OregonEAA

If you get the SE6, I would recommend getting the FR6.3 for use with your DSLR. I have a C5 on that mount and it is a very versatile system (I sometimes mount my C8 on the SE mount also). If you like imaging (short exposure), you can get a program called SharpCap (Brit made, it is brilliant software) and Nikon Backyard and your SE system with the focal reducer can produce some great images (see the EAA forum here and on Cloudynights). Unfortunately they don't sell the SE C6/C8 mount with the C5 the mount it comes with is very similar to the SLT. The mount that comes with the SE6/8 will be good for a long time unless you go all in for imaging. You can get a small lithium battery for the SE mount and let your DSLR take images and process them when you get home (you should still be able to see many objects in high ISO (1600) 10-15 second images (max time for the SE Mount). You should be able to find the FR6.3 used, and there is now a more expensive f4 reducer (Starzona (sp) brand) which would also be good. From visual to short exposure imaging, a SE C6 is a scope that will keep you engaged for a long time. And even after you "go big" it will have value in being that easy to use light setup. My SE mount and C5/C8 gets used a lot more than my AZ-EQ Sirius with the C8/ES102 double mounted just because of ease of use. No one setup is perfect but I find the value of an SE setup a tool that gives me enough choices that even if it was my only setup I would be a happy astronomer.

Almost 6 years ago I had stopped doing visual astronomy due to two things: I had for 15 years using my C8 and LXD75 seen most objects I could see in my yard with it tree limited view and Magnitude Bortle 6 skies (used to be B5) and at 65 my night vision for driving long distances made me uncomfortable. At that time I had a C90 (my first scope, 1996 rubber coated), C5, and a C8. I sold the C5 as it had become my “club dark site” scope on an SLT mount which it shared with the C90. I just put my stuff in the basement (climate controlled) and never touched it for two years. Once night when the moon was extremely alluring when I was at my brother’s house watching his dog (B4 skies) I got out my Celestron 20 x 80 binoculars and “peeked” at the moon. Then after watching boats during the day time, I went M hunting the next night using my tripod with the head moved to the side of the mount and laid on a lawn chair, I realized how much I missed astronomy. I did a lot of searching, mostly on the gear focused CN’s, and found the EAA forum (I also signed up for Slooh at this time). My wife gave me the Ok for an observatory, but in my yard, but I have three different locations on my acre with stream that have slightly different views which an observatory would have been limited to one spot. So, I developed a plan which I executed over 3 years to have what I thought would be the perfect “EAA system” for me. My main at home system is the Orion Sirius AZ-EQ (same as the SkyWatcher) with the C8 and an Explore Scientific ES102 and various reducers for each scope. I then have a C6/C8 SE mount on which I can use the C5 and C8 for quick setups or club events (once things open up will get a trailer so I can spend the night at the local dark club site). My other items are Windows 10 PRO with Remote Desktop on the Laptop and Desktop for wifi at home in house view, SharpCap Pro and Both V4 of SkyTools for running the scope under ascom, ZWO224/294 cameras, Starsense for both mounts, GPS, and a 60mm guide/finder scope, and a Slooh subscription so during the 6 or 7 months of the year (maybe more in if fire season is bad) in Oregon that even quick looks are often not available. Nothing I have is “premium” but it is very functional in the way I use the gear. Between my Equipment and my Slooh subscription I can now work on the Herschel 2500 almost every night on a 50” 4K screen in the comfort of my house or take the SE setup to be with club members. At this stage in life (now 70) EAA has given me the opportunity to continue with astronomy which I had given up. Now I hunt the net for research articles on the object(s) I have on plan for the night. EAA is in my mind an opportunity for those who can’t travel or who live in heavy LP (including those who live in apartments and perhaps have a balcony or roof top) to have a path to exploring the night sky in a rewarding way. How did you come to EAA?

I was going for Herschel 4248 on the 20" PlaneWave in the Canary Islands, and got M106 as an Easter Egg. Here is one 6 minute exposure of 3l and RGB combined in Fitworks as the PNG was, well wasted photons.

I have both systems (Celestron and Syscan, and a hybred Celestron StarSense for Skywatcher) and most issues are because folks get excited and don't read the manual. If you have a limited sky, then do sync the finder SkySense scope and your scope, then for me, do a manual alignment and save it so it is specific to your location and you can then do a Auto user alignment (assuming you mark where you scope is setup) everytime and have no issues. Trouble with the Celestron alignment process often comes from trying the all-star alignment instead of an auto two star or manual two star (assuming one has setup the scope up pointing north and leveling the tube before you start. I love my AZ-EQ for various reasons, one being the second set of encoders so you can actually try and starhop and save yourself if you screw up. If you take the time to do a bit of reading on the next and very carefully follow the manual the first few times modern goto systems are amazing. Adding Starsense and GPS works so well for me that my wife said "you don't have to do any the scope does it all for you (once I add remote focus that will be true). Don't give up on using goto, just be patient and write a check list until it becomes second nature.

Yes, but it is on a limited database and I don't think you can drive Fits files. The website has been redone and its easier to find out what each level includes.

Slooh is a not-for-profit organization that has telescopes in Chile, the Canary Islands, and soon in the UAE. Slooh.com will give you the whole story. Because I have limited open sky at home I use Slooh to supplement my attempt at the Herschels (and other things of course). It's about $25 US a month and on most nights I get over an hours time on various scopes.

Since Slooh images develop on screen and no other processing is done, I do think of these as EAA image: Imaged on Slooh Canary Islands #1 04/29/20 Canary One Half Meter This is Slooh's premier telescope. Its 20" mirror gives it incredible light gathering capabilities. It's ideal for larger faint objects such as galaxies and nebulae. T1-HM-508 Planewave CDK20 (508mm) Wide-Field DSO CCD imaging. Corrected Dall-Kirkham 508mm (20") 3454mm (135.98") f/6.8 None f/6.8 FLI PL09000 Kodak KAF- 09000 Astrodon Generation II ESeries Luminance, Red, Green, Blue, Hα, U-Band (Bessel), I-Band (Bessel) 0.717 arcsecs/pixel 0° (North-Up) 37x37 Binning 1x1: 3056x3056 Binning 2x2: 1528x1528 Herchel 4216 Magnitude: 11.00 BSize: 7.8' x 1.8'V(r): 133.0 km/secB-V: 0.98U-B: 0.52Mean Surface Br. 22.0 Mag/arcsec²Class: Spiral bHubble Type: SABbOrientation: Edge onPosition Angle: 20°Status: known galaxyH I-35, observed by William Herschel on 1784 Apr 17.

No experience with this specific setup, but I've run two sessions of SharpCap on my i5 8 gig SSD USB 3.0 laptop as well as having a tethered M43 Gx8 sending files to OneDrive for processing on the desktop computer in SharpCap or DSS. If you have enough computing power and can trouble shoot almost anything is possible these days (with some loss of sleep and hair).

I live near Portland, Oregon under Bortle 6 skies and @70 have gone completely EAA after 15+ years of visual in this location (I do still (but not this year) go to star parties in very dark Oregon skies). My EAA setups are a Sirius (SW) EQ-AZ mount with Starsense which I mount with either or both a C8 and ES102 (4" triplet) and a Celestron C5 on a SE 6/8 Nexstar mount. I use a laptop running Ascom with SkyTools v4 visual and imaging and SharpCap for capture with plate solving all over wifi to my 4K tv and 1080P wide screen. Cameras are : ZWO 224 & 294 as well as Panasonic G9 and Gx8 both 20 mpx M43 cameras using the SharpCaps watch folder through Tethering. Due to the C19 staycation I have subscribed to Slooh for a year. Second time on Slooh but had to take a break when developing my own EAA system. But I have a limited view at my house and Slooh opens up the southern skies to me. I will be posting here links to live EAA runs on Zoom/YouTube as well as screen capture videos. Attached is M20 done on a long capture (a Slooh group image) from last night in the Carnary Island locations. Hopefully you will see mostly Herschel objects as I attempt the complete 2478 +- a few over the next few years. Always looking for advice and help in this endeavor. Also Hickson 68 (part of a galaxy cluster) with a single 5 minute (actually 1 minute for Each filter LRGB) from the Canary Islands as a test image. Here is a link to some research on Hickson 68.

Hello Everyone: I am Jeff from Oregon. I (due to health reasons) do 99% at home EAA. My Equipment is two setups: My Grab and Go is a C5 (ZWO224/Meade FR3.3) on a SLT which uses a Manfrotto 055 CF legs and RC488 as it's tripod. My "big rig" is a Orion AZ-EQ Sirius Pro with Celestron StarSense mounted with a C8 (FR3.3/6.3) and a ES102 Triplet with .8 reducer/flattener, ZWO 224 & 294 controlled by a laptop with SharpCap PRO and SkyTools V4 visual and imaging remotely by AnyDesk to my office with 50" 4K. Currently doing as many of the Herschel 2478 objects as I can see from my limited in view Bortle 6 Skies. I tend to do 1 to 5 objects a night and do my observing reports in the following manner: First of the resources are my “old school” guide books. The Complete Guide to the Herschel Objects by Mark Bratton, IBSN: 978 0 521 76892 4 Hardback and Observing Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-sky Objects by Christian Bl Luginbuhl and Brian A. Skiff, IBSN: 0 521 62556 4 Paperback. These two books are my rainy day target selection tools when I want to look for very specific object details. Bratton is a full list by constellation of the Herschel Objects. He views every Herschel object with varying sizes of scopes and I find this fairly expensive book useful in an attempt to hunt and understand these objects. Lubinbuhl and Skiff is unusual in that is was written for visual viewers. While not all Herchel Objects are found in it a significant number are, and it is these descriptions I use with my Electronically Assisted equipment to see what features I can see in my 4, 5 and 8 inch scopes in Bortle 6 class skies compared too larger scopes in dark skies (I do the same with the Bratton book but he does not compare as many sized scopes as do Lubinbuhl and Skiff). There is one last step I do in this hunt (not counting plate solving for object confirmation at astronomy.net) is to go to (no pun intended) Cornell University’s Astronomy Research collective of research papers (Link https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.03767) and see if there has been any type of research published about the particular Herschel Object I have “seen”. These can be somewhat technical in detail, but I feel I owe William and Caroline the effort to understand everything that is known about the objects they spent their life cataloguing for history and science. Look forward to participating in the forums.