AstroMuni

I know, hence my smiley too....

I wasnt trying to drag him away from PI 🙂 just suggesting alternatives if budget is a constraint. PI is a great tool and has a lot more to offer than Siril.

Lovely detail in the image. Incase you are after a cheaper alternative, SIRIL is a free tool that allows you to do the same

I learn something new everyday 🙂

Great first attempt. What software did you use to stack and post process?

Hi Sien, Collimation with a Cheshire is usually done for a Reflector. The 72ED sounds like a refractor. Have I misunderstood something?

As others have already said video is best for planets. Looking at your kit of 130ps & the WOZ73 have you considered if you will get enough of a zoom to capture details on the planets?

The GoTo is NOT needed for guiding or tracking. But, you need a mount that has an RA motor so it can help with tracking. You would also need a DEC motor to correct for errors in DEC axis. So when you add all these into the mix, it might make it worth your while to purchase a GOTO I would suggest looking for a second hand one if budget is the constraint. Here is one of the benefits of a GoTo which I have found useful. I started off without a guidescope and found that my HEQ5 Pro mount could hold its position quite well upto around 5minutes as long as my exposures were less than 60secs. So I used to take a series of 30-60s subs and force the mount to realign to the object (using platesolve) at the end of 5mins ensuring that drift was minimal. The other obvious area to help keep to your budget is to go for a reflector (like a Newtonian) instead of a refractor. Good luck.

There is a windows version of Kstars. Its just the INDI server that wont run on Windows. I also ditched Windows on my old laptop due to inability to upgrade and run Linux Mint. Works a treat.

One of the versions of Kstars had a memory leak issue which is fixed in recent update is my understanding. Stellar solver has also been updated.

When you update your RPi, do you use the hotspot for that too?

Welcome to SGL. I would recommend that you join a local Astro group and get a feel for the kinds of equipment available.

Welcome to SGL Simone. The other active club nearby is Basingstoke https://www.basingstokeas.org.uk/

Welcome to SGL. I have the same scope and you should be able to see the ring around Saturn on a clear night with your eyes. I purchased a Svbony 23mm eyepiece and found that gave better views than the erecting eyepiece supplied with scope. Good luck. I have since started using this scope for imaging with a dedicated camera (see link in signature) so dont be put off if you hear comments that its a poor scope

As mentioned by the OP, the challenge here is finding the cloudless night

May be a bit difficult in Virgo area tonight as Moon is quite close to it

Bear in mind the weight of these as well 🙂 Lugging them outside can get tricky esp if you have a dodgy back.

You have 2 options - 1) is to run cables from your laptop out to the mount and thats how I used to work in the past. The 2nd option is what I use now....I use an RPi to control everything. The RPi connects to my Wifi via a Wifi extender in my case as my router signal is not good enough to reach the RPi. I can manage the RPi via ipad or phone or laptop. All the images get downloaded onto RPi and then I download them onto laptop when I do the processing. I delete the images from RPi at that stage. There are pros and cons of using RPi - your software choices are less wider as compared to whats available on Windows at the moment (choices on Linux are improving every day though). But if you are a Mac user then RPi is THE way to go as they are both based on Linux. If you are Windows person you could get a mini PC to do what the RPi does.

In addition to what Ratlet has said these tutorials from SIRIL authors and users https://siril.org/tutorials/ will also help The 2nd tutorial provides data to practice with.

I was using a basic mount for several years before I decided to opt for a Go-To when I decided to get into AP. Here are the features I find useful: - Ability to control mount sitting inside the house (out of the the cold). I still have to go out at beginning to set it up, focus etc. and late in the night to pack it up again. - Plate solving and recentering image after every couple of images helps keep the image centred (guide scope not necessary). This corrects for any drift that may have occured after several images. I started without a guidescope and was getting ekos to realign after every 10 or so images (around 5mins) and that works with my HEQ5 pro when you are capturing just 30-60s images. - Dithering can be automated - Meridian flip is automatic - You can schedule the nights tasks and let the computer manage the process. Hope this helps you decide.

As you are using Starsense, I would expect it to do a platesolve and align quite well, if not at the first go then atleast after a few star alignments. Polar alignment would help with tracking but it should not impact Go-to capability much.

Exactly what came to my mind too 🙂

Dont scare him But I agree that moving EQ around the sky is not as intuitive as an AZ.

Looks good. Try using some free tools to start with. I use SIRIL, Gimp. Plenty of good tutorials are out there for both tools. In your image you will notice its got a bluish tinge that can be corrected in Gimp easily by moving the histogram for the blue channel to the left to get it more in line with R & G. Good luck.

Check the default offset that is applied by the driver for your camera at that gain. When you open histogram transformation tool if you notice there is a lot of data at the lower range, then you can increase the offset in the camera so there is less risk of clipping. You can increase the zoom level by increasing the level in the box on top left. As an example I apply an offset of around 100 for 180 gain but 120 for 240 gain on my asi224mc.