Mandy D

16 minutes ago, Steve Ward said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=nikon+uce+14+usb+cable&_blrs=spell_check&_fsrp=1

I've found my cable and playing with digicamcontrol now. It looks good so far. Thanks.

4 minutes ago, Steve Ward said:

This is supposed to be very good ... and free.    http://digicamcontrol.com/

BackyardNikon is only free in it's trial version  , then $35 or $50 for the Classic or Pro versions.

 

Yes, I was quite happy with $50, but not with what Nikon wanted to charge. I'll try your link first though and if that covers what I need, I'll be very happy. Thank you for the suggestion. I just need to find my Nikon USB cable, now ... 😉

8 minutes ago, Steve Ward said:

The MOV files are just a stream of JPEGs and very compressed.

Better to shoot full single frames on the DSLR and then use PIPP (https://sites.google.com/site/astropipp/) to evaluate , crop and centre the frames and join into a full res AVI before feeding them into AS!3 .

You should be able to use the Nikon in house control software  "Camera Control Pro 2" to adjust everything you need to from the laptop in much the same way as Canon's "EOS Utility" does for us Canon users.

Sadly, unlike Canon, the Nikon software is not free. In fact it is very expensive. Backyardnikon, as suggested by @Laurieast is probably what I will use.

I get that PIPP will give me the full resolution of the camera, but for simplicity at this point I will go with shooting video until I get my head around this processing game. But, thanks for the additional suggestions. I'll certainly investigate them further once I get going with this.

8 minutes ago, Laurieast said:

Looks like VLC can convert them.

Ah, good old VLC. Looks like that might be what I need to get started. I'll see if I can grab a few minutes of video tonight.

1 hour ago, Laurieast said:

Take an AVI of the Moon to start with (easier) , open it in Autostakkert and select "surface" , take about 2000 frames, tell it to stack the best 25%, on the right you will see a box for Allignment points, try 104 or 200.

It's easier than it looks at first sight.

OK, thanks. I've installed Autostakkert. My D800 appears to produce MOV, not AVI. Will this work or do I need to convert it first?

@Gem85 I started with a Skywatcher 250PX and it got me hooked, as I could see so much with it. Then, I thought I needed something a bit more portable, so I bought an iOptron RC6 as it is a lot smaller than the Skywatcher, but I had to buy a whole lot of extra kit that makes it less convenient to drag out than the bigger scope. So, since my 250PX is in France and currently unnaccessible to me, I bought a used Skywatcher 200P, thinking it would be smaller, lighter and easier to store than the 250PX. Nope! It takes up exactly the same amount of floor space, as the Dobsonian base is the same size and the tube the same length and it weighs near enough as much!

Most of my astronomy is currently done with a 300 mm prime lens on a Nikon D800 or D3200 and with a x2 teleconverter (Barlow) to give me 600 mm at f/8. I have a heavy (and expensive) video tripod to keep things stable. I also have a ZWO ASI178MM camera that gets less use than I'd like because I have to lug a laptop out to use it.

What I am trying to say is that whatever you buy, it will have downsides as well as upsides. I use all of my kit, but some more than others. Initially, you may be disappointed with the views in a small scope, especially for DSOs, so a large scope will give you a more exciting intro to this hobby. I'm actually glad I started with such a large scope, but now I am getting more observing done with smaller gear.

There is no right or wrong answer to what you should start with or advance to, other than avoid cheap supermarket telescopes like the plague. I paid £200 for my 200P, which is an absolute bargain for such light gathering power. I've seen similar out there for even less, so stuff is available within your budget.

On 10/08/2022 at 17:15, jamesc96 said:

I've now forgotten about portability and have bought a skywatcher steel tripod and will just have to deal with the size/weight. Maybe I'll cut the legs down a bit in future if I find that it is steady enough already to risk doing that.

I bought a Skywatcher tripod with the 2 inch legs and made an adapter to take a tripod head, so I can also mount my camera directly on it.

5 minutes ago, Laurieast said:

I made it sound like it will stack multiple single shots, which it won't, sorry.

To stack stills like TIFF or RAW or whatever your choice you would still need Autostakkert to stack, and Registax to sharpen etc for the Moon and planets, both are free.

And Photoshop or Affinity (cheaper) to process (Adjust  😉 ) images. 

Ahh, I have Registax, just need to learn to use it and must download Autostakkert. I currently do everything in GIMP, so not sure if I need Affinity. I think now is the time to up my game. I have just bought an AZ-EQ5, but am currently unable to drive due to an eye injury and very little sky available at home due, mainly, to trees.

20 minutes ago, Laurieast said:

Nice photo!

You might like this, I use it on my Canon EOS with good results. Control your exposure and focus etc on your laptop. Take images and AVI's and stack them.

https://www.otelescope.com/store/category/4-backyardnikon/

 

Thank you!

I'm using a Hahnel system at the moment to remote release the shutter and have the intervalometer, too. I've never seen Backyardnikon before; it looks interesting. I like the idea that it can stack images and AVIs as that is something I am currently stuck on. The only problem is that I am lending my laptop to a friend tonight, otherwise I'd try it on getting the other moons of Saturn.

I'll definitely give it a go. Do you use the classic or premium edition?

Last night's supermoon.

Nikon D800, Skywatcher 200P

My attempt on Saturn, last night with a Skywatcher 200P and Nikon D800. Nowhere near as awesome as some of the images you guys are posting, but I can see a clear gap between the rings and the planet and in my second image are the moons Titan, Dione and Tethys. I don't know where Rhea went as that was supposed to be brighter than both Tethys and Dione! I only get a ten minute window to the south from my garden because of the tree line. I might have another go tonight, as this is addictive and I now want 5 moons!

47 minutes ago, yuklop said:

The screws are some imperial thread that is very close but a bit smaller than M3. I may just retap these to M3 so I can use screws I have. Happy that it looks fairly achievable.

If those screws are slightly smaller than M3 and given the age of this telescope, I suspect they would be 6 BA, which are 2.75 mm in diameter. You should be able to obtain some from a model engineering supplier. It seems a shame to change parts for metric equivalents on this projject.

31 minutes ago, lukebl said:

I was there! In a field near Dieppe. I distinctly recall hearing Quails calling as totality approached.

We weren't a million miles from Dieppe, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the place. We went into Dieppe later.

On this day, 23 years ago, we had perfectly clear skies with not a cloud in sight in a village somewhere in northern France. Then, just as totality was approaching a small cloud began to materialise out of nowhere next to the Sun. There was no chance of moving to a new site, this close to totality, so we had to stay put. The cloud covered the Sun moments before the total phase began and started dissolving immediately it was over! It did still go fairly dark though!

You win some, you lose some!

I thought I would try my Nikon 135 mm f/2 lens on Arcturus and compare the results with the 200P. Obviously, the diffraction pattern is very different at f/8 with this lens and it has brought out the colour of the star.

Absolutely beautiful! 4.5 hours very well spent on a truly gorgeous nebula. It looks very much 3D in the central regions.

1 hour ago, simmo39 said:

V spikey! nice little image great colour..

Thank you! I think it has proved my 200P quite nicely.

This is just a star field that I was using last night to focus the telescope prior to imaging the Moon, but I got some nice diffraction spikes on Arcturus, courtesy of my Skywatcher 200P.

3 hours ago, Rusted said:

This thread is conversation of momentous, innit? 

Definitely conversation! Momentous? Not so sure! 😂

6 minutes ago, col said:

Is this the strict and highest weight limit, or is it just a guide.

There has to be a safety margin applied to all such things and it's probably at least a factor of two if it's been properly engineered. If it's made in China, who knows?

A 5% overload on the chair is likely to be perfectly OK. The chair also has to handle dynamic situations such as you dropping yourself into it when you first sit down and this is the time it is most likely to collapse. Lower yourself in gently and it will probably be fine.

The general rule is that you do not overload things beyond the specification, but in real life many people do, even if inadvertently.

You'll have to make your own mind up on this, as it is your safety which is at risk.

2 hours ago, SthBohemia said:

@Mandy D so far so good with the peripheral bits and pieces. As to the method-

I assume that once the rig is 'glued' together the general idea would be to start the variac at a low voltage (any suggestions as to how low) then slowly increase it until the aluminium wire begins to vapourise??

I came across someone within the Ice in Space forum, Oz based, that aluminises via home edition. Trying to join their network to ask a few questions. Alas, so far the application seems to be in limbo. Possibly because Oz regards CZR as containing spies for the Kremlin  😞 

I think that is going to come down to experimentation. We always had an ammeter in circuit so once you know what works it is easy to repeat. I would not expect aluminium wire to glow before producing a vapour in vacuum. It may start to sag, though. 

One other thought that has occurred to me is that aluminium oxidises in air to form a thin layer of Al2O3. You won't want any oxygen in there when it vapourises, so will need to clean the wire immediately prior to use and not touch it with your hands. Lots to think about.

59 minutes ago, Pete Presland said:

Never anything boring about Sunspots, a couple years ago we weeks and weeks of no spots at all

Yes, I remember those days. I also remember a huge spot that was naked eye visible on the setting Sun back in the nineties.

7 minutes ago, Philip R said:

Well done! Nice start to astro-imaging. 

Thanks. I was on my own and had to carry everything about 50 metres from home and forgot some of it and didn't want to leave the telescope on it's own to go fetch the barlow and D3200. When I am able to drive again (eye injury) I will throw it all in the Land Rover and set up properly and have another go.

I dragged the Skywatcher 200P out onto the street last night and set up under the trees away from the uber-bright LED street lamps as Saturn was just coming into view above the roof line on the opposite side of the road. I'd forgotten to bring the finderscope with me, so it took ages to find Saturn in the main scope, then when I had it in the viewfinder of the D800 it was so tiny I couldn't see to focus, but at least I got a recognisable Saturn in my photo. I thought I might try a bit more magnification on it, so I dug my barlow out of the bag and stuck it on the 1.25" Nikon nosepiece before finding out that I'd not brought the reducer for it to fit the 2" focusser!

After messing around for ages, I noticed that Jupiter had popped up over the roofline, so I turned the scope in that direction and found it quicker than I expected without a finder! I couldn't see any detail or any of the moons, so took a few photos with longer exposure and higher ISO until the moons showed up.

Nothing great on either planet, but here are my best photos of the evening.

29 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

I was on the understanding that earth would slow down on its rotation speed..

The general trend is that the Earth's rotation will slow down, but it is influenced by so many external factors, that sometimes it can speed up. For example, Jupiter has enough mass to perturb the orbits of the other planets.