Nicola Hannah Butterfield

@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.

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,

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.

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

I think this is an improvement on last year's attempt. They are both quite tight crops from a full frame DSLR 2021 2020

Possible the moon was 59° 2.5' away. I will try again next week with no moon, proving there are clear nights. When I did M51 later in the evening, the moon was 84° 32'.

@david_taurus83I have a home made light shield, as O have a neighbours bathroom light on most of the night, it shines right down on the scope, about the only place in the garden it does, at the time of imaging it would have been greater than 90°there are insecurity lights on two opposing housing, but the scope is hidden from most of those sources by the boundary fence, It is rather a steep hill I live on. I am just working on a sequence of M51 and no such issuses with this one, taken later the same evening. so it is likely to be a light source of one form or another, I will invest on a better dew shield if the problem persists. I do actually find shooting NE/east I get better results, as from the SE to SW there is Doncaster about 8 miles away and Barnsley somewhat closer, then Wakefield at about 12 miles to the west. Looking East there is very little between here and the North Sea, Hull/Grimsby about 40 miles away.

Canon 6D Skywatcher 200P, it isn't on the flats. i did think at first it was clouds, but only used the best of the image with as little cloud in the 30 odd lights Master flat Single 120's light AZ/Alt approx 203° 65° left of frame is towards the horizon.

As the title says, I did a sequence on M33 the other day L.P. apart I am struggling with the very bright band of light and the darker one to the right of it, the 38 x 120's lights (flats bias and darks about 20 of each) after a little bit of PP work this is what I get. So could the focus tube extended in to the light path be able cause this.

@peter shah@ultranova Thanks for you comments. I used a lot of masking, I have learnt some new things processing this one. One thing I have stated doing (though not sure if has helped, is to cover the camera with a black bag type thing, also a home-made (basically a piece of cardboard) light shield, to help cut down on excess neighbours lights from going straight down the focuser, I either need to change that or the scope at some point, as it is the standard 200P focuser and extends into the tube an inch or so, though I have painted it black, I suspect it is still effecting the final image. Just need some clear nights to practise, you tend to forget from one month to the next. I have however got the computer side sorted for the most part, guiding (when not to windy) plate solving, dithering (though not aggressively enough on this sequence), flats are always an issue, so tend to take these during evening twilight, and leave the camera in the same rotation. I have an idea what I am shooting so rotate accordingly. I got a bahtinov mask for Xmas, first time I used my eye focus was spot on anyway, but handy to check.

which was this