Budgie1

So, my imaging rig to date has been using refractors, Evostar 100ED DS Pro, Evostar 80ED DSO Pro & WO Zenith 73 III, which has been alright but the number of clear nights seems to be getting fewer and the West Coast of Scotland isn't renowned for it's temperate rain forests because it's very dry! 

So that I can try to get the most out of the clear nights we do get, I would like to upgrade to a faster scope and I'm thinking about the RASA 8, which should suit my ASI294MC Pro but I'm not too sure about the weight on the HEQ5.

My HEQ5 is about 3 years old, has the Rowan belt conversion fitted and is mounted on a solid concrete pier (see my Obsy build thread for details).  With the RASA 8, ASI294MC Pro, dew shield & guide scope & camera (I would rather have guiding than not) then it's getting very close to the maximum imaging payload for the HEQ5. I know it could really do with the EQ6-R or similar, but I can't justify changing the mount & scope, and there's no point just changing the mount and sticking with the scopes I already have.

So, has anyone got or used a RASA 8 on the HEQ5 and how did it handle? Any issues balancing the rig and did you use a guide scope or not?

Thanks for any advise.

I don't know what you budget is or whether your son is only interested in observing but, just to throw a techy slant on things, what about the ZWO SeeStar S50?

It comes with a tripod, is mobile and run off an app on a mobile phone. It has the Go-To function and can take images of your targets.

Just something else to consider as an option.

I haven't tried it today but it was down yesterday evening.

8 minutes ago, Petrol said:

Really nice setup and you live in a beautiful part of the world Martin. I found with my wooden obsy / roll off, that ventilation itself wasn't enough to keep damp out despite being insulated. I ended up with a small heater and dehumidifier to keep things in check. That said I live in NW UK where it's mega damp. Just a heads up and thanks for sharing your setup, much appreciated.

Pete
 

Thanks Pete,

Yes, I wasn't sure about the damp and living in one of the wettest places in the UK (surrounded by Temperate Rain Forest) was a concern. As it turns out, there's a nice gap between the top of the walls and the roof section which allows a nice breeze to flow through the shed. Any moisture is soon gone and it's been dry in there since it was built.

I did think about a heater, but it wouldn't do anything as the ventilation is so good.

Once area I do get issues is with the insulation I put on the inside of the roof. On cold nights, when the roof is rolled back, I get frost forming on the underside of the roof insulation. This then melts the next day and drips over everything. So that's my Summer project; to cover the foil insulation with something lightweight which won't attract moisture.  

Generally the numbers will depend on the size of star you're using, the seeing conditions etc.

You should see the numbers falling and at their lowest should be the best focus. Then numbers will start to rise again as the focus goes the other way.  

So, all has been running nicely in the Obsy over this season and, although clear nights have been lacking, the Obsy means I can be up & imaging within 10-15 minutes of seeing a clear sky. So it's really paying for itself on that side.

There have been no real upgrades to speak of but I've had a niggling issue since I built the Obsy, in that it was just on the boundary of the WiFi signal from the house. This meant running updates to the laptop was time consuming, to say the least. The other night I had issues with APT, in that it would crash when I tried to Plate Solve, and I thought an update may solve the issue. So I tried downloading the latest version, 4.43, at that time, while in the Obsy. That ended up taking over 20 minutes before I finally took the laptop into the house to complete the download.

It was at this point I decided to do something about the lack of reliable WiFi in the garden and ended up buying a TP-Link AC1200 outdoor access point. This is run using one CAT6 cable from inside the house, connected to a POE switch and mounted on the back wall of the house. I installed it this evening and, after initial setup, I connected the Obsy laptop to it and downloaded APT V4.44, which took seconds this time.

I ran Speedtest from the laptop and was getting 48 Mbps download & 8.85 Mbps upload, so about the same as I get on my desktop in the house.  

This means, if I get a Windows 10/11 Pro laptop or PC in the Obsy, then remote access will be possible, without having to run a cable across the garden.

I should add that the crashes to APT were caused by a Windows Update and have now been fixed in V4.44.

Mine is the same, I put it down to a manufacturing feature which doesn't really have any effect on the operation of the scope.

As I use mine as a guide scope then I rarely change focus on it anyway.

I would check that focus again before you start because there's likely to be a difference in the temperature & humidity between when you focused on the Moon last week and tonight. That could be enough to throw the focus off and it would be a shame to loose the night's images.

You may find you have to refocus as the temperature drops during an imaging session.

Also get the scopes outside well before you want to start. This gives them time to cool down, especially if you keep them in doors normally. This cooling will also effect the focus and you may find you'll have moisture on the mirror/lens when they're first taken outside.

I hope you have a clear night.

If it does become an issue then the ZWO Anti-dew heater strip may be worth a try.

4 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Interesting. This is the blue channel from our OSC camera.

I'd probably vote for reflection, but who knows?

Olly

It could well be reflection, and the difference in my images is 7nm Duo-band verses 4nm Oiii filters.

5 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Is it OIII or blue reflection?

Olly

Good question, I assumed it was Oiii in there as I imaged the nebula back in 2022 with the Askar Duo-band filter (7nm) & ASI294MC Pro camera and got a more pronounced central area.

I've also included the Oiii stack from this session, stretched and nothing else done to it.

1 hour ago, Backyardscope said:

The Nebula really comes out nice, even though you have used a scope at f/7.6, the 100ED Doublet so under rated for DSO Imaging. You have encouraged me to invest in a reducer for my C100ED, 

The Ha is quite strong but I was a little disappointed the Oiii in the centre of the Christmas Tree Cluster isn’t more pronounced.

 I do like my 100ED, as you say, it’s not the fastest scope but does deliver some good results. It’s my go to for galaxy season but also gets some nice detail from nebulas as well.

I started imaging the Cone Nebula on 7th March, but only managed a couple of hours due to it's position in the sky and trees. Then I got another couple of hours in HOO on the 15th March, giving a total of 4h15m using Baader 3.5nm Ha & 4.0nm Oiii filters on the ASi1600MM Pro at -10°. I will add more data, including Sii, if I get the chance, but thought I would process what I have.

After the Cone Nebula started to get into the trees, I swapped completely and went for the Leo Triplets using LRGB. This was only 1h28m with most of that being luminance and only 16 minutes each on the RGB filters. I wanted to do more but I needed sleep. Overall, it hasn't come out too bad for such a short integration and I can add more data later. 

Both of these were taken using the Skywatcher Evostar 100ED DS Pro with 0.85 FR/FF, on a belt driven HEQ5.

What does the Red stacked image look like when stretched?

The pattern looks like the pixels of the sensor but as this is one sub, which is part-way through the stacking process, then it would be interesting to see the final stacked image to see if pattern remains.

Last one for now with Lower's. I managed to get another hour's worth of data last night for it became too tiresome stopping for clouds. How do the clouds know where you're imaging, the rest of the sky was clear, apart from the bit I was using? 

Anyway, this is a large version with the following totals:

• Ha - 41x 300s = 3h25m
• Sii - 30x 300s = 2h30m
• Oiii - 39x 300s = 3h15m
• Total integration time to date: 9h10m

Two of the Oiii subs were rejected during the restack by WBPP, so that's why the number of Oiii subs has reduced.  

I managed to add another 20x 300s Oiii subs to the stack last night, with no Moon showing.

Clouds prevented more Ha being obtained, so that's for the next session.

Here's the image with the extra data added and it now consists of:

• Ha - 32x 300s = 2h40m
• Sii - 25x 300s = 2h5m
• Oiii - 41x 300s = 3h25m
• Total integration time to date: 8h10m

See if you think there's an improvement with the extra Oiii added.

Make sure you're using https:// in front of the URL and not just http://

Astro Photography Tool (APT) also has the PA tool built in and seems to work as well as SharpCap.

It works slightly differently to the others in that it doesn't just move in RA, it picks & plate solves 3 diffareas of the sky and then gives you the PA alterations needed.

Edit: Here's a link to the User Guide which explains the process - https://www.astrophotography.app/usersguide/polar_align_via_ps___paps.htm

3 hours ago, tomato said:

Oiii will be very hard to collect under a full moon.

I should have shot the Oiii first, before the Moon was above the hills. All three filters need more data anyway, so that's the plan for the next clear night.  

Back in January, @ollypenrice posted an image of Sh2-261 and I said at the time that I would have a go at this target. Well, a month of so later and I finally had clear skies, be it under a full Moon, and manage to capture some data on it. Taken over the 24th & 25th February, I was fighting thin high cloud but managed 6 hours 5 Minutes on this, so far, using SHO filters.

The kit is as follows:

• HEQ5 with Rowan belt conversion
• ASI1600MM Pro at -10°C, Gain 139 & Offset 50
• Skywatcher Evostar 100ED DS Pro with 0.85 FF/FR
• Evoguide 50 guide scope with ASI120mm Mini camera

Filters:

• Baader Ha 3.5nm 1.25"
• Baader Oiii 4nm 1.25"
• Baader Sii 8nm 1.25"

The Ha had the strongest signal with some Sii and hardly any Oiii showing. I've tried to drag as much out the 6 hours as I can but it was quite noisy and needs more data, less Moon & clouds to get it better.

Here's the data so far, comments welcomed as always.

35 minutes ago, MikeeJC said:

there's no mention of what happens if the mount has been moved and put away i.e. clutches released etc.

I think it assumes you start & finish a session in a known position, like the Home or Park positions.

I mark my mount with a Sharpie on the RA & DEC, so I can release the clutches for balancing etc, then put the axis back to where I parked it. Never had any dramas and it also means if you do need to reset the position (a cable got caught or something) then you just tell the mount to go to the Home Position and reset the axis with the clutches released.  

Like Ivor, I tried using the EQMOD PPEC on my HEQ5 but it actually seemed to make the guiding worse when it was switched on, so I don't use it now. 

23 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

Cracking image. Lucky you with the clear nights and you are just up the road from me!  Well done. 

 

 

Thanks David, all 6 hours were taken on the 29th January.

I'm actually imaging at the moment! It maybe nearly full Moon but it's clear, so imaging we will go.

3 hours ago, WolfieGlos said:

Nice result and nice colours.

I never see the Monkey on this one, ever.

Thanks,

He's laying on his back with the top of his head on the right hand side, or rotate the image 90° anticlockwise. 

Edit: I did this to help.

Not had a lot of clear nights this year and lost 3 of them to COVID, yes it's still around. 😷

So, this is my only image to date in 2024. I'm still playing with the data but this is the best I have so far.

This is a total of 6h15m integration using 25 x 300s subs on each filter. Captured using APT and processed in PixInsight.

The kit is as follows:

• HEQ5 with Rowan belt conversion
• ASI1600MM Pro at -10°C, Gain 139 & Offset 50
• Skywatcher Evostar 100ED DS Pro with 0.85 FF/FR
• Evoguide 50 guide scope with ASI120mm Mini camera

Filters:

• Baader Ha 3.5nm 1.25"
• Baader Oiii 4nm 1.25"
• Baader Sii 8nm 1.25"

C&C's welcomed and I hope you enjoy it.

2 hours ago, Sarum said:

Thanks Martin,

I should have been more precise,; there is a colour version of the ASI 1600, though it is no longer in production.   The ZWO site does indeed quote 17.5 mm, but that also includes an 11mm threaded collar .  My question was really about the number and thread sizes needed to link up with the flattener   

Sorry if my question wasn't very clear, but thanks for the response.

Roy

Sorry Roy, I wasn't aware of the ASI1600MC camera and I note it doesn't have the set point cooling.

In that case, the distance is 6.5mm from sensor to camera body, plus the 11mm spacer, making your 17.5mm. ZWO also supply M42 x 21mm & M42-M48 x16.5mm extenders, when added to the 17.5mm on the camera it takes the distance to the required 55mm. 

As Elp has said, it's always handy to have some 1mm thick spacers for fine tuning if necessary.