Dean Hale

Managed to try out the new ZWO 485MC, ZWO UV/IR cut filter and StellaMira 80mm ED earlier this morning. Only 359 frames owing to clouds. Processed in Astrosurface and Affinity Photo. Need quite a few more sessions to figure out the settings.

Full size 2180 x 3864 and one reduced 50%.

reduced 50%

Full size

12 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Lucky Dean. Child no.1 decided to go to a local uni, live at home attached to his gaming PC and stay a student forever. Child no. 2 first year at college and she thinks we live in a launderette staffed by loaded attendants. 🤬🙄😳.

I crave your peace (and a TV 8mm).

I actually think they couldn't wait to get away and get away from me grumbling about anything and everything. One more to go. Can't wait. Does mean i have to now talk to the wife more though. 🙂 Not a 8mm but he has two lovely Panoptics for sale at very good prices in the ads - i'd love one but best wait a little while. Sorry i may be passing temptation over. 

Child number 2 packed off to Uni and as the food/begging bills are now vastly reduced a little extra cash to squander. Looking forward to trying the 8mm Radian thanks to @toshapetriji and the ZWO 485MC from FLO.

Vixen widetop dovetail. Extra weight and overkill but i feel a little safer with 4 screws attached to the tube rings rather than 2. Tele vue enhanced aluminium diagonal mainly for heavy eyepieces. I have a Tak prism which is lovely so sure they will complement each other.

@Knighty2112 Please do let me/all know how you get on with the new binoviewer. I was about to purchase a WO one and these popped up and thought I'd wait a little while for some reviews. Thanks

I'm being dense here, so please correct me. Lots of variance. So which one is the right one?

https://www.google.com/search?q=m81+and+m82+site%3Anasa.gov&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiRtrXrn7PyAhX8AGMBHZiuBxYQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=m81+and+m82+site%3Anasa.gov&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1DHxQJYz-UCYNLpAmgAcAB4AIABRogBoASSAQE5mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=FiYZYZHTIPyBjLsPmN2esAE&bih=796&biw=1440&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB908GB908

all are from nasa.gov

Thanks both. Stumbled on the Max Bright II. Shall read a little more before i decide which. More expensive however 2 of my lovely children will up and off to Uni shortly which frees up some funds - actually quite a bit - can't wait. 😀

Thanks @HollyHound. I think i may give it a try.

Hi

Has anyone used binoviewers with the Stellamira 80mm such as the William Optics binoviewers? I currently have a Tak prism diagonal and about to purchase a 1.25 Televue enhanced aluminium diagonal as it seems a little more solid. Hopefully one of these will work and will allow me to reach focus?

Cheers

Well i managed to get something - learning on the job . I do enjoy this though.

All processed in Affinity Photo using tips from these video tutorials. Astrophotography stacking and Equalising colours.

Yes please. Looking forward to no1 as my diy skills are zilch.

9x50 finder from the Ads here on SGL. Thanks @Stu1smartcookie. Lindy Chromo 1m USB A to B cable. Powered Hub for the Raspberry PI. Couple of USB C adapters. Curiosity got the better of me - a 17mm Baader Hyperion.

Thanks @JeremyS for the comments. I'm starting to try and settle on software for processing and note what I do within. Now using Astrosurface rather than autostakkert so hopefully I can start to show some consistency when processing.

A few more.
On reflection, when i took the images with the 120MC the moon was quite high around 49 degrees and the moon is quite low around 10 degrees with the 462mc. Different filters too so maybe not quite a fair comparison. For the money the 120MC is excellent value. 

- the image is massive (width not filesize) - 7000px wide.

Hi both, yes i agree.  A little more practice on my part i think.

I recently upgraded my ZWO 120MC to the ZWO 462MC + IR Filter, a modest increase so not expecting a massive improvement.

Images are taken roughly 3 months apart. With the 462 i seem to be able to manage the whiteness better so the image doesn't blow out. However as to detail, so far very little difference. Very pleased with the results for entry level cameras.

I know lots of factors are in play including my inexperience. However, a few clear nights ahead so can try alternative settings and image the Planets.

Both processed in pipp, astrosurface and Affinity photo for the mosaic.

1 hour ago, Philip R said:

Nothing.... 'tis my 60th birthday [happy birthday to me] 😊 
and no postman/postwoman today 😭

Another birthday is the best reward one can get. Many happy returns. 

Thanks for this @JSeaman ekos initially looked a little daunting and this helped me find my way around. Only daylight testing so far of the windmill a few hundred metres away and some random star hopping but happily painless to install and detect my kit. I used a couple of smartphone adapter mounts to attach the PI and battery to the mount. Hopefully a clear night soon.

I purchased one a couple of weeks ago although the £8 version.  More out of curiosity than expecting something useful plus something i could let the kids use. For less than a tenner it's surprisingly good. When viewing a near full moon you do get some scatter / electricity the best i can describe it. Some pics of the internals.

Download Crossover and take advantage of the free trial to see if it works for you. I use it to run. Pipp, Autostakkert etc on the latest release Big Sur.

A Licence for Affinity Photo and a new 15mm Celestron Luminos in a special deal from Amazon. Reviews are generally not positive for use in fast scopes with the odd dissenting voice expressing its merits. I'll be using a F/10 so hopefully ok. It's hefty but manageable. 

Few items over the past few days from FLO, RVO and Amazon - some for fathers day. Cleaning fluid and cloth, Astronomik filter, Zwo asi462, reusable cable tie wraps another baader barlow to replace the one i previously passed on and a losmandy bar.

Probably a little hasty and maybe not my wisest decision but i like to tinker. Sold the ASIAIR Pro here on SGL a couple of days ago owing to the video mode not working on Android 11 and fed up of waiting for ZWO to provide a fix - 6 weeks and counting (otherwise an excellent piece of kit). So onto, Astroberry or Stellamate on the Raspberry Pi 4. Worst case i can always change it to a retro gaming machine and fire up Jet Set Willy.

And a StellaLyra simple 5mm eyepiece. 

38 minutes ago, Ags said:

Won't you lose alignment?

Hopefully fine for 2 star alignment or wanging it about in manual mode

£12 panning base for the az-gti from Amazon. The AZ is quite stiff so when needed I can swing it around more quickly rather than using the app.