Aramcheck

The red dot finder will be adjustable, so you have to set it up so that it's pointing to the same position as the scope. If it's bright enough to see the red dot in the daytime then you can point the scope at a distant object on the horizon (eg TV aerial or chimney - as long as it's well away from the sun) & then adjust the red dot finder, otherwise use a bright star or the Moon. Cheers Ivor

I've suggested our local soc try it, but reaction so far has been muted... The Nottingham Astronomical Society streamed their first online talk yesterday which can be seen here:- https://youtu.be/mFHc1vbhTwc The BAA webinar mentioned by @JeremyS on Wednesday was great. Cheers Ivor

Thanks for this thread @Dave_ . It prompted me to try connecting my laptop to my AZ-EQ6 GT Pro with an old USB printer cable. Tonight I could only get it to work using the Synscan App + driver... I'm wondering whether one of these leads would be the solution:- https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-mount-accessories/lynx-astro-ftdi-eqdir-usb-adapter-for-sky-watcher-eq5-pro-heq5-syntrek-pro-az-eq5-gt-az-eq6-gt-and-eq8-mounts.html Cheers Ivor

Here's an image I took with the 200dps, where the focus tube doesn't extend as far into the OTA. You can see the effect in the magnified portion. Thanks for the heads up on reflections. Also - if you shorten the focus tube I presume that it may cause problems when using the scope visually, when you have to fit the extension tube between the eyepiece and the focus tube? Apologies to the OP for hijacking thread! Cheers Ivor

With the 130dps & DLSR the focus drawtube has to extend quite a way into the OTA, which shows up on images with bright stars.

I think @steviebee is probably correct. When I bought our Astromodified DLSR from Cheap Astrophotography about 18 months ago, it took awhile to get a reply as he'd been on holiday. Juan does the conversion in his spare time / weekends too. Cheers Ivor

What colour light does it produce? If it's yellow/orange it's sodium, but if it's white then it's probably a metal halide luminaire. Cheers Ivor

I've recently been using Capella as 1st star & Pollux as 2nd star in our North - North West back garden (supposedly Bortle 6, but facing LBA airport).

When out observing could you hang a box on the wall lights (or hold in place with velcro strip)? Cheers Ivor

It seems like the 'Green' nights are always 2 - 3 days away & on occasions tonight looks 'Green', it's either a full moon or Met Office / BBC weather show cloud. Fingers crossed you'll get a spell of clear! Cheers Ivor

Thanks @assouptro - I'm impressed with APP's light pollution reduction. Just downloaded a trial version & had a go with it. The process is similar to DBE in Pixinsight, but was a lot more effective at reducing the gradient! Thanks! Ivor

@alacant - I'd be grateful for any pointers on the process you used! I've attached a FIT file with the (slightly cropped) full stack. int01_crop.zip

@alacant Thanks for the Siril tip/link! - I'm very impressed with the result you got! I tried several combinations of DBE & ABE in Pixinsight & couldn't get rid of the gradient completely. Cheers Ivor

It'll depend on what part of the sky you can see and the time of year. We're limited by streetlights to observing the Northern horizon, so each month or so different constellations are visible from our back garden. I often go out at night when it's too late to set up the scope with a pair of binoculars & a map, and just try to work out what I can see. Ursa Major, or at least the Plough part of it is a must, as that will help identify Polaris (useful if using an EQ mount). Cassiopia - lots to see, but also useful to help find the Andromeda Galaxy by following the direction the larger 'V' pattern points to in the direction of the Andromeda constellation Perseus - I love picking out the asterism around Algol & has a lot of stars at the Mirphak end - and useful for locating the double cluster Taurus - nice busy area around Aldeberan, but also helps to locate the wonderful Pleiades (Seven Sisters) asterism/reflection nebula (don't expect to see the nebulosity though) Auriga - fairly bright, so easy to pick out & has a few faint clusters which are barely discernable from our garden Cygnus - packed with nice things Lyra - small but neat constellation. Last year or so when we started out, I spent ages trying to find M57... but it wasn't until we'd upraded to a much bigger scope that I managed to do so (it is tiny) Orion - unless we're away, I don't get a good view of this, but the nebula in the middle of the sword is a must Hercules - kind of a hard one for us as it's faint, but with bins it's possible to pick out the M13 globular cluster Gemini - not as exciting to me, but it's one I'll try and pick out M35 in Cepheus - quite faint, but has lots going on inside the constellation & the garnet star can be found here too. A good book / map is useful - I use the pocket Sky & Telescope one, an old edition of the Cambridge star atlas and the Collins Discovery guide, in addition to Stellarium. Cheers Ivor

Had a few attempts at processing - this is the best I've got so far... Cropped quite a bit. I'm fairly confident your street light hasn't been converted yet (which may be why they're stalling on fitting a shield?). A Freedom of Information request from 2018 said that Liverpool were due to complete all street lights by 2025. Worth googling Liverpool LED street lighting - several newspaper articles with people complaining areas are too dark. Cheers Ivor

Doesn't look like a LED lamp to me... Think I may have spoke too soon about the data too. Did a quick stack but no processing yet. Lo-Res image attached...

Just had a look at one of your light frames & data looks good to me! Will have a proper go after work... Could you do me a favour & post (or send me) a pic of your street light? (If it luminaire bit is flatish & rectangular it's an LED.) Cheers Ivor

My wife got an email this morning to say that the event has now been postponed due to concerns over the corona virus. Probably a wise move! Cheers Ivor

I've thought about fitting something like a light weight 'dew shield' to the front of the newt to cut down stray light. Also light leaks in from around the mirror end on my SW 130 & 200 dps, so a cap or bag over the end might be an idea. Liverpool probably has a LED street lighting replacement program... this may result in a small reduction in skyglow(*) or an increase depending on the luminare specification, but as LEDs are more directional it should mean than less light spills out into gardens. If you don't hear back about shielding, contact your local councilor(s) & complain... BTW Some residents also complain about the fact that the new LED lights don't light up their front garden / door. Could you shield the street light with a screen? (I'm thinking of doing this with the neighour's kitchen light that's on all evening). Will have a play with your data tomorrow... Cheers Ivor PS: (*) A study in Tucson reported a likely reduction of 7% from their LED program & US DOE modelling also suggests a modest reduction.

During alignment you could consider using an illuminated reticule eyepiece, but I'm not sure what the limitations are on a GoTo Dob. Cheers Ivor PS: Sorry @Star Struck beat me too it.

From last night... Really surprised how it came out, given the full moon & wind... Just a rough stack/process. 59mins out of 60mins used with the 130dps + astromodified Canon 600D (1x sub lost due to aircraft lights). To me, the 'Fish head' looks to me like a bald man with a beard... The core of the 'Heart Nebula' can also be seen bottom left. Got polar alignment within 3-4 arc mins! Cheers, Ivor

Thanks everyone - much appreciated! Cheers Ivor

When shooting a set of subs with a DLSR is it advisable to either take short sets of exposures with a gap to allow the camera to cool down, or to take one long continuous set of subs? And if shooting a continuous set, is it better to leave a gap between the individual exposures, or doesn't it matter? At present I usually shoot 60sec subs with a few seconds between each to allow the camera to finish processing & a 2 sec delay between raising the mirror & starting each exposure. I'm wondering if at affects noise? Any advice much appreciated! Cheers Ivor

From Friday night - only got 42 mins before clouds came in... 86% Moon, so mainly a test to get used to the iPolar and APT. I presume the noise is due to the Moon? Bortle 6ish here in north Leeds. Anybody know what gives the heart nebula its characteristic shape? Cheers Ivor

I'd have thought it was because you used JPEGs, which are already non-linear?