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Backyard Space Dude last won the day on September 16 2020
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Antlia 3nm Pro narrowband filters
Backyard Space Dude replied to Backyard Space Dude's topic in Member Equipment Reviews
Not a problem at all, thanks for the comment! Here's a comparison on Cloudy Nights between Baader 7nm and Antlia 3nm: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/749764-comparison-antlia-3nm-ha-filter-to-baader-7nm-ha-filter/?hl=%2Bantlia+%2B3nm#entry10839989 -
Antlia 3nm Pro narrowband filters
Backyard Space Dude replied to Backyard Space Dude's topic in Member Equipment Reviews
My pleasure! Glad to have helped. -
Antlia 3nm Pro narrowband filters
Backyard Space Dude replied to Backyard Space Dude's topic in Member Equipment Reviews
Thank you all for your comments! Yes, I'm lead to believe the smaller artefacts around Alnitak are microlens issues with the ASI1600MM-P. -
I recently purchased a set of SHO Antlia 3nm 1.25’ filters. Up until now, I’ve been using 7nm ZWO filters. Not having sold my ZWO filters yet, I thought it would be a good opportunity to compare the two. This will hopefully give prospective buyers a good idea of what to expect. Hopefully this is in the correct area of the forum! Like a lot of people, I simply can’t easily afford a set of 3nm Chroma or Astrodon filters, so having a set of 3nm filters at roughly half the price, with technical specifications that match the top-end brands is very enticing (I'm talking OD5). The data was all taken on the night of the 30th January, 2021 from my back garden. There was a 98% illuminated moon. Bortle class 4/5 with an estimated sky quality of 20.61. This data is according to the Clear Outside weather app, as I have no way of accurately recording this myself. Images shown here are in the format of .gif to better show the direct comparison, as I have found side by side images are difficult to differentiate. Each .gif scrolls through the 7nm image, then the 3nm image in 2 second intervals. I perhaps should have gathered more data on the Oiii filter, but that's hindsight now! I have also made an unboxing video, which you can watch here. (I'm new to video creating, and it also encompasses some beginner knowledge on narrowband filters, so you can skip through that bit!) I have supplied the original data with calibration frames available for download here. Let me know if you find anything interesting! Equipment Telescope - Skywatcher Esprit 100 & matching field flattener, Filter wheel - ZWO 1.25” EFW, Camera - ZWO ASI1600MM-P (Gain 139, -20C) Mount - Skywatcher NEQ6-P, Guiding - ZWO ASI174MM & Skywatcher finder scope, Acquisition - ASIAir Pro & iPad Pro, Calibration with Bias, Darks and Flats and registration performed in SiriL. All images had an auto-stretch applied in SiriL, exported as a 16-bit tiff and then converted to a .gif and resized in Photoshop. For an uncompressed true representation, feel free to download the original data from the link above. NGC 7822 - Ha - 1x600s NGC 1499 - Ha - 1x300s M 42 - Ha - 1x180s IC 2177 - Ha - 1x300s IC 1805 - Ha - 1x300s IC 1848 - Ha - 1x600s IC 410 - Ha - 1x180s B 33 - Ha - 1x300s B 33 - Oiii - 1x300s B 33 - Oiii - 1x30s Having never been exposed to 3nm filters before, I am probably not in the best place to make conclusions. I was initially taken back by the Oiii results, but I gather this is troublesome for most filters, and I would expect some negatives having paid half the price of brands like Astrodon and Chroma - perhaps someone would be able to provide some insight into this? However, I can't deny that I am very happy with the results and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into a new target ...as soon as the clouds clear!
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Incredible images! I love the sunflower the best, the detail is so crisp!
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Auriga Widefield Narrowband - Mosaic
Backyard Space Dude replied to bdlbug's topic in Imaging - Deep Sky
Wow! I really like the colours. It's amazing to see different objects in relation to each other. -
This was a couple of days ago. I've since done a little unboxing video, hopefully posting later today if anyones interested!
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Hello all, I have a Skywatcher 200PDS that's gathered dust for years as I've always been a fan of refractors. I've gotten it out multiple times to try and collimate it, but I just can't seem to get it right. I fear that I've now played around with it so much that I can't get the secondary and primary back in line. The primary mirror is now absolutely covered in dust, too. I like the idea of being able to take it all apart, clean it, put it back together and collimate it - but I'm at a point now where every time I attempt to collimate it, I think I make it worse! Because of this, I now don't use it. But I don't want to sell it because I know it's a decent OTA with a different FL to my refractor, so it'll give me some nice options if I can get it up and running. My question is this - Is there an astronomy retailer/service provider (or even someone local to me!) that for a fee will take it in, clean it up and collimate it for me? Kind of like a car service if you will! I live in Ely, Cambridgeshire and I don't mind driving for an hour or so to get it done. Thanks, J
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I've given up trying to get the back focus/tilt squared away on my Esprit 100/ApexED combo, so I've sent it back and ordered the standard SW flattener from FLO. Hopefully delivery won't be as long a wait as suggested on the website! Here's a couple of images I took when I needed a break from tearing my hair out. They're kind of first light with my Esprit 100 - though I'm not counting them as my real first light. NGC7635 - 26x300s Ha (7nm), NGC7000 - 6x600s Ha (7nm). Esprit 100, ApexED L, ASI 1600MM P.
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Having been clouded out and stuck in isolation recently, I've been re-processing some old data. This was taken with a DSLR, and comprises about 10 hours data in Ha and Oiii. 10-minute subs. SW 80ED. Both the original and new process are attached. As much as I like the newer version, I can see where I'm over-processing and relying too much on noise reduction. It's all still a learning curve!
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IKO - DWB 111 Propellor Nebula Data Release - November 2020
Backyard Space Dude replied to Grant's topic in IKI Observatory
Thank you so much! Having access to new data at this standard over lockdown is such a blessing. -
IKO - M17 - Processing Competition - Winners
Backyard Space Dude replied to Grant's topic in IKI Observatory
Congratulations! Some amazing entries indeed, I gained some good insight into different processing techniques and combinations. Thank you FLO so much for continuing to post data like this for free! -
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Asi 183mm First Light - Bubble Nebula SHO
Backyard Space Dude replied to Mr_42tr0nomy's topic in Imaging - Deep Sky
Soooo good. I prefer the orange/blue version - I strive for images of this quality! -
Amazing, it's so smooth but so sharp!
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Wizard nebula NGC7380 First Light with Esprit100
Backyard Space Dude replied to carastro's topic in Imaging - Deep Sky
Love it Carole. I'm having issues with the backfocus on my Esprit with the Starizona ApexED. Once I've got that squared away I'd be happy to get a first light as good as this!