Clarkey

Looking at the pictures and the spot diagrams, they ARE the same scope. One is green and one is red. Take your pick.....

You are all wrong. Mr Musk has had the moon painted green so we stop moaning about his satellites😀

2 hours ago, DougM43 said:

have you covered the viewfinder? my camera has a little rubber cover that fits over it to prevent any stray light getting through.

Just a thought. 

Good shout. I forgot about this. It's been a few years since I imaged with a DSLR.

4 hours ago, vlaiv said:

I wonder why people insist on "speed" of the telescope as being crucial thing when imaging galaxies?

Not sure if this was aimed at my post, but perhaps I should have clarified by adding a faster scope when using the same pixel scale (not the quoted f ratio). A 10" Newtonian will be quicker than the 115mm refractor with the same pixel scale.

I think a 125mm scope on an HEQ5 is probably pushing the limits a bit for imaging, but it might be OK. In terms of the scope itself, there is no reason why it could not be used for imaging galaxies. (Currently there is also a customer return on offer for a reduced price). I use a 115mm triplet on my HEQ5 which gives very good results on the slightly larger galaxies.

Although an RC8 could be used on an HEQ5 - it really is at the limit. I tried mine and the guiding errors were too large to be acceptable. The 6" would be fine. I would say that I do not find the RC collimation too bad - also once right it very rarely needs adjusting.

I think if you try rotating the camera, it will give you a better idea.

You say you have done a full spectrum mod, so I assume you are using some sort of filter for you images? For most imaging you will still want a UV / IR cut filter.

Not something I have seen before, or at least, not to this extent. Have you tried rotating the camera? Might at least give you a clue whether it is an internal (or external) reflection. If it changes orientation, it is probably image train related - if not a reflection. I assume this is just near bright stars? The rectangular shape does suggest a sensor related issue though. Is there any bright metal areas around the sensor?

Despite really liking the RC8, I must admit that the images from the 115mm triplet are probably as good, if not better. Obviously the RC is binned and marginally quicker, but above about 800mm FL seeing becomes the predominant factor. I am currently considering a 250mm F4 Newtonian to give speed and FL (possibly even a Nexus to give F3).

My preference overall would be for a large refractor, but unfortunately my current mini observatory won't cope with the length of anything over the 115mm scope I now use. I did buy a 130mm triplet - but it was about 2" too long😭

Some people are just so SMUG......🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭

On 13/02/2024 at 02:43, cards47 said:

This may be a dumb question what the black plug protects

It covers the end of the worm drive. As long as you keep dirt and moisture out it will be fine. A stopper would be the best option, but even a little bit of duct tape would do the job.

I use a couple of Mele Quieter 2 mini PCs. These have been fine running my imaging rigs and are fanless - so no vibration. I just added a bigger SSD for storage.

You haven't given a budget, but I will give my opinion anyway.

I have an RC8 and in terms of value for money it is excellent. Once collimated (which some find difficult) it is an excellent scope but most require a focuser upgrade. Personally I am a fan of the Baader Steeltracks.

I also image with a 115mm refractor, which gives very similar results to the RC, although slightly slower optically once the RC8 is binned.

I am also considering a fast Newtonian due to the limited imaging time. I am looking at a 10" version to give a good FL even if I decide to use a Nexus 0.75 reducer.

Typically, I image at 1 to 1.5 arc secs/px which I can do with the above. At the end of day, it depends on how deep you pockets are!

Obviously, you can spend more and go bigger but it would be pushing your mount.

I think RASA's should be banned.........

........unless I have one😄

Very nice👍. RASA's are starting to show how little of the sky is either red or dusty.

2 hours ago, Adreneline said:

Right or wrong I always feel you should try to keep the rgb histograms aligned - difficult at times.

To my eyes there is a hint of magenta about the image so I inverted the image and applied SCNR.

I then re-iverted the image and applied SCNR again and the resulting histograms are almost aligned.

I must confess to not being overly worried about the histogram - however, I think you are probably right about the image having a bit too much magenta. I have done a slightly more toned down version below.

Interesting concept of inverting the image and applying SCNR - not one I have come across before.

This is about 11 hours of RGB data taken from a 12" F3.8 Newtonian - data from Roboscopes.

I really struggle to get dark nebula detail, so I have had a good go at this one to see what came out. Although I am reasonably happy with the results, it still is a little 'wrong' to my eyes. Any thoughts or suggestions would be gratefully received - in particular processing in PI.

Thanks in advance.

37 minutes ago, 900SL said:

Orion can be a good target for a beginner but can also be challenging

This is very true. The massive range of brightness is a true challenge to get good results. Having said this, your initial data capture looks OK which is a great start.

From memory, if you use the Risingcam software, you can select an area to view to get a good frame rate for video. This was taken with my rising cam as a bit of an experiment.

Imaged back in December, but I decided to reprocess as I did not like the original result. I quite like this version - a little spooky and atmospheric, to my eyes at least.

This is 317 x 180s with the Starwave 115mm triplet with an L-extreme using a RisingCam IMX571. All processed in PI.

12 minutes ago, CCD Imager said:

Let me ask you which image below you prefer?

Either are good for me. Clean car that is not falling to bits - what's not to like😄

@assouptro But seriously, as everyone has said, it is personal choice. As long as you like it, then it does not matter. I suspect none of us are ever 100% happy with an image - I'm certainly not. But as long as to your eyes it is as good as you can get, then be happy.

FWIW it is probably a touch overdone for my tastes, but it is still a great image.

Personally, if you have a £2k budget just for the scope, I would look to get something widefield and something else with a longer FL for smaller targets. However, as @Icesheet stated you do need to consider other equipment. For a colour camera I would also recommend a dual band filter.

With your budget and mount, the list of options is pretty long. I would say a Samyang 135mm F2 lens is a great option and pretty fast. Longer FL is any number of options - refractor, SCT, RC, etc. Just remember, with seeing limitations you will not gain much in terms of resolution above about 800mm FL (around 1"/px) for deep sky due to the seeing limitations. Obviously for planetary / lunar this is not the case.

Very nice! It's amazing the difference the RASA makes to commonly imaged targets. I had to look twice to make sure it was the Pac-Man nebula. I'll get one eventually - when I have sold the kids😁

For small stuff I have a 'white screen' app. Works fine on tablet or phone.

That's a great result on a tricky target. I have looked at it a few times but decided it was just a little bit too small. Mind you, I think of just over 2 FWHM quite good.

Maybe I need a bigger scope😄

Quote

 

Thanks for the comments Bryan.

The RC8 is a Stella Lyra (GSO). I have found it to be excellent in most respects. I think I might have been lucky to get a 'good one'. The main think with mine is that the primary mirror and focuser are very well aligned which make collimation pretty straightforward. However, it only needs collimating once in blue moon. I have replaced the stock focuser with a Baader Steeltrack as the original did flex slightly and slipped when there was heavy dew. I guide with an ST80 rather than OAG and I have found no issues with flex. HTHs.

Third imaging session since September. Hooray!

The Medusa Nebula taken with a 115mm Triplet and RisingCam IMX571 with an L-extreme. I also imaged at the same time with my trusty old 1600MM pro and RC8, but the data was actually better from the colour camera. So... All the nebula data is from the colour camera, but the RGB stars are from the RC8. It makes me think I might need some better filters or a new camera.