Krackedace

Hi All

Here is my first astrophotography image ever. Could I get some advice on what to improve next time. 

Rig:

Skywatcher Eq6-r pro

Skywatcher f/4 8" Carbon quatro

Skywatcher Aplanatic CC

Zwo asi 294 pro

Image:

240 lights 30sec gain medium

20 darks

30 flats

Post:

Gimp exposure, levels, curves, saturation

PS saturation, gradient removed

Thanks for your advice

Thomas

Perfect thank you now how would I then attach that to a telescope?

1 hour ago, Bizibilder said:

When I did use a battery set-up I had a 105 Ah leisure battery (the sort used for caravans and boats) and this ran my own EQ6, camera(s) and laptop easily for 5-6 hours.

Thanks for the reply

Do you have any recommendations for that kind of batter or where I could get one? also what accessories would I need to get that to work?

Hi Everyone

I'm looking for advice on how to power my setup in the field but my electrics knowledge is severely lacking.🤔

EQ6-r pro synscan, requires DC11~16V 4A

ZWO asi 294 cooled camera, requires  650mA at 5V, cooling requires "12V at 3A Max"- ZWO ("12V @ 3-5A (or more)"-Rother Valley Optics)

ZWO asi 120mini unsure of power requirements 

Laptop unsure of power requirements

Dew heaters when I get them, unsure of power requirements

I have a Deben Tracer 12v Lithium Polymer Battery Packs 14Ah

I also have a Belkin10Ah with output 5v-4.8A

and a RavPower 20Ah with 5V-2.4A

Will that be sufficient? I guess I'll need 1 more battery

I would like to have enough power to last the longest winter night with a bit left over as contingency.

Any help/product recommendations would be much appreciated.

Kind Regards

Tom

Hi all

I have an f4 800mm quattro with skywatcher aplanatic CC.

Visual:

I'm looking to get an eyepiece that will work with it. Need some recommendations. I have read that 2" eyepieces have a female M48 thread inside them to accept filters. Could i just screw it onto the Aplanatic or would that not be the correct spacing. If not would the following work?

RVO M48 - 1.25" Nosepiece Adaptor: https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-m48-125-nosepiece-adaptor.html

Baader Hyperion 1.25"/2" Modular Eyepiece 21mm with fine tuning rings: https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/2454621.html

AP:

I have also purchased a ZWO ASI 294 camera  but I am again unsure how to achieved the correct back focus. 

The Aplanatic CC: https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-f4-aplanatic-super-coma-corrector.html

"requires 55mm" although according to this video https://youtu.be/6YLcXEUgjbM?t=1033 it should be 53.66mm.

The ZWO ASI 294 has a back focus of: https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/zwo-asi294mc-pro-cooled-colour-43-cmos-usb-30-deep-sky-imaging-camera.html

Back Focus: 6.5mm (from camera front)

Back Focus: 17.5mm (from front of 11mm reverse thread adapter)

ZWO 2" Filter Drawer With M42 & M48 Connections: https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p11885_ZWO-Filter-Drawer-for-2--filters---M48-and-T2-connection---length-21-mm.html

"The optical length is only 21 mm."

If I'm not mistaken that would give me 38.5mm Back focus. would it then simple be a case of getting m48 spacers totalling 15.16mm?

If I have got it entirely wrong don't be afraid to let me know, I'm here to learn

Kind Regards

Tom

Hi all

I have just got my first telescope, the Skywatcher Quattro 8" F/4 carbon along with an eq6-r. I am very enthusiastic to start along the road to astrophotography. I work nights and have 4 days off every week so I have plenty of time to start to tackle the steep learning curve ahead of me. All that being said, what with the current climate it is going to take a few weeks for my cameras to arrive along with my  guide scope. 

So I am planning to get an eye piece to start to familiarise myself a bit with the mount etc.

I have been recommend by the store to get a Skywatcher Panaview 32/38mm. Is that a good choice to go with and will it work with my Skywatcher aplanatic coma corrector? (will i need an adapter)?

If you have other recommendations I'm looking to get an eye piece on a budget of about £100 or less tbh as a dont want to break the bank because I'm mainly looking to do AP.

Kind regards

Tom

I ordered an explorer 200pds but after a bit more research I cancelled the order because it seems f4 will be better for astrophotography.

Having researched both im struggling to decide which will be suit the build I'm putting together. Which of the tubes will be stronger and therefor have less flex (skywatcher is heavier does that equate to strength?) . How useful is a cooling fan as the orion comes with one whereas the quattro doesn't. Lastly I've read that there can be some vignetting due to the small secondary mirror on 1 of them I forget which but they seem to have similar sized secondaries so is that an issue that will affect both of Them? Is there a solution to overcoming the vignetting?

I'm purchasing an eq6 r, and probably a zwo asi 294 colour as that should be lighter than a dslr and will hopefully reduce any tube flex.

However I'm struggling to work out which coma corrector would work with either of them. I've been looking at the Badder mcc III and the skywatcher aplanatic the latter of which seems to be better but I don't know if it would work with the Orion.

My other concerns in terms of CC are achieving the correct amount of back focus and also avoiding focuser intrusion.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

3 hours ago, carastro said:

I found this coma corrector the easiest to use:  

I know this is an American link but get the equivalent in the UK.

https://www.amazon.com/Baader-Planetarium-Multi-Purpose-Corrector/dp/B002SYKV46

There is a skywatcher one, but the threads didn#t fit my camera (Atik) which meant another adapter and that made the spacing too big. 

The Baader one worked well with my DSLR.  

If you don't use a coma corrector you'll get coma,

Any HEQ5 will be fine for your purposes, I used the same with a 150P. 

Carole 

 

Thanks for your help Carole 1 further question does it have a focus lock?

Hi all

I have just ordered an explorer 150pds I need some advice as to what else I need to get to start AP.

1)   I'm looking to get a secondhand canon dslr although not sure whether a full frame or crop frame would be best? 

2)   I guess I need a coma correcter and potentially a barlow although I'm not sure how essential these are to start learning the basics?

3) If these are essential do I need a skywatcher one or can I use another brand? (any recommendation)s?

4) How will these effect the back focus+how to calculate it?

5) Lastly I was looking at the eqm35 however I have been advised that this would not be sufficient. Would an HEQ5 be sufficient or would I need an EQ6? and would these be able to support the 200pds for AP?

Thanks in advance for all the help

Tom

Thanks for the answers guys. how about the Meade LX85 would that be better suited to a scope of that size? and is it any good I cant find much about it.

Hi guys I'm getting into astrophotography soon.

I'm looking at getting a telescope and mount. I'm interestred in the Skywatcher explorer 150 PDS and eqm35 mounts. Are those good choices? and will the mount be sufficient for that telescope and a dslr+tracking cam or should I go with a much  smaller ED APO 80-100mm?

All opinions welcome and appreciated.

Krackedace