AstroExploring

Hi everyone 

I know I struggled with this along with lots of other beginners so I’ve put together a really quick video to hopefully help others in polar aligning the Star Adventurer. Subscribers always welcome 😊

Thanks

Nick

Great first image! Welcome to the hobby, you’ll be forever keeping an eye out on the clouds! Enjoy 😊 

Thanks both. I shall continue to not use one and hope that I don't get any issues! 

Does anybody use a dew strap for their field flatteners? I haven't suffered from dew yet but only been able to image for 2 hours max before cloud stops play so far. I do have a spare port on my controller but I was saving that for the guide scope when I invest in one.

Cheers

Nick

I’m hoping to invest in auto guiding equipment to do longer exposures. I also want to get my DSLR modified. Other than that I’ve just launched a website and YouTube channel so hoping I can find the time to shoot plenty of footage and add lots of content, especially images, to my website. 
Nick

Hi Dan, welcome to SGL! I'm not too far from you (Cirencester). I started with the 130EQ just like you! Best of luck and welcome to this incredible hobby!

Hi everyone, I’ve just created my first YouTube video about the 72ED and would appreciate it if you gave me feedback on it. I was a little nervous posting this due to the vast amount of experience/knowledge on here but hopefully the video is okay! Really pleased with this scope and it’s currently hoovering up photons from the Heart and Soul nebula as I post this. My DSLR isn’t modified but thought I’d give it a go! 
Cheers

Nick

Yeah I’ve got the ED80 FF/reducer with the adapter to connect to 72ED. The OVL will work no problems. 
Hope you get some clear skies, it’s supposed to be clear down here tonight! 

Posted in a thread I started but thought I’d post here too. M31 Andromeda. So, so pleased with my first effort with the 72ED, what a great bit of kit that is! Been so frustrated for so long using a cheap DSLR lens and not getting great results but that is now a thing of the past! Goodbye money!

Great pic! Especially with just 17 minutes worth of data! I agree with above that you should try ISO800 and see how that turns out. 
Nick

2 hours ago, rickwayne said:

VERY nice. Great detail in the disk, while not blowing out the core (at least not anything but the very center, if that).

Thanks very much! Really appreciate it

I use the 72ED with FF and M48 adapter with DSLR with no focus issues. Was using it last night in fact. 

26 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Sounds like you've got lots mastered. You might like the book 'dark art or magic bullet' for processing or I believe member @carastro has an online guide to Photoshop processing though I don't recall the link.

Thanks I’ll be sure to check that out 

1 minute ago, Spaced Out said:

That's a fantastic pic ! I'd be proper chuffed with that as my first image with new gear.

I'm a novice but learning about this stuff is all part of the fun (and occasionally frustration too !). I'm sure you’ll learn a few little photoshop tricks over time but tbh I think you've done a really good job with this already !

Thanks, really appreciate it! It helps that I already had polar alignment down because of using the Star Adventurer. I've actually had the HEQ5 for a couple of weeks because it's second hand so I've been calibrating the home position and practicing alignment with it. It meant that when I went outside for my first imaging session yesterday I was confident in setting it all up. It's just the calibration frames and image processing that I need to get better at now. Really pleased with my progress! 

Hey everyone

Up until now I've been using my Star Adventurer and taken a few reasonable images until my lens fogged up and I had to pack up and come back inside. Santa was kind to me this year and got me a second-hand HEQ5, 72ED, flattener/reducer & dew strap with controller. Somehow the clouds managed to stay away for a couple of hours yesterday evening and I was able to test it all out. Below is my final stacked image of Andromeda using:

50x 2-minute exposures

25x darks

30x flats

50x bias

It's my first time using flats and bias, I'm not sure the flats came out right but I'll keep experimenting should we ever get some nice weather again! I'm really pleased with the final image but think my Photoshop skills need to significantly imrpove.

Cheers

Nick