Nicola Hannah Butterfield

I got this camera back last autumn mainly for guiding, with the option of some planetary imaging. I got this from 1000 frames using my SW 200P. 15/7/2021 01:45 UT

@Daniel Karl This is the other end of the cost scale taken at the same time'ish as your first image, one of the cheapest planetary cameras ASI 120 MC on an 8" Skywatcher, ok not the cheapest scope, but far from being expensive.

I processed about 45 1,000 frame vids, the angle of view with this set up is small, and it only really needs about 15 overlapping frames, stacked in Autostakkert and PP work in P.S.

I have done a little bit of this over the last year, still learning.

14 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

That camera cost £40k....😮😮😮😮 or so the title says....?? 😮

Seen the price of the Hasselblad H6D-400c MS.

@Daniel Karlsort of stuff I do, but not with such expensive kit.

@kirkster501 Thanks, as mentioned before the final image presentation is always subjective, to me the first is anything is overexposed, as the highlights are a little burnt out, but it has on the whole a better tonal gradation (apart from the highlights), The third image suffers from inconsistent stacked images, due I think being shoot during twilight, some had a blue tint and some a yellow, you can see some of this in the lower left limb.

@Dazzyt66Hi, got it the other way round, primarily for guide, with the occasional, imagining. Also be mindful of video sizes, the computer in the shed is only USB2, and even at 20fps 1,000 frames is over 1 GB

@callistoThanks Mark.

@Trevor NThanks.

@Luke and @Trevor N, I did this last night, but clouds were a little troublesome. This was taken during twilight, as a consequence colours are not totally uniform, I did do a later set of images, but i have yet to process them.

@Mr SpockThere was an old adage back in the film days, expose for the shadows develop for the highlights, bit different these days, it is more about the dynamic range and getting the exposure right, it so easy to blow highlight details, especially on something with such range of tones as the moon posses.

Regarding colour, it is a bit subjective as we all see colours slightly different, I use two different 22" monitors, and without a colour calibration sensor, I can quite get them the same.

Thanks for taking the time to view and comment.

@Paul M Thanks, I did a few different processes some better than the others. This one with a little more contrast really shows the rays from the impacts, but has lost some detail in the shadows, something to work on.

Never ever having used a dedicated camera before, the first records were in SER and i had never heard of the format before, I had to look it up.

I ended up shooting in avi for simplicity on the evening, I will experiment with different formats in the future. I shot some SER last night with Sharpcap, so I will look later.

Providing there are not to many the mosaic is pretty easy, providing there is enough overlap, this is the reason the setup with the 2x barlow might prove difficult, whilst 15 was enough to do the above image, I ended up last night with about that many just doing the terminator. That said, if there are enough sharpish images, I might end up with a section, we will see.

@wouterdhoye Thanks, I tried it last night same set up with a 2x barlow (kit) but there was some hazy cloud here, so it ended more an experiment to see if I could attain focus with the bits of kit I have, it worked but yet to have a look at the results, it would be nice to create a mosaic and that size sometime.

I purchased the ASI 120M-C primarily as I guide camera, with the possibility of some Lunar and Planetary imaging (Jupiter, Saturn conjunction in mind, though that didn't happen). I have done the moon using my Canon 6D and Backyard EOS at 5x, on a SW 200P, the field of view at this is very similar to that of the 120M-C on the 200P.

So on the evening of the 22 of April, I managed to get it set up and using ASI software, I managed to capture 15 frames to mosaic the moon, each stacked in Autostakkert and then stitched and P.P. in P.S. this was the result .

@discardedastro I finally managed to get out the other night with no moon in the sky, Rear of the scope covered with a dark towel, camera covered with a lightproof bag, home-made light shield (though this can be improved on) This is the full frame from my Canon 6D , a quick stack in DSS and a little stretching and a little editing in pixinsight/photoshop. Thank you for your help.

On 14/03/2021 at 13:58, Jiggy 67 said:

I think “wow” is a great description of a great night, it ain’t all about ticking off the targets, just looking can be amazing as well 

I see you ain;t ticked Mercury off yet shame on you. 😉

@Vacuum Just enjoy what you see now, I know it is totally amazing when you get that wow factor, nothing short of our children being born is as close to what we see in the night sky.

@malc cThanks, I will get to flocking eventually, if I stay with this scope as my primary imaging scope, I still need a coma corrector, so I am debating to get a refractor, yes I know it needs a flattener as well. @discardedastro Has pointed out some interesting things of which I have just done a few test shots. These are just single images, but they do highlight a few issues.

This first is with the rear covered with just the normal dust cover on the front all are 300s @f5 prime focus and with the camera covered with extra blackout though a perfect fit with the tube, anything camera wise is cover and tight around the bases or the focuser. Focus and orientation as set the other night. I have done nothing other than a simple jpg export in lightroom

This second just front dust cover.

This one front covered with extra material, and rear covered as the first.

This final one just a shot to show the orientation of the camera on the scope, which is roughly 90° to the tube.

I did do a few others in the home position, but the sun was weakly shining through the clouds and was effecting the bottom of the tube.

So the conclusion is yes there is excessive light around the mirror cell and a dark centre which might explain so artefacts I am getting. The first the one with just the extra rear cover is interesting because whilst it does so a similar artefact to M33 it is in a different position.

Below is the one with just the rear cover on the left and both front and rear covered on the right, cr2's stretched in pixinsight.

So my next test will be on a subject with the extra cover on the rear and see where I can go from there, and an extra cover on the front doing the darks.

@discardedastroWhat I will do when I get sometime is do a long exposure during the day and try this, the camera/focuser is covered with a lightproof cover, it is possible that some light is getting around the main mirror cell, but I don't think that was the issue in this case, as the M51 exposure later that night, did not show the same issue, nor on my previous attempts of M42/43 and the Horsehead Nebula earlier this month. The mirror cell is usually in the darker part of the area the scope is in, it is just the front the experiences overspill light from neighbours lights, but as we know light just bounces around everywhere these days, not that the nature of light has changed, just so much more of it.

A little PP work.

Cleaned it up a bit, but it will be better reimagined I think.

@discardedastroThanks for the input, as I said previously the rear of the primary is painted matt black (black board paint as you say) as is the draw tube and the edge and rear of the secondary. I am pretty sure it was either the moon angle or the shed light, the next clear night I will try again, with the shed light off and the moon will be out of the way for the next two weeks nearly. I am not worried about removing the primary as I had to shorten tubes in the past, I also did darks frames.

Love the enthusiasm, keep it up, I feel like that every day I see stuff and image it. They are not always good but what the heck,

On 20/01/2021 at 22:31, Stargazer31 said:

the dob just seemed to big and my neighbours would prob think im setting up a missile device or something lol. im wanting to do some visual but maybe in the future try some imaging thats why i was thinking the skywatcher 200p and i could upgrade the mount when i decided to do

I got a 200p Jan 2020on an eq5 mount, it isn't a great combination, I did however manage some A.P. with it before I upgraded the mount, I can't travel as I need to be handy for the lady I help. Previous comments are correct about e.p. positions. way back in the 90's I had a 10" Dark Star Dob and it was a beast I wouldn't have carried anywhere but the back garden at the time, so it seems to me that the 200P is a carry scope (just) I am not sure if I would carry it to the local rugby field, same sort of walking distance with  an eq mount, possible an Alt/Az as has also been suggested, but I don't have experience of larger scopes on such mounts.

Your comment about a missile launcher strikes a cord, back in 2019 I was doing some star trials in said rugby field, when the police turned up asking about my rifle, (tripod slung over shoulder) police received a call there was a person with a gun, anyway he was satisfied I posed no threat and called of the armed unit, then put straight about a few things astronomical, and he said I knew my stuff, I will leave it there.

I have just had a thought, it could have been the interior shed light, as it was pointing in that general diection, and I was imaging in the shed at the time. M51 was almost 180° in the other direction, and I was imaging from my bedroom via remote excess and the shed light was off.

5 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

The moon light must be reflecting off of something to give that weird light band though? Else it would just be a general brightening of the image wouldn't it? What are the edges of your secondary like? Also is the focuser drawtube shiny? 

Secondary edges and draw tube  painted mat black as is the base of the primary, plus I was using a homemade light shield from cardboard, ok it's internals are not painted, but just the matt brown cardboard is, so not likely to produce such a bright streak. It might be another light source from the direction the scope was pointing.

@The Admiral, @tooth_dr Thanks for your input but as you can see from M51 shot the same night different direction and further from the moon, the moon at this moment seems the likely candidate.

This is a cropped and to me at the moment a finished image of M51 well at least today. I know I need to work on different aspects but, very little time with clear skies since last Sept, and only about 4-5 nights since I got the guide scope in late Sept early Oct.

Just worked through the above tutorial. Tight crop from a full frame DSLR