulence caused by setting up scopes inside the house and here you are taking images from a balcony in the UK. Wow. Can I have more details of your setup please

Thats amazing. Love it

Everytime I refit the camera the tilt and other aspects are ruined, hence until I get a compression ring or find some other way to get repeatability I prefer storing with camera attached.

Thats a great idea. Food for thought I am still playing around with optimum position for camera vs guidescope. I like the idea of each being diametrically opposite each other to help balance the scope, but too scared to have camera hanging down.