AstroNebulee

Hi Mike No problems. I look forward to your video. Do you mean the worm gear isn't connecting with the round gear very well. Sometimes you can adjust the tension on the spring loading. I have in the past 'disengaged' the use of the spring by undoing then pushing the worm and gear to mesh the worm and gear together with no movement on the spring. Just throwing some ideas out there 😊. Lee

I realised I had my Adm dovetail clamp still on my disassembled and unused AzGti eq imaging that's being stored away. Thought it was a waste, so I've put it on my second AzGti mount for my observing work. I will have to make the DIY food lid cover to go over the workings still showing but never having one on my other AzGti mount it's never rusted or affected it. So a job got another day. Lee

Hi Sorry to hear of your trouble with this great little mount. Do you mean you have mechanical backlash in the motor as my video shows? I had this issue. I used this thread on the other site to remove it from my mount. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/668785-adjusting-backlash-on-skywatcher-az-gti-mount/ Lee Dec motor before.mp4

You could possibly use PIPP software first if the object is moving about to much to centre each frame then transfer to autostakkert to stack the image for you. Lee

No problems. It's pretty easy access to the Moor from all around and most villages around have good dark skies. Maybe worth a trip down sometime to have a mooch around and see what you think 😊. Lanson isn't bad, it is a town with a retail park and a few big stores, but possibilities around the outskirts of it. Villages are your best bet around Bodmin Moor. Look forward to hearing more on your potential move in the future. Lee

I wouldn't say Bodmin was nice and many will agree with me around here. If you search on google maps for places near Bodmin moor, there will be lots of places. Just to remind that you don't need to go onto the Moor there are plenty of places near it. I'm only 4 miles or so from it here. There's St Breward, Blisland, Bolventor, Altarnun, Laneast, St Tudy, St Mabyn, Davidstow, Michaelstow, Helstone, Camelford and so on. Just to name a small selection around the North here. There are many many places. Lee

I do know of this astronomy club, though I don't attend as I don't drive but have monthly meetings near St Columb/Newquay way which isn't far away. http://www.kernowastronomers.com/ Also there is/was an astronomy club in Lanivet, just outside Bodmin but not sure if they are active anymore. https://www.lanivetparishcommunitycentre.co.uk/lanivet-amateur-astronomers Davidstow aerodrome (disused) is a fantastic dark site to go to but yet again I don't drive so not been at night and its only 4 miles from me. Great views all around. My observing site behind my flats is pretty dark and I generally walk to a couple of places in the village with lovely dark spot's for dslr milky-way and Aurora work. Cornwall council are in the process of switching off and dimming streetlights in the county and the ones that they have done can be found on this interactive map. Sadly my village hadn't been included yet but should be on the next round. The nearest market town to me is included, so that shoukd help me a bit. https://cornwallcouncil.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=07845e198a37473c8068e4556e4a404e https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-news/transport-streets-and-waste/next-phase-of-green-initiative-to-cut-carbon-emissions-and-light-pollution-by-turning-off-or-dimming-streetlights/ Good luck on your potential move @Beardy30 to Cornwall. Lee

I have lived in Delabole all my life, about 18 miles from Bodmin. Personally couldn't live in Bodmin 😬. To built up with LP (for Cornwall) and a bit iffy. There are lots of dark skies around here I'm bottle 3 according CO but more like 2 I think. Bodmin Moor is only a stones throw away for very dark sites. As long as you head out of the big towns anywhere in Cornwall is pretty good for dark skies. Lee

North Cornwall 5-12-23, I took a series of captures of Jupiter and a couple of moons to create an animation though missed a section. Taken with skywatcher SM90 on AzGti az mode with x2 Barlow. Zwo asi120mc-s. Still images processed with As4, registax and photoshop. Then added to make the animation created in Windows timelapse creator. Mainly 5000 frames on Jupiter . A few 10000 frames chucked in on Jupiter. Best 30% used in stacking. Quite amazed at the little Skywatcher Skymax 90mm power. Lee Jupiter 5-12-23.mp4

Great report, thank you. Fab that you got 2 stints at the eyepiece in, sheer dedication that 👏. What a wonderful tour and descriptions. So pleased you finally got behind the scope to enjoy the clear skies most of us have been enjoying during the cold snap. Lee

@Nickedynick I think it's this size as said earlier in the thread 😊. Good luck 👍 Lee

Just had a peaceful and relaxing hour observing the moon. Set up my AzGti with the Skymax 90mm and helios 7.2-21mm hyperflex zoom. Mostly zoomed in at 7.2mm I enjoyed watching the shadows in the crater Plato and the shadows formed by the 2 prominences? Mons Pico and Pico b (had to look those up) the shadows stretching out. I found these really enthralling. Also looking at the just lit rim of the crater Clavius as it was seemingly suspended in the darkness. (similar the the jeweled handle of the Jura mountains effect) Lee

I just spent a relaxing and lovely if not rather cold hour out with my newly arrived today ST102, its a nice piece of equipment. Paired with my AzGti, 32mm plossl and zoom lens it gave some wonderful views, a usual tour of the favourites to test it out. . Even with the first quarter moon M31 was clearly visable the core and outer dust lanes. Yes there is CA when looking a the moon and Jupiter but putting the lens cap back on the front and taking off the small cap eliminated most of the CA. Lots of clusters viewed this evening, I forgot how thrilling they are to see, especially when you get a tight cluster and use averted vision to let them pop. I will have to make some form of list to observe each time I can. I do use sky safari to pick an area to observe and log them. But will transfer to my notebook for an at a glance view. I'm happy with observing as I can just go out for an hour or however long I want then back in to get warm. No worrying about a few clouds or a bit of wind or even the moon about. I think is one of my best moves. Clear skies Lee

You have yours set up and facing the right direction though it looks a bit low on declination to me. Reading on many threads it says to set it at 90 degrees - your location. This is only a rough measurement and will need refining to get polaris in your fov as the scale on the wedge isn't that accurate. This thread may help https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/362178-az-gti-in-eq-mode-accuracy/ Lee

Could you attach a picture of your set up, the file can't be opened by myself. Lee

Was clear here until an hour ago 6pm, getting ready to set up for some observing, then that cloud bank I saw to the north east of the village came over and clouded out now and saw nothing 😒 Lee

Finally dismantled the imaging rig over the weekend all packed away in their boxes. Amazing how much there was accrued to build it. Link to my last image taken.

Here is the final image I've had from my dso astrophotography rig, taken last Sunday 7th January in North Cornwall. 1 hour of data before I finally pulled the plug on the show. Also battled with LP from a neighbouring flat in this image. No flats or dark flats, I just couldn't be bothered at the end. Just darks stacked with it. Crudely processed in dss, siril, starnet 2 and photoshop. AzGti 72ed, zwo asi294mc pro. Lee

I cannot afford anymore kit so the power bank option is out the window I'm afraid. I've not bought any astro equipment or accessories in many many many months. I do have lighter tripods but to be honest I have the bug for astronomy back again that has been missing for a long time. I feel free and re-energised now I am doing visual. I'm enjoying looking through my turn left at Orion, Cambridge star atlas and sky and telescope atlas to see what I'd like to try and observe 😊. Also if there is a clear night with odd clouds about I can still observe or take the dslr out Nightscaping and not be thinking I've wasted a night because should of been dso imaging if it is completely clear if that makes sense. Lee

I am quite happy with my ST80, SM90 and maybe back to my 72ed for visual 😊 and I do have some 7x50 bins that come out occasionally, especially looking from my bedroom window at the moon or some asteriums just to have a bit of fun, if I'm not outside. Lee

Thank you so much for your kind words Jim. I'm really humbled to hear that you have enjoyed what I got up to with my AzGti imaging. One of the reasons I probably started up the long AzGti owners thread a while back. I will still get the dslr set up it into the wild for aurora, milky-way or meteors. I have my second AzGti as my visual rig now and it just performs very well. I can go out for a quick hour get my astronomy fix or perusing the heavens and come back in. I'm excited about astronomy again and that feeling has been sorely missed by myself. Clear skies to you and thank you. Lee

Thank you. Nice observing objects with your eyes, yes they aren't like the images you can get but to say oh yes I saw M33, M81&82 or M31 through my 80mm scope and saw faint smudges and bright cores is quite grounding. Also its lovely just to move to scope to anywhere and lose yourself in a cluster or double star. I think I'm learning more about astronomy that I did when I was imaging. For me when I was imaging it was the knowing that I captured those subs from my own imaging area to show my family and friends. I've never bought scope time for data as it didn't appeal to me but I understand how people love to do it this way and whatever way we are all connected by the love for astronomy 😊 Lee

Not what I saw tonight but what I saw over the past 3 evenings. Now I'm back in the visual saddle I was getting back to using my AzGti in az mode with my ST80 with 9x50 fs. Whilst the weather has been freezing it didn't stop me from the freedom of just doing some casual observing. Using synscan pro and finally getting sky safari pro to work together it made it much easier to pick targets out. Using my helios hyperflex 7.2-21.5 mm zoom lens for ease and simplicity. I took in my first taste of visual for a long time and enjoyed seeing favourites M42, M31, M81&82, M33, M34, M45 and the Hyades, starfish and pinwheel cluster. Along with the double cluster in perseus and a lovely double of mintaka and castor. I really enjoyed my sessions and it's brought the excitement of astronomy back to me after imaging. I can't wait to get out on my next sessions. Not an in depth write up but the start of a lovely journey with the eyepiece. Lee

Thank you all for your words of support and encouragement. I could never leave this wonderful hobby of Astronomy I took up in lock down. I'm just pleased there are many aspects of the hobby that can accommodate people eg imaging, visual, scopes, binoculars, eyeballs and everything else that goes with it. As I said I had a wonderful hour last night rediscovering the visual side of things. Even in my ST80 I could make out the fuzzy patches and shapes of M81&82 as I had before. I just use my helios zoom lens which I find adds the simplicity and ease of my enjoyment. @Zermelo yes I agree they are lovely skies here when they want to be and I'll be able to take more advantage of them now as I can do visual in the gaps where I couldn't with imaging. I enjoyed it so much I'm going out again this evening for an hour to tweak sky safari to set up some observing targets and enjoy some beautiful sights to my eyes, even in freezing weather and I can be back in after my fix and not wait out for hours. Thank you all again and I will be knocking on the visual discussion threads very soon. Warmest regards to to you all, what a joyus place to be. Lee

Thank you all for your kind comments. I did enjoy my quick visual session last evening wandering around the sky and it makes me want to go out again. I've even got my old copy of turn left at Orion out to get a plan. This decision has freed me and I'm looking forwards to a brighter part of my astronomy hobby. As I said I'll still do the odd bit of lunar and planetary as it's lma light setup, also do some Nightscapes when I can. I'm just going to enjoy the hobby how I first started, behind the eyepiece. Clear skies friends. Lee