AstroMuni

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.

I have the same mount and noticed that too 🙂 Thats a great idea to build a simulator for ASCOM. Ekos comes with its own Simulator for all the standard devices and this has helped me a lot in learning the tool as well as plan & try out things during daytime.

Thanks Han. I am not familiar with how these work at all so its a good prompt for me to read up. 🙂 All I know is in Ekos there is the Guiding module and it has option to enable GPG (Gaussian process guider) RA guider too.

Thats a great idea. I am of the same view. In our local astro group we have setup a little group for exactly this purpose and we have been conducting practical sessions for a while now. We started with Zoom sessions during Covid and soon realised that beginners also need that hands on assistance and that is what we are encouraging. This way they get to see and work with different equipment and try out bits before they make a purchase. And then they get to bring their kit to the sessions where experts can assist.

Would be good to see a comparison of this vs Ekos internal guider too

Hi all, I had posted this in the 130pds topic but didnt get any response, hence posting here as this sort of issue must be faced by other scope users too. I have acquired a 130PDS recently and need some advice. I use an ASI533 pro and 30mm guidescope+ASI120mini attached to it. As I setup and takedown the scope every night, I need a space-saving way to store the OTA with cameras attached. On my 130 Astromaster it stands up on its base but with the 130pds I find it impossible and that means I have to place it on the floor/carpet along its side making sure that it doesnt roll and cause the main camera to hit the floor. How do others store their scope?

And I suspect its read noise will be lower too as compared to DSLR.

Thanks. I have used the Baader MPCC for this but needs a bit of backfocus adjusting to remove small coma in corners